Well our journey this year has been anything but a “straight line”! We’ve navigated so many road blocks and detours along the way, the challenges just keep on coming!
After leaving Boatworks we decided to do an overnighter from The Broadwater (southern end of Moreton Bay) to the Wide Bay Bar at Fraser Island. The forecast was perfect with calm seas and light westerly winds. The meandering waters of The Broadwater enabled some shakedown time for our ‘new’ engine which proved to be warranted as we had some water hoses leaking. After rearranging some hoses and clamps (and negotiating an unexpected very low tide … we had to wait for the water to return!) we dropped anchor for a calm night’s sleep. The last four weeks had been rather trying and with an interrupted sleep the following night coming, a calm flat water anchorage was warranted.
So, we set off in to Moreton Bay the next morning and hoisted our mainsail for the first time this season (after refitting our repaired mainsail at Boatworks). Unexpectedly, we encountered some batten problems. They were popping out of their pockets. Arggghhh!!! So bobbing along in Moreton Bay we had to remove all the battens rather than risking losing them overboard (they are actually quite long). So our o’nighter was with the jib, no mainsail and one motor (keeping in mind one engine had been reconditioned, so it was being run in).
(Remember … select the first photo and you can scroll through the rest to see bigger photos.)
We had an uneventful passage (at last) after our messy start and we arrived at the WBB in perfect time to cross the flattest bar we’ve ever seen. Perfect!
For some reason I always feel that crossing the WBB actually signals the real start to our sailing season.
We meandered up the calm Great Sandy Straits taking our time stopping at Gary’s Anchorage, the Kingfisher Resort on Fraser Island and Big Woody Island.
A month or so ago I’d connected with a couple on Instagram – Carmen and Shane. After some Instagram communication and the exchange of phone numbers as we travelled through NSW, we finally caught up with them in Urangan, Hervey Bay. Carmen and Shane have just started building a Fusion 40 (and it happened to be in Maryborough, not far from Hervey Bay). Now … that we could identify with! Revisiting our build days and showing them our boat was very rewarding for both of us. It’s a huge project building your own cat, but while it’s very challenging it’s also a very satisfying journey. We wish them well and look forward to meeting Strait Lines on the water one day! If you’re interested you can follow their journey at www.sailingstraitlines.com
We are currently cruising up the west coast of Fraser Island in Platypus Bay with Aqualibrium. We said goodbye to Darren too at Urangan. Daren is building a cat not from us in Victoria. You must name your boat Darren and Liz!
With SE winds blowing in Platypus Bay, an endless sandy beach, blue skies and while we are hugging Fraser Island, we can have an easy gentle sail all the way to Rooney Point if we choose. It is humpback whale season here too. Many humpbacks drop in to Hervey Bay on their way south so we will hopefully see some whale activity.
I do hope our family and friends can perhaps enjoy our journey from afar. These are trying times especially in Victoria and we are always thinking of everyone back home.
the brekkie looks good the photos are good too
thanks John
Hi John. A cooked brekkie in a calm anchorage was very much appreciated after our o’nighter! Glad you are enjoying the pics too. A
Good you are underway and enjoying Fraser. It is nice to just relax and enjoy the area without feeling the need to rush north… not much point anyway. We are now at the Keppels for a little while, still finding new spots to explore.
Yes we’re enjoying our time at Fraser with these easterlies. We’ve often just sailed on, keen to get further north. So many yachts here doing the same thing. Lots of whales! Certainly planning on visiting GKI but who knows how much further.