In the Gulf

Hi everyone,
We're now over halfway to the Wessel Islands and are having a very pleasant sail. The wind has gradually decreased from 25 knots to 15 knots and we're currently sailing along under single-reefed main and full No 3 at 6 knots. Best of all the cloud gradually cleared overnight and this morning, leaving a clear sky this afternoon. The water temperature is 27C according to our instruments. Definitely in the tropics now!

Chasing the sunset!

Early this afternoon we were "buzzed" by a CoastWatch aircraft. They came up from directly astern while I was standing in the companionway, so I saw them coming. Gave 'em a wave. They whizzed past at 200ft or so and about the same distance to leeward. Zoomed up and away dramatically, then called up on the VHF a few minutes later. Asked far fewer questions than they used to.

We started the engine to charge batteries later this afternoon and found there was no water flowing. Had to tighten the water pump belt. My first engine "repair" at sea for a while.

Hope all's well where you are.

Enroute to Wessel Islands

Hi everyone,
We departed Mt Adolphus Island this morning and have just entered the Gulf of Carpentaria. The sail across the top of Cape York and past Possession Island was fast, with a 25 knot SSE wind. Passing Possession Island we had 3-4 knots of tide with us and were doing 10 knots over the ground. Sadly no yachts anchored at Possession Island. Where is everyone? ;)

Possession Island ahead

Captain Cook memorial on Possession Island

We then had a close reach down Endeavour Strait before crossing the shallows at the western end into the Gulf. The wind was quite variable in the Strait but appears to be settling down at about 20 knots from the SE in the Gulf. We're sailing along very comfortably under double-reefed main and partly furled No 3.

We're 45nm into a 350nm passage to Two Island Bay in the Wessel Islands. Should take about 3 days and take us to a different state. In addition to political boundaries perhaps it will be a state with a little sunshine! Time will tell...

Hope all's well where you are.

Mount Adolphus Island

We're now at anchor 7nm ENE of Cape York, in Blackwood Bay at Mount Adolphus Island. We covered the 150nm track in under 24 hours, logging 164nm. Average speed 6.8 knots and maximum 10.0 knots. That's probably our best 24 hour run so far. It was certainly a blast. The anchorage here isn't perfect, but I don't think there is a perfect anchorage in the Cape York area when its blowing 30, gusting 35.

We departed Lockhart River late-morning yesterday, beam reaching out of the bay at 7-8 knots. We spoke with another yacht which was entering the bay and they said we looked like we were doing 30 knots! Once out of the bay we could bear away to bring the wind behind us which was much more comfortable. The wind was 25-30, gusting more. It stayed that way for most of the passage, decreasing to 20-25 for a few hours during the night.

Thankfully the only fishing boats we saw were at anchor. A number of cargo vessels passed, the bigger ones travelling at up to 18 knots. Happily they all appeared on AIS well before we could see them, allowing us to get into a position where passing would be easy for both of us. At one stage three ships were in sight and we were all talking to each-other on the VHF.

Although it was a great sail the weather was miserable. 100% low-level overcast all the way with limited visibility, frequent showers of drizzle and occasional light rain. It's a shame we didn't see so much of the coast we sailed past since it was "in the murk".

Anchored in Blackwood Bay at Adolphus Island

We'll remain here for a couple of nights before heading through Endeavour Strait and into the Gulf, where winds are predicted to be lighter. We'll be heading towards the Wessel Islands - one of our favourite places from our previous sail around the country.

Finally, this passage marks our passing the place where the boat had her encounter with a rock near Turtle Head Island on 9th August 2000. The rock is still not charted, but I believe it is that shown by Lucas in his plan of Escape River. The accident led to the boat staying in Australia and her owner Zen returning to Japan. Zen did an amazing job (while sailing single-handed) to keep the boat afloat and sail her to Thursday Island where she was lifted out of the water and shipped to Cairns for repairs.

Lockhart River

We arrived at Lockhart River at 1600 today after a 33hour, 207nm passage from Lizard Island. Our average speed was 6.2knots and maximum 9.8knots. It was a great sail, starting with 25knot SE winds which lightened off when we entered Princess Charlotte Bay yesterday evening, and then built overnight and today. Yesterday was partly cloudy but today was entirely overcast with occasional drizzle. Summer in Tassie is better than this!

The sail across Princess Charlotte Bay was fun. Flat water, gentle breeze and lots of coral islands and islets to miss. Most were lit but some not. Happily we had a moon for most of the night which helped confirm our position.

Arrival at Lockhart River seemed to take forever since one has to travel about 8nm from Cape Direction. We are anchored just outside the river mouth since the entrance is barred. Happily it is a good anchorage. Unhappily Lockhart River proved once again to be a place (for us anyway) where gear breaks. The anchor windlass didn't want to play so we had to disassemble it and manually pay out the chain. We'll take a look at that tomorrow.

Anchored at the mouth of the Lockhart Rive

We'll be here for a couple of nights taking it easy. Next stop probably Possession Island.

Enroute towards Lockhart River

We departed Lizard Island this morning at 0700 and have had a fantastic sail so far. Moderate to strong SE winds and we've been broad reaching all day, doing 7 to 8 knots. After rounding Cape Melville we sailed into flat water and that gave us absolutely "champagne sailing". The breeze is dying a little at the moment - we're only doing 6 knots! By the way, Cape Melville is very spectacular - a huge pile of huge boulders.

Cape Melville

We encountered only two trawlers today, but expect many more to come out to play tonight. We saw two warships today too - A01 and A02 to those who care to look up their names. Also spoke to two of the cargo ships which passed to arrange "who's going where". Great to have their name, course and speed from AIS so calling is easy.

We had a great time at Lizard Island despite the strong winds throughout our stay. Yesterday we spent most of the morning on the beach and snorkeling over the reef just 50m off the beach. Amazing fish, clams and coral. Earlier in the day we spectated as flocks of birds and big fish enjoyed a feeding frenzy on tiny fish around our boat. Got some good video. In the afternoon we went up the hill to where mobile coverage allowed us to order a couple of bits for delivery to Darwin.

Just missed a dolphin!

It's a shame to be bypassing Flinders Island. We had hoped to stop there but decided to push on to Lockhart River, which then puts us in striking distance of Cape York. The boat's going great and we're having a ball.

Hope all's well where you are.

Lizard Island continued

The strong winds continue to blow through the Watsons Bay anchorage, with gusts to 30 knots or more. Regardless, we're having a great time here at Lizard Island.

Yesterday morning we woke to find the bark Endeavour anchored nearby. She is sailing around Australia, heading north as we are. She only stayed for the day but it was great to see her here, and to get photos of Zen Again and Endeavour in the same anchorage. Endeavour was built in Fremantle in the 90s and is of course a replica of James Cook's famous ship which discovered, charted and claimed for Britain most of the east coast of Australia.

Endeavour and Zen Again

We went ashore briefly yesterday to have a walk along the beach and use the "facilities" ashore. Most of the day was spent watching the world go by (and regularly "freshening the nip" on the anchor snubber. Very relaxing.

The Facilities

Watsons Bay

Today we went ashore for a longer walk - past the ruins of Mary Watson's cottage to the airstrip and the resort, then up Chinaman's Ridge. The ridge lies between the Watsons Bay anchorage and the resort and has nice views of both. The top of the ridge also provides limited mobile phone access via the resort's link to the telstra network.

This afternoon we visited Eva and Georg aboard their Swiss yacht Kopernik - a very nice 40 foot aluminium centreboard cutter. They are heading for Darwin, Africa and home after a 4 year (so far) circumnavigation. Hopefully we'll stay in touch with them along the way to Darwin, perhaps further.

sv Kopernik

Lizard Island

We arrived at Watson's Bay at about midday after a 23 hour passage. 135nm by the log and the GPS so no net current. We took it pretty easy, sailing under jib alone for part of the passage. This morning we were getting tired of the rolling so hoisted the main with two reefs. That reduced the rolling and hurried us along to complete the passage. The strong winds winds predicted for this area only arrived late morning today. We had mostly 10-15knot SE winds but it's now blowing 25-30 through the anchorage.

Two RAN patrol boats at Watson's Bay

There are only six other vessels in the anchorage so we have plenty of room. Two of them are RAN patrol boats which turned up late in the afternoon.  Apparently tomorrow is the 100th anniversary of the "Royal" being added to "Australian Navy".

Watson's Bay is spectacular with crystal clear water, sandy beach, coral reefs scattered around the bay just below the surface, and all overlooked by the big hill James Cook climbed to find his way onward.

We'll be staying here for a few days for some R&R. By the way, the water temperature here is 24 degrees C and the wind is warm(ish). At last!

Enroute towards Lizard Island

We departed Yorkeys Knob at 1300 today and have had a pleasant sail under single-reefed main and No 3 jib in a 10-15knot SE breeze. Reefed coz we're lazy and we're sailing along very comfortably thankyou.

Departing Yorkeys Knob

It's just after sunset and we're being accompanied by four trawlers which departed the Low Isles as we sailed by. No doubt they'll be zigzagging all over the ocean in front of us before long as fishing folk like to do.  We visited the Low Isles from Port Douglas as tourists some years ago. The snorkling was quite good there but not a patch on Lizard Island. Hence we're sailing on and expect to reach Lizard Island during the day tomorrow, hopefully before predicted strong winds arrive.

We'll see if there's any mobile coverage at Lizard. There is a very expensive resort in the next bay and no doubt the punters there must have their mobiles working. 'Twould be good for us too!

Yorkeys Knob continued

We've now spent three very pleasant days here at Yorkeys Knob marina.  It's the first place where we've been consistently warm!  We expect to depart tomorrow towards Lizard Island.  We expect to be out of mobile phone and internet coverage until we reach Darwin in about a month so our blogs will be text only, sent via HF radio.

Yorkey's Knob clubhouse

A number of items on the to-do list have been crossed off the list.  Most importantly the new fridge is in and working, using far less power than the old fridge.  On removing the old Engel we discovered it was manufactured in 1985, so it has almost certainly been aboard since the boat was launched in 1986.  Very impressive that it was still working at all, but it certainly needed replacement.  We can run the new fridge 24/7 and the solar panel provides enough charge.  At sea we'll need to run the engine, but we like to run it for an hour or so each day in any event.

Other jobs done include:

• stripping back, priming and antifouling the Aries vane gear's water vane;
• fitted rubber pads to the Aries vane gear swinging arm (to soften the impact when it hits the stops);
• refitted the autopilot pin on the tiller and installed a spare nearby;
• fixed an engine fuel leak (several loose bolts);
• rerouted the boom vang line to eliminate chafe;
• rearranged the boombag attachment lines and the lazyjacks;
• refueled the main diesel tanks (we used 80litres in 2 months) and filled the spare jerry cans;
• restocked with perishable food; and
• cleaned and tested the "shower" (a garden spray bottle with hose and shower head attached).

We expect to spend 4-6 days at Lizard Island before moving on to Flinders Island, Lockhart River (or other anchorage nearby), Possession Island, Wessel Islands and Darwin.  We hope to spend several days in the Wessels.  We're booked in to Tipperary Waters marina in Darwin from 5th August.

The passage past Cape York will be poignant since it is there our lovely boat had her nearly terminal encounter with a reef.  Happily the boat and her crew (Zen) managed to stay afloat and got to Thursday Island where they returned to Cairns on a barge for repairs.  Zen Again is back to try again!

We'll keep posting blogs and position reports so long as HF radio propagation allows.  Photos will have to wait until we reach Darwin.

Yorkeys Knob

We arrived at Yorkeys Knob at 1100 this morning, just after the top of the tide - good timing!  Entry into the marina was very simple with good buoyage and plenty of depth.  The minimum depth we saw was 3.3m with 2.0m tide (ie 1.3m reduced to chart datum).  The marina has good facilities and is costing us only $30 per day - half the cost of Airlie Beach.

Zen Again at Yorkey's Knob

We had a fun sail overnight and this morning.  The breeze died off to practically nothing in the evening so we had to "run the fridge" for three hours.  Then a nice land breeze came in and we had a great sail up the coast, passing inside some small islands to stay out of the shipping lane which was fairly busy.  The radar is great for confirming the islands are where the GPS chartplotter says they are - especially on a moonless, cloudy and drizzly night.

This morning we raced a big ugly rain cloud across the bay from Cape Grafton to Yorkeys Knob.  Happily we won.  The boat was powering along at 7.5 knots beam reaching under full main and No 3 jib in 20-25 knots.  She's a great boat.

We'll be staying here for several days to install a new fridge (portable type like the old) and to do a few other jobs.

Enroute to Yorkeys Knob day 2

Hi everyone,
We had a great sail overnight and today. The wind has stayed SE and gradually decreased to the 10knots we have currently. We have reefs to windward now and so the swell has disappeared. Sailing along quietly under full main and No 3 jib with barely any rolling or pitching.

Sunset

We have Hinchinbrook Island on our port side. It is an amazingly rugged island with very tall hills/mountains. Spectacular. Sorry to be sailing past without stopping but at least we did explore the channel last time (in 2002).

Passing Hinchinbrook Island

Sunrise

The density of yachts has rapidly decreased since leaving the Whitsundays. On our passages up to that point we would often have a yacht in sight. We haven't seen one all day today, although we heard a couple on the radio as we passed Townsville.

Hope all's well where you are!

Enroute towards Yorkeys Knob

After 8 days at Abel Point Marina we finally departed this morning. The stay at Airlie Beach was very pleasant but the week-long strong wind warnings were a bit of a drag. It was great to spend some time with Peter and Paula from Valhalla during our stay. Yesterday was Peter's 60th and a party of seven had dinner to mark the occasion. Getting up this morning was just a little more difficult than on most days. ;)

Departing Airlie Beach

We departed Abel Point around 0900 this morning and have made good time so far, especially considering we're sailing under No 3 jib only. We're doing 5 to 6 knots in 15-20 knots of SE wind (right behind us).  This is our cruisiest sail so far since we've always had the main up throughout previous passages. There's a 2m left-over swell which should die down gradually. Very pleasant sailing nonetheless.

We hope to arrive in Half Moon Bay marina at Yorkeys Knob on Monday sometime.

Airlie Beach continued

We're still at Abel Point marina, "sailing around the pen" as the strong winds continue.  The first couple of days were windy but sunny, but since then it's been both windy and rainy.  Glad we got here when we did!

We've reprovisioned the boat and done a bunch of maintenance jobs.  The to-do list continues to shorten.  Best of all we now have cockpit speakers which will be great on long watches.

Zen Again at Abel Point

Abel Point Marina

Also here at Abel Point are Peter and Paula on Valhalla.  We first met them at Coffs Harbour and it was nice to find them here.

We expect to escape the Whitsundays on Friday and head directly for Yorkies Knob near Cairns.  Should be a passage of two full days, perhaps longer if the wind dies altogether.  Winds are meant to be moderating from Friday but should hold in long enough for us.

One item waiting for us in Cairns will be a new fridge for the boat.  The existing unit is very, very old and still works.  However it draws an extra amp with every month which goes by, so will surely not last much longer.  It will be good to have a fridge we can run without the engine on.

Airlie Beach

Instead of Laguna Quays we're at Abel Point Marina at Airlie Beach.  It turns out Laguna Quay's entrance channel is badly silted and we would only get in on a high tide.  So we pushed on to the Whitsundays proper, arriving at 2pm after a 26 hour passage from Middle Percy Island.

It was an interesting sail with light winds yesterday and strong winds from the early hours of this morning.  'Twas fun zigzagging through the islands south of the Whitsundays in the light airs and exciting doing the same in the Whitsundays islands themselves in the strong winds.

We'll spend a few days here restocking, doing a few minor maintenance jobs and collecting our mail from Laguna Quays.

Photos to follow after we've had some sleep!

Middle Percy Island

This morning we motored across the glassed-out channel between South Percy and Middle Percy Islands. Dead calm. 'Twas only 7nm and we anchored at West Bay at 0920. The water was flat, crystal clear and 23C so we had the first swim of our voyage so far. Fantastic.

Anchor chain and reflections

After lunch we rowed in to the beach to take a look at the famous huts full of memorabilia left by yachts since the 50's (probably earlier). We spent the morning preparing a simple wooden plaque recording Zen Again's visit. Hopefully it will be around for a few years. A yacht crew who have been here for several days opened a coconut and we tasted our first ever coconut "au naturelle". Could be addictive.

West Bay, Middle Percy Island

The original hut

The relatively new A-frame hut (aka "Percy Hilton")

The informative welcome board

A tiny sample of the memorabilia

Vegetation on the island

Winds are expected to return tomorrow, when we expect to head for Laguna Quays overnight, arriving Thursday.

South Percy Island

Today we motored the 45nm from Island Head to South Percy Island. The weather forecast was for light south easterlies, and that's exactly what we had. So we motored along in exactly zero apparent wind. At least the drinks are cold and the batteries are fully charged.

Passing Steep Island enroute to South Percy Island

We anchored just after dark in North West Bay. There's just one other yacht here. It will be interesting to see exactly how close to the beach we are in the morning. Hard to judge at night. We relied on the depth contours, assisted by radar.

North West Bay, South Percy Island

Our two days at Island Head were great. Yesterday we went ashore for a walk along the beach. Lots of trees on the edge of the beach appear to have been undermined and have fallen down recently - presumably during the summer cyclones & floods.

Ashore!

Island Head Creek beach with many dead trees

We got a few jobs done on the boat: connected three fans in the cabin; constructed tackle to hold the boom steady at anchor (rather than using the mainsheet); constructed outboard motor canvas cover; assembled a dinghy anchor; fitted a bridle to the dinghy so we can more easily launch and retrieve it). The sort of little jobs done to make life aboard easier. But mostly it was a relaxing couple of days in a place we visited last time around and really like.

Tomorrow we expect more light winds, so will probably motor over to Middle Percy Island. Winds are supposed to pick up on Wednesday when we hope to head for Laguna Quays. Regardless of the winds, it remains unusually cool. We're nearly at the Whitsundays but are wearing our Musto Snugs still!

Departing Island Head, passing islets inside entrance

Island Head

This morning we motored the ~8nm from Pearl Bay to Island Head. 'Twas a good opportunity to run the fridge, and the last 2nm were passing through the entrance to the creek which is narrow, shallow and tidal.

Approaching Island Head from the south

Although there was only a 10kt wind outside there was 20+ inside as it funnelled down the creek.
The entrance to Island Head is fun since one has to run very close to some rocky islets (only 20m away).  We had about 1.5knots of current behind us and 25knots of wind against us which made it more interesting. The depths were as described by Lucas.

View up the minor creek where we anchored

We anchored in the first offshoot of the main creek on the western side where we were sheltered from the wind blowing down the creek. We anchored in 5.5m in a creek about 500m wide. This afternoon (at low tide) it was less than 200m wide and we were in 3m. Happily we found the deep spot! :)

Sunset view at low tide

We are alone in this anchorage, with one other yacht in sight on the other side of the main creek and one more around the corner in the main creek on this side.

Dugong!

We had a very pleasant day watching the world go by. Sea eagles, egrets, herons, terns, gannets and various unidentified waders. Around sunset we sat in the cockpit and spotted a pair of dugongs swimming up and down our little creek (theirs really!). We managed to get a photo of one of these shy creatures. Mostly they just poke their snouts out of the water to breathe, but the lucky shot shows its whole head and its tail.

We'll be staying here until Monday and will go ashore for a walk tomorrow.

Pearl Bay

Today we had a great sail from Great Keppel Island to Pearl Bay. Departed 0630 and arrived 1500. Logged 51nm through the water and 46 over the ground. A nice SW breeze held in for most of the trip, with just an hour or so at the end "to run the fridge".

Approaching channel to anchorage

We passed the entrance to Port Clinton quite close, then motor-sailed between the mainland and Entrance Island and then Delcomyn Island. A spectacular coastline, and more so close up. From there we went around White Rock (strangely black in colour) and through the pass into Pearl Bay. We had to push against the tide for the last two hours, with up to 2 knots against us. Slight overfalls in places.

Pearl Bay anchorage

Pearl Bay is spectacular. Several sea eagles in residence. Steep rocky shorelines mixed with sandy beaches. The hills are covered in pines and wattle. The wattle is in bloom and the smell is quite something. We're here with seven other yachts but it is very quiet. Leekes Beach had constant sound of surf on the beach, but here it is absolutely silent apart from the occasional calling of the sea eagles or the motor of another yacht arriving.

Sunset at Pearl Bay

Pearl Bay is part of the Shoalwater Bay military area.  During our stay much of the area was closed due to live firing.  Hence the smoky sunset!  The area will be entirely closed throughout July for the Talisman Sabre military exercises.

Tomorrow afternoon we expect to move north to Island Head. It's only a short hop so we will get a lie in for a change!

Pearl Bay

Great Keppel Island

Today we sailed the 30nm from Cape Capricorn to Leekes Beach on Great Keppel Island.  The wind held in all the way, giving us a very nice close reach.  Apart from the cool breeze it was perfect.

Anchored at Leekes Beach, Great Keppel Island

This afternoon we went ashore and had a very pleasant walk along the beach.  At the western end we could see the passage we passed through this morning, and at the eastern end we explored the lagoon.

Passage betweeen GKI and Middle Island
from western end of Leekes Beach at low water springs

The anchorage from the western end of Leekes Beach

Mouth of the lagoon at low water springs

After the walk we repaired aboard to enjoy an Inner Circle rum and coke, a Scotch and soda, and glorious sunset...

Sunset over the mainland from GKI

Tomorrow we intend to sail on to Pearl Bay, a passage of about 45nm.

Hope all's well where you are!  :)

Yellow Patch

We decided to stay another night at Cape Capricorn since the light northerly winds are persisting. At least they are light, and we're not getting the storms and rain being experienced further south. It is certainly unseasonally cool and the SE trades are nowhere to be been.

Motoring up the creek

With another day here we decided to join Peter and Chris from Splash and dinghy in to visit the Yellow Patch. This spectacular sand drift is beside a creek which is quite shallow to enter, so we each took our dinghies. The tide was ebbing fast and it took a while to get in with our little 3.5HP Nissan outboard. It was worth it - the Patch is spectacular. We scrambled to the top and the view, particularly to the north, is fantastic. Serried ranks of islands stretching into the distance. The Patch is an amazing colour, ranging from yellow to orange depending on the light.

On the beach

The trip back to the boat was at nearly low tide and we had a fun time pathfinding our way out of the creek. The round trip consumed a full tank of fuel in our little outboard but gave it good run.

View from the top of Yellow Patch

Tomorrow we expect more light winds, but they may have some south in them. We plan a short passage to Great Keppel Island. Should be fun!

View of creek from top of Patch at (approx) 1 hour before low water springs