The texts below are the archives of Logbooks written during the previous seasons.

Season 2006

11-May-2006 First leg of the trip (search, rescue and other events)

We completed the first leg of our trip today. We sailed from Pittwater to Newcastle. It took us over a week to complete all little jobs on the boat before we could actually say there was nothing else to do. One major work was setting up tackle and fittings for our new fibre glass dinghy. It took good eight hours of work, including searching for parts and materials, but the dinghy hangs really nice on the back of the yacht. The dinghy was built by Tina’s brother, Matt.

A day before the trip to Newcastle we topped up the diesel and water tanks. All batteries were recharged, everything on the boat secured and Tina washed it again. We motored to the Basin and took the launching position for the next day. A couple of hours later Peter arrived. Peter takes his yacht and wife to the Whitsundays too. We decided to sail together as much as possible, considering the different speeds the yachts can sail. At least evening, mornings and sightseeing we could do together.

We prepared a detailed trip plan with routes entered on the electronic chart plotter, paper chart and in the log book. We shared the plan with Peter who was interested in just one thing: what course to Port Stephens? 28.5 magnetic!

Peter started next day early. We followed him an hour or two later at five am. We motored to the third waypoint from which we took the 28.5 course. (I really do not know how to steer 28.5 course. The compass moves constantly with the boat and I am lucky if I am in 15 degrees range!). There was some wind but – not like forecast – directly from our stern. We set the headsail only and supported the speed with the motor. This gave us our 6 knots average. Happily log in for the trip with… Search and Rescue Norah Head we turned on the autopilot and tried to keep horizontal positions as the seasickness started to affect us. We were in about 2 metres swell left over by the southerly change the previous night. Then we received the call from Peter. His boat lost the mast! He said he contacted the police and was assisted by them. He did not want us to do anything and wished us a safe trip to Port Stephens. Since he was alright we kept our course. Shortly later Gosford Costal Patrol called us and asked if we could assist a boat in distress. They said the skipper activated the safety beacon. They had no other information about the boat. I went down to the radio and, establishing they were talking about Peter, provided them with the details, such as the name of the boat, what was wrong with it, etc. When I finished talking to the Patrol, I was sick. Fortunately I had no breakfast thus I had nothing to share with fish. We also immediately changed the course to find them. Unfortunately, Peter gave us his position in completely opposite direction where we were looking for him. He also called us on the radio and said to continue the trip. We ignored this request. Gosford Patrol gave us his position shortly after that and we could start moving in the right direction. Shortly a chopper arrived and we could see that they were found. The chopper paramedic was lowered but it was too dangerous to take anybody on board. In reality there was no need for that as both Peter and Pim were fine (Pim was a bit seasick). The chopper provided them with a radio as Peter’s VHF eventually lost its antenna. When we arrived at the scene the chopper pilot informed that no assistance from us was needed. Peter was slowly motoring back to Pittwater. Police rescue boat was also not far. Unable to contact Peter we turned the yacht back North.

Quick calculation showed us that Port Stephens can be reached probably after the sun set. We changed our destination to Newcastle. We both were seasick although I could cope with it quite well. Tina spent most of the trip laying in the cockpit. She ate only dry biscuits. I brought tea bottle to warm us as it was rather cold.

During the trip we had a lot of radio contacts. For some reason everybody – Coast Guard, Costal Patrol, Search and Rescue from different locations – wanted to talk to us. This required me going down to the radio. Somehow my seasickness did not get worse and I even managed to have a sandwich!

We arrived to Newcastle at about 2pm. In the marina we were safely moored half an hour later. I think we caught a net or a rope under our rudder during the trip. The rudder feels a bit heavy, especially when a big wave comes. We decided to ask a local diver to look under the boat. He will come tomorrow. Let’s hope it is not a serious issue.

Right now we are resting on the yacht after hot showers and late lunch. It looks we will stay here for one day more because the diver can only come early in the afternoon. Tina is already talking about that seafood restaurant near by.

We also called Peter. He arrived safely to the marina and he is already working on the repairs. Pim and he will continue the trip as soon as the yacht is ready. We may still sail together

13-May-2006 Newcastle to Broughton Island

We sailed for a few hours only as the wind eventually was too weak and the direction was again right from the stern. Near Port Stephens we had to look out for crab traps as there were a lot of them.

Anchorage in the Northern Bay of the Broughton Island seemed good as the wind was from SW and swell from SE. There was a bit of rocking but not too much. In the evening the wind changed to NNE thus the boat changed the position significantly (we put about 40 m of anchor chain in 7 m depth at low tide). We moved thus about 60 m. At night this caused a little problem with the anchor buddy as it touched the bottom at low tide. This created a scrubbing noise when the chain moved against the buddy. Raising the buddy by about half a metre solved the problem.

Anchor held well all night.

14-May-2006 Broughton Island to Foster

We sailed initially but again we had to switch to the engine when the wind changed direction and got weaker. Costal Patrol in Foster was very helpful. There is a traffic tower right at the entrance and they made sure we stayed within the navigable channel. They also directed us to a pile mooring we could take for the night. The mooring provides easy land access but I would not recommend it. It is rather difficult to secure the boat and there are idiots in motor boats who just disobey the signs and speed through the channel. We managed to survive quite well and without the damage. Other two yachts anchored. We later found out that at least one of them did not sleep well. There are strong currents in the channel and we saw about 2.5 knots.

15-May-2006 Foster to Camden Haven

In the morning there was little current when we dropped the mooring lines. Costal Patrol watched us carefully when we were leaving the port. At some point they advised us to change the course to make sure we were not going over the sand bar. Wonderful service and we really wish all ports have it.

After initial motoring we got a SE 10-15 knots wind. The yacht sailed at about 7-8 knots. The best sailing day so far! We had only about 35 nautical miles to sail but there was a rather strong current against us. We logged 46 miles.

Crossing the sand bar at the Camden Haven entry was a bit scary. The waves were breaking there. We lined up the yacht with the lead marks and at a speed of about 5.5 knots moved forward. The waves did break around us at some point but not where we were. We crossed without an incident. NEVER AGAIN we will attempt this at low tide.

The channel is rather shallow. We had to move very slowly as the depth sounder showed 0 at some points. We did not touch the bottom however.

We chose to get a mooring at the local marina in Dunbogan. We wanted to have a good rest, a shower and good sleep. We got all.

21-May-2006 Camden Haven to Trial Bay

The previous evening we spent having a barbeque with other sailors in the marina. We were told that three other yachts planned a trip to Trial Bay. They were to start at 4:30am. It rained that night as a Southerly change passed through. We woke up at 5:30 and a 6 we were on our way. After about two hours of motoring we set the sails as the wind picked up. Till we reached Port Macquarie we were making good progress as the current was with us. At Point Plomer the current changed and became about 2-2.5 knots against us. We tried to sail closer to the shore (less than a mile) but we lost the wind there. Going farther off-shore did not help as the current got stronger. We ended up turning the engine on as we wanted to be in Trial Bay at the daylight.

Trial Bay is a bit confusing. Where it looks like a good place to anchor, there is just 2 metres of water. We anchored in about 7 metres at low tide and it looked we were there in the middle of the bay. Coastal Patrol however approved our choice of place for anchoring.

The anchor held all night.

Other yachts did not arrive. I think they woke up at 4:30, saw the rain and went back to sleep.

22-May-2006 Trial  Bay to Coffs  Harbour

The most significant event on this leg – we saw whales. Otherwise we motored all the way as there was only 3-4 knots wind. We arrived to the harbour early afternoon. Because of the weather the entrance was easy. We stopped at the marina - $25 per day. We plan here two-three days before the big jump to Yamba.

25-May-2006 From Coffs to Yamba

We made rather extensive preparations for this part of the trip. The distance seemed to be just on the limit of daylight sailing. We got out of the bed at 4:30 am and we were on the way 20 minutes later. It was dark and I could hardly see anything but lights. And we supposed not to sail at night!

The lead lights in the harbour are big and bright. We had not problems to identify and follow them. There was no wind initially thus we motored. When the wind picked up just after the sun rise we set the sails. Unfortunately, this was going to be the day when the wind comes and goes. We sailed then motored, then again sailed…

For the first time we used our new MPS. Setting up the sail is a real challenge. There are so many things to do and watch for. I had to change three or four lines before we could set the sail. It did work but the wind eventually got too weak even for the MPS. I packed the sail only to unpack it again as we made such a good progress towards Yamba that we would have arrived at the wrong time to cross the bar. With MPS we still made a good speed but… not directly to the harbour. When the wind became again too weak we motored to the harbour slowly.

Crossing the bar was not a problem as it was calm and there were no breaking waves. We contacted the marina in Yamba and they sent someone to help us find the way there. We had to be on our own till the “hole in the wall”. Following a guide was easy. We were secure in berth by 4pm. The distance proved to be no problem as we had .5 to 1 knot current with us all the way. I guess it paid off to sail between the Solitary Islands and various rocks.

The marina has very generous space between the boats in berths and between the wharves. This is a big difference in comparison to Coffs Harbour where the space is very tight.  There we had to go forwards and backwards a few times between the wharves to turn the boat around or even to leave the berth.

30-May-2006 “It is not a question ‘if’ but ‘when’ it happens”, said Neil

Today we left marina in Yamba and sailed to Byron Bay. We started at 8 am two hours before the high tide. We also followed to route we took to enter the marina and… we hit the sand (as Neil predicted). There are leads to get in and get out of the marina but there are two turns where the leads do not help. The first one is around an island near one of the leads. We touched the ground there. Fortunately we were moving slowly thus we could reverse and try again. That did not work either. We were about to turn back when some local people arrived and showed us the way out. We had to go near the small beach on the island not close to the lead mark. The depth sounder still showed 0 but we did not hit the ground.

The second place where there is shallow water is near the “hole in the wall” (this is not on charts! Yet that is the route local people recommend.). The best way is to follow the leads for the channel till the “hole in the wall” is on the beam and then turn to cross it. We did just that and although the depth sounder went to .1 metres only we made it without an incident.

Crossing the bar was a non-event as there was little swell and we were there at the right time. Soon after we set the sails as about 12 knots SW was pleasantly powering the sails. Well, for a while – a very short while. We ended up mostly “motor-sailing” with winds 5-8 knots from SW/S. There was a current against us of about 0.5 knots.

We arrived in Byron Bay right as planned as 17:00. The anchor and anchor buddy are in the water. It looks fine although it is a bit wobbly. I even managed to catch a fish but Tina – as always – declared it was too small to keep thus it went back.

Forecast for tomorrow is good and we hope to be in Southport sometime in the afternoon.

31-May-2006 From Byron  Bay to Southport

The night was a bit rocky but we did not mind that as we can both sleep if it is not too violent. Morning was very nice and Tina took a photo of the sunrise at the most Eastern cape of Australia.

Sailing initially was really good. We had about 12-16 knots SW wind and we powered ahead even though there was a current against us. At that time we also caught our first fish. We had a lure behind the boat and a tuna tried it. It gave us a good fight before we had it in the boat. This time Tina declared it was not only big enough to keep it but also that it would be enough for both of us for dinner. We therefore did not fish anymore.

After about an hour and a half the wind disappeared and we had to motor. Only the last 90 minutes we were able to set the sails again although we still had to support them with the engine. Most of the time we had 1-2 knots current against us. We arrived to Southport at the expected time however.

The entrance to the port was calm and we entered without a problem. Soon we had speed boats going in both directions. There was even a surfboarder in the middle of the entrance channel and choppers above our heads. I could not find the lead marks and I had to rely on the electronic charts and GPS. At some point – just after the entry – we had only 0.5m of water under the keel. This is despite us keeping to the middle of the channel. However once we passed that point we had at least 3m of water under the keel. I should mention that we came at the low tide.

Initially we wanted to anchor near the Water World but we changed our minds and we went to the Southport Yacht Club marina. We want to investigate a bit more which way we should go from here. One is on the ocean and this requires an overnight sailing. The other leads through channels to the Moreton Bay. We are not sure we can make the channels. In Southport we will try to find out more about the channels and, if going through them, buy the charts. So far the signs are there we should sail on the ocean. 2m draft may be too much for the channels even with careful timing of the tides.

The marina is very tight. We got a berth right at the dead end. We always berth with the stern to the jetty as this way we can easy walk in and out. Thanks to no wind and no current we somehow managed to turn the yacht around and with the help of a local yachtsman berthed it perfectly. We will have nice showers and fresh fish tonight!

06-June-1006 From Southport to Jacobs Well

We teamed up with two other yachts to motor through the channels to Morton Bay. Terry (“Spirit Chaser”) has done it before and he was confident we could too. His Moody 43 has a draft of 1.5m. That’s about 0.5m less than us. But Phil with his Cole (“Phoenix”) has 2m draft. Well, we decided to go along with them.

We started at about 10:15 in the morning. This was wrong time! The high tide was to be at about 4PM and we should start at 2PM. However with Terry leading we felt confident we would be fine. It soon was clear that the trip was not easy for my stress levels. I had to turn off the alarm on the depth sounder as it would beep at me nearly all the time. We made however good progress. Then we came to point where there is an entrance to the Sanctuary Cove. I noticed that the depth dropped quickly and I nearly stop the yacht. Soon we felt a gentle touch of the sand bank. We tried to go some other way by the depth was dropping to zero too fast. We moved back and anchored the boat. We had to wait for the high tide. Two and a half hours later we decided to go again. As it happened a yacht came along and I asked what was its draft. 1.9m and the sailor was a local. He cheerfully agreed for us to follow him. With about .4m of more water we negotiated the channel although not without some stress as the depth sounder went to .1m below the keel.

We followed the local sailor and soon we joint two other yachts that waited for the high tide before entering the channel to Jacobs Well. Four yachts went together. We did see very low water and at the lowest point we felt that the yacht “jumped” over the sand bar. And then it was over! We hade three metres of water under the keel!

We anchored for the night just North of Jacobs Well. Tomorrow we will have to start early to catch the high tide to negotiate our passage near Cabbage Tree.

Scotch tasted really well tonight.

07-June-2006 From Jacobs Well to Eric Early Light (Arawoolum)

At about eight in the morning we started our passage. Terry lead the way with Phil following him and us behind them. All the way we were rather too far behind them to follow their path. I usually slowed down to about three knots when the depth sounder was showing less than a metre below the keel. We then would try to catch up with them when the water was deeper what was rather rare.

Despite us worrying about some shallow parts of the passage we had no problems with the depth. The lowest we had was about 0.3m below the keel. We were all relaxed when we came to the last shallow. Terry called it was 3m. That’s a plenty for us.

We went in and… soon the depth sounder was at zero. I reversed and we were fine but we were not sure which way to go now. Before we decided, the current pushed us against the sand bank. We were stuck there for good as the tide was going down.

We called Costal Patrol and asked for help. They promised to send someone. In the meantime Terry and Phil arrived. We tried to put the anchor using the dinghy and use the anchor winch to pull us of the bank. It did not work. We were about to try again when Costal Patrol came along. They passed on a rope to us as asked us to connect it to the spinnaker halyard. Then they pulled the rope healing the yacht. It came out with ease.

We motored to the other side of the channel and anchored there. We decided to wait for the high tide. The Costal Patrol guys came to the yacht and asked for a donation. After $50 and a beer later we were good friends. They did a good job and we were really glad to be free from the mud.

At about two hours before the high tide we entered the channel again. This time we had no problems with depth sounder showing at least 1m below the keel. We anchored next to  the other yachts and had some drinks with the sailors. We plan to stay here for a couple of nights before moving on. Where? Who knows?

10-June-2006 From Eric Early Light (Arawoolum) to Peel Island

This was just a short jump from one anchorage to another. This time we insisted we had to sail at the high tide. It was easy to accommodate us as the high tide was at about 9AM. We created a line of three yachts with Spirit Chaser leading, Phoenix next and Shirena last. We had to look really good as we saw some people taking photos of the line.

This time we passed all shallow parts without an incident with minimum depth on our sounder of 1.2m under the keel. This means we would have not make it at the low tide.

Anchorage at the Peel Island is full of boats as it is Saturday the beginning of the long weekend. There would probably be more boats here if it was not for the weather. It rained in the morning and the clouds cover the sky.

We anchored in about 7m of high tide water.

11-June-2006 From Peel  Island to Scarborough Marina

After checking the weather forecast for the day we changed our plans and sailed to Scarborough Marina instead of going to Mooloolaba. We started with others at about 6AM. Initially the wind was about 15-20 knots and we sailed pretty well. Soon however the wind became stronger and we had to put two reefs. We still were doing over 8 knots. The real challenge came when we turned towards the marina. We had to go nearly directly against the wind. With the reefed main only and the engine on we battled waves and 30 knots winds for about two hours.

Entry to the marina is a bit tricky although very well marked with channel buoys. I noticed 0.3m under the keel at the entrance. Since we arrived just after the high tide we will have to leave the marina close to high tide too.

The marina is very well protected and we had no problems to find the fuel wharf. We were told to go first there by someone from the marina (it is just a short walk from the office). Since we were there we filled up the diesel tank. Shortly we were given a berth which we booked for a week.

18-June-2006 Sail to Mooloolaba from Scarborough

We started at 6AM to leave the marina in the middle of the low tide. There were no problems with depth – minimum seen was 0.8m. Initially the wind was from SW about 15 knots. We set the sail as soon as we left the shallow water around marina. The route took us through Pearl Passage. We decided not to use the Bribie Island passage as it had a shallow patch that we would have to negotiate at the low tide. This added about 7 miles to the trip.

The waves in the Morton Bay were about 1m and since we were mostly following them they caused no problems this time. With two reefs on the main and full genoa we moved at about 7-8 knots. Once we reached the Main Channel of the bay we were caught between two container ships – one entering the harbour and the other leaving it. They passed each other about 200 m ahead of us. It looked a bit crowded there although we seemed to be the only sailing yacht on the water.

The wind changed to SSE and  got weaker at first but we still managed above 7 knots. Later the wind picked up and I saw over 25 knots real. At that time the yacht was doing about 8-9 knots. The recorded maximum speed was 11.1 knots. I also saw on the GPS 11 knots when surfing a wave. It would be a nice sailing day if it was not for frequent rain and Tina’s sea sickness. Some waves were at least four metres high and they were not smooth but rather choppy as the wind was from a different direction than the swell.

We entered Mooloolaba port without any problems. Finding marina was also easy and as we called them earlier we went straight to the berth. We were secured there by 1PM. The whole trip took less than seven hours. Log showed we did 47.7 miles.

21-June-2006 Shortest day, longest passage – Mooloolaba to Pelican Bay

Early start again, 5:36. We left the harbour following the channel buoys and the lead lights. The wind was about 10-15 knots from SW. We set the headsail only as we wanted others to catch up with us. They seemed to have left the marina about 20-25 minutes later. The swell initially was not too bad, however it became rather unpleasant later during the day. It looked like at least two competing sets of waves from different directions. The result was the sea like a chessboard with towers, empty places and king hits!

When others came closer we set the main with two reefs as the forecast was for 20-25 knots winds. As soon as we set the sails the wind shifted to South and was directly on the stern. We decided to go farther on the sea and sail on broad reach. With forecast for the further shifts towards East we expected to return on the route later. And this was the case.

Till Wide Bay we sailed quickly (7-8.5 knots) and only when we encountered a short period of winds above 25 knots, we reefed the headsail too.

Realizing we would be at the Wide Bay bar too early for crossing (we needed at least three hours of the high tide) we slowed down by dropping the main. Other yachts arrived at the bar within not more than 15 minutes of each other. Spirit Chaser, followed by Phoenix and a catamaran entered the bar first. We were about 10 minutes behind. On our approach the weather closed in. Till now we had a plenty of rain in the morning but later the sun showed up and it was rather pleasant. Now the big dark cloud covered the sky, the rain started poring and the wind picked up. After looking behind and seeing no prospect for any change in the near future, we started the engine and entered the bar crossing.

Visibility was such that there was no chance to see the lead light. We followed the lead and the route on the chart plotter. The crossing is very much different than others we have done so far as it is really long – I think about 3.4 miles all together. This means it takes about 40 minutes for us to complete it. When we got closer to the shore, the visibility improved and I could spot the white light indicating we were on course. This was a relief as the swell was rather big and seeing breaking waves on both sites was rather nerve wrecking.

Right on the way point in the middle of the crossing we abandoned the light lead and turned to follow the second one. This one directs the boats through a channel parallel to the reef on port site and the land on the other. Waves break on the reef but are not stopped there and come to the channel. I could not be sure I could see the lead marks. The visibility again got worse and two little square signs somewhere far on the shore did not seem to be the ones we needed. Again we relied on the chart plotter.

Soon the waves became smaller and smaller till the swell disappeared completely. We were in heavy rain and some gusty winds but in relatively calm waters. Another 20-30 minutes and we dropped the anchor near Spirit Chaser and Phoenix. Other two yachts have also anchored near by.

We covered about 65 miles in just over 10 hours. The shortest day of the year was long enough for us to complete the longest passage we have done so far.

22-June-2006 To Tin Can Bay

After a night on the anchor in the Pelican Bay we waited for the high tide to move on to Tin Can Bay. It was a short – about one hour – trip. Again three yachts motored in line. There are leads in the channel and by following them we had a plenty of water. At the place where we anchored we read about 14 metres depth. All of our chain went into the water and the anchor body, of course.

The evening we spent with others having drinks and talking about our trip to the Wide Bay.

26-June-2006 To Garry’s Anchorage from Tin Can Bay

The trip started at nine in the morning. We followed the route we used to go to Tin Can Bay initially. Near Pelican Bay we met “Final Straw” an American yacht we visited in Mooloolaba. Their destination was also Garry’s Anchorage.

We arrived at the anchorage’s channel at the low tide. Crossing from the main channel to the anchorage gave 2.4m depth reading. Inside the channel the depths were more comfortable of about 2.8-3m. We expected to see a few yachts there but instead there were only two more, including “Final Straw”. After we anchored we heard on the radio that a catamaran hit a sand bar and was forces to wait for the high tide. We had our beer and wondered how we would fare the next day.

27-June-2006 From Garry’s Anchorage to Kingfisher Resort anchorage

This is the most difficult part of the passage through the Great Sandy Strait. On the way there are very shallow places and using the high tide is essential. We started at 8AM about 2.5 hours before the high tide. Again, “Spirit Chaser” first, followed by “Phoenix” then us. Exit from the Garry’s Anchorage proved it was not easy. Both “Spirit Chaser” and “Phoenix” found a sand bar nearly at the same time. We managed to steer away from the trouble by following yesterday’s track that was converted into a route. Phil freed “Phoenix” rather quickly. “Spirit Chaser” needed a help of the headsail and the engine.

After that early adventure the rest of the trip went uneventful. There were shallow places but because of the high tide we always had nearly one metre of water under the keel. On the way we met other yachts going in both direction. At some point there was a yacht following us, especially in the shallow channels.

After about four and a half hours we arrived at our destination – Kingfisher Resort – and anchored there.

29-June-2006 Kingfisher Bay to Urangan marina

The wind was 15-20 knots and from SE. Three yachts set just the headsails. The sailing was pleasant although the wind was rather cold. We prepared our own route and followed it. It worked out well. Again the electronic charts were not accurate enough and we relied on paper ones.

The marina’s entrance is very narrow. We entered on the windward site giving as much room as possible for any wind or wave caused drift. Inside the marina is not protected too well from the SE winds. Berthing the yacht proved a bit difficult but Terry and Susie from “Spirit Chaser” came to give us a hand. We needed it this time!

The plan is to stay here till Sunday. Next stop will be Bundaberg.

4-July-2006 From Bundaberg to Pancake Creek

We started early as we had about 65 miles of sailing ahead of us. “Spirit Chaser” and “Phoenix” were also going thus we could set the formation of yachts again. One more yacht – “Sundancer” from Pittwater – also sailed with us.

Leaving the harbour in darkness was not a problem as the channel marks are well lit. We motored in the channel to the marks that are set at the end of the shallow water North of the channel. From there we moved North around the shallow water but leaving the channel. The wind was from SW initially about 12-15 knots but soon strengthened to about 20. After sailing with full sails in lighter wind we reefed the main sail when it got stronger. Our route (using “Beacon to beacon” waypoints)  lead us a bit farther offshore. This meant we had bigger waves. Someway half way we moved closer to the shore and the sailing became a bit more comfortable.

With strong wind we made very good progress averaging about 7 knots. About 20 miles from the destination the wind initially dropped to 7-8 knots then picked up at about 10 from SE. Since we had a plenty of time to spare we tried to sail all the time although we did motor a bit when the wind was too weak.

All three yachts met at the entrance to the creek and we followed “Spirit Chaser” to the anchorage. There are three anchorages in the creek. The first one is the easiest to reach as it is just after the entrance. It is however not too comfortable to anchor there because of the strong currents and some swell. The third anchorage is too far in the creek thus too shallow for our yacht. We therefore went to the second (middle) one. The entrance there is a bit tricky as we had to stay between the shallows to the North and red channel marks to the South. Then we had to follow leads to stay in the deep channel. When to abandon the leads is also a good question, especially that the depths there are below 4 metres. We managed to go through the channel without any incidents and the shallowest I noticed was 3.5 metres.

The last challenge was to find a place to drop the anchor. Our book guide says to do that opposite the beach. We tried that and the anchor would not hold. After two attempts we started to wonder what to do next, when someone on a big motor boat nearby shouted to us to move to the other side of the channel. Apparently the place we (and others) chose has lots of coral at the bottom thus the holding is not good. The other side has more sand as it is next to the sand bar. We moved to the new place and after some anxious moments the anchor set. I added the anchor body and lots of the chain hoping to have some sleep at night.

2-July-2006 Urangan to Bundaberg – a bit of everything

Early start as the wind forecast was for 5-10 knots and we had to make a 45 miles trip. During the day we had a bit of motoring, then sailing, next motor sailing and again motoring. Navigation was rather easy although way points providing by the “Beacon to beacon” would have us on the top of some yellow mark. We also discovered a couple of channel markers that do not exist on any charts we have.

We booked at the Bundaberg Port Marina for a week. This should give us tie to make some warranty repairs and refresh the supplies.

8-July-2006 Pancake Creek to Gladstone – “it’s ONLY 30 miles”, Tina

The main problem for us was to make sure we find the way out without discovering a ”new” sand bank. This time we were on our own as others decided to stay a few days longer. We had to go to meet Erin in Gladstone. Tina told others it was “only”30 miles to Gladstone. I remember that about a year ago 17 miles form Pittwater to Sydney Harbour was a real challenge!

We left the anchorage just after the high tide. We had some current with us and lots of water under the keel. I tried to create a track from the GPS when we entered the anchorage but the plotter saved only the first hundred or so metres. The biggest problem was to reach the lead marks not too early or not too late. Too early would put us on coral and too late on a sand bank. We negotiated that part very well with plenty of water under the keel. The rest of the exit was easier as we just had to follow the channel marks. Still there were a few tense moments when the depth under the keel dropped below about 1.2 m. I was glad we had the high tide!

As soon as we got into deep waters we set the sails. SW wind of 12-15 knots carried us comfortably and fast. We reached the channel to the port somewhere in the middle. Only one big ship passed us there with a plenty of space to spare. After we changed the course the wind was right on the stern and it got weaker. We dropped the headsail and turned the engine on. It still took us nearly two hours to the marina. Gladstone is a big harbour. There was about 1.5 knots strong tidal current against us as we came at the ebb tide.

The entrance to the marina was good although there were shallow parts. We found our berth and moored the yacht there without any problems.

10-July-2006 Visiting  Graham  Creek

The weather was fine and we decided to make a short trip to Graham Creek. There was no sailing, as we had to stay within the shipping channels. In any case the wind was about 7-8 knots and directly on the stern. After about two and a half hours of motoring against the tide we arrived at the creek. Initially it looked we would be the only yacht there, but soon we discovered three other boats on the anchor. The depth was fine and we found a good place to anchor.

Soon a man from one of the yachts arrived to talk to us. It appears that the creek is a waiting place for yachts that plan to cross The Narrows. This is a passage that a lot of yachts do although they have to make sure they have enough of the high tide. In one place there is 6 miles that dries at the low tide. There are fences for cattle thus the yachts motor above them!

The man told us he wanted to make the passage at night, as at this time only night high tide was high enough for him. He arranged with the Costal Patrol to lead him. However, his wife told him she would not go through the passage at night. He called off the Coastal Patrol (saving $100.oo). When he saw us he hoped we had some electronic gadgets that would let us do the passage with him behind. We certainly disappointed him but I bet his wife was happy!

12-July-2006 - Back to Gladstone marina from Graham  Creek anchorage

After two nights we returned to the marina. This time we used the tide current to our advantage. In some places the current was above 3 knots. The trip back was therefore quick. Leaving the creek we used the same entry track stored in the chart plotter. In marina we were given the same berth we occupied earlier. Since there are no refunds and no bookings here we paid for two nights only. We may however stay longer as the weather forecast is for rains in two days for the following next four. We also want to do some maintenance work on our outboard motor. The motor has not been served since we bought it. It will be an interesting exercise for me. 

18-July-2006  Crossed  Capricorn  Tropic

After a long period of wait for the right weather we decided to sail to the Cape Capricorn. The weather forecast was for 15/20 knots winds and strong wind warning for the next day. We had enough of the marina stay however and left the harbour. Well, the wind was 5-7 knots and directly on the stern. We motored all the way to the Cape Capricorn anchorage. The place turned out to be very small having no more room than for two-three yachts. We were the only occupants anyway. Not knowing how close to the beach we could anchor we stopped at about 6 metres depth at high tide. This located us directly in line between the two headlands there.

The anchor held well and we had a good night sleep although there was some rocking of the boat. At night the wind was gone and so were the waves. Thus we reached the Tropic of Capricorn.

19-July-2006  Cape  Capricorn to Great  Keppel  Island

With the forecast for strong winds we decided to give a miss to the HummockyIsland and go straight to the Keppel Island. The wind was about 15-20 initially, then above 20. Again it was nearly directly from the stern. For most of the way we managed to have two sails filled up. Later we dropped the headsail as the wind got stronger and only one sail really worked. Despite that the yacht went fast and by early afternoon we were anchored. The anchorage was full of yachts  I guess – like us – others were looking for the shelter during the incoming change with strong winds. The forecast is for two days of rain, too. We plan to stay here for 3-4 days depending on how we like it. The yacht is rocking in some swell at present but it is not too bad.

24-July-2006  Great  Keppel  Island to Keppel  Bay marina (RosslynBay)

This was just under 10 miles trip in nice 12-14 knots wind on the beam. We set the sails at about 8 AM and the yacht was berthed before 10. The marina looks very nice, especially the location with surrounding hills. We have already met or spotted other people and their boats. Everybody is waiting for the army to finish the exercises. On Thursday we should expect a big flotilla sailing north.

The only issue with the marina is that it has a very shallow entrance. We came at high tide thus we had no problems. After we berthed the yacht I received an SMS from Phoenix warning about the depth. They apparently got stuck on the bottom and the yacht had to be towed by a motorboat. Our plan is to leave in Thursday at about 8 AM just about an hour before the high tide.

27-July-2006  Roslyn  Bay to Port  Clinton

We left the marina at 8:20 in the morning, two hours before the high tide. It looked we were the last yacht to leave after the army opened the access the waters around Port Clinton. The entrance showed 3.7m as the minimum depth. That’s more than enough for us but at the low tide we would hit the bottom.

Shortly after we left the marina we set the sails, as the wind was good – about 12 knots. Our route led us across shallower parts along the coast. At some point the depth dropped rapidly below five metres. We were doing over seven knots and it was a rather anxious moment. The charts showed about that depth in that place but we were there nearly at the top of the high tide! We should not have seen anything below eight metres.

When we started we saw a couple of sails on the horizon. There was no one behind us. At the time we reached the entrance to Port Clinton we were in a company of about 6-7 yachts. Some passed the entrance choosing to carry on farther North. We discovered that Ginseng – Derek and Jill – were just ahead of us. They were definitely going to Port Clinton and we followed them. The entrance to the port was not a problem as we followed instructions from the pilot book. Besides we followed veterans of sailing.

Despite our worries we would have a problem to find a place to anchor, we had a plenty to choose from. There were not as many yachts as we expected. I guess most had the same thoughts as us and decided to visit the port some other time.

We anchored not far from Ginseng and… Blue Bayou II. It appears Greg and Jane changed their plan and came to port instead of going to Pearl Bay as they told us they would do. Unfortunately it has been raining since early afternoon and it started really poring later. Nobody launched a dinghy, as any trip would be very wet and unpleasant. The only communications we had was from Derek who offered his yacht for 50 cents. He was a bit unhappy as his main sail got ripped on the way. Luckily he is a sail maker and he has his tools on the yacht. I am sure the main will be as new tomorrow.

29-July-2006  Port  Clinton to Pearl  Bay

This was a short trip – about 10 miles – in weak winds. We motored all the way. Shortly after we left the Frenchman left the anchorage too. We left the port the same we came following the track stored in the plotter. Frenchman chose a shorter route close to the shore. We met near the entrance to the Pearl Bay. I had to slow down as it was not clear if the Frenchman would actually enter the bay or not. Eventually he did and we followed. After the yachts were anchored (we needed two attempts as the first one did not hold), the Frenchman came to us in his dinghy and thanked for letting him go first. We invited hm for drinks in the evening (see More stories).

30-July-2006  Pearl  Bay to Island  Head  Creek

We did not enjoy the anchorage, as it was rather rocky at night. Fish did not bite either. We waited for the high tide and left for Island Head Creek. We exited the bay the same way we entered. There was good wind of 12-14 knots but right from the stern. We also needed to recharge the batteries. After some attempts to motor-sail with the headsail, we dropped the idea and just motored to the creek. We arrived at the entrance one hour before the high tide. Following instruction from the pilot book we managed to enter the creek. The lowest depth we saw was 3.9 metres. We will leave the creek at the high tide, too.

There were a few yachts anchored in the area. For some reason most of them were in a place not recommended by the guidebooks. We anchored next to a yacht at a place that was a favourite for one of the guides.

31-July-2006  Island  Head  Creek to Hexam  Island

We waited for third hour of high tide before attempting to exit the port. Later we found out that a couple of yachts that tried to leave the creek at low tide hit the bottom. Unfortunately – or fortunately – for us the plotter recorded only a part of the track when we entered the creek. We could not follow it therefore. Instead we tried to follow a route from the pilot guide and we also slowed down and tested different routes. If the depth dropped we turned one or the other way and if it improved we stayed on course. If not, we tried the other way. All that seemed to have worked as we saw at least 6 metres of water.

Sailing – well not really, as the wind was about 4-6  knots and right on the stern, again(!) – was uneventful. We reached the Hexam Island in the afternoon. This is a gorgeous place! Views are stunning.

We anchored quite a long way from the beach in about 10 metres of water at high tide. There are other yachts here and most of them anchored a bit closer. We used all of our chain, as the wind seemed to have picked us in the afternoon and in the evening.

01-August-2006  From  Hexam  Island to South  Percy  Island

A short trip – 17 miles - with just couple of waypoints as the route was straight. The wind was about 10-15 knots initially but dropped below 10 knots later. Again, the direction of the wind was from the stern. We set however the main sail and sailed close to the route. Just one jibe was required.

We anchored at the West-North Bay near a pretty beach. It will be a rocky night but I think the views compensate this small inconvenience.

02-August-2006  South  Percy to Middle  Percy  Island

We woke up rather late. It was a bit of a surprise as well as a feeling of disappointment that other yachts anchored near us were already gone. It is less than seven miles from South Percy to the Middle Island. We had our breakfast and without any urgency we set the sails. Actually just one sail – headsail. The wind was only about 7-8 knots thus we decided to motor sail. We needed to recharge the batteries, too.

The trip took about one and a half hours as we moved slowly. At the West Bay where we anchored there were three other yachts already. We chose a place behind a catamaran and dropped the anchor there.

Soon other yachts arrived. One of them caused a bit of concern as it anchored in front of a catamaran rather close. Other came close to us but then moved away. I guess this is going to be the story for this trip. Judging from the radio traffic there are a lot of yachts around. Especially worrying are some calls from charter yachts. People call with all sorts of problems.

On the way to the island we heard from Derek. He and Jill sailed to HexamIsland today. They will come to the Middle Percy Island tomorrow. We consider staying an extra night here and have the company for the next couple of days. We will however split again as we will have to go to Mackay marina while Derek and Jill never go to marinas.

04-August-2006  Middle  Percy  Island to Digby  Island

Since the swell was rolling the yacht we left the place early and in a hurry. We still had the dinghy behind the boat and it was a bit of an effort to store it safely in the conditions. We managed to do that and soon we were on our way. The wind was from SW and about 15-20 knots. We set the sails with the first reef on the main and the full jib. The waves were rather big from time to time. The wind was on the bow and so were the waves.

We sailed however well and without to many splashes. Over 22 miles we covered in less than three hours. Finding the entrance to the anchorage is a bit of a challenge. There are three possible entries but only one with safe depths. Confusion is mostly created by a rock that it not visible on approach as it blends with the background island. We followed the route on the chart and found the entrance. There was nobody here thus we found the best spot and dropped the anchor.

During the day a motorboat arrived but they did not stay, complaining about the “rolling” on the radio to some friends. Later another seven yachts came. Nearly all missed the entrance. Some had to return and two used entries with low depths. Fortunately there were no problems.

Derek and Jill are here today. They came with other friends and we met on the beach. They invited us for drinks in the evening. The wind weakened significantly and we are looking forward to the social part of our life.

05-August-2006  Digby  Island to Mackay  Marina

Like on the previous night the wind came in the morning. It woke us up and we hardly had much sleep after that. The start was therefore early. Two other yachts – “Platypus” and “Summer Solstice” left just ahead of us. The anchorage became a bit uncomfortable.

We set the main with two reefs. The yacht was moving forward swiftly. Our route was nearly straight with just one waypoint near the Double Island. The forecast was for 15-20 knots SW/S wind. We had 20-25 knots. Somewhere halfway to the Double Island the wind seemed to drop below 20 and we set about 80% of the headsail. We were doing a very good progress now.

Once we passed the Double Island the wind picked up again and it was well above 20 knots with gusts of 27-28. The wind however did not bother us as much as the waves. They were building up for the last two days and now they were really nasty – short, steep and high. Handling the yacht has become a challenge as the big waves were coming regularly and – because of our course – they were on our beam. We tried to take the bigger waves on the quarter of the stern. This sometimes worked but sometimes it did not and the yacht would turn nearly 90 degrees with heavy healing. Since the wind picked up we wanted to drop the headsail but it was as not easy. We managed to do this once behind the Prudhoe Island. This slowed us down below 7 knots but it seemed to help in handling the waves.

After we passed the island there seemed to be some strips of big breaking on the top waves. We steered the yacht trying to go behind the waves that just created the white water. It worked. Then not too big wave came and splashed the cockpit. I was drenched and I had to go and change. Tina took over the steering. When I came back she said she thought the wind dropped. She was right. The wind did drop. Soon we set the headsail again, first about 60% then full. We could even remove the reefs on the main but we did not bother. Last mile to the marina we motored.

We called the marina on the radio and asked for the allocation of a berth. They told us it was C7 “behind a blue yacht”. That got us thinking. Did we get the berth or just a place at the jetty? The confusion was cleared once we arrived at the berth. They were putting four yachts in every berth. Later the girl in the office told us they had so many requests they had to double up or close the marina. Everybody was coming to hide from the bad weather forecast for the next few days.

We berthed behind “Sunny Meade” a yacht we met a few times before and we already knew the owner – Jeff. Our boat sticks out of the berth about 2 metres but nobody cares – we are safe and happy to stay here for a week.

11-August-2006, Mackay to Scawfell  Island

Before leaving the marina we went to the fuel jetty to fill up with diesel and water. Preparations took a bit longer than we anticipated thus we left the port just before 10. As soon as we cleared the breakwater we encountered a rather confused sea. The swell was from East, the wind from SE and the current from the North. All that created a bit of a mess. The wind was about 15 knots thus we set both sails with the first reef. As we moved away from the land the waves and the wind increased. The second part of the passage we sailed in winds of about 20 knots. We made a good progress and by 13:30 we reached the Refuge Bay of the Scawfell Island. There were a few yachts there but we had no problem finding a place to drop the anchor. Later more yachts arrived but the bay is big and it accommodated everybody.

We had a bit of rolling and some “bullets” from time to time but the anchorage seems to be comfortable.

13-August-2006 Scawfell  Island to Brampton  Island

The initial destination was Keswick Island. The plan was changed once we arrive at the Keswick Island. Both places marked as anchorage were not good at all. They were not only unprotected from the wind but also from the swell. We had lunch there and proceeded to raise the anchor. That proved a bit difficult as it caught something, possibly some coral. It let go however once we motored slowly above it.

Sailing was good. The winds ranged from 12 to 20 knots. The second part of the trip to Brampton Island we did using just the headsail. The wind was directly on the stern and both sails would not work.

At anchorage we found a few yachts, including “Final Straw” and “By chance” we met in the Mackay marina. Nearby was anchored “Renaissance” we met a couple of times earlier, last time at the Scawfell Island.

The place looks nice. Tina wants to explore the island and even possibly go to a restaurant in the resort. We may stay here more than couple of nights.

16-August-2006 Brampton  Island to Goldsmith  Island

A short trip of just over 10 miles. The wind was about 12 knots and from the SW. We sailed in nearly straight line from the anchorage to the corner of the Goldsmith Island. We then had a leg with “butterfly” (headsail on one site of the yacht and the mainsail on the other).

There are two bays where we could anchor. Three yachts occupied the first one and that really exhausted all available places. We managed to anchor there with anchor in about 8 metres of water the yacht in 15 metres. It held well but we were not happy. Soon “Summer Solstice” arrived and they could not find a place to anchor. They tried a few places and even dropped the anchor in one of them but it did not hold. Eventually they went to the next bay. There they found a good spot and radioed us. We followed them.

The anchorage is good and we found there other known to us yachts.

I tired to fish and I caught… three toadfish again! It will be pork for dinner tonight.

17-August-2006 Goldsmith Island to Laguna Marina

We timed our departure to make sure we arrived in the marina at the high tide. The entry there is shallow and we were advised to be there after 4pm. We spent morning watching other yachts leaving for Whitsunday Islands. Some moved just within the bay to improve their position for the night.

We left the bay shortly after “Summer Solstice”. Denis and Jenny were sailing to the Laguna Marina too. They have already arranged to keep their yacht there for the cyclone season. Our goal was to check the marina if it would suit us to leave “Shirena” there.

The wind was in 8-14 knots range and from SE (nearly on the stern). Since we could not achieve the required speed of 5.5 knots (needed to arrive at the destination at 4:30pm) we tried the MPS. It surprised us! Our speed improved by more than a knot. We had a period of very weak wind when we dropped the MPS and motored but soon the wind recovered and we set the sail again. We arrived at the entrance to the marina just after 4pm. We saw “Summer Solstice” in the channel going slowly between the marks.

The entrance is marked by channel marks. The channel was dredged some years ago. The lead marks are also installed and they keep the yachts in the middle of the channel. Staying on the marks was a bit of a challenge as the wind picked up to the forecast 15-20 knots and the waves were on the beam. The depth within the channel dropped to 3.4 metres – a plenty for us. However, within the breakwaters the depth was only 2.5 metres thus giving us about 30-40 centimetres of water only. Later, Denis said he saw 0 under the keel although they did not touch the bottom.

Berthing the yacht was not easy as the wind was again n the beam. Fortunately, staff from the marina came to help us thus we parked the yacht quite good.

20-August-2006 Laguna  Marina to Shaw  Island (Burning  Point anchorage)

Exiting the marina was relatively easy as we waited for the high tide. The shallowest water we saw was about 3.4 metres. We heard another yacht inquiring about the entrance on the radio. They were advised to stay on the leads then favour port breakwater followed by starboard one. And that is a good advice.

Sailing was good. The wind was about 10-15 knots from SE. Our course demanded sailing on close haul (James Cook was nearly trapped in the bay when he came here – his ships could not sail close haul course). Because the wind gusted over 15 knots and with our experience we set the first reef on the main and the full headsail. The yacht is more stable this way and there is less pressure on the steering.

There was also a 1-1.5 knot current with us. It took less than three ours to cover the distance of about 24 miles.

On the way we saw large number of yachts. They must have been racing in the Hamilton Island Racing Week.

At the Shaw Island we stopped at the first anchorage near Burning Point. A few yachts were already anchored there, including some we met before. We may therefore have a company tonight.

22-August-2006 Shaw  Island to Whitehaven via Hamilton  Island

Two short legs of motoring. There was little or no wind at all. We saw the fleet of racing boats just drifting in the tidal current.

Entering marina was easy with good depth everywhere. The only issue was with some traffic as there were many boats leaving and entering - as usual - some with no regard for others. We stayed in the marina just a few minutes to pick up our guests.

From the marina we motored to the Whitehaven. Here we found a number of anchored yachts but not too many. We anchored in a spot we liked. We will stay here for the night.

23-August-2006 Whitehaven – Border  Island – Cid  Harbour

There was no wind n the morning thus we motored to the Border Island. There are three moorings in the bay. However they were all taken at the time when we arrived. We anchored therefore without any problems. Out guests went snorkelling. It is a nice island and we may visit it again.

After lunch we set the sails to cross to the Cid Harbour via the Hook Passage.  We had 12 knots wind thus we sailed pleasantly. The Hook Passage is interesting from the navigation point of view. There is a big shallow patch that has to be avoided, especially that we were there at the low tide. We dropped the sails to go through the passage, as the wind there was not really reliable. We managed quite well.

While we were crossing the Hook Passage the wind change to NW thus blowing directly into the Cid Harbour. The waves have built up and the anchorage did not look too good. We anchored in a place we thought was the most protected from the waves. There was a little problem with the depth as the bay is rather shallow. We tried to find a way to the northern part of the bay but we turned back when the depth dropped below 4 metres. Instead we went to the southern part of the bay and anchored in about 5 metres.

Soon we received a phone call from Phoenix. We passed their yacht on out way! We will meet Phil, Elaine, Terry and Susie tomorrow.

In the evening we fished. We caught enough fish to feed three people. Emma also caught a little shark. We let it go as we do not really know what to do with it. Some wanted to have a swim but after that catch nobody went to swim. We cooked the fish on the charcoal barbeque.

24-August-2006 Cid  Harbour – Hamilton  Island  Marina – Turtle  Bay

When on the anchor we had wind from SW and that caused the yacht to roll a bit. Fortunately, the wind and waves agreed with each other, and the yacht faced the waves with the bow thus making the movements of the boat not too bad. Later the wind went away and we had good night sleep.

In the morning Matt caught a fish before we raised the anchor to go to the marina. We motored there as the distance was short and there was little of wind. Traffic around the marina waters was heavy. Racing yachts were leaving the marina while other wanted to enter it to refresh the supplies. Two catamarans cut us off just before the first channel marks. They in turn had to stop to allow a couple of yachts to leave the marina. Behind us there were a few motorboats just waiting to push the accelerators. Somehow we managed to find our places without doing any damage to each other.

After the short stop in the marina we left it to meet “Spirit Chaser” and “Phoenix” in the Whitehaven. There was enough wind to sail thus we set the headsail to run with the wind. Shortly before we reached the Chance Bay the wind died. We had to motor. On the way to the bay we met “Phoenix”. Phil and Elaine did not like the anchorage there because it was very shallow. They decided to move to the Turtle Bay. We followed them. It looked that “Spirit Chaser” stayed in the Chance Bay thus we will have drinks with Phil, Elaine and their friend Louis tonight.

Turtle Bay is a nice anchorage. We discovered there a number of other yachts, including some we met before. Derek and Jill visited us shortly after we dropped the anchor. They invited us for “coffee” next day. Nearby we have “Final Straw” and “By chance” anchored. As long as northern weather persists we will probably stay here.

27-August-2006 Turtle  Bay to Nara  Inlet

We waited for the tide to change by about midday. The wind also picked up and we set the sails immediately after we raised the anchor. This lasted till the Fitzalan Passage where we dropped the headsail and turned the engine on. By doing this we followed the advice from the pilot guide. The passage is rather narrow and the current there could be very strong. We experienced about 3 knots and that at the peak of the high tide. After the passage we sailed again till we passed the Cid Island. The wind there disappeared. We motored to the Nara Inlet.

We found “Spirit Chaser” just after we entered the bay.  We had to try to set the anchor three times before it held. It looked there were rocks or coral at the bottom as the chain made scrapping noises.

In the evening we all met on the “Spirit Chaser” to celebrate the reunion and… to say Goodbye to Terry and Susie. They will sail north while we are staying in Whitsundays for now.

28-August-2006 Nara  Inlet to Able  Point  Marina

We booked a berth in the marina a couple of days earlier. We were lucky to get one as this is a very busy place. Today we were told we could come to the marina after midday. Since it is only about 10 miles to sail we waited till 10:30 before leaving the anchorage. The wind was initially from SW then from S at about 8-12 knots. We sailed with pleasure among dozen of other yachts. This must be the sailing season here now!

We radioed the marina for the berth allocation once we passed the Pioneer Rocks. Entering marina did not cause any problems. We will stay here till Thursday. We have to do the maintenance of the engine, re-supply and fix Tina’s tooth.

02-September-2006  Abel  Point  Marina – Airlie  Beach

We could not stay in the marina for one more night as we were told it was full. Despite predicted strong winds we had to leave the port. We had additional problem as the wind was gusty and it pushed the yacht against the wharf. Denis and Jenny came to help us. Soon they were joined by a couple of other sailors and son we were on our way. It was just an hour before the low tide but we had no problems with the depth as we followed the path of larger yachts we observed leaving.

Just as we left the channel we turned in to the Airlie Beach and anchored there. The wind was strong but the waves had not enough space to build up thus the yacht was comfortable. We also had a good viewing place for the Fun Race. The race is known for the finish as some female crewmembers go topless on the bow.

03-September-2006  Airlie  Beach to East  Double  Bay

There was little wind and we had to recharge out batteries thus we left the engine running while setting up the headsail. This was a rather short trip.

We anchored among other yachts with “Summer Solstice” near by. Fishing supposed to be good in the bay thus I had the rod out quickly. Soon I also caught some fish including a school shark. We did not know what to do with it thus we took it to Denis and Jenny. They had it for dinner and it was “melting in your mouth”.

The anchorage is really good there. We had quite and comfortable night.

04-September-2006  East  Double  Bay to Eco  Resort

Our plan was to sail to George Bay and stay there for the night. We wanted to wait for high tide to cross the Gloucester Passage. As planned we set the sails – “Summer Solstice” and us – at about 10am. We stopped at the Grassy Island for lunch and some exploring. We anchored Shirena and Summer Solstice raft up with it. Tina, Jenny and Denis went to visit the island, and I stayed to fish. I caught five fish but all too small.

I also received a phone call from the Able Point Marina. They thought we left the marina a day later than we paid for it. This meant our berth was available. Their booking system needs some good program.

After lunch the wind picked up and we managed to sail. During the lunch we changed our plans. Instead of going to George Bay we would stay for the night at Breakfast Bay. It is a part of the Gloucester Passage and we will be just minutes from the shallow part we have to cross with some tide water.

When we arrived at the Breakfast Bay we could not believe the guidebook was so wrong. There was no protection from the wind and the current was strong. We decided to press on to the Eco Resort. It was nearly half high tide and we thought we had enough water. We were right. The shallowest was about 3.8 metres.

We picked a mooring near the resort. This is the first time since we left Pittwater that we actually are on the mooring. The wind increased to nearly 20 knots in the afternoon and we hoped it would drop in the evening. We had dinner with Denis and Jenny on their boat. They caught a bigger shark and Jenny prepared a real treat for us. The wind dropped in the evening and we had a good night sleep.

06-September-2006 Eco  Resort (Gloucester  Passage) to Cape  Upstart

This was a longer passage we had not have for a while – 47 miles. We took advantage of the tide current by starting at the high tide at about 8am. The wind was less than 10 knots thus we ended up motor sailing. The trip took about six and a half hours and was uneventful.

We found the anchorage at the Cape Upstart nearly empty. It is a pretty but rather isolated place. There were just three sailing yachts and a motorboat on the anchor.

Fishing here resulted in a few small ones and about half a metre toadfish. I believe I caught the same toadfish at least three times. Last time it actually bit through the wire. We will have beef for dinner tonight.

The day was marked by the farewell to Denis and Jenny. They could not sail any farther North because of time constrains. Last night we had dinner on our boat. In the morning we waved to each other hoping to meet again on the water next year.

07-September-2006 Cape  Upstart to Cape  Bowling  Green

We were the last to leave to anchorage – happens quite often to us. The passage of 38 miles did not seem to call for an early start. Soon after we started we discovered that the wind was from NW and our course was… 325 degrees. We had wind right on the bow. Despite that we made an attempt to sail, as the wind was just under 10 knots. After about an hour of sailing we gave up. Our arrival time moved to about 8pm. We dropped the sails and motored.

The highlights of this part of the trip were whales and sea snakes. We saw the whales about 2 miles away from us. That’s too far to take any photos but enough for us to see the animals. Sea snakes just appeared on the surface of the water. One came straight from under the boat. It was not hurt.

Shortly before our arrival at the anchorage the wind increased to about 12 knots. Since we could change the course we set the headsail, thus we had another 30 minutes of sailing.

The Cap Bowling Green is very unusual. It is very low and it will not offer any protection from the wind. Since the wind was from NW it also did not protect us from the waves. The forecast is however for southerly change in the evening. We should be protected from the waves and swell from there.

There is just one more yacht with us here – “Zulu Chief”. It has just one crew and we saw the yacht at the anchorages we stayed last two nights. I doubt if any other yachts will come here today.

08-September-2006 Cape  Bowling  Green to Magnetic  Island

We had a bad night. The anchorage is just not good at the Cape Bowling Green. I think only in very light weather one should anchor there. We came there with SW wind, which was bad for the start. But it was made worse by the tidal current. The current pushed the boat one-way and the wind the other, exposing the stern to the waves. As a result the waves hot the boat with a loud bang from time to time.

At about one o’clock a change came. It improved the situation for about two hours as the wind was stronger than the current. The wind however did not last too long and soon the boat was turned again with the beam to the waves. Fortunately, the waves were not too big thus we managed to catch a few hours of sleep.

We left the anchorage before seven. “Zulu Chief” was already on the way. I guess the only crew there did not enjoy the night, too. The wind was from SW at about 15-20 knots. Our course was nearly west thus we had to sail close to the wind. We set the headsail only and since we were doing about 7.5 knots we were happy to leave the main in its bag.

When we reached the Cape Cleveland the wind dropped below 5 knots. We motored from here to the Horseshoe Bay at the Magnetic Island. At the anchorage we found a large number of moored and anchored boats, including a Polish yacht “Panika” that we saw in Mackay Marina. There is also “Absconder” a yacht which crew wrote an article to the “Cruising Helmsman” about the daily passages from Sydney to Lizard Island. We followed that trip plan. We must tell them about our experience at the Cape Bowling Green.

After lunch and couple of hours sleep we visited the island and we liked what we saw. We think we may stay here for a few nights before going to the Townsville where Phil, Elaine, Susie and Terry are right now.

11-September-2006 Horseshoe Bay (Magnetic  Island) to Townsville – Breakwater Marina

The weather forecast for the next few days is for strong winds. We thought we would stay at the Horseshoe Bay till tomorrow before going to the marina. However, David from “Zulu Chief” came in the morning and asked if he could use the phone. He wanted to get a berth in the marina from today because of the weather. We decided to do the same.

There were berths available for us and we soon were on our way. The wind was from SE mostly but it was changing around the island. In a way it was nearly always directly on the bow. The strength varied from 15 to 22 knots. We chose a shorter way around the East of the island. This however exposed us to larger waves and stronger winds. We motored against the both. The waves were short and caused the yacht to slap on the water from time to time. We tried to steer the yacht zigzagging thus taking the waves on one of the sides of the bow. This was successful but required constant attention and lots of steering. At some point we decided to slow down. This worked really well. The yacht could go straight and it was not fast enough to slap the ocean with its bottom. We could use the autopilot to follow the route.

When we got closer to the shore the waves ceased to cause any problems and the wind also dropped to 10-12 knots. We did not sail however as the wind was still directly on the bow and we were already close to the marina entrance.

The entrance channel is well marked and it is easy to follow. The lead lights are rather small and only closer to the marina we could see both of them. It did not matter anyway. The shallowest water we saw was 3.8 metres. Since we came at the high tide of 2.8 metres we can leave only with at least 1.3 metres of tide. This should not cause problems.

At the marina we stopped at the fuel wharf as requested by the marina staff. We needed diesel too thus we filled up the tank before going to the office. They assigned us with a berth. Terry and David, who came to help, made coming to the fuel wharf and to the berth easier. By lunchtime we were safely berthed and the yacht even got a fresh water shower as it was covered with salt for a good part of the last week.

We plan to stay here for a week. The weather hopefully will clear by then. We will also buy fresh supplies and decide where to go from here. It may be that we will still keep going north.

21-September-2006  Townsville to  Cape  Upstart

After a rather long stay at the marina in Townsville we were keen to move on. The weather forecasts improved with no warnings although the wind direction was still not we would like to have while gong back to Whitsunday’s. We decided not to go farther north as we had only a month left before leaving the yacht in the marina for the season. We also decided to avoid a night in the Cap Bowling Green (some call it Rolling). This meant we had to sail about 70 miles in not too favourable wind conditions.

We started at 6:15 in the morning – half an hour late. The first leg from the marina had a course just north of the East. With SE wind we could sail and soon we had the sails set. Unfortunately, this ended when we got closer to the Cape Clevelland. The wind weakened and we started the engine. After rounding the cape we tried to sail again but soon it was clear we would not make to our destination – Cape Upstart - in the daylight. Again we started the engine. We motored against the wind, waves and current till we reached the Cape Bowling Green. We were there just after noon thus we still had a good chance to reach the goal before six. We also changed course more towards South and that allowed us to set the sails. The wind was about 15 knots and although it was close haul we started to make a very good progress. The sailing became a pleasure again.

We arrived at the anchorage shortly after five and by five thirty we were anchored among a few other yachts. One of them was a German yacht we met at the Magnetic Island in the Horseshoe Bay. We were however too tired to go beyond an exchange of arm waves.

The wind was still blowing strong – it got stronger near the cape – and we experienced some “bullets”. It was not too bad however and we went to sleep rather early. The wind stopped after a couple of hours and we had a good night sleep.

22-September-2006  Cape  Upstart to  Bona  Bay

This leg is about 50 miles long thus “nothing serious” in comparison to the previous day. We slept in and – as usual – we were the last to leave the anchorage. All but one yacht went north. The Germans left about half an hour before us and they were heading south. We raised the anchor at about 8:30. After rounding up the cape we set the main sail although we could not sail yet, as the wind was directly on the bow. We prepared the sail for sailing once we completed the second leg as it looked we could do that.

We were about to set the headsail when the reel on the rod went crazy. Tina jumped and shouted: “S…t! We have a fish! We have a fish!” She was right. We caught a fish – Tuna Mackerel. After checking in the book that it was not good eating, we let it go. It was about 70 centimetres long – the biggest fish I ever caught. In the process of pulling the fish and checking its nutrition’s quality, I dropped a net into the water. We tried to recover it by turning the boat back but it sank before we could retrieve it. Anyway, it had too short stick and I never liked it!

We set the sails. The wind direction would not allow us to follow the route but we hoped the wind would swing in the afternoon and we would be able to return to it. It seemed the Germans had the same idea. We caught up with them as their yacht is much heavier and in light winds does not move too fast. When the wind shifted more to East we tacked. The Germans followed. Initially we were doing well. Some 30 minutes later the wind started to drop. Our speed followed the trend. We were going slow, not in the right direction, against the current and waves. The navigation software predicted arrival at the destination at about 10PM. We turned to the engine. Even with it on we still were looking at night arrival. Looking back we saw the Germans turned back.

We motored till we reached the Abbot Point. Here again it looked we could sail as the wind shifted just above East. We set the sails. The wind slowly started gaining strength. Unfortunately we could not stay on the route and again our arrival time was getting late. We dropped the headsail and motored. The wind got above 16 knots when we reefed the main sail. It added some speed – it seemed. Another slight change of the course – we motored above the route in relation to the wind - allowed us to sail. It was rather uncomfortable sail as the yacht leaned a lot but we were making good progress.

Just then the rod reel again started. “We got a fish!” – Tina cried. We caught a second fish on the same day! This was unusual, as we had no luck for days. We knew now, the tip given to us by David was a good one. This time it was about 85 centimetres long Spanish mackerel. We kept that one. To pull the fish in we had to loosen the headsail to slow down the yacht. We also had a lot of mess in the cockpit after the fish was safely stored in a bag.

We sailed for a short while longer but the wind shifts were pushing us away from the Bona Bay. We dropped the sails and motored. We were anchored at about six.

We had fish for dinner, of course.

24-September-2006  Bona  Bay to … Maureen’s  Cove

The original plan was to sail to Airlie Beach. We wanted to meet some people who could make a cover for the yacht for protection when it would be stored. The first task was to negotiate the Gloucester Passage. We have done that before and there was a track archived in the chart plotter. We converted the track into the route and we followed it. The lowest depth we saw was 4.1 metres. We had about 2 metres of high tides on our side.

After we exited the Passage the wind was about 7-8 knots directly on the bow. We motored to our first waypoint hoping the change of the course will let us set the sails. This did not happen, as the change was just a few degrees. Since we had plenty of time we decided to beat against the wind. We sailed for a while when Tina said: “We could go directly to Hayman Island on this course.” After a bit of discussion we decided the yacht cover could wait. I created a route to the Pearl Bay and we started to follow it. As the luck had it the wind swang soon and we could not stay on the route. We persisted however and tacked towards the goal. The wind was about 10 knots thus the sailing was pleasant despite sailing very close to the it.

We hoped to pick up a mooring in the Pearl Bay and we counted the yachts in the bay from the distance. It did not look good. When we arrived we tried to anchor but the depth was over 18 metres and the anchor did not hold. There was a brief moment when one of the moored boats pulled out but a catamaran nearby was ready to replace it. A motorboat was also circling around. We decided to move to the Butterfly Bay. It is just about 40 minutes of motoring.

We arrived at the bay to find out that all moorings were taken. There were three yachts on anchors. We tried to drop the anchor in three different places with depth between 14.5 to 18.7 metres at the low tide. Each time the anchor would not pass our test for holding. We wondered how others managed to get their anchors to hold. A big motorboat was within the white buoys marking the fringe of the reef and where anchoring was not allowed. I guess they found sand at the bottom. Others were away from the “white line” and they seemed to be happy with their anchors. We were not and we decided to move to the next bay – Maureen’s Bay. Three mooring there were taken. We went as close as possible to the imaginary line between white buoys and dropped the anchor at about 15 metres depth. It held! We will look for a mooring ext day.

It has proved to be a big day for us and we were tired. If we stayed with the original plan we would be on anchor by lunchtime. Instead we finished the day at about 5 PM. The place is beautiful however and we are happy.

26-September-2006  Maureen’s  Cove to  Butterfly  Bay

A short trip to the Butterfly Bay took just half an hour. We had a choice of buoys to moor the yacht. The bay is well protected and we had nice day and night there. Snorkelling was not as good as on previous day, however.

27-September-2006  Butterfly  Bay to  Stonehaven  Bay

We went first to Luncheon Bay and then to Monterey Bay. The first one had no buoys available and since anchoring there was not recommended we moved to Monterey Bay. This one was empty and for a good reason. The wind and swell were going directly into it. We turned back and took the route to Stonehaven Bay. There we found a buoy to attach to. We are going to stay here for the night although it may not be as comfortable as Butterfly Bay.

We can see Hayman Island Resort from here. We thought we could go there for lunch. A quick phone call to the resort revealed we had to pay $145.oo for six hours stay from 10am. Well, maybe some other time.

28-September-2006  Stonehaven  Bay to  Langford  Island

This is just a half a mile trip but we did a bit more for a couple of reasons. Firstly, there was no buoy available at the island and anchoring is not recommended. Secondly, we wanted to see if we could get lucky in the Blue Pearl Bay at Hayman Island. We motored therefore there. In the bay we saw twice as many yachts as available moorings. We did not want to try to anchor here again thus we turned back. The plan was to end up at the Nara Inlet for the night. However, on the way we discovered that we could have the mooring at the Langford Island. We dutifully took it. After spending some time on the island and the sand foot we decided to stay here for the night.

29-September-2006  Langford Island to Stonehaven

After an eventful night (see More stories) we crossed back to Stonehaven. We picked up a mooring there and we went snorkelling. The coral is rather damaged here but we did see plenty of fish and some interesting spots. 

30-September-2006  Stonehaven to Nara  Inlet

The weather forecast for the next few days is for stronger winds. We decided to explore Nara Inlet again as the last time we only stayed there for one night and very close to the entrance. This time we went deeper to the Refuge Bay. It did remind us of the same name bay on the Hawkesbury River in Sydney.

We motored, as we had to go directly against the south easterly of about 20-25 knots. The entrance to the inlet does not cause any problems despite many warnings in the pilot book. We anchored behind one of the yacht already there. The anchor held first time.

Later in the afternoon more yachts came to the inlet for the night. Some had problems with their anchors not holding. In the evening a boat of young backpackers dropped the anchor not far from us. We could hear them partying long in the night although the noise was not too disturbing.

Next day we visited an aboriginal cave with paintings. It is a nice walk and – in our case – it was also a good dinghy trip. We went further than the cave to a water hole that is a part of a creek during the raining season.

We decided to stay one more night here, as we liked it. The only worry was seeded in us when a yacht nearby got into trouble with the anchor. It looked they could not raise it. It took the crew good ten, fifteen minutes before the anchor was up. We will know about our anchor tomorrow.

02-October  Nara Inlet to Abel  Marina

The wind was 15-20 knots from SE. We made it to the marina in just under two hours. We had to wait, as the office was not ready with berth allocation (they do it at about noon). Entering and berthing the yacht was not a problem as we had some help.

Just before we let the Nara Inlet a man from a yacht nearby – “Polaris” – came to invite us for a picnic on the beach. We had to refuse the offer but we hope we will meet them again in a week or so.

04-October-2006  Abel  Point  Marina  to  Lindeman  Island

Change of plans (see More stories)! We left the marina at about nine in the morning. Our destination – Lindeman Island – was in the southeast. The wind was SE 15-20 knots. We set the main sail shortly after we left the marina. It was close haul but we sailed. Even with just reefed main we were doing over 6 knots. The bay there generates lots of gusts and from time to time we were hit rather hard. The yacht took this quite well thus we were comfortable.

After we rounded the cape the wind was right on the bow. We set the reefed headsail and started beating between the land and the Molle Islands. We made very slow progress as the current of about 1.5-2 knots was also against us. We sailed till we entered the Whitsunday Passage and approached the Hamilton Island. By then we had enough of the slow progress and we turned the engine on.

The route on the chart is less than 25 miles. On the log we had 37.

We anchored next to another yacht that we met before. We did not meet the owners this time as they seemed to have guests on board and they left shortly after they had come from the shore.  With exception of dolphins we have the bay to ourselves.

Dolphins swam around the yacht fishing. We saw them and some jumping fish. I did not fish however since we did catch a fish on the way. Unfortunately, it was Tuna Mackerel again. We let it go as it is not good for eating.

 

05-October-2006  Lindeman  Island  to  Mackay  Marina

The night at the anchorage was good although a bit rocky from time to time. We went to sleep early thus we woke up early too. We were on the way at about seven. Before going we changed our plan. Instead of going to Scawfell Island we decided to sail to Mackay Marina. We had about half full fuel tank and this could be just short for the next four days. The course seemed also better from the wind direction point of view.

Initially, we could sail although a close haul. After we passed some islands we changed the course and the wind was directly on the bow. We knew we had to be in the marina before four, as we wanted to buy diesel the same day. The engine was turned on. The waves – as usual here – were short and steep. It is not a pleasure to motor against them. I manipulated the course but little was gained.

Fortunately after about three hours the wind shifted a bit to the east. We had the sails up again. We were just making the route but it was so much better to sail. In the marina we were by three. We bought the diesel and berthed the yacht. Forecast for the next four days seems to be favourable (E, NE winds in the afternoon) thus we will be on our way to Curlew Island if nothing changes tomorrow.

06-October-2006  Mackay  Marina  to  Curlew Island

By now, we wake up early. We left the marina at 6:30am. The wind was… SW. We managed to sail for about an hour and a half. The wind then stopped for a while and when it returned it was SE – right into our noses. We motored. In any case the wind was only about 4-7 knots.

We arrived at Curlew Island from the west. Entering the anchorage there is a bit tricky. We tried the west entrance and GPS was leading us to a different place than the pilot books. We aborted and we went around to find the easterly entrance. The currents near the island are very strong. We saw four knots! There are also numerous shallows with breaking waves. At some point we had to cross breaking waves and this was a bit challenging. Especially that the chart plotter lost GPS fix just then. It recovered after we powered it off and on. Wow! Were the GPS and the chart right about the depths there? Yes, it was - to our relief. Just in case, we activated our backup – PC with navigation software and GPS. Chart plotter GPS played up a bit but it did not lose the fix again. The second GPS was just right. Great! The plotter costs $AUS1600.oo. The GPS connected to the PC I bought on the Internet for $AUS100!

We entered the anchorage from the eastern site without too many dramas. Anchor was checked and it held.

07-October-2006  Curlew  Island  to  Cape  Townshend

Change of plan again. We were going to sail to Duke Islands – about 35 miles. However, we decided we could sail more miles and save one day of sailing. Cape Townshend fitted the idea – 53 miles.

We started early at about 6:30. The wind was from NE about 5-7 knots. With strong currents around us we had to motor (the current kept turning the yacht in such a way that we could not keep our route under sail, although we would if there was no current). After about four hours the current weakened and the wind shifted a bit. We set the sails. From that point we started to make real good progress as the wind gave a good speed to the yacht and the current turned around to help us. The arrival time changed from 5pm to 3pm. We considered sailing to PerlBay but decided we did not need to. Tomorrow we will sail directly to Great Keppel Island – 70 miles.

Weather forecast is for stronger SE winds (20-30 knots) from Tuesday till the end of the week. We will spend a night or two at the Great Keppel then hide to the Roslyn Bay marina and wait for the next wave of NE winds. From there we still will have four days of sailing to Urangan. We are considering sailing non-stop overnight. This would be the first for us. Decision will be made after the rest in the marina.

We anchored near a catamaran that came to the anchorage from the south. The anchorage looks a bit rocky but hopefully the wind will drop in the evening and the ocean will go to sleep.

08-October-2006  Cape  Townshend  to  Roslyn  Bay  Marina

With forecasted strong winds for Monday we changed our plan to anchor at the North Keppel Island and instead opted for the marina. The warning was later upgraded to gale winds. We called the marina on the radio as soon as we were in the range as we heard many other yachts doing the same. They assigned a berth for us.

The passage started at 5:30AM. We had to cover over 70 miles (we did 79 actually). The start was not too good. The wind was nice 12-14 knots, close haul but the current was over 3 knots against us. The initial predictions for the ETA were about 11 am next day on the chart plotter. We hoped the current would go away with the tide change.

After a couple of hours of sailing we had to start the engine as the wind dropped to 3-5 knots. The current still kept at two knots against our course. We saw other yachts coming out from Island Head Creek, Port Clinton and Pearl Bay. Nearly all headed to the marina. Early in the afternoon the wind increased to about 8-12 knots. By then our course was more south and we could set the MPS (asymmetric spinnaker). This let us turn the engine off and sail. This was the most pleasant part of the passage. The yacht moved swiftly (over 7.5 knots) and we were in complete comfort as the waves were small. It lasted a couple of hours during which we caught a fish (Spotted Mackerel). We let it go thinking it was too small to keep. Later we found out it was not.

The wind slowly built up and soon our arrival time was before 5PM. We could not enter the marina at that time as it would be low tide and our keel would have found the bottom. We had to slow down. The MPS went back into the bag and we sailed on the main only. We also added some miles to the trip by going around the North Keppel Island instead of going directly between the island and the land. We just were extra cautious, as there are shallow patches on the shorter route. In any case, we arrived at the marina still a bit too early for the comfort. After nearly 80 miles and over 12 hours of sailing we were not going to wait with the entry. Especially, that NE wind increased to 15 knots and the waves near the entrance became quite sizable. We dropped the sails and entered. The depth at the entrance was not too bad. Inside the marina however we had no more than 40-50 centimetres of water with the alarm screaming at me all the time. I had to disable it. We approached the allocated berth to find out that it was taken. We went to the next available. Berthing was not very good, as I did not concentrate enough. Fortunately we had a plenty of help as a few men came to pick up the mooring lines. No damage was done to the yacht although my pride suffered a bit.

In the marina we have already met the German couple we met at the Magnetic Island and then at the Cape Upstart. They want to get to Bundaberg as soon as possible because they want to leave the yacht there and fly to Germany for some months. We may end up sailing together again. But not for a week – the forecast is for strong SE till next weekend at least. We have to be n Urangan in two weeks. We hope the SE winds weaken below 15 knots or even better NE will come again.

15-October-2006  Roslyn  Bay  Marina  to  Pancake  Creek

After a week in the marina we were ready to go. Actually, we planned to sail a day earlier as some did, but in the morning we were told the weather had not improved much thus we stayed. It was to be easy jump to Cape Capricorn – about 30 miles. There was one more factor – many people planned the same. Cape Capricorn has a very small anchorage. Only three maybe four yachts can anchor there comfortably. We could be forced to anchor farther away or look for other anchorage (Hummocky Island).

Since we did not sail as planned we decided to make a longer passage from Roslyn Bay to Creek Pancake – about 73 miles. It was therefore early start - 5:30. There was no wind for the most of the day thus we motored with the main sail providing some stability for the yacht although the waves were small anyway. In the afternoon we set the headsail as the wind picked up a bit. We still had to motor however. Nearly all the way we had a bit of a current with us. By 4:30pm we arrived at the entrance to Pancake Creek. Since we saved a track from the last entry we had no problems to pass the shallows.

There were quite a few yachts anchored in the creek. The weather forecast was for strong SE winds from Monday afternoon till Wednesday. Most of the yachts are here to wait for lighter winds and possibly from NE. We had a horrible problem with anchoring. Each time we dropped the anchor it would not hold. We were tired after the day of sailing but we had to keep trying. Eventually, Warwick from “Bamboozle” suggested a place where we could find some sand. It worked! We could have a drink now.

The other attraction of the day was fishing. We hooked a fish shortly after we left the marina. It was Slimy Mackerel. We managed to pull it to the yacht when it broke free. In the meantime Tina found out in the book that it was not good eating. I dropped the lure again and before the line was ready we had another Slimy Mackerel hooked! This time it broke free before just after showing on the surface of the water.

Near the Cape Capricorn we had another strike. It was really strong. The reel was pretty tight but it was unwinding fast. I locked it and starting pulling. It was hard and the reel was slipping. We hooked something really big. Well, we will never know. Our lure was attached to the line without a wire – as we were advised – and the fish bit through the line. We were actually relieved as such a big catch would be rather difficult to pull on the boat. The loss of the lure was more of a concern as this had been the most successful one we ever had. It practically hooked a fish each time we put it in the water. Not too worry; we actually have exactly the same one as spare. We did not use it this day however. We tried another one and we had no more strikes.

20-October-2006  Pancake  Creek  to  Bundaberg

Long day to sail - nearly 65 miles. We started early with many other yachts. The wave south moved again. After leaving the creek without any problems (again following the track saved earlier) we motored to the Middle Rocks then set the sails. The wind was nearly from the east thus we had to sail very close to it. As a matter of fact we could not stay on the route sailing. The course was however close enough to the route to keep sailing. When we had to tack we switched to the motor and gained some distance to sail again while not going backwards. We had to do this only twice and for rather short periods of time. Later the wind changed a bit to north and we could sail till the entrance to the Bundaberg port.

We anchored just after we passed the first marina. Warwick who also anchored there showed the place to us. There is a bit of a current here but we hope for quite night.

The highlight of the day was a catch of Queensland School Mackerel. The replacement lure proved its value – still 100% success. This means we catch a fish each time the lure is in the water.

Tomorrow morning we sail to Urangan. There is a southerly change forecast for Sunday morning. We should be in the marina by then.

21-October-2006  Bundaberg  to  Urangan

We have been waking up early for some time now. Our bodies seemed to have adjusted to the sun when we do not look at the clock to often. We woke up after 5am and soon we were on our way. There was no wind nearly all day thus we motored. We had both sails set for a while but the wind dropped again and we gave up on sailing today.

The trip was short – about 45 miles. We came to the marina at about 1pm. The first stop was at the fuel jetty. The jetty has two possible sides when a yacht can come. Since the wind was light I thought it would be all right to go with it. After we were committed to that side we discovered there was a pole right in the middle of the jetty. There was no choice as the wind was pushing us towards jetty. The beam of the yacht ended up on the pole. It was not comfortable position but we managed to fill up the tank. The other side of the jetty does not have a pole in the middle thus it would be better.

We contacted the marina office and we were told the allocated to us berth was available. We berthed the yacht there and… the season of sailing has come to the end. We still have to prepare the yacht for long time of inactivity, pack our things we want to take with us and arrange a few matters.

At the marina we met Martin and Lee from “Eleonor”. They came a day earlier and decided to stay a couple of days longer as there is a strong southerly change forecast for Sunday till Tuesday. Warwick and Judy also came to the marina. They wanted to go to the Platypus Bay but the weather forced them to change the plans. We will have a few social evenings before boarding a plane to Sydney.

Season 2007

06-June-2007 Urangan

We arrived in Urangan yesterday. The yacht looks fine although we still have lots to unpack and rearrange. The evening we spent with locals on invitation of Warwick who looked after the yacht for the last seven months. We went to The Sporties club where drinks and meals are really good value. There is also a courtesy bus to take people from the marina to the club.

Today, the weather is not good. It is warm but it rains and the wind is blowing strongly. There is a low near Heron Island and it causes the rain and stronger winds.

We plan to stay in Urangan till Sunday. This should give us a plenty of time to prepare the yacht for one day sailing to Bundaberg. There the yacht will be put on the hard stand for painting and saildrive maintenance. We also want to install a Forward Looking Sonar to help us entering creeks, bays and other anchorages or channels. The works should be finished by June 15. Weather permitting we will then set sail North.

10 – June – 2007  Urangan  to  Bundaberg  Port  Marina

First day of sailing after seven months break and… we sailed against the wind with the tide. Since we were not sure about the state of the sails we waited till we were well in safe waters before setting them on. Our speed under engine was less than five knots. We had lots of growth under the hull. With the sails on we moved a bit faster and the speed kept increasing with time. I guess the bottom was being cleaned when we were moving.

Sailing against the wind is not the most comfortable at any time. Additionally we had wind against the tide current thus the waves were a bit nasty. Nevertheless we rather enjoyed the trip. It would probably be a bit better if the autopilot did not play up. We will have to recalibrate the device before sailing again.

We berthed the yacht in the marina by about 3pm. It looks we will spend here a few days as all the needed works for the season will be done here. On Tuesday the yacht will be slipped for painting and engine service. We also need some little parts that we intend to order in the marina chandlery. This may take a few days. In the  meantime we already started to meet other yachties.

15 – June – 2007,  On  the  hardstand

We spent three nights sleeping on the yacht that was on the hardstand. It was a rather strange experience. The yacht was still and it was rather unusual sensation. Climbing the boat was also not easy. The ladder was vertical and it was a bit loose. We considered moving to a motel but there is none close by. Eventually, it was not too bad.

Antifouling of the yacht went well with a minor problem of some bubbles of paint in two places. The manger of the hardstand called the supplier of the paint to enquire why it happened (there was another yacht with many more bubbles). The representative came to look at the other boat and told some story about problems that yachts older than five years may develop. He did not know that our boat is only two and a half years old. Anyway nobody believed him and the workmen simply removed the bubbles and painted again with no problems.

Electrician, who is to install the sonar, came and removed the console panel. Since then he has not showed up. We hope he has not forgotten us as he was not paid as yet.

The diesel and the propeller were serviced. The propeller looks like new.

16 - June – 2007,  Back  on  water  in  Bundaberg

After four days on the hardstand the yacht is back on the water. However, not all works have been completed. We are still waiting for the sonar to be installed. Transducer, which had to be installed on the hardstand, is the only trace of any work being done by the disappearing electrician. We hope he will reappear on Monday to finish the job.

Today there was a “Seafood Festival” in the marina. Of course there were many stalls with the seafood. Unfortunately queues were very long so we ended up with the food of the least demand: oysters and prawns. They were good. Crowds of people walked through the marina. Some stopped to have a chat about the boat, while we were busy with works around the boat.

Since the yacht has been launched back we have completed a few maintenance jobs. The most significant were the toilet and the winches. Stainless steel also looks better after an application of some polish.

23 – June – 2007  Still  in  Bundaberg  Port  Marina

Yesterday, we went to the town and bought food for two weeks. Next day we were to sail to Lady Musgrave Island. Well, we had one outstanding issue – our autopilot did not work. I thought it required compass calibration and alignment. For that we had to go out and run some special procedures. We did that but the autopilot would not calibrate. It should give us a result after a couple of circles. It did not. After a few tries we returned to the berth and contacted the local electrician. He checked the devices and declared the main computer was at fault. The autopilot was installed two years and two months ago. The warranty is for two years. We called the manufacturer. After some discussions they agreed to fix the autopilot under warranty. The problem is that it has to be sent to Sydney for repairs. We will stay here for a few more days. The electrician has already removed the main part and he will post it on Monday morning. We hope to have it back by Thursday.

Last night it rained and it is still raining. The weather is miserable. We would not have sailed even if the autopilot worked. It is not only raining but it is also very cold. The region is experiencing the lowest temperatures ever. A yacht on our finger – Bavaria 44 – was to leave today for Lady Musgrave, too. There are two men on board and they have some time constrains. They are still here – I am sure they are not going anywhere today.

30 – June -2007  Bundaberg  to  Lady  Musgrave

Our autopilot was delivered yesterday and the electrician installed it back on the boat. It worked after the sea trial. After some shopping we were ready.

Next day we started at 6 am with three other yachts. We sailed in the company of “Misty Blue” and “Windsong” – the yacht from the RPAYC (the club we belong to). There was a third yacht going in the same direction – “Ram” from the States.

Sailing was good with winds between 10 and 15 knots from NW, W and sometimes SW. Our course was about 355 True. We reached the destination on time at the low tide. Entering the lagoon was easier than we anticipated. We found a place to anchor among about ten other yachts. The weather is good and we can hear on the radio that more yachts are coming here today.

There were two small problems with the electronics. First the chart plotter froze and we had to switch off the power to the instruments to restore it. It worked and we had no more problems with it. The second issue is more complex. It looks that the autopilot does not receive data from the plotter. We therefore cannot use the autopilot to track a route. We used the autopilot to keep the course and that worked fine. It looks that we will have to check the cabling for the autopilot and the plotter once we are in the next port (probably Rosslyn Bay).

3 – July – 2007  Lady  Musgrave  to  Heron  Island

We spent three nights at the Lady Musgrave Island as the place is really pretty and the weather was nearly perfect. First night was an exception when a 25 knots wind came for a few hours. The anchor holding in the lagoon is very good and there were no problems. Since that night we had very little of wind and lots of sun. Tina had her first swim for the season.

After three nights we decided to move on. Other yachts from RPAYC sailed to the Pancake Creek. We decided to take advantage of the good weather and see more of the islands. John and Des of “Blue Heaven” joined us. In the morning all four yachts left the lagoon. Exit was as easy as the entry although this time we had high tide and the sun in our eyes when trying to see the underwater rocks.

The wind was about 5-7 knots thus we had to motor. The only event to note happened when we tried to set the spinnaker. It did not work as the wind was not strong enough to fill it. When I tried to drop the sail it got disconnected from the halyard. On its way down the sail got wedged between the shrouds. We had halyard on the top of the mast and the sail sock between the shrouds. Well, there was no wind thus we motored to the anchorage. There I was winched up the mast to retrieve the halyard and the sail. The operation was successful.

Anchor set in about 15 meters of water. Amazingly we can see it at the bottom!

4 – July – 2007  Heron  Island  to  Great  Keppel  Island

After a very bad night on the anchor we decided to leave the islands and head for the coast. The trip was rather uneventful. The wind was very good but… right on the bow. We had a long distance to cover thus we had to motor. We took turns to sleep as we both had very little sleep the last night. Anchorage was in deep water – about 17 metres. The bottom was coral and patches of sand. The anchor would not set initially and we had to drag it a bit to find a good spot to dug it in (amazingly despite the depth we could see the bottom!). Eventually it set. Since we anchored between the island and a reef, tidal currents proved to be rather strong. The yacht moved around the anchor all night. There was another yacht nearby and we discovered that we were anchored too close. Even with shortened chain (we did it at 4 am) the yachts were swinging close to each other. The main reason for that was that currents and wind caused the boats to swing wildly not in synch. We left at the first light.

On arrival to GKI we anchored near the Wreck Beach. There were a few other boats anchored here. Pilot book indicates the beach as “day only” anchorage. We – with many others – stayed for the night as the wind was from the West. At night we discovered why it is “day only” anchorage. Swell came in and the boats were rocking quite a lot. We slept rather well as we were really tired. Other yachties did not cope that well.

5 – July – 2007  GKI  to  Leeke’s  Beach

We had a good rest as the weather was very nice and the swell went away. However we decided to move to another anchorage where we expected better protection from the waves. We motored around the island to Leeke’s Beach and anchored there for the night. We intend to stay here till Sunday. Kim and Robert from the yacht Ram are here thus we will have the company.

8 – July – 2007  To  Rosslyn  Bay  Marina

After three nights at the Great Keppel Island (GKI) we decided to go to the marina. The decision was supported by “strong wind warning” from the weather forecasters. We waited till about midday as we wanted to enter the marina at the rising tide. Entry is about 1.4 metres plus a tide. We had about 2.3 metres tide thus plenty of water under the keel. Sailing was short as the wind dropped to 2-3 knots. We drifted for a while when having lunch then motored to the marina.

Here we met lots of people we encountered before. Peter (with his wife Pim), who was the first to sail with us over a year ago, established in Rosslyn Bay his base for short sailing trips. His wife found a job in the resort on GKI. We also met Mike who has a business of delivering yachts. We met him in Yamba last year. This time he was with his fiancé Vicky. He also made Rosslyn Bay his business base. There are other sailors we know. This all means lots of social life while trying to re-supply the boat and preparing for the next jump.

8 – July – 2007  To  Rosslyn  Bay  Marina

After three nights at the Great Keppel Island (GKI) we decided to go to the marina. The decision was supported by “strong wind warning” from the weather forecasters. We waited till about midday as we wanted to enter the marina at the rising tide. Entry is about 1.4 metres plus a tide. We had about 2.3 metres tide thus plenty of water under the keel. Sailing was short as the wind dropped to 2-3 knots. We drifted for a while when having lunch then motored to the marina.

Here we met lots of people we encountered before. Peter (with his wife Pim), who was the first to sail with us over a year ago, established in Rosslyn Bay his base for short sailing trips. His wife found a job in the resort on GKI. We also met Mike who has a business of delivering yachts. We met him in Yamba last year. This time he was with his fiancé Vicky. He also made Rosslyn Bay his business base. There are other sailors we know. This all means lots of social life while trying to re-supply the boat and preparing for the next jump.

12 – July – 2007  Rosslyn  Bay  to  Port  Clinton

We left the marina at about 7:30 in the morning. The wind was about 7-10 knots and directly on the stern. Initially, we motored over the shallower parts of the bay. Soon after we had left the bay, we set the MPS. We could not keep our course but sailing was good. The wind got stronger to about 15 knots. We kept sailing till we approached Flat Island. There we jibbed and the new course took us directly to the next waypoint. Unfortunately, the wind changed direction and dropped to about 6-7 knots about 8 miles from the Port Clinton entrance. We motored although we set the headsail when the wind picked up a bit.

Entering the port was easy although there is a bar there and the depth under the keel rapidly decreases. However we knew there was enough water as we were following the route from the last year. We also anchored in the place we stayed last year.

It is late afternoon. The day has been cold but nice. We watch other boats in this rather pretty place. Nearby a vessel of rather unusual construction anchored. We took photos and I hope to put it next to this text.

13 – July – 2007  Port  Clinton to  Hexam  Island

The original plan was to sail to Marble Island in the Duke Islands Group. However we had to take a longer route as the army closed waters North of Port Clinton. We also left the Port Clinton anchorage at the high tide. That meant we had 2- 2.5 knots current against us for most of the time. We decided to stop at the Hexam Island for the night.

Sailing was rather strange. First we had wind directly on the stern, then broad reach (wonderful!), little (5-7 knots) wind for lunch break and eventually close haul to the island. Most of the time we sailed well and again we used the MPS.

In the bay we found four other yachts already anchored. One more arrived after us. The bay is rather small thus there is not much more room left for any other late arrivals. We had to try anchoring twice today (Black Friday?). First time the anchor dragged.

About an hour of the daylight that’s left we spent in the cockpit drinking beer and watching the sunset. Once the sun went away the cold came. We feel lots colder this year than the last one. Even during the day we wear two, three layers of clothing. Let’s hope it will get warmer soon.

14 – July – 2007  Hexam  Island  to  Marble  Island

Not a sailing day. Yesterday evening strong wind from SE of about 20-25 knots came. It stayed with us till early morning. On the top of that a swell from SE also entered the bay. It was not easy to sleep in those conditions. The biggest problem was the noise of waves hitting the stern of the yacht or rather the bottom at the stern. That happened each time to wind turned the yacht toward the waves. The yacht was also rolling a lot. We liked Hexam anchorage last year. This year it was still pretty but it lost its innocence.

Despite some discomfort we stayed in the bay till early afternoon. We wanted to avoid sailing in strong winds with rather big waves on the beam. Instead we fished and with success. We caught three large breams and we had them for lunch. We also saw whales.

Shortly after lunch we raised the anchor and took course to Marble Island. Since the distance was only about 12 miles and the wind dropped to just 3-4 knots we motored. Additionally we had to recharge the batteries. We found a bay for anchoring on the northern part of the island. We hope it will be better than Hexam anchorage. There are two catamarans with us here. I guess they do not roll as much as we do.

16 – July – 2007  Marble  Island  to Curlew  Island

After two nights at the Marble Island we set sail for Curlew Island. Anchorage at the Marble Island was not the most comfortable but safe. The weather co-operated although some swell managed to roll the boat from time to time. We had a nice lunch on the beach with other yachties. As usual we enjoyed listening to stories from people who had sailed for many years.

The trip to the Curlew Island was in nice 10-12 knots wind and with some help from the tidal current. We made it comfortably and on time. On the way heard “Misty Blue” and “Windsong” on the radio. It turned out they were sailing to Digby Island that is just a few mile north from the Curlew Island. It looks we will sail together to Mackay in two days.

19 – July – 2007  To  Mackay

After two days at the Curlew Island we decided to sail to Mackay Marina. The weather forecast was for stronger winds (20-25knots) and we discovered a problem with our battery charging system. It seems that alternator charges the batteries very slowly, providing only about 10 amps current. We would need a whole day of motoring (running the engine) to recharge the batteries fully. In Mackay we hope to find someone who could fix the problem.

Generally we have the following issues with the yacht: battery charging, connection between autopilot and the chart plotter does not work, and the new sonar’s stand is broken. We can use the autopilot but we cannot set it to track a route from the plotter. It is not a big problem when sailing except that we have to check for currents pushing us of the course from time to time. The stand for the sonar does not lock the device properly and it cannot keep it in vertical position. We discovered that a metal part in the stand has become loose. Since the device is under warranty we will try to have it replaced.

Well, sailing from Curlew Island to Mackay was very nice. We had about 15-20 knots winds. “Misty Blue” and “Windsong” sailed not far from us on a course from Digby to Mackay. We arrived at the entrance to the port nearly at the same time. At the marina we had some difficulties to find the berth as it is rather big place. Out berth is located right next to the main finger. Reversing to the berth proved a bit of a challenge as the wind was on the beam. The wind blew the bow so strongly that turning the yacht proved nearly impossible. We had two attempts before increased speed helped to keep the boat under control. From then we entered the berth without problems, especially that we had some help from other yachties.

31 – July – 2007  Mackay  to  Port  Newry

Yesterday we had all works on the yacht finished. This morning we paid the bills and about nine we left the marina. The wind was SW at about 7-9 knots. We set the sails as soon as were our of the port. Eventually our course lined up with the wind. We motored for a while but then set the “butterfly” and sailed. We had only about 25 miles to sail thus we had time. Autopilot kept the “butterfly” steady. We were in Port Newry before three in the afternoon.

It is a beautiful port. It would be even better if there were no tidal currents. We anchored behind the Outer Newry Island. Two other yachts were already there. There was no swell and very light wind. TV (all free to air channels), mobile phones and NextG connections work here, too.

02 – August – 2007  Port  Newry  to  Goldsmith  Island

We raised the anchor shortly after breakfast. There was practically no wind. We motored all the way to the island. During that time we also ran the watermaker. The device worked well and our water tank is again full. Batteries are also recharged.

When we reached the destination the wind picked up to 7-8 knots. It was cold. We were glad to find the shelter behind the island. There are two more yachts here and other two in a nearby bay. This is a nice anchorage.

03 – August – 2007  From  Goldsmith  Island  to  Thomas  Island

A short (10 miles) jump from one beautiful bay to another. There was no wind thus we recharged the batteries and made some water. The biggest attraction was a whale that surfaced just three, four boat lengths in front of the yacht. We saw the whale later behind.

Thomas Island looks really great. There is more than one bay that could be used for anchorage. We saw a catamaran in one of the southern bays. With the swell from the south we chose the bay on the north side. Shortly after we anchored two more yachts came in. There were our neighbours last night.

There is phone reception here but not Internet connection so far. We will try later and hopefully our website will be updated.

04 – August – 2007  From  Thomas  Island  to  Plantation  Bay  then  Shaw  Island

The night at the Thomas Island was not the best. Despite rather mild weather swell entered the bay. All boats were rolling although it was not too bad. Some yachts nevertheless left very early in the morning. We left after breakfast. Today we decided to have two short trips. First trip took us to the Plantation Bay at the Lindeman Island. There was one yacht anchored there when we arrived. After lunch we drove the dinghy to the beach and went for a walk. The track took us to the resort. There we found out we could not buy cold (or any other) beer. Feeling already rather tired we returned to the beach. Tina went for a swim while I watched for the crocks. On the yacht we had some cold beer and snacks.

Later in the afternoon we moved to the Shaw Island. Forecast for tomorrow is for strong winds in the range of 20-30 knots. Shaw Island offers good protection from winds and swell and we intend to spend there two next nights till the weather becomes more friendly.

06 – August – 2007  Shaw  Island  to  Cid  Harbour

This supposed to be a simple 20 mile trip. Well, sailing has its ways. We waited till after lunch time before setting the sail. Wind in the morning was about 25-30 knots. In the afternoon the wind was to drop to more pleasant 15-20. It did. We set the sail and… the wind was directly on the stern. Only one sail worked. We supported the wind with the engine till we changed the course. As it happens the wind changed and again it was on the stern. We insisted on sailing and tried a butterfly. It worked but we had little speed. Then the wind dropped to about 7 knots. We had to motor.

At the end of the trip we managed to sail again. We anchored in the Cid Harbour among many yachts. 

08 – August – 2007  Cid  Harbour to… Cid Harbour

We booked a night at Peppers Palm Bay Resort on Thursday. We thought we would anchor nearby at Happy Bay a day before. In the afternoon we set the sail to the Long Island. The wind was about 15-20 knots thus we made the distance in no time at all. In Happy Bay we found conditions rather difficult. We nevertheless tried to anchor there but the anchor did not set. With corals all around we gave up. Cid Harbour offers comfortable nights with no swell. We returned to the harbour. The trip back was even faster than the previous one. We anchored in the same place as before. Maybe the whale that visited us today will come back again? (see More Stories).

09 – August – 2007  Cid  Harbour  to  Palm  Bay  Resort

Wind was about 15 knots and the course nearly close haul. We sailed quickly and without any problems. On arrival we discovered that the mooring was all tangled and we could not pick up the line. We asked the resort staff for help. They asked to wait as their only available staff was busy with new arrivals. We waited about 30 minutes. By then another mooring was freed by a catamaran. We moored there as the other mooring was fixed.

The resort in a nice place and we decided to have dinner there. First we went for a walk around the island. On the way we visited another resort – Happy Bay. After we returned we wanted to have a swim in the pool. The water however was cold and we ended up in the spa. After showers and laundry we visited another yacht for drinks. In the evening we had dinner in the resort and the food was good. All tables in the restaurant were set for two people. We were told the resort was popular honeymoon choice.

10 – August – 2007  Palm  Bay  to Airlie Beach  (Muddy Bay)

In the morning we visited the resort again just to have showers. With the high tide gone we set the sail for the Airlie Beach. The wind was good but directly on the stern. We sailed with the headsail only. With the current and rather strong wind we arrived in the Muddy Bay before noon. In the distance we saw many yachts racing. Today, Airlie Beach races began. We anchored in less than four metres of water but still very far from the Sailing Club. After lunch we took the dinghy to the club. Unfortunately we arrived at the low tide and we had to drag the dinghy through the mud. It was rather funny experience with many other people doing the same. Luckily for us someone just left the jetty before us thus we could have the dinghy right there. We unloaded the dinghy – two weeks worth of rubbish mostly, including many empty wine bottles.

We went to the Able Point marina to fill up the empty gas bottle. In the chandlery there we could not find any parts we needed. Hardware shop is too far thus we will have to buy needed things somewhere else. On the way back to the club we made some shopping and there we waited for the tide to refloat the dinghy. It happened soon enough and we are on the yacht.

11 – August – 2007  Airlie  Beach  to  Macona  Inlet

We went to the markets in the morning. This time we came to the Sailing Club at the high tide thus we had no problems with the dinghy. I just wondered why people used very short lines to secure the dinghies to the jetty. Longer ones would provide easier access for the others.

After the markets we set the sail to cross the Whitsunday Passage. Sailing was pleasant in 12-15 knots wind. We had to cross the line of racing yachts. We did it without an incident. Entering the inlet was not difficult and we anchored among other yachts. The anchorage seems to be without the swell. We will have to wait for high tide to know it for sure.

12 – August – 2007  Macona  Inlet  to Tongue  Bay

We caught a couple of fish in the bay but all were to small to keep. Otherwise our stay there was uneventful. We waited for the tide to turn before going through the Hook Passage. The wind was about 10 knots but we needed to recharge the batteries and make some water. Besides the course was rather difficult to sail. We motored all the way. On the way we saw a couple of whales. Last year we saw a whale in about the same place! Just before we entered the bay a mooring became available. We took it.

There were many yachts there. Most of them were boats with backpackers. It is rather amazing how many people some boats can take. Especially that they look rather like a few people yachts. Because we came to the bay after the high tide the beach with the walk to the lookout was not accessible. Many boats left the bay.

In the evening other yachts came and the bay was full again. The anchorage was comfortable and we had a good sleep. We had a problem with the mooring when the current changed with the tide. The problem persisted for about half an hour only. We decided however that we would anchor rather than use the moorings from now on.

13 – August – 2007  Tongue  Bay  to  Windy  Bay

In the morning we took the dinghy and went to the beach. A short walk took us to a lookout. From there we could view Whitehavean Beach. The view is really pretty. We also went to the other side of the island where we shared the beach with about few dozen of mostly backpackers.

We left the bay soon after the return to the yacht. We had only about 5 miles to travel and mostly light wind “on the nose”. We motored to recharge the batteries and to heat some water for the evening.

Anchor had to be dropped rather far from the beach due to rather extensive shallows. A couple of other yachts also anchored nearby. Beaches are accessible at high tide only. Some people, including us, tried to go to the beach. We turned back. Others walked in the water carrying the dinghy.

The anchorage may prove to be a bit rocky. We have some swell but it is not too bad. The winds have been light for the last couple of days, thus we hope the swell will not be too large.

14 – August – 2007  Windy  Bay  to  Whiteheaven  Bay

Just a short – less than 4 miles – trip. Whales playing not far from us provided the main attraction. We motored. The batteries are 100% full and we made about 100 litres of fresh water.

Windy Bay gave us a good night sleep although we had some swell coming in, shortly after the low tide. There was no fish biting, no mobile phone coverage and no TV. We had the radio to listen. At the Whiteheaven Beach we have the same conditions. Stronger wind is forecast from the late afternoon thus we may rock a bit more tonight.

15 – August – 2007  Whiteheaven  to  Cid  Harbour  via  Hamilton  Island

The plan was to go to Hamilton Island or rather to an anchorage opposite the marina. There is a shallower (about 7-9 metres) bar where an anchor can be dropped. We wanted to stop there and spend some time on the island.

After waiting for the turn of the tide from flood to ebb we started. The idea of waiting for the tide change was to have favourable current in the Solway Passage and slack water in Fitzalan Passage. Well, we had about one knot current against us in the Solway Passge for start. Since yesterday the wind pickup to 15-20 knots and just after we negotiated the passage we were in nearly 2 metres waves. We set just the headsail. The trip was to be short thus we towed the dinghy. It became a bit of a concern in those conditions. We decided we would never tow the dinghy in winds stronger than 10 knots.

With some current on our site we made it to the Fitzalan Passage where we picked up the speed as the current was about 3-4 knots now. We made it to the anchorage in no time. The waters around the marina were rather busy. Yachts and other boats were coming in and out of the marina. Some seemed to be waiting for something. We found the bar and dropped the anchor. Soon after that we realised we would not leave the yacht in those waters. There was strong current for start. Traffic of boats was unpleasant and the distance to motor to the marina significant for our little dinghy motor. We gave up idea of visiting the island and decided to sail to Cid Harbour. This was a nice run with the wind and the current.

16 – August – 2007  From  Cid  Harbour  to  Bauer  Bay

We decided to visit South Molle Island and the resort located in the Bauer Bay. The sailing was good in good winds, and short. The plan was to anchor in the bay. However, we could not see the place to anchor as the depth was well over 20 metres nearly everywhere. We sailed between the moorings and rather close to the shore. With gusting wind and difficulties to find the right place we picked up a mooring (?!!). Shortly later the scanner showed us the place for anchoring. We decided to stay on the mooring (I am sure we will pay for it at night) and take advantage of the resort facilities.

After landing on shore we checked in to the resort. Two huge hamburgers satisfied our lunch hunger and probably removed any need for dinner. The island has a few walking tracks and we went to explore them. Indeed it was a worthwhile decision. We reached two hill tops. From there we had wonderful views of the Whitsunday Islands. On one of the hills we met a man who was naked. I called him from a distance to let him know we were coming. He told us not to mind him as he was a nudist. He also asked me to take a photo of him with his camera. He wanted his wife to see him and the islands. Fortunately for me he decided to face the islands not me.

After a swim in the resort’s pool and hot showers we returned to the yacht.

17 – August – 2007  South  Molle  Island  to  Gloucester  Eco  Resort

We had rather a bad night at the resort. Firstly, the mooring cone started hitting the boat when the tide changed. I tried shortening the line and outting fenders on the bow. It helped but did not solve the problem. Fortunately it did not last long. I think an engineer who designed cone moorings should be hit on a head with a plastic hammer for a couple of hours every day. He then may design something more useful than the mooring in a shape of a cone.

The other – and far more larger – problem was that the resort had a disco in the night club. Special loads of backpackers arrived to have fun. The loud music blasted the bay till midnight. That’s when the party moved to the backpackers’ boats. We woke up rather late and not really rested.

The original plan was to sail slowly to be in Bowen by Sunday. However we spoke to Ian from “Misty Blue” and he advised Bowen was not a good place for a larger boat. We changed the plan and decided to sail to Magnetic Island in the next three days. The island should offer us a good shelter for the forecast strong winds on Tuesday and Wednesday as well as letting us to refresh our supplies.

We set the main sail only as the wind was right on the stern. The strength of the wind (18-20 knots with gusts to 28) was enough to give us the speed well over seven knots. We arrived at the Gloucester Passage rather quickly. Shortly after that we crossed the passage and picked up the mooring at the Eco Resort. We stopped here because John of “Blue Heaven” called and told us he and his wife were there. In the evening Monte’s Resort had a “Rock and Roll” evening. After showers we went to the resort and we spent a nice evening with John, Des and the locals. 

18 – August – 2007  Gloucester  Eco  Resort  to  Cape  Upstart

We sailed over 50 miles today. It was rather strange to see only one more sail on the water after the traffic in Whitsundays. The trip was a bit frustrating as we had good wind of 12-17 knots but directly on the stern. When it dropped below 15 our speed would also drop below four knots. We tried some other setups, such as double reef on the main to make the headsail work. Only one try worked -  changing the course. We did that and it took us more on the open sea. The waves increased, but so did the wind. Even better, the wind shifted to the east. Our course became nearly parallel to the route. Eventually we came back to the route and arrived to the bay well before sun set.

On the way we saw a whale again. It was not far from the yacht and showed us its huge tail. Later it jumped completely out of the water. Awesome! 

19 – August – 2007  Cape  Upstart  to  Horse  Shoe,  Magnetic  Island

We set the sails at 6:10 am. The wind from SSW was very helpful and we hoped we would enjoy it till at least 9 am (like it was yesterday). No such luck however! It turned to SE by 7:30. Again we had wind on the stern. It also dropped to about 10 knots. We could not slow down today thus we asked the engine to help us. Till Bowling Green Cap we had to motor and cope with high swell waves. The wind could not support the sails and at some point boom breaker prevented a jibe. We promptly dropped the main sail. Shortly after that we also removed the headsail, which we set after folding the main sail. The wind was too weak and the waves too big.

At Bowling Green Cap we changed the course. We could use the headsail now. The waves also became less of a nuisance. The wind soon picked up and till Cape Cleveland we sailed. There the wind shifted and dropped below 10 knots. The sky was covered with clouds and it started raining. The visibility was restricted to about a mile. Two big ships showed up on port and starboard sides. One was moving and it had a right of way as by then we were motoring. After letting it go we had to do the same to a tourist ferry coming back from the trip to “sunny reef” as its skipper jokingly reported on the radio.

 Despite being only about 2 miles from the Magnetic Island we could not see it. Eventually the visibility improved and we soon entered Horse Shoe Bay. We plan to stay here till at least the end of the week before going to Townsville Marina to re-supply the boat with food and fuel.

25 – August – 2007  Horseshoe  Bay  to  Townsville  Breakwater  Marina

We booked the berth a few days earlier as we would need to buy supplies for the next few weeks. Marina entrance requires us to come closer to the high tide as some depths there are rather low. We started at about 6:30 in the morning, just before the high tide. The trip took only two hours. The lowest depth I noticed was 3 metres (0.8 under the keel). The first thing we did was to take diesel. Fuel jetty is the first one boats encounter when entering the marina. It is also used as a stop before a berth is allocated. With the tank full we proceeded to the berth. The marina is really full. They are building new berth places and hopefully they will allow for more yachts to stop here. We were told we could stay till Thursday only. Hopefully, we will get our ordered supplies by then (chemicals for the watermaker and some filters).

29 – August – 2007  Breakwater  Marina  (Townsville)  to  Orpheus  Island

There had to be the first time. The forecast for today was “strong wind warning”. Till now we avoided to sail if there was any warning. We were in the marina thus we could stay and wait for the better weather. Well, not this time.

We left the marina at about eight. There was practically no wind. With time it started to pick up the strength. After about an hour it was above 15 knots. We rolled out the headsail only, as the yacht was going about six knots. Later the wind increased to 20-25 knots and we were really moving. The waves were over two metres and – as usual – a bit troublesome.

A catamaran sailed with us nearly all the time although at some point they changed the course to go closer to the Great Palm Island. We met again near the Orpheus but for a short time only as the cat went on towards Lucinda. We turned to Little Pioneer Bay where we found a free mooring. Two yachts were already there and soon after us one more came to the bay. Despite one mooring still free the last yacht chose to anchor. Quite possibly the crew did not know about the moorings here. With winds predicted to top 30 knots this evening we are happy to stay on the mooring.

31 – August – 2007  Orpheus  Island  to  Haycock  Island  in  Hinchinbrook  Channel

After two nights in the Little Pioneer Bay we went to Hinchinbrook Channel. The wind was about 20 knots and the waves over two metres. The tricky part was to enter the Lucinda harbour from the south. There are lead lights but they do not indicate the best route. We were told it was better to sail south of the leads, closer to the jetty. Reading the charts confirms that. We arrived at the bar one hour before the high tide. With the tide we had a plenty of water and no problems. We did however favoured the south side of the leads. Keeping the course was not easy as the waves and the wind were on the beam. There was also some current that turned the boat. I saw 4.1 metres depth as the lowest. This means we would not have been able to cross the bar at lower tide.

Inside the channel the wind dropped below 15 knots and there were no waves. We motored to Haycock Island were we anchored in a company of two other yachts that also came from the Orpheus Island.

01 – September – 2007  Haycock  Island  to  Gayundah  Creek

Still within the Hinchinbrook Channel we just moved about six miles north. This time we decided to enter one of many creeks. Gayundah Creek is the last one on the western side of the HinchinbrookIsland. Entry is a bit tricky as there is a large bar extending from the south end. We came at the high tide and entered without difficulties. Depth sounder indicated we could enter even at the low tide.

We are anchored between the mangroves listening to some cracking noises coming from the bushes. A trimaran anchored not far from us. In the east we have the mountain (hills) range on the island. It looks magnificent. The highest peak is in a cloud. This is a very pretty area. The only issues are mosquitoes and crocs. We have not seen any crocs but we were warned they were here. Mosquitoes we have already experienced.

02 – September – 2007  In Hinchinbrook  Channel  to  Scraggy  Point

After a night in a creek we moved to another place within the channel. Scraggy Point is exposed to SE winds but it has a little beach where a dinghy can be landed. Navigating the channel is rather easy although leaving the creek was a bit tricky. There are two sand patches on both sides of the creek but only one is really mentioned in the pilot book. Anyway we managed to avoid the bars thanks to our new sonar.

Anchoring in Scraggy Point is in shallow waters away from the beach. We took the dinghy to the beach. There is a picnic area and a short walk along the Freshwater Creek. 

03 – September – 2007  Srcaggy  Point  to  Dunk  Island

After a slow start the wind picked up as soon as we cleared the HinchinbrookIsland. This time it was strong and from the right direction for us. It was nice sailing despite a short period of rain. At some point we reefed the headsail as the healing became a bit uncomfortable. We reached the destination at about eleven.

There was only one yacht in the bay thus finding a place to anchor was not difficult. We were told the bay could be crowded sometimes. It is a small bay and more than five yachts would force others to anchor rather far from the beach.

Since we arrived to the island before lunch we decided to have it in a bar that is there. A platter of seafood was nice but a bit too small and… rather expensive. After a short rest on the beach we went for a walk to MuggyMuggyBeach. The walk through the rainforest is nice and pleasant as it is in a shade. We crossed the resort on the way there and back, and it seemed to be rather empty. Later we saw a cruiser coming with many people, probably from a trip to the Reef.

The weather is going to improve for the next couple of days thus we decided to stay here for another day.

06 – September – 2007  Dunk  Island  to  Mourilyan  Harbour

We stayed at DunkIsland one day longer than we intended because of the weather. It rained heavily all night and till late morning. Instead of sailing we had a lazy day. For diner we had fish we caught.

Today we set sail shortly after morning showers stopped. The wind was good and it did not rain any more. We came to the harbour just about the lunch time. The harbour is a disappointment. We could not anchor in a place indicated by the pilot book as there is a mooring for little motor boat. Waters around were too shallow for our draft. We went up the creek where we found a place with just enough water for our yacht.

The bay is nice but spoilt by the sugar loading facility. There is a ship taking the load right now. Entrance to the bay is rather spectacular and a bit challenging. The entrance cannot be seen during the approach as it is between two hills. When it opens it looks pretty. Leads take the boat rather close to a marked rock while a natural reaction is to stay away from it. The depths are good wherever the bulk ships could move. Outside, the shallows are everywhere and it is difficult to find a good spot for anchoring. We came at low tide thus we could see the shallows as well as discover them with the sonar

There are also currents in the bay. They are associated with the tides and we are still to see where our yacht will end up when the tide changes.

07 – September – 2007  Mourilyan  Harbour  to  Fitzroy  Island

We had a very nice night at the MourilyanHarbour. The wind went away in the evening and it did not return till next morning. The big Swiss (!) ship left the harbour without us even noticing it.

We left the harbour after breakfast. Initially there was little wind and we had to motor for about 90 minutes. When the wind picked up we set the MPS. Sailing was nice from then on. At the FitzroyIsland we anchored in a bay opposite a beach and near jetty. We are only about seven miles from Cairns now. If we like FitzroyIsland we stay here two or more nights. Otherwise we sail to Cairns. We have some repairs to do and some more new installations. We also plan some trips inland while we are in Cairns.

10 – September – 2007  Cairns

After three nights at the FitzroyIsland we sailed to Marlin Marina in Cairns. We had to sail about 16 miles only thus we did not use the engine despite the speed dropping below four knots from time to time. The channel to enter the port is long. We kept going and going.

In the marina we got allocated a berth on a jetty where one side is used by dinghies from boats anchored on the other bank of the river. This is a busy jetty. There are also many charter boats thus plenty of traffic from them in afternoon.

We plan to stay here at least a week. The time is needed to make some repairs and install the life raft. The hose in the water maker burst as the installer did not use the right one. We already tried to purchase the right hose in Whitworths but they had none. They took the order for the life raft however. It should be delivered next week. Apart from the major things we also have plenty of little jobs, such as changing ropes for some fenders, cleaning, polishing, etc. We will also travel around the region as it is the first time I am here. 

17 – September – 2007  Marlin  Marina  Cairns

When we arrived to the marina we booked a berth for one week. Since life raft and satellite phone have not been delivered we informed the marina office we wanted to stay a few days longer. No problem, but we had to move from one berth to another. The main attraction of that passage was the need to move all the fenders and lines to the other side of the boat as at the new berth required that.

We were told the life raft will not be delivered before Wednesday, more likely Thursday. Phone that we ordered is with Customs and there is no indication how long they will keep it. At present we plan to leave the marina on Friday morning.

22 – September – 2007  Marlin  Marina,  Cairns  to  Low  Islets

The plan was to sail to GreenIsland not far from Cairns. The idea was that we would have a quick way to fix any problems that could occur after all the works we did in Cairns. The main job was the installation of the life raft. It eventually was delivered on Friday morning. It took six hours to install it despite the lack of any instructions and the fact that Whitworths mixed decimal and imperial nuts and bolts. I lost nearly two hours trying to sort out the threads. Other big fix was the change in the autopilot and chart plotter wiring. Of course, we also changed the burst hose pipe for the watermaker.

Well, we started at about 9:30. There was not much wind and we motored through the long Cairns harbour channel. When the depth allowed we left the channel and calibrated the autopilot. This requires moving very slowly in circles. That done we set course towards the GreenIsland. The wind picked up a bit but from completely different direction when we were in the channel. It was directly on the bow. We decided to sail to Low Islets. The wind direction was perfect. In case of problems we could go to Port Douglas.

Sailing was good in very calm seas and weak winds. It soon was obvious that we would not make it to the islands before dark without motoring. We decided to try the spinnaker first. It worked wonderfully. We sailed all the way to the islands and arrived well before the sunset. Autopilot and chart plotter are friends again. They talk to each other and the autopilot followed the route without any complains.

On arrival we found a few yachts and other boats in the bay. Some were using courtesy moorings. One of the moorings became available just when we were preparing to anchor. We did not use the mooring.

23 – September – 2007  Low  Islets  to… Port  Douglas

We discovered a fresh water leak from a connection of the wash down pump. The pump was installed in Mackay. The leak is not significant, but it is about a drop every few seconds. We decided it would be better to have it fixed than sailing with it for the next two months.

Sailing to the marina was beautiful. The wind was perfect 12 knots. We sailed with other weekenders who were returning from the reef and islands. Entry to the port is well marked but rather shallow. We came three hours after the low tide. In channel we saw about 3.6m of water but in the marina just 2.8m – meaning just 0.6m under the keel.

We will try to fix the problem asap and sail again. Weather forecasts for the next week are good and we hope for more nice sailing and fewer problems.

26 – September – 2007  Port  Douglas  to  Hope  Island

We had a relaxing stay in the marina, especially after the leak had been fixed. We did not want to stay any longer than needed however. This morning we woke up at about 6:30 and left the marina. The goal was to get to the HopeIsland early in the afternoon. The entrance to the anchorage there is rather “tricky” and we wanted to have the sun in the right place when looking for hidden obstacles.

There was little wind, just 2-4 knots, from SSW initially. We had to motor for the first two hours. Since we are not going to be able to refuel for the next nearly four weeks we decided we had to sail. With weak wind from S we set the main and MPS. Our arrival time was changing with the wind. Sometimes it was 3pm, sometimes 7pm. We changed the course to get a better angle to the wind and that gave us better speed. With time the wind picked up and shifted more to the east. We were then sailing well and according to our schedule.

On the way we passed a few big commercial ships as our route was along the shipping lane. This will be the case till we reach Thursday Island. We try to avoid sailing on the lane but sometimes we have to cross it. During the day we should not have any problems. We still do not plan to sail at night, especially around the reefs.

We also saw dolphins. This year we have not seen many of them thus it was an event.

Entering the anchorage is really tricky! Charts are useless as they do not show anything in detail (we are moored on dry land according to our electronic chart). There are no navigation aids. We tried to follow the pilot guide but mostly relied on Tina’s eyes on the bow and the sonar. We made it safely to one of two moorings that was free. The ground here is quite bad for anchoring thus the mooring was accepted with appreciation.

28 – September – 2007  Hope  Island  to Cape  Flattery

We set the sails just after breakfast. The wind was weak and nearly from the stern. We managed however to keep the course and make reasonable speed. The route took us between the reefs. We wondered how sailors of the past could sail there. The reefs are often under the sea level and it is hard to see them.

We had luck fishing. First Spanish Mackerel got away just near the boat. We thought it was too small to keep anyway. Later however we hooked another Spanish Mackerel and this time had it safely on the yacht. It should provide us with three, maybe four meals.

Sailing went well although till the middle of the day the wind was too weak and nearly from the stern. In the afternoon it picked up and shifted a bit to the east. We sailed nicely and reached our destination in time to find the place to anchor, clean up after the mackerel and relax.

We anchored in the first bay behind a catamaran. It is a bit windy but we feel well protected.

On the way in we passed a yacht beating against the wind. It did not stop at the Cape Flattery though it was already late afternoon. I guess they wanted to make it to Cairns before the forecast stronger winds on Sunday. We hope to be at LizardIsland by then. We can see the island from the anchorage. It is only 20 miles away.

29 – September – 2007  Cape  Flattery  to  Lizard  Island

Anchorage at Cape Flattery was good and we had a good night sleep. In the morning we managed to catch weather report on VHF channel 19 (it comes at 6:33 am). The forecast was for 15-20 knots winds today then 20-30 for at least next two days. We set the sail after breakfast. The wind was about 15 knots thus we had the full main. We soon discovered that this was enough for the yacht to move about seven knots. There was no need for the headsail.

Coming out of the bay proved a bit difficult. There is a very big sand bar extending North from the cape. Our sonar rang the alarm. It looked we had not enough water to go through. We changed the course and found a passage with about 6 metres. This time the sonar indicated deeper water. I wondered if it was right about the first direction. The waves were rather big and the sonar probably had wrong readings. The charts show enough water for our yacht. But why the sonar was right for the second attempt?

The wind was nearly on the beam and in agreement with the forecast. The waves were also on the beam and sometimes sprayed us. It would probably be better to have the first reef on the main and some headsail as this would give us more control when the waves hit the boat. It was not too bad, however.

We arrived at the island in about three hours. The anchorage in the WatsonBay was easy to find as there were a few motor boats and yachts anchored there. The pilot guide and the charts show a reef inside the bay and we steered the boat accordingly closer to the east side. Soon we discovered that the reef well marked by protection buoys thus easy to find. We anchored not far from the beach. The anchor held immediately. Before we even dropped the anchor someone came in a dinghy and invited us to watch the AFL final.

We plan to stay here a week or so.

06 – October – 2007  Lizard  Island  to  Howick  Island

We are going North. After a very nice stay at the LizardIsland and problems with the watermaker we decided to sail to Darwin. The yacht and probably we will spend the wet season there. Of course, everything can change if the wind or our luck turn against us.

We left the LizardIsland rather late as we still had some work to do with the watermaker. It produces water but quality is below recommended standard. It is drinkable and does not taste bad but it would be nice to see the right reading when testing it. We consulted other people in the bay and only one yacht had comparable device. Using troubleshooting guide and advice from David we cleaned the membrane and changed the filters. The reading is still too high. The latest theory is that the pressure in the accumulator is too low thus forcing the pump to provide too high pressure to the watermaker. We cannot test this theory without special tools thus the test will have to be done in Darwin. In the meantime we decided to use the other tank of town water for drinking only. It should last us at least four weeks. We will be at Thursday Island long before then and the tank will be filled up again. In any case there is no danger of us not having drinkable water at any time.

Sailing was nice. The wind was as forecast – 15-20 knots. The direction was from stern but with a little angle that let us sail with both sails. The distance of over 30 miles we covered in about five hours. On the way we met a huge commercial ship. The pilot contacted us on the radio and suggested the way to pass each other. We followed his advice and passed the ship in safe distance.

We now have entered region where there are not too many yachts. Most yachties return south from the LizardIsland. We had not seen a sail today. The big ship was the only vessel we saw. At the HowickIsland we anchored in a recommended place. It was rather good to come here at low tide as the reef and rocks are clearly visible. We dropped the anchor in about 10 metres. The whole bay is ours.

07 – October – 2007  Howick  Island  to  Flinders  Islands

We had a good night sleep at HowickIsland. As we were close to the land the wind was not strong and waves practically non-existent. The anchorage is next to the shipping lane but we have not felt any waves from ships. We do not even know if any passed by.

After breakfast we set the sail. The wind was good 12-15 knots but… right on the stern. We decided to forget the route and sail at the angle that allowed us to have good speed although not necessary taking us to the destination. For about two hours we sailed towards the land. We then jibed and for some time we had not only good angle to the wind but also we were moving in the right direction. Then a ship came and we had to move to the other side of the shipping channel. This spoilt our plan as we had the wind again on the stern. Since the batteries got a bit low we started the engine to recharge them. After about forty minutes we had the batteries recharged and turned the engine off. We still had about 10 miles to go before changing the course. For the last hour we had the sails set in butterfly.

After we changed the course we started moving! Not for long however. The wind shifted to NE and again was directly on the stern! We removed the headsail and with the current’s help we made it to the FlindersIslands in good time. Just before we arrived the wind increased to more than 20 knots.  With the main only we were doing more than seven knots.

We moved to anchor in a place indicated by the pilot book. Just when we were ready to release the chain we saw a mast of other yacht within the channel between the islands (Owen Channel). We decided to investigate who was there and possibly to find better anchorage (the wind was still from NE and the anchorage was rather for SE winds). We motored inside the channel. On the last approach to where the yacht was we had to turn back as the sonar was showing rocks. After two attempts we decided to return to the original anchorage.

Shortly after we anchored a man from the other yacht called us on the radio. He told us we had to find a channel to the anchorage and we were not far from it. Maybe next time?

08 – October – 2007  Flinders  Islands  to  Morris  Island

The wind dropped after sunset and we had a good night sleep. Although FlindersIslands are pretty we decided to sail farther. We probably could have spent one more night there in a different place.

Just as we raised the anchor a catamaran came from the Fly Channel. We exchanged the arm waves and went our own ways. The wind was less than 10 knots and from the wrong direction (on the stern of course!). We had to motor. This was not too bad as the batteries were rather low and required a full recharge. As it happened we had to motor all the way to the MorrisIsland. Even MPS would not give us enough speed to reach the island before dark. The only signs of other people were two fishing boats we passed.

The island has a very small part above water level and large reef around it. A lonely coconut palm is the only feature. We anchored near a sand beach. Some time later a Customs plane called us on the radio. They asked a few questions then wishes us a good trip.

We had a very good sleep at this anchorage. The weather continues with light winds of 5-10 knots thus no worries about the anchor or swell. In the morning we tried fishing. As soon as the bait was in the water we had a fish trying it. The first one was too small to keep and I threw it back. A shark of about 1.5m parked right under the stern. When I caught the next one it tried to get it but I was faster. The shark stayed around the boat till we left. We did catch enough fish for breakfast. Shark got the heads.

09 – October – 2007  Morris  Island  to  Night  Island

Initially we intended to stay at the MorrisIsland for two nights. There is nothing however to justify it. We decided to have a short trip to NightIsland, about 20 miles. Since we had all day for the trip we sailed, despite the weak winds and from behind us. MPS worked this time as we were happy to zigzag a bit. We also trolled a lure and a big Wahoo fish got it. It gave me a good fight before we pulled it on the boat. We now have fish for a few dinners.

At the island we anchored in about 11 metres of water. It looks we will have the anchorage for ourselves again.

10 – October – 2007  Night  Island  to  Portland  Roads

A fishing boat joined us for the night at the island. Thousands of black and white pigeon like birds also came to the island. They fly to the mainland every morning and return in the evening. There were so many of them that some trees looked like white cotton bushes.

We have had a very mild weather so far. Winds are below 12 knots thus there are no waves and it is hot. We wonder how long this will last.

We left the NightIsland shortly after the breakfast. This time we had the right angel to the wind thus we sailed as soon as the batteries recovered from the nightly discharge. With MPS we were enjoying good sail till we passed the LloydBay. There we had to move to the other side of the channel as a couple of ships came by. Then another one came from behind. We moved out of the channel as soon as this was possible. Our angle to the wind was again not good thus we started the motor. We had to make water and recharge the batteries anyway. We accomplished both just as we dropped the anchor.

To our surprise we discovered a few boats here. First we passed three going south. Then we saw three or four anchored behind RestorationIsland. We went to the second headland in the bay to find the anchorage and there was another yacht. On the land there are houses and we even had some mobile phone signal on our CDMA one. Another yacht anchored not far from us. After a few nighst in isolation we seem to be happy to have the company.

12 – October – 2007  Portland  Roads  to  Shelburne  Bay

We stayed two nights at the Portland Roads. The main reason was that I thought we needed a day of rest after a few days of sailing. The other was that we were well ahead of our schedule to reach Thursday Island on October 18.

This time yachts that were on the bay went away and no other came. Instead a crocodile showed up. It was just floating in the water about 50-70 metres away from us. It was about 3.5-4 metres long. This was our first meeting with a crocodile in the wild.

Next day we started sailing early. We decided to sail to ShelburneBay as from there is the shortest day sail to EscapeRiver. There are no comfortable anchorages in between thus we will have to sail all 65 miles in a day. There was a 3-5 knots wind from SW then it backed to SE. We had to motor. Again watermaker was turned on. We also set the freezer for lower temperature when we run the engine. After the recharge we reset the freezer to the normal temperature. As a result the freezer uses less power initially.

In the afternoon the wind turned to NE and we could sail. It was a pleasant hour and half of good sailing. We lost the wind when we turned to the bay.

Finding a place to anchor was not easy. The issue was the depth. We came at the low tide and the sonar soon started an alarm. The boat was still far from the bay but the depth rapidly dropped to just over three metres. Sonar again warned me a few times that there was not enough water ahead of us. We had to slow down to just over one knot and find our way to the bay. Eventually we found a place with about 3.4 metres of water and anchored there. Both pilot books and the paper chart show greater depth here. This is a worry. We will leave for the EscapeRiver tomorrow very early. Leaving the bay may become a bit of a challenge.

13 – October – 2007  Shelburne  Bay to  Escape  River

This daily sail was the longest so far – 65 miles. We left the ShelburneBay shortly after six. The wind was about 3-5 knots. We had to motor for the first six hours. The wind then increased and backed to the east. We sailed and motor sailed for the next two hours. Eventually, the wind changed to NE and we had about two hours of good sailing.

We entered the river from the waypoint given by the pilot book. It was at low tide. The shallowest was about one metre below the keel. Going up the river was not too difficult although the depths changed rapidly raising my hair (what left of it).

We anchored up the river after we passed all the rafts of the pearl farm. Water temperature is 29.5. We have some breeze here but we already talking about going tomorrow despite forecast for stronger winds.

15 – October – 2007  Escape  River to  Mount  Adolphus  Island

Despite the first impressions the anchorage in the EscapeRiver proved to be nice. As a weather change was forecast for the next day we decided to stay one more night. During the day a Swiss yacht joined us. Two men on a ketch were a bit in a hurry on their way to Thursday Island and then Bali. They came from Portland Roads sailing overnight.

Fishing in the river is good. I hooked two big fish but both got away due to my very light rod tackle. I lost two hooks and one sinker but I had fun with the fighting fish. One of them I managed to pull close to the boat and have a look at it. It was about .6m long, possibly a barramundi.

Next day we followed the Swiss and left the river. The forecast was for 20-25 knots SE wind. It was right on the money. The most troublesome was crossing the bar. The depths there are fine – I saw 4.2 the shallowest, we left two hours after low tide. The waves were a problem. To stay on our course we had to go with our beam to the waves. Over the bar this was rather unpleasant. I think we could be better off going south over the bar and against the waves then turn to our course.

After we cleared the bar and set the course towards the AdolphusIsland the sailing became a bit more comfortable. The waves still would catch us from time to time but on the deeper water they were not to bad. The wind was strong thus we had reefed headsail only. With the current we were still doing over eight knots over the ground. We reached the destination in three and a half  hours (23 miles).

The bay -  BlackwoodBay – is well protected from the SE swell but it is windy. We actually welcome the breeze as it is rather hot here. The anchor was dropped in about 7 metres of water opposite a little beach. Water is clear and of beautiful colours. If we like this anchorage we will stay here another night as we are well ahead of our schedule to reach HornIsland before the weekend.

16 – October – 2007  Adolphus  Island  to  Horn  Island

The night at anchorage was not bad despite strong winds all night. At the time of the high tide we had some swell coming in but it disappeared after about 40-60 minutes. In the morning we decided we wanted to get back to the civilisation. We sailed 26 miles to HornIsland. The island is just opposite the Thursday Island. The HornIsland offers better protection from SE winds.

We anchored among a few yachts near the jetty. We will stay here till next Tuesday.

21-23 – October – 2007  Horn  Island  to  Wessel  Islands

Our first overnight sailing. Not just one but two nights. Roger joined us to help sailing to Darwin.

We started early with the flood tide that took us through the KennedyPort (Thursday Island) adding some 5 knots as some stage. The forecast was for strong winds initially then lighter (15-20) from the afternoon. Sailing was good till we set our course directly to the destination. The wind shifted to the east and was directly on the stern. We set just the mainsail and the boat was doing very good. We wondered if we should reefed the main before the night fall. We decided we did not need to as the forecast was for lighter winds. Wrong! Shortly after dark the wind increased to 25-30 knots. We reefed the sail in a hurry.

The watches we kept were completely unorganized. Roger could not sleep and wanted to keep the watch all the time. Tina was sea sick and she could not keep the watch. We ended up with me having the watch till after midnight, then Roger till morning and Tina later. Everybody was more or less affected by the seasickness. We ate little.

The next day the weather changed. The wind became weak but still on the stern. We sailed during the day with both sails trying to zigzag. From the night we started the engine and used it till morning. This time watch shifts went well.

After breakfast the wind got stronger and we could turn the engine off. We had a very good wind of 15-22 knots all day but… on the stern. We managed to keep the course and a reasonable speed with the headsail only.

The main attractions were dolphins on the second day. They were large animals and enjoyed playing on the bow of the boat. The other attraction was a flying fish that landed in the cockpit. Tina threw it back hoping it would live. We passed a few ships. One close enough for me to call them and ask if they could see us. It took three attempts to get them to respond but they eventually told us everything was fine. It was!

WesselIsland showed up early in the afternoon. We noticed some other boats, probably fishing trawlers. The anchorage in TwoIslandBay is beautiful. We have it for ourselves.

24 – October – 2007  StillWesselIslands but different bay – JensenBay

It was just an eight mile hop on the engine to recharge the battery and change the scenery. The bay is a good anchorage but not so good fishing. I caught four little sharks! I gave us after that.

25 – October – 2007  JensenBay  to Guruliya  Bay

We managed to sail most of the way although the wind was weakening all day. We used MPS and eventually the engine. We had to recharge the batteries anyway. Coast Watch chopper passed us but they already knew of us thus they did not call us.

The anchorage is not as comfortable as we expected and experienced so far. There is some swell coming in and the boat is gently rocking. We should be alright. It is hot. All of us had shower with a bucket of salt water to cool us down. We cannot swim as there are crocs, sharks and jelly fish there. We actually did see a shark although probably too small to eat a man.

The islands are rather low and the vegetation is rather poor. Despite that each place is in it’s own way pretty. We enjoyed the sail and evening.

26 – October – 2007  Guruliya  Bay  to  “Unnamed”  Bay  at  Elcho  Island

Rather not a good day. We had to motor all day as the wind was about 3-5 knots most of the day. It picked up to 12 knots when we were one mile from the anchorage. We tried to fish on the way but without any luck.

The anchorage is not too good. The wind is from NW thus the bay is open to it. The wind eventually went away as it was just a sea breeze but the waves take their time. We also had to try to anchor three times before the anchor held.

We heard some other people on the radio. They anchored in a strait on the other side of the island. It is a group of yachts. We wonder if we will see them tomorrow.

It are forced to motor a lot as there is no wind. This may cause a problem with diesel. We have to sail at least 100 miles before we can buy the diesel again. Weather forecasts are not encouraging. We may spend more time on NT coast than we planned – not that we do not have enough of it.

27 – October – 2007  Elcho  Island  to  Cape  Stewart

We woke up to discover that the ocean went to sleep. The water was as flat as glass. There was no wind. We started early. After about six hours the wind came. We set the sails. First we motor-sailed then sailed. On the way we discovered CDMA phone picked up a signal. We managed to make a few phone calls although some were not very successful. The calls simply dropped.

We also caught a big fish – probably Spanish Mackerel.

CapeStewart proved to be completely wrong place to anchor. We had no choice however as we were there and they sun was about to set. The wind was from NW directly into the bay. The waves were not too big but annoying. We assumed the wind – as it was sea breeze – would stop after dark. It did not! We had a rather rocky night.

28 – October 2007  Cape  Stewart  to  Liverpool  River

After rather restless night we set sail to the next destination, about 35 miles away. There was wind from NW. We could sail immediately but the batteries needed a recharge. After about an hour we set course directly to the river mouth and we turned the engine off. This was a good sail. The wind and the course were just right. We made very good progress and in about six hours we anchored behind an island on the river. There is a settlement nearby and our phones work. We got some internet – possibly we will update our website today.

29 – October – 200 7  Liverpool  River  to  Point  Guion

We had a good night sleep on the river behind an island. In the afternoon we saw local Aboriginal children plying on the island. They were not afraid to swim. They also had a fire on the beach.

Sailing was good today. After we recharged the batteries we could sail all the way to our destination. On the way we saw two other sailing yachts. They headed in the opposite direction. We had to change our course once when we came across some shallows. According to the chart we should not have problems to cross it. However we discovered that we read about 1-2 metres less water than the charts indicated. Instead of going through the shallow water we sailed around it.

The anchorage is not the best. We could not come to the coast close enough because of the depth. Fortunately the wind is not too strong and the waves rather small. We hope the forecast will eventually be right and the wind will turn to E, NE. We will then be protected.

30 – October – 2007  Point  Guion  to  Mullet  Bay  (North  Goulburn  Island)

We had a good night as the wind dropped and we woke up to flat ocean. There was no way we could sail. After waiting for the bread dough to ripe (Tina makes bread from time to time) we left the bay motoring. Since we had to motor and the sea was nearly without waves we started the watermaker and filled up the tank. It was hot and without the breeze we felt the heat more than usually. A bucket of salt water helped us to cool down.

Out route took us between the islands and the current there was rather helpful. We had the current with us all day yesterday and today – nice feeling. When we were between the islands a barge passed us. We noticed some settlements on the islands and checked the phones. We had coverage on both CDMA and NextG. Data connection on NextG does not work as yet. It may get better in the evening.

We anchored in northern part of the bay. Wind is from NE and it is forecast to stay that way for the next three days. By then we should reach Port Essington where we plan to spend a few days.

31 – October – 2007  Mullet  Bay  to Malaya  Bay

Good day of sailing. The wind was nearly right, just the direction was not perfect. We had only about 38 miles to go and we did it nicely. The weather was so good that we had to run the engine after anchoring as we did not ran it earlier.

The bay is well protected from NE to SE winds.  

01 – November – 2007  Malaya  Bay  to  Essington  Port

We had a good night at MalayaBay despite the wind changing to SW. The bay offers good protection. We left the bay early as the wind was right and we thought about having a longer sailing day.

The first goal was SomervilleBay. We had very good wind and some current to help us to reach the bay. According to the charts and our pilot guide there are shallows around the cape before the bay. Initially we wanted to go around the cape about 1.5, 2 miles away from the land. When we approached the cape we saw that colour of the water changed to lighter. It seemed there were really shallow waters ahead of us. Since the chart indicated waters not surveyed completely we decided to go around the shallows. At first we saw isolated patches of water with yellow, green colour. Since depths sounders did not indicate any danger we crossed one of them. The depth was fine. The colour of the water was not a result of the shallows but for other reasons. Soon we had not choice and we had to sail through the “discoloured” waters. We still followed the path around the shallows indicated by the charts. At this time we had strong current with us – up to three knots.

While going around we had lunch. Then we decided to go to the next anchorage we planned to reach. We nearly passed SomervilleBay thus it made sense to carry on. Calculations from the chart plotter showed we would be in EssingtonPort before the sun set. The only problem was that the wind dropped and our course changed its direction to be directly on the stern. We turned the engine to keep the speed. Later the wind increased in strength and we were able sail using just the headsail.

We arrived at the Black Point in EssingtonPort well before the night. Black Point is a place where a ranger station is located. There is also a jetty. We anchored in about 5 metres of water. At night we had a couple of periods when the boat was turned beam to the waves. It was not comfortable but fortunately did not last long. We also had some rain in the morning.

02 – November – 2007  Black  Point  to  Barrow  Bay

In the morning we took the dinghy to the shore. We met there a couple of men. One of them told us we could buy diesel from him. We arranged to see him later and went to the ranger station. At the station they have a small exhibition of the history of the land and people. It was interesting.

It was a hot day and we soon were on our way back to boat. After three other trips we had sixty litres more of diesel and about 90 litres more of water.

In the afternoon – after siesta naps – we motored about 10 miles to anchor not far from Victoria ruins. Victoria is a failed attempt to settle English in tropics. After eleven years the settlement was abandoned as they could not cope with the harsh environment. We will see ruins of their houses tomorrow.

We wanted to visit the only resort in the port – SevenSpiritBay. We called and found out the prices were really prohibitive – dinner $150.oo per person. We will anchor there but not eat.

03 – November – 2007  Barrow  Bay,  Victoria  ruins,  Coral  Bay

After a comfortable night we motored to a beach near Victoria Settlement ruins. On the land we followed a track along the settlement. The settlement was established to protect British interests in Australia. It lasted eleven years only. A quarter of population died of malaria. They could not sustain themselves even with the help of Aborigines. It was interesting to read the story of the settlement and connect that to the ruins. We walked early in the morning before the sun got too hot thus we enjoyed that walk.

Back on the boat I tried to fish. Initially, I caught a good fish and we kept it in a net near the boat. The problem was that from that point on all I caught were small sharks. On the top of this a larger shark – about one metre – came to the boat looking at the fish we had in the net. I let the fish go. After I got another shark on the hook I gave up fishing.

After lunch we went to the CoralBay. It was about 16 miles trip. The wind was about 12-17 knots from NNE. We sailed close haul. It was a comfortable sail as we reefed the main and the headsail.

We anchored in about 5 metres of water between two reefs. The swell seems to find its way here but we hope it will go away with the wind. In any case it is not too bad as the waves come straight on the bow.

04 – November  2007  Coral  Bay  to  Alcora  Bay

Initially we were to sail to PophamBay. AlcoraBay is a bit farther and it suited us better as the next day will be a long one. After motoring for a few hours we were able to set the sails when the wind came. It was then a good sail directly to the bay. On the way we passed a yacht motoring in opposite direction. They could sail but it would be a close haul course. Obviously the sailors preferred to keep the boat upright.

We anchored towards the east of the bay.

05 – November – 2007  Alcora  Bay  to Adam  Bay

Full day of motoring or motor-sailing. There was no wind initially then abut 5-8 knots in the afternoon. We had to cover a long distance thus we used the engine all day. Initially we had very strong current against us. It sometimes reached three knots. Later it changed in our favour but only for four hours. Nevertheless we got to the anchorage before the sun set.

We anchored just behind the first headland we encountered in the AdamBay. The wind just then swang to NW but it did not matter. We had a good night sleep.

06 – November – 2007  Adam  Bay  to  Darwin  (Fannie  Bay)

We checked the tide streams and it looked we would have the current with us for six hours if we leave at 7am. We did just that and the current was with us. This made the trip faster although we did not sail. There was very little wind. At some point we tried the headsail but that did not last long.

When we were in the Howard Channel a big rainy cloud formed behind us. It kept closing in on us but eventually we had little rain. The cloud passed us and it seemed to have gone to Darwin.

We arrived at the FannieBay after the rain, early in the afternoon. The bay is rather shallow and we had to anchor far away from the shore. The boat had to be checked by some aquatic pets controllers. We called them and a boat with a diver came. The diver checked our intake sea cocks and poured some chemical into them. We could not use them for the next 14 hours.

After the diver finished we dropped the dinghy and went ashore to the Yacht Club. It was also time for Roger to fly back home. He took his bags and after a couple of beers he left to catch a plane.

We walked just to see the town and on the way we stopped at the casino. Since there were restaurants there we had our dinner before returning to the yacht.

07 – November – 2007  Fannie  Bay  to  Bayview  Marina

We decided to enter the marina at 8 in the morning. Since entry requires going through a lock we called the lock master. The lock should open every hour from 6 am till 6 pm but only on request. We found out that to enter before 9am we had to call a day earlier. No problem, we motored slowly – against the current – towards the marina. When we entered the creek the depths dropped to below four metres. The sonar proved its value showing us the deeper waters. We anchored just in front of the lock and waited till 9am for the lock master to open it. When he did open we motored to the lock. On the way we had not more than just an inch or less of water under the keel. We did not touch the bottom however. Just when the boat was about to enter the lock it was turned by the current. I was driving it too slowly and the current had its way. For a couple of minutes I struggled to put the boat in the right position. With shallows, rocks and the lock structure around there was very little room to turn. Reversing and going forward like in a car we managed to enter the lock. From there everything was easy. The gate behind us closed, water level went up and the gate in front of us opened. We were inside the marina.

This ends our 2007 sailing season.

27 - November, 2007 – Settling  in  Darwin

We started with a purchase of a car. Initially we wanted to buy an old car just for a few thousand dollars. After visiting a few dealers and trying different cars we soon realised we wanted something that would actually go. Interestingly, dealers in Darwin on Stuart Road seem to be located from the cheapest to the dearest when entering the town. We stopped somewhere in the middle and bought a five year old Ford Focus with about 60K on the meter. The car drives well so far.

The next purchase was the air-conditioning. We installed it on the deck hatch. It works fine and we can sleep at night. Every yacht in the marina has a unit.

The weather pattern is quite simple: blue sky in the morning, no wind and about 25 degrees, by noon the temperature goes to about 35 and clouds appear in the sky. In the afternoon a storm with lightings, thunders, rain and wind arrives. Evening are a bit cooler but humidity is very high. So far we have not had drinks in the cockpit.

On the first weekend we went to visit the Litchfield National Park. It is about 80 km from Darwin. The first attraction is a field of Termite Mounds. The mounds were built by magnetic termites. The mounds are thin and about 2-3 metres high. All are oriented east-west. From a distance the field looks like a cemetery with big tombs.

We then went to rocky pools where we had a refreshing swim in a creek. The water was just the right temperature – not too cold to enter but cool enough to bring some relief from the heat. After we had enough of soaking we went to Florence Falls. Again we could swim under the waterfall and enjoy the fresh water. A man showed us a bleeding wound on his arm and said he was just bitten by a fish. We felt save in the water and nothing happened to us. Are there piranhas in Australia?

We returned to the car park via track that lead us along the creek and then through a forest. It looked like a garden – beautiful.

We came back to the marina driving in heavy rain. We liked the park and we think we will go there again.

The following weekend we went again for a swim in rock pools. This time we chose the pools closer to Darwin. Despite warning signs about crocodiles many people swam in the pools. There were rangers present at the park and they seemed to be satisfied the crocs were somewhere else.

Swimming in a creek is really nice. The water colour is dark like a diamond. Forest around creates beautiful views. And, of course, the water provides great relief from the heat. The only bother are insects. We spray ourselves with an insect repellent each time we come out of the water. We went to the pools early, before lunch as we were told they get crowded later on. When we were leaving we saw a few cars full of people coming there. We again liked the place and we think about having a barbeque there. The place was not too hot, possibly because of large trees that provide lots of shade.

We bought a large tarp and covered the yacht. It is however not very good cover thus we ordered proper canvas. It should be ready to fit early in December.
 

08 – December – 2007  Visiting  Kakadu  Park

The park is about 120 kilometres from Darwin. Driving was easy as there was nearly no traffic and the speed limit of 130km/h. The gate to the park is about 90kms from Jabiru, where the hotels are. We did not stop at the gate although we saw others taking photos there.

Just before Jabiru there is a Park Information Centre. We hoped to find someone to talk about activities in the park but the desk was unattended. A few lost tourists – mostly foreigners – wandered through the offices and a little exhibition. We learnt a bit about the park from the exhibition then browsed the souvenir shop but we bought nothing.

From the Information Centre we drove to Jabiru which is just a small town with one petrol station, little shopping centre and no liquor shop. We checked in to a hotel that was built is a shape of a crocodile. As we have NT driving licences we were treated as locals thus receiving special room rates – much lower than the ones advertised on the Internet.

The room was nice and cool, actually we thought it was too cold. We waited in the room for the hottest part of the day to pass. Later in the afternoon we drove to a place where we wanted to see the aboriginal paintings and then have a walk. The paintings are impressive. We walked along the paths that winded through the rocks. From time to time we stopped to view the paintings. It has to be fascinating to analyse them, try to establish their age and think about the people who spent time and effort to make them.

There is also a lookout that can be reached by climbing the rocks. It is not difficult climb and the views are very good. On one side there are wetlands and on the other rocks.

From the gallery we drove to a place where the walk through the rocks begins. We had no desire however to walk. It was not only hot but also the flies were extremely irritating. After a short conversation with a couple of men who used a boat ramp and were not afraid to enter the river, we went back to the hotel.

There we spent some time at the pool then followed it by dinner.

Next day we checked out from the hotel and drove about 80kms to another resort. We had breakfast in the hotel restaurant. Again we visited another place with aboriginal paintings. It is a nice area and we would have enjoyed the walk if it was not hot and the flies. We decided we would return to the park when it becomes cooler. We will also equip ourselves with nets to protect the faces from the flies.

December/January – 2007/08

Tina found a job in a medical centre very quickly. After initial stress she settled in the job comfortably. I applied for three jobs and I had two interviews. Shortly after that I was offered both jobs. In January I will also start going to the work. I am not sure if I should be happy or not about that.

We started to enquire about works needed to be done on the boat. We want to have more electrical power. For that we plan to replace lead batteries with AGM ones with more capacity, nearly doubling what we have now. We will also add solar panels to increase charging from 80 Watts to 320. This should ensure that on most days we will have no need to run the engine to recharge the batteries.

We asked for quotations but so far we have not got any. Someone warned us that things happen in Darwin but a lot slower.

The boat has new covers, now. We are not too happy with their quality but they seem to do the job. We had to remove them however before leaving for Sydney. It is a cyclone season after all and we do not want to loose the covers a month after they were made.

For Christmas and New Year we went to Sydney. We spent most of the time with the family and meeting friends. I was taken aback with questions about this website. I did not realise it was read that much.

Our return to Darwin was a bit of adventure. Planes from Sydney arrive in Darwin shortly after midnight. Since we removed the air-conditioning from the yacht before we left we decided to stay in a hotel for the first two nights. After about nine hours of the trip we appreciated quick way to the bed.

Next day we went to the yacht and installed the air-conditioning and covers. That evening Darwin was put on cyclone watch. A low over Kimberley’s was developing into a category 2 cyclone. Weather bureau started updating the forecasts every four hours. TV programs were interrupted to provide the latest news on the cyclone development. Next morning the situation worsened. The low had become a cyclone and it headed towards Darwin. We went to the yacht and removed the covers, and air-conditioning. We also put more mooring lines. By the evening the cyclone was close to cross the shore about 100 kms south of Darwin. We extended our stay in the hotel by one night. We also decided to rent a unit instead of staying on the boat. The main reason is that we cannot have the air-conditioning installed when a cyclone comes. It is not attached to the boat thus the strong wind could push it and cause some damage. On the other hand it is not possible to live on the boat without the air-conditioning, especially that we both go to work.

We rented a two bedroom unit not far from the city. I should have a bus to the city while Tina will use the car. Since the unit was available immediately we moved there directly from the hotel.

In the meantime the cyclone arrived at night. We slept through without any problems. The only event was the loss of electricity for about an hour. We noticed that as the air-conditioning stopped working.

Next day we went to see the boat. There was no damage to any of the boats in the marina. Most of the people stayed on their boats. They said it was “only” category 2 cyclone with winds about 60 knots. On the way to the marina we saw fallen trees and the streets were full of debris. In the city only one café shop was open. Later in the afternoon shopping centres opened and we could buy food for our new unit.

January, 2008 – starting preparations for the next season

Although we are back to the weekly work routine, we have started preparations for the next sailing season. The big item is the HF radio. We talked to other sailors and read in magazines about it, trying to find out if we really needed it. In the end we decided we did. Order was sent and we are waiting for the delivery. Buying radio is not easy as the information, what is needed, is rather confusing. The main problem is that listed items constitute a part of the system and on their own would not provide communications. Thus for the radio we had to choose a tuner, then for email service a modem. With both devices we had to order separately cabling. We are still not sure we ordered everything that is needed but we hope the installer will fill in the gaps. The radio should be delivered by the end of month.

The other purchase is a smaller headsail. The original one from Bavaria Yachts is huge – 130% - and heavy. It easily overpowers the yacht in winds over 15 knots. We decided to buy a smaller – 100% - sail. We ordered it from a sail maker in Adelaide. He was helpful with advices in the past and I felt we should eventually buy something from him. In comparison to other sail makers we seem to pay a reasonable amount and if his work is like his advice then we will be happy with the sail. To order we had to take seven different measurements. It was nice to be on the yacht again. The heat is however unbearable.

We are still working for quotation to install three more solar panels. The welder contacted us regarding a bracket for the sonar but so far he has not done anything in regard to the panels. Someone told us we had to be patient in Darwin.

01- February – 2008  What  happens?

Well, not much recently. We both go to work during the week and hide from the sun on the weekends. We have not received any information about our orders – HF radio and the headsail. Neil sent to us a fuel funnel. Thanks! The funnel not only removes dirt from the diesel but also water. 
For some time I have been looking for a solution to the earthing of HF radio. My goal has been to avoid drilling another hole in the hull and install a copper plate. I called a few people and asked them why the keel connection was not sufficient. All said we had to have the plate. One mentioned corrosion caused by the DC current – serious enough.
Then I read the manual for the HF radio and… they recommend keel connection. They do not mention corrosion. I went back to the problem and after many searches I found out how to earth the radio to the keel. I found an article on the sailmail website written by an electronics engineer. The solution is rather simple. The tuner connects to the keel and engine using copper tape like cable. This could however cause the corrosion. Solution – capacitors on the tape cable! Simple. The capacitors will stop the flow of any DC current but they will let the electromagnetic waves to pass through. This is what we are doing to do. What a relief!
We are still making enquiries about the insurance for the yacht. Our present insurance covers us only in Australian waters. So far we have one quote from Perth based company and it is not bad. A New Zealand company collected information from us but they never replied. There is still one more we sent the papers to. Hopefully we will have some competition. 
There some new photos in the spaces album. Not too many from NT as we kept forgetting the camera when travelling. Hopefully we will do better in the future.

 
20 – February – 2008  Wet  season

The weather changed recently. Rains have come and the water is pouring from the sky every day nearly all the time. At night the rains are very heavy. Someone said we hade over 34 centimetres of rain in one day! The town seems to cope rather well. Only a few roads were closed and not for a long time. It looks that this weather will stay here for a while.
No worries! On Saturday we fly to Niseko. We will be two weeks on the snow. Except for the shock of the change in temperatures we are looking forward to this holiday.
Our new radio has been delivered. We also agreed with the electrician on the scope of his works. It looks we may have new batteries after our return from Japan. With a bit of luck we may also have the antenna for the radio although radio will not be installed by then.
We received documents for the international registration of the yacht. We have to make and install a plague with the number and the length of the boat before final papers will be sent to us.
The plague business is a complete madness. It probably comes from middle ages when the boats had to be somehow recognisable after a battle or when washed on a shore. The Official Number “shall be cut in the main beam” (!) the document states.  Well, we can’t cut thus we need a plague. Anyway we are very happy that we conquered the problem of filling in the forms and convincing the bureaucracy that we actually own the yacht.
We got the new headsail. So far it has been in the bag as we had no opportunity to hoist it. It should be smaller than the one we now. The sail maker said it could be used as a storm sail and it would be very good in lighter winds. 

24-Feb – 09-Mar, 2008  Skiing  in  Niseko,  Japan

Trip to and back was not pleasant. We took a taxi to the airport, then flight to Cairns, flight to Tokyo, wrong bus to a wrong hotel, returned to the airport, took a bus to the domestic airport (two hour trip), another bus to the hotel (this time right one), next day bus to the airport, waited for hours to board the plane, circled above Sapporo for nearly two hours, took bus to Niseko and lastly a bus to the lodge. The way back was nearly the same. Except of wrong busses and snow storm, we had a 12 hour break in Cairns.

All together we had 11 days in the lodge. We skied ten days. The first week was very snowy. It hardly stopped snowing. Temperatures were about minus ten.

Skiing in Niseko is very good. There are many lifts and we encountered only short queues. There are four resorts that have common tickets. We could move between them freely although sometimes in dense fog. That was in the first week. The second week weather changed and we had plenty of sun. Temperatures also went up but the snow still was good. On some days we skied in powder as it snowed at night.

Living in the lodge was also good. We met many people there and spent long evenings having dinners and talking. We ate breakfast in the lodge as it was provided. Lunches and dinners we had in restaurants. Food was of variable quality. All restaurants seemed to have the same menus. We went to nearby town Kuchan to have dinners. On both occasions we enjoyed it but I was not impressed. Later I discovered that food in Tokyo is much more different and the choices are greater.

Busses to the ski fields from the lodge were so good that we hardly had to walk. They run regularly although not at any fixed time. Since we were at the end of the season we had no problems with seats. Service was always excellent and that is true for the whole trip.

One of the highlights – except for skiing – were visits to hot springs. Water was hot and we felt wonderfully each time we went there.

The holiday was great. We are back however and tomorrow we return to work.

Some work was done on the boat when we were away. We now have new four 120Ah AGM batteries. They fitted in the same place as the previous ones. We hope they will provide us with lots of energy. Other works will be done after Easter as the electrician is busy with other works till then. 

03 – April – 2008  Preparing  for  the  season

We have been officially registered and entered on the list of the Sail Indonesia Rally. The yacht has also international registration. We had an issue with the size of the plague (it has registration number and the length of the boat) as it is rather big. 
Our new headsail is ready for use. It is about 40cm shorter than the forestay. After consulting the Furlex manual and the sail maker we attached its tack end with a Spectra rope. The furling works well. We still have to sail to know how the sail performs.
Out list with “thing to do” is one page long and it seems to grow every day, like in a Greek legend, as soon as we have removed one head another two grow back. We’re making progress however. Most of the orders have already been done. We have electronic charts for the whole region and we tested them. Paper charts will be ordered this week. AIS and associated software should arrive any day now. It will be installed at the same time as the HF radio which we have already received. Country courtesy flags are also on their way.

This weekend I will be busy installing some pipes for the toilet. They will be our backup in a case the main pump fails. The only issue with the work is that it has to be done under the floor in the locker. The weather in Darwin has not changed much – it is still above 30 degree every day (and night… well… OK, maybe 25). We are told it will become cooler soon.
Late in June we will lift the yacht out of the water to paint the hull and to serve the engine. The place has been booked. It is in Cullen Marina. The tides are going to be right for going out and in the marinas’ locks. We were taken aback by the booking already in place for lifting the boats. There were hardly any spare slots four months ahead. I guess most yachties prefer to come to Cullen Marina as the only other place in Darwin requires really high tides to enter it. We would need seven metres tide. When we checked the times it looked that if we stayed just one day longer (more than three) we would have to wait another month to get out. They charge for the yacht on hard stand. Well, we hope Cullen Marina will work out well.

21 – April – 2008  Works on the yacht

Our list of things to do on the yacht is slowly getting shorter. The main job of installing a bypass for the toilet pump has been done. We still have to test it under pressure but I am confident it will be fine. The works took three mornings for me to complete. The first two were really about learning how to install the hoses that are not very flexible and seem to be smaller than tubes in diameter. An experienced plumber told me that to take the hose off I had to cut it. To put the hose on the tube I had to get the hose real hot. It worked really well. Interestingly, original hoses from Europe did not pose the same problems as the local plastic ones. They were easy to fit. The only surprise was a steel wire in the hose. Eventually, after many scratches, cuts and bruises the hoses are installed. This was the biggest job I had to do. We are still waiting for the installation of the HF radio and the solar panels. I started to hassle the stainless steel people as they seem to be delaying the delivery of the frame. 

We sent the new jib back to the sail maker as it was too short. The maker had no problem with us sending the sail back, although we have to pay for the courier – one way. Organising a courier was not easy here. Most of the companies are not interested in private deliveries. Others charge enormous amounts, such as over $500.oo! I ended up using the sail maker’s account. We should have the sail back in a couple of weeks.
We ordered and received paper charts that cover the whole of the area we going to visit. We are still to make sure there is nothing missing and we will do it by charting the routes, if we can. The places on the list from the Sail Indonesia are not easy to find and often just indicate a whole island as a stop. I hope they will provide more precise information before we leave Darwin. 
We also have electronic charts that cover the area from Indonesia till Egypt. We can use the charts in our Raymarine chartplotter and on the PC. This should make our lives easier as we will be able to prepare the routes on a computer before moving the card to the plotter. We can also run two navigation systems (even three) at the same time. We will not be lost as long as the charts are correct! Moving the route from PC to the chart plotter proved a bit difficult as the software would not export the route in the format accepted by the device. I ended up downloading Raymarine free planning software. We will use the software to create a route then export it in plotter format and format accepted by the PC navigation software.  All that has been tested and it works. Interestingly, the vendor of the software could not be more useless in this case.

The other items we bought recently include: electric washing machine, AIS device, hours display for the tachometer, laptop, sea sickness electronic straps, camping food for about two weeks, mosquito nets and some tools. 
We are now anxiously waiting for the works to be completed. The solar panel frame was to be installed last week but… there was some theft somewhere and the workers were redirected to fix the place. Our job is still waiting and we do not even know for how long.

24-30 – April – 2008  Visiting  national  parks

We used the long weekend, extended by two days of annual holiday, and the visit by Gosia to see some of the Territory. We started on Thursday morning. The first stop was the yacht to run the watermaker. We discovered that the backstay was removed, meaning it was taken for the installation of isolators for the HF radio antenna. We removed the bimini to make the installations of the backstay and the solar panels easier.

We drove towards Kakadu Park and stopped at a tourist information centre with a view on the wetlands. The centre had a small exhibition describing the seasons and wild life around it. It was interesting.
The next stop was Adelaide River. We went on a cruise to see some crocs. They showed up quickly enough. The guide claimed the crocs could jump naturally and that stories about tour operators training them are false. Who knows? The crocs jumped to get the food and we took some good photos. I do not think we would go on the cruise again.
In Jabiru we checked in to a caravan park where we got a cabin. Later in the afternoon we drove to Ubiru to see the Aboriginal paintings. 
Next day we drove to Katherine stopping in a couple of places to explore the park. One was interesting as it also had the paintings as well as a lookout with good views. The other was a 1.6km walk uphill and offered rather dull view. 
Before we reached Katherine we took a detour to Edith Falls. This was the highlight of the day as we could swim in the billabong. Fresh water swimming is always so good!
There are signs that crocs live there and the swimmers should not bother them as they may become aggressive. We have not seen any although they would have seen us. They are fresh water crocs and it is not in their habit to eat or hurt people. 

In Katherine we stayed again in a cabin. Next day we drove to the Katherine Gorge where we joined a three gorge tour. It was very nice experience. The views are great, especially the second gorge with high – wall like – rocks on both sides. Near the third gorge we went swimming again. We saw some crocs on the way back but they were small. Swimming in the river is not allowed as yet. Rangers set the traps to make sure no salt water crocs occupy the place. They cannot enter the river during the dry season but they swim there during the wet. Our guide – who also gave us a very good didjeridu concert – hoped the river would be open for water sports in about two weeks.
On return to the cabin we felt rather tired. After some rest we drove to the town and visited other tourist places. Spring waters proved to be a big disappointment. We also did not find a restaurant we would like to have dinner in. Instead we bought some ingredients and we had dinner in the cabin. 
The following day we drove to see caves located south of the town. It was interesting but not very necessary tour. The guide was dull and bored with the job of telling the same stuff every hour.
From there we started moving back towards Darwin. We made a detour to Douglas/Daly River but there was nothing of interest. We drove to the Tourist Park in Litchfield Park where we checked in. With some time of the day still left we went to have a swim in the rock pools. This was a good, relaxing fun. We soaked in every pool we could find and massaged our backs in the little waterfalls. 
On the last day we visited three more waterfalls. All are very nice and spectacular. Only in one of them we could have a swim as others were not cleared of crocs as yet (one is not accessible). We also had some walks with very good views. Since we left the waterfall we could swim in as last we returned home refreshed and ready for more activities. We visited Cullen Bay Marina, East Point, Nightcliff beaches and the Darwin Yacht Club, where we had dinner watching the sunset.

13 – May – 2008  Things start happaning

After a few frustrating weeks works started on the yacht. The frame to hold solar panels has been installed. It was a real struggle as the stainless people kept delaying it week after week. I would call them to ask when they are going to install and they would say in a couple of days. After that time nothing was done. Eventually, I told them we would cancel the order. Four days later the frame was installed! 
It looks good. The electrician started working on the yacht. He hopes to have everything done by the end of the week although he qualified that saying he could need one day more. We got the backstay with the isolators for the HF radio antenna. When they are installing it the rigger will also check the shrouds and the top of the mast. We will have a written report that may be needed by the insurance. We applied for the insurance a week ago and… we are still waiting for their reply. I guess I may have to get a bit tougher with them too.

We checked and sorted the charts we bought. It took good three hours to do that. In the process we discovered we needed four more. Since we had to order at least 10 we decided to order the charts for the route to Cairo. We may never use or need them but that seemed to be the most logical way to order the charts. Well… instead of four missing charts we will get about 100.
Our second laptop has been configured and it runs well. All the software works. I was a bit worried as the laptop runs Vista, but there were no problems at all. We will install the older laptop permanently on the navigation table and the second one will be our entertainment unit as well as a backup. Both laptops are linked via the wireless network. 
We are now also registered in Winlink2K. This gives us an email account to request and receive the weather forecasts. At present everything works via the Internet. Once the HF radio is installed we will make it work through the ether. This may happen this weekend! Exciting!

 
05 – June – 2008  Finished?

After a two months delay it seems we have the major works on the yacht completed. At least we think they are. Initial tests are positive but the process was not that straight forward. For example, we have solar panels installed quadrupling the power output. I asked the electrician if he replaced the existing voltage regulator. He did not! He therefore had a 7 Amp regulator and upto 16 Amps load. 

After he replaced the regulator we started observing how the panels charged the batteries. We disconnected the yacht from the shore power and turned on both fridges. To our dismay the batteries would not recover all the power that was used during the night. After two nights the batteries were 10% below the full charge at the end of a sunny day. It looked bad. I spoke to the electrician and he insisted everything was fine. I started checking manuals. In the regulator manual I discovered there were switches to select type of batteries. The electrician did not check them and they were in default positions. I had to push him hard to change the switches and show me how to do this. Reluctantly, he did. Since then the batteries are fully charged at the end of the day, more likely much earlier, but we will confirm that once we had more time to watch them. I also called the manufacturer of the regulator and their engineer said the switches were in correct position now.
Well, we hope to take the yacht for a sail this weekend. Hopefully, no major problems will occur.

HF radio has been installed and it seems to work although I am still to find time to actually try and call someone. The other issue is to make the mail working. I printed a manual – it is 166 pages! Back to school I guess.

We still have a large job to do – antifouling and engine service. We booked the services on June 30. This will be a major operation as we have to leave the Bayview Marina a day before then spend the night on anchor. The next day we will enter Cullen Bay Marina for the yacht to be lifted. We have three days booked on the cradle. The owners sent us emails that everything has been arranged. I will try to confirm that again – this is Darwin after all!

We have more than a month before the rally starts. Yachts are arriving in Darwin. There are at least two other boats in the marina with the plans to sail in the rally. We met one of the owners. He is from Austria and sails a large catamaran. He decided to have a break from sailing and went back home for five weeks. Fanny Bay is getting busy and full. It is rather difficult to imagine more than 100 more yachts there. We will probably stay in the marina till the last night. Tides are good to leave the marina just in time for the start.

23 – June – 2008 Major works nearly done

Recently, we spent lots of time checking if the HF radio works. Attempts to connect to Winlink radio network failed many times. Fortunately a new catamaran arrived in marina and Chris – the owner – knows lots about the radios. Firstly, he told me which frequencies are used by yachts coming from Eastern Coast to Darwin to sail in the rally. We managed not only to listen to them but also to make a call and find out we were heard "loud and clear". The other yacht was near Flinders Islands, far enough for me.
Later I also managed to establish two email connections – one with Sailmail and the other with Winlink. Success rate for connections is rather poor. One of the reasons could be that in the marina there is a lot of "radio noise". Chris seems to think that our radio is actually better than his and he has not too many problems to use email when sailing. I guess we will know once we leave the marina. 
We actually wanted to sail during the last weekend but the weather was bad with strong wind warning. We also overheard a yacht that just arrived in Darwin in Fanny Bay and the sailor was complaining the wind was too strong for comfort. Next weekend we will have no choice. We have to take the yacht to the other marina to be lifted. The forecast looks better but who believes 7-day weather predictions?

Well, I will try to post the next update after we had the boat painted and the engine serviced. We may move to the Cullen Bay marina as there are berths available. They will not however take bookings thus we will find out only four/five days earlier. It would be nice to stay there as it would save us going up the creek again at the right tide. It is also located in a nicer part of the town. 

19 – July – 2008   Nearly  ready  to  go

Last few weeks have been rather busy. We spent five days visiting national parks and after that we have been preparing to the trip to Indonesia.

We moved from Bayview Marina to Bullen Bay Marina at the end of June. The boat was put on the hardstand and painted. Since this was done in Cullen Bay we decided to stay there. It is much nicer place than the other marinas in Darwin but also it is dearer. My main attraction is that we do not have to negotiate a creek to enter or leave the place.

We went for a couple of weekend trials and we have not found any serious problems. Whatever needed maintenance has been serviced. Salt water pump started leaking but a change of washers removed the problem. We bought a spinnaker pole. It is held along the mast. We needed someone to do this urgently and we managed to find him although for a price.

Today we have really finished preparing the yacht for sailing. There are no outstanding issues and everything tests well. We have a few days to buy the supplies. The plan is to leave the marina on Wednesday. The rally starts on Saturday thus we will have a couple of days on the water before sailing to Indonesia. Fanny Bay where the yachts gather for the rally is packed. We think about going somewhere else but that we will probably not need to.

Well this is the last entry on the page. A new page has been created to start the log for the new season.

19-July-2008 In Cullen Bay Marina

Shirena is ready to sail. We still have to buy food and other supplies but the yacht works are complete. 
We will leave the marina on Wednesday, 23-July. The rally will leave Darwin the following Saturday. 
Today we will attend the first official event - barbeque for the participating crews. 

Sailing Indonesia – 26-July – 23-October, 2008

Sailing in Indonesia was a great and very good experience for us. For the first time we left the safety of our country and we entered very much different region. In Australia we could sail by planning daily trips and choosing the right weather. In Indonesia we had a few passages that required sailing at night, sometimes more than one. We found out it was not as bad as it sounded. Sailing for a few days or to a set schedule forced us to face weather conditions not of our choice. We learnt how to cope with that and how to prepare for sudden changes in wind strength, its direction or sea conditions. Neil, who joined us for the part from Bali to Singapore, not only helped us with sailing but also shared with us his sailing experience of many years. Again, we learnt and experienced something new.

We met many people in Indonesia: locals and sailors. Indonesian people proved to be friendly and helpful. We never felt threatened or unsafe. The only discomfort was caused by pushy traders who would not give up no matter what. Like anywhere in the world, there were people who would “cross the line” (for example by providing rather doubtful quality fuel) but majority were just interested in having a short conversation with us. They enquired about our countries of origin and names. In return they gave us their names, often English version. The only issue in contact with the local people was the language. Few words we learnt in Indonesian were appreciated but they were not enough to exchange views or even obtain needed information.

We met and sailed with many other sailors. Most of them are much more experienced than us and they were happy to help or advise us. We accept as normal that in a case of any trouble others are keen to share their spares or knowledge. Some even sacrificed weeks of cruising to ensure that their companion in trouble is not left alone. We made friends we hope to be in touch with for many years to come.

Indonesian waters offer wonderful regions for sailing with thousands of islands and stunning views. The most common complaint by the sailors was that we had not enough time to visit and see more. The truth is that one would need years to really explore all the places. Nevertheless it is a pity that the Indonesian government limits the permits for sailing to three months only.

In summary, sailing in Indonesia is really great. We enjoyed it.

Below are daily notes from our trip. They were sometimes written a couple of days after an event and not everything was mentioned. Because it is a website, the texts are rather general and do not describe our emotions or other private experiences. This is left to reader’s imagination.