Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Whitsunday Holidays
Thursday 24 April
Some steady motoring got us through Fitzalan and Solway Passages to Whitehaven. We are still not used to how close all those things are. Just five hours from Airlie to the other end of the Whitsundays!
The first thing we noticed were the turtles. There seemed to be lots of them, all trying to find out who exactly was in that red boat. The beach itself was quite nice, although I thought the sand at Lake McKenzie on Fraser is even whiter. The weather was not favourable for sailing, but we rested comfortably at anchor. The forecast for the next few days is for North-Easterlies at two knots, gusting to three. This enables us to stay in exposed anchorages without any worries.
Friday 25 April
The Admiral’s birthday, and the fine weather was quite appropriate for the occasion. We were also out of telephone and internet range. All those phone calls and emails have to wait until the weekend brings us closer to civilisation.
After a short beach walk, we continued on to Border Island for snorkelling. Fortunately we were able to grab one of the reef protection moorings. We have our wetsuits for stinger protection, and also for warmth. After all, the water only has 25 degrees.
Then the first mishap occurred: The Admiral lost her footing on entering the dinghy, slipped, and as she held on to the lifeline, hurt her shoulder. This took her out of action for the day. Not nice!
The second mishap was that our fridge felt a certain lack of gas, and decided to run continuously in a vain attempt to maintain the required temperature. Fortunately the bottle of bubbly was cold enough to make the celebration memorable. By that time we had reached a mooring at Manta Ray Bay, at the top of Hook Island. The fish were plentiful and enjoyed our bread, among them a rather large Maori Wrasse. The calm conditions enabled us to stay the night at the mooring.
Cooking that night was also interesting, me being the Admiral’s right hand. Nothing new really, but I learnt a lot that night. Maybe one day I can also create such a lovely dinner.
Saturday 26 April
There was still a lot of snorkelling to be done. The Admiral was restricted to fish feeding duty from the cockpit; her right wing was not yet good enough. I hope I’ll manage to post those photos!
Next door to Manta Ray Bay is Pinnacle Bay, also with coral and fish. It is strange to hear the sound of fish feeding off the coral, I could hear how hard it is. Over lunch we motored over to Hayman, to Blue Pearl Bay. Another mooring, and another very calm night. I did snorkel around the whole bay, and there were plenty of fish and coral. I am rather exhausted from all that hard work.
Sunday 27 April
We left early for a short motor to Langford Reef were we used one of the reef protection buoys again. Anchoring in 5 meters of water over the reef we could already see all the beautiful corals and fish from the cockpit. We both snorkelled for hours (the Admiral with one arm and going a bit in circles). Unfortunately we had to vacate our mooring after 2 hours and continued to Nara Inlet at Hook Island.
Nara is very spectacular. We ventured right to the end near a waterfall (no water coming down at all) and were the only boat in this magnificent fjord. We found the small beach and the track to the aboriginal caves and continued the track a bit further to a lookout where we could see JEMIMAH. Later on Nara Inlet filled with lots of boat including a cruise ship.
Monday 28 April
A nonworking fridge meant we had to find a mechanic so we motored back to Arlie via South Molle Island (still only 2 knots gusting to 3) where we anchored in Bauer Bay and went ashore. The resort looked deserted. South Molle Is is a national park with excellent walking tracks. The walk up to Spion Kop was worth the effort and we had a packed lunch at the observation deck overlooking the Whitsunday Passage and Molle channel.
Tuesday 29 April
The fridge mechanic’s diagnosis was as follows: “Your fridge is out of gas”. We knew that already. “ It’s got a leak somewhere”. We figured that out ourselves too. “Its propobly the connection to the compressor”. Well, how do you know that without testing the pressure? “You need a new compressor, this one is no good.” Well, our fridge and compressor are only 3 years old. Not trusting this guy we decided to leave any future repair until Townsville. A second opinion is needed. That afternoon during a short stroll to Cannonvale (2 hours one way ) we discovered a Batteries shop and ended up buying one of these magnificent portable 12 volt fridges (Waco CF50). Now the beer is cold again.
Overall Impressions of the Whitsundays
The place is nice. Beautiful fish and coral, nice landscape, lots of moorings and protected anchorages. I can understand why people charter here.
Airlie Beach is nice but expensive. Cannonvale is cheaper, worth the walk. Our only meal in Airlie was at the sailing club, dinner for two under $40, schooner for $4.40, and Lemon Lime & Bitter for $1.50. Cheaper than the RQ!
Groceries in Cannonvale are even cheaper than Brisbane. One more indication that profit drives pricing decisions. Some comparisons: Stinger suit in Airlie: $95. Same thing in Cannonvale: $54. Diesel prices are also interesting: Marina $1.82, Airlie $1.69, Cannonvale $1.56. I only went to the Airlie servo once to get 60 litres in jerrycans on our trolley.
It was great to have a break from our rush north. Now I must get those photos on to the blog…
Take care
Rosi & Mike
Some steady motoring got us through Fitzalan and Solway Passages to Whitehaven. We are still not used to how close all those things are. Just five hours from Airlie to the other end of the Whitsundays!
The first thing we noticed were the turtles. There seemed to be lots of them, all trying to find out who exactly was in that red boat. The beach itself was quite nice, although I thought the sand at Lake McKenzie on Fraser is even whiter. The weather was not favourable for sailing, but we rested comfortably at anchor. The forecast for the next few days is for North-Easterlies at two knots, gusting to three. This enables us to stay in exposed anchorages without any worries.
Friday 25 April
The Admiral’s birthday, and the fine weather was quite appropriate for the occasion. We were also out of telephone and internet range. All those phone calls and emails have to wait until the weekend brings us closer to civilisation.
After a short beach walk, we continued on to Border Island for snorkelling. Fortunately we were able to grab one of the reef protection moorings. We have our wetsuits for stinger protection, and also for warmth. After all, the water only has 25 degrees.
Then the first mishap occurred: The Admiral lost her footing on entering the dinghy, slipped, and as she held on to the lifeline, hurt her shoulder. This took her out of action for the day. Not nice!
The second mishap was that our fridge felt a certain lack of gas, and decided to run continuously in a vain attempt to maintain the required temperature. Fortunately the bottle of bubbly was cold enough to make the celebration memorable. By that time we had reached a mooring at Manta Ray Bay, at the top of Hook Island. The fish were plentiful and enjoyed our bread, among them a rather large Maori Wrasse. The calm conditions enabled us to stay the night at the mooring.
Cooking that night was also interesting, me being the Admiral’s right hand. Nothing new really, but I learnt a lot that night. Maybe one day I can also create such a lovely dinner.
Saturday 26 April
There was still a lot of snorkelling to be done. The Admiral was restricted to fish feeding duty from the cockpit; her right wing was not yet good enough. I hope I’ll manage to post those photos!
Next door to Manta Ray Bay is Pinnacle Bay, also with coral and fish. It is strange to hear the sound of fish feeding off the coral, I could hear how hard it is. Over lunch we motored over to Hayman, to Blue Pearl Bay. Another mooring, and another very calm night. I did snorkel around the whole bay, and there were plenty of fish and coral. I am rather exhausted from all that hard work.
Sunday 27 April
We left early for a short motor to Langford Reef were we used one of the reef protection buoys again. Anchoring in 5 meters of water over the reef we could already see all the beautiful corals and fish from the cockpit. We both snorkelled for hours (the Admiral with one arm and going a bit in circles). Unfortunately we had to vacate our mooring after 2 hours and continued to Nara Inlet at Hook Island.
Nara is very spectacular. We ventured right to the end near a waterfall (no water coming down at all) and were the only boat in this magnificent fjord. We found the small beach and the track to the aboriginal caves and continued the track a bit further to a lookout where we could see JEMIMAH. Later on Nara Inlet filled with lots of boat including a cruise ship.
Monday 28 April
A nonworking fridge meant we had to find a mechanic so we motored back to Arlie via South Molle Island (still only 2 knots gusting to 3) where we anchored in Bauer Bay and went ashore. The resort looked deserted. South Molle Is is a national park with excellent walking tracks. The walk up to Spion Kop was worth the effort and we had a packed lunch at the observation deck overlooking the Whitsunday Passage and Molle channel.
Tuesday 29 April
The fridge mechanic’s diagnosis was as follows: “Your fridge is out of gas”. We knew that already. “ It’s got a leak somewhere”. We figured that out ourselves too. “Its propobly the connection to the compressor”. Well, how do you know that without testing the pressure? “You need a new compressor, this one is no good.” Well, our fridge and compressor are only 3 years old. Not trusting this guy we decided to leave any future repair until Townsville. A second opinion is needed. That afternoon during a short stroll to Cannonvale (2 hours one way ) we discovered a Batteries shop and ended up buying one of these magnificent portable 12 volt fridges (Waco CF50). Now the beer is cold again.
Overall Impressions of the Whitsundays
The place is nice. Beautiful fish and coral, nice landscape, lots of moorings and protected anchorages. I can understand why people charter here.
Airlie Beach is nice but expensive. Cannonvale is cheaper, worth the walk. Our only meal in Airlie was at the sailing club, dinner for two under $40, schooner for $4.40, and Lemon Lime & Bitter for $1.50. Cheaper than the RQ!
Groceries in Cannonvale are even cheaper than Brisbane. One more indication that profit drives pricing decisions. Some comparisons: Stinger suit in Airlie: $95. Same thing in Cannonvale: $54. Diesel prices are also interesting: Marina $1.82, Airlie $1.69, Cannonvale $1.56. I only went to the Airlie servo once to get 60 litres in jerrycans on our trolley.
It was great to have a break from our rush north. Now I must get those photos on to the blog…
Take care
Rosi & Mike
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Finally in the Whitsundays!
Hello again, this time from the Whitsundays!
We finally made it. But the weather was not playing its part this time…
Sunday 13 April
We left Great Keppel with some regret, as we did not go ashore to check out island prices. We had heard from VMC that the wind would increase soon, and we wanted to be close to the Whitsundays. The day got us up to Island Head Creek, passing Cape Manifold on the way. We commemorated briefly the spot where Two To Go capsized some time ago, and where probably my wedding ring found its new home. Fortunately there were no serious war games on, and we were not bothered by the military. Island Head Creek is a lot larger than we thought, and it would have been a calm anchorage. But there was that destination…
Monday 14 April
During our travel, we discussed our options, as the wind increase was predicted for Tuesday evening. We could continue overnight (and fall asleep some time), we could continue Tuesday (and risk being blown away), or stay in the Percy Islands. We decided to stay at South Percy.
Bad choice. The swell came around the corner, and we were rocking continuously. The wind blew hard enough to prevent us from going ashore, and it continued to do so until Monday 21 April. We didn’t even leave something in the A-frame hut on Middle Percy!
The time at South Percy was not nice. With the benefit of hindsight, we should have stayed at Island Head Creek, as we knew the forecast. Another lesson learnt, with about six million others to come.
Monday 21 April
Finally under way, with a bit of apprehension about the swell that had built up over the last week of 30+ knot winds. But it was ok, apart from the wind direction. Jemimah just does not like the wind from behind. Again we arrived in darkness, against our plans. With the help of the moon and the chartplotter, we found a nice spot in Refuge Bay on Scawfell. We had the most restful sleep after a week of rocking and unexplained noises!
Tuesday 22 April
We slept a bit longer this time. It was so nice! And the next leg would be a short one to Shaw Island, the first of the Whitsundays. The wind was ok, 15 knots from aft quarter. Not ideal, but it kept us going. For the first time, we experienced the power of the tides here. But we found a nice spot, with some bullets over Shaw Peak (over 400m high), and had even some success with fishing. The Admiral caught two, and we had fresh dinner! It’s a sign of things to come.
Wednesday 23 April
The first sail through the Whitsundays. We went past Hamilton and saw those eddies created by the tide. Another new experience! And more was to come: The Admiral thought that with enough distance from Moreton Bay, those red Stradbroke ferries could no longer get her. Wrong! They sent their plane, and we had to take evasive action in front of the runway at Hamilton. The recommended distance is 300m, we had at least double that, but a plane with its lights and noise is rather scary.
We survived, and enquired about fuel and water at Hamilton. The fuel pump did not work, and to take on water, we had to tie up for $14 per hour. Needless to say, we gave it a miss and continued to Shute Harbour. This was full of tourist boats with no option to get water easily. The soft option was to go to Abel Point Marina at Airlie. We could even go shopping, and our watertanks are full again. Now for the hard part: Diesel is $1.81 per litre, and I would like to get 90 litres. Well, the Fitzroy experience taught us to be careful.
After that, it’s off to Whitehaven, and preparations for the Admiral’s birthday tomorrow.
We’ll be back here next week. By then, I will hopefully have worked out how to put pictures on. I’ll try now, but…
Take care!
We finally made it. But the weather was not playing its part this time…
Sunday 13 April
We left Great Keppel with some regret, as we did not go ashore to check out island prices. We had heard from VMC that the wind would increase soon, and we wanted to be close to the Whitsundays. The day got us up to Island Head Creek, passing Cape Manifold on the way. We commemorated briefly the spot where Two To Go capsized some time ago, and where probably my wedding ring found its new home. Fortunately there were no serious war games on, and we were not bothered by the military. Island Head Creek is a lot larger than we thought, and it would have been a calm anchorage. But there was that destination…
Monday 14 April
During our travel, we discussed our options, as the wind increase was predicted for Tuesday evening. We could continue overnight (and fall asleep some time), we could continue Tuesday (and risk being blown away), or stay in the Percy Islands. We decided to stay at South Percy.
Bad choice. The swell came around the corner, and we were rocking continuously. The wind blew hard enough to prevent us from going ashore, and it continued to do so until Monday 21 April. We didn’t even leave something in the A-frame hut on Middle Percy!
The time at South Percy was not nice. With the benefit of hindsight, we should have stayed at Island Head Creek, as we knew the forecast. Another lesson learnt, with about six million others to come.
Monday 21 April
Finally under way, with a bit of apprehension about the swell that had built up over the last week of 30+ knot winds. But it was ok, apart from the wind direction. Jemimah just does not like the wind from behind. Again we arrived in darkness, against our plans. With the help of the moon and the chartplotter, we found a nice spot in Refuge Bay on Scawfell. We had the most restful sleep after a week of rocking and unexplained noises!
Tuesday 22 April
We slept a bit longer this time. It was so nice! And the next leg would be a short one to Shaw Island, the first of the Whitsundays. The wind was ok, 15 knots from aft quarter. Not ideal, but it kept us going. For the first time, we experienced the power of the tides here. But we found a nice spot, with some bullets over Shaw Peak (over 400m high), and had even some success with fishing. The Admiral caught two, and we had fresh dinner! It’s a sign of things to come.
Wednesday 23 April
The first sail through the Whitsundays. We went past Hamilton and saw those eddies created by the tide. Another new experience! And more was to come: The Admiral thought that with enough distance from Moreton Bay, those red Stradbroke ferries could no longer get her. Wrong! They sent their plane, and we had to take evasive action in front of the runway at Hamilton. The recommended distance is 300m, we had at least double that, but a plane with its lights and noise is rather scary.
We survived, and enquired about fuel and water at Hamilton. The fuel pump did not work, and to take on water, we had to tie up for $14 per hour. Needless to say, we gave it a miss and continued to Shute Harbour. This was full of tourist boats with no option to get water easily. The soft option was to go to Abel Point Marina at Airlie. We could even go shopping, and our watertanks are full again. Now for the hard part: Diesel is $1.81 per litre, and I would like to get 90 litres. Well, the Fitzroy experience taught us to be careful.
After that, it’s off to Whitehaven, and preparations for the Admiral’s birthday tomorrow.
We’ll be back here next week. By then, I will hopefully have worked out how to put pictures on. I’ll try now, but…
Take care!
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Mooloolaba to Great Keppel
Monday 7 April
This morning it’s raining and the forecast has been updated to 20-25 knots. It was supposed to ease off. So we stay put and relax.
Tuesday 8 April/ Wednesday 9 April
Today the wind has eased off a little bit but the rain has increased to very frequent showers. I can walk a little bit on my painful toe (not on the beach though) to the ice cream parlour. We are thinking about leaving tonight and changing our mind every 10 minutes. Every hour we look up the weather website to see were the showers have gone to. (They seem to be always right over Mooloolaba). Anyway, we put the alarm clock at 11.30pm and look one more time at the weather website. Oh, the rain has gone away. The wind has eased to 10 knots. So off we go at midnight to face a rather large swell. It will ease off more, I am sure of that. Will it? No, of course not. After about 2 hours the wind is back to 20 knots. Then more rain and finally 25 knots. I gave back my dinner to the fish and wished to be somewhere else. At some stage I didn’t even care if I got wet from a wave or rain. After Double Island Point the seas and swell got a little better and I did too. Taking the helm helps. Bar report said “manageable with no breaking seas over the channel. What does “ Manageable” mean? Well, it meant it was a hell of ride from the first waypoint to the second. The rest of the crossing was “ manageable” in my eyes. So after the crossing we continued on to “Garys’ Anchorage where we did not want to anchor next to so many power and houseboats. “Lets go a bit further in” were her last words. And so we go stuck at 3.30pm and 2 hours before low tide. We tried desperately to come free but no luck. What kind of tide do we have at the moment? A springtide of course. At 5.30 dear little Jemimah was well and truly on the side in 1.1 meter of water. So we did the only logical thing. We set the alarm clock at 8.30pm and went to sleep (the backrest of the sofa was the better choice to lie down). At 9 pm we were free and re-anchored 20 meters further into the channel and continued our well deserved sleep. Well, the last 24 hours I really would like to forget but I am sure we never will.
Thursday 10 April
The trip throught the Sandy Straits was uneventful. We managed to sail through it with the tide to our advantage. Going past Kingfisher Bay with the tide still running out for another few hours and that beautiful breeze at broad reach we kept going towards Bundaberg and arrived at midnight after a beautiful “ half night sail”(the breeze kept blowing all the way). We finally anchored in the river next to the fuel dock.
Friday 11 April
Got going at 6 am. Destination Pancake Creek 65 miles away. Beautiful sunrise with an equally beautiful land breeze at first. Then no wind. After 5 hours motoring the seabreeze kicked in and the sails got us to Pancake Creek just before sunset and low tide. Why am I so nervous going in here? Can’t shake the grounding off yet.
Saturday 12 April
Up anchor again a 6am. Destination - Keppel Island or Cape Capricorn (Yellow Patch). But first we must go through 30 anchored Bulk Carrier Ships. Michael called Gladstone Harbour Control on channel 13. One Inbound Ship scheduled at 7.30. Oh that’s good. It will go in before we cross. But as we got closer we saw no movement. 8.30 a.m., we called them again to confirm the movement. Yes, one is scheduled to go in right now. We look at them and watch the chimneys. Yes, that one is blowing smoke. Its that one. No, it stopped. Then another one is blowing smoke. But that one stops as well after one minute. Which one of the 30 big ships is about to leave right now and cross our way? None! We saw no movement at all and motored the 2 hours through the anchorage. After we passed the last ship it was time to try the brand new MPS light wind sail. It looked good at first. But you actually need some breeze to make it work. Unfortunately there was none and the spinnaker was pulled in again and the engine brought to life. We passed beautiful Rundle and Hummocky Islands and Cape Capricorn and arrived at Great Keppel just before sunset.
Statistics for week one:
Distance travelled: 353.5 miles (one eights of the way to Darwin)
Engine hours: 22.7 (those light winds really got us)
Travelling time: 59 hours 15 minutes
Average speed: 5.966 knots
Domestics: none
Animals: Dolphins since Double Island Point, and lots of butterflies.
Next report will be from the Whitsundays.
Now the last word about cruising from a book I just finished:
Yes it is pure escapism, a retreat from reality, an abrogation of responsibilities, and isn’t it just great.
This morning it’s raining and the forecast has been updated to 20-25 knots. It was supposed to ease off. So we stay put and relax.
Tuesday 8 April/ Wednesday 9 April
Today the wind has eased off a little bit but the rain has increased to very frequent showers. I can walk a little bit on my painful toe (not on the beach though) to the ice cream parlour. We are thinking about leaving tonight and changing our mind every 10 minutes. Every hour we look up the weather website to see were the showers have gone to. (They seem to be always right over Mooloolaba). Anyway, we put the alarm clock at 11.30pm and look one more time at the weather website. Oh, the rain has gone away. The wind has eased to 10 knots. So off we go at midnight to face a rather large swell. It will ease off more, I am sure of that. Will it? No, of course not. After about 2 hours the wind is back to 20 knots. Then more rain and finally 25 knots. I gave back my dinner to the fish and wished to be somewhere else. At some stage I didn’t even care if I got wet from a wave or rain. After Double Island Point the seas and swell got a little better and I did too. Taking the helm helps. Bar report said “manageable with no breaking seas over the channel. What does “ Manageable” mean? Well, it meant it was a hell of ride from the first waypoint to the second. The rest of the crossing was “ manageable” in my eyes. So after the crossing we continued on to “Garys’ Anchorage where we did not want to anchor next to so many power and houseboats. “Lets go a bit further in” were her last words. And so we go stuck at 3.30pm and 2 hours before low tide. We tried desperately to come free but no luck. What kind of tide do we have at the moment? A springtide of course. At 5.30 dear little Jemimah was well and truly on the side in 1.1 meter of water. So we did the only logical thing. We set the alarm clock at 8.30pm and went to sleep (the backrest of the sofa was the better choice to lie down). At 9 pm we were free and re-anchored 20 meters further into the channel and continued our well deserved sleep. Well, the last 24 hours I really would like to forget but I am sure we never will.
Thursday 10 April
The trip throught the Sandy Straits was uneventful. We managed to sail through it with the tide to our advantage. Going past Kingfisher Bay with the tide still running out for another few hours and that beautiful breeze at broad reach we kept going towards Bundaberg and arrived at midnight after a beautiful “ half night sail”(the breeze kept blowing all the way). We finally anchored in the river next to the fuel dock.
Friday 11 April
Got going at 6 am. Destination Pancake Creek 65 miles away. Beautiful sunrise with an equally beautiful land breeze at first. Then no wind. After 5 hours motoring the seabreeze kicked in and the sails got us to Pancake Creek just before sunset and low tide. Why am I so nervous going in here? Can’t shake the grounding off yet.
Saturday 12 April
Up anchor again a 6am. Destination - Keppel Island or Cape Capricorn (Yellow Patch). But first we must go through 30 anchored Bulk Carrier Ships. Michael called Gladstone Harbour Control on channel 13. One Inbound Ship scheduled at 7.30. Oh that’s good. It will go in before we cross. But as we got closer we saw no movement. 8.30 a.m., we called them again to confirm the movement. Yes, one is scheduled to go in right now. We look at them and watch the chimneys. Yes, that one is blowing smoke. Its that one. No, it stopped. Then another one is blowing smoke. But that one stops as well after one minute. Which one of the 30 big ships is about to leave right now and cross our way? None! We saw no movement at all and motored the 2 hours through the anchorage. After we passed the last ship it was time to try the brand new MPS light wind sail. It looked good at first. But you actually need some breeze to make it work. Unfortunately there was none and the spinnaker was pulled in again and the engine brought to life. We passed beautiful Rundle and Hummocky Islands and Cape Capricorn and arrived at Great Keppel just before sunset.
Statistics for week one:
Distance travelled: 353.5 miles (one eights of the way to Darwin)
Engine hours: 22.7 (those light winds really got us)
Travelling time: 59 hours 15 minutes
Average speed: 5.966 knots
Domestics: none
Animals: Dolphins since Double Island Point, and lots of butterflies.
Next report will be from the Whitsundays.
Now the last word about cruising from a book I just finished:
Yes it is pure escapism, a retreat from reality, an abrogation of responsibilities, and isn’t it just great.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
On Our Way
We finally got away from Manly. With the benefit of hindsight, we should not have left on that day, and at least should have chosen another route. But…
Sunday morning at 9:15 Margie, Alan and Olivia waved goodbye when we cast off. Everything seemed ok, the forecast was for 20-25 knots from S-SE. Swell appeared to be manageable. When passing Tangalooma, we decided to continue through the North East Channel. However the waves were a lot higher than expected, and it was not as comfortable as it was meant to be. The swell and waves remained big until we came around Point Cartwright. On the way, we reached a new record speed over ground at 9 knots. The outgoing tide helped a lot. We also had a wave into the cockpit. As we had two washboards in, there was not too much water inside, but enough to dampen a few things, including Rosi’s mobile. We hope that the screen will resume normal operation once it is dried out.
Now we are in the Wharf marina at $43 a day. Time to move on, but we will consult Tin Can Bay Coast Guard before we make a decision. This morning we had westerly winds which would help flatten the bar. The anchorage behind Double Island Point is said to be rolly, so we would not like to stay there. We’ll see.
This is our first entry, so we are curious if it works. I have no idea where we would have coverage again to post the next entry.
Cheers, Rosi & Mike on JEMIMAH
Sunday morning at 9:15 Margie, Alan and Olivia waved goodbye when we cast off. Everything seemed ok, the forecast was for 20-25 knots from S-SE. Swell appeared to be manageable. When passing Tangalooma, we decided to continue through the North East Channel. However the waves were a lot higher than expected, and it was not as comfortable as it was meant to be. The swell and waves remained big until we came around Point Cartwright. On the way, we reached a new record speed over ground at 9 knots. The outgoing tide helped a lot. We also had a wave into the cockpit. As we had two washboards in, there was not too much water inside, but enough to dampen a few things, including Rosi’s mobile. We hope that the screen will resume normal operation once it is dried out.
Now we are in the Wharf marina at $43 a day. Time to move on, but we will consult Tin Can Bay Coast Guard before we make a decision. This morning we had westerly winds which would help flatten the bar. The anchorage behind Double Island Point is said to be rolly, so we would not like to stay there. We’ll see.
This is our first entry, so we are curious if it works. I have no idea where we would have coverage again to post the next entry.
Cheers, Rosi & Mike on JEMIMAH
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