Lorelei’s Sailing Adventures
For Episode 57 we spent a few weeks enjoying The Whitsunday Islands with other cruising yachts before racing to Mackay to ride out Tropical Cyclone Debbie.
Debbie
crossed 50nm north of Mackay and the area received the most amount of rain but
winds of only around 60% of what they received in Airlie Beach, The Whitsundays
and Bowen.
Mackay Marina
sustained some damage around where Lorelei was moored but she only received
minor scrapes and chaffing.
After being
stripped on deck, we spent 3 days putting her back together before sailing out
of Mackay Marina around 4 days after Cyclone Debbie had crossed the coast.
A white-out with rain
and 75 knots of wind about
4 hours before Debbie
hit the coast.
Large
Cyclonic waves off the Mackay Marina Breakwall
Amazing to think this
was Mackay Marina just 28 hours
after Cyclone Debbie crossed the coast.
after Cyclone Debbie crossed the coast.
Our location for this
episode
Our route for this
episode
We sailed
from Mackay to Burning Point at Shaw Island on the 2nd April and
arrived after dark at 8pm.
In a way we
were a little shocked to think that just 5 days prior Lorelei was riding out a
Cyclone, and yet 5 days later we were sailing again with just very minor
damage.
We felt we
came through a lot better than virtually every other cruising boat we know of
that was in the general area.
If we’ve said
it one, we’ve said it a 100 times – we love our big strong steel boat….
Burning Point
has a very protected anchorage in the SE trade winds which was just as well as
for the next 3 days it was a strong wind warning with 25-30 knot SE winds.
So we
hunkered down for 2 days and continued the post Debbie tidy/fix up.
The next
passage was from Burning Point up to Airlie Beach.
It was a super-fast
trip with strong following winds and 2-3 knots of current.
Lorelei did
the 35nm passage in just 3.5 hours, which for us is flying.
As we sailed
past the islands we noticed they were stripped of much of the vegetation.
It was very,
very sad to see.
Airlie Beach
was like a ghost town – particularly on the water as nearly all of the moorings
out the front of the yacht club we either vacant or gone altogether.
The yacht
club itself didn’t fare too well.
The floating
dingy dock was now in a crumpled mess in the corner of the small harbour.
The once
clean and green grassy sailing rigging lawn was now covered with dirt, rock and
debris. The grass that did remain was burnt from the wind and salt.
Many of the
boats in the club grounds sustained a lot of damage.
For us, the
saddest of all was one of the smallest boats – a 19ft Prindle cat that used to
race against the much bigger boats every Wednesday arvo by a father and son
team who had great pride in their modest little cat.
Sadly it was
very badly damaged and was probably a write-off.
Even the
sailing club building had damage and there was a large pile of the torn up
water damaged carpet.
There were
bobcats and heavy machinery already cleaning up the mess around the club
grounds.
The town was
shocking to see.
The foreshore
area used to be such a dense leafy place but now it was stripped of most
vegetation and you could clearly see from one side of the beach to the other.
There were 3
yachts that were stranded high and dry a long way up the beach or on the rocky
headland.
It was
interesting to see the hedges along the towns’ foreshore had the front sections
burnt from the sand blasting and salt spray.
The sand around the seat
gives you an idea how high up the
storm surge came to the
town.
Most
businesses were either still closed or had portable generators out the front to
power lights and the cash register systems.
It was really
depressing, so we quickly got our parcels from the post office, did a final
fresh food reprovision from Woolies and got out of there.
With the strong
winds still in effect, we couldn’t head south so we hunkered down in the
islands.
Most of the
islands were in a terrible state and were stripped of most leafy vegetation.
We wanted to
find a kiting location for Paul but the 2 best locations were destroyed.
Langford
Island used to have a fantastic sand spit to launch off but sadly the sand had
all disappeared and now it was a rocky, inhospitable mess that was impossible
to launch a kite from.
One upside
from all the rain was the island’s valleys had loads of new waterfalls where
there were once only trickles.
Kayaking in
over the shallow sand flats proved to be the best way to access the shore.
Strong water
flow had pushed a lot of the debris and tree foliage down to the lower areas
and it was in some spots very thick and rotting.
Some of the
falls were small and easy to access, whilst others were running really quickly
but difficult to climb.
However the
harder to access waterfalls seemed to miss the brunt of the winds and there
were still lots of healthy trees around them in the valleys.
Swimming in
the different pools was a welcome reward but we had to be very careful of
undercurrents in the bigger pools pushing water down though subterranean rock
systems.
We finished
the day watching the sun’s rays peeking through the clouds as we launched the
kayaks and paddled home.
On our last
afternoon at Stonehaven, the sun came out, the wind backed a little and the bay
filled with holiday makers enjoying the first day of the Easter school
holidays.
We celebrated
with a BBQ before watching a great sunset.
The full moon
rose over the island’s stripped and brown peaks and it looked more like a photo
from The Rocky Mountains than from a tropical island.
Despite the
wind backing off a little, it was still forecasted at 15-20 knots from the SE
and that was the direction we wanted to go.
We simply didn’t
want to stay for another 2 weeks waiting for northerly winds (if they were ever
going to come) so we decided to start sailing south and tack into the wind for
6 hours every day with the current assistance.
The
favourable tides were from 4am to 10am for the first day so we left at 5am and
punched south from Stone Haven (at the top of the Whitsunday Islands) to Cid
Harbour at the bottom.
The early
morning run also meant the wind was a little less before it kicked in for the
afternoon.
We were on
collision course with a Tug Boat and we called them up on the radio.
Our friend
Anthony from Liquid Desire heard the call and was not far away so we arranged
to meet up with him one final time that arvo.
Kerry and Sue
from the cat Billaroo also turned up unexpectantly that afternoon.
They were the
couple that rescued us in Mackay when we were evacuated during Cyclone Debbie
and kindly housed and fed us for 5 days during the storm.
In the
afternoon we went for a walk with them up to a swimming hole that they knew of.
It also had a
great waterfall with all the rain.
That night we
all met for drinks on Anthony’s boat.
He had his
boat at Able Point Marina (Airlie Beach) for the cyclone and the stories,
photos and videos he took were scary.
We sat around
his large TV watching them with mouths agape….
We wanted to
leave at 4:30am the next morning but we woke to 20-25 knots and decided we
weren’t going to punch into that as we decided days ago when planning the trip
that 15-20 knots was a reasonable maximum limit when tacking into it.
For 3 days we
sat and waited for the wind and swell to subside enough to sail south.
Paul was so
frustrated!!
It was windy
enough to kite but there was nowhere to launch, it was windy enough to sail but
the direction was wrong and the swell was up but there was nowhere to
surf. Arrggghhh!!!!!
So instead,
in-between rain squalls, he set to work and did every little job that needed
doing on board and polished all the exterior stainless steel from bow to stern.
Lisa also helped with the polishing which got the job finished a lot quicker.
Easter rolled
around and the boats started to arrive in Cid Harbour.
There were
nearly 30 private and charter boats spread throughout the bay.
That many
boats meant lots of antics.
Kids having
fun jumping off charter cats for hours on end, young groups getting exceedingly
drunk on rent-a-yachts, boats dragging anchors (both private and charter…)
during squalls and all sorts of watercraft buzzing around.
We stayed on
board and Lisa made some yummy Hot Cross Buns on Easter Friday.
Easter
Saturday we woke to find a change in the weather forecast and it had backed off
enough for us to get going south.
We surmised the
hardest part was to get past the wind magnet that is Hamilton Island and get as
far south as we could.
So we quickly
packed up and took off at 7am.
We tacked
down the Whitsunday passage and found we were off Shaw Island before noon so we
excitedly pushed on further.
The wind
slowly abated and we were able to remove the reefs in the sails and spent the
afternoon tacking south with all sails up.
We dodged and
weaved past many smaller islands, sometimes going very close to the shoreline.
We were so
happy to arrive at the Goldsmith Islands at 5pm and just before a storm passed
over. We had sailed door to door covering 62nm.
The post
storm clouds in the calm anchorage made for great late arvo and sunset photos.
With high
hopes we sailed out again at 7am on Easter Sunday.
It was much
bumpier as we sailed east into the east swell and SE wind.
We tacked over
to head south hoping for a better run with the swell off our side and the
current behind us (as was the situation the day before).
Slowly the
wind increased and soon we had our hands full with Lorelei powered up to the
limit, heeling over so the toe-rail was constantly in the water and she was
slamming into large waves at speed forcing large amounts of water right over
the boat.
It was not
fun!!!
It was made worse
by texts coming in from family and friends enjoying Easter morning with kids
munching on chocolate and having a nice time.
Meanwhile Paul
was struggling to keep his bland breakfast down…!!!
By 11am it
was ugly so we aborted any attempt to sail further south and sailed towards
Brampton Island.
Thankfully we
did as on the way into the Island, we were hit with a 30+knot storm that had us
bearing away and easing sails as quick as we could.
The
conditions were much nicer once we sailed into the lee of Carlisle Island which
adjoins Brampton Island by a shallow sand spit.
We were so
happy to be anchored up by 1pm and we decided on Carlisle Island instead of the
nearby Brampton Island anchorage which had a few boats already there.
Feeling
better after a feed and a rest, we put the kayaks in and for the afternoon
explored the foreshore of Carlisle Island.
The island
had a lot of minor cyclone damage with erosion to sand beaches, fallen trees
and in the most exposed areas, coarse coral beaches were now completely gone
with only rocky foreshores remaining.
It blew all
night and despite checking numerous weather websites for some hope of a
favourable forecast, it was not to be with reports of high winds, increasing
swell and rain. And it was supposed to be like that for 5-7 days!!!
Whilst we
were on the Island, we had a look at the shallow passage between Carlisle and
Brampton Island and the wind was funnelling through.
It appeared
to be suitable for kiteboarding. We had to wait a full day as it rained and
rained and was too bumpy in the anchorage to attempt to put the tinny in.
Despite it
raining again the next morning, it appeared to be clearing in the arvo so we moved
anchorages and put Lorelei in the more protected anchorage at Brampton Island
in the hope that we could finally launch the Tinny at low tide.
In the arvo, we
braved it and went ashore for Paul to kite the pass.
He took a 10m
kite for a run but it was very gusty with 25 knots one minute and 10 knots the
next making it difficult.
He managed 2
x 30 minute sessions.
We did a
second walk around the side of Carlisle Island that faces the resort and passage
the next day.
Once again,
we took the kayaks in instead of the tinny as they were much easier to launch.
All the sand
that had been stripped from the beaches where we had been 2 days prior, had
piled up into the island’s camping and picnic area near the sand spit.
We didn’t
realise it was the picnic area until we found one of the picnic tables – or
just the top of it poking out through the sand.
Nearby was a
National Park sign – upside down!!
There was a
second sign but it was in a water course and all but destroyed.
One of the
most iconic things on Brampton/Carlisle are the Blue Tiger Butterflies.
They are most
prevalent in May & June but we found lots despite it being mid-April.
On the way
home we stopped on Brampton Island and had a look for the start of the National
park walking trails. We found a sign and the starting point so we decided to
return the next day and do the walk to the peak.
It turned
into a terrible night and next morning with rain, wind to 30 knots (Hamilton
Island further north had gusts to 40 knots!!) and it was very bumpy and rolly.
So we had no
choice but to abort and wait for finer weather.
There were some
breaks during the day where the sun came out and brought rainbows with it.
One day of
waiting for the rain to clear turned into 2 and the frustration grew.
It was even
too rough on-board to do anything other than sit or lie down and watch movies
or read. Once again Paul was climbing the walls in frustration.
On the low
tide it calmed off a bit so he got into the galley and made enough Sushi to
fill us up for 2 days.
The next day
we braved it and went ashore to do the Brampton Island Peak Walk.
Once again it
was too rough for the tinny so we packed 2 dry bags and took the kayaks.
It also meant
we could carry them well up above the high tide mark and not have to worry
about them for the day.
First we
walked along the water’s edge and had a look at the old train tracks that used
to link the wharf to the resort.
Since the
resort had closed, the tracks have been subjected to a series of cyclones and
they are now a twisted mess over an extended rocky area that’s now part of the
foreshore.
The train
bridge over a water course is about the most intact part of the old rail line.
We started up
the 3.8km peak track and it was nothing like the groomed trail it used to be.
The track was
not only well overgrown, but there were now 100’s of fallen trees down over it
from the cyclone.
Lisa
described it as an advanced obstacle course rather than a groomed QLD National
Parks Trail.
On the way we
saw lots of Butterflies and even a few different species mating.
The walk took
as around the side of the island and past the resorts small airstrip and narrow
passage between Brampton and Carlisle Islands.
About half
way up Paul stopped to take some flower photos.
Lisa was
looking around when behind her she spotted a Koala in the trees.
The Island is
known to have a small but healthy population of Koalas but it was unknown how
they fared during the cyclone.
So it was
nice to see one that appeared healthy and happy.
We reached
the first of the peaks 2 lookouts 4 hours after we started.
Considering
the recommended time for the walk is 3.5 hours return, it was slow and tough
going with all the debris.
We were a
little concerned because we were really stuffed when we got there and we still
had to get back down!!
The first
lookout was a little worse for wear with some big splits in the timber posts
and even some sheared off pieces.
The view
looking west back over the mainland was a little hazy but pretty good.
We ventured
over to the other viewing platform that faced east which gave us a fantastic
view over the old resort, the channel, Carlisle Island and beyond.
It was much
clearer.
We took 30
minutes on the peak to rest, eat and rehydrate before tackling the hike back
down.
We arrived at
the bottom at 5pm and nearly 8 hours after we started.
It roughly
equated to 1km per hour which is pretty slow going.
That night we
were unusually stuffed with badly cramping muscles which woke Lisa up a few
times.
At about 1am
she got a searing cramp right down her leg.
She woke up
and rolled out of bed really quickly smashing her head on the stainless pole
that is the Mizzen mast compression post.
She was
screaming in pain (which she never does….) and Paul thought she’d split her
head open but it was the combined pain of the throbbing head and severe leg cramp
that had Lisa in tears.
We had a
laugh about it the next morning but it wasn’t funny at the time……
We spent two
more days hunkered down as it rained and blew 20 knots+ before we had a chance
to leave.
Finally on
Anzac Day (April 25th) we were able to leave and attempt to get
further south.
We watched
the sunrise over the tip of island as we motored out of the bay.
We had our
own little dawn service and to reflect on Paul’s late grandad Hugh who was a
POW during WW2.
It was still
choppy, bumpy and a little stormy so we didn’t get very far and after a whole
day of sailing whilst tacking into SE winds, we had only made about 30nm in the
SE direction.
We had
thought about going overnight but with the seas, storms, wind, spring tides
(affecting currents) and no moon, we decided against it.
So instead we
pulled into the most secure (and one of the most beautiful) anchorages in the
area, Scawfell Island.
Despite
arriving at 4:30pm, we quickly dropped the kayaks in and had a walk along the
beach.
After seeing
so many Bush Stone Curlews in the Whitsundays, it was nice to see a few Beach
Stone Curlew’s running around on the sand.
We sat on a
rock and had a drink on Sunset to finish off Anzac Day.
As we walked
back to the kayaks (which were starting to float as the water quickly rushed in
on the 6m tidal range) the post sunset colours just got better and better.
The next
morning was an early 4am start to take advantage of the tides and currents.
With light
and variable winds forecast for the day, we would have to motor to the next
destination.
We chose a
location that could be reached in just 1 six hour tide session.
Any longer
and the tide would turn against us which wouldn’t be economical.
So we took
off for a 50nm run and hoped the current assistance would get us there in time.
The sunrise
was great whilst underway and the sun rose as we were passing an island.
At 8am Lorelei
motored past the “Tanker Parking Lot” for the Coal ships waiting to load at the
Hay Point Coal Loader Terminal.
The rail line
linking the mines coal storage area to the loader was damaged during Cyclone
Debbie so whilst it was being repaired, the coal ships were continuing to
arrive and the parking lot was filling up quickly.
We counted 37
coal ships waiting on anchor in the lot.
Our computer
screen was filled with the ships AIS transmissions.
We thought
the name of this ship was funny – “Four Coal”
We continued
to motor all day and finally arrived at Middle Percy Island right on the turn
of the tide at 4pm.
Like the day
before, we put the kayaks in and went ashore to explore.
On the beach
at West Bay is a structure called the Percy Hilton which is home to years’
worth of yachtie memorabilia.
Hundreds of
cruising boats have put lots of different things with their boats name on them
for over 2 decades.
They range
from carved coconuts, shirts, floatsam with names written on it right up to timber
plaques that have been specially made for the hut.
We’ve been there
4 times now and one new thing we noticed was a large totem pole style carving
out the front that had been professionally made.
The Percy
Island’s private lease has been under controversy for over 15 years since long
term lease holder Andy Martin died
Sadly the
condition of the island seems to have deteriorated.
National
parks want to take back the lease and get it under control.
They also
want to remove the A-Frame hut with all the memorabilia.
This has come
under much criticism from the coastal cruising yachtie community who want the
A-Frame to remain.
But on a
brighter note….. The sunsets from West Bay are awesome.
That
afternoon the wind was supposed to swing around to the N-NW at 10-15 knots for
the evening and early next morning.
If it came in
before we arrived at Middle Percy, we weren’t going to stop and continue
sailing overnight.
However by 7pm
we surmised it wasn’t coming so we had dinner and went to bed.
At 12:30am it
finally did arrive so we left the bay and set sail south towards Hexham Island
and the mainland.
The N-NW
winds were supposed to be replaced by a southerly front that was due to hit
early morning at around 15-25 knots.
It was a game
to see how far south we could sail before it hit and we had to stop.
We sailed
through the dark night under a clear sky with lots of stars to Hexham Island
for the first leg.
Then we could
decide whether to keep going or to stop.
We arrived at
daybreak to overcast conditions, rain, dropping wind and a tide turning against
us, so we stopped in a small bay on the north side of Hexham Island to wait for
clearer weather and the tide to turn in 6 hours.
Paul climbed
into a very rocky crow’s nest to take photos of the bay at sunrise.
As we waited
we had lots of little Welcome Swallows flying around Lorelei.
They were
landing on the life-lines and even flying through the hatches and around inside
Lorelei.
We left at
11am to transit 12nm south to the mainland and then hopefully a further 25nm to
Pearl Bay which was about 45nm north of Yeppoon, The Keppel Islands and Roslyn
Bay Marina – our ultimate destination to meet friends and head out to The
Swains Reefs.
The NW-N
winds were gone and the southerly had started to fill in but it was only light
at around 6-10 knots.
We were about
¾ of the way across to the mainland when the southerly really started to
intensify. We had current assistance and were still travelling at around 5
knots but the wind against tide scenario meant rough seas.
We had 4
hours to go so we decided to keep going.
Not 20
minutes had passed and it got really ugly with gusts over 30 knots, wind
generated waves crashing over the boat and really messy conditions forcing the speed
down to under 4 knots.
We had no
choice but to abort, so we turned, put out a bit of headsail and travelled 6nm
to a small bay called Supply Bay which is at the top of Cape Townshend.
It was super
ugly by the time we arrived so we were happy to be in and safe – just a bit
disappointed that once again we were stuck hunkering down and unable to
continue further south for a few days at least.
It was
becoming a habit…..!!
Supply Bay is
within the Shoalwater Bay military exercise area and fortunately the 2 month
long exercises with the Singapore Military were finishing that day.
However the
land we were anchored next to is a bombing range and going ashore is strictly
prohibited.
That night it
went really weird as the wind intensified further, the clouds were super low &
very black and the temperature plummeted.
It dropped by
over 15 degrees to under 12 degrees C and by dark we were in long pants,
jumpers, socks and beanies.
We even slept
under doonas which is the first time we’ve used them for years.
The sunset
was amazing but a little scary.
That night we
were on full alert with basically all systems operating like we were sailing
overnight. We had all electronics on and alarms set for various things.
We were up
and down a lot during the night checking everything was ok as it was so rough
and blowing so hard.
It wasn’t
gusty like the Whitsunday’s – just very strong cold and constant wind.
One thing we
noticed were the poor little Welcome Swallows.
They were all
huddled on the rails and looked like little balls of fluff.
Despite how
close we went to them, they weren’t moving….
Conditions
were so much better in our cockpit and we wished we could have put them inside
there for the evening.
We rolled
around for a second day and with the wind against tide it wasn’t pleasant.
It was hard enough
to walk around inside let alone cook, clean and do any jobs.
Frustratingly,
all we could do was relax, read and watch movies.
Paul wanted
to leave on the high tide at 2am but Lisa said it still would be too rough so
we didn’t go.
Additionally
it was pitch black with no moon and overcast skies which wasn’t appealing.
Sure enough
by daybreak it was very rough outside as we looked through the binoculars (and
Lisa was saying “I told you so….”).
At 1pm we
tried again but now it was too windy so we sat out another rolly night!!!
Arrrgghhh…!!!
Another yacht
turned up that arvo. It was a 40ft fibreglass production boat and they were
really getting tossed around.
At least the
sunset that night looked a lot better.
Finally on
day 3 we left at 5am half-way through the run out tide – with Lisa still saying
it was going to be too rough.
The forecast
was for a 2 day drop in the weather before it picked back up again to yet
another strong wind warning.
Reality was
nothing like the prediction and it was much rougher (as Lisa had said….).
We had a
very, very rough motor 14nm south as we tried to get to a more protected location.
There was
green water all over the deck, some of which had leaked in through an unsealed
V-berth hatch. We had to pull a lot of stuff out including the carpets and wash
and dry it out over the next 2 days.
With the
violent rolling, things were going in all directions downstairs with books,
desk fans and kitchen appliances (that normally would never move) ending up on
the floor.
We had to be
careful opening cupboards as they were a jumbled mess.
There were
people on the radio from boats around the Yepoon/Great Keppel Islands area that
were swearing and cursing about the wrong forecast and horrible conditions.
Even the
marine rescue boat had to save 5 people from a boat that was in trouble.
So once again we changed our destination from
Pearl Bay to the more secure Island Head Creek.
The problem
was we would arrived at the Creek entrance at dead low tide which meant the
possibility of running aground on the shallow sand bars at the entrance.
The best time
to enter for a yacht is towards the top of the tide – not the bottom.
So with that
in mind we stopped at a little sandy beach inside Pine Tree Point and waited (and
rolled) for 4 hours for the tide to rise.
Paul put a
kayak in and went ashore to have a look at the beach.
On the
headland was a small inlet with a large sea cave that went a long way into the
cliff face.
The beach is
rarely visited as it’s a calm weather location only.
The cruising
guide says you could land and airliner on the beach as it’s so long, hard and
dead flat.
With the low
tide, there were lots of areas along the beach with sheens of water over them
which made for great reflection photos.
At one end
was a rocky headland overlooking the beach.
At 11am we
took off for the mouth of Island Head Creek.
Despite being
only 4nm away, it took 90 minutes to bash into the swell, wind and current to
get there.
The Island at
the entrance (hence the creek’s name) looks fantastic with its towering cliff
faces and crystal like spires of rock projecting out from each end.
The deepest
part of the shallow channel runs right along the side of the island and some
other exposed rocks.
Motoring in
was very rough being so close to the rocks and getting all the bounce back of
the swell from the rock faces.
If there was
ever a time we needed a reliable engine – this was it!!
We motored
over half way into the creek system where it was smaller, closer to the
fishing/crabbing spots and a bit more protected from the wind and chop.
With the big
tides, at high tide we looked a long way from shore but at low tide the sand
bars were all exposed and we were anchored quite close to them.
We were so
thankful to be in safe and anchored! After weeks of rolling around in terrible
seas and rolly anchorages it was fantastic to be somewhere safe and flat.
However it
came at a cost…
For that
first afternoon we could barely stand up.
Even the slightest movement of the boat and our bodies would over-compensate and nearly fall over.
Even the slightest movement of the boat and our bodies would over-compensate and nearly fall over.
We were
bumping into everything and Lisa was even a little sick.
Even sitting
at the table, our bodies were still automatically rocking side to side in dead
flat conditions. It was terrible!!
So in the end
we went to bed.
Paul was so
tired anyway after having slept only about 4 hours each night for the past 4
nights that he slept for 15 hours.
We woke the
next morning to calm conditions with an awesome sunrise.
It was the
calm before the storm….
The dramas
continued the next morning when Lisa decided to start tackling the huge pile of
clothes washing after not being somewhere flat enough for the washing machine
to work for ages.
After the
spin cycle on the first load, water started pouring out of the bottom of the
machine flooding the laundry.
Fortunately
it was only a badly chaffed and split hose (probably from all the violent
tossing about) and Paul was able to fix it relatively quickly. The cleaning up
and drying out however took a little longer…..
That arvo we
dropped the tinny in for the first time in weeks and went and explored further
up the creek system on the high tide.
It was much
bigger than we thought and we found lots of places to put in crab pots and possibly
have a fish.
There weren’t
too many areas to go ashore but we found a small island
mid-stream
and were able to stretch our legs.
On the low
tide the following morning we took a nipper pump over to the sand/mud flats to
look for yabbies as bait to catch whiting.
The last time
we were here we caught many whiting so we wanted to try again as they taste
excellent.
We spent over
90 minutes searching many sand bars for nipper holes and did a few exploratory
pumps but we didn’t find any nippers.
We walked a
long way up a sandy offshoot arm where we knew we got them last time.
There were
loads of Soldier Crabs that were so thick across the sand we couldn’t walk
through them.
We had almost
given up when we found stacks of holes and 40 minutes of frantic nipper pumping
later, we had enough of them in the bucket.
So we started
fishing the gutters by walking the sandbanks and casting from the edge.
Within an
hour we had more than enough Whiting for a great feed.
Not all the Whiting were
keepers….
Lisa with a small one
she was about to put back
In the
afternoon we had a troll around the rocky headlands at the creek’s Entrance.
Lisa caught
an Estuary Cod but it soon got really windy so we aborted and went back to
Lorelei.
With the
weather deteriorating even further, we moved further up the creek to a side arm
that was more protected from the wind and chop.
There was
another cruising boat anchored there as well – a 40ft Leopard Cat called EverRest
owned by a fantastic couple Titch and Bev.
Over the next
2 days we went crabbing and socialised with Titch and Bev in the evenings.
The crabbing
was not so successful.
We tried a
few small mangrove tributaries but all we caught were loads of very small Mud
Crabs.
Then we
noticed pink ribbons tied at the entrance to each inlet and figured the pro-crabbers
had recently been here and cleaned the placed out of any decent size crabs.
So we moved
our crab pots to another location that was very tight to get into and figured
we might have a better chance of success.
Still the
crabbing was poor but the one that we did get was huge!!!
There was a
small drop in the wind for just one day and we were invited onto Ever Rest for
the day to do a little run down to the Island Head Creek Entrance, have a swim
and a look around before coming back late in the arvo.
We jumped
on-board to find Bev pulling Blueberry Muffins out of the oven.
The motor
down to the mouth was fast as it was with the wind and current.
It was
shallow at the mouth but Titch managed to weave the cat into a small passage
between a few rock islands and a large exposed sand bar and anchor up
successfully.
We all went
ashore and had a walk and swim – which was a little cold.
Conditions
didn’t look too bad until we saw a 60ft Nordhavn Power Cruiser (which are one
of the best long range motor cruisers on the market) coming around the Island
and it was being tossed around quite a lot in the big swell and wind.
On the way
home Bev made hot cuppas and nachos which warmed us all back up.
The sun was
just setting as we anchored back up next to Lorelei.
It was a
great day out for all of us gave us something different to do whilst riding out
the rough and windy weather in a creek.
We are very
critical of catamaran designs and layouts, particularly for offshore cruising
but we thought Titch and Bev’s 40ft Leopard was excellent and probably the best
40ft coastal cruising cat we’ve ever seen. It’s no surprise it won so many
awards when it was released about 12 years ago.
It’s the
second Leopard we’ve thought was great as our friends Grant and Glynnis (that
we met in The Kimberley) have an awesome 48ft power cat that we thought was the
perfect alternative to a sailing vessel.
The next day
started out cold and rainy but by mid-morning it had cleared to a sunny day.
So all 4 of
us jumped in our Tinny and went down to the sand bars at the creek entrance for
the day.
As crazy as
it sounds in a muddy mangrove creek with potential for Crocodiles, we worked
out that the inlet would be awesome for kite boarding on the low tide. There
was miles of room to launch the kite on the hard-packed sandbars. The wind was
funnelling down the inlet meaning it was a perfect cross shore wind. It was
also consistent, not gusty or too choppy and overall very good conditions.
At first it
was a little hard to work upwind with the run out wind and tide but as the tide
turned and started running in, it became really easy to get upwind, meaning you
could do loads of tricks running downwind before easy heading back upwind on
the return leg.
It turned out
to be one of the best places to kite we’ve found since coming down from the tip
of Australia.
Having said
that, Paul’s probably the only person to have ever kited there as it’s so
remote, most cruisers (who are basically the only people to visit the area) don’t
kite and are so paranoid of Crocodiles in these sorts of areas that they barely
put their big toes in, let alone kite across the passage.
While Paul
was having an awesome time kiting, Lisa, Titch and Bev walked up a side inlet
looking for Nippers to pump so we could fish for Whiting in the afternoon.
Titch and Bev
have never pumped Nippers before so it was a novel thing to do for them. They
did however get lots of them and when they returned, Paul packed away the kite
gear and we all had a fish along the sand bar as the tide flooded in.
It was a slow
start but Bev hooked the first fish – a Threadfin Salmon which was unexpected
but had us all a bit excited.
The fishing
got better towards sunset but it also got colder and started to rain just after
the sun had set.
So we packed
up and headed home with only about half the Whiting we expected to get. We were
cold, tired and a little wet but all happy that we’d filled in yet another day
with fun stuff despite being “stuck up a creek in a strong wind warning and
huge seas”.
For the next
2 days it blew and rained and blew.
We were
checking weather observations on the net every few hours and it was gusting up
to 50 knots out at the reef and up to 45 knots on the island just off the
coast.
We were sooo
glad to be right up in the creek and well protected.
It was also
very cold and we spent the days in long pants, jumpers and socks.
It must have
been bad outside because even the large fishing charter boats that usually work
out at the reefs were hunkered down and anchored up next to us.
We felt sorry
for their guests on board who would have been disappointed and frustrated.
When the
weather fined up again we picked up Titch and Bev and went down to the sandbars
at the mouth for a walk and for Paul to have a kite.
This time
Paul started on a small sandbar and kited downwind to the creek entrance.
The wind
wasn’t quite as strong as the first kiting session a few days prior and it was
a little inconsistent making for a bit of a start-stop for the first 30
minutes.
Lisa stayed
close with the Tinny just in case until the wind picked up.
Kiting along
the edge of the entrance sandbar was a hoot with the windier conditions.
It was super
shallow and a blast to be only a meter or 2 from the dry sandbank.
The tinny
anchored on the shore edge made for a lot of close shaves.
Playing in
the shallows at high speed is always fraught with danger and more than once the
water sucked off the sandbar bringing the board to a screaming halt and Paul
still being pulled forward….
The session
came to an abrupt end when Paul had a big stack (which was caught on camera)
and the kite smashed into the water and an air hose came off the main bladder
and deflated the kite.
The stack that ended the
session…..
He had to
ditch the kite & board, swim ashore and go and get the tinny to retrieve
them.
Fortunately
it was only a small cable tie that broke and he was able to put a new one on
and re-pump the kite up to dry it out and test it for leaks.
It was all
good and is ready to go for the next crazy session –
Wherever that
will be….
That night we
had a combined dinner on-board EverRest.
Lisa and Bev
pooled ingredients for Bev to make a chicken curry and Lisa made the dessert.
It was cold
but the wind had backed off and it was a nice time around sunset.
It was a
great night but we were all stuffed and falling asleep by 9:30pm.
We rode out
another 2 days of rain & wind and some pretty miserable and cold
conditions.
Finally we
had a break in the wind & swell and were able to set sail again.
EverRest left
on Sat 13th May and headed north while we left the next day on
Mother’s Day, Sunday 14th May to head south.
We had a late
start as we had to cross the shallow bar entrance to exit Island Head Creek on
the high tide at 10am.
With the
winds more from the south in the morning, we sailed out towards the reef and
tacked back over to sail south as the winds came from the east in the
afternoon.
By sunset the
wind was slowly dropping but we ghosted along nicely and watch the sunset over
the mainland.
We arrived at
Great Keppel Island at 11:30pm.
It was a full moon which made anchoring easy amongst
the other cruising yachts in the bay.
Despite only minimal sleep, Paul woke early for a few sunrise shots at Great Keppel Island
to finish off this blog posting.
So that’s it
for another Episode.
In our entire
6 years of travel, the last 6 weeks have probably been the most frustrating
with strong wind warning after gale warning after strong wind warning – and all
from the SE which is the direction we were trying to head.
On top of
that there has been multiple swell directions with most days of E-NE and also
E-SE meaning most of the islands SE trade anchorages where rolly and
uncomfortable.
That combined
with big seas (some from Cyclone Donna) and well below average cold
temperatures have made it a pretty miserable time in the QLD Central Coast.
And to think
we were going to meet up with other cruising boats and try to spend most of
this Episode out on The Great Barrier Reef.
That was
wishful thinking – we didn’t get anywhere near the place and for the most part
were hunkered down waiting and hoping.
Sadly it
never came……
Oh well
that’s cruising.
Hopefully the
next Episode will be a more adventurous and up-beat read for you.
Cheers for
now
Paul and Lisa
Hogger.
Yacht Lorelei