On to the Whitsundays

Rosslyn Bay to the Whitsundays

Sunday, 17 September to Friday, 22 September 2023

After 9 days, we finally castoff our berth at Keppel Bay Marina at 0615 on Sunday in a strong SSE wind. It had eased a bit from the last few days and we were keen to move on. 

Dawn at Keppel Bay Marina

We set the spinnaker and had a great run all the way to the entrance of Island Head Creek. With winds a steady 15 to 20 knots, we had a fast trip with anchor down by 1345 after 52 nm. Our average speed over ground under spinnaker was a fast, for us, 9.1 knots and we saw 4 whales. 

Seas a bit larger than we like

On Monday we headed off again just after 0600 under main and jib as the wind was above 20 knots. By 0840, the wind was down to 15 to 20 so we hoisted the spinnaker and headed for Curlew Island. We carried it most of the way and anchored at Curlew at 1540 after 65 nm and seeing 5 whales including one right as we entered the bay. 

Curlew is one of our favourite islands but with family joining us on Saturday, we had to keep moving. We departed at 0610 on Tuesday morning for Brampton Island. Just after exiting the bay we saw a whale heading in our direction. A quick tack was required as it wasn't about to alter course for us. Spinnaker run again all day in a lighter 10-15 knot SE wind. As we approached Brampton we reunited with Dawn's Light from the RQ Cruise North group.

The beautiful Whitsunday islands

On Wednesday, we decided to head for Whitehaven Beach to enjoy the light winds of the next few days. Unfortunately these plans quickly changed when Warren discovered a small fuel leak from the port engine fuel filter. A call to our friend Brett in Airlie Beach resulted in him sourcing a replacement and offering to install it. So we altered course and after a night at the underrated Beach 25, we headed to Airlie and tied up at the Coral Sea Marina. Great service from Honest Brett's Diesel Repairs had it all fixed that day!

Friday was washing, cleaning and re-provisioning ready for our youngest son and his family arriving on Saturday.

Into the Tropics

Yellowpatch, Great Keppel Island and Rosslyn Bay

Saturday, 2 September to Saturday, 16 September 2023

We had to wait for the tide to come in to leave Pacific Creek, and then sail the 25nm across the top of Curtis Island to get to Yellowpatch before the tide had dropped too much. Luckily, Warren had some waypoints from a local in Gladstone and we had plenty of water under the keels going in (3.2m on a 2.8m tide). 

Don't enter at low tide!

We anchored before the big orange/yellow sandhill and wondered why it has been 12 years since last we visited. It is a very picturesque spot. 

Beautiful weather

Very protected in SE winds

Unfortunately, our stay was restricted to 2 nights as on Monday the government was closing the northern part of the island for feral animal control. Not wanting to encounter any stray bullets, we headed north for Great Keppel Island just before the 1200 closure.

Beautiful GKI beaches

At Great Keppel Island we caught up with the RQ Cruise North group again. We had perfect weather for our 4 nights anchored at Fisherman's Beach. Walks, kayaking and sundowners ashore filled our days and we were sorry to move on Friday to Rosslyn Bay. 

A large number of cruisers in the bays around GKI

My beach shelter (Mark 2) - still needs some refinements

Leeke's and Svensen's Bays

Our original plan was to stay in the Keppel Bay Marina for only a few days however a very strong south easterly and a chest infection for Warren changed that to 9 days. We enjoyed a couple of dinners with the RQ cruisers and lots of bike rides. 

Dinner at Beaches with RQ Cruisers

One of the best bikeways in Yeppoon

Warren made a new friend

Emu Park Singing Ship has had the volume turned down

Impressive ANZAC memorial at Emu Park

Looking towards the marina from Bluff Point

It was also great to catch up with my cousin Alan who I don't think I've seen since we were kids. 

Now.....

And then... I don't think we've changed much

Gladstone and The Narrows

Pancake Creek to Pacific Creek

Friday, 25 August to Friday, 1 September, 2023

We had a leisurely 0840 start to ensure we entered Gladstone with an incoming tide. A steady SE breeze to start, which went around to the E as we neared Gladstone made for an easy sail. The Gladstone Marina is off Auckland Inlet and after hearing lots of recommendations we decided to spend a week here. 

Gladstone Marina

The marina has a courtesy bus that we used for our reprovisioning and to visit the local art gallery and museum.

Old town hall repurposed as the art gallery

We were pleased to not encounter any magpies on our many bike rides, unlike our last visit which was my main memory of Gladstone! 

Spinnaker Park

Tondoon Botanic Gardens

Large cycad in the botanic gardens

Several RQ boats were already here, and we enjoyed a great dinner with the crew at the Yacht Club. 

Bridge opening on our walk home from dinner

We enjoyed our time in Gladstone however it is an industrial city and and coal dust in a northerly was not at all to Warrens liking!

Coal terminal north of the marina

So on Friday, 1 September we departed the marina for a trip up the inside of Curtis Island - aptly named The Narrows. The first 8 nm is in deep channels past the coal and gas loading wharves. Once clear of these, we motored with the tide towards the shallowest section of the passage. This is the crossover point for the tide and we quickly found ourselves pushing 3+ knots of tide.

2 engines needed to battle the tide

The shallowest section, the cattle crossing, is 2 m high at low tide and must be negotiated after careful calculations to make sure you have enough water. With a 4m tide we had no trouble, but we did breathe a sigh of relief as we got back into deeper water.

Fence shows where they used to drive the cattle across

We spent the night at Pacific Creek, so we could time the tide to Yellowpatch the following day. Lots of midgies and we swung from bank to bank in the wind. Not recommended!

Pacific Creek

Raby Bay to Pancake Creek

 Friday, 11 August to Thursday, 24 August 2023

We departed Raby Bay at 1450 for the short first leg of our trip to the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron. 

Great to have the family farewell us

Dinner in the bistro was appreciated after the rush of the last few days and we caught up with fellow sail cruisers from the club. With light wind predicted for Saturday, we headed off expecting to motor most of the 62nm to Mooloolaba. 

Early start from RQYS

We had an 0600 start to take advantage of the early SW winds and favourable tide. We sailed and motor-sailed in light winds until lunch time when the wind went to the NE and strengthened to 10 knots so we could finally turn off the motor. 

Glasshouse Mountains

Tacking close inshore we eventually made it into the Mooloolah River and anchored in the pond at 1645. We saw our first whales of the trip south of Point Cartwright.

Dusk at Mooloolaba

We had northerlies for the next few days so after 2 days anchored where we caught up with last minute boat jobs, we moved to the marina for 2 nights. This made it easier to visit friends, ride our bikes and I even managed a surf.

Leaving Mooloolaba with Meltemi

On Wednesday, with the wind finally in the south, we departed Mooloolaba at 0615 for Fraser Island in company with two other Seawind 1160s, Meltemi and Alibi. We carried our spinnaker all day, dropping it at 1530 to begin our crossing of the Wide Bay Bar. It was a couple of hours after low tide and the bar with the incoming tide was quite benign (my favourite word to describe the WBB). We spent the night at Pelican Bay.

Garry's Anchorage

On Thursday, we motored to Garry's Anchorage to hide from more northerlies. We caught up with Southern Exposure and walked up to Gary Lake to get some exercise.

Walking along the fire trail

On Saturday morning we crossed the Sheridan Flats at high tide and anchored behind Big Woody Island ready for an early start on Sunday to the Burnett River. Another good day for the spinnaker so we were anchored in the river by 1430. 

Dinghy in to buy fresh bread at Burnett Heads

On Monday, we headed for Pancake Creek. Light S, SE winds allowed us to carry the spinnaker until 1340 when we realized that our slow progress would mean an arrival after dark. We decided to motor and got the anchor down just before dark after 12 hours. Pancake Creek is one of our favourite anchorages - with fishing, kayaking and hiking all possible.

Pancake Creek

We managed to do all of these in our 3 days there. 

Warm day for our walk

Iconic Bustard Head Light

Jenny Lind Creek

Well maintained cemetery

Plane taking off from Aircraft Beach

We kayaked from Pancake Creek to Jenny Lind Creek. This is possible at high tide although with neap tides (lower highs) we had to walk about 50 m dragging the kayak through the shallow sections. We made it though and I enjoyed my first fishing for a couple of years. Fresh whiting is certainly hard to beat.

Nice day for a kayak

Creek is wide initially

Caught enough whiting for dinner

LARC from 1770 dropped in after visiting the lighthouse

Not much room as the tide drops

Our route

Whitsundays 2023 - Here we go again!

Even though we have had a mild winter, we have once again decided to head north for the sun and warm waters of tropical Queensland. Our departure was delayed so we could attend a very special event - our granddaughter's 5th birthday party.

In preparation for our cruise we hauled out at Boatworks, serviced the sail drives and antifouled and polished the hull. Warren had the 3 side hatches replaced, and we bought a new mainsail and sailcatcher from Neil Tasker at Barracuda Sails. 

Going well in light winds

We also replaced our chartplotter and radar with the latest Raymarine equivalents. The improvements in the technology in the last 12 years are very impressive.

Raymarine Axiom 2 Pro S

So we were ready to go - departure planned for Friday 11 August, 2023