Wide Bay Bar crossing. Our grand entry into Mooloolaba

We spent the night anchored in 7 mtrs of calm water at the southern end of Fraser Island. I woke at 4.20 am to the unfamiliar howling of a dingo on shore. This triggered a thunder of startled bird calls. Lying below the large escape hatch window I could see the first thin light of dawn. Glenn was already awake and preparing Sea Trek III for her final leg of this season. The yacht next to us had raised it's anchor and was motoring out. Other cruisers were on their decks readying equipment.

Up and moving at sunrise.

So why such an early start? (Being an 'evening person' I call it 'extreme sailing').

The tide, wind and sea conditions for crossing the dangerous and notorious Wide Bay Bar were perfect. An early start ensured plenty of sea time prior to the next port of call, Mooloolaba. The winds were predicted to be N NE, at 15 to 20 knots, promising a great day of boisterous down wind sailing.

Benign: Wide Bay Bar.

The Wide Bay Bar has an area called "the Mad Mile". It's a shake up of steep waves from all directions. The resulting wave action on a vessel is extremely confused. In anything other than perfect conditions a yacht's stability is under threat. Three sets of coordinates were kindly provided by local Volunteer Marine Rescue. We plotted our course. This crossing demanded concentration. We passed through the area without incident. We enjoyed the day of sail south.

The winds gradually increased as forecast. By the time we needed to drop the head sail the waters were becoming choppy. The vessel pictured past us heading out to sea and took many waves over the bow.

Beating against wind and tide.

We lined up the leads for our entry into the Mooloolah River. (waterways of Mooloolaba). The waters inside the grey stone breakwalls looked calm. But outside during our approach we were really being tossed around. The NE 25knots winds were churning things up. The depth sounder showed 2.5 mts; a new shallow bank had shifted since our last visit. Glenn was at the helm. My eyes were fixed on the rapidly approaching stone walls.

We were within 20 mtrs of the grey rock entrance when the engine splutter and stopped. I turned to see fear on Skipper Glenn's face. O M G, this was not a joke. We had momentum from the following winds and Sea Trek III was charging forward. It was chaos: "Jen get back here: raise the headsail. I can't controll her". We struggled against tremendous wind pressure in the narrow channel. The head sail flapped violently. We needed it unfurled it again to gain some control. The rock embankment was very close.

I contacted the Coast Guard Mooloolaba on the VHF radio to tell them that we were without engine power ; we were in the channel; that we would have to drop anchor; that we were rounding the corner, and that we would be needing a tow,..please. They said that they would come immediately to our aid. We dropped head sail and anchored. RHONDA RESCUE, in all of her sunflower yellow was on her way.

Ten friendly faces in bright orange uniforms reached out to help us. Multiple fenders and lines were attached to ST3, and within a minute we were nudged safety into a pontoon. As quickly as they arrived they left. A whirlwind of efficiency and professionalism. What a worthy volunteer organisation!

"Help me Rhonda,..help, help me Rhonda.."

With dock lines adjusted we breathed a sign of relief. Laurie a fellow cruiser and skipper of Pretty Alright motored past to check that we were okay. He had heard my distress call on the VHF.

A dinghy pulled up and more sailing friends appeared. Linda and Bill of Valiam (and more recently Lati) arrived with a bottle of Bubbly. They had returned from a Mediteranian adventure only weeks earlier. We spent the evening exchanging all sorts of stories. What incredible adventurers they are, and they live right here in Mooloolaba. Linda invited us to lunch with the promise of authentic Greek cuisine. (thanks to Christina).

Circumnavigators and fleet owners.

Bill and Linda supplied us with bicycles ('apparently' mine had brakes but only one gear) and took us on a tour of their favourite bike paths. We now know some of the best cafés, BBQ spots, surf and waddling beaches. It's all just a convenient short dinghy ride away. Thanks so much.

 

Jen and a captive stolen toy.

We'll be here for a while now, and we think that we'll enjoy ourselves (even if it means employment).

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The original Savage Oceanic 42' yacht.

A yacht owner takes special pride in their choice of boat. (even more so than with car selection). Many yachties believe that the heyday of yacht building and design was several decades ago. Infact that quality of yacht structure, layup technique and hull strength can not readily be reproduced today due to the extreme cost of materials, labour etc. Many of the best Australian built yachts are over 30 years old now (or more) and still sailing on.

Just by chance we shared the anchorage with the very first Jack Savage Oceanic 42/46 Kinta III. Her present owner Dave has been sailing her for the past 20 years.

I couldn't wait to be asked aboard. Kinta III looks beautiful, shiny white and is so stylish inside. This yacht is a true reflection of the skills and love that Dave has lavished upon her. To put it simply this 1977 yacht is a timeless classic and a real restoration piece.

A 1977 beauty.

Not only did we enjoy admiring Kinta III but Dave turned out to be a collector of some hard-to-find information about Oceanic's history. He told us that Sea Trek III was resprayed in 2005 at Brisbane. He also explained why green was under the present white top coat. Amazingly he had an advert for ST3 when she was for sale and named Harita.! Wow I was impressed. Between us we have page 1 and 2 of the 'blue prints' and Dave has promised to scan copies of review articles from old sailing magazines. We are looking forward to having him as a guest aboard. He solo sails and it was just great to meet such a knowledgable and discerning fellow cruiser.

Advert for Harita: probably 15 years ago.

Referring back to a previous blog I think that in meeting Dave we have found some buried treasure. Anyway there is nothing like another yacht of the same design in the same anchorage to bring out the competitiveness in an owner. I couldn't believe my eyes when I found Glenn over the side giving ST3 a good scrub along the water line. Kinta III certainly doesn't have any growth on her bottom.

The yoga king busy cleaning.

Glenn says, yea right! Everyone knows how much I love YOGA!!!!!

 

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Pearl Bay, Keppel Islands and getting lost.

Leaving Hunter Island behind we sailed south to Pearl Bay, choosing it as a safe anchorage overnight. The winds blew from the east. It is well protected, and we'll certainly call in here for a visit next year. It is a beautiful place and we shared it with six other yachts.

By 06.05 am we had raised the anchor and motored out of the bay. Within minutes the bay was totally empty. Everyone else had the same idea, an early start to head south. We wanted to reach Keppel Island by mid afternoon. It is 50nm away (approx 92kms). We like to sail, and the main was raised in preparation.

On our route south we needed to pass well clear of the active 'military exclusion zone' of the Broad Sound and Shoalwater Bay. Two helicopters constantly circled above us for well over an hour, as the live "war games" were being conducted.

It looked like an annoying mosquito from where we were.

I'm not sure of what was happening in the "out of bounds" zone, but we watched numerous fires burn through the undergrowth and down to the beach. In this huge uninhibited area no homes were in danger, unlike those in NSW at present.

Numerous fires along the coast.

After 6 hours of sail-assisted motoring the wind finally picked up. We were smiling from ear to ear. This is what gives a sailor a high. It is a most exhilarating feeling being able to slice through the waves under sail alone. It's not the speed that counts but rather the motion of the yacht through the water. It just feels right to move so gracefully with the wind.

We did hit 8 knots (14.5km per hr) at one stage but the camera person was a too slow.

Breaking the sound barrier.

Keppel Island

We settled into Long Beach at Keppel Island for a cosy evening. We now had internet and phone coverage. A change in the weather and a strong wind warning had been issued for the next day. We knew that we would have to move Sea Trek III around to the other side of the island in daylight hours.

We were both awake well before 5.30am and treated ourselves to a fresh spring sunrise as we relocated.

Dawn at Keppel Island: great.

Keppel Island used to be called "Great Keppel Island", and was a popular tourist resort some years back. It's another crumbling resort that provides limited services to yachties: basic items, including ice creams. Also scattered about the island are simple lodges in the style of Eco-tourism.

As usual we went exploring ashore and we find that we need to get off the yacht and walk as often as possible. It's amazing how quickly deconditioning of muscles occurs, and then normal walking becomes an effort. We certainly weren't expecting the Astro Turf to be rolled out for Glenn's arrival.

Roll out the green carpet.

I just had to try out this empty hammock: post card in a tropical setting.

"Not leaving here, ever".

The fabled "Mooring Ball tree" bearing fruit.

The water here is exceptionally clear, and we followed a stream into the large mangrove swamp behind the sand dunes. Rumour has it that a saltwater croc lives here. On closer inspection we saw a familiar yacht tied up in the mangroves. A really high tide would be required to set her afloat again.

'Prosper' not going anywhere in a hurry.

On our second day at Keppel we decided to venture away from the beaches. We needed to do some strenuous exercise. The signage for the various tracks was old, weathered or broken.

"We can't get lost here Jen, it's an island" said Glenn. Hmmmm I thought. ( I hoped that the gremlins were not listening).

We started heading along a likely looking track that wound upwards, and then got steeper and higher. Basically it became a mountain, and I wondered why we were being so energetic in the middle of the day. Thirsty and hungry and hot and unfit and breathless. The horror of being middle aged and overweight. Much much later we reached a lookout. The views were spectacular, but we were nowhere near the old resort, and broken roads lead out in several directions.

Sea Trek III is way way over there somewhere.

A couple of back packing guys passed us and suggested a route for us to follow. Their English was very poor and we all smiled at each other a lot. We basically headed away from them.

Many side trails were overgrown and increased our uncertainty. We needed to go back down to sea level to steer a better course. And so we slid and tripped on our bums down an embankment on the side of the mountain. Not a pretty sight. We reached low scrub and grass lands and just kept walking. We were really exhausted and already we had been stumbling about for more than three hours. It was then that I noticed an intensity of blue in the sky, a clarity without haze. For a reason that I can't explain I knew that this was the clarity of the sky over clear water, and that the main resort beach was " this way".

After another half an hour we reached the crumbly holiday resort. And would you believe it, there were people just sitting around under a tropical pavilion happily drinking icy cold beers, and ordering meals from THE RESTURANT.! No one had told us that the old resort was still serviced day trippers and casual holiday makers. Chocolate ice cream for me, and hot chips with tomato sauce and a beer for Glenn. Thank goodness I kept my laundromat coin collection in the base of the day pack.

Unexpected outdoor seating.

The delightful woman behind the counter told us the easy way to get back to our bay, and needless to say it was a flat stroll along two beaches, and a few low headlands. Short and direct.

Faded fun from other summers.

The weather looks favourable and with Promised NE winds and we will be sailing again tomorrow.

The back of Glenn's head again, a spontaneous pose as we rounded the last rocky headland and back to ST3.

 

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Hunter Island: any treasure here?

By Jen at Hunter Island: the Duke Islands group.

We were both getting a bit "stir-crazy" onboard of Sea Trek III and perhaps this was because of boredom. We were not sailing (again) because the weather had conspired to keep us at Hunter Island for four nights. No phone access, internet or outside news and no progress south.

We were reading lots of books. Glenn thought that the Duke Islands were a bit "Scottish" because of the sea, steep hills and farm connection. His reading of Treasure Island, and Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stephenson had cunjoured up images of boyhood games involving shipwrecks and buried treasures. Perhaps we would find treasure while we were here? I agreed with him that we should keep looking for our "travel treasures" as we trudged up different peaks each day to catch the view at the top.

Treasure Island?

I enjoy beach combing, and am always on the lookout for anything unusual. Without many personal possessions on board, found objects become my treasures. I felt that I had really "struck it lucky" when I found a beautiful but crumbling Nautilaus shell. (I had regretted leaving a complete specimen behind on the Thomas Islands recently) This was wonderful to photograph because of its shapes and pearl-o-essence .

A treasure for Jen: Glenn uncertain.

From the top of the barren ridges and headlands we watched large ancient turtles ride the currents through the narrow passage of aqua waters between Marble and Hunter Islands. I could see them pop up their heads but organizing the camera meant that I was repeatedly too slow for a successful photo. Weirdly Glenn had become a Turtle attracting devise: he could spot them as they surfaced, and then they would dive below when I appeared. I just wanted a photo of one of these gentle guys. I have been trying for months. In frustration Glenn took the camera and guess what: within seconds a face appeared and Bingo: a photo! Another treasure for me.

To tell the truth I was a bit peeved that Glenn was always spotting turtles before me. However he doesn't understand animals as much as I do, and can be confused by their movements. "What's happening over here?" he called out at 6 am. We were raising the anchor. There was a lot of splashing of flippers nearby. "I think a big turtle might be scratching", he concluded. I looked over towards the shore and smiled to myself. "No not scratching Glenn, mating!". "Oh, really?" he replied. He did seem a perplexed, as if he was wondering why they would bother.

Turtles mating, not scratching.

Glenn likes to cook and he said that these Donuts would be a real treasure. Yummy: yes, gone by the evening: yes. But I was getting tired of this theme....the blog needed to be written.

 

Totally delicious: Gertie would be proud.

By now I felt a little mischievous. I was not going to be out done by "Glenn the Turtle Whisperer" and marvelous cook. He was just getting a bit too big for his own hat. He had suggested the theme for this blog: "Treasure Island" but could get no further with the creative writing. Hmmm I thought. And so I presented him with this Pirate Bootie.

Valuable hair.

And that brings me to the unexpected thread that readers have picked up on: The back of Glenn's head. Looking back through the blog since leaving Sydney I must agree that it is a frequent photographic subject. And so as not to hold you in suspense any longer, here it is:

 

Hope to be more south soon.

 

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Ordinary things become exciting!

Rain, an ordinary thing...

If you know that rain is coming and you are in your usual routine, it tends not to be very interesting. If you haven't seen rain for months then it's a novel event. If you are out in a boat on the water, rain is inconvenient and perhaps a bit scary. But if you are sailing in the tropics and haven't seen rain for months and the water has been glowing a fabulous turquoise colour continuously, then rain and storms are very exciting.

Glenn was spellbound. He could smell the fresh dampness rolling into Nara Inlet. Clouds were visible a long way off to the south. He had consulted all of the standard weather sites, and also a new one to us: "Higgins: Storm Chaser". The dinghy was raised on the davits and secured, kayak and paddle board lashed to the deck, hatches closed and locked. And then we waited together in the cockpit. I had my camera ready. Glenn eyes were darting everywhere. Was that the low growl of thunder? What about lightning and the electrics onboard? Charter yachts began streaming into the anchorage, a safe haven in the southerly conditions. The sheet of grey rain moved towards us.

First of the season.

And then it was gone. I actually don't remember the rain, even though it did make things wet. The sun changed the sky, and everything turned sunset pink.

Did I miss something?

Make and model...generally an ordinary thing..

Now if you are in your usual routine and you have a new car, a weird thing might happen. You start to notice the same model as yours a lot more on the roads, or perhaps the same colour of your car everywhere. You may even get excited and honk your horn as you pass a driver who shares your own good taste. Yachties suffer from this to the extreme.

We have been looking out for Sea Trek III's sisters, Jack Savage designed Oceanic 46' yachts. We hadn't seen any, despite the 1,000s of yachts around us over the past months. They are Australia built, and we expected to find many up this way. We have identified Compass 28s, and South Coast 36s along our way. (our previous yachts designs).

While sitting in the shade on our back deck exchanging sailing dreams with the crew of Sagittae our eyes all fell upon a passing yacht. I read the ship's name and without hesitation began frantically waving some colourful straps in the air. It was Stylopora; the most famous of the Oceanic 46 yachts. She is a circumnavigator and the subject of the book " Here Be Dragons".

Apparently the new owners Di and Geoff are very used to strangers wanting to contact them as they sail past. They politely obliged and turned towards us. We toured each other's yachts, admiring and comparing features. Great excitement as we babbled about our story of how and when we found ST3., previously named Harita. Di was able to give us the names of three other Oceanic 42s and a 46.

A legend.

What Di and Geoff didn't know was that we had long been aware of the wonderful sailing qualities of the Oceanic 46' prior to our purchase of Sea Trek III. We have, over the years, read many of the articles by Don Gilchrist in "Cruising Helmsman" magazine about his travels in Stylopora. We knew that this was 'our' kind of yacht. I felt really privilege to have had the chance to spend time aboard. And we were able to look at a copy of the book "Here Be Dragons". (Thank you Finn).

Very lucky yachties: Di and Geoff

So what do new yachtie friends talk about: Plans and dreams and the best anchorages amongst other things. Highly valued by us all are the personal recommendations and mud maps of more remote areas. Swain Reef was the buzz with us.

Di animated about the Swains.

A mud map: highly prized.

We think that it was a most marvelous day...ordinary things that are special to us.

Thankyou for the feedback from 'anonymous' who suggested that we comment on what we thought of the anchorages visited. Glenn will undertake this over the next few weeks. We'll try to include this is future posts.

 

 

 

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The Woolwich reunion. Airlie Beach is real tourism.

When we stayed in Sydney prior to our June escape north this year, we called Woolwich marina our home. During this time our neighbours for several months were the crew of Gidgee, Cheryl and Mike. They are unable to sail for extended periods due to family commitments . This past weekend was their wedding anniversary. Imagine our surprise when we motored into Macona Inlet to find them on the yacht just infront of us, waving frantically.

Sagittae is no ordinary yacht. Her crew Rob and Syl built her over a number of years. Her design is a Radford 55 ' , and her finish is superb. From our berth at Woolwich we could see Sagittae in the final stages of completion. Sagittae has been 'nearly meeting up' with us many times in recent months

A merry evening of sailing tales : ("Whale tales" : they grow bigger with each telling).

Cheryl spots us.

Mike looks stunned, clutching a support to stay upright.

Crazy things happen. The same day as the Woolwich connections anchored near us, we sailed past Southern Cloud. This mega yacht was moored at the historic Woolwich Dock, is just around the corner from where we were. In the evenings we would walk around to see Wild Oates 11 (Sydney to Hobart fame) on the hard stand. Southern Cloud was being refurbished at the same time and we watched the progress by peering into her lighted interior.

Can you see the crew member up front?

Chatter yachts gather together at night.

 

The channel markers are a sailors friend. This starboard marker is the perfect spot for this as yet unidentified bird's nest. ( Burnie can you help?) Being high above the water it has a good view of fish below.

I love my new camera: not fancy but gives quality pictures.

I think that we have already mentioned the tidal ranges in the Queensland waters. We are not sure if this charter yacht had navigational difficulties, or just miscalculated. Much later in the day she righted herself and they crew sailed her away. It doesn't appear to have sustained any damage, so we presume the tide ran out and left them 'high and dry'.

How embarrassing. No harm done.

On to Airlie Beach, on the mainland.

Airlie beach is a back-packers paradise, and tourist heaven. There are a series of artificial lagoons beside the beaches. From November onwards no one swims in the ocean unprotected because of the toxic stingers.

Water fun: sticky weather.

Glenn tests the safety of the wadding pool.

 

The next two photos are for nostalgic reasons: I associate cookaburras with my Nana. she was a nurturer of birds. They seem to enjoy life in the parks around here. (For my sisters and cousin in England.)

"Happy Jack"

We are staying at the Abell Point Marina. It has a new owner with big plans. The staff are very friendly and relaxed. The mega yachts are on other pontoons. People are casual around here. The winter weather is non existent. It's all loose shirts and floppy shoes. And there is obvious examples of extreme wealth. Rather than bore you with multiple photos of huge expensive yachts, I thought that the glimpse of this Buizen's hull would tell the story. The mirror reflection of the hull is just a taste of the quality on board.

Mirror finish.

Jen impressed. Glenn off to polish Sea Trek III.

The club beside the marina was rocking with a pirate theme on Sunday afternoon.

"Where's me wooden leg, Jack Sparrow?"

Finally hot chips for Glenn, .....the fish has yet to be found. We had a cool afternoon at the Whitsunday Sailing club. It is a low keyed place where we found genuine international Ukulele talent. This is Manitoba Hal, a Canadian who plays complex blues on his double Uke. Check him out on YouTube. Talented with a capital T.

A rare find: someone who plays a double Uke.

We are hoping that the predicted southerly winds, most favourable for visiting Blue Pearl Bay and Butterfly Bay eventuate by next week end. Then we will follow many other yachties and head south for the summer season. .....and employment.

Off to the shops by bus to reprovision for the coming weeks: bulk buys of essentials. We hope to avoid marinas on our return trip. I guess it all depends on required repairs.

 

 

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