Wednesday, 20 September to Monday, 9 October, 2017
Since leaving Bona Bay over 2 weeks ago, we have had more beautiful weather and winds from the north that have allowed us to visit some old favourites and many new anchorages.
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| Queen Margrethe Bay, Shaw Island |
Bearing in mind that there were still 2 weeks of football finals, our cruising was constrained by the need to have good TV reception on the weekends.
After dinner at Monties Resort with
Twoflower, Hurtle Turtle and locals Kay and Brian on Wednesday, on Friday we headed to Happy Bay (direct line of sight to the TV tower at Shute Harbour!)
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| Walks are open from Happy Bay |
After a loss by the Broncos and a win to the Cowboys, we sailed to Chance Bay and then onto Waite Bay on Hazelwood Island.
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| Waite Bay, Hazelwood Island - idyllic |
This was the first of 5 new anchorages we visited in 2 weeks. We spent 2 nights tucked into the NW corner of the bay out of the swell. We kayaked and snorkelled the reef close to the boat. It was under a rock face and must have escaped the cyclone damage suffered by other reefs as there was lots of colourful coral, fish and turtles.
From here we went to Roberta Bay for 2 nights and Queen Margrethe Bay for 1 night. These are on the eastern side of Shaw Island and were both picture postcard perfect for kayaking and swimming.
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| Kayaking with the Beach House crew in Roberta Bay |
Queen Margrethe Bay had a creek with just a trickle of water that we could scramble up for some nice photos.
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| Queen Margrethe Bay |
On Saturday we headed to Happy Bay for the AFL Grand Final Bay but the northerly swell had us make a late move to Turtle Bay for the night.
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| Footy on the go! |
We then discovered perfect TV here for the rugby league Grand Final on Sunday with
Beach House. Sadly, it wasn't to be for the Cowboys so we headed to Plantation Bay on Lindeman Island after a 1 hour pit stop at Hamilton Island. For $20, we topped up the water, bought some groceries and did a couple of loads of washing. There is a new IGA on the island that makes this a more viable option than in previous years and saves a trip back to Airlie Beach.
We were then off to Thomas Island and the SE anchorage near Dead Dog Island. Another beautiful spot although there was a bit of swell working into the anchorage (judged by if I have to brace to cook dinner!) More kayaking and snorkelling although the reef was badly damaged.
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| Crowded at Dead Dog Bay until the 10 runabouts left |
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| Large and small at Dead Dog Bay, Thomas Island |
Our final new anchorage was Billbob Bay on the southern side of Shaw Island. Footy has finished but this is Bathurst weekend so we have spent 3 great nights here. Little swell, good swimming and kayaking and only a couple of other boats.
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| A gap in the reef allows a walk ashore at low tide |
Charter boats are not allowed at any of these 5 anchorages so they have all been uncrowded and quiet.
We are now on our way to Abell Point marina to get ready for the trip south. After months of northerlies I hope this is not the trigger for southerlies!
