Glenn: I Had a phone call from a Sydney friend last week while we were tied up at the marina in Manly. He asked "Where are you?" "Manly" I replied, "What, you're back in Sydney?" . Well apparently Sydney doesn't have exclusivity to the Manly name. Yes, there is a Manly in Brisbane, and a lovely place it is. It's a village that caters to sea faring folk, with the best fish & chips found so far on this voyage. After topping up our diesel tanks on Saturday morning we set sail for Moreton Island. Our destination was the "Big Sandhills" at the southern end of the island. Looking at the chart I figured that the sandhills would be a great place to anchor in the prevailing SE winds.
Saturday morning: kids in skiffs. (obstacle course leaving Manly)
We had a great sail over to Moreton, Sea Trek III revelling in the 15 - 20 knot breeze. I really didn't know too much about Moreton Bay before this trip. To be honest I hadn't put too much thought into it. Let me say I was very impressed with the bay, it's a pristine waterway that is also a great cruising ground, with many anchorages for yachts. I don't think I would like to be out there in a big westerly, because it would be very exposed to any wind from that quarter.
We boasted to our fellow sailors.
We arrived mid afternoon to find at least 20 other yachts anchored there. I guessed then that I had made the right decision! Jen managed to see a dugong, and we both spotted several huge manta rays in the crystal clear water. Our friends Ines and Steve from SV Bravado called to say they were on the way from the Gold Coast and hoped soon to be anchored nearby. We met them on our extended stay in Port Stephens, and have shared various anchorages with them on our journey north, including Camden Haven, Coffs Harbour and Bums Bay on the Gold Coast. Over a coffee on Bravado we decided to head for Mooloolaba first thing Sunday morning.
Anchorage Big Sandhills Moreton Island.
Dinghy ashore.
We left for Mooloolaba early Sunday and had a brisk and eventful rocky "washing machine" trip,(Ill leave it at that) arriving at Mooloolaba marina about 3.30pm. I lived in the area for about 5 years in the 80's and look forward to catching up with some old friends. More next post.
Where we are:
http://skipr.net/where-is/boat-pages/?boatid=1122
Posted with Blogsy
No comments:
Post a Comment