a favourite!

Yellow Patch is it!

We have just spent a wonderful five days at our favourite Yellow Patch. Yellow Patch is so named because of its unusual long orange sandhill, not quite “yellow” but close enough. It serves as a very scenic backdrop to extensive white sand flats, mangrove creeks and a bush beach. Yellow Patch is on the northern side of Curtis Island, not far from Cape Capricorn. We have visited here three times over our time cruising the east coast but I never tire of this special place. It is such a different anchorage from our usual haunts.

The ‘entrance’ to Yellow Patch constantly changes so a rising high tide is a must, along with a lookout (me) to spot that deeper water. We keep waypoints and our track in to Yellow Patch each visit for returning trips, but like this year, those tracks often only last one season. As we approached the ‘entrance’ with Vivacious we could both see some rather shallow water ahead.  Fortunately, a fellow yachtie (Dream Runner) saw us both hesitating outside and motored out in their tender to guide us in.

Once inside the anchorage, it’s so lovely. Our intention was to stay in Yellow Patch for five nights, sitting out a blustering few days of forecast wind, but also enjoy what the anchorage has to offer.  There’s plenty to do here!

First up … climb that hill!  I did this a few times for photos, especially at low tide.

There were five or six cats at Yellow Patch each night.  There are always boats coming and going, and all at high tide.  But this time we met the unofficial mayor and mayoress of Yellow Patch, Joan and Kevin off Dream Runner. We all met each afternoon for sundowners or a BBQ or a “pot luck” meal ashore. It was very relaxed, very social and watching the sun go down in such a scenic anchorage was perfect.

I mentioned there’s plenty to do … kayaking, photographing, hounding the soldier crabs, walking the sand flats, climbing the sand hill, crabbing (no luck) and fishing!  Lionfish Safari were very generous in offering to take us fishing for whiting. A few pointers were going to be appreciated. Glennis and Russell are fisher people extraordinaire, they just love it.  Sure enough, after some ribbing early on about the lack of fish activity, they started biting.  I caught seven good sized whiting (all over 23cm), Glennis and Russell many more!  I was happy.  Whiting are a beautiful fish to eat.

My 7 whiting … yum!

Back up the sand hill …

Bossa anchored below

Soldier crabs, kayaking, golf and some sand hill sliding …

Kevin & Jo golfing on the sand flats

So … what’s next? Hopefully a visit out to Lady Musgrave Island for some turtle watching.