Second Place!

There was a blue moon and strong ebbing tide which both helped (counteracting leeway) and hindered (2.5 knots at times) our progress around the shortened course. The rest of the fleet, 44 boats in total, was a long way behind us and stayed there. We finished the race in second position. Jubilation!


Budde is pictured with the fleet well behind us.

Zero on the line

We thought we were close but it wasn’t until we arrived back at the yacht club it was confirmed; zero seconds on the line. Yippee!
The finish was close with some 6 yachts crossing the finish line simultaneously.
Joe, who does the port and starboard winches with me is pictures.

Sailing on Octet: Ekka W.A.G.S

Stricken with flu, the regular crew couldn’t join Octet last Wednesday for W.A.G.S. (Wednesday Afternoon Gentlemen’s Sailing). With over 110 boats in the fleet it promised to be a busy start line but with little wind to fuel the potential chaos it was quite easy. Octet’s skipper, Peter Way, was pleased that we made it across the start line with only an 8 second delay.

An Irish couple, Grace and Kieran, joined the crew for the day and clearly had a great time. They arrived in Australia only 4 weeks ago with the intention of settling here permanently. They were a help on the winches but could not make up for the experience of Guin, Joe and of course Peter Weingott who were greatly missed.
A BBQ was planned at RQYS to finish off the day. A hoard of hungry sailors managed to devour everything other than a small salad and 1 bread roll which Peter Talbot managed to scrounge and delighted in eating in front of us!
Octet finished 51st in the fleet.
Thank you Peter for a great day. Speedy recovery to the sick crew members.

(Moments after this photograph was taken there was collision between two of the participating yachts. This is the tail end of the fleet just near the red channel marker, north east of Green Island).

The Last Word

Four months have flown by since we arrived home. We sailed for the last time on Raven in January. Since then, for one reason and another, we haven’t sailed…nothing. Consequently we took the big decision to sell Raven. To our dismay she sold within 3 days and has now sailed out of our lives to Pittwater in Sydney.

We’ve stayed in touch with many of the people we met during this last cruise. Neville and Gwenda have since sold Chargall. Soya came to grief during a recent storm and we have lost touch with Colin her owner, and Greg (Warrior Bold). We see Lani and Malcolm (Sedona) regularly, correspond frequently with Mary and Peter (Tahaa) and stay in touch with Vicki and Anthony (Grace) and Madeline and John (Soul Provider).

WAGS…A Penultimate Word

I was delighted to accept an invitation to join WAGS (Wednesday Afternoon Gentlemen’s Sailing), crewing on ‘Octet’, a lovely Jeanneau owned by friends Guinny and Peter. It was suppose to blow 15-20 knots and didn’t, although it did get to 15 knots momentarily just before the starting line. Huey threatened rain all afternoon but fortunately the wet weather gear stayed nicely packed away. I was assigned the mainsail. Wow! Forget winching from the foredeck! At the push of a button the main is hoisted, from the cockpit, as fast or slow as you like. Similarly, the main sheet is controlled at the push of a button. Love it to bits! Had a great afternoon.
We move off Raven and home today. Truth is, I am the only moving as Peter went last Saturday, to hospital, with a recurrence of an old problem. He is recovering well and should be ready to go home any day.

Pictured: Octet

Right back where we started….Manly, Queensland.

‘Raven’ is asleep in her berth dreaming that she is a tall ship on the high seas. Peter and I are coming to terms with being home, well almost home. We aren’t due there for a few more days, but Manly feels like home. We’ve met wonderful people, seen and avoided whales, fed dolphins, watched dugong, talked to pelicans, listened to dingoes yowl, visited some magnificent places, had the pants scared off us several times (in truth I did, Peter didn’t), developed cabin fever when stranded for too long by bad weather and enjoyed some brilliant sailing. Already we are thinking about where we might sail next….

http://theseaandme.blogspot.com/

Pictured: Manly Promenade

Canaipa: Farwell to Tahaa

Back in Moreton Bay again, we decided that a few days R&R at the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron property at Canaipa were in order. Happily we were able to intercept Mary and Peter (Tahaa) as they sailed south through Moreton Bay, their destination being Sydney (we had last seen each other at Urangan Boat Harbour). They accepted our invitation to Canaipa where we had the chance to share farewell drinks and few yarns before their departure the next day on the flooding tide towards the Gold Coast.

Addit: since we’ve been back in Moreton Bay we have been delighted by dolphins. We’ve encountered large pods every day.

Stampede Across the Wide Bay Bar

With the prospect of winds from the SE at 10-15 knots for the first time in nearly two weeks, yachts, 19 in all, began to herd at Pelican Bay on Tuesday afternoon in anticipation of crossing the Wide Bay Bar early on Wednesday. Raven and her crew were not there. We stayed in our berth at Tin Can Bay Marina only leaving on Wednesday morning at 0600 hours, 2 hours into the rising tide. With 0.3m under the keel, we cast off and made our way gingerly out of the marina. We stayed close by the trawler jetties, making a decisive turn to port when we reached the Fish Market. Until we cleared Snapper Creek we kept close to the next 3 green markers and kept a reasonable distance away from the final marker, the red. There was plenty of water, never less than 1 m under the keel. An hour later we arrived at the Inskip yellow marker. The incredulous voice of Coast Guard Tin Can Bay’s VHF radio operator kept us informed about the yacht stampede that was in progress ahead of us on the Bar. “You could walk from boat to boat they’re so close,” he marvelled. I radioed ahead to ‘Seaplusplus’, as they had led the charge, for a bar report and was somewhat reassured- foolishly. Our passage against the tide towards the bar was slow and increasingly uncomfortable, especially by the time we reached the aptly named ‘washing machine’. We rolled, pitched, yawed and twisted our way, never exceeding 3 knots over the ground in 20 knots of breeze before making our final turn towards waypoint 1, where to our relief conditions steadied. The only challenge from then on was the very big swell over the shallowest part of the bar and the white water on either side of us, which of course I didn’t dare look at. Later Peter told me that we buried Raven’s ‘beak’ several times as we crossed. Conditions continued to ease as we rounded Double Island Point. We enjoyed a pleasant but long trip to Mooloolaba where we were greeted by Malcolm and Lani (Sedona). In all over 30 boats made the crossing that day.

PS: there are not photographs of our Bar crossing because I would have had to open my eyes to take them.

Settling in for the long haul

Cruising provides a lot of lessons. Our most recent lesson? Given the right wind and sea conditions, make the most of them. Wanting to spend more time in the Great Sandy Straits we chose not to take the northerlies of early last week to cross the Wide Bay Bar and travel south to Mooloolaba. In hindsight this was a mistake. The south easterly winds have set in, so for now so we are staying put in Tin Can Bay. There are worse places. The dolphins look forward to seeing me each morning. The local shops are just far enough away that a walk for provisions can be rewarded with a chocolate Paddle-Pop. Peter has Internet access. The pelicans provide lots of photographic opportunities. There is time to write. With so much time on my hands I have set up a new blog site The Sea and Me which is a bit of a yarn about cruising in Queensland...

http://theseaandme.blogspot.com/

Tin Can Bay (formerly known as Tucan Bay)

A faded sign promoting luxury lifestyle waterfront living in the planned marina development stands on a turfed, but vacant block of land opposite the Tin Can Bay Marina. The development sems to have stalled but the marina has been renovated and extended. It is neither wide nor deep. The amenities block, including the laundry, is new and clean and boasts a shower caddie in each shower cubicle. You will pay $2.20 to do a load of laundry, making it the cheapest we’ve come across. Value such as this brought on an immediate washing frenzy! Our berth is opposite the curiously named restaurant, ‘Codfather Too’, which features lime green interior. Most people sit out on the deck. We became the main entertainment on Sunday after our failed attempt to berth Raven caught the attention of all 8 restaurant patrons. I happily took a bow in acknowledgement of their applause after we were securely berthed, much to the annoyance of the 60-something guitar strumming, paid entertainer with the obligatory grey beard, earring, sailor’s cap and general demeanor of an aged pirate. He just needed the parrot on his shoulder.

Things were off to a good start. It was time to start exploring and of course we made for the Yacht Club with a view to booking for lunch for the Melbourne Cup, especially as the restaurant had already put up a sign ‘closed Tuesday’. The Yacht Club’s sign read ‘closed until Wednesday 5:00pm’.

Leaving Peter to work on Raven I struck off in the general direction of the shops and got lost. Fortunately the helpful locals set me straight. The shopping centre consists of an IGA, a fish shop, a small Mitre 10, a pharmacy (with great advice about managing midge bites), a post office and not much else. Of course there is also a pub, The Sleepy Lagoon, about halfway between the marina and the shops. My purchase made, a carton of VB, and my hands already full with IGA shopping bags one of the hotel staff took pity and drove me back to the marina. Very nice of him.

With nothing left to wash, we waddled off to the hotel, like two fire-engine-red Michelin men decked out in our wet weather gear because Huey had already opened the heavens. This turned out to be the only Melbourne Cup venue in town. It was steamy and busy when we arrived. The local women were dressed in the spirit of Cup Day, many wearing the latest fashion in Cup headwear, the ‘Fascinator’ and they certainly were. As soon as the rain eased we made a dash back to the marina without having placed a bet or eaten lunch and wondered why we went there in the first place.

We might be here a little longer than we had hoped / planned so I am keen (Peter isn’t) to take the ‘Dolphin Cruise’ to Rainbow Beach on the tiny wooden ferry that has been designed along the lines of an Eskimo Pie. It operates from Barnacle Bill’s Jetty after the daily dolphin feeding ritual. If we are here long enough the Yacht Club might eventually open.

PS: Tin Can Bay use to be known as Tucan Bay, Tucan being an old word for Dugong..
Picture: Tin Can Bay Marina

Tin Can Bay: The Pelicans’ Puzzle

As usual Old Mother Pelican arrived at Barnacles Café just before 8:00am but today she had her two youngest pelicans with her and the little black cormorant tagged along. It was time for them to experience one of the great mysteries of the world. She encouraged the youngsters to stand to one side of Wal the Fisherman, near the head of the queue, and watch as he gave a freshly caught herring to each of humans who stood obediently in line.

“What are they doing Mum? It looks yummy” the youngest Pelican whispered.
“Wal is giving the humans fresh fish for Mystique and Patches” she replied in a hushed voice that conveyed both disgust and awe.
“But why Mum?” he asked a little louder.
“Well son, Mystique and Patches and other dolphins from their pod have special powers and can get humans to arrive at this place every day at the same time and give them breakfast” she answered wondering if it had actually been a good idea to bring the youngsters with her.
“You mean those silly old dolphins that live down the end of Snapper Creek can do this?” he said barely able to contain his laughter.
“But how?” ventured the little black cormorant to the magnificent big bird.
“It’s called hypnosis. The dolphins know the art of hypnosis. I’ve tried it on the humans but it doesn’t work. Just watch, maybe I might be lucky this time” and with that said she fixed her yellow-rimmed black-eyed gaze on me as my turn came to reach to head of the queue.

Momentarily I felt compelled to give her my fish but the power of the dolphins was too great. As I waded knee-deep into the water to give Mystique her breakfast I heard the youngest pelican ask “What makes dolphins so special? Why didn’t the humans give us a fish Mum?”

With no fish being offered the three magnificent pelicans and one little black cormorant waddled into the water, floated and then gracefully glided down stream, still puzzled by the antics on the shore.
Photographs:

1) Mystique the dolphin being fed right next to me

2) Pelicans and one little black cormorant look on with envy

The Great Sandy Straits

When someone says to me “Ooh sailing! How loooovely!” I know that in their mind’s eye they are seeing themselves on a little sailing boat, its sails filled with gentle zephyrs, basking in glorious sunshine, with no sound other than the whoosh of the water and the cry of the lonely gull. Well sometimes it happens! Our trip through the Great Sandy Straits was exactly that. The flooding tide carried us at 6 knots from well north of Big Woody Island south to Booker Island. The 10 knot northerly breezes were enough to keep the sails full and each leg required the sails to be re-set or trimmed for a different angle of sail; after all you need a bit of a challenge. We anchored in splendid isolation and watched the lazy dugong as they fed in the sea grass bed not far from us and heard the big turtles as they surfaced for a breath of air.
We had enough water by midday the next day to get through the very shallow Sheridan Flats and headed for good ol’ Garry’s Anchorage where we had a chance to catch up with some sailing folk that we knew who were also anchored there. The midges, which everyone agrees are particularly vicious this year, and the arrival of several houseboats that anchored in close quarters helped make up our minds that 3 days at Garry’s was enough. We left at first light yesterday morning and enjoyed a fast ride, under headsail only, on the ebbing tide down to the Wide Bay Harbour and a brisk sail up the Tin Can Inlet, as the wind had built to N/NW 20-25 knots and was now against the tide, to an anchorage just outside Snapper Creek where we waited for 3 hours in uncomfortable conditions for the flood tide to get us up to Tin Can Bay Marina, where Peter’s skills at boat handling and berthing were put to the test and passed brilliantly.

Pictured:

• 'Mooresca' at Garry's Anchorage
• Peter enjoying the sunset
• Michelle from 'Fantasy'

The Good Ol’ Boys

Peter and Errol, his old mate of more than 40 years, caught up while we were in Hervey Bay. We happily accepted Errol’s offer to show us around town. I should have realized that Peter’s old pal wasn’t likely to take us to see the whale statue, the cast iron miniature of the sailing ship the Ariadne, or the leaping wire dolphin set upon a base of mosaic tiles. A tour of his town was actually a glimpse into investment opportunities that seem to abound in the region. Later in the day we were fed, watered and entertained at Chez Doyle. I was delighted to learn that Errol’s wife Robyn and I share an interest in genealogy.
Pictured: Errol and Robyn

Hervey Bay

On a whim we hurriedly left Bundaberg last Saturday morning and sailed south east towards Urangan Boat Harbour, Hervey Bay. Until that moment we had been toying with the idea of sailing up the Burnett River and anchoring in the heart of Bundaberg, but after hearing about encounters that other yachties had with the Environmental Protection people in this anchorage we decided against it. Besides, it was a great day for a sail, or so we thought until the VHF radio crackled to life in the vicinity of the Fairway Buoy, “Securité! Securité! Severe storm warning for Maryborough, Great Sandy Straits and Hervey Bay.” We were heading directly for a storm, a biggy. Visions of ‘The Perfect Storm’ immediately came to mind. At the time of the announcement the storm was 5kms south of Maryborough, making it about 25-30 kms south of us. The harbour was a good two hours away when the announcement first came over the VHF radio but with the help of our engine we were able to significantly increase our boat speed and begin preparing for the storm: reducing sail, quickly revising navigation skills without the aid of any electronics in case we were hit by lightening, securely stowing potential missiles. Yes, I did put on my life jacket because I had to make several trips to the foredeck to get rid of , and secure, sails in a sea that was already becoming messy. And yes, I did re-pack our ‘grab-bag’ just in case. We were ready for the storm.
Peter said ‘I think that it is going to miss us’ as the heavens miraculously cleared. The Securité was cancelled when we were about 10 minutes out of the harbour. This presented a new challenge. Our course had originally been planned to get us to the harbour entrance an hour into the rising tide but we arrived smack bang on low tide, springs I might add, with 0.01m under our keel as we neared our berth. At least we now know that it is possible to get into Urangan Harbour during just about any tide. Mary and Peter (Tahaa) knew we were coming and took our lines.

Photograph shows the Jetty at Urangan about 1 n/mile before the harbour entrance.

Heading South

“Come an’ get it!” I must have shouted as we anchored just north of The Narrows because word quickly spread to every midge and sandfly in the nearby mangroves that it was tucker time on board Raven. It would seem that I am to these little critters what hot freshly baked bread with butter; pavlova with cream, strawberries and passionfruit; chocolate caramel slice and gelato in any flavour except bubblegum are to me- - - scrumptious. They have nibbled and munched happily on every part of me with the exception of my ear canals and the spaces between my toes which suggests to me that even midges and sandflies are fussy eaters. Right now I am unhappily covered in bites and blisters, including one blister for all the world to see on the very tip of my nose. I've tried unsuccessfully to find relief from anti-histamine tablets, Aristocort cream, SOOV with lignocaine and brandy administered systemically, not topically. I have found momentary relief (bliss) by scrubbing the scratchy part of the Velcro fasteners of my sailing gloves across the bites only to have Peter catch me out and remind me for the hundredth time “Stop scratching!”

Bites and itches aside, the northerly winds have set in once more which meant that we were able to get away from Rosslyn Bay last Monday with the intention of making an early Tuesday morning crossing of The Narrows (which I might point out once again, should be called The Shallows rather than The Narrows because it must be Australia’s shallowest, sometimes navigable, waterway). We were piloting Tahaa through which resulted in me engaging in some rather compulsive checking behaviour of our course before we got underway as I did not want to run both boats aground.

The photograph shows Tahaa passing Ramsey Crossing which is one of the shallowest parts of The Narrows. If you look carefully you will see Mary taking a photograph of Old Man Kangaroo and some of his mates who were basking in the morning sun in the otherwise unoccupied cattle pen as we passed.

PS ever dog that has ever had fleas has my sympathy.

Keppel Bay Marina Part 2

For one reason and another, we missed an opportunity to get away from the Keppel Bay Marina earlier in the week. However we did manage to move from the green row to the blue row which in itself was very exciting as a wind gust blew us away from the pontoon just as we tried to tie off our mooring lines, necessitating the quick of action of 5 sets of hands to secure Raven . By Wednesday night, pretty much on schedule, winds in excess of 35 knots arrived and blew without let up until early this morning.

Too windy to go on a picnic to Emu Park, yesterday we drove back to Rockhampton for some sight seeing and a thrilling visit to two of the local hardware shops in the company of Peter and Mary (Tahaa). With our tummies over-full from the $12 lunch at the Heritage Hotel we drove back to the Marina. Trying to liven things up along the way, but failing to engage my fellow travellers, I happily passed the time playing an amusing little game of Spot-the-Bull and was able to identify 6 fibre glass bulls all reinforcing the airport proclamation, "Rockhampton: Beef Capital of Australia" (see photograph). Perched high above shop awnings and no doubt posing a challenge to those who derive their pleasure from emasculating these bovine statues, I spotted a green and gold ‘value-bull’, an earless brown bull and a blue and white bull, which would be a marvellous mascot if anyone ever considered opening the Rockhampton Little Athens Restaurant. At street level but well hidden amongst the tropical plants of the median strips, I also spotted a Brahmin bull, a Santa Gertrudis bull and of course the previously spotted Droughtmaster bull. I am desirous of hearing from anyone who might be able to expand my spot-the-bull list.

PS: the photograph of the marina was taken by Neville (Chagall)

Keppel Bay Marina

A strong wind warning has been issued since last night’s storm. We watched the Bureau of Meteorology's radar with concern as it approached. It was big, with a front stretching from south of Gladstone to our area, and very threatening (see photograph). We were very concerned for our friends Vicki and Anthony (Grace) who telephoned us from GKI because they were unable to get back to the marina before the storm hit. Fortunately it wasn’t the ferocious storm that we expected. It provided a brilliant light show but little else. I was delighted to find a little green guest had taken refuge on board after the storm (see photograph).

We’ve had the good fortune of being in Keppel Bay Marina with Vicki and Anthony (Grace), Lani and Malcolm (Sedona) and Peter and Mary (Tahaa) but it is likely that we will part company here as we will be heading off into the briny again tomorrow to GKI.

Unplanned trip to Rockhampton

It was a rushed trip to Rockhampton Airport and back yesterday to collect some parts that were meant to be delivered to the marina but didn’t quite make it. Lani took the photograph of me and the Droughtmaster Bull. He resides just near the airport. Some years back I worked on the acquisition of a hospital here in town. My boss at the time, Brendan, always tried to persuade me to bring back a souvenir from the bull (I won't go into a detailed anatomical description). Hope you like the photograph Brendan!

Port Clinton to Rosslyn Bay

We’ve had to keep on the move as Shoalwater Bay is closing once again and becoming a military zone. Civil watercraft will be completely banned for the next two weeks under threat of something dreadful, possibly being bombed. So although we would have liked to have stayed on, we set out early with a forecast of NW/NE 15-20 knots and storms predicted. We had all of our sails hoisted before we left the calm of the anchorage. This turned out to be a mistake as it was blowing 30 knots as soon as we cleared the Port (see photograph of Port Clinton northern anchorage). Strengthened by adrenaline, I had no trouble reefing our sails!

During this leg of our journey I have employed some of the more effective sailing tips and techniques that I have developed over the years. For instance, when Peter says “Look sweetheart, 35 knots” I find it helpful to eat a chocolate, put my fingers in my ears, close my eyes and repeat over and over again “Why me? Why me? Why me?”. The same technique proved helpful as we surfed down a wave and he said “Look sweetheart we’re doing 8.5 knots” . A big sea needs a slightly different approach. Staring at a speck of dirt on the cockpit floor can be effective, again chanting the “why me?” mantra. This time the sea was too big for this to work very well but going below deck, wedging myself against the galley workbench and eating chocolate did help. Caution: practice this with care if you are prone to sea sickness.

Conditions settled after we passed Cape Manifold and from there we enjoyed one of the best sailing days so far this year, averaging a boat speed of 6 knots on a beam reach. All went well until we reached the shoals about 5 n / miles north of the entrance to Rosslyn Bay. Once again I used one of my favourite tips, a hint that I will share with you. While Peter helms I think that it is important that he knows the depth of water. I have found that this is best achieved by reading the from the digital display, increasing the volume of my voice as the depth drops. For instance, “Darling we’re in 6 metres, 5.9, 5.8 dropping, 5.5, 5.4, 5.3 dropping, dropping, 5, 4.5” and so on. I've also found that holding my breath between each reading seems to improve the situation. Try it yourself, if you haven’t already, and see if your helmsperson appreciates it as much as Peter. By the time we reached the harbour entrance I was surpirsed that Peter took over the role of audible depth sounder. When he said “0.2m under the keel” I resumed my favourite mantra!

Percy Islands to Port Clinton

“Righto Raven, give us a yodel when you get there and have a good one” says Bill from Coast Guard Thirsty Sound as he finishes logging our details for today’s trip from White’s Bay, Middle Percy Island (see photograph) to Port Clinton. Bill’s voice is unmistakable, quintessentially Australian and ultimately reassuring. There are many others like Bill; Geoff from VMR East Mackay, Josie from Round Hill, Mike from Rocky Met, Jim from VMR Gladstone, Cyril and David from VKQ 447 in Manly and of course lots of others whose names I am yet to learn who look out for us as we bob along in our little boats.

It was a long, boring day; one of those days when I wished that we had bought a Mustang instead of a sailing boat. The sea state was sloppy, the winds variable and the tide against us for the first 5 hours. We couldn’t keep the sails full so ultimately we gave in and motor sailed. However the northern anchorage at Port Clinton was lovely and surprisingly large. We shared sundowners with the Malcolm and Lani (Sedona) and Mary and Peter (Tahaa) on board Raven.

Middle Percy Island

A little snake lives at West Bay, Middle Percy Island, in a beach shack known as the ‘Percy Hilton’ (see photograph). He is a little more than a metre long with a slim brown body that suggests that it is a while since he has enjoyed a lizard or a delicious little mouse. You won’t hear him as he slides among the mementoes left by a thousand visiting yachties. You might not even see him as watches and waits for a pretty girl snake to bring some love into his otherwise solitary life or unsuspecting prey to take shelter in the cool gloom of the shack.

Peter Lee (Tahaa) was the first of our band of adventurers to see the snake resting on a log set immediately under the old wooden table where only moments before I had been writing in the guest book. At first I thought he was a toy snake; the kind that festoons the Weingott’s Wilpareena II in an attempt to frighten away little nesting swallows. Clearly though he was very much alive as he cast his fine head from side to side, blinked his eye, and then slipped noiselessly away across the sandy floor to a safer place. We also made a hasty retreat but not before Peter added a token of our visit to the vast array of bric-a-brac in the shack (see photograph).

Under the shade of a palm tree , safely out of range of falling coconuts, we felt the fine sand between out toes, gazed at the clear blue water and contemplated what we would have done 60 n/miles from the mainland if one of us had been bitten.

Starting Over

The Big Bizz is well again so we have resumed our journey. After an early morning flight from Brisbane last Saturday we were greeted at Mackay Airport by John and Madeline (Soul Provider). With their help we quickly re-provisioned and then set out as guests on Soul Provider for an afternoon race followed by a delicious dinner cooked by Madeline (thanks once again folks).

Our first night at anchor was Digby Island, 45 n / miles south east of Mackay. We ‘hobby-horsed’ all night but this was infinitely better than the often encountered side to side roll. We set out for the Percy Islands early the next morning with Tahaa as company.

Down to Bizz-ness

We have been home since Tuesday. Jean took the photograph as soon as we arrived. Bizzie was very pleased to get home and is enjoying all the attention that he is getting from family and friends. It is a little strange for us adpating to being in our house and quite a disruption to Nicole and Hassan's plans. However we are all thrilled that the Big Biz is making a steady recovery. Our plans need to be fluid but include a return to Mackay in about 3-4 weeks to resume cruising.

Unplanned Bizz-ness

Last week our much loved weimerarner, the Big Bizz, developed life threatening ‘bloat’ (and gastric torsion) and underwent late night emergency surgery at the U of Q veterinary hospital. Although at first it seemed unlikely that he would survive he is recovering quite well (wants to eat a little, waggles his tail etc). Consequently we have changed our plans so that we can get home to look after him after he comes out of hospital. We escaped Bowen as soon as we could which was last Friday and overnighted at Cape Gloucester. Saturday we belted into a S/SE wind blowing at 15-20 knots and had wind against tide for 4 hours of the trip before the turn. Most uncomfortable but it got us down to Shaw Island. The wind on Sunday was still ‘on the nose’ but only blowing from the south no more than about 10 knots so we covered the last 40 nautical miles to MacKay quite comfortably although without a depth instrument as it had ‘died’ overnight. Our plan at this time is to leave “Raven” at the Mackay Marina for a month, and all being well resume our trip when Bizzie is back on his paws again.

Let me add an enormous thanks to Nicole and Hassan because without their quick action, late at night and in the rain, Big Bizz would have died.

Blowin’ in Bowen

What a curious town is Bowen! Let me give one or two examples. The mother and daughter who wait on tables and serve behind the bar of the yacht club by day, by night become the entertainers; and they belt out a big performance. By the time they begin, the yacht club is full to capacity with patrons keen to dance the night away (and / or win the seafood raffle) and right in the middle of the dance floor is the middle aged club manager. She casts aside her serious day time persona and is transformed into a rap dancer who could match it with the best that any New York ghetto has to offer (possibly a slight exaggeration!).

Something mysterious happens to yachties as well. They arrive in Bowen with the intention of staying a day or two to take on fresh water and re-provision before continuing their cruise. But many never really leave, ever. They buy houses or businesses (by the way, a small marina / fish shop that is for sale has caught my eye) while others make this their cruising base and return each year to explore the waters of Edgecombe Bay. Others get stuck here, just as we are stuck. It’s 18 days since we arrived and we can’t leave. The wind shows no sign of abating, blowing a steady 25-30 knots from the SE all day and all night long. Eerie isn’t it?

In fact, we’ve been here so long that the locals nod and say ‘howareya’ in a familiar way as we stroll around the town each day. Tourists ask us for directions. What’s more, we know how to help them! I’ve taken to buying the local daily paper, The Bowen Independent, and find that I am becoming passionate, and have opinions, about local issues such as global warming as it relates to the late flowering of the mango trees, the size of the tomato crop, council mergers and rights and wrongs of further develoment in Horsehoe Bay!

PS: The Bowen locals hosted a Variety Club Bash at the yacht club last Friday. Naturally we were a part of the mob of 500 that attended. It was Bowen’s biggest function, ever. The picture featured is a mixture of yachties and ‘bashers’. Can you pick which are which?

PSS: Thought that you might like to see the harbour view from the cockpit of “Raven”.

Bowen to Collinsville

I had never heard of Collinsville until we arrived in Bowen. Peter tells me that this is because I am a Mexican who didn’t have the good fortune to go to school in sunny Queensland. So it was off to Collinsville yesterday, in the company of Gwenda and Neville (Chagall), in search of history. We passed an emu and endless tomato farms being stripped of their crop by young backpackers before arriving in Collinsville, only to have our request for a tour of the coal mine denied. The alternative was to visit the Miners’ Club for the “Coalface Experience”, an audio / visual museum. In the strife torn days of the coal miner strikes in Collinsville the townsfolk would tolerate any aberration in its people except conservative politics! Collinsville was worth the visit.

Back in Bowen we lunched at the old Grand View Pub which at one time had been the Officer’s Mess for the Catalina Squadron that was based in Bowen during WWII. The good folk of Bowen are proud of their history and highlight it at every opportunity. There are at least 24 murals in town (see photograph), any number of informative plaques explaining the historical significance of otherwise ordinary places, which is how we knew that we were eating in the Officers’ Mess, something termed “interpretative centres”, which as yet we haven’t figured out, and of course museums and memorials such as the Catalina and Coral Sea Memorial that we also visited yesterday.
Meanwhile Peter has developed “cabin fever” as we wait out the strong winds.

Townsville

It was a flying visit but we got there because our friend John developed some ‘ticker trouble’ and as a consequence earned himself a trip, courtesy of the Flying Doctor, to Townsville and an unplanned admission to the Mater Private Hospital.
Great city. Terrible Yacht Club.

Bowen (a.k.a. Bowenwood…see picture!!!)

First impressions of Bowen were bad. Entry to the harbour is narrow, shallow and somewhat confusing as much of the waterway has been given over to pile moorings ($8/night). We were forced to drive around in circles as no one was at the Yacht Club to allocate the berth that we had pre-arranged for our 1030am arrival. At this stage things were rapidly going downhill on Raven however the threatened mutiny was averted through the intervention of some of the locals, who as it turns out are a very helpful lot. In no time we were tied up at the marina of the North Queensland Cruising Yacht Club (NQCYC) with only 43 paces separating ‘Raven’ from the entrance to the club (which, by the way, serves a twice daily $9.95 special for lunch and dinner, and thus far has always been nothing less than DELICIOUS). The berth is $23/night for a week. There is live entertainment twice each week; great if your musical inclinations lean towards country and western. A new, small, private marina has recently been opened as well. They charge $1/ foot / night and have all amenities and are nicely situated next door to the retail fish outlets and opposite the NQCYC..

We’ve decided to stay for at least a week and have had a goodly amount of time to explore the stunning local beaches which must be a real investment opportunity (shame about the clobbering some of us have taken on the stock market). Although too early for mangoes, it is tomato picking season in Bowen and consequently they are very cheap ($1 /kilo at roadside barns). Seen from the Reservoir Lookout, the farms extend for miles in every direction from Bowen.

The townsfolk of Bowen are still on a high as a consequence of the filming of “Australia”. It is the main topic of conversation in town and all reports are that the cast and crew were nice people, notably Hugh Jackman and his family. Many of the locals scored roles as extras in the movie.

Cape Gloucester

We stayed on a mooring buoy at Cape Gloucester Eco-Resort for an entire week and are keen to go back and do it again! Great value at $10/night ($20/night or $70/week) for the use of all facilities (showers, pool, laundry, fresh water and some supplies). Nice restaurant. Live entertainment for Sunday lunch. Magnificent outlook. Definitely our favourite place thus far, made all the better by the arrival of “Chagall” and “Tahaa”, not to mention, fresh fish caught just on sunset by Peter each night. Monte’s Resort is a short walk down the beach. It too is very picturesque and unchanged since the mid 70s when it was built. All in all a nice change to the frenetic pace of Airlie Beach.

(photograph left to right: Neville (Chagall), Peter, Peter (Tahaa)

Airlie beach...Party on Raven

The crews of "Soya" (Colin), "Warrior Bold (Greg), "Tahaa" (Mary, Peter and Anita), "Chagall" (Gwenda and Neville) gathered on board "Raven" for sundowners. All of us orignally met in Bundaberg at the much-mentioned yachties (free) lunch. This is the first time since then that we have been together. From here we will go our various ways but I am sure that we will meet again as we cruise. I hope so. Featured in this photograph are Colin and Mary.

Airlie Continued: A Detour to Cape Gloucester Eco-Resort

What a find! Cape Gloucester Eco-Resort has captivated us all. It all started with an invitation from Neville and Gwenda to drive with them to Dingo Beach (no kidding….it really exists…very picturesque as well as you can probably make out from the photograph). Hideaway Bay was our next stop and by chance we found ourselves on a dirt road heading towards Monte’s Resort at Cape Gloucester. Time has stood still at Monte’s and it is lovely in an old beach shack / fishing village way. Another kilometre down the road we found the Eco-Resort. You can pick up a mooring buoy for $20 / night use all the facilities the resort has to offer. We stayed for lunch and have decided to take the boat around there mid week.

Airlie Beach (thus far)

Meet some of the people that we have met along the way. Greg is on the left. His yacht is “Warrior Bold”. Gwenda and Neville are in the centre. Their yacht is “Chargall” (shown below "Mackay to Port Newry"). Does it need to be written that I am on the left?We met for the first time at Bundaberg Port Marina, specifically at the yachties’ (free) lunch and have been in touch from time to time along the way.
As to Airlie, it is very busy, packed with back-packers and other tourists.

The Whitsunday Islands

Although Port Newry was lovely we decided to push on to Burning Bay, Shaw Island after just one night because we were in search of fish. Shaw island was stunning! Three other boats were anchored there for the night but we were well away from them. Not much to report in the way of fish except for one small pretty fish which we returned to the briny. Not so the dolphins. Six or seven adults and several young dolphins were enjoying their breakfast, a school of small silver fish, just near us. The adults fished while the young ones fished sometimes but mostly played in the shallows; a confusion of tails, flippers, bellyflops, side flops and smiling grey and white faces.

From Shaw Island we sailed, assisted by a strong ebb tide, to Cid Harbour for a night and then on to Nara Inlet, Hook Island. It was as lovely as we remembered it (click on photograph to see an enlargement). Meet Cocky de Nara! He is one of a large flock of cockatoos who live in the trees around the inlet. These cockatoos are raucous, seemingly aggressive towards each other and thoroughly magnificent. Although not exactly tame, they enjoy visiting boats and chewing on lines, sheets, wind instruments etc.

Mackay to Port Newry

We left Mackay in bright sunshine last Saturday but lost our horizon about an hour later when we ran into a thick blanket of sea fog. It gave me the opportunity that I had been looking for to use my new silver foghorn, a gift from Peter. He regretted the gift when I gave one blast on it every two minutes while we were enveloped in fog! This photograph features Gwenda and Neville, in fog, aboard “Chargall”. They were travelling to Goldsmith Island on the same morning that we were going to Port Newry. We originally met in Bundaberg and came across each other again in Mackay (and again in Airlie).

Mackay

In the week since we berthed at Mackay Marina, it has been blowing around 25-30 knots and looks set to continue for another day or so, except it is also going to rain. We’ve had the chance to catch up with friends, John and Madeline (“Soul Provider”) and their amazing menagerie (Ricky, Digby and Gypsy) and several of their friends and crew (Chris, Anne, Tanya and Steve). For those of you who know John and Madeline they are now very much a part of the local sailing / racing scene in MacKay. We’ve also spent with fellow cruisers Neville and Gwenda (“Chagall”).

The marina comes alive at weekends and as Mackay is hosting an 8-day arts festival, last weekend was no different. We enjoyed lunch at The Clarion*, the new international hotel located at the marina and were entertained by any number of jazz, rock and calypso bands performing along the foreshore and at the Yacht Club as well as the ‘odd’ wandering minstrel (note the photograph of the Johnny Depp impersonator). Our next destination is Port Newry and a lazy sail around some of the Whitsunday islands and bays that are less popular (with charter yachts)
*note how I am dressed for the tropics!

Did I mention the whales? Lots of them near Curlew Island en route to Mackay. Whale tails everywhere! As much as I fear them, I was still pretty impressed by their spectacle.

Crocodiles in Mackay

Having a great time in Mackay, made all the better by sharing it with our friends Madeline and John who moved here from Manly not so long ago. I was shocked to learn that there are lots of crocodiles in these waters with warning signs at various waterways. After the recent floods, two crocodiles were seen sunning themselves on the beach outside the Yacht Club. Last trip I took this photograph of Peter and Glen enjoying the warm estuarine waters of Mackay. It turns out to be the home to crocodiles. And we were joking about it at the time!

The Duke Islands

Port Clinton was our next anchorage. Along with some 6 other yachts we were underway at sunrise, our particular destination being Marble Island, one of the Duke Group. In accordance with the ‘notice to mariners’ and the regular ‘securités’ I set our course to the Dukes outside the military zone. I was surprised, dare I say even shocked, to see that every other yacht completely ignored these regulations and cut straight through Pearl Bay! Marble Island was a comfortable but small anchorage. As you can see, the sunset was amazing. Because we wanted to reach MacKay the next day before sunset we planned on being up at 3:00am. I developed an attack of the terrors as we were about to leave because the night was inky black…no moon, no stars, a heavy cloud cover and no visible landmarks. Usually I helm until we are underway but this time Peter, who is offended that I consider his night vision to be not much better than mine, helmed. He was briefly disorientated as we got underway, but with the help of our new chart plotter was able to re-group quite quickly and we were soon looking forward to night becoming day.

Black Moon at Great Keppel Island

We love the Keppels! Leeks Bay at Great Keppel Island (GKI) was idyllic; picturesque and comfortable. We walked the sunny beaches, explored little creeks and fished …only one toadfish showed any interest in our line. An unfortunate small blue and red sea snake washed ashore with the overnight spring tide. At first I thought it dead then I saw its scared eyes watching me. The tide from the black moon due the next night should have been high enough to return it to its watery home.