Start Loc: Mooloolaba (26o 41.20'S, 153o 07.67'E)
Narrative: We spent yesterday relaxing at Mooloolaba, including a trip across the road to the beach so the kids could boogie board. It was a good, fun day.
We dropped the mooring lines at 7:13am this morning and motored out of the Mooloolah River. We motored east to clear the headland, and I was pleased to see that the winds were just about perfect for our sail. We had E winds at around 16kts so we set the sails with one reef in the main and full head sail and sailed on a close reach. This is probably the boat's favourite tack and we made good speed.
We passed the Caloundra headland at 8:45am, came off the wind slightly onto a beam reach, and dodged a ship as we crossed the shipping channel and sailed back into the coast. It was then back to a close reach and we sat around 8-8.5kts over ground as we sailed down the coast of Bribie Island. We got up to 8.1kts through the water and 9.3kts over ground at one stage, and it was just great sailing.
We rounded the bottom end of Bribie at 11:05am and ran wing on wing across to Deception Bay. This was our slowest leg, making about 5.5kts over ground. From there it was just a few miles on a close reach down to the start of the channel, where we put the sails away and motored into Newport Waterways at 12:40pm. We were berthed by 12:59pm.
The wind had remained basically from the east at around 16kts for the duration. Sailing on a close reach allowed good speed and we averaged a little over 7kts over ground. It was a fantastic sail, good fun, and a great way to finish the trip.
We had phoned Mum and Dad, and we checked in and started cleaning the boat while they brought our car up to us. We now have wheels for all the running around we need to do to get our furniture back in the house and the kids ready for school. Heather and I will spend next week giving the boat a good clean before I go back to work, and we will soon reluctantly put her on the market.
There will be one more entry in this log, as Heather and I will go to Scarborough to refuel one day next week and I will close off the fuel usage for the trip.
End Loc: Newport Marina (27o 12.56'S, 153o 05.61'E)
Distance run: 39nm (cumulative: 3128nm)
Engine hours: 0 hr, 53 min (cumulative: 139 hr, 34 min)
Sunday, 15 January 2012
Saturday, 14 January 2012
13th January, 2012
Start Loc: Inskip Point (25o 48.88'S, 153o 02.68'E)
Narrative: We got an early start this morning, raising the anchor at 7:03am and motoring around Inskip Point. A large motor vessel had gone over the bar about half an hour before us and I listened to their chatter with Coast Guard Tin Can Bay on the VHF, so I knew the bar was not to too bad. We logged on with the Coast Guard for our crossing, but once they have you on their books they like to keep it that way, so we ended up logging our trip to Mooloolaba.
It was 7:45am before we got to the first waypoint in the bar crossing, and almost 9:00am before we were clear of the bar. It is a 4nm crossing and we could only do around 3.5kts over ground, into wind, waves and tide. Once across the bar we set sail. The wind was E at 10-15kts, so we motor sailed close hauled with one reef in the main and 110% head sail. With the motor assisting, we were able to maintain 6kts over ground as we made our way outside Wolf Rock and around Double Island Point.
After clearing Double Island Point, we increased to full sail and altered course to starboard onto our heading to Mooloolaba. The winds remained E for the trip and our point of sail remained arouns a close reach. There were times the wind sat in the 5-10kts bracket for a while and our speed would drop to around 4kts, but it was generally 10-15kts and we once reached 8kts over ground. We covered almost 41nm in six and a half hours, averaging 6.3kts over ground. The sky was clear, the sun was shining, the waves were not too big, and it was very pleasant sailing.
Just north of Mooloolaba the wind dropped to around 6kts and swung NE, so we put all the sail away and motored the last couple of miles. We crossed the Mooloolah River Bar (the QLD Government declared the entrance to the Mooloolah River a bar crossing from 1st January 2012) at 5:35pm and were berthed at the marina at 5:48pm. For the entire trip we averaged 5.8kts over ground, which I was pretty happy with. It was a good day.
We will spend tomorrow at Mooloolaba including a trip to the surf beach, then head off reasonably early on Sunday morning for the final 40nm leg back to Redcliffe.
End Loc: Mooloolaba (26o 41.20'S, 153o 07.67'E)
Distance run: 62nm (cumulative: 3089nm)
Engine hours: 4 hr, 19 min (cumulative: 138 hr, 41 min)
Narrative: We got an early start this morning, raising the anchor at 7:03am and motoring around Inskip Point. A large motor vessel had gone over the bar about half an hour before us and I listened to their chatter with Coast Guard Tin Can Bay on the VHF, so I knew the bar was not to too bad. We logged on with the Coast Guard for our crossing, but once they have you on their books they like to keep it that way, so we ended up logging our trip to Mooloolaba.
It was 7:45am before we got to the first waypoint in the bar crossing, and almost 9:00am before we were clear of the bar. It is a 4nm crossing and we could only do around 3.5kts over ground, into wind, waves and tide. Once across the bar we set sail. The wind was E at 10-15kts, so we motor sailed close hauled with one reef in the main and 110% head sail. With the motor assisting, we were able to maintain 6kts over ground as we made our way outside Wolf Rock and around Double Island Point.
After clearing Double Island Point, we increased to full sail and altered course to starboard onto our heading to Mooloolaba. The winds remained E for the trip and our point of sail remained arouns a close reach. There were times the wind sat in the 5-10kts bracket for a while and our speed would drop to around 4kts, but it was generally 10-15kts and we once reached 8kts over ground. We covered almost 41nm in six and a half hours, averaging 6.3kts over ground. The sky was clear, the sun was shining, the waves were not too big, and it was very pleasant sailing.
Just north of Mooloolaba the wind dropped to around 6kts and swung NE, so we put all the sail away and motored the last couple of miles. We crossed the Mooloolah River Bar (the QLD Government declared the entrance to the Mooloolah River a bar crossing from 1st January 2012) at 5:35pm and were berthed at the marina at 5:48pm. For the entire trip we averaged 5.8kts over ground, which I was pretty happy with. It was a good day.
We will spend tomorrow at Mooloolaba including a trip to the surf beach, then head off reasonably early on Sunday morning for the final 40nm leg back to Redcliffe.
End Loc: Mooloolaba (26o 41.20'S, 153o 07.67'E)
Distance run: 62nm (cumulative: 3089nm)
Engine hours: 4 hr, 19 min (cumulative: 138 hr, 41 min)
Friday, 13 January 2012
12th January, 2012
Start Loc: Inskip Point (25o 48.89'S, 153o 02.74'E)
Narrative: The southerly change came through a little earlier than expected. I listened to a 29ft yacht talking to VMR as it came in across the bar, and then I spoke to him as well. The bar itself was not too bad, but he said outside was pretty uncomfortable. We decided we would not have any fun beating our way into wind and waves to the shelter of Double Island Point, so we would delay our bar crossing for 24 hours.
Our position on the southern side of Inskip Point was now a bit exposed so at 9:00am we moved around the north side to see if we could find a calm spot where the kids could play on the beach. Unfortunately the wind just held us beam on to the swell coming across the bar. We moved back down to the end of the point and anchored there at 9:35am, but the swell started to come around the corner so we decided to move again.
At little after 10:30am we motored down the channel to Bullock Point and dropped the anchor at 11:10am. The shallowest sounding we had was at the special marking the start of the channel, which was 2.3m and we had about 2m of tide at the time. We were well sheltered, but decided that after dinner we would use the night high tide to get out of the creek so that we could make an early start the next day. I figured that if we started at 8:00pm with 1m of tide, we would have 1.1m of tide when we approached the special, and that if I went a bit further north of the special than I did on the way in I would be able to find the 30cm of water we needed to get out. I was wrong. We bumped the bottom, Heather swore at me, and we anchored 8:40pm to wait for 1.5m of tide at 9:30pm.
At 9:30pm, we raised the anchor and motored past the special mark with a least depth sounding of 1.7m. We anchored on the south side of Inskip Point at 9:45pm; virtually in the same spot we were thirteen hours prior.
I would like to get an early start tomorrow and leave around 7:00am so we are in a position to cross the bar from 7:30am (high tide is 10:39am) as we now have to sail 60nm or so to Mooloolaba.
End Loc: Inskip Point (25o 48.88'S, 153o 02.68'E)
Distance run: 5nm (cumulative: 3027nm)
Engine hours: 2 hr, 00 min (cumulative: 134 hr, 22 min)
Narrative: The southerly change came through a little earlier than expected. I listened to a 29ft yacht talking to VMR as it came in across the bar, and then I spoke to him as well. The bar itself was not too bad, but he said outside was pretty uncomfortable. We decided we would not have any fun beating our way into wind and waves to the shelter of Double Island Point, so we would delay our bar crossing for 24 hours.
Our position on the southern side of Inskip Point was now a bit exposed so at 9:00am we moved around the north side to see if we could find a calm spot where the kids could play on the beach. Unfortunately the wind just held us beam on to the swell coming across the bar. We moved back down to the end of the point and anchored there at 9:35am, but the swell started to come around the corner so we decided to move again.
At little after 10:30am we motored down the channel to Bullock Point and dropped the anchor at 11:10am. The shallowest sounding we had was at the special marking the start of the channel, which was 2.3m and we had about 2m of tide at the time. We were well sheltered, but decided that after dinner we would use the night high tide to get out of the creek so that we could make an early start the next day. I figured that if we started at 8:00pm with 1m of tide, we would have 1.1m of tide when we approached the special, and that if I went a bit further north of the special than I did on the way in I would be able to find the 30cm of water we needed to get out. I was wrong. We bumped the bottom, Heather swore at me, and we anchored 8:40pm to wait for 1.5m of tide at 9:30pm.
At 9:30pm, we raised the anchor and motored past the special mark with a least depth sounding of 1.7m. We anchored on the south side of Inskip Point at 9:45pm; virtually in the same spot we were thirteen hours prior.
I would like to get an early start tomorrow and leave around 7:00am so we are in a position to cross the bar from 7:30am (high tide is 10:39am) as we now have to sail 60nm or so to Mooloolaba.
End Loc: Inskip Point (25o 48.88'S, 153o 02.68'E)
Distance run: 5nm (cumulative: 3027nm)
Engine hours: 2 hr, 00 min (cumulative: 134 hr, 22 min)
Thursday, 12 January 2012
11th January, 2012
Start Loc: Urangan (25o 17.63'S, 152o 54.71'E)
Narrative: After sailing into Urangan last Sunday, we spent Monday doing the groceries and sorting some of the administration for our return (we have school to prepare for, a removal to do, utilities to sort out, etc). We decided we would do a day trip to Fraser Island while we were here, so on Tuesday morning we departed from Hervey Bay. After reaching the island at Wanggoolba Creek we went to Central Station and had a quick walk through the rainforest along Wanggoolba Creek. From there we went for a swim at Lake Mackenzie before lunch at the resort at Eurong. After lunch it was on to Seventy-Five Mile Beach. We stopped at the Maheno wreck and the coloured sands at The Pinnacles before stopping for a swim in Eli Creek. It was then back on to the 4WD coach for the trip back to the barge. The kids were happy to see a dingo cooling off in the sea and walking along the beach as we drove back down the beach. (It has been decided that after all the wildlife we have seen, the crocodiles have let themselves down!) We managed to get bogged on the way back to the barge and had to be pulled out by another 4WD coach. It was rushed, but not a bad day.
We had a bit of a sleep in today after a big day yesterday. After getting ready to go we cast off at 10:25am and moved around to the fuel wharf for our last fill up before Brisbane.
Refuelled: 49.38L @ 155.9c/L = $76.98
Economy since 29 Dec: 49.38L for 23 hr 58 min = 2.06L/hr
Economy overall: 652.42L for 321 hr 59 min = 2.03L/hr
We left the fuel wharf at 10:55am and motored out of the marina. We motored through the shallows around the top of the Great Sandy Strait before setting sail down the strait. The wind was NNE at 10-25kts, so it was good for sailing south. On the flip side, high tide was around 10:00am so we were heading into the current. Boat speed was generally 5-6kts, but speed over ground was 3-4kts. When SOG got too low we motor sailed to keep some speed up. We passed the yacht Carl (from Lady Musgrave) near the top of the strait and had an uneventful trip south. We anchored on the south side of Bookar Island (just west of South White Cliffs; 25o 30.90'S, 152o 57.53'E) at 4:05pm, having averaged 4.5kts over ground. We were just short of the shallowest part of the strait and almost on low tide, so waited for some tide to come back in.
I worked out that if we left at 7:45pm we would have about 1m of water under the keel to play with. We ate dinner as the sun set, then cleaned up and got ready to go again. Carl had left just after 7:00pm; I figured she would draw about the same as us and she appeared have got through no dramas. We raised the anchor at 7:45pm, switched from mooring light to navigation and steaming lights, and motored over the shallows without a problem. Heather was helping me navigate in the cockpit, while the kids stayed below and watched a movie. We passed Carl again just north of Garry's Anchorage. I was thinking of anchoring near Fig Tree Creek (just south of Garry's) but with the northerly winds it was a bit exposed. We sailed for a bit and motor sailed for a bit, and finally dropped anchor tucked in behind Inskip Point at 11:35pm. Carl was sailing in as I went to bed.
We are now in a position to cross the Wide Bay Bar just before tomorrow's high tide at 9:50am. There is a strong wind warning for outside as the southerly change comes through, but we should be fine tucked in behind Double Island Point. We will then make an early start on Friday for the 50nm trip to Mooloolaba. We will spend two nights there before the final leg home on Sunday 15th January.
End Loc: Inskip Point (25o 48.89'S, 153o 02.74'E)
Distance run: 45nm (cumulative: 3022nm)
Engine hours: 5 hr, 50 min (cumulative: 132 hr, 22 min)
Narrative: After sailing into Urangan last Sunday, we spent Monday doing the groceries and sorting some of the administration for our return (we have school to prepare for, a removal to do, utilities to sort out, etc). We decided we would do a day trip to Fraser Island while we were here, so on Tuesday morning we departed from Hervey Bay. After reaching the island at Wanggoolba Creek we went to Central Station and had a quick walk through the rainforest along Wanggoolba Creek. From there we went for a swim at Lake Mackenzie before lunch at the resort at Eurong. After lunch it was on to Seventy-Five Mile Beach. We stopped at the Maheno wreck and the coloured sands at The Pinnacles before stopping for a swim in Eli Creek. It was then back on to the 4WD coach for the trip back to the barge. The kids were happy to see a dingo cooling off in the sea and walking along the beach as we drove back down the beach. (It has been decided that after all the wildlife we have seen, the crocodiles have let themselves down!) We managed to get bogged on the way back to the barge and had to be pulled out by another 4WD coach. It was rushed, but not a bad day.
We had a bit of a sleep in today after a big day yesterday. After getting ready to go we cast off at 10:25am and moved around to the fuel wharf for our last fill up before Brisbane.
Refuelled: 49.38L @ 155.9c/L = $76.98
Economy since 29 Dec: 49.38L for 23 hr 58 min = 2.06L/hr
Economy overall: 652.42L for 321 hr 59 min = 2.03L/hr
We left the fuel wharf at 10:55am and motored out of the marina. We motored through the shallows around the top of the Great Sandy Strait before setting sail down the strait. The wind was NNE at 10-25kts, so it was good for sailing south. On the flip side, high tide was around 10:00am so we were heading into the current. Boat speed was generally 5-6kts, but speed over ground was 3-4kts. When SOG got too low we motor sailed to keep some speed up. We passed the yacht Carl (from Lady Musgrave) near the top of the strait and had an uneventful trip south. We anchored on the south side of Bookar Island (just west of South White Cliffs; 25o 30.90'S, 152o 57.53'E) at 4:05pm, having averaged 4.5kts over ground. We were just short of the shallowest part of the strait and almost on low tide, so waited for some tide to come back in.
I worked out that if we left at 7:45pm we would have about 1m of water under the keel to play with. We ate dinner as the sun set, then cleaned up and got ready to go again. Carl had left just after 7:00pm; I figured she would draw about the same as us and she appeared have got through no dramas. We raised the anchor at 7:45pm, switched from mooring light to navigation and steaming lights, and motored over the shallows without a problem. Heather was helping me navigate in the cockpit, while the kids stayed below and watched a movie. We passed Carl again just north of Garry's Anchorage. I was thinking of anchoring near Fig Tree Creek (just south of Garry's) but with the northerly winds it was a bit exposed. We sailed for a bit and motor sailed for a bit, and finally dropped anchor tucked in behind Inskip Point at 11:35pm. Carl was sailing in as I went to bed.
We are now in a position to cross the Wide Bay Bar just before tomorrow's high tide at 9:50am. There is a strong wind warning for outside as the southerly change comes through, but we should be fine tucked in behind Double Island Point. We will then make an early start on Friday for the 50nm trip to Mooloolaba. We will spend two nights there before the final leg home on Sunday 15th January.
End Loc: Inskip Point (25o 48.89'S, 153o 02.74'E)
Distance run: 45nm (cumulative: 3022nm)
Engine hours: 5 hr, 50 min (cumulative: 132 hr, 22 min)
Sunday, 8 January 2012
7th/8th January, 2012
Start Loc: Lady Elliot Island (24o 06.62'S, 152o 42.56'E)
Narrative: The water and coral surrounding Lady Elliot Island was beautiful. The water was spectacularly clear and the visibility was amazing. The snorkelling and scuba diving is clearly a big plus to Lady Elliot. As far as the anchorage goes, we have had much better. The island's fringing reef is not large and hence a swell rolls around the island. We were regularly beam on to the swell which made things a little uncomfortable at times. We also had to anchor in 15-18m of water, which means a lot of chain. The QLD government has established the standard reef protection buoys and you can't anchor inside them; no problems with that. What made it difficult was the 'private' mooring buoys the resort has established outside the reef protection buoys. They are absolutely not for public use, but nor were they used by the resort while we were there. These moorings are spread through the best spot to anchor, so we ended up dropping anchor where it suited us and and our swing room meant they couldn't have used two of their four moorings even if they wanted to. We were the only boat there and the resort personnel were surly towards us. To be fair, I am talking specifically of the dive and snorkelling boat operators. Throughout Friday and Saturday they were gradually passing closer and closer to us as they drove past, until they were unnecessarily passing within 10m of us and causing further rocking. The signs on the island also tell boaties they have landed on a private resort island, not to touch a thing and to report to reception. We were clearly unwelcome and it appeared the boat operators had been instructed to ensure we felt that way. It was very disappointing.
Anyway, we spent Saturday snorkelling, we went for a walk around the island and rested in the afternoon. We had decided we would leave by 10:00pm and sail through the night to Urangan. I had a snooze before dinner while the kids prepared the jack stays, harnesses and straps. We read after dinner and then got under way.
We raised the anchor at 9:40pm on Saturday night and motored down the west side of the island. The winds were initially E at 10-15kts. We set sail with two reefs in the main and 110% head sail. I wanted a course made good of 162 degrees magnetic. We were early in a flood tide so to maintain the course over ground we initially steered 155 degrees on the compass, but it gradually became 145 degrees as the tide got stronger. The wind strengthened to 20kts and our close reach had us making 6.5-7.5kts over ground.
The kids went to bed and Heather got some rest as well. Before midnight the wind had swung to NE and was steady on 20kts, so we were sailing on a beam reach making 6.5kts. After a couple of hours the wind dropped off to around 8kts, still NE-ish, and we were sailing on a close to beam reach. Our speed over ground was as low as 3.5kts for a period, but was generally 5-6kts.
I woke Heather up at 3:00am and she took over. During her watch the winds dropped a little more and speed dropped off. At about 5:30am we started motor sailing to assist the meagre winds.
The sun rose a little after 5:00am and I took over again at around 6:00am. Both the kids piked on doing a watch this time. The wind changed to NNE and sat in the 5-10kts range. Apparent wind was even less and I continued to motor sail with full canvas. When the wind reached N I put the head sail away and motor sailed with just the main. The wind remained low and the motor remained our main means of propulsion. We eventually dropped the main and motored into marina at 10:20am, and we were berthed by 10:27am.
It was a good night sail, and we averaged just under 6kts over ground. After washing all the salt off the boat, we had breakfast at a local cafe and rested.
End Loc: Urangan (25o 17.63'S, 152o 54.71'E)
Distance run: 75nm (cumulative: 2977nm)
Engine hours: 6 hr, 00 min (cumulative: 126 hr, 32 min)
Narrative: The water and coral surrounding Lady Elliot Island was beautiful. The water was spectacularly clear and the visibility was amazing. The snorkelling and scuba diving is clearly a big plus to Lady Elliot. As far as the anchorage goes, we have had much better. The island's fringing reef is not large and hence a swell rolls around the island. We were regularly beam on to the swell which made things a little uncomfortable at times. We also had to anchor in 15-18m of water, which means a lot of chain. The QLD government has established the standard reef protection buoys and you can't anchor inside them; no problems with that. What made it difficult was the 'private' mooring buoys the resort has established outside the reef protection buoys. They are absolutely not for public use, but nor were they used by the resort while we were there. These moorings are spread through the best spot to anchor, so we ended up dropping anchor where it suited us and and our swing room meant they couldn't have used two of their four moorings even if they wanted to. We were the only boat there and the resort personnel were surly towards us. To be fair, I am talking specifically of the dive and snorkelling boat operators. Throughout Friday and Saturday they were gradually passing closer and closer to us as they drove past, until they were unnecessarily passing within 10m of us and causing further rocking. The signs on the island also tell boaties they have landed on a private resort island, not to touch a thing and to report to reception. We were clearly unwelcome and it appeared the boat operators had been instructed to ensure we felt that way. It was very disappointing.
Anyway, we spent Saturday snorkelling, we went for a walk around the island and rested in the afternoon. We had decided we would leave by 10:00pm and sail through the night to Urangan. I had a snooze before dinner while the kids prepared the jack stays, harnesses and straps. We read after dinner and then got under way.
We raised the anchor at 9:40pm on Saturday night and motored down the west side of the island. The winds were initially E at 10-15kts. We set sail with two reefs in the main and 110% head sail. I wanted a course made good of 162 degrees magnetic. We were early in a flood tide so to maintain the course over ground we initially steered 155 degrees on the compass, but it gradually became 145 degrees as the tide got stronger. The wind strengthened to 20kts and our close reach had us making 6.5-7.5kts over ground.
The kids went to bed and Heather got some rest as well. Before midnight the wind had swung to NE and was steady on 20kts, so we were sailing on a beam reach making 6.5kts. After a couple of hours the wind dropped off to around 8kts, still NE-ish, and we were sailing on a close to beam reach. Our speed over ground was as low as 3.5kts for a period, but was generally 5-6kts.
I woke Heather up at 3:00am and she took over. During her watch the winds dropped a little more and speed dropped off. At about 5:30am we started motor sailing to assist the meagre winds.
The sun rose a little after 5:00am and I took over again at around 6:00am. Both the kids piked on doing a watch this time. The wind changed to NNE and sat in the 5-10kts range. Apparent wind was even less and I continued to motor sail with full canvas. When the wind reached N I put the head sail away and motor sailed with just the main. The wind remained low and the motor remained our main means of propulsion. We eventually dropped the main and motored into marina at 10:20am, and we were berthed by 10:27am.
It was a good night sail, and we averaged just under 6kts over ground. After washing all the salt off the boat, we had breakfast at a local cafe and rested.
End Loc: Urangan (25o 17.63'S, 152o 54.71'E)
Distance run: 75nm (cumulative: 2977nm)
Engine hours: 6 hr, 00 min (cumulative: 126 hr, 32 min)
6th January, 2012
Start Loc: Lady Musgrave Island (23o 54.22'S, 152o 24.04'E)
Narrative: We had a great few days at Lady Musgrave Island. The weather was fantastic with plenty of sunshine. The water was warm and clear. We were the only boat anchored in the Lagoon when we arrived on Tuesday, but the wind dropped off a bit on Wednesday as forecast and that night we had 11 boats in the Lagoon. It was a nice calm anchorage.
We went ashore just after 4:00am on Wednesday morning. As well as the turtles (mainly Green, but a few Loggerheads as well), there are currently thousands of Noddies (birds) nesting on the island at the moment. As we entered the trees to walk on the path to the other side of the island (where the turtles nest) we were swooped by several Noddies; they flew into us but didn't hurt. I worked out they were attracted by the white light of my head lamp, so I switched to red light and they left us alone. We got to the other side of the island and saw numerous turtle tracks and several turtles at various stages of nesting. We met up with Jim who took us to one Green Turtle who was digging her hole to lay eggs. They are easily disturbed and scared off when they are coming up the beach and digging their holes, but very nonchalant once they are laying and covering the nest. We crept up behind her to stay out of sight and sat a metre or so away as she was digging. Jim said that he would be very surprised if she laid her eggs as it was now getting light. The sand was also very dry, so she may not have been able to get the right shape for the egg chamber. As Haydee put it, "Well, Jim sure did get a surprise." We were fortunate enough to see her lay her eggs in daylight. Jim was very informative. The kids got to handle one of the turtle's eggs, they patted her while she laid, and we left her as she finished covering up the nest. It was a great experience. We spent the rest of the day relaxing; we read, the kids watched a movie, Cam and I went snorkelling, Heather and I snoozed ... It was terrible. We went ashore again just after 7:00pm (high tide is currently around last light and first light, so the turtles are switching to the evening high tide to come ashore) and saw a few more turtles, including one that invested a bit of time digging a nest but then wasn't happy with it so moved to another location. We didn't get to see any hatchlings though, which is what we were hoping for. We ran the engine for 34 minutes.
Thursday was another relaxing day. I was talking with Harold off the yacht Carl and we arranged to go snorkelling and spear fishing. Haydee, Cam and I went along, as well as Harold and his two boys Mario and Rossco. I have never spear fished before and it took me two shots to learn the aim off. We came back after a couple of hours with three sweetlips and a good lobster. Cam and I went ashore again on Thursday night. We saw a dozen or so turtles throughout the evening, including this time watching a Loggerhead lay her eggs. She was also tagged. We gave Jim the details (tag number, location, date) of the tagged turtle we saw swimming around Low Islands. He will pass the details on and we can then email him to get her history. It was a bit overcast Wednesday and Thursday, so we ran the engine for 55 minutes on Thursday.
We checked the weather forecast and decided that today we would head to Lady Elliot Island, and hopefully from there we would be able to sail to Urangan at Hervey Bay. The lagoon at Lady Musgrave was calm and we could clearly see the bottom in 8.5m of water. We were a bit disappointed to be leaving, but we must move on. We raised the anchor at 9:28am, motored out of the lagoon and around the east side of the coral. The forecast wind strength (5-10kts) was correct but wind direction (E/NE) wasn't; we had SE winds. Once on our course for Lady Elliot the wind was almost right on our nose and sitting around 10kts. We motored the whole way to Lady Elliot Island.
As we motored we saw several pods of dolphins on the hunt for food. Several times they peeled off to check us out and play at the bow of the boat, but never for long as there was plenty of food about for them.
By 11:00am Lady Musgrave Island had disappeared over the horizon. It was a nice clear day and there was nothing but water in sight. We arrived at Lady Elliot Island at 1:00pm and were anchored by 1:09pm.
The water was spectacularly clear. I went for a swim to check the anchor and could clearly see it 15m below me on the bottom. We saw plenty of marine life including fish, shovel nose sharks, dolphins, rays and turtles. We spent the afternoon reading and swimming, and I scrubbed all the slime off the hull around the waterline.
At this stage the plan is to stay here tomorrow morning, to go ashore, snorkel and rest. We will then head off at some stage in the evening and sail through the night the 70nm or so to Urangan.
End Loc: Lady Elliot Island (24o 06.62'S, 152o 42.56'E)
Distance run: 24nm (cumulative: 2902nm)
Engine hours: 4 hr, 19 min (cumulative: 120 hr, 32 min)
Narrative: We had a great few days at Lady Musgrave Island. The weather was fantastic with plenty of sunshine. The water was warm and clear. We were the only boat anchored in the Lagoon when we arrived on Tuesday, but the wind dropped off a bit on Wednesday as forecast and that night we had 11 boats in the Lagoon. It was a nice calm anchorage.
We went ashore just after 4:00am on Wednesday morning. As well as the turtles (mainly Green, but a few Loggerheads as well), there are currently thousands of Noddies (birds) nesting on the island at the moment. As we entered the trees to walk on the path to the other side of the island (where the turtles nest) we were swooped by several Noddies; they flew into us but didn't hurt. I worked out they were attracted by the white light of my head lamp, so I switched to red light and they left us alone. We got to the other side of the island and saw numerous turtle tracks and several turtles at various stages of nesting. We met up with Jim who took us to one Green Turtle who was digging her hole to lay eggs. They are easily disturbed and scared off when they are coming up the beach and digging their holes, but very nonchalant once they are laying and covering the nest. We crept up behind her to stay out of sight and sat a metre or so away as she was digging. Jim said that he would be very surprised if she laid her eggs as it was now getting light. The sand was also very dry, so she may not have been able to get the right shape for the egg chamber. As Haydee put it, "Well, Jim sure did get a surprise." We were fortunate enough to see her lay her eggs in daylight. Jim was very informative. The kids got to handle one of the turtle's eggs, they patted her while she laid, and we left her as she finished covering up the nest. It was a great experience. We spent the rest of the day relaxing; we read, the kids watched a movie, Cam and I went snorkelling, Heather and I snoozed ... It was terrible. We went ashore again just after 7:00pm (high tide is currently around last light and first light, so the turtles are switching to the evening high tide to come ashore) and saw a few more turtles, including one that invested a bit of time digging a nest but then wasn't happy with it so moved to another location. We didn't get to see any hatchlings though, which is what we were hoping for. We ran the engine for 34 minutes.
Thursday was another relaxing day. I was talking with Harold off the yacht Carl and we arranged to go snorkelling and spear fishing. Haydee, Cam and I went along, as well as Harold and his two boys Mario and Rossco. I have never spear fished before and it took me two shots to learn the aim off. We came back after a couple of hours with three sweetlips and a good lobster. Cam and I went ashore again on Thursday night. We saw a dozen or so turtles throughout the evening, including this time watching a Loggerhead lay her eggs. She was also tagged. We gave Jim the details (tag number, location, date) of the tagged turtle we saw swimming around Low Islands. He will pass the details on and we can then email him to get her history. It was a bit overcast Wednesday and Thursday, so we ran the engine for 55 minutes on Thursday.
We checked the weather forecast and decided that today we would head to Lady Elliot Island, and hopefully from there we would be able to sail to Urangan at Hervey Bay. The lagoon at Lady Musgrave was calm and we could clearly see the bottom in 8.5m of water. We were a bit disappointed to be leaving, but we must move on. We raised the anchor at 9:28am, motored out of the lagoon and around the east side of the coral. The forecast wind strength (5-10kts) was correct but wind direction (E/NE) wasn't; we had SE winds. Once on our course for Lady Elliot the wind was almost right on our nose and sitting around 10kts. We motored the whole way to Lady Elliot Island.
As we motored we saw several pods of dolphins on the hunt for food. Several times they peeled off to check us out and play at the bow of the boat, but never for long as there was plenty of food about for them.
By 11:00am Lady Musgrave Island had disappeared over the horizon. It was a nice clear day and there was nothing but water in sight. We arrived at Lady Elliot Island at 1:00pm and were anchored by 1:09pm.
The water was spectacularly clear. I went for a swim to check the anchor and could clearly see it 15m below me on the bottom. We saw plenty of marine life including fish, shovel nose sharks, dolphins, rays and turtles. We spent the afternoon reading and swimming, and I scrubbed all the slime off the hull around the waterline.
At this stage the plan is to stay here tomorrow morning, to go ashore, snorkel and rest. We will then head off at some stage in the evening and sail through the night the 70nm or so to Urangan.
End Loc: Lady Elliot Island (24o 06.62'S, 152o 42.56'E)
Distance run: 24nm (cumulative: 2902nm)
Engine hours: 4 hr, 19 min (cumulative: 120 hr, 32 min)
3rd January, 2012
Start Loc: Pancake Creek (24o 01.97'S, 151o 14.62'E)
Narrative: We got our reasonably early start this morning, raising the anchor at 7:06am and motoring out of the creek. The wind was SE at around 10kts but I was expecting stronger once it was not affected by the land, so we set 110% head sail and one reef in the main and set a course to take us between Middle and Outer Rocks off Bustard Head. Just after clearing the rocks the wind was over 15kts. We furled the head sail to 100% and put the second reef in the main, and the wind was soon at 20kts.
With the wind from around 160 degrees and our heading of 080 degrees, we sailed nicely on a close reach. For the first couple of hours we made 7-7.5kts over ground. The wind slowly swung and finally settled on around 120 degrees, so we were close hauled but still sailing in the direction we wanted. We remained close hauled for the rest of the trip. The wind strength varied between 10kts and 20kts, so our speed over ground varied between 3.5kts and 6.5kts. We averaged just under 6kts for the trip. The seas were around 2.5m on top of a 1.5m swell, so it was a bit rough.
Due to our change of plans we are probably short a couple of dinners. We have plenty of packet and tinned food to pull several meals together, but I decided I would try to catch a fish. We haven't towed a lure for a while due to the rough conditions we have had. Being a sail boat and not a fishing boat, it can be difficult to land any fish we may catch. Despite Heather's protests I put two lures out the back. We had a strike and hook up on our cheap but successful lure on the 60lb line. With one hand on the helm I used the other to slow the reel down as it ran out, but it snapped pretty quickly. I didn't get the chance to luff up and we were sailing at 6kts through the water, so there was a lot of strain on the line. Fortunately it snapped down near the trace so while I lost the fish and lure, I kept most of the line. A couple of hours later we had a hook up on the other lure on the 40lb line. This time we managed to luff up and bleed boat speed. I got a fair amount of line back on the reel and Heather and the kids were starting to furl the head sail when the fish swam under the boat and snapped the line on the keel. With two fish and two lures gone, me wondering what got away, and Heather doing her best not to say, "I told you it was stupid idea!", we sailed on to Lady Musgrave. Overall though it was a great sail, and the fishing was worth a shot.
We had just about lost sight of the highest peaks of the mainland and were 8nm from Lady Musgrave, when we could start to make out the island on the horizon; but only when we were on the crest of a wave. At 4nm we started to be able to see the beach. Once we came in on the north side of the island we were protected from the waves but still had the wind, so we sailed very comfortably along the northern face of the island and coral to the entrance to the lagoon. We dropped sail at 2:15pm and motored through the entrance into the lagoon. The entrance is deep; we had over 8m of water with 2.5m of tide. Heather and Cameron were at the bow on lookout as we motored towards the island to anchor. They saw a small coral bommie, then realised it was a large Green Turtle as it swam away. We put a marker buoy and recovery rope on the anchor just in case, and were anchored by 2:55pm.
Cameron and I went ashore for a look around and spoke to Jim from Queensland Turtle Research. He said it was a slow season, but we decided that with high tide at 5:04am tomorrow we would get up early to see if we would be lucky enough to see some turtles nesting.
End Loc: Lady Musgrave Island (23o 54.22'S, 152o 24.04'E)
Distance run: 41nm (cumulative: 2878nm)
Engine hours: 1 hr, 24 min (cumulative: 114 hr, 46 min)
Narrative: We got our reasonably early start this morning, raising the anchor at 7:06am and motoring out of the creek. The wind was SE at around 10kts but I was expecting stronger once it was not affected by the land, so we set 110% head sail and one reef in the main and set a course to take us between Middle and Outer Rocks off Bustard Head. Just after clearing the rocks the wind was over 15kts. We furled the head sail to 100% and put the second reef in the main, and the wind was soon at 20kts.
With the wind from around 160 degrees and our heading of 080 degrees, we sailed nicely on a close reach. For the first couple of hours we made 7-7.5kts over ground. The wind slowly swung and finally settled on around 120 degrees, so we were close hauled but still sailing in the direction we wanted. We remained close hauled for the rest of the trip. The wind strength varied between 10kts and 20kts, so our speed over ground varied between 3.5kts and 6.5kts. We averaged just under 6kts for the trip. The seas were around 2.5m on top of a 1.5m swell, so it was a bit rough.
Due to our change of plans we are probably short a couple of dinners. We have plenty of packet and tinned food to pull several meals together, but I decided I would try to catch a fish. We haven't towed a lure for a while due to the rough conditions we have had. Being a sail boat and not a fishing boat, it can be difficult to land any fish we may catch. Despite Heather's protests I put two lures out the back. We had a strike and hook up on our cheap but successful lure on the 60lb line. With one hand on the helm I used the other to slow the reel down as it ran out, but it snapped pretty quickly. I didn't get the chance to luff up and we were sailing at 6kts through the water, so there was a lot of strain on the line. Fortunately it snapped down near the trace so while I lost the fish and lure, I kept most of the line. A couple of hours later we had a hook up on the other lure on the 40lb line. This time we managed to luff up and bleed boat speed. I got a fair amount of line back on the reel and Heather and the kids were starting to furl the head sail when the fish swam under the boat and snapped the line on the keel. With two fish and two lures gone, me wondering what got away, and Heather doing her best not to say, "I told you it was stupid idea!", we sailed on to Lady Musgrave. Overall though it was a great sail, and the fishing was worth a shot.
We had just about lost sight of the highest peaks of the mainland and were 8nm from Lady Musgrave, when we could start to make out the island on the horizon; but only when we were on the crest of a wave. At 4nm we started to be able to see the beach. Once we came in on the north side of the island we were protected from the waves but still had the wind, so we sailed very comfortably along the northern face of the island and coral to the entrance to the lagoon. We dropped sail at 2:15pm and motored through the entrance into the lagoon. The entrance is deep; we had over 8m of water with 2.5m of tide. Heather and Cameron were at the bow on lookout as we motored towards the island to anchor. They saw a small coral bommie, then realised it was a large Green Turtle as it swam away. We put a marker buoy and recovery rope on the anchor just in case, and were anchored by 2:55pm.
Cameron and I went ashore for a look around and spoke to Jim from Queensland Turtle Research. He said it was a slow season, but we decided that with high tide at 5:04am tomorrow we would get up early to see if we would be lucky enough to see some turtles nesting.
End Loc: Lady Musgrave Island (23o 54.22'S, 152o 24.04'E)
Distance run: 41nm (cumulative: 2878nm)
Engine hours: 1 hr, 24 min (cumulative: 114 hr, 46 min)
Monday, 2 January 2012
2nd January, 2012
Start Loc: Gladstone Marina (23o 49.96'S, 151o 44.46'E)
Narrative: We spent yesterday relaxing; we read, caught up on some sleep and played in the park. The marina office was open so we were able to fix up our bill and get a key to the facilities. We then went for a walk to get some bread and milk, but all the shops were closed. Even three service stations were closed!
We wanted to get an early start today for two reasons; the winds were forecast to be weaker early, and I wanted to get a few hours assistance from the outgoing tide to help us get out of the Gladstone pilotage area. To that end, I filled the water tanks and did as much as I could last night. I then got up at 4:00am this morning, had a bowl of cereal, did some final boat preparation, made a couple of brews and woke up Heather. We cast off at 4:55am, motored out of the marina and notified Gladstone Harbour Control of our intentions.
The wind was around 10kts and the seas were reasonably flat, so it was quite comfortable. We put out full head sail and sailed the last couple of miles past the loading docks to the main channel. When we reached the channel I altered course to starboard slightly, we raised full main sail, and sailed close hauled on a heading of 120 degrees magnetic, paralleling the channel. The wind was still 10kts from 160 degrees.
After a few miles, once we were past Facing Island, the wind had increased to around 15kts and moved slightly more east, so we put two reefs in the main but kept full head sail. As we approached Jenny Lind Bank it had increased again to around 20kts and swung slightly more east again, so we furled the head sail to 100%. A few miles past Jenny Lind Banks we informed Gladstone Harbour that we were leaving the pilotage area.
As the wind picked up, so did the waves. Throughout the sail the wind continued to gradually swing east. By the time we were due to tack south to sail in towards Clews Point the wind was blowing 20kts from 120 degrees and we were close hauled on 080 degrees. Our GPS track on the plotter had a nice steady curve on it! We were just over 5nm off Clews Point when we tacked south, and we dropped sail just under one mile out. We were approaching the Clews Point leads and the first starboard lateral mark at 11:30am.
We had 1.4m of tide as we entered the channel into Pancake Creek and the least depth we had on the sounder was 3.4m, so we had plenty of water on an flood tide. We had three unsuccessful attempts at anchoring off the beach but were hampered by wind and tide working against each other. We figure that when we reversed to bed the anchor in we were just pulling it sideways so it couldn't grip. We moved further upstream and away from the beach closer to the sandbank and tried there. Our fourth attempt was successful so after 25 minutes and four failed attempts, we were finally anchored at 12:20pm.
We all relaxed again this afternoon, reading and snoozing. We were thinking of staying here tomorrow and seeing if we could get a tour of the Bustard Head Lighthouse (the caretaker was not around last time we were here), but this afternoon's forecast said SE winds at 15-20kts tomorrow and changing E/SE for Wednesday and Thursday. A SE wind will allow us to easily sail to Lady Musgrave Island, whereas if we wait and it becomes too easterly we will have problems. The end result is we will head off reasonably early tomorrow and sail to Lady Musgrave, with the plan being to be anchored inside the coral lagoon by 3:00pm.
End Loc: Pancake Creek (24o 01.97'S, 151o 14.62'E)
Distance run: 37nm (cumulative: 2837nm)
Engine hours: 1 hr, 54 min (cumulative: 113 hr, 22 min)
Narrative: We spent yesterday relaxing; we read, caught up on some sleep and played in the park. The marina office was open so we were able to fix up our bill and get a key to the facilities. We then went for a walk to get some bread and milk, but all the shops were closed. Even three service stations were closed!
We wanted to get an early start today for two reasons; the winds were forecast to be weaker early, and I wanted to get a few hours assistance from the outgoing tide to help us get out of the Gladstone pilotage area. To that end, I filled the water tanks and did as much as I could last night. I then got up at 4:00am this morning, had a bowl of cereal, did some final boat preparation, made a couple of brews and woke up Heather. We cast off at 4:55am, motored out of the marina and notified Gladstone Harbour Control of our intentions.
The wind was around 10kts and the seas were reasonably flat, so it was quite comfortable. We put out full head sail and sailed the last couple of miles past the loading docks to the main channel. When we reached the channel I altered course to starboard slightly, we raised full main sail, and sailed close hauled on a heading of 120 degrees magnetic, paralleling the channel. The wind was still 10kts from 160 degrees.
After a few miles, once we were past Facing Island, the wind had increased to around 15kts and moved slightly more east, so we put two reefs in the main but kept full head sail. As we approached Jenny Lind Bank it had increased again to around 20kts and swung slightly more east again, so we furled the head sail to 100%. A few miles past Jenny Lind Banks we informed Gladstone Harbour that we were leaving the pilotage area.
As the wind picked up, so did the waves. Throughout the sail the wind continued to gradually swing east. By the time we were due to tack south to sail in towards Clews Point the wind was blowing 20kts from 120 degrees and we were close hauled on 080 degrees. Our GPS track on the plotter had a nice steady curve on it! We were just over 5nm off Clews Point when we tacked south, and we dropped sail just under one mile out. We were approaching the Clews Point leads and the first starboard lateral mark at 11:30am.
We had 1.4m of tide as we entered the channel into Pancake Creek and the least depth we had on the sounder was 3.4m, so we had plenty of water on an flood tide. We had three unsuccessful attempts at anchoring off the beach but were hampered by wind and tide working against each other. We figure that when we reversed to bed the anchor in we were just pulling it sideways so it couldn't grip. We moved further upstream and away from the beach closer to the sandbank and tried there. Our fourth attempt was successful so after 25 minutes and four failed attempts, we were finally anchored at 12:20pm.
We all relaxed again this afternoon, reading and snoozing. We were thinking of staying here tomorrow and seeing if we could get a tour of the Bustard Head Lighthouse (the caretaker was not around last time we were here), but this afternoon's forecast said SE winds at 15-20kts tomorrow and changing E/SE for Wednesday and Thursday. A SE wind will allow us to easily sail to Lady Musgrave Island, whereas if we wait and it becomes too easterly we will have problems. The end result is we will head off reasonably early tomorrow and sail to Lady Musgrave, with the plan being to be anchored inside the coral lagoon by 3:00pm.
End Loc: Pancake Creek (24o 01.97'S, 151o 14.62'E)
Distance run: 37nm (cumulative: 2837nm)
Engine hours: 1 hr, 54 min (cumulative: 113 hr, 22 min)
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