Mackay to Airlie Beach

10th July
I am back in Mackay to continue the journey.
Peter and Donna flew in yesterday 9th July  to join the crew.
We spent the day provisioning and loading Billabong. With 12 days of food and accompanying alcohol for the mandatory sundowners we are ready to sail.

Leaving Mackay Harbour

We will depart around 9am after refuelling and expect to get to Scawfell Island about 2pm. It is unlikely there will be Internet or mobile phone so we will be off the air for the 3 days or so we expect to be there.

Peter and Donna

Weather forecast is good so looks like a nice time expected over there.

Anchorage at Scawfell

We arrived at Scawfell Island at 2pm and anchored with our friends on Windsong, Mixed Nutz, Splash and Wimmaway, all part of the RPAYC Coral Coast Cruise. It was a wonderful sunny day and the trip over was fast sailing at 8-9 knots on a 15-20 knot south easter. Great sailing conditions reaching across the wind.
Had a swim and went ashore for sundowners on the beach with the other yachties.

Sundowners on the beach

After sunset and back on Billabong we prepared the BBQ for the evening meal of steak and salad. No fish on the lure on the way over. We have not caught a fish on the lure since our trip back from Lady Musgrave to Pancake Creek. The water temperature is still unaturally cold for this time of year and I am sure the pelagic fish are out towards the Great Barrier reef where the water is warmer. We will try fishing for reef fish tomorrow with the squid bait we bought.
11th July
Another brilliant sunny day without a cloud in the sky. Scawfell is a beautiful anchorage.
I met up with Peter Wilson from Splash who wanted to go fishing. We decided to fish off the reef nearest to the west side of the anchorage. We hardly had the anchor down when we started catching fish that look like a big eye bream. Could not quite identify them in the fish book but we caught 16 of them so we had plenty for lunch and dinner.
We had 3 on the BBQ for lunch and then I filleted the rest for a green curry that night. We invited Peter and Chris from Splash for the curry which was delightful.
We were told that there were blue swimmer crabs caught here a few weeks ago so we decided to use the fish frames to see what we could catch. I went with Jim from Mixed Nutz to set the traps.
12th July
The weather was still fantastic and I was up early to see if there were any crabs. Big disappointment no crabs. Jim had a pleasant surprise with a black tipped reef shark in his pot. He decided to take the fillets off it to cook that afternoon for the fleet.

The shark in the pot that became beer battered fish!!

After breakfast I went fishing with Peter again. We caught another 13 fish and we split the catch and I filleted our share and put them in the fridge for dinner.
It was a great day for snorkeling and we decided to go after lunch when the tide is at its lowest. This gives us the best look at the reef as the tide rises and falls through a 4 meter tidal range. There were lots of fish and coral. It was very pleasant.
At 4pm we were invited to Mixed Nutz for beer battered shark. It was good and there was so much of the shark, we ate plenty. To the point that when we returned to Billabong we did not want dinner. A small toasted ham and cheese sandwich was as much as we could handle and a cup of tea and off to bed. Its only 8.30pm!!
13th July
We get the 6.15 weather forecast broadcast on VHF channel 80 every morning. The weather in the next 2-3 days will turn for the worst. There is a big high in the Great Australian Bight which increases the wind in QLD as it moves east. We decide to weigh anchor and go to Brampton Island with the rest of the fleet. It is only a short sail of 20nm and we will be there by 12.30pm.
We arrived on schedule and had lunch. At 2pm we went ashore and found the resort closed and deserted. We walked to the lookout on top of island which is a 3.3km trek. The view was worth the walk and it was a good bit of exercise for the legs, which don't get a lot of use on the yacht sailing.

View from the lookout on Brampton Island

On the way back to the yacht I retrieved two young coconuts found laying on the ground at the resort and took them back to the dinghy. Years ago I bought a coco tap which enables you to get the coconut milk out with very little effort. We will try tonight. While walking back to the dinghy through the rocks I spotted some large oysters on the rocks I used a rock to chip off a large oyster and ate it. It was just delightful. I was going back to Billabong to get a hammer and screwdriver to get some more oysters for dinner. Oysters kilpatrick sounded good but by the time I got back to the yacht the shore was getting covered fast by the rising 4 meter tide. Best I did not go back so had a nice relax and a beer.

It says it is the perfect sports drink. Also it says it is natures remedy and healthy tonic. It is supposed to sooth babies, boost libido, increase plasma, dissolves stones, kills worms, plus it contains KINETIN which promotes hair growth and cell generation. Besides all that it tastes great and is another additive to our rum drinks!!

For dinner we had the fish we caught the previous day at Scawfell Island. It is good to be able to catch fish and supplement the meat in the freezer but when are we going to eat it?

By 8.30pm we were exhausted and went to bed. Seems we are in bed early every night but this was early. Must be the walking or the salt air.
14th July

Leaving Brampton Island

The forecast for today was winds increasing to 25 knots by the afternoon so we decided to motor to Goldsmith Island early and have breakfast on arrival. It was a relatively short distance of 10nm so we motored as the wind was only 10 knots and towed the dinghy rather than lift it onto the deck.
We had breakfast of bacon and eggs on arrival and then set about some maintenance chores. The dodger and bimini is now six years old and not as waterproof as it used to be in a heavy down pour. So I applied a waterproofing coat and it dried quickly in the sun. We are expecting some heavy rain in the next couple of days.
With the chores done it was time to go fishing. There are bait fish jumping all around the bay so something big is chasing them. I decided to use a deep diving lure and went trolling. I had only put the lure in the water and started moving and within 30 seconds a decent Spanish Mackerel was hooked and in the boat. Just unbelievable. I continued on and had a few more hook ups but lost them. I motored around to Minne Hall bay still trawling and hooked and landed a Wolf Herring which are the slimiest ugliest looking fish but I have been told they are great bait for Spanish Mackerel so we will use it for bait. Right up in the shallows the bait fish were jumping so I went up with the lure and hooked and landed a very nice Queen Fish. With 3 fish in the bucket I returned to Billabong.
I gave the Queenie to Peter from Splash for dinner as he had no luck and lost a lure.
We had the Spaniard in a beautiful tomato based chilli seashell pasta. What a delight.

The  Queenie, The Spaniard, The Wolf Herring and a Lizard fish that took the lure pictured. Can you believe this little fella punching above his weight!!

15th July
We woke to not such a great day but it was at least warm enough to wear t-shirt and shorts.
Overcast and a few scattered showers with 25-30 knot winds was the forecast and that is what we got.
It was a book reading day.
At 11am we went ashore so Peter could go for a run on the beach and I went and spoke to the two canoeists that came in the day before. These guys are on an adventure alright. They left Mackay and sailed to Brampton Island and then onto Goldsmith. They were having a day of rest before going onto their next destination. They are going all the way to Bowen. They have no support vessel and have to carry all their own supplies. Each canoe carries 25 litres of water. They were very interesting to talk to and I promised them a beer at the end of the day. They have done the East coast of Tasmania as well.

After a BBQ lunch of sausages I tried some fishing off the back of Billabong. It was not long before we hooked a nice fish. Unfortunately another monster decided that he wanted it for dinner too!!

The Shark ate my dinner!!

So I had to take to the dinghy and went for a troll around the reef. It was not long before I landed a trevally. It would not be as nice as the fish we nearly got to eat.

Second best for dinner

I went over to the beach at 5pm and gave the boys in the canoes the promised beer each and 2 icy cold cans of coke for their rum they had with them. They were elated that someone would give them a beer. Amazing!! I had a beer with them and then left them to it. It is wonderful to have a chat with adventurers. You learn so much about how little they exist on. Us with the luxury of a big yacht and all the things we fit in it plus fridges and freezers and they have none of that. They have a daily wash in salt water but no freshwater to rinse off with. Good luck to them I say.
The trevally became the ingredients for a green curry and after dinner I manged to speak with Tamara on the phone in Russia. All is good and she is enjoying being with her Mother and family.
We spent the evening contemplating our next passage to which Island and when.

16th July
We decided to stay put and wait another day for the weather to clear. There was misty rain all day. It was more a nuisance rain. The tidal current was swinging Billabong against the wind so we would not sit with the bow to the wind. This resulted in the misty rain getting under the bimini and link sheet wetting the entire cockpit. It was not comfortable to stay on the back of the yacht to do fishing or sit in the cockpit. So it was time for cards and games. We pulled out the game of Ned Kelly which is a two man game. I bought it many years ago and had never played it. It is a great game. I played Donna first who played the role of the police and I was Ned Kelly and the gang. After seemingly getting beaten Ned managed to sneak the blockade and get to safety to his hideout. The second game Peter played the role of Ned and the gang and I played the police. I had Ned cornered on 3 occasions and to my amazement Ned slipped out and got to the safety of his hideout. Well done Peter!!
The afternoon came and the rain cleared enough to go fishing. The action was on again. Bait fish jumping every where. Out with the lure and I trolled around the anchorage for 2 mackerel and and a 6-7kg Mackerel Tuna. Fantastic. We have shashimi for entree!! I gave a spotted Mackerel to Whimmaway as they had not had success in fishing.

                                                              Another feed of Shashimi!!
That night we were having an Italian pot luck dinner on Windsong. All yachts were required to bring an Italian dish. We took spaghetti bolognese cooked by Donna. Whimmaway brought a nice ravioli. Splash brought spaghetti carbonara and Windsong a Risotto and a meat pie!! The pie was hardly Italian but it was very tasty. The Japanese entree of Tuna shashimi went down well. Copious red wine was consumed and everyone had a great night.

17th July
The wind has abated but still misty rain falls. We decide that we will weigh anchor at 11am on the high tide and sail North to Thomas Island. It is only a short sail of 10nm. While we were leaving the canoeists who had been sheltering on Goldsmith decided it was time for them to go to their next destination. We came along side of them and wished them the best on their travels to Bowen and said we would look out for them on the way. They look so small in the ocean. The wind was blowing up to 15 knots and with their sails up they were moving at about 4 to 5 knots so they did not need to paddle much.

The Canoeists

From Mackay to Bowen they will travel. Staying at islands overnight

We arrived at Thomas Island and cooked up the remaining tuna fillets. I cooked the fillets and let them cool down and then mashed them up into a wasabi mayonnaise that I made earlier. We had some mountain bread and made up tuna salad wraps for lunch.

"Windsong" at Thomas Island

In the afternoon we took the dinghy to the shore to go for a swim as the sun had decided to show itself and it was beginning to get warm. I said to Peter let’s not waste an opportunity to catch a fish so I handed him the fishing line with lure on. On the way to the beach Peter bagged a nice spotted mackerel. How easy is this!! Peter said its 99% lure and 1% human. If I can catch a fish anyone can!!

Peter with his Mackerel

After the beach we went back to Billabong and I went trawling around the bay. I caught another 3 good mackerel. I kept the biggest spotted mackerel and filleted it. The others I gave away to a couple of power boats that were in the bay that were previously anchored at Goldsmith with us. It is easy to make friends when you give them fresh fish.


That night we had the left over spaghetti Bolognese from the night before for dinner with a few added tomatoes and chilli. Just delightful



18^th July

 Thomas Island was a beautiful anchorage and I wanted to stay a few more days. Especially for the fishing. However it was time to move on and we had to get some fresh supplies from Hamilton Island. We departed at 8.30am and arrived at Hamilton Island at 12 noon. We needed to top up the water and get a few fresh food items like bread and milk.
Donna did the washing while Peter and I bought the supplies. After the washing was dry we went to Hamilton Island Yacht Club for a beer and lunch. It’s a great yacht club.

Hamilton Island Yacht Club

They were great beers!!

Had 2 beers each and some lunch and it was time to depart for Cid Harbour.

Cid Harbour is a well protected anchorage from south easterlies and there is a great walk to the top of Whitsunday Island.

We invited Donna and Rob from Windsong for a green curry of spotted mackerel and a desert of chocolate ice cream. Bought especially for Rob.

19^th July

After a breakfast of bacon and eggs we took the dinghy ashore for the climb up to the peak.

It is a four hour round trip so we had to take lunch and water. It is a well worn path to the top and you climb through a forest of trees. It is a beautiful experience – especially when you reach the top. The views are fantastic - 360 degree views looking over all the Whitsunday Islands.

What a view!!

                                                  That's Billabong down there in Cid harbour

On return we had a swim and it was time to move on to Nara Inlet for the night.

On arrival we were invited to Splash for drinks and had a great couple of hours telling many jokes and lots of laughter.

The evening dinner consisted of fillet steak with mushroom sauce and salad and it was a rather early night. About 9pm


20^th July


We had decided to go to Blue Pearl bay for the day which is on the north west side of Hayman Island and raised anchor at 9.30am. We exited Nara Inlet and headed north towing the dinghy. The seas were rough with wind over tide and towing the dinghy was not a good idea. Before long the painter on the dinghy snapped and the dinghy floated away. We turned around and after several attempts to rescue the dinghy we got it under control with a rope that won’t break. As the seas were rough we abandoned our plans to go to Blue Pearl Bay and headed back through Hook Passage and went to Border Island which was more sheltered from the south westerly wind was blowing a bit harder than we wanted.

On arrival we had lunch which consisted of BBQ beef sausages and salad. We did not wait for the obligatory hour before snorkeling the coral reefs of Cateran Bay. This is a marine park sanctuary and no fishing is allowed. Unfortunately the visibility was not good but the fish and the coral were good so we rated it as an OK snorkel.


After the snorkel we headed back to Cid Harbour where we caught up with Windsong and Splash for sundowners. I had to return to an area with telephone reception as I promised Tamara I would ring her on Wed night. There was no communication at Border Island.


We had Chilli Prawn pasta for dinner and I called Tamara for a chat. All is good in Russia with her mother, sister and brother. Tamara has daily contact with her daughter Marina and grandson Ollie in Sydney via skype.

21^st July

The forecast was for continued windy conditions in the morning and easing in the afternoon. We decided to wait and Donna cooked blueberry muffins for morning tea. A call on the VHF to "Windsong" and "Splash" to join us for morning tea and before long we were having coffee and muffins. At about 1pm the wind started to ease so we headed off around Whitsunday Island to Tongue Bay. Here we walked up the hill to look over Hill Inlet. We took a beer each and wanted to have them sitting up the top of of the observation deck while enjoying the view. The sand flies had other ideas. We were getting eaten alive so we took the photos and headed back to the yacht drinking the beer on the run. That was disappointing because the view was fantastic. It would have been a great treat to have a beer and take in the view. The white spit is where they filmed the famous Qantas advert.

Hill Inlet

We sat on the boat and had our sundowners watching the turtles and the dugongs around us.

This was to be our last dinner together on the boat before we head to Airlie tomorrow to drop Peter and Donna off for their flight home to Sydney. We had to save the best for last. Chilli prawns were cooked for entree followed by fillet steak with a potato bake and vegetables. Dark chocolate and mint tim tams and coffee was consumed for desert and we went to bed on a very full stomach.
Another very good day.
We sleep very well with a gentle rock of the yacht.

22nd July
We woke to another windy morning. The wind was from the south west and while it was a good anchorage the wind was blowing straight down the Tongue Bay. We ate the last of the bacon and eggs for breakfast and it was time to get out. We motored around to Whitehaven Beach where the bright white silica sands are world renown.

                                              Relaxing on the white sands of Whitehaven Beach
After a sun bake and swim it was time to raise the dinghy to the foredeck and go to Airlie Beach.

We arrived at Able Point Marina at 5.30pm and found our berth. Then the rush was on to have a shower and get ready for a night in Airlie. Windsong and Splash had arrived in Airlie and were anchored off the yacht club. They had come in to pick up some fresh supplies from the Saturday morning markets and invited us to the Whitsunday Yacht Club to have drinks and dinner.
After a quick shower we walked the 3kms to the yacht club and had another great night with travelling yachties.

23rd July
It was time for Peter and Donna to depart and return to Sydney.
Rob and Donna from Windsong were going back to Hamilton Island and offered Peter and Donna a ride back on Windsong to meet their flight from Hamilton Island which was departing at 2.50pm. Donna completed her market shopping and I said my goodbyes to Peter and Donna as they got into Rob's dinghy and headed out to Windsong.
It was sad to see Peter and Donna leave Billabong. They were excellent crew and the most enjoyable and easy going company to be with and help me sail Billabong from Mackay to Airlie via the Islands.
We had some great experiences and great wining and dining experiences. I think they may be going home a few kilo's heavier but well relaxed.
Thank you Peter and Donna.

The crew of Billabong Peter Donna and Neil

Billabong will remain in Able point Marina for 8 days when my friend from Perth Graham Lithgo will join me on 27th July. We will cruise the Whitsunday Islands until Tamara returns from Russia and flies into Hamilton Island on the 8th Aug to rejoin the crew of Billabong.
We will also be joined for a brief visit by my Sydney based friends Graham Jennings and Wayne Jarman from the 2nd Aug to 8th Aug. I am having a 5 day detox before they arrive!!!
It will be 4 boys and the Coral Sea to play in!! Just hope the fish are biting!!

This blog will not recommence until we leave the Marina on 30th July.

Bundaberg to Mackay

13th June
Tamara left the yacht and has flown to Sydney for the birth of her first grand child. Scary -  I will be the partner of a grandma!!!! Well I guess I will be a pseudo grandad. Eric Knowles, my friend from sailing days at the Royal Papua Yacht Club, Port Moresby, PNG has joined me as First Mate.
The yacht is prepared and we depart at first light tomorrow for Lady Musgrave Island. Weather looks perfect and we expect we will have to motor most of the way. We expect to be there at 2pm to enter the lagoon on low tide. We will need slack water as the current can get up to 4 knots through a narrow channel with coral on either side.
14th June
We were up at 5am and departed at 5.30am The journey to Lady Musgrave is 54nm so we needed to average 7knots to get there by 2pm which we did by motor sailing all the way and we had current assisting us. The conditions were so good that we deployed 3 fishing lines trawling a variety of lures. We caught a magnificent Mahi Mahi and 2 skip jack tuna on the way.

Thats dinner!!

What was more impressive was that I had to give lessons to Leon from Nirvana's Kitchen on catching fish. We went to the tackle shop and bought him a lure and a line. He too caught a magnificent Mahi Mahi. His first and biggest fish. It was great that he caught the best eating fish you can catch on a lure in the open ocean for his first fish. He is now hooked and you could not get the smile off his face.
We anchored up in the lagoon in 8 to 9 meters of water and filleted the fish and we taught Leon how to fillet his fish. We delivered fish to Cloud Nine and Windsong.
Drinks on board Nirvana's Kitchen that evening were memorable celebrating Leon's first fish. He was awarded the duck award for his first fish. Amongst the yachts travelling in the Coral Coast cruise there is the "duck award". Who ever is in possession of the duck awards it to who ever for what ever. It is referred to as the "duckhead" award. So you can imagine it is for doing something stupid generally, but on this occasion it was awarded for achievement. Great achievement Leon the Masters Apprentice. I have been named the master of the fishing and crabbing. I am not sure why we on Billabong catch so many fish and crabs and others don't. Anyway we get our share and that is what matters. If I get too many I share with others.
Eric and I had a great feed of shashimi and Mahi Mahi for dinner.

Lady Musgrave

15th June
We woke to a brilliant day. Light westerly winds. Fished off the back of the boat and Eric caught a beautiful parrot fish of about 2kg and I caught some bream/sweetlip look alikes. They were great eating. Lovely white moist flesh. 11am the group went ashore for a wander through the island trees to the other side. There is a great toilet block and camping facilities on the west side of the island.  There is a daily fast ferry service from the mainland bringing tourists for the day and many people stay for awhile. Back to the yacht for lunch. Donna from the yacht Windsong wanted to go for a dive. I have 3 dive tanks on board so we agreed we would go into the marine park for a dive. The tide was coming to its low so we would get Donna' husband Rob to drop us off along the outer wall and we would drift along the wall and into the entrance to the lagoon. This way we would save a lot of air by going with the current thus maximising our dive. When we got to the entrance the water was still rushing out of the entrance. A quick change of plans and we decided to do the opposite. So we entered the water on the inside of the lagoon and used the current to take us out through the passage. We were swept along for a distance and got to the outer entrance and suddenly the tide turned. It was impossible to swim against the current so we turned and went with the current back into the lagoon. That was a bit disappointing but we still saw some good marine life. There was a reef shark in a cave under the rock having a nice sleep with its tail hanging out. I decided against giving it a tug as I did not want to stir up any trouble. There was also a Firefish more commonly known as a Lionfish which are highly venomous. They are a very beautiful fish. Saw a number of very large fish - sweetlip and coral trout.   The dive lasted for 55 minutes and we returned to the yacht for a hot shower. We invited Rob and Donna from Windsong to join us for a Mahi Mahi green curry. It was good and one of Rob's favourite dishes, but it was not spicy hot enough for him.
Went to bed on the rising tide. If there is a big swell running Lady Musgrave can be a bit uncomfortable at anchor because the swell breaks over the reef and if the swell is not coming from the same direction as the wind it gets very rocky and rolling.

Billabong at sunset - Lady Musgrave

16th June
During the night the wind strengthened to 20 knots and it was a rolly night. We were up at 6am and had a coffee and decided to abandon plans to take the dinghy to a reef situated at the east end of the lagoon that we found the previous day going around the lagoon in the dinghy. Again we fished off the back of the boat. We caught some more bream/sweetlip look alikes and I hooked a big fish. It took awhile to bring it in. I did not want to loose it so I was patient. Eric grabbed the net and netted it and the fish was landed. It was a 5kg sweetlip. I was ecstatic. After high fives and a bit of dancing on the boat the celebration turned to dismay. The fish was lying on the back completely exhausted and to my surprise when I went to pick him up he gave a last flip and he slipped from my grasp and hit the deck and slipped into the water. I quickly dropped my pants to dive into grab it again as it did not swim away. It just lay motionless on the surface. But quick thinking from Eric grabbed the net and scooped it up. Here was I left standing on the back of the boat with my pants down around my ankles. Cloud Nine, anchored near us saw it all and were laughing their heads off. So it was the fish that was caught twice and of course I was awarded "Duckhead of the day". But who cares the fish was great eating. I cooked it in alfoil on the BBQ with chili and coriander and butter. It was great. Out fishing book only rated them as a **star for eating but I can tell you it was better than that. Eric agreed.
Before going to bed we tidied up the yacht in preparation for the sail to Pancake Creek the next day.

The fish that was caught twice

While tidying the yacht we noticed the coral spawning. It was full moon and the coral spawn on the full moon. It is a milky look in the moonlight as it floats by on the surface.
My goal at Lady Musgrave was to catch a coral trout which I failed, but a 5kg sweet lip was good enough. We have a lot of coral reefs to visit on our journey so I am sure my goal to catch a coral trout will be fulfilled soon.

Another brilliant sunset

17th June
We woke at 6am and had 2 hours to get the yacht in order for an 8.30am departure. It was a bright sunny day and you could feel the heat from the sun early. We weighed anchor at 8.45am and followed the others out through the passage. Wind was 20 knots from the South west and our course was slightly south of west so we were hard on on a port tack. The seas were quite lumpy and it was a bit uncomfortable. I put one fishing line out and it was not long before we hooked a nice Mahi Mahi. It was difficult to bring it on board with the lumpy conditions but managed to get it into the cockpit. There was blood splattered everywhere. I tied a slip knot around its tail and trailed it behind while it bled and I cleaned up the mess. After 2 hours the wind eased a little and went more to the west. Slowly it died and we were under 5 knots of speed so the motor went on. We put a second line out and before long we caught 2 skip jack tuna.

Shashimi entree and dinner!

 About an hour later the line went again and we reeled in a 10kg Mackerel Tuna. I radioed the other yachts to see if anyone wanted it but with no takers we let it go.

The biggest catch so far. Well done Eric

We filleted the fish on the way and dished out the tuna fillets to other yachts and Eric and I enjoyed 2 fillets of tuna shashimi for entree. We cooked about 500gm of Mahi Mahi each and had a really nice meal.

We have eaten fish everyday since leaving Bundaberg.

That night we anchored in the outer reaches of Pancake Creek as the tide did not allow us to enter further in until tomorrow.


18th June

We had a great sleep and woke at 7.30am
At 9.30am on the high tide all the yachts anchored out moved in further up the creek to more sheltered waters. We baited the crab pots and took them into the upper reaches of Pancake creek looking for the mud crabs. We laid the traps in the mangroves and left them there for tomorrow.

Bustard Head Light House

At 1pm we assembled on the beach for the walk to Bustard Head light house. It takes about an hour to walk up the hill from the anchorage.
It was a good bit of exercise and was enjoyable to stretch the legs and see the scenery from the land for a change. At the top of the hill we were able to see the town of 1770 in the distance and managed to get mobile reception and pick up some messages.

The crew of Windsong, Cloud Nine, Nirvana's Kitchen and Billabong

At 5pm we had happy hour drinks on Nirvana's Kitchen followed by a nice dinner - you guessed it fish!!
We had lots to celebrate that night. It was the birth of Tamara's grand son. Her daughter Marina gave birth to boy named Oliver. At last Tamara is a grandma.

Oliver - The Grandson

19th June

We had a lazy morning waiting for the tide to come in so we could go up the creek to recover the crab pots. At 10.30 we all went in search of the mud crabs. It was to be a disappointing morning. I caught a female crab and Leon caught a female crab. Under QLD fishing laws you are not allowed to take any female mud crabs. So they were released to breed again. Chili mud crab was not to be. At 11.30am we moved our yachts to the outer anchorage so we can get an early start for tomorrow. We will be leaving at 4.30am to travel the 70nm to Great Kepple Island.

Pancake Creek

We went ashore and with screw driver and hammer in hand and chipped off a few oysters off the rocks. It was a lot of work for little reward as they were quite small. Never the less it was a taste.
Eric and I took the dinghy for a fish on the reef inside the creek and we bagged 3 nice plate size sweetlip. we gave one to Cloud Nine and kept the others for ourselves.
Its early to bed as we have to be up early in the morning.

20th June
We left Pancake Creek at 4.45am as we wanted to get to Great Kepple Island mid afternoon so we could have a swim.
Unfortunately there was not enough wind to sail but we put up the sails anyway and motor sailed. We made great time with the assistance of the wind and a .5knott current with us. Anchored in 6 meters of crystal clear water. So clear you could see a starfish on the bottom. We anchored at Svennsons beach on Great Kepple and finally caught up with "Splash" sailed by Peter and Chris Wilson. We were supposed to sail with them but they left Sydney early May and we were not ready. It was good to have sundowners with them any way and swap experiences.

21st June
We raised the anchor at 9am after a beautiful early morning swim in the crystal clear waters of Great Kepple. An amazing island that once had a magnificent resort and tourist trade. However with the rising Australlian dollar and cheap overseas holidays, Australians have simply stopped going to Great Kepple and consequently the resort is now closed.
We arrived at Roslyn Bay Marina and quickly washed the yacht down and headed for the bus stop and into town where we bought enough supplies for the next 6 days. When we returned to the marina we had to do our washing. Eric and I had enough washing for 4 machines. It was $4 a wash and $4 to dry. We paid $48 for the Marina berth and $32  to wash our clothes and sheets. They must make a good profit from the laundry.
At 6pm we had sundowners on "Cloud Nine"
After eating all the fish from the fridge and freezer we decided we had better have some meat. So we cooked a couple of King Island scotch fillets and had them with some vegetables and a creamy mushroom sauce washed down with a good bottle of shiraz. It was a welcome change from the fish but we are looking forward to our 40nm trip to Port Clinton. A chance to wet the lines again. We have also heard there are good mud crabs in Port Clinton so we want get there early and get the pots down. We are leaving at 5am to get out of the marina on a good tide so we should be at Port Clinton by midday.

22nd June
Left Roslyn Bay Marina at 5am and had no trouble with depth getting out of the marina. had an easy motor/sail as winds were too light. Arrived at Port Clinton at noon and had some sandwiches for lunch and got the crab traps ready to set. It was high tide. "Splash" was anchored in Port Clinton and I offered to take his traps and set them as well. We agreed on the fee for setting them that any crabs we get we share. Eric and I set off in the dinghy to set the traps into the reaches of the mangroves up a creek but were not really convinced that it was deep enough for crabs as the area we were in completely dried out at low tide. Any way we put them in in the best possible spot we could find scattered over a fairly wide area. 6 crab traps down and we would wait for the morning to see what we got. When we set off across the in the dinghy we found a Dugong digging up the mud on the sand flats that were covered at high tide. We stopped the engine and just watched as the Dugong circled us and every now and then came up for air. It went about its business but was not frightened by our presence.
We went to "Splash" for sundowners and a meal. We cooked spaghetti bolognese and they had a lamb stew and we all shared and had a great night discussing what we would do with all the crabs we would catch.

23rd June
I woke at 5.30am and was contemplating going and getting the traps before the tide fell to far but its was so bitterly cold with a strong southerly wind I was not going to go out. I went back to bed and slept until 7.30am. That meant we had to wait until 1pm for the high tide to reach the traps.
We had the left over of the spaghetti for breakfast on toast and did some serious fishing. We caught 6 good whiting but there was a type of fish in that water that kept biting our hooks off. Between Eric and I we lost about 6 hooks in 2 hours. At 1pm it was time to retrieve the traps. As we were going up the creek we came across 2 turtles. At first we thought they were Dugongs again. One of the turtles was the biggest turtle I had ever seen in the wild. It was huge.
We pulled the traps and we scored 4 big muddies. High 5's all round and back to the yachts. We went past "Splash" and showed him the catch. Peter was ecstatic as he caught by far the biggest crab in his traps. These were the first mudcrabs he had caught. As agreed we would cook them up and we would share that night for dinner. Peter caught 8 whiting so we were going to have a feast for dinner.
We weighed anchor at 2-30 pm for a short sail to Pearl Bay and on arrival at Pearl Bay I realised why so many yachties say you must visit as it is a beautiful place.

Billabong at Pearl Bay

Pearl Bay

There is no mobile/internet/am-fm radio and no vhf reception as the anchorage is surrounded by hills. If you stay too long you can miss weather forecasts.
We anchored and cooked the crabs and then went to "Dame Margot" for sundowners at 5pm.
As we were leaving at first light next day we had our feast of whiting and mud crabs on "Splash".

A Feast of Muddies

What a feed that was and Peter and Christine brought out the Frangelica which we had with ice. Eric had not tasted this before but enjoyed it so much that I think Sandy will get a present when he gets home!!
24th June
We left Pearl bay at 7am. I was intending to do the 70nm trip to Middle Percy Island where the historic "A Frame" is on West Beach. However with forecast of strong winds and big swells, West Beach is a no go. The swell bends around the island and it is simply too rolly to stay. So a change of plans and we accompanied "Dame Margot" to the Duke Island group where we anchored at Hunter Island. This anchorage is good for SE up to 20knots. - We had 25knots. We arrived and anchored and you could smell the burnt grass where the owners/inhabitants of the islands had torched the islands just days before our arrival. With the strong winds it blew black ash all over the yachts anchored in the bay.
We got a call on the VHF radio from "Dame Margot". They had difficulty setting their anchor. The battery had died. We went over to see what we could do. After analysis we concluded that the battery was not getting charge from the engine alternator. We made a phone call to our master electrician - Rob Starkey on Windsong who was still in Roslyn Bay marina - and asked his advice. With the info that Rob gave us we were able to sort out a temporary fix and got it going for them. That was a relief for them.
The wind was strong and the boat was moving about a lot but we managed to roast the duck and had good bottle of red with it.
The cruising life is good but we are drinking everyday!!! Not sure when the last AFD was!!

25th June
We woke at 5-30am for a first light departure to Curlew Island. We received the forecast from VMR Mackay at 6.15 and heard a strong wind warning had been issued - 25-30knots from the SE had been forecast. We had to make Curlew Island as that was a much better anchorage and is rated up to 30 knots from the SE. We weighed anchor and were on our way out of the anchorage when we got a call from "Dame Margot" on the VHF. They could not get their anchor up as the chain counter had malfunctioned when the battery went flat. Martin could not reset it as the manual was not clear. We reset our anchor and Martin put the dinghy in the water and collected me. Eric stayed on Billabong for safety of the yacht while I went to assist.
After reading the manual and trying a few different settings we could not get the windlass to raise the last 15 meters of chain. So we had to do it by hand. I winched the remaining 15 meters into the yacht and Martin took me back to Billabong.
Had a great sail to Curlew Island and the wind never got more than 25knots.
Arrived at Curlew at 12.30pm and had some lunch. "Dame Margot" called on the radio and said that the anchor went down ok but they tested retrieving it but they could not get it back up. With Billabong safely at anchor and quite protected from the hills of Curlew Island Eric and I went to see what else we could do. Eric being the engineer read the manual and after discussion we decided to reset the anchor counter to default settings and start again. It worked.
We were invited to dinner on "Dame Margot" where we pooled bits and pieces of stews and left overs for an enjoyable meal. Martin supplied some quality red wine after ours was confiscated on arrival and made us take it back.
The yachting community is great. Everyone helps each other. I have been on the receiving end when things have gone wrong on Billabong. It is swings and roundabouts as they say.

Curlew Island

26th June
We would love to stay another day at Curlew but the forecast was not improving and the strong wind warning was still current. There would be no let up for at least 5 days which vindicated our decision to continue our journey up the coast, rather than stay at the best anchorages for longer. A number of the yachts that are in our rendevouz rally are miles back and have been caught out with the military exercises in the Shoalhaven area. At very short notice the defence force brought forward the closure of the Shoalhaven area to all marine craft for live firing exercises. That means all the good anchorages like Pearl Bay, Port Clinton and Island Head Creek are closed from 28th June to 31st July. So the yachts still to come up the coast will have to travel out wide of the coast to avoid the military exclusion zone and there for have no refuge in bad weather. There only option is from Roslyn Bay marina to the Islands off the coast which can be too far for a day sail. It means they must travel at night.
We waited for "Dame Margot" to raise her anchor before we raised ours in case we needed to assist again. There were shouts of joy from "Dame Margot" when the anchor came up. Our fix the day before had worked.
We left through the north west passage and headed over the shoals for Mackay. The wind had been very strong in the night with bullets of wind hitting "Billabong" and it was uncomfortable but we felt safe on our anchor with 40 meters of chain out in 5meters of water. It was a shame to leave such a beautiful island but without improvement in the weather we could not stay.
The journey for Eric and I would soon end as we are both booked on flights home on the 28th June.
It was best we got into Mackay a day earlier so I could prepare Billabong for the next passage from Mackay to Airlie. My friends Peter and Donna Kent will join the crew of Billabong on the 9th of July and travel with us to Airlie Beach.
Eric will return to his beloved wife Sandy and I will fly back to Port Stephens to carry out some chores and drive to Sydney to see the new grandson.
On departure from Curlew we saw 30 knots on the wind instruments. This could be our worst conditions of the trip as the seas were up and the swell was rising with the continuous SE winds. But it was not to be. A few rain squalls passed and the sun came out and it was a very pleasant sail to Mackay. The wind was consistent at 20 - 25 knots until we closed in on the coast and at times the wind was below 20 knots.

Entering Mackay harbour

We arrived safely into the marina. The crew of  "Dame Margot" were there to meet us and help us tie up. We invited Martin and Margot on board for a few beers and put some sausages on the BBQ and enjoyed an afternoon of sunshine. The wind was still blowing and the wind chill factor made it cold in the early evening. I don't know why but that first hot shower when you make land fall is always the best and I think it was a 20 minute shower.
We felt great after and had a few rums and another dinner of anything that was left in the freezer. Eric cooked a good mixture of Russian stuffed capsicums, lamb stew, King Island Scotch fillet and tomatoes and onions.
We have eaten well on this trip. Loads of fish early in the trip but never caught another fish on the lure since Pancake Creek.  It was just as well as it gave us a chance to eat what was in the freezer as I wanted to empty this before I fly out.

We covered 346nm since leaving Bundaberg and while the weather was not as good at the end of the trip it was a most enjoyable journey.
It was great to have Eric on board and renew acquaintances. We reminisced on many of the old times and sailing stories when we were both living in Port Moresby.
Thanks to Eric for helping Billabong on her journey North and the companionship. We will have new stories to tell in the future after this trip.

The journey for Billabong will resume when I return to Mackay and Peter and Donna will join me on 9th July.

Mooloolaba to Bundaberg

4th June
We departed Mooloolaba at 11pm for the 54nm passage to Wide Bay Bar. Leaving at this time and travelling at 6 knots would get us to the Bar at 7.30am so we could cross with the in coming tide. The night sky was clear and the air surprisingly warm to begin with but the further North we went the westerly breeze got cooler and by 3am the wind chill was close to freezing. The wind was only 8 to 10 knots which was not enough to sail and maintain our 6 knots so we motored the whole night.
5th June
We arrived at our chosen time of 7.30am at the Bar and completed the crossing by 8.30am. The bar was quite rough with a 1.5 meter South Easterly swell.

Crossing the Wide Bay Bar

We proceeded to Garry's anchorage where we are staying the night. We arrived at 10.30am and after anchoring cooked up a good breakfast of bacon and eggs with tomatoes and toast. With in 5 minutes of breakfast we were fast asleep for approx 3 hours. It had been a long cold night but worth it to be in the Great Sandy Straights between the mainland of Australia and Fraser Island.
I launched the dinghy and set the crab traps and thawed some frozen green prawns and went fishing. The score - 4 whiting which were pan fried for entree and followed by Tamara's magnificent lamb stew which was washed down with a good Shiraz. By 10pm we were sound asleep. We will see what the crab traps will offer in the morning. I am looking forward to a day of hunting and gathering. The forecast is 25 degrees. It surely cannot get any better than this? Can it?

Yes!!! At last time to get the winter woolies off!!

6th June
We awoke to a brilliant day. Warm and sunny. Caught some whiting and pulled the crab traps. 1 muddy.

Catch of the day for lunch

We had the ultimate lunch. Catch of the day -  a couple of whiting and a mud crab washed down with Marlborough Sound Sauvigion Blanc.

"Yachts in the mist"

Sunset

7th June
Pulled the crab pots at first light. Major dissapointment -  no crabs. Fished for an hour and no fish either. Lost a good one at the back of the boat and a fish bit the hook in half. Never seen that before.

Billabong at Garry's anchorage at dawn

We weighed anchor at 11-30am so we could reach the Sheridan Flats at high tide. The water was flat calm and no wind to speak of. It was a magnificent motor up the channel and very uneventful.

Heading out of Garry's Anchorage

We arrived at Kingfisher Resort on Fraser Island an anchored just north of the jetty in 8 meters of water. We invited the other four yachts - Windsong, Cloud Nine, Mixed Nuts and Nirvanas Kitchen - travelling with us for drinks.

Sundowners on Billabong

Tamara cooked a spatchcock and we had a great evening meal. It was a great day. Just hope there will be many more. Crab traps are out so we hope to get something in the morning.
8th June
Up at first light and we got 4 blue swimmer crabs. Dingied in to the resort and had lunch with the others. It was Nirvana's birthday lunch. Had a good walk around the resort. Nobody staying there. I think the whole QLD tourist industry is doing it tough at the moment.
9th June
We weighed anchor at 10am and headed for  The Great Sandy Straits Marina at Urangun. It was 16nm and we sailed most of the way. Had a great dinner at Cafe Baelena on the waterfront with the group. Great marina and facilities
10th June
We left at 7am to sail to Port Bundaberg. It was bitterly cold. but at least no rain. The wind was 10-15knots from the south. We sailed all the way averaging 7 knots and arrived at 1.30pm. Here we are in Bundaberg and everyone was rugged up wearing beanies. Thought the weather should be warmer than 19 degrees. The forecast is not good for next 2 days with constant rain.

The crew of Windsong, Cloud Nine, Nirvana's Kitchen and Billabong after arrival at Port Bundaberg. Who could believe Queensland could be so cold this far up the coast!!!

We had a bbq up near the marina office and I supplied the fish we caught on the way up. A good size spotted mackeral.  Fed 12 people with a nice portion of fish each.

Spotted Mackeral

Feeding the sailors

Port Stephens to Mooloolaba

27th May
At last we are ready to leave. The previous week has been spent readying the house and Billabong for our departure. The weather has been bleak over past 3 days and the forecast for today was right for us to leave.
We awoke at 6am and with clear skies and the sun breaking over the horizon. With breakfast ready we cast off the lines and motored out of the marina. We had breakfast on the way to the heads. Another RPAYC Coral Coast Cruise yacht, Cloud Nine, was leaving with us. They had 5 men onboard and we had dinner with them last night at the Mod Thai. There was a degree of comfort that another yacht was leaving with us even though they are a faster yacht and we would probably lose sight of them by nightfall. The wind was from the South West but not blowing hard in the bay. Could be a differrent story offshore. We motored around to Shoal Bay and raised the mainsail. Logged on to Marine Rescue and headed out through the passage on a course between Cabbage Tree Island and Little Island. Swell was at 2-3 meters so it was a bit rocky on the way out. We motor sailed for 1 hour until we were clear of the islands and the seas settled into a comfortable pattern. The swell was from the South East so it was knocking the stern around abit but the auto pilot was handling it well. With the motor off  and the No 3 jib poled out, we were gull winging our way North. The wind moved further South during the day but it was a comfortable 15 knots, so we were able to sail above our target speed of 6 knots. In fact we had about a knot of current pushing us North. We were actually doing 7.5knots speed over ground.
It was a very pleasant sunny day albeit a bit cool.
We settled down and had some lunch and continued to track North with Cloud Nine. They were slowly edging away from us with their bigger sail area.
This was to be Tamara's first night at sea on passage so it was best we eat early before dark and have everything washed and packed away for the night. We had precooked frozen dinner packs for the passage and for our first night we had a slow cooked lambshank stew. Very nice.
Night fell and the wind was from the South at 12 knots. Speed 6 knots. I kept the poled out No 3 flying to maintain our 6 knots. Cloud Nine was a speck on the horizon in front of us apoprox 6miles ahead.
I tried to get some sleep while Tamara was on watch. At 10pm Tamara went to sleep and I took over the watch duties until 3am when Tamara would come back on.
At midnight the wind had picked up to 20 knots so I rolled up the No 3 and continued under full main sail making good speed.

28th May

Tamara came on watch at 3am and I had a good 3 hours sleep until dawn. I awoke at 6am with sunrise and Tamara went to bed for a well earned rest. She had completed her first overnight sail. She was not scared and we had no issues.

To my amazement we were with in a nautical mile of Cloud Nine.  We had gone out to sea and picked up some extra wind and current going North and they put a reef in the mainsail for the night. We had done well.
By 7am we had notched up 160nm in 24 hours and we were abeam of Coffs Harbour. I had intended to stop at Coffs for 1 night but the weather was good and we were both feeling relaxed and rested so we kept  going to Southport.

On the helm growing in confidence.

It was a sunny day with the wind oscillating from South to South East and slowly abating. The wind dropped from 20knots to 8knots by nightfall so we had no option to furl the headsail and put the motor on.
By nightfall we were off Yamba and having a dinner of stuffed peppers with chilli. One of Tamara's best Russian meals. Cloud Nine had cleared out in front again and was a speck on the horizon. I estimate she was 7 nautical miles in front. They had caught a tuna and had shashimi for entre. I had decided not to fish for a few reasons. Safety was one and we had a lot of food on board and I did not want to have to do any filleting.
Our ETA Southport was 6am in the morning but we had had such an easy passage we decided we would continue on to Mooloolaba. We rounded Cape Byron at 10.30pm and the wind had died to less than 5 knots. Shortly after the wind came off the land from the South West at 10-12 knots and it dropped the temperature down. It was freezing with wind chill factor. Lucky I bought that sea rug from Whitworths before I left as that blocked the wind and allowed Tamara and I to sleep in the cockpit and still be warm.
We had the same watch pattern as the previous night with me taking over at 10pm to 3am. By 1am we were off Point Danger and I radioed Marine Rescue Point Danger and reported our position and let them know of our intention to continue on to Mooloolaba. ETA at Mooloolaba was 8pm.
29th May
The sun rose at 6am and while there was some sun there were also some very black threatening clouds around us with rain squalls on the horizon. We had passed Southport and were approaching Stradbroke Island. I heard Cloud Nine on the radio trying to report their position to the Seaway Tower at Southport. They contacted us and I relayed their position on to them. It was another surprise for us as they were 9 nautical miles astern of us. They went to sea during the night and the wind died on them and they had a knot of current against them. We stayed inshore and picked up a land breeze and motor sailed at 6.5 knots through the night.
It was time to put the fishing lines out. With in an hour we had 2 stripey blue tuna on board at about 3kilos each. We had shashimi for lunch along with miso soup.

Shashimi for lunch.

Rain squalls came and went and the wind would increase ahead of the squalls and then die down. We continued to motor sail along Stradbroke and Moreton Island. Dolphins were plentiful and many putting on a show jumping from the water in front of us and riding the bow wave.
We rounded Cape Moreton 12.43pm and set a course for Mooloolaba. ETA now 5pm. It would be good to get in before dark.
5miles out from Mooloolaba the seas were flat and the sun was warm on the skin. We had to avoid the big tankers moored off Point Cartwright and decided we should tidy up the yacht before entering port.

Time to celebrate

We rounded Point Cartright at 4.30pm and entered Mooloolaba breakwater. It was a short motor to Mooloolaba Marina where we found our berth. After a hot shower and a bottle of Champagne to celebrate Tamara's first over night ocean passage we joined the crew of Cloud Nine, who arrived and hour later with a plate full of Tuna shashimi and a bottle of NZ Savingion Blanc.

We will be docked here until Saturday when we will depart for Fraser Island on Saturday morning.
We are looking forward to our stay in Mooloolaba and meeting up with some of my PNG friends. They will join us on Thursday night for a meal and a drink or two.

We are happy to be in QLD sunshine

A few repairs are needed. We had  diesel leaking from the top of the tank which needs to be fixed and we have to replace one of the mainsail luff cars that broke in a gybe.

Log : 399.63nm   Elapsed Time  59 hours.