Whitsundays: Turtle Bay,

We ventured around a headland of Hamilton Island to be unexpectedly greeted by high rise tourist resorts. Sea Trek III made a hasty retreat. We only needed to sail a little further north east to settle in Turtle Bay on the southern side of Whitsunday Island. Out and about on the shoreline again for explorations.

Oh what a site.

Turtle Bay.

Jen takes lots of photos and enjoys editing the results in the evenings. We have no TV viewing, because we have no time! This photo was thought to be of a tree trunk, but on closer examination she is not so sure. Is it a huge bone that has been dragged onto the shore?

What is this: it's large.

Out exploring in the dinghy and couldn't believe how picture perfect these boys were. That's the very imposing Pentecost Island in the background.

Red, yellow and blue.

Great excitement: Turtle tracks up into the sand dunes. In the water they occasionally pop their heads up as if to look around. That's just a second or two of viewing. We did see a moss covered shell descending.

Tracks: ? Goanna visiting the beach.

 

More to follow...

 

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Islands: Newry, Goldsmith, Thomas

 

 

We had heard about the fascinating Outer Newry Island. Decades ago it was a thriving resort. Now it is a national park. We anchored in the shadow of this island for a still night and good sleep. The remains of the resort that flourished in the 1940's onwards are now preserved. It makes for fascinating viewing.

Room with a view.

The main hub of entertainment used to be under a large concrete dome. Remains of the "club" still exist. We spent our time walking around the island and then waiting for the tide to return. We enjoyed the club's relaxed service. Not a beverage in site.

"The pub with no beer"

When the evening approached we found that our dinghy was still stranded. Luckily the crew of Ocean Child were on hand to help drag our dinghy into deeper water. The tidal extremes still take us by surprise.

We went ashore with substantial water under the keel.

Jen's new camera is getting a work-out. This is a "rainbow bee-eater" and it has a red eye. When it flies the under wings are seen: bright orange.

No bees seen for this bee-eater.

The weather is changing. We are starting to see clouds again. It's been months since we've experienced any rain, and the clear skies have been dazzling.

Change is in the air.

The season for safe cruising in these waters is coming to an end. Many cruisers are heading south, sailing with the northerly winds. We hope for a few more weeks of southerly trade winds: great for our sailing.

Someone else ending a perfect day and going south.

Goldsmith Island: We just had to stop here: it's Greg and Annie's name sake. I know that we have said it before but the water colour is unreal. As a bonus we had a fantastic smooth sail to get here. Non existent swell ....a pond of aqua.

Just enjoying blue.

For our blog followers who have not seen the water of the tropics, we try to convey our impressions. The photo below is truly as we saw it. No colour alteration. We just keep saying to each other " look at the colour of the water".

What can I say?

Another example.

A new camera for Jen. She was previously using the iphone. We both became aware that we haven't seen butterflies for many years. It's the sort of thing that seems to be a childhood memory. Now Jen is obsessed with photographing them. The trouble is that she is still fumbling with the controls, and the butterflies won't wait.

At last, a stationary butterfly, and it's spotted!

Thomas Island: just a few nautical miles from Goldsmith Island. We try to find out what makes each island special. We certainly weren't prepared for this!

"No way, not today"! Jen

Creative visitors have made low impact sculptures with bleached coral pieces. We found figurines and little characters in rock cavities.

Tom and also Tim.

Mr Snowman on summer holidays.

This shell, pictured below was buried in the sand and although no longer perfect is still considered a real find. And being law abiding citizens, we left it there for others to enjoy. ( also because it stinks!)

A natural treasure.

We have been sailing in the southern region of the Whitsunday islands. We are enjoying this area for many reasons, but mainly because it is rarely visited by the "tourist charter boats". Most of our anchorages have been deserted, but tomorrow we head into the Whitsundays Proper.We are expecting it to be busy. Strangely the activity is not far away; just over the other side of Shaw Island, which is close by.

By Jen: Meanwhile back at home:

We were sailing in the big aqua calm from Newry to Goldsmith Island when I received a Skype call from my daughter Brenna. After finishing her double degree at uni with distinctions, she been travelling for almost three years, self funded!! I last saw her when we lived in a house at Clifton Beach in Tasmania. Brenna and Joe are travelling from Vancouver to Mexico via the west coast, CYCLING. She was just north of San Fran, and have covered over 2000 ks. in a few weeks: 100 to 120ks a day. As a mother I was reassured to be told that they eat almost hourly where possible. Vegan and Vegetarians can find their nutrition a huge challenge when exercising so strenuously. Brenna is a resourceful and charming young woman, and has received so much kindness from Canadians and Americans. A big thank you from this humbled mother, to all of the wonderful people out there who lend a hand to young adventurous travellers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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More Jams than the Cottee's factory, Mackay..

Cruising-sailing isn't all deserted tropical beaches, swaying palms and beautiful sunsets.

Unexpected moon rise.

There are always maintenance jobs to keep the yacht "ship shape". The marine environment is harsh and salt crystals eventually abrade many surfaces. Our stay at Mackay marina was a convenient time to attend to the 100 hour engine service, and to replace a slightly worn heat exchanger end cap. We quickly realised that any extra tools, equipment or food was best carried aboard at high tide. The 5 metre tidal range made for slippery and steeply angled ramps.

A good ski slope.(more like Mt Everest)

Mackay turned out to be another great place to catch up with friends, old and new. A previous work mate from 15 years ago, Dennis "Gilligan" now lives in Cairns, and just happened to arrive in Mackay on the same day as we did. He generously took us out to dinner. We look forward to catching up with him and Fiona at Airlie Beach in a week or so. We FINALLY caught up with Bruce and Sue from "Chilli Heat". (We had hoped to sail with them in the Whitsundays by the fourth week of August). Also in port were Jenny and Denis from Ocean Child as well as Hans and Bernise from Brahminy. What this all means is a concentration of incredible musical talent. We had 5 uke's, 2 guitars, various keys of harmonicas and a Dobro Comb. Musical mayhem at various locations.

Bruce and Hans bash it out!

Denis surprises everyone, with Bruce's encouragement.

Sue teasing the locals with aromas.

We ended up having two great nights of music. The first night aboard Sea Trek III, and the next at an impromptu BBQ. The music and the wine flowed freely. I bet the residents of the high rise near the BBQ area were very impressed. It was all a bit sad in the end because everyone was heading on their separate ways. We are not sure when we will catch up again.

Goodbye all.

By the time this blog is posted we will be in the Whitsunday Islands.

 

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To Mackay, via Curlew Island and Freshwater Point.

By Glenn:

Hate to say this but I'm starting to loose track of what day it is! I have to consult the log book now. We are relaxing at Mackay Marina, but what day did we leave the Percy Islands? Ok, it was Saturday. I'm not showing off or anything but see how relaxed I've become without the alarm clock routine. Of course Jen suspects that it's the early onset of "old timers" disease.

We hauled up the anchor at beautiful Whites Bay and followed in the wake of Ocean Child on a leisurely motor sail to Curlew Island. ( I was hoping to get a encore from Denis on the "Dobro Comb"). It was another relaxing day on the water, with the obligatory whale sightings. We witnessed a baby whale learning to leap out of the water. It looked big until we saw the mother slowly surfaced. We motored into the anchorage on the northern side of Curlew by mid afternoon.

Absolutely stunning Curlew Island.

We scoped out our anchorage position. The art of anchoring plays a major part in successful cruising sailing. It means the difference between a relaxing night's sleep or loosing your yacht on the rocks or coral. Even worse would be the embarrassing look of waking up aground, high and dry! The tidal ranges here are up to 5 metres. I'm continually doing calculations. Goodness it's hard enough bloody trying to count my fingers and toes. To make sure ST3 is in the right depth I have let out enough chain. ( ratio 1:5, 1:6 or 1:7)

Our Curlew Island anchorage at dusk.

 

We set sail on Sunday for Freshwater Point, Llewellyn Bay, which is about 20nm south of Mackay. Freshwater Point isn't in any of the cruising guides, but Dennis from Ocean Child thought it would be a great anchorage. (good call mate but still no Dobro Comb encore :( ) Now if I've said this once I'll say it again....."the sail from (add-name-here) "Curlew Island to Freshwater Point"...was definitely the best sail we've had all trip". Sea Trek III is a cutter rig, and for the uninitiated this means we can put up 3 sails. With more sail we make greater speeds, at times flying along at around 8 knots on a close reach. There was a mad panic to get the all of the sails down when we arrived at Freshwater. We tucked into the totally comfortable anchorage for a great nights sleep. Jen slept with one eye open because she definitely thought this was croc country.

Ocean Child at anchor at Freshwater Point. (Real croc country?)

So although the water temperature was a balmy 25 degrees, I decided not to dip the toe in. We motor sailed to Mackay on Monday. We have settled in for a few days of catching up with long lost friends, and members of the "CRAP Uke Band" for the reunion of "Love and other Bruce's". Hopefully we will have an encore on the Dobro Comb. (see youtube). A minor engine repair requiring a courier service from Brisbane and an oil change undertaken by yours truly, before venturing to the Whitsunday Islands....FINALLY.

Mackay Marina at low low tide.

Final news flash:

Jen now has a real camera! All pics on this blog up until now have been taken on the iPhone. I think you would have to agree that the pics have been great considering her limited resources. No pressure Jen but I'm expecting big things from today onwards.........

 

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The Percy Islands

By Glenn: I didn't really want to go to West Bay, Middle Percy Island. I know it's a tradition for cruising yachts to call in and mount a plaque of their boat at the Percy Island Hilton. (the A-Frame).

Mecca for cruisers.

Everyone says "you really must do it". To me it seemed over-hyped. Call me a cynic. I've had a lifetime of wondering what all the fuss was about when told "you've gotta go and see this movie" or "listen to this band" etc. Jen says I'm revealing more about myself than the story here, but I really thought there were better places to go. Jen's enthusiasm won me over. I knew she was very excited about making an artistic plaque and mounting it at Middle Percy.

Jen's plaque: a beauty!

Detail of the punch-hole and paint technique.

So from Hexham Island I plotted a course to West Bay. As usual it was a beautiful warm sunny day. We spotted whales breaching and a handful of inquisitive dolphins greeted us just as we rounded the point. (always a good sign in my mind). I was dumbfounded when we sailed into West Bay. It was a picture perfect tropical island setting (think Gilligan's Island) with only 4 other yachts anchored in the bay. Mmmmm, it seems my reluctance for coming here had quickly dissipated! It looked great!!!

First impression.

How it all began.

I couldn't get the anchor set and into the dinghy quickly enough. This place demanded some serious exploring at once. We spent ages in the A-Frame looking at the yacht plaques. It seems that world cruisers have been putting them up since the 50 's. Some famous boats have been here.....

John Guzzwell: 1958 SVTrekker. 20'6" circumnavigation in a timber yawl.

We spotted some friends' plaques including Bruce and Sue from Chilli Heat as well as John from Dream Weaver. Jen couldn't resist mounting ours next to Chilli Heat..." Sailing and cooking our way up the East Coast of Australia".

One of the many uses for a bread board.

Pandora's box at the Percy Hilton.

 

The book swap in the old telephone shed.

Around the corner we spent a few days in Whites Bay. The wind had changed direction. Stunning. I had a few swims here.

Colours!!!

For some reason Jen took a great interest in the green rocks that cropped out of the hillside. She said that they just didn't fit in. (See photo above with bright orange earth). I guess they are vulcanic in nature. To prove the point she began collecting stones with great glee. (normally she collects shells).

Green of all kinds and 'almost Jade' and semi-precious?

The stones on the beach ranged from mauve, pink, orange, brown, cream and green. I guess Jen has a point.

"Meat and three veggies".

We explored behind the massive white sand dunes on the Middle Percy Island and eventually the creek bed wound its way into sub tropical forest.

 

A riverbed behind the large white sand dunes.

I can see clearly now....

Musicians in the cruising community seek each other out. They tend to be eccentrics of sorts who creep out from under sails as a surprise. (I'm always crawling out from under the sail). We had a great afternoon session in Whites Bay where the crews from Ocean Child and Bramniny came over for a few songs. Hans played Uke and a mean harp, Denis from Ocean Child had us bemused by his improvisations with the "dobro" comb. Much later he "just happened" to play some great sounds on the guitar.

A wandering minstrel.

I laughed so much that I forgot what song I was playing, anyway here's a sample of the master Dobro Comb player.

He rocks!

Jen loved this sketch from the A frame.

And so after a week without news, Internet or phone reception we are returning to the main land. Tomorrow Mackay, then the Whitsundays! Loving this lifestyle, but I know it's gotta end soon, for a while...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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