Brilliant Sunshine and Blistering Bullets 20th - 26th May

We motored out of Abell Point Marina early and hoisted the sail not long afterwards. A 10 - 15 knot S/SE enabled us to tack our way south down Whitsunday Passage without much effort. A delightful sail took us past Long, Dent, Hamilton and finally Shaw Island and into the anchorage at Thomas Island. This was one of our favourite anchorages last year and we looked forward to stopping off here over night again. We explored ashore and took the dinghy to the other little beaches in the bay. No-one else joined us and no lights were visible in the dark. A peaceful interlude after the frenetic tourism at Airlie Beach.

Thomas Island

The 21st dawned clear and sunny so we set off early to take advantage of the flood tide to help us on our way to Scawfell Island, 36nm to the SE. Again the wind was steady between 10- 15 knots from the south so we managed to sail most of the way. It is very satisfying to sit up on the coach roof in the sunshine and contemplate travelling to new places using the only wind as a power source. Off to the west the Smith group of islands stood out in the sunshine - Silversmith, Blacksmith, Goldsmith, Linne and Tinsmith. Brampton and Carlisle lay to the south wearing their cloudy crowns and Keswick and St bees could just be made out in the hazy distance.

We arrived at Scawfell Island mid afternoon and anchored in the middle of the larger side of Refuge Bay. A clear channel lead through the reef to the beach so we took Lily ashore and walked beach and explored the small lagoon behind the eastern end of the beach. There is a national park campsite with a picnic table under a pergola type shelter and an attached rainwater tank. The tank was full and the bush looked green and lush compared to the islands further north. This island has obviously received more rain this season.

 

Scawfell Island

It was such a beautiful evening that Peter and I sat outside for pre-dinner drinks and watched night fall. There was the amazing sound of hundreds of birds and millions of insects getting themselves ready for bed. All at once the singing stopped. Total silence! Who gave the order? Peter and I just looked at each other. 'Did you hear that? They all just stopped?' How does that happen? Not one bird or insect sang on. I wish I knew the answer. It would be a very handy technique in the classroom.

We spent four days in Refuge Bay on Scawfell Island, along with five other boats sheltering from the forecast 25 - 30 knot S/SE winds. Scawfell is a high crescent shaped island and it's shape interrupts the flow of the wind and sends bullets howling and screaming through the bay. The second night was diabolical. The tide held the boat side on to the wind and screaming bullets of wind had us swerving around the anchor. It held beautifully, but the crunching and creaking of the boat along with the noise of the wind kept me awake all night. The next day we decided to move to the eastern side  of the bay and anchor as close as possible to the shore. It seemed to be a little more comfortable there. Four of the boats chose the smaller western bay and they thought they had the best spot in the circumstances.

Scawfell Island is lovely, but I was glad to leave and make the quick, boisterous sail across a very lumpy, messy sea to Mackay Marina for a night or two of peaceful sleep. We have done all the usual jobs; water, dinghy fuel, caught the bus into town to stock up for the next week and do the laundry. From the marina it is about a 10 min drive to town so we took the bus and decided to explore a bit before doing the food shopping. The Pioneer River is a large river that runs through the centre of the town and the levy banks have been landscaped with walking and bike paths, extensive gardens and parks and we walked for several kms and were impressed with how this area has been beautified.

If the wind abates and the rain stops tomorrow, we will begin to head north through the Whitsundays and back to Townsville over the next couple of weeks. If not we might spend another night here and wait for the weather to be a little kinder.



Creek, Scawfell Island

Whitsunday Island & R&R in Abell Point Marina 12th - 19th May

Whitsunday Island

A gentle SE wind enticed us out of the South Molle anchorage and across Whitsunday Passage to Fitzalan Passage, a narrow stretch of water between Whitsunday Is and Hamilton Is, where the currents are fierce at the height of the tidal flow. The tide was still against us here, but was slowing so we only got down to 3.5 kns with the engine. By the time we reached Solway Passage on the eastern end of Whitsunday Is, to go around to Whitehaven Beach, the tide had definitely turned and we shot through at over 7 kns. We had a delightful two nights here along with 15 other boats, walking, swimming, and generally relaxing in the windless sunshine.

The 8km round trip walk to Chance Bay on the southern side of the island is an easy, pretty, forest walk mostly in the shade of trees. On the way we saw the biggest bush turkey nest we have seen, at least twice our height, with a girth to match. A walk in the evening along Whitehaven Beach in the gentle sunshine lets you know that paradise has been found. I thought I'd wear the bathers and catch a bit of a tan, however what I did catch without realising it, was a rash of sandfly bites. Now like an itchy plum pudding I realise that even paradise can have it's downfalls.

Bush Turkey nest Whitsunday Island

A strong wind warning had been issued for the next five days so we decided to make the most of the 13th by motor/sailing around the northern shores of Whitsunday island to seek refuge in Cid Harbour for a few days. On the way we managed to secure a mooring in Tongue Bay where we had lunch and then we took advantage of an ingoing tide to pass through Hook Channel and on to Cid. The whirlpools and currents swirling in Hook Channel buffeted the boat at times and it was reinforced that it is a good idea to go with the tides around here.

Obviously other people had the same idea as us and on the four nights we were in Cid around thirty boats joined us in it's security. The wind came in at 3.30am (the forecast got it wrong - it said 4am) and for the three days we hung there in gusty, blustery conditions that at times were trying. Apparently Hamilton Island, just around the corner, had 43kn gusts. Some of the gusts here felt like that! We watched several boats having trouble with anchors letting go and having to re-anchor after drifting down the bay. Peter anchored us this time closer to Sawmill Beach where we had better access to the walking tracks on the shore. It seemed a little more exposed here than in Cowards Corner, but not uncomfortable as we still pointed into the wind and the fetch was not far enough to stir up too much slop. We climbed Whitsunday Peak again, a steep, rocky walk that lets you know that you have done some exercise, and the lovely 1km walk to Dugong Bay. During a lull in the wind we took the dinghy and explored the bay.

Sawmill Beach, Cid Harbour

A very nice Beneteau 40 anchored next to us on the second day and Peter met the couple on board and next thing we were on 'Another Dimension' having morning tea. John and Jenny are from Melbourne and have taken a year off work to make this trip up the east coast. Jenny made us fresh muffins - I was very impressed. A confession later informed us she had not done that before. When they came to Rene for morning tea at Abell Point Marina I cheated and visited the local shop for the goodies. I hope we meet up with them again on the water.

Abell Point Marina

The wind abated on Sunday so we took the opportunity to make the short trip across to Abell Point Marina for a bit of R&R.The staff at the Abell Point Marina have been very friendly and helpful and made us feel very welcome. More work has been done here in the infrastructure and it is a very nice place to stay for a few days. All the usual stocking up jobs need to be done for our next journey, hopefully south to Mackay and the Percy Islands - wind permitting.

Back To Airlie Beach 8th - 11th May

 

Rene in Moonlight Bay South Molle Island

 

We left Gloucester Passage with the intention of motor/sailing into one of the Double Bays or Woodwark Bay for the night. These bays are approximately10nm north of Airlie Beach and we hadn't visited either of the Double Bays before. However the forecast was for up to 20kn SE so we left our options open. The wind came in strongly as we passed Saddleback Island and with the wind against tide, lumpy seas pitching us around, we decided to explore the possibility of overnighting in one of the bays on the north side of George Point. Our trusty 'Lucas' informed us that Jonah Bay was the best anchorage here and as we drew near it looked calm and peaceful. We anchored in 4m
quite a long way out and took Lily ashore so we could walk along the beach. What a beautiful beach! One of the loveliest in this area, with hard sand to walk on. A dozen or so rough camps have been built under the trees behind the beach and many of these were occupied. Jonah Bay is well worth a visit.

On Saturday we had another go at motoring to Airlie Beach and this time were successful. The wind remained light for the whole trip, although still on the nose from the SE. We anchored in our old position outside of the yacht club rock wall and signed in, paid our $7 and took advantage of the dinghy dock and hot showers. The rest of the day was taken up by the mundane chores of clothes washing and stocking up the larder.

Early on Sunday morning we motored Rene around to the Abel Point Marina to top up the water and buy some fuel for both Rene and Lily. The public jetty here is in need of repair and maintenance as the fender strip has fallen off in the middle and was lying in the water. We had all Rene's fenders out and managed not to bump the jetty. The pontoon is also on a lean which made positioning the Rene's fenders a bit tricky.

A much needed break at Roma Pt

We had decided to motor over to South Molle Island, one of our favourite spots, for a night or two. There are great walking tracks here and in the afternoon we did the hour walk to Spion Cop and back. The views are amazing. This morning we thought we needed a decent bit of exercise so walked to the southern end of the island to Sandy Beach. It took most of the morning as we decided to walk along the beaches as well. By the time we arrived back at Moonlight Bay my feet were letting me know they'd done a good walk. Peter thought we had probably done about 10km. One interesting sight along the way were thousands of pretty blue and black butterflies. The tops of the wings were brilliant blue with a black lace pattern, but the underneath were not as bright. They are of medium size and were feeding on the flowers of the blackboys.

We have checked the weather forecast and it looks like we have two more days of lovely weather and then sometime during Wednesday night a 30kn SE wind blows in. Cid Harbour looks like a good option as it appears that this wind hangs around until Sunday. Meanwhile we will keep a close eye on developments and maybe spend a night at Whitehaven Beach.

Moonlight Bay

Gloucester Passage 7th May

We have had two beautiful days anchored in the Gloucester Passage, about 12nm S/E of Bowen. On Tuesday (5th) we packed up our gear and had morning coffee with Andrew before leaving on the ferry for the island. On arrival we happened to notice that a gentle wind had breezed in from the north east. Time to go! With the anticipation of an almost full moon and clear skies we decided to make a start and if the wind turned S/E we would tuck in behind Cape Upstart if necessary. It wasn't. The moon made it's huge orange appearance early in the night and accompanied us for the rest of the trip. The winds remained light and variable and we sailed and motor sailed the whole way arriving 22 hours later in Gloucester Passage and anchored off Montes Resort.

Montes Resort

 

Before leaving Magnetic Island Marina we spent several days at Virginia and Clive's farm caring for two dogs and six horses while they had a few days off in Darwin visiting Virginia's son. Clive wanted some help establishing a vege patch so after they left we got stuck in watering, digging and applying copious quantities of compost purchased from the local landscape suppliers. Upon returning with the compost we found Bella, or was it Sophie? (identical big hairy white dogs) had decided that the 'nice lady' had made them a lovely cool patch to bask on in the early morning sunshine. It didn't take long to make them see the error of their ways.

 The next day, after we had bought the baby vegetable plants, we arrived back at the farm to see two large ibis strutting around on our cultivated ground stabbing beaks in to dine on tasty morsels beneath our mulch. I wondered if this was going to work! We planted the veges and the patch looked great. Peter brought an old table we found outside and I put some dead palm fronds over it to shelter the new plants and hopefully dissuade all animals from venturing there. It seemed to work. The farm is in a beautiful setting, backing onto a rugged, steep range of hills and has a lovely parkland landscape. We enjoyed our stay there looking after the animals and watering around the house.

Cobber gets a treat

 



Now in Gloucester Passage we hear that Clive is tending his new garden diligently and we hope to see good progress in six weeks time when we sail back to Townsville. No pressure!!

We have walked the beaches in both directions from Montes, had evening drinks at the outdoor bar and a flat white at the Eco Resort next door. Relaxing and enjoyable. A huge turtle resides nearby and we continually hear it exhaling as it comes up for a breath. It is huge. Fish seem to be plentiful, but as yet Peter has not been allowed to fish - too much food on board at the moment.

 

Edgecumbe Bay

 

After dark the scene here is truly magnificent. There are lights all around. Along the beach lights shine from the few beach houses and the resorts. In Bona Bay on Gloucester Island and both sides of Passage Islet various boats are anchored with their anchor lights shining to alert any night travellers of their whereabouts. The little port hand channel marker behind us blinks it's warning and keeps us company and it's friends blink to light up the way through the channel. Bowen can easily be seen twinkling in the distance and the lights of Abbot Point and the ships anchored off are beyond that again. To top it all off the *'Sparks and Wildfire' (read Parks and Wildlife) have initiated a controlled burn on Gloucester Island to help eradicate weeds such as lantana. Every so often a patch of fire flares up along the fire front and looks spectacular.
*quote from a fireman we met at the bar.

Peter and I have swum here. This is the second time I have had a swim since we left Albany in 2013. Amazing, but true! A little black and white dog from Montes Resort joined us and frolicked in the water with us. We thought he was so cute until he ran out and stood right next to Peter and shook himself dry. Peter was texting at the time and was covered in a shower of salt water. He was unimpressed.

From here we intend to travel south to Airlie Beach and beyond, depending on the wind. We don't intend to make it hard by punching into the predominant trade winds from the south east.

Eco Resort