Farewell Whitsundays

Sunday September 8 to Saturday, September 21 2013
It has been 2 weeks since the Multihull Rendezvous finished and since then we have had light N, NW winds. This is exactly the wrong breeze to sail north. The Queensland coast runs in a north westerly direction, so going north we don't want NW and going south, SE winds.

Turtle Bay looking south to Pentecost Island

It is not all bad news though because with these winds we have spent some time in anchorages not usually accessible with the predominant SE winds. Turtle Bay tops the list - good holding, lots of room, nice sandy beach for a swim and lots of places to explore in the kayaks. It has been a very relaxing couple of weeks.

Looking south from the lookout above Whitehaven

We also visited Whitehaven where we walked across to Chance Bay and Tongue Bay where Warren took the dinghy into Hill Inlet but decided it looked too shallow for Phase2. We also anchored at Macona Inlet where we had sundowners on the beach with a group of Shaggers, Nara Inlet and Plantation Bay on the south side of Lindeman Island. We were disappointed with this anchorage and the walking tracks I hoped to find were overgrown and we didn't try them.

Chance Bay

Our trip to Nara Inlet from Macona Inlet was via Hardy's Reef and Bait Reef. 84 nm in total for the day to end up about 1nm away as the crow flies. By the time we got to Hardy's Reef the tide was rushing in and we didn't like the look of the entrance. High tide was about 1700 and we didn't want to risk entering that late and not seeing the bombies. We then sailed to Bait Reef where we picked up a mooring but the NW gave a nasty chop so we decided to head back to the tranquil waters of Nara and a good nights sleep. We learnt a bit for the next time we head out that way and Warren caught a nice spotted mackeral.

Last night, Friday was at Breakfast Bay on the south side of Gloucester Island. Very calm in the NW conditions. The weather pattern is still not great but we decided to head off at 1000 today in little breeze and hope the predicted SE-NE winds develop and we don't have to motor all the way to Cape Upstart.

Where is the north-easter we were promised!

PS
Wind came in about 1230. Now doing 7 knots in 10 knots of NE breeze. Love this genoa!

Multihull Rendezvous 2013

Monday, 2 September to Sunday 8, September 2013
We knew the perfect weather of the last month could not last and it changed with a vengeance this week. Monday it blew all day but we were all safely tied to the marina at Abell Point.We enjoyed a Welcome function at Sorrento restaurant where we met the crew from Multihull Solutions and some of the other 14 boat crews for the event.

Tuesday we awoke to 30 knot south easterlies and the organisers gave everyone the option of getting a bus to Cape Gloucester Eco Resort if they didn't fancy the sail. We elected to bus as we knew the sail back the next day would be tough and we were in this for the fun. The Pirate party also celebrated the 50th birthday of Alex from Hanuman. Everyone enjoyed the dinner and dancing into the evening.



It was still 30 knots on Wednesday and as we had a lay day, many boats elected to cross the passage to the surprisingly good anchorage in May's Bay just north of Cid Harbour - very protected in these conditions and not nearly as crowded as Cid. We sailed under 3 reefs and our storm jib across the passage and averaged 6 knots in the constant 30 knots with a highest gust of 38 knots recorded. We could hear the yachts coming back from Gloucester lamenting the conditions on the radio and we were glad we had taken the bus option.

30knots + gusts at Cid Harbour

Thursday's destination of Whitehaven was changed to Macona Inlet and then to Cid Harbour for the Prawn and punch party. Beautiful large local prawns and plenty of punch and Bunkers wine made for a great afternoon. We won the wooden spoon in the Blind Man's Dinghy race - sigh.

On Friday morning, we climbed Whitsunday Peak before sailing on to Nara Inlet. The wind had eased to 20-25 knots and after a sail past Mothership for the figurehead competition (party shirts and ABBA) we joined in the trivia competition and beach games. Some boats had gone to a lot of trouble with their costumes for this and other theme events.

View from the top is worth the walk

On Saturday we had our best sail of the week from Nara down to Hamilton Island. We were the only boat to sail with full main and jib in the 20 knot SEers. Dinner and entertainment from Cruise Captain Condor at the Hamilton Island Yacht Club was a great way to finish the week. Multihull Solutions who run this event did a great job in trying conditions and we would recommend it to anyone up here next year in their multihull.

Lickity Split didn't need full sail to race past

Whitsunday Wandering

Monday, 26 August 2013 - Eco Resort to Airlie Beach
After watching a lot of yachts heading north from Shaggers on Sunday and Monday, we raised sails and headed back to Airlie Beach. Our son Josh and his girlfriend Jo arrive on Friday for a few days and then we join the Multihull Rendezvous for a week.

It was a hard 35nm into a 20knot SE breeze. We put the first reef in near Gumbrell Island and tacked into the bays to avoid the worst of the seas.

On Wednesday we headed across the passage to Stonehaven. Warren caught a nice school mackeral and then a spotted mackeral as he was pulling in the other lure. Fresh fish for dinner!

Friday, 30 August 2013 - Nara Inlet to Cid Harbour
We sailed down from Nara Inlet to Hamilton Island to pick up Josh and Jo for a few days. With the wind predicted to be 15-20kn for their stay, we decided to stay on the inside of the islands. We had a nice run down from Hamilton and were anchored in Cid Harbour just before 1700.

Saturday we sailed/motored up to Blue Pearl Bay for a snorkel. We headed around to Butterfly Bay where we got a mooring but moved around to Stonehaven as there was a nasty swell rolling into the bay.

Sunday we headed across to Langford reef where Josh and Jo paddled ashore before Josh tried to get more shots with his GoPro. I got some nice footage of a turtle swimming by - they are obviously used to snorkellers in the water!

Sunday afternoon we sailed back to Airlie as Josh and Jo were flying out of Proserpine on Monday morning. Dinner at Sorrento Restaurant to celebrate Father's Day ended a great couple of days with Josh and Jo.