South to Goldsmith Island

Thursday 18 August, Stonehaven to Airlie Beach

We had booked 2 nights at Abel Point marina so I could get a desperately needed hair cut and colour and so we could catch up with Alan and Kat (Talisker) and Jim and Diane (Chilli Cat) for dinner. Of course we also needed to vote. This was on top of the usual shopping, washing, cleaning etc. It was very hot and we had a swim at the lagoon in Airlie and checked out the new Port of Airlie marina development which is nearing completion.

Saturday 21 August, Airlie Beach to Long Island




















Our plans to get to Thomas or Shaw Island were waylaid by the light south easterly and the spectacle of the passing Hamilton Island Race Week fleet. Above is the 50m superyacht Perseus who hadn't caught up with the news that Julia had taken over from Kevin (look closely at the MPS). I thought advertising was banned on election day!

We also saw Lulu whose charterers we had met at Stonehaven. We had offered to take some photos of their boat as they had commented on how hard it is to get any under sail. They gave us a CD of jazz (Gazjaz) that one of them had recorded however motored off that day so no sailing photos. We were pleased to see them today however and we emailed them some of Lulu going past. We enjoyed the CD which will remind us of this holiday.

Sunday 22 August, Long Island to Shaw Island

SE winds again so we decided that Burning Point on Shaw Island looked good after 5 hours tacking. Saw lots of whales.

Monday 23 August, Shaw Island to Goldsmith Island

Very light SE breeze early so we motored down to Goldsmith Island where we spent 2 nights. The anchorage was very rolly as a NE sea breeze came in during the afternoon. Next to no wind Tuesday so we decided to stay another night only to have a swell again come in after dark. 2 whales surfaced close to the boat on the way down and the smaller one breeched 100m away. Later 2 cruised by the anchorage going down the passage between Goldsmith and Locksmith Islands.

Back to the Whitsundays

Sunday 15 August, Bona Bay to Double Bay East

Another beautiful though windless day as you can see from the photo of Gloucester Passage. We revert to motoring with one outboard while trolling, in the hope of another fish. We do about 5 knots this way which saves fuel and is a good trolling speed although the fish are elusive again.

Monday 18 August, Double Bay East to Stonehaven

We motored to Airlie Beach in the morning to check out the Bareboat Show as part of Airlie Beach Race Week. A fashion parade and lots of boats to look at filled in a few hours before we had our first good sail in a week to Stonehaven.

Tuesday 19 August, Bait Reef

The calm weather of the previous week prompted us to sail out to Bait Reef today. This is about 16nm NE of Hayman Island and is the closest outer reef to the Whitsundays. The forecast of 10-15 SE sounds good so we head off at 7 to be there about an hour before low tide at 11. Low tide is the best time for snorkelling and when the reef offers protection from the swell. 3 more whales sighted as we left The Narrows between Hayman and Hook Islands. We slowed for a while then had to keep moving. Unfortunately when we were about a mile away the whales started breaching and tail slapping. Even at this distance the splashes were spectacular.

We arrived at Bait Reef, negotiated the entrance and took up a mooring. We were lucky that a yacht was leaving as we arrived which helped confirm the correct path. The snorkeling was good although as the breeze was more like 15 - 20 knots there was some sediment in the water. Warren snorkelled around the Stepping Stones which are a set of coral pinnacles rising from a depth of 15 - 25 metres which you can see in the photo above. I kept watch in the tender and contented myself with the sights in shallower water.

Another good reach saw us moored back at Stonehaven by 4.30. It was any easy day sail there and back and with 4 hours at the reef it was well worth the trip.

We decided to spend today, Wednesday at Stonehaven to go for a kayak, finish my book and catch up on the blog. Luckily there were spare moorings all day and we didn't need to move. I am enjoying the Kobo eReader and about to finish all 117 chapters of The Count of Monte Cristo. A Russian yachty I met at Townsville marina recommended I read Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky next. He (the yachty not Fyodor) had spent 8 years circumnavigating in his 49 foot yacht. The interesting people you meet while doing the laundry!

Gloucester Island

Thursday 12 August, Bowen to Sinclair Bay

We left early in the hope of catching another mackeral off the Don River but had to satisfy ourselves with seeing more whales on the way to Sinclair Bay (south of Montes resort).

Friday 13 August, Sinclair Bay to Bona Bay

Another beautiful sandy beach and calm anchorage although with the light winds of the last few days I am sure we could anchor just about anywhere.

We were pleased to see Celebration from the RQ cruising group also anchored here. We had sundowners ashore with them and a couple of locals on Saturday night.

Warren got a few whiting but couldn't land the large fish (mackeral??) chasing the bait fish in the bay.









PS. I have just read the comment on the last post and my apologies for getting a bit behind. Believe it or not it is hard sometimes to find the time to do the blog (and to have coverage with Optus)- but it is nice to know some people are reading it!

Continuing south

Saturday 7 August, Orpheus Island to Magnetic Island

We decided to go ashore and look for the ruins of an old sheperd's cottage behind the beach and walk to the top of the ridge which has views over the coast to the east.

The walk is marked by a trail of ribbons tied to trees and is fairly easy to follow. It does pass through quite thick grass towards the end that had us worried about encountering more snakes. The view from the top was again worth the effort.


After the walk we headed off in an ESE breeze so we tacked in close to the islands (Fantome and Great Palm) to keep out of the swell as much as possible. This resulted in our first mackeral of the trip which was large enough to keep. We enjoyed it for dinner in Horseshoe Bay after arriving at 7pm after 52nm on the wind. It tasted great!

Sunday 8 August, Magnetic Island to Townsville

We cut short our visit to Magnetic Island as the forecast is for ENE breezes over the next few days which would help our passage south. We headed to the Breakwater marina for a pitstop for fuel, water and supplies. The scene at the fuel jetty was interesting.

Monday 9 August, Townsville to Cape Upstart

We headed off at 0700 for what was to be our longest day of the trip so far - 83nm. The breeze started in the SE before dying and then finally coming in from the ENE. This gave us a nice reach to finish the day anchoring at 9pm. Highlight was sighting 2 whales inside Cape Bowling Green. We had the music blasting as we reached at 8knots in the dark, hoping the whales would keep out of our way!

Tuesday 10 August, Cape Upstart to Bowen

The NE breeze was again light so we motor sailed much of the day to anchor in Queen's Bay, on the northern side of Bowen. A strong SW change was predicted and this anchorage proved to be well protected when the change came through at 11pm. We spent Wednesday here as well. Glorious sunset!

Zoe Bay

Friday 6 August, Gayundah Creek to Orpheus Island

We motored out of the Hinchenbrook channel at 1030 in next to no breeze and decided the conditions were good to visit Zoe Bay on the eastern side of the island. This is not a very good anchorage and we had resigned ourselves to maybe not getting there this trip due to the weather. The breeze picked up on the way (8nm from the Lucinda jetty) and we anchored (after 3 attempts) in a very rolly bay in 15 knots of SE breeze. There was no one else anchored or at the campsite.

The bay is beautiful and we went ashore to walk to the waterfall. It was clear with plenty of water after the recent rains.



We continued up the track to the head of the falls via a good track that included a rope climb in one steeper part.

The view from the top was spectacular. We ate lunch next to the rock pools - definitely our best lunch spot yet. I'm afraid the pictures don't do the view justice.

After leaving Zoe Bay, we had a good sail to Orpheus Island where we picked up a mooring for the night.

Hinchenbrook revisited

Tuesday 3 August to Thursday 5 August, Macushla, No. 7 Creek and Gayundah Creek

The sunny weather allowed us to appreciate the beauty of Hinchenbrook with it's wide, deep creeks and spectacular mountains. We anchored for a few hours at Macushla in Missionary Bay and walked the track to North Shepherd Bay. This took a couple of hours but the resulting views of the beach were worth the walk.

From here we made our way up No. 6 Creek and then across to No. 7 Creek (very imaginative naming up this way). We spent 2 nights here giving the fishing a go (a couple of big bream but not much else) and another walk along a boardwalk to Ramsay Bay. National Parks have a lot of facilities on Hinchenbrook for boaties and campers.

Thursday we motored around to Gayundah Creek where Warren was hoping to get some crabs. He wasn't disappointed catching 2 sandies and 1 big muddy to go with a big bream for dinner. Unfortuantely the muddy was empty!

Warren also caught 2 hammerhead sharks here which we released when we realised they weren't the big fish he has been waiting for. We heard the noise of crocs at night so this is definitely not the place to swim.

Homeward bound

Saturday 31 July, Dunk Island to Goold Island

The trip home began in light SE winds and we tacked down to Goold Island. Nice anchorage – no fish but a beautiful sunset.








Sunday 1 August, Goold Island to Port Hinchenbrook Marina

We motored the 10 miles to the marina and entered at about half tide and had a minimum depth of 1.2m.





We met Marie (from my work) her fiancé Rob and Rob’s mum Janis for lunch. It was great to catch up with them, hear all their news and share our trip so far.





Monday 2 August, Port Hinchenbrook to Garden Island

We left after lunch and a swim in the marina complex pool. This was appreciated as we were very hot after riding our bikes the 4 kms into Cardwell to collect mail and do our shopping. Garden Island is small but picturesque and popular with the locals.

A dream realised

Saturday 24 July, Townsville to Orpheus Island
We had a good run up to Orpheus Island in a 15 to 20 knot ESE breeze arriving there at 5pm where we picked up a mooring. We passed a number of islands including Rattlesnake Island where the RAAF practise their bombing. We had made sure there was nothing happening today before we left.

We also passed Fantome Island which was the site of a leprosarium. One of our friends and neighbour, Peter Ludlow, has written a very interesting book on the history of Peel Island that mentions the aboriginal patients being transferred to Fantome. A fire destroyed much of what was left on the island.

Sunday 25 July, Orpheus Island to Hinchinbrook Island

We have been looking forward to getting to Hinchinbrook after hearing of the spectacular beauty of the passage. Unfortunately it was raining as we entered the channel and we could see very little.

We sailed up to Haycock Island were we spent 3 nights in the worst weather of the trip (lots of rain). Good reading and a couple of DVDs helped pass the time. A highlight was catching up with Jackie and Steve off Free Spirit who were also here. Steve related the story of getting a fish hook in his foot on the way up. Unfortunately the hook was still attached to a 4 foot mackeral at the time (Ouch!!!). They ended up getting medical assistance at Palm Island to remove the hook and he is recovering well.

Wednesday 28 July, Haycock Island to Dunk Island

We decided to head further north today in the hope of escaping the rain. We motored initially to charge the batteries and so we could check out Gayundah Creek. We saw another Seawind here from Townsville (Boom 'n Bust) who said they had seen a croc swim by.

Once out of the channel we raised sails and by 1330 the spinnaker was up and the sun was out. We carried it all the way to Dunk where we anchored in Brammo Bay.
While we were waiting for our boat to be built, we had a few days at Dunk Island after one of our bike trips. We loved it and in 5 days put on the weight we had lost riding 550 kms in the previous week! While dining at the resort we would look out over the yachts moored in Brammo Bay and say that will be us one day. Well today was the day!

We spent 3 nights at Dunk. We hiked up Mt Kootooloo (280m) and had planned other bush walks until Warren nearly stepped on a rather large snake that crossed our path.




We got our exercise kayaking the next day. Hot showers on shore courtesy of National Parks were a treat.