Start Loc: Horseshoe Bay, Magnetic Island (19o 06.74'S, 146o 51.67'E)
Narrative: I managed to rouse the crew early this morning (about 7:30am) by cooking them bacon and eggs. After cleaning up, we raised the anchor at 8:50am and motored NW out of the bay. We didn't make it far though.
About a mile and a half out of the bay we spotted something odd floating to our west, so we went to investigate. It turned out to be a tinny, about 4.5m long, with no bung, half full of water, and only the positive buoyancy built into the seats keeping it afloat. We came along side it, connected a tow line, then I climbed in and put a bung in the hole at the stern. All it had was a plastic milk crate tucked in the right rear corner, and swimming around my ankles was one of the largest prawns I have seen. I was very tempted to keep the prawn but the timing was all wrong, so it went over the side as I bailed out the water. With the tinny floating and reasonably stable again, I turned my attention to the rope that disappeared into water over the bow. The 20m of rope was attached to a light chain, and at the end of the chain I pulled the anchor up. As I pulled the anchor into the boat I was surprised to see a fishing rod come with it - it just happened to be hooked over the anchor. The reel was set up for a left hander so I awkwardly started winding in the line. It got very heavy very quickly, but it didn't feel like a snag (plus we were in 20m of water). If it was a fish on the end it had died, because it wasn't putting up a fight.
I ended up getting back on our boat to wind the line in from a more stable platform. While I did this, Heather reported the tinny find to Townsville Coast Guard. We had clear VHF comms, but she still had to say everything three times. We were also not asked for any information, instead offering the lat and long, the tinny rego, etc. These facts, supported by some previous dealings with VMR/Coast Guard, left us with absolutely no confidence. It was apparent something had gone wrong, so Heather rang the police. She gave some details and told them we would tow the dinghy into Horseshoe Bay and leave it on the beach near the swimming enclosure. The lady Heather spoke to asked if we could hang around for 15 minutes as someone may want to talk to us.
Meanwhile, I was slowly getting whatever was on the end of the fishing line to the surface. I could see the lure and and also a large dark shadow. I sent the kids downstairs just in case it was the body of some poor fisherman, but it turned out to be the bimini of the tinny; no longer attached to the boat other than the fact that it was hooked on a lure connected by line to rod and reel that happened to be hooked on the anchor! As the bimini broke the surface, the rod and line also broke and the bimini sank away again.
We towed the tinny back to Horseshoe Bay and anchored at 10:15am. We started to prepare our dinghy to tow the tinny ashore when the Townsville Water Police rang. I gave them all the details, including my read of things - that (a left handed) someone out fishing in the last couple of days took a large wave the wrong way and the boat capsized. While the tinny was upside down, the motor had come off, the anchor had spilled out, the bimini had come off, and his fishing rod just happened to slide down the anchor rope and get hooked on the anchor. They asked us to wait and they would meet us in 45 minutes.
At 10:55am we handed over the dinghy (and the broken fishing rod) to the crew of the police vessel Len Hooper. They told us they had located the owner from the rego we gave them, and my guess was pretty well right. There were three blokes (Maggie Island locals) in the tinny and they swam ashore on one life jacket, so they were all okay. The police towed the tinny ashore to return it to the owner.
With all the excitement over, we raised anchor at 11:05am and set course (again) for Orpheus Island. We had light N winds at less than 10kts, so we raised full sail and motor sailed on our NW heading. We decided we would use the motor to keep the speed over ground to at least 6kts as we had over 35nm to cover and a late start. Our course brought us past the SW corner of Palm Island, between Palm and a few other much smaller islands. Heather wanted to take a different route simply because this is called 'Steamer Passage'. As we approached this corner of Palm Island the wind switched to E at 5-10kts, changing direction simply because of the effect of the island. Past Palm Island and approaching Fantome Island, the wind was back to NE and had freshened to about 12kts so we gave the motor a rest, turning it off at 4:13pm. We sailed on a close reach at 6.5kts over ground. It didn't last long and we started the motor again at 4:23pm. Once clear of Fantome Island the wind freshened again, and we turned the motor off at 4:31pm.
We altered course to a northerly heading and sailed close hauled up the west side of Orpheus Island. The wind remained NE at 10-15kts, giving us an apparent wind of around 18kts and and 7kts speed over ground. The water was flat, the sun was getting low and it was great sailing. We started the motor at 5:29pm, dropped sail, and motored into Little Pioneer Bay (towards the top end of Orpheus Island). We took up a mooring buoy at 5:38pm, and turned off the engine a minute later.
Heather had basically skippered from Horseshoe Bay. She was at the helm most of the day and did most of the navigation. All I did was maintain the log entries, sit in the sun and read my book. What a great day!
We readied the dinghy, grabbed a beer and a wine, and went ashore so the kids could run off some energy while we sat on the beach and watched the sun set.
Tomorrow we plan to head to Zoe Bay on the east side of Hinchinbrook Island for lunch and a swim, then head in to an overnight anchorage in Hinchinbrook Passage.
End Loc: Little Pioneer Bay, Orpheus Island (18o 35.72'S, 146o 29.25'E)
Distance run: 42nm (cumulative: 1422nm)
Engine hours: 5 hr, 26 min (cumulative: 175 hr 25 min)