Home at Last

Friday, 11 November 2011 - Fraser Island to Mooloolaba

We were up early and joined the queue to cross the bar on the last of the incoming tide. Swell was small and there was little wind so the crossing was our most benign outward one yet. It is always good when that is over and you head down the coast to Mooloolaba.

After rounding Double Island Point we set the spinnaker in a light easterly. We carried it to Noosa before the breeze went more to the SE.

Warren landed our first Cobia which we released before we realised what it was. They are rated 4 star eating in our fish guide!

We entered the Mooloolah River about 1600 and anchored in the pond. We had booked into the Yacht Club Marina for the following 4 nights so Warren could celebrate his birthday here. We went to the movies, had several swims and had lunch with Nanette and Stuart from Truest Passion who live at Mooloolaba.

Wednesday, 16 November 2011 - Mooloolaba to Raby Bay

We left about 0630 for the final day of our 2011 cruise. We motor sailed until south of Caloundra when the breeze went to the east and we could set our trusty spinnaker. We carried it all the way home except for a short section down the Spitfire Channel. The breeze freshened after lunch to 15 - 20 knots to give us a final memorable spinnaker run.

We entered Raby Bay at 1430 to fog horn blasts from Warren and my Mum waving on the bank. It was a great way to finish our 3 and a half month trip.

We have been very busy since getting home but we will post the trip stats and highlights soon.

Fraser Island

Wednesday, 9 November 2011 - Lady Musgrave to Fraser Is

With a NE predicted, we decided to bypass Bundaberg and head straight for Fraser Island. It meant a long day but the weather is looking good for crossing the infamous Wide Bay Bar on Friday. We set a course for Moon Point as it gave us a better angle than Rooney Point. This worked well as we were able to set our spinnaker and keep our speed up even though the breeze was in the 8 - 10 knot range. 1640 the breeze dropped out and we motorsailed the final 20 miles. Engines off behind a very calm Moon Point at 2000 after a total of 87nm.

Thursday, 10 November 2011 - Moon Pt to Pelican Bay

We set off early to catch the tide down to Sheridan Flats which is the crossover point for tides in the Straits. If you time your trip well, you will have 2 knots of tide with you the whole journey. This was another reason we chose to stay an Moon Point last night as high tide is 0900.

Next to no wind so we motored most of the time except for half an hour with spinnaker only (first time we have tried this). We are now anchored at Pelican Bay and we have had a 15 - 20 knot NE for the last few hours (hope this doesn't increase the swell for tomorrow). About 10 boats anchored waiting to cross tomorrow morning.

Lady Musgrave Island

The predicted southerly change was a bit of a fizzer but we had a couple of nice days in Pancake Creek. Warren finally found the spot where he could catch some whiting which we enjoyed and I finished my jigsaw that I started at Lizard Island.

It is a mosaic puzzle composed of many small photos. It is amazing how they are constructed but they are quite hard. If you like jigsaws and a challenge then give one a go.






Sunday, 6 November 2011 - Pancake Ck to Lady Musgrave Is

A 0530 start as the wind is in the east which is of course where we want to go. We sailed for a couple of hours but with a moderate swell we decided to start an engine so we could point higher and get to the anchorage with the sun still overhead to see the bommies. We entered the lagoon just after 1400 and found a good spot to anchor over sand. We were immediately greeted by some turtles including 2 amorous ones.

We spent 3 nights here - snorkelling, walking around the island and sundowners with Neil and Debbie from the Seawind 1000XL Zolibato one evening. The water is an amazing colour and visibility was good given that the wind was 10 - 15 knots every day.

The island is an important nesting site for a range of birds who took little notice of us as we walked the tracks. The light through the trees was beautiful even if the smell was not in places.

We will definitely be back to visit here again.

Milestones

On the trip out to Great Keppel Island on Wednesday we passed 2000 nm for this trip so far.

On checking our logs for Next Phase, we also discovered we are just 34 nm short of having sailed a total of 10000 nm in the last 4 and a half years. It's a start but still a long way short of the 23,000 nm covered by Jessica Watson!

Northerly at last

Thursday, 3 November 2011 - GKI to Pancake Creek

After 2 nights at Keppel Bay Marina while the strong southerly change went through, we sailed out on Wednesday morning but the lack of wind sent us to Great Keppel for another night.

Thursday was moving day as we continued our journey south in company with 7 other cruisers. The 0600 start saw little wind and it was 1100 before the NW reached 10 knots and we could finally silence the motor. We raised the spinnaker and set off in close company with a Fusion 40 New Tricks who we had first met at Port Clinton.

We covered 40 nm in the next 5 hours as the breeze increased to the predicted 15 - 20 knots. Great conditions as can be seen with Aquavista at right. We were anchored by 1620 having covered 69 miles for the day. The entrance to Pancake Creek had large swells but we moved well into the creek and found a good spot, even at high water when the banks were covered.

Our plan was to head to Lady Musgrave Island today, Friday, however another southerly change is expected tomorrow so we have decided to let it pass before hopefully heading out on Sunday for a few nights. This is the last spot we are keen to visit on this trip as we have never had the right conditions on previous occasions through this area.