After the Whitsundays

Our day of leaving Airlie Beach started with Jacki and I spending a couple of hours walking around the markets full of local produce, craft and some very interesting people. Watched a sand sculptor create an amazing dragon, hours and hours of work all to be washed away with a down pour of rain at lunchtime.
A good wind took us across towards Hayman Island, where we decided to take a mooring at nearby Langford Beach for the evening. Another rolly night, getting quite used to them by now.
Next morning we said goodbye to Tintin and we were heading west back towards the mainland to anchor at Bona Bay inside Gloucester Island. In through a fairly narrow passage to an idyllic spot. The mountains of the island were the backdrop to the little anchorage with a lovely stretch of beach - and it was so calm. We could sense a good nights sleep coming up.

Bona Bay on Gloucester Island

Next morning we felt great, sleeping soundly though the night. Decided to head off around lunchtime and do an overnight sail through to Townsville. Up past Cape Upstart, Abbott Point with the bulk carriers lying at anchor waiting for their turn to fill with coal,

past Cape Bowling Green, Cape Cleveland and arriving into Townsville just after sunrise. We had booked to take a berth at Breakwater Marina for a night, so into our spot then blissful sleep for a couple of hours.
Townsville waterfront is quite lovely with beautiful old colonial buildings overlooking the Gardens of Remembrance to those who served. The days are quite warm but the evenings are balmy. We will remember Townsville for very friendly people and wonderful gelati.

Off to Magnetic Island to meet up with Tintin again. This was my first visit to the island and I really enjoyed it. A shark netted pool on the beach for those who want to swim but that does not guarantee against stinger bite, so we didn't take the risk. A lovely long beach to walk along looking for shells, along with cafes, pub and small supermarket. Took a bus ride across the top to Nelly Beach on the other side, not much there but a lovely view from the top. Second night there we went ashore for an early bar-b-q on the foreshore and watched the sun go down. All in all a lovely few days there.

Next morning it was off again with Orpheus Island our destination for the day. The winds were benign so it was a motor/sail again. We had a line out trawling and had nothing biting all day, then just as we were about to bring it in and head in to anchor, it went off with a huge zzzzzzzz. Pete was put to the test, the old man and the sea. After about 30 mins of struggle, this one didn't get away and the proof is in the picture.

After filleting and washing down all the blood from the boat, we gave half a fillet to Tintin(about 2kgs) and joined them to supp on some very fresh sashimi, soy and wasabi. Our dinner that evening was tuna steaks done on the bar-b-q and they were delicious. The next evening was Thai Yellow Fish Curry, that was good also. Will look for a recipe for Thai Fish cakes next...seems when you catch a big one you will be eating it for days!
The anchorage at Orpheus Island was very pleasant, calm with no swell. Good coral could be seen at low tide off the beach and we went ashore fore a walk to the top of the mountain - what a view !

A short sail the following morning across to Lucinda and the entry to Hinchenbrook Channel. The island itself was shrouded in cloud as we approached, as it often is. It seemed as if we were entering Mordor from Lord of the Rings - ominous clouds and dark hills..

 By the time we passed the length of the sugar loading terminal. 5.8 ks long which dips 2 metres to follow the earth's curvature, the sun was breaking through the cloud and we were able to appreciate the area in it's full spectacular beauty. We are now anchored about 1/3 the way up, there is no sound, it is so quiet - just the odd noise of a fish jumping.

After a couple of relaxing days in the Keppels, it was time to hit the high seas and head north in convoy with Tintin. The next stop was Port Clinton were we stayed for 2 nights, a wide expanse of waterways and good holding. Fairly strong winds kept us swinging a bit on our anchor, of for a sound nights sleep.

 

Tintin anchored in Port Clinton - a huge expanse of water.

From there we headed to the Percy Islands stopping off overnight at South Percy for another 'swell' evening. Is there nowhere to have a still nights sleep? Off bright and breezy the next morning to Digby Island.

 It was a gentle motor all the way with no wind to be had. How can it from gale force to nothing so quickly. Getting in there at lunch time, it was BLT's for lunch then ashore for a swim and walk along the beach. What a lovely spot with just our 2 boats the only ones there.

With strong winds yet again the next morning, it was up with the sails and north to Scawfell Island. 25knt winds gave us a great sail up there but that was just the start of the winds. They increased throughout the evening to 30knts and were coming through the bay in which we were anchored in bullets. Very little sleep that night, very rolly again but we are almost  getting used to that. Off early the following morning with no abating of the winds, it was a shorter but just as fast sail north anchoring in the shelter of Thomas Island for the evening. We had stayed there on a previous trip and had fond memories of the island, with turtles popping up around us and were keen to get back there again. It was just as lovely but not as calm as we had had previously. The winds were now constant 24/7 so it was just for the evening as we were keen to push through to Airlie Beach.
Thomas Island is the start of the Whitsundays so we headed off in the morning passing all the resorts - Daydream, Long Island, South Molle .
Coasting up through Whitsunday passage with strong current going with us, we made good time into Airlie Beach, though rain squalls were intermittent with sunshine, it was a real mix of weather.

 

Aaah Queensland..."perfect one day...Bucketing the next"

 We anchored in the bay amongst the moorings and decided to have dinner ashore at the yacht club. How good it felt to get 'dressed up' for a night on the town.
Back to civilisation with supermarkets, laundromats and cafes. A lovely day spent getting washing up to date, basic provisions bought and sharing a real latte - loved every minute of it. The afternoon was lazing around the public pool, swimming and reading books. Nice to have our feet on terra firma again. Tomorrow we will go into the marina to refuel and top up water tanks, last of the provisioning and then it's off again wherever the wind takes us.

Meeting up with Tintin

After doing a last minute trip to Woolies for provisions, we left Keppel Bay marina and made our way to Keppel Island. Kittani went well - everything seems to be ok once again.
Amongst quite a few boats moored safely on the northern side of the island was Tintin, so good to see her again. After anchoring next to them, Jacky and Kevin arrived over to give us the run down on the island, time of sundowners and to let us know of a bar-b-q on the beach that evening around a campfire and a feed of Spanish Mackeral donated by another boat. How quickly and easily one fits into 'island life' around  here. So 5.00pm saw about 8 tenders descend on the beach armed with cooly bags and a salad to share. On arrival to the campfire, we were handed a green coconut which Denis had machetied open  and we drank the juice - welcome to Keppel Island. Pop went the champagne cork and we toasted being back together with friends again. Then sun was starting its descent and gave us a magical setting for our first night back on the seas. A delicious meal of fish and salads, with potato and sweet potato cooked in the coals - what a feed.
 Lovely to sit and chat with other sailors, hearing of places they had been and ones we are still to get to. Such an interesting group of people. With 3 guitars playing in the background, it made it a wonderful evening to remember and a zillion stars out on such a clear night. A mass exit of tenders back to their boats around 8.30pm and off to bed.
 The bay lived up to its reputation of being notoriously rolly but the locals say you get used to it after a while. We will see. Looking forward to some fresh coconut meat for breakfast.

                                               This is what it is all about ............

Learning to weave a "gwashoppa!"

 

Peter fishing for mangrove jack and Kevin fishing for mangroves!!

 

 

A perfect setting for a bar..unfortunately...closed!

Most of the infrastructure on the island is still closed from the cyclone earlier in the year.

 

Keppel update

The sump is back on, after some minor difficulties with the connection, we were able to slowly lower the beast back into place and it is so good not to see that engine dangling on chains. With an extra pair of hands, all the parts are being reconnected and Kittani is starting to look like herself again. It is a race against time as we are getting Chris back on a plane this evening. We just could not have managed the job without him, it would have taken us weeks, not days. We owe him big time. The inside of the boat looks like a bomb site but I am sure after a day of sorting and cleaning, we will be back to normal.
We had booked the marina for a week expecting the job to take that long - parts from Germany, getting trades people etc - so will enjoy a few days of rest.....yeah right..still more jobs to do.
Jacqui and Kevin arrived at Keppel Island yesterday so we will meet up with them on Monday

Keppel Bay marina

Well, who would have thought this sailing bit could be so difficult. After out stopover in Bundaberg, we were back on the high seas and a lovely sail up to Pancake Creek. Anchored fairly close to the mouth of the creek as those sand bars we could see made us very nervous and didn't want to get any closer than necessary. A pleasant evening followed by a good night's rest could almost make you forget the prop shaft issues. A leisurely day spent relaxing and decided to head off for a night sail up to Great Keppel Island. The stars and moon were out with a gentle breeze, it looked good. That was until the lightning started up in the distance to the north. A quick check of the BOM showed a large storm cell ahead, but we hoped it would pass out to sea before we got there. We made our way along the line of container ships anchored off Gladstone, some giving off more light than the moon itself and headed closer to the storm. A lot of sheet lightning around us then a couple of massive streaks that turned night into day, followed by almighty crashes of thunder. Some squalls of rain and it was all over - thank goodness.

Daylight saw us approaching the islands off  Yeppoon and Great Keppel came into view. We finally anchored at Long Beach on the southern side of the island with the place to ourselves. Ashore for a walk along the beach and a swim in lovely clear water. Gentle breeze from the north made it a lovely sheltered spot. We opted to stay put for the night and would go across to the other side of the island when the expected southerly arrived. That happened around 3.00am so we up anchored and started to make our way around. After about 15mins, we realised our oil pressure was dropping so cut the engine, hoisted the sail and went to investigate. Level was low so we topped up and continued to motor, keeping a careful eye on the gauge. 45mins later just as we were arriving at the north side of the island, the pressure dropped again. This time as Pete was pouring oil in the top, it was gushing out the bottom. This is not good. Thankfully it was now daylight and we raised sails again and we quickly anchored to investigate further. After bending and twisting to get a hand under the sump, Pete could feel a hole. This meant there was no oil in the engine and no engine to motor anywhere. Our plans then had to change, to get to a marina ASAP and get it fixed. After sailing across to Keppel Bay marina (about 7 NMR), we met the Coast Guard who kindly towed up in through the leads and onto

a safe mooring.

The next step was to get the sump repaired/replaced but firstly off from the bottom of a 650kg engine for a good look. That was a feat in itself. There were lots of phone calls and asking of advise from various friends and family of what to do, and how to go about it. 

Next day saw our son arrive from Brisbane with blocks and chain, slings, shackles, support beams, all that was necessary to get the job done. I had to leave the boat and do some grocery shopping - I couldn't bear to watch as Pete and Chris hoisted the 650kgs to a level high enough (about 18 inches in the air) All safely lifted, the sump taken off and who would have thought a hole so small (in my female opinion) could cause so much trouble. New gasket ordered and on its way from Brisbane. Sump being sandblasted, welded, painted and promised back to us as good as new with 48 hours. Things suddenly don't seem so bad.
Next instalment due shortly.

Boobie patrol !!!!

Somewhere off Fraser Island Pete was on Boobie Patrol. With 2 women on board, I know what you are thinking. Wrong, Brown Boobies - I am speaking of the feathered type. Just on dusk a pair of boobies thought they would nest in our sail bags. So Pete was in a full time job trying to fend them off. Then they thought the radar looked like a good nesting area. Back to the sail bags for another try. Then the solar panels at the back of the boat. Foiled again - they really are persistent. After about 10 minutes of trying, the pair finally got the message and took off. Or so we thought, The next thing about 12 boobies appeared circling the boat. You have to be joking. It was only a final showing that they had been defeated - Pete had triumphed - no nesting on his boat. But what went on once the sun had gone down was anyone's guess. Into Bundaberg this morning to drop off our crew member and get some expert advice about a prop shaft issue. May be a few days while we get this sorted.

On the road again!

Well..maybe on the sea again
Departed Brisbane yesterday (Saturday) at 0800. Currently just abeam of Sandy Cape on Fraser Island. ..it's Sunday 13.40 so still a long way to go to Lady Musgrave Island.