Marina Time

Well we got lazy and just stayed in May's Bay until Friday, just chilling out and watching the turtles. Then we headed across to Abell Point Marina on Friday morning for the weekend. Time to fix stuff, re-provision, do the laundry and shower!

We had more fun with the furler when we came to furl the headsail. Yet again it wouldn't furl and so again the sail is lying on the deck. It wasn't much fun getting it down with the wind gusting 30 knots! We've had yet another look at it and hope it is fixed this time.

We also attempted to do an oil change on the engine as it was well overdue. This all went well until we tried to get the old oil filter off. It would not budge, despite going out and buying a filter wrench. We are now awaiting a mechanic to take a look on Monday.

Our friends Paul and Anna are joining us today and sailing with us for the next week. So this afternoon we will be provisioning and getting things ready for a hopeful departure tomorrow (mechanic permitting!).

Draining the engine oil, just before discovering that the old filter was stuck.

The Great Barrier Reef

Monday (10^th) was a bit of a full day! We dropped our mooring at Maureen’s Cove at 0600 and headed north for Bait reef. This is the closest part of the outer reef and the true barrier reef. Despite the forecast for light winds we ended upwith 20 knots gusting 25 knots and made great progress over the 17 miles. Things were busy when we got there, with all six moorings taken. After a little bit of lively discussion with one other boats over the radio, we managed to get a mooring for a couple of hours and did some great snorkelling. Then it was off back to Hook Island.

We had a an issue with our furling line when we got back and had to drop the head sail and replace the furling line which was badly chaffed. All part of living on a boat.

We finally settled down to sundowners in Stonehaven Bay at about 1730, which is late for us! 

Yesterday we thought we would have an easy day with about a 10 mile motor sail south. However, we made the mistake of unfurling the headsail which we thought was now fixed. No such luck! Furling line everywhere and so down came the head sail again.  And, just to finish it off ,the sheets started flogging and broke one of the sheaves on the starboard car. Grrrr!

So today we have sat still in the beautiful May’s Bay. The furler is fixed (we think) and the car has a temporary fix but the headsail is still lying on the deck!

We have swum and snorkelled and walked on the beach and also done our bit for marine conservation by catching absolutely no fish at all!

Bait Reef, Great Barrier Reef

Bait Reef, Great Barrier Reef

Bait Reef, Great Barrier Reef

X-Pat moored on the Great Barrier Reef

Unique creature found on Barrier Reef!

We seem to see turtles in most bays that we anchor in

Mangroves at low tide in May's Bay

Paddling in May's Bay

Still Here!

Well it has to be said that the poor blog has been sadly neglected. This is partly down to the absolutely appalling level of mobile coverage in the Whitsunday Islands and partly down to what happens when you delegate the blogging to the crew!

Coincidentally the last time we blogged we were sitting in Homestead Bay on Cid Island, which is exactly where we are now. But we have moved! After a few days in the marina and a quick trip back to Sydney, we have been randomly sailing through these islands, basically heading wherever we feel like on the day and wherever the wind is blowing.

We've seen some great wildlife, with turtles in the bays, sea eagles, stone curlews and a lot of friendly swallows, who seem to enjoy flying through our boat! We have even managed to do some beach cleanups (see tideline.com.au).

We have had Gillian and Lewis onboard for a few days, when we managed to do a bit of sailing, snorkelling and a lot of eating! It has to be said that the chef and chief provisioner has been brilliant so far. However we are currently heading into the last week of a three week stretch without re-provisioning  so the tins and dried food are starting to appear! 

We have another week with just the two of us and then we have friends and family arriving for the following two weeks before we start heading south. The mobile coverage has been so bad that we have renewed the sat phone contract and so our tracking is back for all to see.

Here are a few pics from the last few weeks:

One of our friendly swallows

Another day, another remote beach

Challenging conditions!

The view from Mount Oldfield, Lindeman Island

The Whitsunday Islands

A week ago we sailed into the bay at South Percy island having spent an uneventful overnight of pleasant downwind sailing from Great Keppel Island. South Percy is a beautiful island and Debi immediately jumped into the water and swam the 500m to shore. Pat followed a little later with snorkelling gear but the coral was not terribly exciting. We spent 2 nights anchored there, the only boat in the bay. The only downside was a complete lack of cellphone coverage so we had no way to communicate with anyone, which left Ash and Gillian feeling a bit anxious. 

Next stop was Middle Percy island which has the landmark A-frame yachties' hut on it. There were lots of boats anchored there as it is a great place to stop. We left an X-yacht flag with our names and the date to mark our visit

Digby island was next, followed by Scawfell island and finally 2 nights at Thomas island.  Sailing in between all the islands has been pretty idyllic with 10-20 knots on the beam most of the time and mostly gentle, calm seas. Couldn't ask for more really.  The water is about 22 degrees Celsius so lovely for swimming although one does have to watch the currents which can be quite strong. 

The reef has been a little disappointing so far with only Digby island having any worthwhile snorkelling. Apparently it was all trashed during a cyclone a few years ago. There is also a lot of plankton in the water making visibility poor. 

This morning we did another short sail, aided by a very obliging tide, to Cid island where we will spend our last night at anchor before heading to Abel Point marina for some very welcome showers!

Strenuous work on the helm!

Digby Island anchorage

The A-Frame at Middle Percy

Yachts anchored off Middle Percy

Our friend Sovereign 3 at Cid Island

Cid Island

More strenuous helming

Onwards we go

The sun has come out so it would be nice to laze about here for a day but it is a pretty rocky (as in wave motion) anchorage so not really a comfortable place to sleep. Also, we have to be at Airlie Beach by Sunday for Pat to fly back to Sydney on Monday so we can't hang about too much.

The bad news is that the next planned stop is not accessible as some military operation is going on which means we have to pull another over-nighter with just the two of us, to get to the Percy islands. Conditions are predicted to be pretty benign so here's hoping it will be an easy sail. Watch this space. 

We're officially in the tropics!

We are now safely tucked up on the north side of Great Keppel Island, after a very hard sail from Mooloolaba. We had Julian onboard for a few days and so decided to take advantage of the extra pair of hands to make some headway up the coast. Unfortunately the weather forecast gave us a rather false impression of what conditions were going to be. We ended up experiencing steady winds around 30 to 35 knots and gusts well over 40 knots. The forecast said 20 to 25 knots. Fortunately they did predict the direction correctly and so we had the wind behind the beam the whole way. We sailed with two reefs in the main and a half furled headsail for the complete journey. We also had two out of three of us sea sick for the first 24 hours and the third person feeling decidedly queasy. 

On the positive side we absolutely flew up the outside of Fraser Island, past the busy port of Gladstone and past Cape Capricorn, to complete 309nm in just 44 hours with an average speed of 6.95 knots and a top speed of 13.5 knots. The anchorage was a very welcome sight even though it was raining. We spent the rest of the day recovering.

Today the weather is horrible drizzly rain. We have been into Rosslyn Bay Harbour, Yeppoon to drop off Julian and fill up with diesel and water. We then decided to return to Great Keppel Island rather than proceeding north and had an absolutely spectacular treat coming back. We encountered a number of humpback whales, some with calves, which were splashing about in the bay. Two of them surfaced within 20m of us and earlier we had a pair which swam directly under the boat giving us some serious cause for concern. What a privilege to sea these fantastic mammals so close.

We are now tucked up from the wind and rain and hoping for better weather tomorrow.

Humpback Whales, Great Keppel Island

Humpback Whales, Great Keppel Island

Off again

Vital Supplies

After a 3 week stopover in Mooloolaba enabling us to get the boat surveyed and to go home for 10 days, we are back under way. Julian has joined us for the first few days sail up to Yeppoon which we are planning to do in one go, so a few overnights ahead. Much easier with 3 people on board.

Wet weather gear? Uh oh!

More supplies for the nightly banquets

Berthed in Mooloolaba at sunset

Life at an Angle