Yeppoon to Port Clinton, island Head Creek and Hexham Island.

With the anchor winch fixed and our sleeping berth freshly painted; farewell drinks, BBQ and all bills paid, it was time to leave Yeppoon. (There is no truth in the rumour that Glenn was running a bar-tab at CCYC). We left early on Friday morning with a fresh south-east wind, our destination being Port Clinton, 40 nautical miles to the north.

Once out of the Rosslyn Bay Marina we motored into a confused brown mish-mash of splashing ocean, we hoisted our sails and hurtled our way north. The seas had been churned up by the relentless winds of the preceding week and the looked disgusting! (Think effulent).

Sloppy and muddy.

We gradually moved away from the coast, and the water colour turned a more acceptable grey-blue but the seas remained unpredictable.

Unpredictable and slushy.

It was a long day and the horrible nausea and shivers of sea sickness to me. I'd noticed that over the months of travel I was adjusting to the motion of ST3, and apart from a "quick nap" on route I was managing without medical assistance. I was below decks. Glenn was happily telling me about everyone else's plans when I needed to find a bucket fast. The cabin sole was uncomfortable but supported me for the next 3 hours. A warm blanket was supplied. Dizziness had engulfed me. Thank goodness Glenn is so capable at the helm and had wisely taken the blue "ET pill" prior to leaving port.

We found the remote Port Clinton to be surprisingly expansive. We watched a bush fire burn in the distant hills as the smoke turned the sunset red. A large shiny white and blue checked motor cruiser silently passed close us. "Police" !! We suddenly tried to act normal.(straight that is) It had slowed down to a "polite speed" (no wash created) and they waved at Glenn. Afterwards I noticed that he was "Captain Underpants" again. Oh dear.

Distant burning.

The next day and a few quick hours of wonderful sailing delivered us to Island Head Creek.This "creek" was also expansive. Queensland I remembered is the land of the BIG stuff. As we studied our paper charts it was hard to comprehend the size of the next two bays: Shoalwater Bay, followed by the huge Southern Broadsound. These are soooo big that they have their own tidal heights and flow rates. They are used as a military training area and Jervis Bay in NSW is just a little pond compared to these two. On a regular Queensland map they are the pair of prominent indentations about half way along the coast. We know that the extremely rare Snub fin dolphin is found in the upper reaches of these bays.

Glenn's T shirt...thanks Ginny for your efforts.

As we continue to sail further north we feel the vastness of the wilderness more and more. The busy Great Barrier Reef tourist areas are within a full day's sail, but right now we could be amongst the few remaining humans on earth.

Hexham Island is our safe anchorage for tonight. We passed a mother humpback whale and calf quietly wallowing in the channel just around the corner. Glenn kept ST3 on a course west of them so as not to distress the couple. Judging by the frequency and height of the breath-spouts it must have been a very new calf.

A cramped anchorage Hexham Island.

A weird natural occurrence: see the photo. For days we have been passing through streams of ? Coral Spawn. It looks like thick Nestle's Chocolate Quick floating in streams along the coast. An internet sewrch; it is a nitrogen fixing floating algae "Trichodesium" bloom.

 

Much excitement onboard of Sea Trek III. The tradition of cruisers visiting Middle Percy Island ( our next stop) is to leave a plaque of the ship's name in the "A frame" building on West Bay. Some creativity will be required......

.

More to come soon, including our time at Middle Percy Island....

 

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Jen, You're a lunatic, but Glenn, you are the luckiest bloke in Australia.

Rosslyn Bay: Keppel Bay Marina. We are in the tropical waters now and are getting used to the extremes of high and low tides. This ramp was level when we went shopping. That's Glenn at the bottom of the ramp.

The down-hill run in life.

We only meant to stay at Keppel Bay for a day or two. The electrical fire and repairs changed all of that. Strong winds have pinned us here for eight days now! The great thing about our trip is that there really isn't any plan. We can just go with the flow. Luckily for us our prolonged stay (and potential boredom) was eased by the discovery of the Capricorn Cruising Yacht Club. The club house is really an old portable workers shack with verandas, umbrellas and atmosphere galore. While we were there it was abuzz with friends, old and new swapping stories. (As a matter of fact we needed to stay in tonight to have a rest). A big highlight for Glenn was the Friday night special: Steak BBQ and dessert for $10 dollars. (Homemade fruit trifle and two scoops of ice cream). The German beers were a give-a-way at $2.50 each.

What? Sundowners again!!!!!!(another great "selfie" of Glenn)

Sundowners is a yachtie' tradition. Cruising yachties are generally anchored and relaxing by sunset. When in a marina they tend to seek out a common area to exchange "whale tales" and nautical advise. There is always much discussion about the up coming weather. The veranda of the CCYC became our base. The group organised a BBQ and music as a farewell event prior to the predicted weather improvement. (wrong again!). 'Bravado' with Steve and Ines from Melbourne;......'Ocean Child' from Tasmania has been called home by Dennis and Jenny for 6 years now;......catamaran 'Simba' is solo sailed by Ray from Wollongong and heading south;...... 'Windsong' has completed the "Hamilton races week" and is heading south to Melbourne with John and Jimmy wearing their team polos;..... 'Ceol Mor' with Stephanie and Duncan (Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra members) and their neighbour John, all from Kettering in Tasmania; two other catamarans that keep crossing our path are 'Tribal' and 'Plum Loco', and finally ..... 'Roger Ram Jet', a catarmaran built by Stevo and heading south to Mooloolaba with his crew Mal.

Stevo just happens to be Glenn's long lost friend from his Mooloolaba Garage Band days. They were a bit rusty together but their guitars really added atmosphere to the lively gathering.

Musician scraping off the rust.

Overlooking the marina.

What do yachties do in daylight hours while waiting for unfavourable weather to pass? Maintenance of course. Glenn often sprouts that "Cruising is just boat repair in exotic locations " . However by the look of the people we meet it is also a good way to stay fit and flexible....yoga anyone?

The easy style of catamaran repairs.

Our elderly and ambitious marina neighbour.

Rosslyn Bay is well serviced by buses travelling into Yeppoon shopping area. It is all very convenient, economical and well used. Why was Bundaberg so awkward? Lots of cruisers there missed the last bus run at mid afternoon and had to pay a taxi fare of $48 to return. Today we travelled in comfort (ie: someone else navigating the bus) to Emu Park to visit "The Singing Ship". This is a musical sculpture set on a small cliff looking out to sea. Utilising the ever-present sea breezes, it hums when air flows through the pipes and strings. Different speeds create different notes. Glenn was not impressed, partly because he couldn't sing along but also because he had just been swooped by a nesting plover protecting it's eggs. (I warned him).

Coastal harmonics enjoyed by some.

Tomorrow we hope to be out of the marina and sailing to either the Keppel Islands or Pearl Bay. Each yacht crew reads the weather and sails according to their vessels abilities. Staggered departure days will no doubt lead to heated discussions at destinations in other yacht clubs along the east coast of Australia.

Note: It is now very easy to leave comments for us. It is no longer necessary to subscribe to the blog. We like to get your feedback.

Thanks: Jen and Glenn of ST3.

 

 

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Fire! Fire! fire down below its fetch a bucket of water Glenn there's fire down below...

Our new anchor winch motor was installed in Bundaberg. The old one did not survive it's encounter with the humpback whale at Roonie's Point. We'd experienced so much frustration with delays ($$$) over the long and futile days at Bundy that we were keen to get moving. What a marvel the new motor was, and it worked very well at Lady Musgrave and Pancake Creek.

Our third use of the anchor winch motor was at Cape Capricorn. We completed our "up anchor" routine with ease. We are a well oiled team. Glenn is clear with his hand signals as he hangs over the bow. I can interpret his waving and shouts. I don't let his port/starboard confusion interfere at all with my own deeply entrenched dyslexia. I can easily juggle the helming and engine controls with the up and down switch, while reading the real time chart and depth soundings. I do this with my head poked out to one side of the dodger. I can steer with one outstretched leg. It's all very routine.

After about 20 mins of happy motoring I felt like a strong cup of coffee and climbed down the steps/ladder. I turned around as a stench hit me. Thick white smoke was pouring from the front cabin ( our V berth/ bedroom) and into the saloon ( lounge room). I turned and called out to Glenn but could only repeat #%#%! #%#%!, #%#%! I just didn't have the language to tell him what was happening. He looked blankly at me and then realised that he needed to spring into action. My brain just couldn't make any sense of what could possibly be happening to cause this burning plastic cloud. By the time he entered the saloon and headed forward Glenn could not see through the dense smoke. So he simply reached out and turned off the power. And that was it.

A fire to me is the charred ruins of bricks and mortar. An electrical fire however gathers heat and melts plastics, metals and surroundings before bursting into flame.

And so after only 8 days our shiny new anchor winch motor was no more. Glenn felt somewhat despondent because of what the recent replacement required So much hassell. I focused on the fact that there was no loss of life or boat. We are at sea after all, and fire is especially dangerous. Yachts are full of strange gasses and fuels.

Damage that was very nearly of the worse kind.

Burnt insulation caught just in time.

 

So here we are at Yeppoon, in the friendly marina of Rosslyn Bay. Our sailing instructor from some years ago Ginny Gerlach, greeted us and arranged for a good marine electrician to assess and assist us in our new anchor winch motor installation. No problem, except for where to sleep. The stench in the V berth was nauseating. All linen, pillows and doonas etc, needed washing. (boring, but thank goodness I have been collecting $1.00 coins for the laundrette). Our mattress is custom made, with innovative suspension and aeration for comfort at sea. Our choices for sleeping at night have been a round of 1: putting some lounge cushions on the floor (me), 2: the aft cabin with its stone-like mattress or 3: the narrow lounge/lee berth. All of these options have been most uncomfortable for the ageing nurse's spine. And what about Glenn who so likes his comfort? Much moaning. Five long and restless nights.

But just like any Polly Anna story there Is a silver lining. In my mind the interior of ST3 is too "log cabin" with too much use of timber. What better way to banish the stench than by painting the veneer timbers with fresh white. I'm smiling now, and the price of marine paint seems really economical now that we've paid the second mechanics bill.

Jen: Never happier than when in disarray while painting and decorating.

Glenn: aaaaarrrggghhhh!

 

 

 

 

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Musgrave to Pancake Creek to Cape Capricorn to Yeppoon with a fire onboard thrown in for good measure.

By Glenn : Déjà Vu, "If I have probably been here before I would probably know what to do, don't you?"....

....I guess that it had to happen. We have experienced dramatic highs in the last few months. Last week was especially amazing with our unforgettable time at Lady Musgrave Island. During this past week all things nautical have came to a halt. We are in Rosslyn Bay Marina, carrying out repairs after an electrical fire on board................

Jen's eye view of the lagoon

We set sail from Lady Musgrave Island last Sunday heading for Pancake Creek about 36 nautical miles away. The forecast of a 15 to 20 South East wind was accurate and consequently delivered the best sail we have had all trip. ST3 really romped along, no motoring required, and a great day indeed.

"Quick glimpse" video of a great day sailing.

We arrived late afternoon at Pancake Creek. It's always interesting arriving at a strange new anchorage. We have two cruising guides on board for this area and both state that "Pancake Creek is one of the most popular anchorages on the QLD Coast". It's easy to see why with beautiful crystal clear water and a shoreline of rarely visited National Park.

They make the creeks big up this way! Pancake Creek.

We spent the next day exploring and enjoying the rocky shoreline. Breakfast was pancakes of course. Yes I'm a walking cliché.

What was left of my pancake before I remembered to take a pic.

Jen: Amazing things exist in nature, and are often overlook. I spotted this spiders web with its perfectly woven trampoline between some boulders. It is a kind of Russian Tent Weaving spider: Cyrtophora. It is small and grey but is an Orb spider. My research has failed to identify this spider. Although it's web has the same strong structural supporting threads web it is not shaped like a carnival tent. Perhaps it is as yet un named.

Nylon stockings? It looks so synthetic.

 

Jenniferophora: Trampoline Weave Spiders web.

We set sail early Tuesday morning for Cape Capricorn...although I should say we set 'motor' for CC. We weren't lucky with the wind this time. The challenge of the day was to avoid being on a collision path with any tankers anchoraged off Gladstone, while not loosing too much travel time. If you look on a chart of Gladstone Harbour you will see that the anchorage area holds about 26 ships. We tuned to Gladstone Harbour Control on channel 13 to hear what was going on and to see if any ships were moving in our direction.

I wonder if he's got a spare anchor winch motor?

After an uneventful trip we arrived at Cape Capricorn in the pink of the afternoon. We were feeling quite pleased having crossed the Tropic of Capricorn. ( Not quite as note-worthy as an equatorial crossing). No sooner had we dropped anchor when up popped a very pesky feathered visitor. Cormorants normally keep well away from humans by just diving deep. This little fellow saw me and thought " here's a man who likes his tucker, and just maybe I've scored an easy feast". Unfortunately for him a Love family member and his food are not easily parted. After a long conversation on the virtues of natural selection and a moral lesson of effort equals reward he realised that he was wasting his time, and swam off in a huff.

How's the size of that 'partially unfurled' flipper.

Out of the blue a man motored up to Sea Trek III and gave us his phone number asking us to keep an eye on his boat overnight. He would be doing maintenance "up there" and offered us the chance to view the Cape Capricorn Lighthouse with him. We declined. It was already sunset. We watched him sprint up the hill/ mountain and drive the truck down the razor back. When loaded he revved the Landcruiser all of the way back up again. It was so steep. No road. The convenient tram track remained unused.

Spot our tour guide as he reaches the Lighthouse of Cape Capricorn.

To be continued....

Also our blog now accepts your comments: feel free.

 

 

 

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Lady Musgrave: a top Birthday spot!

 

Thursday: Glenn's birthday...61 and he's finally here at Lady Musgrave.

This is something that he's always dreamed about and talked about. I drew this birthday card while Glenn slept. (no secrets hiding places when living on board). I would call this drawing an impression because nautical detail is lacking....it was too dark to go out on the water in the dinghy to check on reality.

Surprise. It's a card especially for you.

We were wanting to get onto the shore and explore the island of Lady Musgrave. It is the southern most coral cay of the Great Barrier Reef. It is a small island that takes about 45 mins to walk around. "Just look at the colour of the water" we kept saying to each other and anyone else we could find.

"How's the colour of this water!" No one else is listening.

We anchored ST3 about here and motored to the shore. The island is totally coral without any dirt/soil and is able to support vegetation due to the large amount of guano that has been deposited by birds over the millennium. Many species of migratory birds rest or nest here, and turtles come ashore to lay their eggs.

Our anchorage, and the neighbours were few.

The foundations of the island.

Super Sailor destroys World Heritage.

After kicking around bits of bleached coral for a while we headed into the interior of the island. It was a canopy of light green foliage: Pisonia trees and at present it is heavily populated by nesting birds: Noddy terns.

Little Blue Riding Hood.

Nesting Noddys.

After our leg streching on land I paddled my kayak out onto the reef edges within the enclosed waters. I am amazed the any of my photos actually turned out. The sun light plays tricks with exposures and the focus normally lands on the water's surface!

A classic shot taken without getting wet.

Cloisonné ?

Hydrangeas grow here.

Just by paddling and floating aimlessly around We were able to get up close and personal to several large black tip reef sharks chasing schools of colourful fish, white herons, a couple of large shy turtles and some smaller sting rays who didn't stay around for long. Lots of bright fish were dashing in and out. My greatest photographic achievement of the day was finding and snapping a blue star fish. Although this creature didn't move at all while I was there the tidal flow continually conspired to move the me and the kayak away from this spot. I persisted and this is the best out of 23 photo attempts. And it really is this blue.

True blue. All of the action for this photo was above the surface.

The darker side of life in paradise at Lady Musgrave is that we had no communication with the outside world for 4 days. I was delighted but Glenn became frustrated without Facebook or texts from friends and family. "How will I know what's happening". A fellow sailor passed on this tip: clip the Wifi to a halyard and hoist it up the mast. The results were reported by Glenn as being poor and intermittent. He gave up eventually after much cursing. The next morning we set sail for the mainland: Pan Cake Creek, Bustard Head and phone reception.

Is anybody out there. Just nod if you can hear me. Is there anyone at home.

Foot note: by Glenn: I loved my specially created card. Loved it! Hoist up the hotspot Jen.

 

 

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Bundaberg to Lady Musgrave Island.

Late Tuesday afternoon and the anchor winch was finally repaired.! It had been a frustrating week of delays and let downs at Bundaberg. The forecast for Wednesday and the rest of the week looked perfect to sail out and stay at Lady Musgrave Island.

Not our photo, but this is Lady Musgrave.

This is a coral cay, a true tropical paradise. For 30 or more years I've dreamed of the day when I could drop anchor in the aqua lagoon waters of Lady Musgrave Island. The challenges of anchoring in a coral lagoon is that at high tide the reef is covered and the vessel is literately anchored in the middle of the ocean. Lady Musgrave is over 36 nautical miles from any other safe anchorage so knowledge of the forth coming weather is essential. The forecast was promising with a 20 to 25 knot south to south westerly to leave, with winds decreasing through the afternoon with calm conditions promised for the rest of the week.

 

We set sail at about 7am Wednesday and the wind was blowing as per the forecast. I put one reef in the main sail and turned north expecting to arrive at the lagoon around 3pm. Sea Trek III loved the lively downwind run with an average speed of around 7 knots and we all enjoyed the ride. Three other yachts had left Bundaberg that morning as well: Ocean Child with Dennis and Jenni, Tribal and Plum Loco (the latter 2 being catamarans). They left earlier than us and we could make out their sails a mile or two ahead in the morning glare.

The sailing was perfect!

We had one interesting experience and a first for us in our time of sailing. It was around midday when Jen (ever alert and keeping a good and proper lookout) noticed a large container ship on the horizon to our south east. As large as it was, the ship only appeared to be a curious side view of a small thing. No threat to us we thought, but within minutes it's side profile continued to grew bigger and bigger, and at a fixed angle to Sea Trek III. In no time at all this enormous cargo ship was beginning to bare down on us from an acute side angle. We were on a collision course! Evasive action was required fast. (even though under the Collision Regulations engine power gives way to sail.) Just as I began to slow down to alter course I picked up the hand held VHF radio. I wanted to establish that the vessel could actually see us! The radio then crackled to life: "Sailing Vessel, Sailing Vessel, this is ship Celine C, Celine C, do you copy?" I answered in my most official maritime voice "Celine C, Celine C, this is Sailing Vessel Sea Trek III, Sea Trek III: copy" . "Sea Trek III, Sea Trek III, Do you mind if we maintain our course?" I quickly replied "Celine C, we have already begun to slow down to accommodate your course. Sea Trek III: out" As you can see from the picture below he was very close and I wasn't going to argue with a ship of that size!

Care to alter course Sir?

The wind had completely dropped by 1pm and we motor sailed the remaining miles. It was uneventful except the occasional visits from two groups of playful dolphins. We needed to have ST3 moving through the narrow entrance before the sun dropped too low in the sky. Sun glare makes visualising the shallow coral bommies difficult; a real danger when entering a lagoon. This was our first visit to a coral cay and we were both nervous and excited.

Love at first sight.

We arrived at 3pm and were surprised at how narrow and shallow the entrance was. In we charged with ST3. The in-rushing tide swept our speed 'over ground' to 8 knots.

Jen's view after the big rush.

Jen was on the bowsprit pointing and shouting directions about which way to steer. After a couple of close shaves and a bit of excitement we were safely at anchor in the pristine waters by 3.30pm.

We admired the anchor.

 

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Not all smooth sailing. Bundaberg Blues!

A week in Bundaberg: not planned, not expected and not really appreciated.!

I guess that it had to happen. We have experienced dramatic highs in the last few months. Last week end was especially amazing with our unforgettable encounters with the humpback whales at Rooneys Point. During this past week all things nautical have came to a halt. We are in Bundaberg and waiting. For this entire week we have been stuck in the marina waiting for a new anchor winch motor. "We are not going cruising unless this is fixed." I have said.

Outside of the well manicured marina grounds it is flat dry land. It is so flat that Jen thought it may have been an extension of the airport because she noticed it being mowed. But no, it is just neat flat dirt, and it is extensive. Somehow some small biting things managed to attack her low legs on the first evening here and a week later there are still approx. 40 small blisters annoying her.

We took the bus to the town. Neither of us were impressed but for differing reasons. Jen does not like dry country towns that do not offer ice cream shops in convenient and obvious places.

No surf and no waves here.

People who sail come from many walks of life. Being out on the water forms a camaraderie that is lacking on land. While here we've caught up with old and new friends.

Graeme, Sue and their son Jamie of SV Symphony (and CCCA members ) were resting up here on their way to Cairns join the Louisiades Rally that is leaving in a few weeks. We shared their excitement and asked heaps of questions. Next year we will be travelling up that way as well.

During our time at the Woolwich Marina we met Cheryl and Mike of SV Gidgee. Our plans were somehow always out of step with theirs. Despite their whirl wind sail up the coast ahead of us and their recent return flight to Sydney we opened our eyes this morning to see Gidgee on the next finger! Perhaps this is a good omen.

"Up the road" with friends.

There is a certain 'something' about country clubs. The weekly raffle night is irresistible. I don't use poker machines or gamble but I am a total push-overwhen it comes to the boisterous ticket sellers of 'club supported' charities. Tonight's charity was the SES of Bundaberg. I bought 100 tickets...and guess what we are having for breakfast lunch and dinner for the next few days: CHICKEN!

 

Lucky Love Locks wins again.

Jen was not impressed to see the following sign on the clubs toilet door. A feminist at heart she came back from a visit and was furious. She wanted to complain to someone about both the picture and the title. She also tells me that she will not be eating chicken giblets for breakfast. I think that Bundaberg does not suit her.

"This is not funny" says Jen.

We went to the Bundaberg Rum factory. We are a DRY boat now and have given our health a rest. However we did fancy this liqueur because it is coffee and chocolate flavoured. It is hidden away for use on special occasion. Jen wants it as a topping for her ice cream! (We finally have a working freezer now.)

So tasty.

Jen has been bored and wanting to paint some bulkheads (walls) white. I'm not convinced of the need. I like the timber look. A morning bus trip to Bundy produced this decorating wonder. Favourite photos of the trip so far now grace the main timber expanse. The photos are colour coordinated with the cushions she made some months ago. It's a birthday treat for me. The candles are fake and remote controlled. ( Flames are dangerous on yachts, because of the potential build up of gasses). I think that she is clever.

Our saloon.

Monday morning the anchor motor saga continues,TNT how hard is it to loose a package between Brisbane and Bundaberg!!!

 

 

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