Blog Archives

Rooney Point to Tin Can Bay

23/10/2016

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20th Frazer Island, Roony Point to Lagoon Anchorage

Today the wind picked up and it was time to find better shelter. Lagoon Anchorage was the perfect spot for us. Another beautiful beachside.

21st Frazer…. To South White Cliffs

Hervey Bay is a huge area and we are getting closer to the famous Great Sandy Strait passage. First anchorage is at South White Cliffs providing excellent shelter.

22nd and 23rd Frazer- South White Cliffs to ….Elbow Point just off Brown/s Gutter

Today we needed to take off at lunch time as this is the perfect timing for the tide. This part of the trip is tricky as one must trust the port and starboard marker at all times and not the plotter or the latest navionic download. If you do not, you will run aground. The most challenging part we found was just of Stewart Island, as it gets very shallow at certain spots. Today however, we have a very high tide so no problem at all and skipper Gunther guided us through with perfection. We are nicely anchored at Elbow Point. This morning we had a strong southerly coming through so we re-anchored a little bit further out just in case as it does get very shallow. I took advantage of the early rain in the morning washing down the boat and getting rid of the salt crust on CoolChange. I think we could open up a salt mine on Cool Change. As today is a relaxing day, I baked a fresh loaf of bread. It was so yummy that we just could not help our self, so half of it is already gone. I will be on a diet tomorrow.

24th of October Frazer Island, Tin Can Bay, Tin Can Inlet and Snapper Creek

Apparently the above can all refer to the same place (identity crises) and we shall explore this area.

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Roony Point

18/10/2016

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19th Bundaberg to Frazer Island - Roony Point

As always we have met a lovely couple Margery and Tony on a catamaran who informed us that we should anchor at Roony Point off Frazer. What a great tip that was as it is absolutely beautiful. There are lots of turtles and of course we could not believe it, we also saw 2 whales that came up very close to the boat. During the night they must have swam past our boat as we heard them blowing out air. Rather spooky. We can also recommend the walk right up to the tip of Roony Point (watch the tide when it comes in).
Fisherman in distress. As we settled down we saw a small fishing vessel around 1/2 mile out and 3 males paddling towards the beach. As luck has it there was no strong wind. We tried to get them on the VHF (no response). Gunther got the dinghy ready to come to the rescue and yep they run out of fuel. With the help of Gunther they found a yacht that had a petrol canister they could borrow. They did alert their mates 2 hours earlier who have been looking for them, however without proper coordinates it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack.Lesson learnt boys, safety 1st.

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Pancake Creek to Bundaberg

17/10/2016

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18th Pancake Creek to Bundaberg

6 am and I am on high alert. Departing and getting out of Pancake Creek was no problem and we sailed towards Bundaberg. Arrived in Bundaberg at 4pm with plenty of time to find a good anchorage. The anchorage that was suggested in the book was not suitable for us as it was too shallow however we anchored across the fishing trawlers, nicely tucked away for the night. We have been informed between now and December is the sugar burning season. This explained why we had black little charcoals flying around. This prompted us to fill up fuel at the marina in the morning, hose down the boat therefore getting read of all the black stuff and head towards Frazer.

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Rosslyn Bay to Pancake Creek - look out for the shallows!

16/10/2016

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17th October Rosslyn Bay to Pancake Creek

The wind has settled down again and we have decided to leave at midnight (full moon) sailing towards Pancake Creek (around 12 hours of sailing). The full moon made it easy getting out of the harbour. We had excellent wind and put up everything scooting along with around 7 knots. We studied the entrance of Pancake Creek extensively as once again this was a bar crossing with very shallow spots throughout. Our sailing buddies Eva and Brian on Sofia (Brian I call the social butterfly) encouraged us to attempt this entrance. We looked for the best spot to anchor and found a nice little spot that gave us enough water in low tide as everything around us dries out. The following day the high tide was at 6am so we decided to leave early. We did get a little bit of a surprise seeing one yacht that anchored further out lying on the side high and dry. Whilst we don’t know the exact story however we assume that their anchor has dragged as the yacht was far away from its original position. This mishap would have occurred at 3am in the morning. The good news was though that once the tide came in 2.5 meters it floated again and they re-anchored in a different spot. One can never be too vigilant.

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Pearl Bay to Keppel and Rosslyn Bay

11/10/2016

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11th of October Pearl Bay to Keppel

We had a lovely sail to Keppel and I was ever so hopeful that I would catch a fish as on the way up I did catch a 85cm spotted Mackerel. No such luck this time.

12th of October Keppel to Rosslyn Bay

As the weather forecast was predicting strong southerly winds we decided to stay in Rosslyn Bay for several days and explore the area. Gunther also needed to do some detective work down the engine room as our generator needs another part that needs to come from Europe. One must say that we are coping well without having the generator as we reduced our fridge capacity to only 1 and one 40lt freezer. The new solar panels thanks to the QLD sun are doing a wonderful job.
The town centre Yeppoon is easily reached by bus with plenty to see. The shopping centre is only a short bus ride from town.
We also visited Emo Park that is around 20km away by bus and boasts a rather large monument called The Singing Ship it can be seen from offshore and, in close, may be also heard on a windy day. It certainly was singing on that day. One also finds a lovely short board walk along the sea.

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Mackay again and going South!

9/10/2016

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8th of October Mackay to Curlew

We sailed out of Mackay making good progress unfortunately we could not avoid wind against tide and had to motor sail to Curlew due to the high sea state. The entrance to Curlew anchorage looked a little bit tricky.However we left Hirst Island to starboard and that gave us plenty of room entering safely. Whilst we experienced high seas outside once inside the bay it was just calm and wonderful with lots of room. As we put down the anchor a welcome party came up to the surface as we have been greeted by two rather large turtles.

9th of October Curlew to Percy

Determined to sail we zig zagged across to Percy Island. As the sun was shining on us I decided to put my feet over the edge of the boat. Well, was I surprised when a sea snake was floating past our hull (feet at this stage not tangling down the railing anymore) needless to say I put this idea on halt as she did look at me as if to say what are you doing girl? Percy presented itself once again in its full glory of sunshine, palms and flat seas. Another wonderful sunset and a steak on the BBQ.

10th of October Percy to Pearl Bay

Pearl Bay is huge and as we sailed in we have been greeted by 3 whales. One young one who just could not get enough of doing summersaults. He/she must have been in training whilst mum and dad frolicked around.

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And onwards South!

6/10/2016

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1st of October Shaw I to Goldsmith Island

Lovely sail. Anchoring is close to the reef however good solid holding.

2nd Goldsmith to Brampton

We truly loved Brampton Island. Pelican anchorage that is between Carlise Island. and Brampton Island as it was very well protected, lots of room with crystal clear waters. If timed well (high tide) one can get to the beach plus explore Brampton Island.

3rd 7th of October Brampton to Mackay

Brampton is a short sail to Mackay Marina. We have grown very fond of Mackay Marina as the staffs are very friendly and nothing is too much of a trouble. It is always lovely catching up with Mike and Mindy who made Mackay their new home. It was great having our little Beep Beep in Mackay so we could stock up our food supply. Thanks to Mike and Mindy who keep our car in their garage.
All electrical repairs have been completed and it’s time for us to keep heading south.

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Rooney Point to Tin Can Bay

Roony Point

Pancake Creek to Bundaberg

Rosslyn Bay to Pancake Creek - look out for the shallows!

Pearl Bay to Keppel and Rosslyn Bay

Mackay again and going South!

And onwards South!

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