Cruising Catch Up #2 - Hexham Island to the Percy Islands

Sunrise over the pacific ocean.

 

Saturday, June 29, 2013 - Another great night’s sleep.  The little bay at Hexham Island was relatively calm with just enough swell to rock us to a peaceful sleep.  The alarm wasn’t set – a good thing – so we woke with the sun at 0730 to a glorious morning.   Before turning in we couldn’t decide if we wanted to move on to South Percy Island or stay in our little bay.  The morning brought another lovely sunlit day with the promise of wind which meant that, for almost the first time since leaving Southport, we should be able to sail. 

 

Leaving Hexham Island behind...on the way to the Percy Islands.

 

Sail we did.  It is 16 nautical miles almost due north from Hexham Island to South Percy Island.   With a 10 to 12 knot breeze behind Southern Belle she made a respectable 5 – 6 knots under headsail all the way.  We rounded the corner of South Percy Island about 1pm (1300) to see a glorious long white beach with tropical green waters …and not another boat or soul anywhere to be seen.  Lovely.   

Southern Belle - all alone off South Percy Island - about 50/60 miles off the central Queensland Coast.  Not another soul around!

A beach...all alone ... not another foot print.

 

We dropped anchor and while cleaning up the morning’s usual leftovers from cups of tea, coffee, cookies and luncheon sandwiches another boat pulled into the bay and beat us to the beach!  With the dingy launched we motored over to discover an inviting clear-ish pool just at the top of the beach.   As we walked – well Captain G walked and I limped with my stick – half the distance of the beach from the beach pool to the far end we met up with the couple from the other boat.  He was from Brisbane and his companion from Beijing.  He was very talkative and said he was visiting the area again after many years.  As we stood in the sand he told us stories of the once lessee of Middle Percy – a larger island just across the water from here – and how he (the lessee) went from being a terribly eccentric British person to being just plain wacko ..over 30 years mind you … before going back to England for good.   After experiencing this lovely Australian tropical winter I think you’d have to be crazy to go back to England, of all places, once you lived here! 

We said farewell and went back to our respective boats.  Dinner, for us, was left over spinach cannelloni and a nice green salad with avocado topped off with a few glasses of red.  Then off to bed.

 

Sunday, June 30, 2013 – The rocking of the boat wasn’t quite what you’d call gentle last night.  The wind had come up strongly overnight and the morning found us rocking and rolling to increasing winds.  This area – the Percy Islands – are famous for their beauty and whenever you talk to cruising sailors who have visited they all talk in terms of it being “one of their favourite places”.  Yes, it’s very picturesque… but, as in the lovely Port Clinton, there is a set back to the “perfectness”.  The anchorages are open to waves in any strong wind.  In fact Alan Lucas in his cruising guide uses the terms “uncomfortable” and “abominable” to describe the area’s anchoring spots.  Our experiences today are somewhere in the middle of that spectrum… not quite “abominable” but past “uncomfortable”.

When the rolling subsided a bit during the early afternoon the Captain launched the dingy and we moved over to the beach to stay for a while… and to experience firm ground for a while.

Let me just say something about the dingy.  Normally I’m pretty agile in getting on and off the boat and into the bouncing rubber thing.  However, when you add a foot that doesn’t work that well yet and my depleted confidence when trying to walk on both feet, I’m not a pretty sight leaving the boat!  Because I don’t think I could kick the healing foot enough to swim we make sure I’m safely enclosed in a life jacket.  Additionally I was told by the doctor before leaving Sydney, “no jumping into the dingy”, so I sit on the back transom with the good Captain holding the dingy as steady as he can (a pretty impossible task in these conditions) and then at the right moment I have to scoot my bottom in quickly.  We’ve managed it so far without tears or shouting at each other… a plus!

The night wasn’t pleasant.  Strong winds became the norm during the evening and the night …. where we were anchored was smack in the path of the rolling waves.  They seem to catch the boat broadside and then toss us one way and then the other relentlessly.  With few choices of places to move, and approaching dark, the decision was made to “cop it sweet” and stay put. 

For dinner I made a Thai Green Chicken Curry which was so bloody hot I couldn’t stand to eat it!  As I watched the Captain slurp his rice noodles his face turned a very bright scarlet colour – even more so than the sun kissed look he has been sporting – I could tell he loved it!  We turned in after dinner hoping the v-berth would offer some solace from the rolling and tried to put on a movie.  As will happen when things are JUST THAT BIT too much – the disc we wanted to see turned out to be a frickin’ Blu-Ray instead of DVD.  That was it for me!  I took two night strength Mersyndol and surprisingly slept pretty well – actually I passed out I think.

 

 

On to Cruising Update #3.......

 

Cruising Catch-Up #1 - Port Clinton to Hexham Island

Beautiful Sunset, about 60 miles off the coast of central Queensland, Australia 

 

It’s been awhile since my last post, obviously, and the reason is a good one.  In the days since the beautiful Port Clinton we’ve been out of range of phones and internet in a magnificent part of Central Queensland’s water world. 

Hopefully I won't bore anyone but what I want to do here is catch up a bit on the last week...show some photos and let you know what's been going on in our world!  I'm going to do a series of Cruising Catch-Ups.  Here's # 1 - from the lovely Port Clinton to Hexham Island.

To begin……

Friday, June 28, 2013 – We awoke early – 0600 – to prepare for the 8 hour journey from Port Clinton to Hexham Island 43 nautical miles away. 

The beautiful, expansive Port Clinton - this boat came in late in the night.  This is a morning shot as Captain G was murdering the little bug intruders.

The night and the stars were spectacular during the evening – as they have been through much of the journey so far – with the Milky Way and our neighbour planets shining like near earth bound beacons instead of being so far away.  Nothing like you see in the city with its light pollution.

BUT … like any bit of paradise there is always something not quite perfect.  When we opened the companion way hatch we were greeted with black clouds of stranded, dying and still moving beasties.  Tiny things swarming all over and stuck to the cockpit in every nook and cranny.  There were also swarms of the little mites still in the air ready to welcome US - warm blooded creatures - into the morning sun!  Captain G fought them off valiantly using the water hose from the front of the boat to the back twice.  In the end he relented and shouted to me, “Let’s get the hell out of here!”  So we upped the anchor and moved out of the “Port” at dead low tide.  Not something we really wanted to do.  As we broke out into the ocean the Captain had to take a shower because he felt like they were still crawling on him. 

Hexham Island on approach.

The journey to Hexham Island was uneventful – very little wind so we had to motor the whole way - with the exception of the, slightly obsessed, Captain going around the boat every 10 minutes with spray and a broom trying to get every last tiny bug off his boat.   I finally snapped about 5 hours into the trip and said if he waved the broom around the cockpit again I’d throw it overboard!  Enough was enough!

Lovely - and calm - little Hexham Island and it's lagoon like mooring area....on our approach not all boats are in the photo.

Hexham Island and its anchorage was lovely but cramped.  We arrived very tired after the long motor to find the small bay already full of 3 large catamarans and another yacht.  The island is part of a small group of islands not far – 16 nautical miles – from the larger and more heralded Percy Islands.  It’s a good stopping point for boats either on their way to the Percy’s or further toward the Whitsundays.

On to Cruising Catch Up #2.......

Finally!!! The Spectacular Tropic of Capricorn

After 6 weeks of sitting at home with my broken foot...and talking to Captain G on the phone 3 or 4 times a day as he made his passage from one place to another ..  I'm here really cruising in our home on the water - Southern Belle.  And boy it was worth the wait!

Yesterday (Wednesday), after saying our goodbyes to our good friend Brian, we left Rosslyn Bay harbour for a short sail over to Great Keppel Island.  Its only 15 nautical miles but Captain G wanted to try out my ability to function on the boat.  I was fine.  I'm still in a bit of pain when moving around but I've decided to give "the boot" the boot and just move around in a shoe....and so far so good.

When I first came to Australia - 34 years ago - Great Keppel Island was one of THE happening places.  There was a resort on it run by a company called Contiki which catered to "backpackers" and anyone else under 30.  Sort of like the resorts school leavers and college kids go to on spring break.  Sadly - or otherwise - the resort is long gone.  Cheap airfares to Bali and the gold coast took the appeal away.  Today it offers basic accommodation to families and there are some private houses there.  (I have some great photos but there isn't enough Wi-Fi available to upload the photos - will send a pictorial blog when I can.)

We anchored in a little bay called Leeke's Bay.   There were quite a few boats around and the beach was pretty much deserted save for a flock of goats - we not sure it they were feral or belonged to someone.  On approach we also saw what looked like a yacht way up in the mangroves ... it looked impossible.  Not happy with not knowing, the Captain launched the dingy and somehow I manoeuvred on to it to have a look.   It turns out there was a large yacht that had been dug into the mangrove - using it for support - and the owner was cleaning the hull.  Some people will do anything to save money!  (Again I have a great photo...later.)

At 7:00am this morning the anchor came up and we set off for Port Clinton about 45 nautical miles north.  There was wind forecast - 10 to 15 knots - but not much arrived.  Captain G did all he could - set the main, then pulled out the MPS (spinnaker/multi purpose sail) - but the boat couldn't move without the motor.  Our trip up was very nice - calm water all the way. 

We arrived at Cape Clinton about 2:00 pm (1400 hours) and then started to cruise around the headland - which is complete with big with rocks and shallow areas to avoid.  Once inside the "port" we travelled down towards the best place to anchor all the while being amazed at the sheer beauty of the place.   How to describe it?  Wild, Picturesque, Vast, Isolated, Uninhabited, A Sanctuary for many species like the Dugong (called a Manatee in the US I think)!!!!  A completely unspoilt place - apparently - for now.  Our cruising guide - Alan Lucas' Cruising the Coral Coast - tells us that at one stage Lange Hancock - the uber rich mining magnate and father to Gina Rinehart Australia's richest woman - wanted to develop the whole area.  He pictured this beautiful place as a coal export location.  His vision included railways, shipping docks with arms and wharfs extending out to sea and an end to the beauty...no more dugongs.  Happily he was prevented from his dream of mining riches ... but its not over!!!  Gina, along with Tony Abbott and the LNP - if they win the next election - are already planning to take over much of the mineral rich lands of Australia for more and more coal and iron ore.

But tonight there's only 2 boats as far as you can see.  The sunset was spectacular and we're safe and sound in a corner of paradise.  Worth loving ... worth protecting.

Ahhhh...That's Better!!

Back together - at the Singing Ship monument to James Cook outside Yeppoon.

After all the weeks of sitting at home with the broken foot and talking to Captain G on the phone as he described the azure waters of the ocean and beautiful Queensland its more than nice to finally be here! 

And what a great first day it has been!  My Captain was there at the Rockhampton Airport when I arrived.  It was so good to see him again....lots of hugs and smiles from both of us!

I haven't actually been to the boat yet.  I've just seen the marina for a few minutes when we stopped by there long enough to collect my other shoe - which was left unceremoniously when my left foot was wrapped in a cast in Port Stephens so long ago.  Then we went straight to Megan and Brian's house.

We are staying with our wonderful friends Megan and Brian who have a lovely home just a short drive out of Yeppoon.   We don't get to see them often - in fact we hardly see them at all because they've always lived somewhere outside of Sydney - so when we do actually spend time together it is precious and always memory making. 

They have a lovely home in a tropical setting on top of a hill.

On the front porch looking out through the trees to the hinterland hills in the distance.

Last night Brian made a fire in the chimera in the back yard.  We drank champagne - and enjoyed a "nibble platter plate" of cheese and dips then talked, laughed and watched the moon come up over the trees.  The feast then moved inside where we sat down for a spectacular dinner with reef fish and roasted veggies from the local growers...and more wine + laughs.  The big Australia vs UK/Ireland Lions rugby match was due to start after dinner so we moved to the sofa to watch the game.  Megan made a killer dessert of mixed berries, Cointreau and ice cream just to top off the night.  We all went to bed stuffed with food and glowing from a lot of hugs and love and laughter. 

The morning sun was bright and warm....such a welcome change from the Sydney weather.  Megan and Brian made a spectacular platter of Queensland fruit with Yogurt and a big pot of tea to start the day.  We sat outside again and they pointed out paw prints from the wild dogs that checked out the fire site once we had gone to bed.  This is quite an area for animals we were told.  As we had our drinks last night there were 4 bush turkeys roaming the perimeter and they told us there were lots of kangaroos, wallabies, dingos and snakes all around in the bush. 

Brian and Megan out the front of their house after coffee and muffins!

After breakfast and a lovely morning B & M took us on a tour of the area for a look at all the inlets, homes and beauty of the area.  You can see island after island from the shore...its a tropical paradise!



The marina 'Southern Belle' is in with islands in the distance.

Time to stop ... its time for champagne again!  Tomorrow Captain G and I will have an audit of the supplies on the boat and start to restock for the rest of the trip up to Cairns.

No More Crutches!!!!

Don't need them any more!

Yesterday my lovely friend Sarah drove me back to the bone doctor - Thank you so much Sarah!   I was hoping for the best - but kind of expecting another, "it needs 3 more weeks", conversation.  Not so.  The doctor had a look at my x-rays and said there was good bone growth so far.  I'm not completely healed but it's all happening the way it should.

Then he leaned back in his chair and said the magic words, "I'm OK with you going back to your boat."

"Whoopee!" I shouted and waived my arms around in his office not worrying one little bit about being seen as slightly eccentric and/or just plain nuts.

"You can start to put some weight on the foot but you must still be careful and wear the boot whenever you are walking around.  On the boat and at home you can start to wear a shoe but don't push it.  Complete healing will still take weeks.  No jumping, no running.....and, you can leave the crutches here!"

Love.  That.  Doctor.

Tomorrow I'm on an airplane bound for Rockhampton.  I'll get to see and be with my Captain G when he picks me up at the airport.  Heaven.  It will take another 45 minutes before we arrive at the marina in Rosslyn Bay and I get to see the lovely Southern Belle boat again.  Double Heaven.

Our great friends Megan and Brian live in Yeppoon so we'll spend the weekend at their house and take it easy next week before deciding when to move north again.

I'm very happy.....guess you can tell.

Thanks to Stephanie, Bladen and Molly for being my house carers and to all my friends who have been so wonderful to take me places, visit me, drink wine with me and generally ensure these past 6 weeks have been so manageable and downright enjoyable in places!  Love you all!

Bundaberg to Hummocky .... Friends, Snakes & Foot Update

Sorry I haven't posted in a while.  Nothing stopping me really just haven't had too much to tell ... but there's quite a bit to catch up on now!

Following on from the last post, Captain G and Mr K spent two nights off the Kingfisher Resort at Fraser Island.  The first afternoon they arrived it was planned to go ashore, have a look around the resort, maybe have a swim in the pool and enjoy a few beers.  The weather wasn't in their favour that afternoon with one rain downpour after the other which meant staying on the boat for the evening or getting really wet.  The next day turned out much better so they did some exploring of the resort and had the lunch and beers planned for the previous day.  Then, on Friday, they made the crossing of Harvey Bay to the Port of Bundaberg.

Captain G at the mast - with the MPS sail fully out - on the way to Bundaberg.

They arrived in Bundaberg to meet up with a number of boats from the Yacht Club as well as Southern Belle's sister ship - Sabbatical II - with Greg and Heidi.  The next rendezvous for the club was scheduled for Saturday night.  After help tieing up to the berth from club members and a visit from Greg, Captain G and Mr K joined club members for drinks and then went on to a very welcome dinner ashore and a quiet night.

Bundaberg Port Marina - from Flickr

Bundaberg, and it's surrounding infrastructure, was one of the places hit hard by the Queensland floods over the past couple of years.  Before we left Sydney there was talk and concern about the marina and its ability to still host yachts.  Fortunately they have repaired much of the area but Captain G told me there are still many wrecked boats visible all along the opposite shore.  Below is a picture, from Flickr, of just how much of the marina was washed away back in Jan 2011.  In 2012  they had another flood - but not quite as bad.   Its been a very tough time for Queenslanders during the tropical months for, what seems like, year on year....I'm sure they'd like a break now please!

Bundaberg Marina after Jan 2011 flood.

On Saturday, June 15, Mr K left to fly back to Sydney early in the morning.  Captain G would be on his own until Roslyn Bay and Yeppoon the following weekend.  Captain G enjoyed the rendezvous on Saturday night and then went to the local markets on Sunday with Greg and Heidi.  That night as we were talking on the phone he suddenly exclaimed, "there's a sea snake swimming around the back of the boat!"  He's getting really close to the tropics now with sea snakes on the surface and so close in shore.

Monday morning it was time for the long trip from Bundaberg to Pancake Creek - just behind Bustard Head headed north.  The forecast was for very calm conditions and little wind.  

This was going to be a long haul of about 10 hours and - again because its what I do - I was worried about the Captain being on his own for the journey.  Not because he isn't up to it - goodness knows he has certainly proved he is a very good skipper - but because sometimes when the weather is calm you can let your guard down a bit.  But, as usual, he did a great job and called at 1530 to say he was anchored up and having a beer.  We heard about/read about a fantastic hike up to the lighthouse on Bustard Head (called that because Captain James Cook supposedly ate a bustard bird there and named the headland after the poor thing) but since I wasn't there Captain G decided to spend only one night.

That brings me to today!  The cruise destination today has been Hummocky Island.  The Captain upped anchor at 0600 this morning and has just phoned me - at 1500 - to say that he's safe at anchor on the northern side of the island.  I haven't been able to find much about Hummocky Island on the web except that it was named - like most things along this coast - by Captain James Cook.  My Captain said its quite spectacular with the tropical aqua blue waters all around and the 'hump' like hills of the island (could be how it got its name).  Here's a photo from Flickr....

Hummocky Island.

The plan for Southern Belle is to stay at the Island for the night and move on in the morning to either Great Keppel Island or Roslyn Bay....and that's where I meet them and resume my part of the cruise!

I've booked my ticket back to Captain G and the boat this Saturday!!!  I see the doctor on Thursday and, hopefully - since its been 6 weeks tomorrow, I'll get an OK to do some walking on my foot.  I'm not really expecting to get a clean bill of health since the break was so severe but I think I can at least give up the crutches.  That's what I'm hoping for ... if I can at least walk I'll be right to climb aboard and get into that tropical sunshine!

Lovely Yeppoon - Very near the Tropic of Capricorn!  Next stop!  (From Flickr)

Captain G and Mr K go up the Great Sandy Straits

A quick update on the whereabouts of Captain G and his crewman, Mr K, aboard the good ship Southern Belle.

After a really rainy weekend the intrepid two pulled out of Mooloolaba Marina on Monday night at 10:00pm ... Destination - The infamous Wide Bay Bar and the Entrance to the Great Sandy Straits. 

It rained or drizzled most of the night and blew a steady 5-10 knot cold northerly breeze which meant they had to motor the whole 10 hours.  The journey up was uneventful but, as happens on rainy moonless nights, it proved to be long and tiring.   A requirement to travel over the bar only at high tide meant they had to leave at night to be in place and ready to make the manoeuvre on the incoming tide.  All was successful and they crossed at 8:20 am.  The report on the phone that morning was, "It was easy!  Good conditions but the breaking waves made it a bit uncomfortable once we were in the inside channel.  But all good, don't know what all the fuss was about."  That comment had me reminding him, "Don't be cocky!  We have to come back that way."

The Great Sandy Strait is a body of water running 70 miles between the Australian mainland and the world heritage listed - largest sand island in the world - Fraser Island.  The scenery is supposed to be spectacular...as you can see from these photos.  (Since Captain G still hasn't sent me any photos - and I'm still having to vicariously enjoy this trip from the confines of home and my broken foot - here are some I lifted from Flickr.)

Fraser Island and one of the many anchorages on the Great Sandy Strait.

Southern Belle caught up with her sister ship - Sabatical II, with Greg and Heidi aboard - along the route from the entrance up to Garry's Anchorage and SB followed them in to anchor for the night.  I've read before that this is a pretty spectacular place ... as you can see from the photo below.  The only problems they had were mosquitoes and sand flies trying to eat them alive when they went ashore for a look.  Luckily we were forewarned about the insects during one of the seminars at the yacht club so Captain G was ready with everything on the boat to keep them off them and the boat.

Garry's Anchorage at sunset - From Flickr

Mr K caught a fish off the back of the boat but when I asked what kind he just said, "small".  So it went back to live and grow for another day.  He also almost "caught" a mud crab that had just decided to hold on to the line on the way out of the water.  Unfortunately, for the hungry sailors, once he - the crab - saw daylight and the men peering hungrily at him he let go of the line.  Dinner was steak that night.

Today they upped anchor and travelled up the Strait to the Kingfisher Resort - the only resort on Fraser Island.  This afternoon - again once the constant rain squalls pass - they are planning to go ashore for  swim in the resort pool and a few cold ones in the bar.

Jetty leading up to the resort.  From Flickr

Kingfisher Resort through the trees.  From Flickr

Tomorrow the adventurers will be off to somewhere in Hervey Bay, I guess.  Mr K has to fly back to Sydney on Saturday so they will be in Bundaberg by Friday of this week.  The next yacht club rendezvous is Saturday at the Bundaberg Marina. 

My next x-ray and doctor appt is June19 and - regardless of the outcome - I'm planning to meet Captain and get back on board Southern Belle by June 22!!!