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.

Magnetic Island and Townsville

Monday 19 July Cape Cleveland to Magnetic Island

With very little wind and a good forecast for the next few days we motored the 2 and a half hours to Magnetic Island. We anchored in Horseshoe Bay and went for a walk ashore. We were last here in the late 70's and while the units are much flasher, the place seems much the same. We were lucky to time our visit with the local cruisers Monday night BBQ on the beach. We had a great time and met lots of interesting and helpful cruising folk that we hope to see again in our travels.

Tuesday we accepted an invitation from Brian and Annette (Muscat 7 - Lightwave 38) to go around to 5 Beaches Bay for the day with a couple of other cruisers. This was a very relaxing day in perfect weather.


Wednesday 21 July Magnetic Island to Townsville

We were glad we had spent the time at Magnetic, but it was time to stock up in Townsville. Our 2 nights turned to 3 as we had a strong wind warning and a few unplanned jobs. We also had a few late (very late) nights following the Tour de France. Our bikes came in very handy as I visited friends at the TAFE one day and we went searching for to Bunnings and a bike shop on Friday (30k trip in the end). This was to get Warren's gears cleaned after the bike had an unplanned swim at Airlie!

We loved the Strand and the many old buildings around town. Overlooking the bay are many huge, spectacular houses. I thought my brother John, an architect in Hong Kong, would like this one. I wonder how deep the anchors of those supports need to be for this to survive a cyclone!

North to new cruising grounds

Wednesday 14 July, Airlie Beach to Double Bay
After stocking up at the Cannonvale Coles, I visited the local campus of BRIT to catch up with Natalie while Warren got a haircut. We also found a great fishing shop at Cannonvale where we got some new gear and advice so we are looking forward to finally catching a mackeral.

We started our trek north into …..you guessed it – a northerly. So we motored the 10 nm to Double Bay East. Unfortunately we had no phone signal so I missed the estimates broadcast for DET. As you can imagine I was very disappointed. Stayed the night and caught several good sized bream. Only 2 other boats here which was nice after the crowded anchorages around most of the Whitsundays.

Thursday 15 July, Double Bay to Cape Gloucester

Another short but this time fast sail to Cape Gloucester in a fresh SE breeze. We anchored off the Eco resort and went for a walk along the beach to Monte’s resort. Both pretty low key but very popular it seems with the fishermen. We had a relaxing 2 nights here. The anchorage was good but got a bit rolly in the mornings with a SW (reminded me a bit of a night at the Sandhills in this regard).

I started a new book on my Kobo ereader that Ben got for me at Borders. It has 100 free classics and I am working my way through them. So far it is good – the battery lasts about 2 weeks, 5000 page turns, and it is easy on the eyes. You can adjust the print size and it bookmarks where you are up to. I’m reading Jane Austen’s Emma at the moment as I recently read the novel The Jane Austen Book Club.

Saturday 17 July, Cape Gloucester to Cape Upstart
Sailed the 52 nm to Cape Upstart along with a couple of other boats from Cape Gloucester. This was another good anchorage and although it is a national park there are about 300 houses. The land was sold before it was declared a park and you can only get here by boat. While we didn’t go ashore, some looked a lot bigger than beach shacks.

Sunday 18 July, Cape Upstart to Cape Cleveland

Another long day, 64 nm, the highlight of which was when 3 whales surfaced 50 metres off our port side. They were accompanied by a few dolphins who I like to imagine were making sure the whales didn’t get any closer. They did a few tail slaps and pectoral fin waves before disappearing south. No time to get the camera unfortunately. Another good anchorage and with a good forecast for the next few days which will deteriorate as the week progresses, we decide to go to Magnetic Island instead of Townsville while the weather is good.

Ben's Excellent Adventure - Part 2

Thursday 8 July to Monday 12 July

The second half of Ben's time with us was a bit windier and so we headed over to Luncheon Bay and then a mooring in Butterfly Bay for the night. We have settled in to a nice routine of early nights (except when we play cards) and late starts. Ben is enjoying the change of pace and particularly the sunshine! From here we headed to Nara Inlet and walked up to see the rock art of the Ngaro people.


After a quiet night at Nara we went to Cid Harbour for the Ben's final 2 nights with us. I was keen to climb Whitsunday Peak - a challenging walk that took 2 and a half hours in total. We had heard there were 967 stone steps to negotiate and as we headed off and it is straight into the steps. Our heart rates rose rapidly, and having read the National Parks sign that said to allow 4 hours, I checked my watch to find we had been going 8 minutes! I decided not to count the steps and instead concentrate on the beautiful surroundings.




The view from the top was spectacular even with only moderate visability.


Monday we dropped Ben at Hamilton Island for the flight back to Melbourne while we headed back to Airlie to reprovision for our trip North to Hinchinbrook. The P&O liner Pacific Dawn greeted us as we rounded Pioneer Rocks on the way to Airlie Beach.

Ben's Excellent Adventure - Part 1

Saturday 3 July to Wednesday 7 July
Ben arrived Saturday and we spent the night at Hamilton Island Marina. It is very windy, quite cool and isolated showers - not the weather Ben was looking for I'm afraid. Sunday we head to Gulnare Inlet on Whitsunday Island. It is quite shallow at the entrance however plenty of room inside and seems to have a lot of cruising yachts and few charterers. One fish for Warren and Ben and I happy to read in the overcast conditions.




The forecast is better for Monday, so we head around to Whitehaven Beach. The sun is out by lunchtime and we have 2 great days and nights here with walks on the beach, kayaking and relaxing in general.



On Wednesday we motored to Hill Inlet to climb up to the lookout for the view over the full stretch of beach. It's nice to see the variety of butterflys on every island.


On our way to Blue Pearl Bay to do some snorkelling, we saw a whale on the NE corner of Hook Island. We slowed down and saw 4 in total.




Low tide at Blue Pearl Bay gave us a close look at the reef and the fish. As we had a mooring we decided to spend the night here.

Whitsunday Cruising

Saturday 26 June to Friday 2 July

After purchasing fuel, ice and supplies, topping up the water and doing the washing we headed off from Hamilton Island Marina for Whitehaven Beach under blue skis and a gentle breeze – where was this weather last week! After the 2 weeks on the go to get to the Whitsundays and then the non-stop action of the rally, it was nice to put down the anchor with no real plans for the next week.

We sailed or motored from Whitehaven to Hill Inlet, Tongue Bay, Macona Inlet (see pic), Butterfly Bay, Blue Pearl Bay and Stonehaven. We fished (2 keepers only), crabbed in Hill Inlet (no luck but we did find an anchor chain and line), kayaked, collected oysters and snorkelled. Life is tough in the Whitsundays. We saw lots of charter boats (big, small and massive), some cruisers and another Navy patrol boat (HMAS Bundaberg).

We saw turtles, dolphins and schools of brightly coloured reef fish while snorkelling at Blue Pearl Bay. Note the spectacular rock faces on the cliffs on the North side of Hayman Island.

We read, watched Patton (again although Warren says it is the first time this century!) and slept at least 8 hours a night. Altogether a great week and we are really starting to get into cruising mode. Our eldest son, Ben, joins us tomorrow for 9 days so we are looking forward to showing him the best of the Whitsundays. The weather has been great all week although it is windier today 15 – 20 knots and gusts up to 25 and more is predicted for tomorrow. Ben is hoping for warm weather after a cold spell in Melbourne.

We are currently anchored off the VMR ramp at Airlie Beach to stock up at Coles for the coming week. It is a short walk from here which is just as well as we probably will need several trips.

Seawind Rally - Part 2

Tuesday 22 June, Cid Harbour to Hamilton
With the breeze still sitting in the 20 to 30 knot range we were glad of the short course today to Hamilton Island. As it was all on the wind, we still ended up taking over 3 hours and covering 20 nautical miles. Tonight was a cocktail party and trivia night at the new yacht club which is very impressive.

Wednesday 23 June, Hamilton to Cid Harbour
The beach party at Whitehaven had to be moved to Dugong beach at Cid Harbour today. We all had a great blast downwind and we finished a close second to One More. The BBQ on the beach was followed by sand modelling which was won by the artistic Leaper crew. Unfortunately our sand modelling skills were in line with our trivia skills!

Thursday 24 June, Cid Harbour to Nara Inlet

One More had spent last night at Macona Inlet and proudly showed off their catch before the start (3 Spangled Emperor). The breeze was not quite as strong as the last few days and Brent added a loop around North Molle Island before heading to the shelter of Nara Inlet.



The 20 Seawinds were quite a sight although it didn’t stop Solway Lass getting up close and personal.







Friday 25 June, Nara Inlet to Hamilton Island
While the breeze eased today, we had rain showers to add to the mix. The breeze started off 15 – 20, eased to nothing in the middle and then finished at 15 – 20.
The final night’s mystery dinner was at the golf club on Dent Island. We were ferried over and met on the red carpet by the Channel Whitsunday cameras and Brent looking very smart in his tux.


The venue was great, food good and entertainment had everyone up dancing. There was a fancy dress theme of "celebrities" and some crews really got into the spirit.
The effort of the XTSea crew from Gilligan's Island helped them secure overall rally winner.



The crew from One More made a great effort also.

Talisker won the coverted “Horns” for his consistency at the front of the fleet.

We would like to thank Brent and Renee for organising another great week – the weather caused a few changes to their plans but they were flexible and delivered a good time despite the challenges.