We were sorry to leave Magnetic Island, a super spot. But we must keep going and we motored out of the bay into a windless ocean. We need to be in Darwin by July 7 as we have joined the Indonesia Rally that leaves on July 23 for Kapang Indonesia, and we need at least 2 weeks to get ready and get our Visa's. So we can't dilly dally too much.
The forecast was for very light wind today and we ended up motoring almost all the 37 miles to Orpheus island in the Palm island group. We heard a warning on the VHF radio that the navy was conducting live firing on a nearby island and to keep clear of island by 5 miles and we were just 5 miles from it. When we arrived at Orpheus we took a mooring ball that was available and went ashore for a walk on the small beach. There was a total of 3 buoys here and 1 on other side of bay. The mooring balls are placed so boats don't damage the coral with their anchors.
A SW wind came up about 4:30 am and made anchorage a quite bouncy so we took of at first light. The next stop was to be Hitchenbrook Island about 30 miles away. We had a great sail all the way to our next anchorage. The weather has been great, sunny and not too hot and quite cool in evenings, perfect. The last couple of stops we have been seeing some hurricane damage to the trees from the Cat 5 cyclone that hit here a few months ago. The trees all look beat up and lots of debris on beach's.
It was another early start to do the 37 miles to Mourilyan harbor on the Moresby river. More great sailing, the wind dead behind at 20 knots. We arrived earlier than we thought we would since the sailing was so good and had time to go ashore by the sugar mill and walk up the road for a bit. There is nothing much in this bay except the big sugar mill and dock to load ships. There is a small store of sorts that also sells fuel a few minutes walk up road.
The dinghy landing at boat ramp has a sign warning to watch for crocodiles and we realize we will have to start being careful near the waters edges between here and Darwin.
Another crack of dawn start saw us heading out of the harbour and into a great SE wind that made the miles fly by. Next stop Fitzroy Island, just 12 miles from Cairns, our next major stop. The 48 miles flew by and we dropped anchor in a nice bay off a little resort village on Fitzroys West side about 2:30pm. Another super day of sailing and perfect weather. We hiked up a trail to the highest bump on the island 250 meters high.
The next morning we made a leisurely start to do the 12 miles to Cairns. It was great morning sail and we arrived just before noon. The anchorage off Marlin Marina had some room and for the first time we just could not get our anchor to set. It would start to drag every time we backed down on it. The bottom, judging by the evidence on our anchor was hard clay. After the fourth attempt we let the boat drift back but did not try to set it. Times like this it would be nice to have other than a manual windlass. The boat stayed put and I dinghed Dorothy over to town for groceries and I went back to the boat in case we dragged. I noticed we were very slowly moving according to the GPS. Dorothy called on the handheld radio 2 hours later to be picked up and then we moved further out of the harbor and got a secure anchor in for the night. We are going to go into the marina tomorrow for a treat as this may be the last chance for a marina for many months.
We have done 730 of the 2000 miles to Darwin so not even half way yet. The last week has been really enjoyable with all the great anchorages and super weather and sailing conditions. We will being doing more overnight sails after we leave Cairns, to get the miles in. There is not many places to stop along the North Coast of Australia, it is mostly wildnerness and alot of it is Aboriginal peoples land and we can' land without a special permit. Parts of the ocean are not even properly charted yet.
Cairns is the last big town to get good provisions before Darwin. Also after leaving Cairns we may not have any email or internet access for several weeks at a time.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Airlie Beach to Magnetic Island 19deg Latitude
We listened to the news on radio at dinner time and they said at 610pm you would be able to see the space station and shuttle go buy in sky. Sure enough at 611pm just before full dark we saw the bright light of the station like a large star move across the sky and the space shuttle behind it, cool.
In Morning moved to another buoy on North end of Island so Dorothy could try snorkeling. We tryed several spots for snorkeling but due to all the wind the water was not that clear and the snorkeling was not as good as we have seen in other places. The last night here the wind was calmer at night and the mooring ball was banging against the side of the boat of and on which ruined our sleep somewhat.
We left shortly after daylight for the 133 mile run up to Magnetic Island beside Townsville. It was a tough sail all day as we had strong winds which were interrupted every hour by a large rain squall that would come up behind us with lots of extra wind so we would have to rush and reef down before it came and wait for it to past so we lost a lot of time. See above picture of an approaching rain squall. The night sail was a better as the wind was more steady with just a bit of rain and we had a near full moon through the clouds. We stayed near the land as we neared Townsville so would be out of the shipping lane and I saw four go by during my night watch.
The final few miles were a pleasant sail right to Magnetic Island. We motored the last bit into our anchorage and dropped the hook in a beautiful little bay with a small village on the waterfront. We had a short nap and went ashore to explore and found a small grocery store and several tourist type shops catering to business from close by Townsville. Later we found a hiking trail at east end of beach that took us up over a hill to another beach. This is a great anchorage and place to stay a couple of days.
INFO
After Arlie beach we moved to Stonehaven anchorage on W side of Hook Island and picked up a free mooring buoy not too bouncy. There were a lot of strong wind bullets in hear, but just an anoyance no real problem. You can anchor if you stay outside the line marked by white buoys. Our buoy located at 20 05.400 148 54.394.
Next day moved to Buttercup bay on Hook island at N end. We snorkled where we saw the tour boats take people but were not too impressed. Also dinged over to next bay East to snorkel . Spent night on buoy at 20 04.334 148 55.814.
Sailed to Magnetic island 130 miles away. We anchored in Horseshoe bay for 2 nights, was good anchorage, just very stlightly bouncy. Can get internet at boat with our Telstra modem in computer and there is a small grocery store, couple small restarants, and water taps on beach and garbage cans. Anchored in 18ft at 19 06.645S 146 51.574E.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Arrived in Airlie Beach 20 deg Latitiude
The repair on our holding tank for engine went well, the welder used silver solder and managed a successful weld on the copper neck. That was Saturday morning and I installed the tank immediately, checked every thing out and we then got under way by 2pm hoping to get to Great Keppel island tomorrow afternoon.
The winds were a bit on the light side so it was slow sailing, we motored a bit and sailed abit and then about midnight the wind switched around so it was on the nose. It was a pitch black night, no moon and cloudy. We motored a bit more and then more sailing and then sailed slowly most of next day but could not make the island before dark. As we neared Great Keppel to try and anchor in the dark the wind switched back to the north which is unusual for this time of year. A North wind makes this anchorage dangerous and the wind picked up to 20 knots and rained started so we gave up on going in here and just kept going. It made for a long night as we thought we would be in bed by now. We kept going and late the next afternoon pulled into Port Clinton. There are few protected anchorages on this stretch of coast and this was one of them. It was not a really pretty spot but we were glad to get the hook down and rest.
The SW winds arrived next morning and we headed out after a lazy breakfast to catch the tide out of the entrance to port Clinton. We headed for Pearl bay only 5 miles away. Had a pleasant sail there and launched the dinghy to go ashore for a walk up and down the long beach. A beautiful place and perfect day.
We were up at 2:45AM to do the 50 miles to S Percy island next morning. After motoring for an hour the wind got up and we were soon sailing along nicely. Dolphins played of the bow for a while until they tired of our slow speed. We got some reading done, had a nap and enjoyed the relaxing sailing. We arrived at our anchorage in the late afternoon and dropped the hook of another great beach with time to go ashore for a walk.
The next morning we were off by 6:45am, not quite so early as yesterday. We were headed for The Island of Curlew which had been recommended to us by several people. We did not even start the engine this morning but sailed right off the anchor as no one was around to see us if we screwed up. The wind came up stronger than it has been and we soon had 2 reefs in main and we made a fast passage and dropped anchor in time for a late lunch.
Next morning it was another early start to get to Scawfell island 48 miles. Saw the big dipper in the sky for the first time since last year so must be getting closer to the equator. Had more good sailing today with winds behind us as usual. Often a beam reach or sailing wing on wing with the head sail poled out.
Next stop was Lindeman island as we wanted to be close to the protected Cid harbour as the winds were suppose to come up to 30 knots for next few days. Next morning we left Lindeman and were soon down to our 3rd reef in main as we left the lee of the island. It was very rough steep seas and we healed right over in the strong winds. Not relaxing sailing today, hand steered all the way in the gusty winds. It was a fast passage to Cid harbour on Whitsunday island. These islands are the most popular with sailors on the east coast. We went ashore later and climbed the 450 meter Whitsunday peak witch had fantastic views from the top. The next morning we headed across the channel and to Airlie Beach 15 miles away. We were getting gale force winds at times and had a rough ride over. My hand held wind instrument had a steady 30 to 35 knots with some 40 knots. We did 6 to 8 knots all the way across with 3 reefs in and a bit of genoa out for balance, which is fast for our steel boat. Airlie beach has a good protected anchorage though a bit bouncy in the strong winds as we were out a bit far. We now got our first Internet in a week and made a trip to shore for fresh food.
INFO
Anchorage in port Clinton about 160 miles beyond Bundaberg is good, nice you you can have the tide with you when entering though not necessary. We anchored in 28 ft at 22 32.542 150 45.322 Not a interesting spot nothing here. The next anchorage a Pearl bay 5 miles further is much nicer, not quite as protected, anchored in 16 ft at low tide at 22 26.634 150 43.985.
Next stop South Percy island is very nice as well, good anchorage in prevailing winds. Anchored in 28ft at 21 44.209 150 18.556 Had not Internet at the last 3 stops, got some at port Clinton.
Next stop Curlew island 29 miles away. This is a good anchorage and great spot. The chart plotter is off quite abit here, the depths and bay is a lot bigger and deeper than chart plotter shows, use your eyes and depth sounder when entering, no problem, don't trust plotter. Anchored in 35ft at 21 35.545 149 47.781E.
Scawfell 48 miles away is great also anchored in 30 ft at 20 51.623 149 35.946
Lindeman was next stop, Shaw probably better and has Internet I hear, but we went here to be close to Cid Harbour for next stop as winds coming up also wanted to do a hike. Note Shaw and Lindeman are part of the renowned Whitsudnay Islands. It got bouncy during night as wind came up should have been into bay a bit more. Anchored at 30 ft at 20 26.057 149 01.620 We went ashore and did a hike up Mt Oldfield as needed the exercise.
Next did the 15 miles to Cid Harbour on Whitsunday island and was well protected in the strong winds. We anchored in 30 ft 20 15.684 148 56.460. We did the hike up mt Whitsunday a 2 hour round trip. No Internet here, almost but not quite work.
Next stop Airlie Beach 15 miles away. Anchored in 18 ft at 20 15.542 148 43.131 good Internet here and shopping.
The winds were a bit on the light side so it was slow sailing, we motored a bit and sailed abit and then about midnight the wind switched around so it was on the nose. It was a pitch black night, no moon and cloudy. We motored a bit more and then more sailing and then sailed slowly most of next day but could not make the island before dark. As we neared Great Keppel to try and anchor in the dark the wind switched back to the north which is unusual for this time of year. A North wind makes this anchorage dangerous and the wind picked up to 20 knots and rained started so we gave up on going in here and just kept going. It made for a long night as we thought we would be in bed by now. We kept going and late the next afternoon pulled into Port Clinton. There are few protected anchorages on this stretch of coast and this was one of them. It was not a really pretty spot but we were glad to get the hook down and rest.
The SW winds arrived next morning and we headed out after a lazy breakfast to catch the tide out of the entrance to port Clinton. We headed for Pearl bay only 5 miles away. Had a pleasant sail there and launched the dinghy to go ashore for a walk up and down the long beach. A beautiful place and perfect day.
We were up at 2:45AM to do the 50 miles to S Percy island next morning. After motoring for an hour the wind got up and we were soon sailing along nicely. Dolphins played of the bow for a while until they tired of our slow speed. We got some reading done, had a nap and enjoyed the relaxing sailing. We arrived at our anchorage in the late afternoon and dropped the hook of another great beach with time to go ashore for a walk.
The next morning we were off by 6:45am, not quite so early as yesterday. We were headed for The Island of Curlew which had been recommended to us by several people. We did not even start the engine this morning but sailed right off the anchor as no one was around to see us if we screwed up. The wind came up stronger than it has been and we soon had 2 reefs in main and we made a fast passage and dropped anchor in time for a late lunch.
Next morning it was another early start to get to Scawfell island 48 miles. Saw the big dipper in the sky for the first time since last year so must be getting closer to the equator. Had more good sailing today with winds behind us as usual. Often a beam reach or sailing wing on wing with the head sail poled out.
Next stop was Lindeman island as we wanted to be close to the protected Cid harbour as the winds were suppose to come up to 30 knots for next few days. Next morning we left Lindeman and were soon down to our 3rd reef in main as we left the lee of the island. It was very rough steep seas and we healed right over in the strong winds. Not relaxing sailing today, hand steered all the way in the gusty winds. It was a fast passage to Cid harbour on Whitsunday island. These islands are the most popular with sailors on the east coast. We went ashore later and climbed the 450 meter Whitsunday peak witch had fantastic views from the top. The next morning we headed across the channel and to Airlie Beach 15 miles away. We were getting gale force winds at times and had a rough ride over. My hand held wind instrument had a steady 30 to 35 knots with some 40 knots. We did 6 to 8 knots all the way across with 3 reefs in and a bit of genoa out for balance, which is fast for our steel boat. Airlie beach has a good protected anchorage though a bit bouncy in the strong winds as we were out a bit far. We now got our first Internet in a week and made a trip to shore for fresh food.
INFO
Anchorage in port Clinton about 160 miles beyond Bundaberg is good, nice you you can have the tide with you when entering though not necessary. We anchored in 28 ft at 22 32.542 150 45.322 Not a interesting spot nothing here. The next anchorage a Pearl bay 5 miles further is much nicer, not quite as protected, anchored in 16 ft at low tide at 22 26.634 150 43.985.
Next stop South Percy island is very nice as well, good anchorage in prevailing winds. Anchored in 28ft at 21 44.209 150 18.556 Had not Internet at the last 3 stops, got some at port Clinton.
Next stop Curlew island 29 miles away. This is a good anchorage and great spot. The chart plotter is off quite abit here, the depths and bay is a lot bigger and deeper than chart plotter shows, use your eyes and depth sounder when entering, no problem, don't trust plotter. Anchored in 35ft at 21 35.545 149 47.781E.
Scawfell 48 miles away is great also anchored in 30 ft at 20 51.623 149 35.946
Lindeman was next stop, Shaw probably better and has Internet I hear, but we went here to be close to Cid Harbour for next stop as winds coming up also wanted to do a hike. Note Shaw and Lindeman are part of the renowned Whitsudnay Islands. It got bouncy during night as wind came up should have been into bay a bit more. Anchored at 30 ft at 20 26.057 149 01.620 We went ashore and did a hike up Mt Oldfield as needed the exercise.
Next did the 15 miles to Cid Harbour on Whitsunday island and was well protected in the strong winds. We anchored in 30 ft 20 15.684 148 56.460. We did the hike up mt Whitsunday a 2 hour round trip. No Internet here, almost but not quite work.
Next stop Airlie Beach 15 miles away. Anchored in 18 ft at 20 15.542 148 43.131 good Internet here and shopping.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Almost finished with Bundaberg
Our two day stay at King Fisher anchorage was very pleasant. Got lots of hiking in. There are signs around warning about Dingo attacks, mainly on children. A child was actually mauled just a couple of days after we left there. After 2 nights here we left about 7am to do the 55 miles up to Bundaberg. We had a terrific sail all the way up, mostly sailing wing on wing after the first 10 miles. Though we had to gybe the running pole when the wind shifted a bit.
We arrived in the anchorage behind the marina an hour before dark. We had a day to relax and then got hauled out by the travel lift here for our antifouling paint job and other issues. We had a bit of drama trying to get into the travel lift slot. It was blowing about 20 knots and they wanted us to back in rather than go in forward. Our boat does not back very well so I had to go head in and then spin around and try to back the boat the last bit into the slot while overcoming the wind. A huge rain squall came through just as we approached the lift and the lift people were getting soaked waiting for us. After 3 trys we succeeded.
We stayed on the hard for 9 days giving the topsides a fresh coat of green epoxy, cleaned the bottom up a bit before antifouling and replaced the zincs. I also replaced the cutlass bearing as I was a bit worried about it due to the fact the boat has a slightly distorted stern tube from when it was welded in when boat was built. I always half to shave down one end of the bearing to get it in so as not to pinch on the shaft.
Actually it would have probably been OK to leave it. I also replaced the packing in the stuffing box that keeps the water out. We met lots of nice people in the yard which you chat with instead of doing work.
We got put back in the water today and all was well until I noticed some water leaking around the neck of our cooling tank reservoir with the radiator cap on top which is for our keel cooling. I had though the cap was leaking a bit and bought a new cap but now I noticed it was around the weld where the neck joins the tank. So I had to spend the afternoon removing it so I could take it in to the welder here. We just missed him as he went home early Friday. I phoned him up and he said he would be in at 8 am tomorrow so we will see what happens and hope he can weld or braze it as it is a copper neck on a steel tank.
INFO
We did a over night sail from Mooloolaba to catch the tide at Wide Bay bar. Best time is one or two hours before high slack. Dont mess with this place. A catamaran we know went through just past low tide, it had a wave break right over stern and knock their dinghy on davits badly. Another yacht was pitchpoled recently. The anchorage at Gerrys anchorage is good though a bit buggy we anchored in 15 ft at 25 37.895
152 58.192. Next anchorage at Kind Fisher is good and very large. We anchored in 48 ft at 25 23.585S
153 01.340E more to do here also, no bugs. The anchorage at Bundaberg behind port marina is in 18 ft at
24 45.539 152 23.303 and is good we used near by beach for dinghy. Is a big garabge bin in field just before marina.
We arrived in the anchorage behind the marina an hour before dark. We had a day to relax and then got hauled out by the travel lift here for our antifouling paint job and other issues. We had a bit of drama trying to get into the travel lift slot. It was blowing about 20 knots and they wanted us to back in rather than go in forward. Our boat does not back very well so I had to go head in and then spin around and try to back the boat the last bit into the slot while overcoming the wind. A huge rain squall came through just as we approached the lift and the lift people were getting soaked waiting for us. After 3 trys we succeeded.
We stayed on the hard for 9 days giving the topsides a fresh coat of green epoxy, cleaned the bottom up a bit before antifouling and replaced the zincs. I also replaced the cutlass bearing as I was a bit worried about it due to the fact the boat has a slightly distorted stern tube from when it was welded in when boat was built. I always half to shave down one end of the bearing to get it in so as not to pinch on the shaft.
Actually it would have probably been OK to leave it. I also replaced the packing in the stuffing box that keeps the water out. We met lots of nice people in the yard which you chat with instead of doing work.
We got put back in the water today and all was well until I noticed some water leaking around the neck of our cooling tank reservoir with the radiator cap on top which is for our keel cooling. I had though the cap was leaking a bit and bought a new cap but now I noticed it was around the weld where the neck joins the tank. So I had to spend the afternoon removing it so I could take it in to the welder here. We just missed him as he went home early Friday. I phoned him up and he said he would be in at 8 am tomorrow so we will see what happens and hope he can weld or braze it as it is a copper neck on a steel tank.
INFO
We did a over night sail from Mooloolaba to catch the tide at Wide Bay bar. Best time is one or two hours before high slack. Dont mess with this place. A catamaran we know went through just past low tide, it had a wave break right over stern and knock their dinghy on davits badly. Another yacht was pitchpoled recently. The anchorage at Gerrys anchorage is good though a bit buggy we anchored in 15 ft at 25 37.895
152 58.192. Next anchorage at Kind Fisher is good and very large. We anchored in 48 ft at 25 23.585S
153 01.340E more to do here also, no bugs. The anchorage at Bundaberg behind port marina is in 18 ft at
24 45.539 152 23.303 and is good we used near by beach for dinghy. Is a big garabge bin in field just before marina.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
