Whitsunday cruising 2

Monday, 11 September to Tuesday, 19 September, 2017
We left Airlie after topping up the water tanks at the public pontoon inside the marina. This is a big improvement on the one that was here last time we visited and allows 2 boats to moor for up to 30 minutes free of charge.

We then had a good sail in a 15-20 kn SE to Caves Cove, just south of Stonehaven on Hook Island, where we picked up a mooring. On Tuesday, we went arround to Stonehaven after a few boats had left to grab a mooring and go for a snorkel.

Busy Stonehaven

We explored the reef just south of our mooring which was in quite good condition. The charter boats were bringing their guests here so I assume this is the best reef in the anchorage.

Some colourful coral but lots of fish and some clams. We had a turtle visit our boat regularly - I assume the charter boats feed it as it was not shy at all.

On Wednesday, we went around to Macona Inlet where we spent 2 nights. Unfortunately no fish caught but we did catch up with Second Wind and enjoyed sundowners aboard their Seawind with their friends. We watched several charter boats nearly come to grief as they tried to cross the reef to the south of us as they trusted their electronic charts and didn't have a good lookout.

Golf rangefinder useful in an anchorage

On Friday we headed back to Airlie as we had booked a night in Abell Point Marina to attend a reef and beef night they were putting on. We had a quick trip with a double reef in winds up to 28 knots. Beach House was with us and we watched the Broncos beat Penrith afterwards.

Beach House heavily reefed to cross the Passage

Saturday was at Woodwark Bay then on to Bona Bay for 3 nights in the strong SE winds. It is school holidays so we knew it would be quieter over here!

More cyclone damage

Whitsunday Cruising

Saturday, 2 September to Sunday, 10 September, 2017
On Saturday we had a good sail over to Cid Harbour, then a 8nm motor to Hamilton Island on Sunday morning to pick up our son, Ben. He got off the plane in jeans and with a heavy coat as it was 9 degrees when he left Melbourne. We managed a short sail before the wind died and were anchored at Whitehaven Beach by 1500.

The beach and water are still beautiful but evidence of the cyclone is all around.

Stagnant lagoon and dead trees not on the postcards

We enjoyed several walks on the beach before the crowds arrived and the water was crystal clear.

The day trippers still come in large numbers which is good for the local economy but we did prefer Whitehaven in the quiet early mornings and late afternoons. 

On Monday a light northerly made for perfect conditions to visit Chance Bay. We kayaked and swam and Ben relaxed (easy as there was no internet).

Tuesday we moved around the headland to Turtle Bay and another picture perfect anchorage. South facing bays such as these did not suffer as badly in the recent cyclone as those facing north.

On Wednesday it was time for Ben to fly home. After dropping Ben off, we had a gentle sail to Cid Harbour where we spent 2 nights. We climbed Whitsunday Peak which was a challenge as most of the canopy has been destroyed so it was very hot.

On a previous walk before the cyclone

However, the views are still spectacular although it took a rest and a cup of tea before we could appreciate them.

On Friday it was back to Airlie to watch the football and do some washing and shopping. A win to the Cowboys but the Broncos down - lucky they get 2 chances. 

Shaggers Rendezvous and Gloucester Island

Thursday, 24 August to Friday, 1 September 2017
Shaggers was once again a great opportunity to catch up with fellow cruisers, have some fun and raise money for the Prostate Cancer Foundation. All 3 objectives were met - we made some new friends, attended a party or 2 and helped raise over $100,000. This year there were several events at Cape Gloucester Resort and the pirate party was at Montes.

Hands across the Blue dinghy formation

What we hope it looked like from above!

All was great except for smoke from fires lit to back burn but which got out of hand when the wind changed (as predicted!). We actually motored around to Bona Bay on Saturday night as the fires were coming down the hill and we didn't want to suffer the fallout.

After the pirate party we headed for Bona Bay on Gloucester Island for 3 nights. It was perfect weather and Beach House joined us as we all recovered from the Shaggers Rendezvous. Warren caught some fish and we paddled every day.

There is lots of cyclone damage evident - trees stripped of foliage or uprooted, shelter shed blown down and the sad looking vessel below.

After 3 days we headed back to Airlie to get ready for our son Ben's visit while several boats headed across to Bowen. We stopped at Woodwark Bay on the way back and after a quick walk ashore we have added it to the list of places to explore further.

Woodwark Bay

Pancake Creek to Whitsundays

Saturday, 12 August to Thursday, 24 August 2017

We spent 3 nights at Pancake Creek – Warren caught some nice sized whiting and I had another walk up to the lighthouse. 

On Sunday, we headed off for Great Keppel Island in a light breeze and anchored at Long Beach just on dark after 65nm. Lots more whales and dolphins to keep us entertained (and watchful). 

The numbers increase every year, and the whales seem to get closer to the yachts. We saw a number off Cape Capricorn and were surprised by a mother and calf that surfaced beside the boat, Mum gave a slap of the tail as if to warn us to keep clear, and then they were off.

Busy at Long Beach, GKI

We spent 2 nights at Great Keppel Island anchored in the crystal-clear water. We walked across the island one day to Resort beach - no decision on what is happening to the old resort but day trippers help to bring some money into the island economy. 

Echidna near the track

On Tuesday, we headed across to Keppel Bay Marina and dinner with our group at the Capricornia Cruising Yacht Club. We then went back to Long beach waiting for a more favourable breeze to head further north.

Funkytime at Resort Beach

We eventually left on Friday in light winds and motored/motorsailed to Island Head Creek. The US Navy are still in the area and this, with more close whale sightings, kept us awake. 

Not just whales you have to watch for!

Saturday we stayed put after a strong southerly change moved through. More reading and fishing! From here it was 3 days to the Whitsundays via North East Island in the Percy Isles and Scawfell Island. Only one good sailing day out of 3 unfortunately.

Scawfell Island

Tuesday night was spent in Cid Harbour after 600nm from Cleveland. 

Hamilton Island race boats (and whale at right)

On Wednesday, we went to Airlie Beach for fuel, water and some fresh fruit and vegies. Still no wind so a quiet sail to Grassy Island then on to Gloucester Passage for the Shaggers Rendezvous.

Whitsundays - here we come!

Raby Bay to Pancake Creek
Friday, 4 August to Friday, 11 August 2017

After nearly 9 months since returning from our trip to New Caledonia and Vanuatu, we are ready to head off in Phase2 again. This time up the Queensland coast to the Whitsundays. We are cruising north in company with a group of 10 sailing and 5 power boats from our club, Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron.  It is a fairly loose arrangement and we left the day before the main group to make the most of the wind.

We start the blog as always with a photo of my Mum waving us off. Unfortunately this year Mum was in Longreach on a trip so we had to make use of technology to keep the long tradition going.

We had a moderate westerly to start the day and enjoyed a 2 sail reach up to Deception Bay. We passed several large yachts heading to Manly for the start of the Brisbane to Keppel Yacht Race. The wind eased as we sailed around Skirmish Point on the southern end of Bribie, but held until Caloundra where it switched from SW to NE in seconds. It was at this point that supermaxi Wild Oats XI was approaching and their crew work as the change went through was impressive.

Prior to their getting the change we had a brief period where we were sailing faster than them!

The proof

We were anchored in the pond of the Mooloolah River by 1530 - glad to be underway after the rushing to be ready of the last few days.

On Saturday, we set off at 0630 in a light southerly that meant we had to motor or motor sail nearly all day. We saw 10 pods of whales several coming very close to Phase2 as we were stopped in the water.

We crossed the Wide Bay Bar just after low tide in perfect conditions and enjoyed a brief sail up the Straits before anchoring at Garry's Anchorage at 1900.

Uneventful bar crossing - the best kind

Warren was keen to do some fishing so we headed up to Moon Point where we had fresh whiting for dinner on Sunday night. Light winds made this a perfect anchorage but with a SW change expected on Monday night we headed across to Big Woody Island and prepared for the next leg to Bundaberg on Tuesday.

This turned out to be a fast sail under spinnaker averaging over 8 knots for most of the trip. We saw some great photos of Phase2 posted by Helene from Roo Bin Esque on the Women Who Sail Australia Facebook page and posted some of our own in return.

New mainsail for this trip going well

We moved into the Bundaberg Port marina on Wednesday to catch up with the RQ group who had arrived. Dinner at the restaurant was very nice and the after dinner limericks from each boat showed we cruisers have many talents!

There was a fine cat named Phase2,

Who headed north with her regular crew,

She loved a kite run,

Blue water and sun,

With Gav and the fleet from RQ.

Phase2 has a giant red kite,

When it flies it is quite a sight,

When the wind gets to twenty,

There are thrills aplenty,

And we hold on with all of our might!

Phase2 is an 1160 cat,

Whose crew liked wine by the vat,

Lots of sundowners to have,

Simply cruising north with Gav,

And good food to make us all fat.

Having decided not to give up our day jobs, we set off early on Thursday for Pancake Creek. After a couple of hours under spinnaker, the wind died and we motor/motorsailed the rest of the 64nm to drop anchor at the inner anchorage just on dark. We saw a minimum of 2.5 meters coming in with a tide of 1.2m. After boat maintenance this morning (Friday), Warren has headed off for a fish. We will be here for a few days, hoping for some southerly breeze to help us get further north.

Tanna Island Volcano and other Videos

I have just uploaded a video of our visit to the volcano Mount Yasur on Tanna Island. It was one of the highlights of our cruising in Vanuatu.

Click here to see Mt Yasur Video

If you missed some of our other videos

Click here for New Caledonia Highlights Video

Click here for Vanuatu Highlights Video

Click here for Bastille Day in Noumea Video

Phase2 Returns Home

Bundaberg to Raby Bay
Wednesday, 26 October to Saturday, 12 November, 2016
After a couple of great days at Bundaberg Port marina catching up with friends and restocking the fridge and freezer, we left the marina and headed south to Fraser Island. Warren was keen to do some fishing so we anchored at Moon Pt for 4 nights. There is a lot of tide run here but the fresh whiting more than made up for it. With a strong northerly coming, we headed down to Bookar Island to be ready to cross Sheridan Flats on the high tide on Monday. We timed it well and carried tide all the way to Garry’s Anchorage where we caught up with Stylopora, L’Attitudes and Skedaddle. Lots of laughs as we swapped tales of adventure in far off places. We spent one night in the marina at Tin Can Bay where we had a beautiful meal at the restaurant with our friends Lois and Kel (Beach House) then onto Pelican Bay. We crossed the Wide Bay Bar at first light on Friday with about 20 other boats.

Phase2 (Photo by Neil on My Ruby)

We had a great spinnaker run down to Mooloolaba in company with the Seawind 1250, My Ruby.

My Ruby

We spent the night anchored in the pond before moving into the marina on Saturday morning for a week. We love finishing our holidays here - great beach and surf not to mention some of the best seafood in SE Qld.

While we were here, Phase2 was the background to a photo shoot for womens' shoes. We departed the marina on Saturday for the final 58nm home. We had the spinnaker up for a while, but with the wind increasing we dropped it just before Skirmish Pint on Bribie Island. The wind continued to build and storms were brewing in the west. At 25 knots we put in a double reef, but at 1530 we dropped all sails and started to motor as the storms on the radar looked severe. About 10 minutes later the wind swung to the SW and increased in strength, topping out at 42 knots.

This was the highest wind we encountered in the entire 5 months we were away! We were glad we were only half an hour from the safety of our berth. I had rung Mum and asked her not to go out in the atrocious conditions, so she went to her friends’ house to wave us in.

Phase2 is out there somewhere

Sadly no tooting of the horn as we arrived home!

Safe in our pen in Raby Bay

While at Fraser Is, I started making some videos of the trip. Below are a couple I hope you enjoy.