Coffs Harbour to Home

A very overdue post on our last leg home.....

After our "eventful" trip from Southport, we were grateful for a relaxing break at Coffs Harbour. A few days we were kindly joined by Able Crewman "Dangerous Cargo" for our last leg home. We left Saturday (in August) morning for the trip south.

Apart from a very cold night, we mostly motored due to lack of wind. We made great time and by early morning we had to slow down to co-incide with the favourable tide across Swansea bar.

On passing off Stockton Beach, we celebrated with a breakfast of bacon (locally smoked in Belligen) and eggs (free range from The Pinnacles) and were joined by whales, dolphins and (of all things) seals. The sea was teaming with wildlife. Yippee!

We had an easy bar crossing, timed nicely with the opening of Swansea bridge. Then the passage through Swansea channel and the obligatory "touch" just before the drop over, taken mush more calmly by the crew than in the past. After entering the Lake a comment was made that the Lake appeared "small" by comparison to the ocean. And it did but comfortingly so...

It was lovely to be home but we enjoyed the wonderful challenge of finally fulfilling a life plan. Thank you to all our friends and family who helped and supported us during this trip. A special thanks to Able Crewman Bosma who saved the sanity of the navigator by joining us on the last leg home.

Stay tuned for our next sailing trip...yes...we're planning it already...Europe anyone?

Southport to Coffs

Ok - this leg was not the best time we've had on this trip. After a terrific few days in Southport, including side trips Kingscliff, Byron Bay (great), Mt Tamborine (underwhelming) and a Sea World visit (terrific) , we headed out through the Gold Coast Seaway. Having checked the weather obsessively prior to leaving, everything looked in our favour ie. winds and seas dropping.

Sea World

Sea World - how great are dolphins?

Well, the seas didn't drop and after a really uncomfortable day heading into a southerly wind and swell, we headed into our night sail. Around midnight and off Yamba a squall came up with winds around 25kts. It was pitch black and raining. We sat in this for 3 - 4 hours despite our best efforts to move out of the squall using the radar. It was freezing. We had blankets and doonas on deck which were now all wet. So any exhausted sleep had to be found on wet pillows, cushions and under wet doonas. What fun!

We briefly discussed turning back and heading into Yamba but with the bad weather heading into an unfamiliar river was not the safest option. So we kept going and I counted down the hours until daylight. Sunrise found us wet and cold off the Solitary Islands north of Coffs Harbour. Under good conditions  this part of the trip would usually take 2 hours to arrive in Coffs Harbour. Our trip took 6 hours. The good news was we did eventually arrive - hooray!

Coffs Harbour from Mutton Bird Island

Islands of Coffs Harbour from Mutton Bird Island

What's in a name...

Choosing the name for our yacht seem to take forever and with some negotiation required. We didn't want....

• a combination of our names (al la grey nomads) eg Suelott or Scottlen. We've seen plenty...
• a "clever" play on words such as "Profit of Boom" - yes that's been suggested for another boat back in the day
• a name that seems reserved for power boats or racers eg. Assassin, Renegade or our favourite to date Naughty Boy (overhead on a radio call) - "Marine Rescue, this is Naughty Boy, Naughty Boy, Naughty Boy - Naughty Boy, Naughty Boy, Naughty Boy this is Marine Rescue" did sound funny at the time. 

So we chose a Tibetan Buddhist word, samaya, following a trip to Bali. It has several meanings, one relates to the bond or teachings between guru and disciple, and the realisation of enlightenment but my favourite is the more poetic "living in the heart".

  Southport

For practical purposes, we thought it would be an easy radio call sign and even easier phonetically - sierra, alpha, mike, alpha, yankee, alpha. Simple right?

Well, no. All along the coast the Marine Radio operators (bless their hearts, they do an absolutely brilliant job) have had trouble. We often get "The Mayor", Maya, recently we had "Sami-aya" but mostly we get asked to spell it. Waiting to hear more versions...always good for a smile.

A whale of a day

3,000 Humpback whales migrate between Antarctica and the Great Barrier Reef at this time of year. On the way to the Whitsunday's we were lucky enough to see a breaching whale (one of the early starters). Sailing from Mooloolaba last week, we spotted a blow in the distance during the day. Then nothing until sunset when we saw 2 pods of about 4 whales (with calves) travelling north about 100 meters away.

We figured we were lucky enough to see those and started getting organised for the night sail, when out of no where an adult whale surfaced next to the yacht in the dark. Amazing and scary at the same time as we guessed that he/she may have crossed in front of the boat without us being aware of it.

These sightings were around North Stradbroke Island where they travel closest to the coast.

We then put a call into the Dept of Sustainability, Environment, Water etc and suggested they organise the whales with navigation lights as they were a shipping hazard. Good grief two more night sails to go, let's hope we don't bump into anything.

Dolphins of Tin Can Bay

An unexpected extra couple of days in the Great Sandy Straits (due to weather) gave us time to visit and hand feed the dolphins in Tin Can Bay. These are wild Indo-Pacific Humpback dolphins who visit a jetty in Snapper Creek to be hand fed most days (when it suits them I guess). Usually it's one or two. A 20 year old male dolphin called Mystique and a younger female, Harmony. Mystique learn this behaviour of visiting and getting fed from his mother, Scarry. It started in the 1950's when "Old Scarry" beached himself when injured and was then cared for by the locals. He was then followed by Scarry who hasn't been seen since 2004.

We climbed in the dingy in the cold, early hours of the morning to head over to the jetty. Shortly after we arrived, a bow wave in the water singled the arrival of the dolphins around 7am. They patiently waited in the shallow water until 8am to be hand fed by visitors like us. It was a great privilege to be so close and to be able to hand feed these amazing animals.

A few interesting facts on the Indo-Pacific Humpback dolphin:-

• they are classified as rare
• the get their name from their elongated dorsal fin and humped back appearance from accumulated fat deposits as they age (some of us can relate, you know who you are)
• they grow to a length of just under 3 meters and will live for about 40 years
• they eat about 30kg a day and are only fed 3kg at the jetty (equivalent to an early morning snack)
• they are covered in scars, teeth marks from other dolphins and shark attacks. 
• you can read more here.

This a lovely low key activity in an unspoiled area which is under threat from significant proposed marina development. The area is home to the dugong, Indo-Pacific Humpback dolphins, 5 species of marine turtles and significant bird life. The proposed development will put pressure on the environment and wildlife. If you're interested in supporting the local campaign to address this, you 

can do so at http://marina.tincanbaydolphins.com.au/marina.html or click here.

The Great Sandy Straits - Fraser Island

Between the mainland and Fraser Island lies the Great Sandy Straits. It's a smooth, relatively shallow waterway that's a popular spot for fishing, house boats and yachts heading north (or south). It's very pretty but requires a little navigation through the channels especially for deep keeled yachts like us. So using the high tide becomes important for crossing the shallowest part of the Straits and exiting Wide Bay Bar.

Heading south, the Straits are entered from Hervey Bay and the first night's anchorage is usually off Kingfisher Resort, as it was for us.

Anchorage north of Kingfisher Resort

The second nights anchorage is at the popular, snug and shallow Garry's Anchorage.  Choosing the right spot so we had water under the keel at low tide was important - we ended up have 25cm! At least we were floating - happy days. Getting out through the channel "bar" the next morning was interesting - some minor keel dredging was required.

Garry's Anchorage

We were delayed heading out of Wide Bay Bar (the "Mad Mile") due to a high wind warning, that gave us a chance to visit Tin Can Inlet and also hand feed the dolphins at Tin Can Bay (more about that later).

Tin Can Inlet near Snapper Creek

Hand feeding the IndoPacific Humpback Dolphins

Anniversary at Alain's

We celebrated our second wedding anniversary at Airlie Beach. The challenge was finding a great place to have dinner in backpacker city but we did! A wonderful little restaurant called Alain's by the beach about 30 minutes walk from the Marina. An unassuming French restaurant you'd almost miss if you were walking by.

Oooo which entree do I eat first

Chef and his dessert specialities

Alain's specialises in a 6 course menu cooked with loving care by Alain himself. The restaurant only seats around 25 people so dining there is a very personal experience. Alain's background includes being a pastry chef and his brioche at the beginning of the meal was to die for. The whole restaurant is full of personally collected items from the wine decanters to the 1920's Citroen in the dining room (which doubles as a  wedding car). Good food and great fun - we left at around midnight. Highly recommended if you're ever in the area.

The Citroen

Alain and Scott

Bunkered down in Pancake Creek

Since last Thursday or Friday (I forget), we've been in Pancake Creek, hiding from the 25-30kt southerlies and 3m seas. There are about 15 boats taking protection in here just now following wind warnings from the bureau.

Where's Pancake Creek, I hear you say? It's 30 miles ESE of Gladstone and 60 miles north of Bundaberg  under the lee of Bustard Head-Clews Point headland.

There is an inner and an outer anchorage. The outer one is easy to access, not as protected and seems alarmingly close to a breaking shoal in low tide. The inner one, where we are now, has to be accessed (by deep keelers like us) at higher tides, but is more protected. Both are subject to strong tidal streaming which can get a bit strange in high winds especially when you are pointing on the tide but sailing on the wind from behind on the anchor chain! Exposed sand banks are only 20-30m away on either side at low tide.

Samaya and near by sandbanks (low tide)

Oh, to help us feel secure at night, I set up an anchor alarm in case we drifted, only to sleep through it when it went off at 3am! As it turned out, we weren't drifting but we had moved around quite a bit. Fine tuning in anchor alarm setting required.

All in all it's a pretty place to be and we're trying not to climb the walls - reading, baking, blogging, net surfing, eating, napping and doing $2 puzzles from the Yeppoon Op shop. Haven't been to shore yet as we're reluctant to leave the boat in these strong winds and tides. Looks like we'll be here until Friday or Saturday before heading to Fraser Island and the Great Sandy Straits.

Sand sailing cart?

Cape Capricorn

A good day today for a number of reasons....
- we didn't leave at the crack to dawn (yippee)
- we left the marina calmly and under control (almost looked like we knew what we were doing)
- the weather was gorgeous
- the sea was calm
- we had bottled nosed dolphins riding the bow (albeit briefly)
- and we only travelled for 4 hours instead of the usually 8!

So we were well and truly anchored for lunch and had time to enjoy the anchorage at Cape Capricorn. Cape Capricorn is on the Tropic of Capricorn, so when we leave here tomorrow we leave the Tropics :(
There is a lighthouse on the Cape which is now unmanned and the old lighthouse keeper houses are now rented out for holidays. It's a lovely spot with amazing sand drifts on the hills.

View from the Cape Capricorn anchorage

Heading south

Since my last post we're now several nautical miles south of Airlie Beach. We officially left the Whitsundays at Scawfell Island early last week. After Airlie Beach we headed to the Thomas Island, Scawfell Island, Percy Isles (anchoring at Blunt Bay - fantastic spot and the only anchorage we've had to ourselves), Pearl Bay (a couple of beautiful days there) and now Yeppoon (Keppel Bay Marina).

Pearl Bay

Safely reverse parked by yours truly in Keppel Bay Marina

One of the Yeppoon locals in their car

As we're heading into the wind, the early parts of the day have been tough with wind against tide so we're trying to make each leg a manageable distance. Right now, we expect to be back home in early August.

It's been surprising cold - isn't this suppose to be Queensland?? Doonas at night and thermals while we're underway. What the....

Cid Harbour

It's the largest anchorages in the Whitsundays, only a few nautical miles north of Hamilton Island and one of the closest anchorages across Whitsunday Passage from Airlie Beach.  Coupled with fact that it's secure and very pretty it's no wonder that it's a popular overnight anchorage for many yachts, including ourselves.

Cid Harbour was used by the Australian and allied navies as an anchorage during World War II. It has 2 beaches, Sawmill and Dugong plus two great bush walks. One to Dugong inlet and the other one to Whitsunday Peak, 2.5km straight up but well worth the effort. And yes, there are Dugongs here which is a big treat to see.

Woodwark Bay

We're anchored in Woodwark Bay, 7nm north of Airlie Beach and I think you may have to get us out of here with a shoehorn. For such short distance from Abel Point Marina, there's hardly anyone here, mostly longer term cruisers rather than speedy bare boat charterers. And it's peaceful and lovely.

We have local dolphins cruising around the boat and even 50m off the dingy when we went ashore yesterday. Tried our luck fishing (not for dolphins)...no luck...yet...

At the end of the bay, there are some houses which apparently use to be a set for a series called "Tales of the South Seas"  in the 1996/97 but which has now been turned into luxury accommodation. It can be yours for $4400 a night for a couple.

We think we'll move tomorrow...maybe....

Hill Inlet and Whitehaven Beach

Possibly the most famous location in the Whitsundays and for good reason - it's spectacular! We anchored in nearby Tongue Bay thinking it would be a quiet anchorage before heading to the beach the following day. Not so, I think every backpacker dive/sightseeing boat was anchored there when we arrived and then when the day trippers left, the overnight backpacker dive boats arrived and they were huge.

Having said that it was a nice anchorage and a convenient place to stop to head to the look out or to the beach. I really think the  view to Hill Inlet is hard to beat.

Scott even had to perform a "rescue" from one of the backpacker tenders had a motor failure. But it was so windy and with only 3.3hp on our outboard trying to tow a bigger heavy tender, they couldn't get too far and other help was called for.

Distance travelled recap

Ok we now have reliable internet for a few days so I'll be able to get to updated .....first lets go to the statistics.....

Distance travelled from Lake Macquarie to Hamilton Island: 955nm
Number of crew: 2 until Coffs Harbour. "Dangerous Cargo" taken on board in Coffs - 3 crew
Number of days sailing/motoring: 15
Number of Port/Anchorages: 12
Average swell: 2m
Average winds: North 10kts
Days in safe anchorages due to high winds (>30kts SE): 4
Number of overnight passages: 3
Watch times: 2-3 hrs each
Heavy weather passages: 3
Whales: 1 (4 breaches)
Extreme dolphin session off the bow: 2
Seasnakes: 1 BIG snake on it's way to Hayman Island
Turtles: many
Fish caught: Will leave this stat to the crew
Buzz by Coast Watch Patrols: 1
Bar crossings: 3
Number of tankers: 25
Best investments: New chartplotter at helm, radar at night and in storms, AIS for tanker alerts
Mishaps: 1 failed battery at Coffs Harbour
Favorite places: Great Sandy Straits (otherwise known as "the back passage"), Scawfell Bay, Pancake Creek Bay, South Percy Island
Amount of beers, wine and food consumed: heaps!
Scrabble score: 2 games all (decider pending)

Samaya has exceeded our expectations for comfort, performance and safety.

Detailed trip record (nm).
Swansea to Broughton Island 36.3nm
Broughton Island to Coffs Harbour (1 overnight passage) 153nm
Coffs Harbour to Mooloolaba (2 overnight passages) 238nm
Mooloolaba to Tin Can Bay (Fraser Is) 60.5nm
Tin Can Bay (Fraser Is) through the Great Sandy Strait to Moon Island 40nm
Moon Island to Pancake Creek Bay (leaving anchor at midnight) 102nm
Pancake Creek Bay to Rossyln Bay (Yeppoon) 73.4nm
Rossyln Bay (Yeppoon) to Pearl Bay 47.1nm
Pearl Bay to Percy Island (South) 50.5nm
Percy Island (South) to Scawfell island 69.6nm
Scawfell island to Butterfly Bay (Whitsunday Island) 62.0nm
Butterfly Bay to Hamilton Island 22.8nm

Butterfly Bay to Hamilton Island - Mission Accomplished!

 One of the shortest legs of the trip so far, at 22nm. For the first time in 3 weeks we were able to have a leisurely cruise towards our lunch stop of Cid Harbour (north of Hamilton Island) before heading towards the Marina berth in amongst the super yachts.

Here's to our able crew "Dangerous Cargo"

samaya and friend

samaya next to the salubrious Yacht Club

Scawfell Island to Butterfly Bay

As we were well and truly among the Whitsunday Islands, we were able to travel past many of the islands towards Butterfly Bay on the north of hook island for a well deserved rest stop before heading to Hamilton Island.

In the early evening we we treated to a visit of (what we think) was a batfish, the size of a dinner plate which cruised around beneath the boat.

yes - it's a fish

The next day we spent doing what you do in the islands....reading, swimming and snorkelling.

South Percy to Scawfell Island

Another long day's overall uneventful motorsailing highlighted by another dolphin visit on the bow of the boat. We think these were Common Dolphins which were smaller than the Bottlenose Dolphins we had seen a few days earlier. Delightful as always.

Scawfell was voted the best anchorage so far by skipper and crew despite the cruising guide only listing it as a "stop off" anchorage. It seems to be a favourite anchorage for commercial and recreational fishers. We arrived late in the afternoon so another visit here is on the agenda.

Pearl Bay to South Percy Island

A full day of motorsailing to reach South Percy Island. The weather was improving slowly with the swell subsiding. The highlight of today's passage was being buzzed by a coastal patrol plane and being asked to identified ourselves and the last port and next planned port.

Coastal Patrol (wb)

South Percy turned out to be a pleasant surprise. The cruising guides only mention it as a stop off on the way north but it was another pretty anchorage and well worth a return visit.

South Percy Island (wb)