17th Oct Inskip Point – Wide Bay Bar to Mooloolaba 61nm

At 4.45am the alarm went and it was hard to get out of bed. The water was flat calm and it was very comfortable in bed. The thought of a calm crossing got us out of bed and the kettle on for the morning cuppa. At 5am the anchor was raised and we were underway in the absolute best conditions one could want to cross the notorious Wide Bay Bar. Many boats have been lost on this bar so we always treat it with the utmost respect.

 Leaving Inskip Point at sunrise

We logged on with Coast Guard Tin Can Bay and reported when we had crossed the bar. It takes and hour to cross the bar against the incoming tide and is approx 5nm in distance to reach the shallow bar which at lowest tide has a depth of 4 meters. It is very unpleasant to cross when the swell is more than 1.5 meters.

Today we had a swell of less than one meter and very little wind to speak of and I would regard this crossing as one of our easiest.

 Wide Bay Bar - calm and beautiful

Once out of the bar we were able to settle down and ate breakfast followed by the morning coffee. The swell was a little uncomfortable at first and the sails flapped around but as the day progressed the wind got stronger and stronger. 

 Lighthouse at Double Island Point

We had a very fast ride to Mooloolaba as the wind increased to more than 20 knots.

A few whales were spotted on the way which meant we had caught up with the stragglers heading south.

I noted the water temp was down some 4 degrees from when we entered the Great Sandy Straits a few days earlier. I was surprised that there was that much difference. It means that it is unlikely that we would catch any pelagic fish as the water is too cold for tropical species of mackerel and too warm for southern tuna. I was right we caught nothing and have not caught anything since we passed Cape Capricorn. This is a common tale of yachties in this stretch of water at this time of year. None the less we keep trying.

We arrived at the Mooloolaba entrance at 1.30pm right on low tide. We had big northeast swells while crossing the bar and it made it quite hairy as we only had .9 of a meter under the keel as we crossed and my heart was in my mouth when you can see the sand but you have to have faith that the tide charts have got it right. We arrived safely in the mouth just behind Nirvana’s Kitchen who actually ran aground just after rounding the first marker into the river. They promptly warned me on the radio and I was able to avoid this patch.  

It was a very fast trip to Mooloolaba and we were glad to be in the pen safe and sound as the wind increased above 25 knots.

Billabong will be here for 10 days as we change crew. Tamara will fly south as she is really missing Ollie our grandson.

Grandma thinks that Ollie is missing her. Judging by this picture I don't think so.

 Robert a good friend of mine from Port Stephens will fly up and join the crew on the 25th Oct. Robert has his own yacht Shirena which is currently in the Mediterranean. I am looking forward to sailing with Robert down the NSW coast to our home port of Broken Bay.