29th of August good by Percy hello Mackay
Wind as usual was a little bit fickle. As we got closer to Mackay we spotted 54 big tankers all lined up waiting for their call to gain access to the shipping harbour. As there was still light wind Gunther decided to put up the big 158sqm gennaker whilst I surveyed the area ahead ensuring clear passage through a field of tankers. Up she went beautifully and we sailed towards Mackay.
As we approached Mackay we received a lovely phone call from Murray letting us know that he can see us already. Whilst Gunther is cool and collected when entering a harbour my anxiety levels rise as all I can see is possible obstacles that one can hit. Preparation prior entering certainly provides some comfort. Mackay does have a huge tidal change of some 6 meters, This is something I just could not imagine. Needless to say all went well and the pylons on the floating jetty are enormous at low tide.
We had some drinks on board with Murray, son Michael and girlfriend Mindy. Afterwards, Murray of course organised big roast pork, Michael showed off his skills by cooking moreton bay bugs and Mindy produced the most delicious roasted vegetables in their lovely house. We were advised not to venture into the backyard without shoes as there are green ants who bite you and don’t open the backyard gate as there could be crocodiles behind the fence.
As we once again needed some electricial experts on our boat due to one of the 3 engine control units not working we decided to stay for 7 days in Mackay. Whilst waiting to see if they can just fix the unit we also explored Mackay and its surroundings. Murray brought up from Sydney, as he calls it, our little Beep Beep (Barina) giving us the freedom to travel by car. We have been able to purchase more boat stuff, stock up on food as Mackay is truly a huge town that offers everything.
We also can recommend visiting Finch Hatton Gorge around 1.15 minutes’ drive that offers an easy rainforest walk with wonderful rock pools for a lovely cool dip. We did skip and hop across the rocks and came across a rather large black snake sunbaking and looking rather annoyed as we got closer. That of course stopped us in our tracks.
Thursday arrived and our electrician informed us that he still does not know if they can fix the unit and offered to bypass one of the units giving us the flexibility of being able to leave port as he mentioned that they rather go fishing for the next 3 days than fix our unit. You’ve gotta love the Queenslanders! They, at least, have their priorities sorted.
Naturally we took up the offer and it was an excellent choice as 5 days later we have been informed the unit cannot be fixed and a new one has to be ordered from Finland. This I am sure will take months until it arrives.
Sailor’s story and good outcome:
Sailor Dean arrived in Mackey with his newly purchased 50 foot steel yacht. As usual one gets talking and one can see immediately that he had pretty bad cuts on his legs and arms. As there are many single handers out in that big ocean, I always worry and imagining the worst possible to happen. Sailor Dean was one of those who sailed from Hamilton Island to Mackay alone. Sailor Dean however, was very much prepared for all sorts of mishaps. Especially for falling overboard accidentally. Therefore he planned ahead leaving his dinghy out the back with a rather long rope.   
His worst nightmare did come true as he walked forward leaning on one of the stanchions that gave way. At this stage he was truly hanging on for dear life trying to get himself back up and into the boat. Sailor Dean is a very athletic fit looking man and despite his excellent physic he tired out rather quickly unable to pull himself up. Therefore he reverted to put in place plan B (very brave one) whilst still having some strength letting go, falling into the water and ensuring that he reaches his dinghy whilst the boat is sailing past him. He luckily succeeded to tell the story and hopes that wife and children will never find out. As we exchanged stories such as good anchoring for his trip down south I hope that I was able to convince him taking on crew or at least purchasing a personal Ebirb.

27th of August famous Percy Isles hear we come
Middle Percy is the largest Island. Alan Lucas explains that at West Bay ashore there is a large A frame shelter where visitors can congregate and enjoy the shade or purchase local wares from the inhabitants. Close to the north of this shelter is the famous hut in which cruising people for over 50 years have been hanging their vessel names and dates. We shall take the inspiration from others and follow in their footsteps. Who would have thought many years ago two Austrians from Salzburg who simply wanted a little bit of adventure migrate to Australia, living an amazing life thus far, are getting the opportunity to partake in this rather exquisite ritual.
3 hours into our trip Gunther checks our fishing line and to our delight we caught a rather nice big 85cm spotted Mackerel. After filleting the fish we had 1.3kg of beautiful white fresh fish. Out comes the cookbook with many recipes and we created a wonderful meal. We also have plenty in the freezer. 
As we approached middle Percy this morning my shift started again at 3am. The plan was timing it that we will arrive when the sun comes up. Cool Change was just a little bit too fast so I tried to slow her down at this stage and it seems the current is just pushing us along. Still dark outside, all I can see is water, several land masses (island 1.9 miles away) that seem rather close for my liking so I woke up the skipper to ensure all is well. As the sun was coming up we arrive at Middle Percy Island and are greeted by beautiful sand, 25 palm trees and the famous A hut in-between. Anchored securely in the bay it does leave up to its reputation of being rather lumpy anchorage as we still have 22knots coming through from the South.
3 hours later Gunther created a plague for Cool Change, dated 28th of August 2016 plus vessel name our names and we are now forever present at the A hut.
We are looking forward to a much needed good night sleep and will head off tomorrow at 4am for Mackay for an estimated time of arrival (ETA) of 5pm, so we can catch up with Murray, Mike and Mindi.

24th and 25th of August sailing towards Great Keppel Island
We continued on through the night sailing towards Great Keppel Island passing Lady Elliot and the Capricorn Group of Islands. As we approached Great Keppel Island a strong north/westerly with around 22 knots right on the nose greeted us with rather steep breaking waves. To our delight we saw our 1st whale putting on a great show for us as we approached calmer waters.
We Anchored at long beach in around 5 meters of water and one would not have believed it that one can go from rough seas to smooth waters within a matter of 15 minutes. This is a huge bay with a lovely beach.

Engine maintenance is calling
As we did have to motor for many hours due to not having enough wind or simply too much, engine maintenance called. 
Skipper has been watching and learning from the experts at Bayview as they kindly tolerated his endless questions how to complete an engine service. I was informed that it will take around 4-5 hours to complete. Skipper gave Chris from Bayview a quick call checking that he has all the right information in his head. Skipper got the green light and I stayed well out of his way for 5 hours only being available when I got asked to pass several rags, bags, containers, small screwdriver down the engine room hatch and to my surprise there was not much frustration coming through the hatch. Well, only once when skipper had to repeat a certain task that resulted in an extra hour of work and I complied handing down more rags. I will need to put on my next shopping list more rags for Gunther. Skipper was pleased with his results and a big thank you goes to the boys at Bayview.
Curiosity got the better of us today as we looked towards the beach. There is a small lake behind it which shows no water at the entrance however there is a sailing yacht in the lake? Gunther got the dinghy ready and at high tide indeed the flood creates a small entrance and one would not believe it one brave sailor sailed his yacht through and yep parked it high and dry and securely. It seems he is very happy leaving there in his own little paradise.
We decided to stay another night as it is truly beautiful with such turquoise waters and magical sunsets.

24th of August Great Sandy Strait leaving at high tide to reach Hervey Bay
As the sun was just coming up (another spectacular sun rise) we left our anchorage and continued on towards Hervey Bay. One could spend weeks and months exploring these wonderful waterways and we may do that at a later stage.
Hello Hervey Bay another wonderful area with lots of great beaches.

23rd of August Great Sandy Straits - it’s all about timing
Gunther planned and mapped out the trip carefully that included 62 reference points. The trip was planned that we will arrive at high tide for crossing the great sandy strait that reveals several spots of 1.5 meters depth (Cool Change needs a minimum of 2 meters) therefore going through high tide is the only option. Whilst we have several electronic maps that allow us to double check and keeps us on track going through the great sandy strait, the skipper tells me: “don’t worry what the maps show, we must follow and trust the port and starboard makers at all times as the sand banks shift and the markers are set accordingly”. With this pre-warned knowledge in my head I looked at our coordinates on our plotter vs. following the markers and according to our electronic charts it showed that we were going over solid land at some locations. Learning: don’t trust the chart implicitly!  We got through very well and settled to anchor at a lovely place called South White Cliffs.

22ND of August Frazer Island 40 miles of waterways
Great Sandy Strait offers a calm-water alternative to the ocean passage outside Frazer Island. The great Sandy Strait runs nearly 40 miles from its southern entrance at Wide Bay to its northern extremes of Hervey Bay. Frazer Island is the largest sand island in the world.
 We approached Frazer Island (Great Sandy Strait) entrance at high tide. We received information that the sand bar shifted 100 meters to the north therefore we need to allow for this in our approach. From a far distance you can see the braking waves. The approach looks worse than it actually is. We also see the ferry going across from the mainland and we time our entrance well that we will pass her whilst she arrives on the other side. As we are through a massive waterway opens up called Wide Bay and we decide to anchor just past Tin Can Inlet in around 3 meters for a relaxing lunch.
We anchored for the night at Elbow Point being all by ourselves in this magic tranquil place.

21st of August romance in the air?
We left Mooloolaba at 9.30pm for Frazer Island. The full moon was out and the plan was to have a romantic full moon sail. Mother Nature had something else in store for us. A big thunderstorm came through bringing a massive downpour with it. It is believed or maybe it is a myth that in order to protect your electronics from being fried one should put them into the oven whilst there is thunder. As the thunder was above us and the weather gods truly not happy, we complied with that myth or truth.
Getting out of Mooloolaba was not as bad as coming in as we made sure leaving not only at high tide, we also checked out the bar prior leaving with the knowledge of being happy we will only have a quarter of space leaving the entrance due to the dredging vessel.
We certainly got massive waves on this trip for several hours and Cool Change handled the rough seas very well so did the skipper and 1st mate (medication Kwells did the job). The rain eventually stopped and the full moon showed its glory. It is magical sailing with a full moon and rather romantic.

Mooloolaba 19th of August another bar entrance to concur:
We just sailed a little bit too fast for entering the bar. Not to worry though as over the VHF an alert comes through prior entering Mooloolaba you must give the dredging vessel a call. It must be dredging time in QLD as this is the 2nd entry we are making where a dredging vessel is positioned in the middle of the entrance. This time our approach is during the day so one would think it should be much easier. The dredging company did not answer despite our repeated attempts, of course the VMR (voluntary marine rescue) could not provide any advice so skipper decides to edge along and check out the situation a little bit closer in. There is no clear signage on the dredging vessel only several pink floating buoys are scattered around and we have no idea what they represent. I am on edge as the entrance looks very small to me, waves breaking along the wall and rolling into the entrance. Gunther on the other hand tries to instill confidence by making a comment, “that’s nothing!”. This comment did not assist my confidence level at all and as a matter of fact, the 1st mate would like to abandon the idea of going into Mooloolaba. A large vessel (locals) contacted us over VHF and offered to go 1st and we should follow their line. They asked how much depth we need under the keel and their answer was: “you should be OK mate”. The dredging vessel takes up 3 quarters of the entrance needless to say another new experience for the 1st mate who is very pleased when arriving alongside the marina. Learning for the day, wait little bit longer for high tide as several times we only had 0.5 meters under the keel. We did implement our learning when we left 2 days later in the dark and had plenty of water under the keel.
We had 2 very relaxing days at Mooloolaba. Once again the sailors are so helpful with advice. Pretty soon we found out that we can travel with the dinghy upriver for several kms (just lovely) tie up at the pub pontoon and you find all the local shops within walking distance. Yes gent’s, amongst of a massive big shopping centre with lots of shops there was also a Witthworth and of course Gunther left hundreds of dollars in the store. Apparently we needed major life saving essentials that I hope we will never need.

17th of August Broadwater to Moreton Bay are we ready for this trip?
Confidence and skill level?
After much planning reading Alan Lucas guide and advise plus using our electronic charts and latest i-pad charts with the automatic route planning app plus highlighting the right channels and hot spots it all started off very well with confidence levels on the high side.
We left at 6am following the suggested path from Broadwater to Moreton Bay having plenty of water under the keel. It looks rather idyllic with the sun coming up until we hit the spot in Alan Lucas book Woogoompah I. dredged area (1.8m) of course it did not help that suddenly the heavens just opened up on us, skipper for some reason getting confused with the port and starboard marker leaving the starboard marker on the port side and yep we stopped truly sitting in the mud. Cool Change needs at least 2 meters of water. Not to worry skipper does decide giving it a big push with the engine and we are in the clear. Needless to say we will not have to scrub the bottom of our keel for a little while. Confidence and skill level took a little bit of battering.  Molly caught up with us again and due to that little mishap the went 1st. As we were slowly edging our way through some treacheries territory (Molly came in on VHF warning us of going wide as they just hit a low spot of 0.5 meters). We were, however gaining back confidence whilst it still coming down in bucket and at this stage I am balancing an umbrella and the ipad.  All our senses are on high alert and we are making good progress through the narrow channels. As we reached Russell Island we were faced with a new kind of excitement. Molly at this stage slowed down and via VHF explained their apprehension moving forward to pass under the overhead cables. Our mast is 19 meters high plus calculating the boat height we will need around 21 meters clearance and according to the book it mentions the clearance is 23.5 meters.
Skipper Gunther redeemed himself by volunteering going 1st as he worked out our clearance needed a couple of days ago. As one edges closer it looks like we are going to hit the cables. Skipper is still confident however provides clear instructions to first mate not to touch anything metal on the boat.  This puts my heartrate at an all-time high and images flying past such as Cool Change plus skipper and 1st mate getting fried. I decide I no longer can watch therefore I just sit down not touching anything metal as per instruction and just let it happen. It all went well, I think we had around 3 meters to spare. Molly followed ever so slowly getting through with several meters to spare. After many hours of travelling we were half way through and slowly getting used to of not having much water under the keel.  
We sailed into Moreton Bay and mapped out a plan to stay the night behind Mud Island between two danger markers with plenty of room on either side. We have an exit strategy just in case the wind comes up and we have to leave in a hurry. We had a great night sleep and started off early in the morning as the plan was to sail day and night for a lunch time arrival at Mooloolaba on the 19th of August.

16th of August South Stradbroke Island
The 2 ½ hours trip back from Boat Works towards Southport went well and we anchored just off South Stradbroke Island. Along came Molly and crew who shared with us that they will leave at 6am in the morning heading through Broadwater to Moreton Bay as the tide looks just about right. We decided to join them bravely leading the way.
e to edit.