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)