Start Loc: Great Keppel Island (23o 09.81'S, 150o 57.30'E)
Narrative: The forecasts had not changed this morning so we stuck with our revised plan. There were almost 20 boats anchored with us at Great Keppel last night which is the most boats we have seen outside a marina in well over a week. Given the time of year, we have been surprised at the lack of cruising boats getting around. Anyway, we were the only boat showing any signs of leaving the shelter of Great Keppel.
We raised the anchor at 9:34am and motored out of the bay. We pulled out 110% head sail to sail east across the top of the island then put it away again to motor around the east side. Seas were around 2m on top of a 1.5m swell, and it was rough going.
After clearing Bald Rock we raised sail again in SE winds at around 15kts. We sailed on a port tack as close to the wind as we could, a little west of south. Being under sail sat the boat down in the water a little better so the ride became more comfortable. We passed west of Hannah Rock and east of Humpy Island, heading towards the safe water fairway buoy at the start of the channel into Port Alma.
As we sailed the wind increased in strength to around 20kts and swung to the E so we were able to sail exactly where we wanted. When we rounded Sea Hill we came into the lee of Curtis Island and the waves settled a little. I made the comment to Heather that it had been an enjoyable day of sailing. We managed to sail down through The Narrows to Division Point and then motored to Badger Creek (on the west side of Curtis Island) which was our chosen anchorage for the night.
We spent a little over 30 minutes in five failed attempts at anchoring. The anchor kept dragging through the soft mud and would not bite into the thicker stuff underneath. I gave up in frustration and moved another mile and a half south to an unnamed creek to anchor there. After two failed attempts there (and a bit of swearing) we moved back out into the main channel and anchored there. The anchor bit first time and after an hour of stuffing around I was finally able to declare us anchored at 4:32pm.
We are only a couple of miles north of the drying part of The Narrows, so we will have a lazy morning tomorrow waiting for the tide to come in. Parts of The Narrows dry to more than 2 metres so it is important to time your crossing carefully. High tide is around 1:30pm, so we will be ready to cross through then. We will likely spend tomorrow night anchored inside Facing Island, just out of Gladstone.
End Loc: The Narrows (23o 36.79'S, 151o 02.60'E)
Distance run: 34nm (cumulative: 2779nm)
Engine hours: 3 hr, 23 min (cumulative: 107 hr, 15 min)