Whitsundays - Visitors Week!

I cant help but feel proud that we have arrived in the Whitsundays under our own steam - we are here and it feels great!

The crew sailed from Scawfell Island bound for Shaw Island in a very strong breeze and a nasty wind against tide action for much of the way.  I have made a mental note to myself to be careful where we anchor next time at Scawfell as we spent 1/2 an hour cleaning the thickest and slimiest green weed off the chain before leaving - not such a great way to start the morning!

The forecast for the next few days was a very strong 30-35 knots so the crew elected to anchor behind Shaw Island which has good protection - and blow it did!  For 48 hours it was between 25-40 knots and the 6-8 boats in the anchorage barely put there heads out the companionway except to check on anchors.  I must admit to wondering if the Whitsundays was always 25 knots or above?

The wind slowly eased to 18-20 knots and we motor sailed across to Hamilton Island as we were due to meet Tim and Pam - originally the plan was to pick them up and anchor at various non touristy places but due to the still strong breeze we decided to spend the time at the marina and use it as a base for Tim and Pam to organise their following week of sightseeing.

Tim and Pam preparing for the day

Pam gets the big Aunty's thumbs up however.  Walking down the marina surrounded by very (very!) expensive large boats, Tim asks 'if I owned any of these boats, which one would you want me to have?' Pam quickly responds - 'that one' and points to the Pod....Pam should have been a politician but it earnt her brownie points none the less!

Tim and Pam stayed with us for a few days and then it was time to head to Airlie Beach to reprovision and meet some of Pete's friends who were bringing out their trailer boat for a spot of fishing on the outer reef - whilst using the Pod as the mother ship.  Doug and Jason have been part of the 'crew' who Pete has been on many fishing charters with over the last few years including Fiji, Nomad etc.

The crew headed out to Nara Inlet to anchor in preparation of the teams arrival - we wanted to ensure we had a safe anchorage so that whilst the guys were out fishing I didn't have to re-anchor if the breeze changed.  After such strong weather, the weather gods shone and the second day was a spectacular day of sun and barely any wind.  They had a great fishing day with Spanish Mackerel, Coral Trout and Red Fish caught.  One of the Mac's was tooooo big for the Esky so off came his head!

A Mac without his head - still tastes great!

The crew enjoyed the guys company for two nights and a great meal was enjoyed, cooked by the captain, of Mac for entrée and Coral Trout for main.

Coral Trout - one of gods gifts to the kitchen

 



After saying a fond farewell - the crew has moved around to Stonehaven which is a lovely anchorage and we have spent an afternoon paddle boarding over the coral and zipping around in the dinghy exploring the surrounding beaches.  It was an amazing day of light breeze and clear water.

 

The crew then moved onto Whitehaven/Hill Inlet as the forecast was for very light breezes for the next week and this is a good opportunity to explore the area which can be exposed to the trade winds when blowing.  Unfortunately after arriving at a mooring, the Captain went off to explore the fishing opportunities.  The fishing was so good (3-4 Golden Trevalley and 2 Queenies in about 15 minutes!!) that being the great Captain he is, he came back to get me so I could enjoy the fishing.  Not such a good move...first cast I caught a good size Queenie, cast out a second time and hooked up just beside the dinghy as I was retrieving...the hook didn't quite set and the hook flung back and went straight into my middle finger. 

 

Upon first glance the captain thought we could get it out but once we got back to the Pod we realised it was a bit deeper than first thought, so we sailed/motored back to Airlie so I could go up to Proserpine hospital.  It turned out to be a rather long night as it took 4 hours to get back, and hour or so at the hospital and I finally got back around 1am!  No harm done really - a local injection and a good doctor and I have already healed up no more than 2 days later.

 

So the crew have headed back out again - we will try the same area, because there is fish still uncaught by the captain....

Bundaberg, Pancake Creek, and the Amazing Percy's

Pancake Creek

With a reasonable breeze forecast the crew headed off from Bundaberg to Pancake Creek as we needed to make up some distance to ensure we were in the Whitsundays for a visit from our Nephew and Neice (in law) Tim and Pam in 2 weeks.

The Pod sailed really well after leaving at 6am to ensure we made the best of the slack tide getting out of the marina and through the long channel of Bundaberg.  Pancake Creek is a wide expanse of water (it is actually a creek) which if you follow the markers has a deep high tide channel that allows boats to enter from the outer anchorage into a larger more protected area.  The outer anchorage has land on one side and a sand spit on the other - it can be a little rolly but generally is quite good.  If you enter through the channel - there is more protection from the swell and wind as well and that is where most cruising folk end up. Due to a fuel blockage (yes again!) literally at the entry we only anchored just inside the headland - we spent two nights here and did a lot of exploring in the dinghy.  This is a well known East Coast anchorage for cruising boats and I look forward to spending some more time there on the return trip - there is good mud crabs here and some good fishing I am told.

 

Pancake Creek - Second anchorage

 

 

Great Keppel Island

With the continuing good breeze (20-25 knots) we headed off to Great Keppel Island.  Originally the crew planned to break the trip up with a different anchorage about 15 NM from GKI but upon arrival the swing to a more Easterly breeze throughout the day meant this would not be comfortable so we arrived well after dark at GKI. A late arrival to a new anchorage (for us anyway) means anchoring outside the shelter of the Island and that means a rolly night at anchor....this is the type of night that cruising people dread!

First thing in the moning we picked up the anchor and made our way further into the bay - what a lovely island this is!  It has many walks over the island and a couple of resident live aboards who have lived on their boats at GKI for years!  The crew did many hours of beach combing for shells and whilst the captain tried to drown the crew a few times getting ashore in the swell we had a great time none the less. 

Percy Islands

After three nights at GKI the crew decided to head off to the Percys as the forecast was for a declining breeze for the next three days.  At 4pm we headed off for an overnighter - arrival mid morning the next day.  Normally most cruisers will break up the trip anchoring over at Island Head meaning an overnighter is not required but the defence forces were having 'war games' and therefore a significant area (including anchorages and some distance out to sea) is closed to all boat traffic...this is definitely on our list for the return trip as it is an amazing area!  Isolated and serene!

The breeze completely died overnight and we motor sailed the last half of the leg.  The crew arrived to an almost glassy anchorage known as Middle Percy.....ahhh the serenity!  This anchorage is a very well known place for cruisers and is a number of Islands literally in the middle of no where.  It has a long maritime history that includes a very large A frame which passing boats for decades have left their memorabilia.  The captain recalls his parents doing the same about 23 years ago!  Some of the memorabilia is very elaborate and often has 3-4 different dates on the same plaque as boats come back year after year. 

 

Middle Percy - The Serenity of a Beautiful Anchorage

 

The Big A Frame

 

The fishing was amazing - literally in a few feet of water there was Spanish Mackeral chasing huge schools of Gar Fish in beautiful clear water.  I kept the crew of a cat entertained when we motored into a large school being chased and the Gar Fish were hitting the side of the dinghy and nearly jumping aboard to escape the Mackeral - needless to say I was head down, screaming trying to escape the jumping fish to the great delight of the cat beside us!  We did enjoy a lovely evening with some new friends on the yacht Gilly who we have passed a number of times at different anchorages.  The crew also enjoyed walks along deserted beaches and a few paddles along the edge.

 

Gilly anchoraged at Digby

 

All wonderful things can not last - and we decided to head off for a quick day sail to Digby Island and then onto Scawfell Island whilst a small breeze was forecasted - mmmm there was no breeze for both legs but we did enjoy both anchorages very much.  Digby had some good fishing but alas the captain with his sprained hand just couldn't get them onto the boat (it was night as well which didn't help!)

Sailing to Digby - Breeze - what Breeze?

 

The last leg has now seen the crew arrive in the Whitsundays proper (also known as the Cumberland group) just in time to meet with Tim and Pam.

Plenty to write about on the next post...

Until then

Nic

The Sandy Straights and Running Aground....

My apologies to everyone for my tardiness on providing updates on our recent progress..

So the crew left Mooloolaba very early Thursday morning with a steady wind and swell forecast...it wasn't a perfect forecast for the 'mad mile run' but the crew all agreed that the pod could handle those conditions without a problem. 

 

In actual fact there was very little concern until one of the boats about an hour ahead of the Pod reported that they had been knocked down by two rogue waves on way point 2 - the poor fellow was very distraught when reporting into the VMR.  This particular boat reported they would need to spend the next few hours mopping up water and putting their boat back in order. 

 

The VMR did report that the second way point should be taken about 50 meters to the North of the marker as the bar had moved around a bit further since it was put down - unfortunately this boat may have taken the waypoint a bit to finely as there was significant swell and waves breaking on both sides of the Pod when we entered.  The crew even took the precaution of putting in the storm boards and of course all the crew (including Miss Charlotte) put on our life jackets just in case.  We navigated the bar without mishap and the Pod handled the confused seas like the gem that she is.

The crew studying the 'cruising bible' for the best anchorages after the Mad Mile 
Note the life jacket

The crew then spent the next few nights at an anchorage called Pelican Bay - I particularly like this anchorage as the water is clean with a nice sand spit for exploring and there is many boats coming and going to peruse from the cockpit. 

Charlotte attracts attention at Pelican Bay on the Stand Up Paddle Board
(as she does at the Lake) - the crew are never allowed to leave without her aboard.

 

Due to the high tide times (early morning and latish afternoons) we decided on the spare of the moment to proceed down the straights (this is behind Fraser Island) late one afternoon headed for a very popular anchorage known as Gary's Anchorage.  We had planned only to stay the one night before continuing the journey through the straights, but a very slow moving morning fog prevented us from leaving for two days.  Gary's anchorage is very well known for the Mud Crabs that can be caught but alas we didn't have mud crab for dinner that night - however we did enjoy the two nights free of midggies (the other thing this anchorage is well known for!)

 

So this is when it got interesting - due to the fog in the morning the crew decided to run the gauntlet on the afternoon high tide.  In order to get to the next anchorage (White cliffs) before dark we would need to leave Gary's about an hour after the turn from low tide (tides run roughly in 1 x 12th in first hour, 2 x 12th second hour, 3 x 12th 3rd hour and then it reverses itself for the 4 to the 6th hour to give you some idea)

 

All was going well until faced with a buoy that is a bit odd on the GPS and due to the water clarity not possible to visually confirm - so we ran aground.  The Pod was very high and dry on a -.7 feet reading on the depth sounder.  The crew put the anchor out to prevent the Pod from coming adrift onto the buoy as the tide rose, but it didn't take long before we were afloat again (about 45 minutes) - the problem however was it was now very, very dark and finding your way through the sandy straights in the dark is...well interesting to say the least!  Eventually the Pod found the anchorage but we decided to stay out wide as judging the lights on other boats at night is actually quite difficult.

The crew running aground - only kidding I will explain this later!

The next day the crew sailed out to Platypus Bay.  Now this is what I signed up for - a very long stretch of sandy beach, crystal clear water and a turtle or two to keep us entertained. On the second afternoon, the crew decided to meander down the beach a bit further to find an anchorage called lagoon anchorage.  After a little while - the captain says...

 

Captain: That mast you can see down about 1/2 a mile must be a boat in the lagoon. 

Me: Mmmmm...looks more like a small catamaran pulled up on the beach to me

Captain: No cant be - it has two spreaders - it must be a bigger boat

 

Out come the binoculars - imagine our surprise when we realise the boat in the picture above and below was very, very high and dry on this magical expanse of sand.  I have googled the yachts name to find out the story behind the grounding but have yet to find anything.  The boat appears to be approximately 35 foot long, a centre cockpit ferro yacht(cement for those not sure what that means).  It is actually really eerie as there is still a main sail attached, a furler for the headsail and when you look inside there is buckets and life jackets just sitting on the sand inside!

This was certainly a different way to spend our last afternoon in Harvey Bay before heading over to the Port of Bundaberg.  The crew headed off mid morning with a heavy weather forecast of 30 knots plus in the next 24 hours - we needed to provision and refuel so Bundaberg was the preferred port of call.

 

Bundaberg - is quite interesting both for the setup of the marina and for the history relating to the flooding experienced twice in the last 2.5 years.

 

The marina itself is quite a long way from the town of Bundaberg so we hired a car to do the provisioning (and the captain had sprained his wrist so a quick visit to the hospital for a check up were on the cards as well) but also enjoyed a delightful meal at the dog friendly café/restaurant located in the marina building.  It was very interesting to talk to the shipwright and other locals regarding the damage the floods have caused - in the hardstand area, we noticed that there was heaps of boats just sitting there not being worked on.  Upon investigation, the vast majority of the boats are sitting there severely damaged after the floods - they are divided into two groups - those insured and those not insured and most are up for sale.  Certainly if you are after a cheap boat to rebuild this is where you should head!

 

After a few days at Bundaberg waiting for the front to go through (and again enjoying a sunset with the crew from Allusive) we headed off to Pancake Creek....but you will have to wait for that instalment till tomorrow

Nic

We've been everywhere man...

Okay maybe Slim Dusty has been more places than the Pod and crew recently...

Last post found us having recently entered Coffs Harbour.  We spent a few days washing and enjoying the sights of Coffs before making our first foray out of the harbour.  The plan was to leave Coffs early with a forecast for a 2m swell and a 15 knot south/south west breeze - this is the conditions the Pod loves.  Once we got outside, it was obvious the ground swell was much larger than forecasted, so the crew made the decision to come back in as we were concerned that a further building swell might present a challenge for entering Southport bar.

The NSW nasty weather did the crew no favours for the next few days, with a breaking entry to Coffs Harbour, even though the sun was shining and generally very nice. The Pod did however end up in the berth near our sister ship (so to speak) Aratika 2 - the crew of Aratika are Robb, Emma and their two lovely littlies.  They are on a year long, family sabbatical from Tassie - we hope to see more of them further up the Coast as it is nice to compare boats, however I suspect they may need to watch the Captain because he may unbolt their bow sprit if they arent careful and install it on the Pod.

Aratika 2 - our sister ship

Anyway, the crew settled in for another few days and between watching the weather forecast, the Coffs entry, the boats that dived in for shelter during the night after rough nights at sea (including the Young Endeavour), we finally set sail to the Gold Coast.  The sail North, was awesome!  The pod started in some really light breeze and an angle (to make it past the solitary Islands) that meant we motored, but a few hours before the sun set the forecasted Westerley came in (literally you could see the line of breeze in what was a becalmed sea) and the Pod shook herself off and we sailed for the next 20 hours between 6-8 knots in 15-20knots of breeze.  The swell was still up, but the Pod just gets into her groove and it makes for fantastic sailing.

Coffs Harbour - Breaking Entry to the Harbour!

We arrived into the Gold Coast seaway with only a slight swell on the entry and promptly set the anchor, in the lovely anchorage known as Bums Bay...this little anchorage has sandy beaches on all sides, massive boats entering and exiting the seaway, huge high rises and there in the midst of it all sits the boats heading mostly North and a few 'liveaboards' who transit out for a day or so every 30 days!

Young Endeavour - Seeking shelter

The crew were keen to move further North before the next weathern pattern arrived (due end of the week) so a few days later we set off for Double Island Point/Tin Can Bay - we started in a sloppy sea and very little wind but soon the breeze kicked in about midway along North Stradbroke, and we sailed with 18-20 knots from the south east - again the Pod loved it and we were sailing at 6.5-7.5 knots of speed.  The 4pm forecast by the BOM suddenly had a change of forecast, with a now forecasted 2.5m swell with 25-30 knots of breeze for the Double Island Point area, which resulted in a change of plans.

The Pod - Safe and Sound

  For those that do not know this bar, it is considered one of the worst entries in a number of conditions for the East Coast - mainly because it is fairly long entry and most yachts can expect to be in the bar area (particularly waypoint 2-3 which is called the mad mile) for about 40 minutes which means each boat will see a number of swell roll in.  Add shallow waters and this can mean breaking waves if the conditions are rough.  Tin Can Bay VMR do a fabulous job in monitoring the conditions and tracking each entry - they ask each boat to radio in twice to ensure you enter safely past each way point and are awesome if you call to get advice on the prevailing conditions.  Our first call to them had choppy seas with an occasional white water breaking, but a rating of 6/10 for conditions.  The second call had the VMR monitoring and hoping that a boat that had tried to enter and turned around due to breaking seas' would arrive into port safely...whilst the bar can be benign, this is a serious bar and not to be undertaken lightly if the conditions arent great.

Stewed Rhubarb with Porridge - The crew eat well!

  So, discretion being the better part of valour, the crew made the decision to come into Mooloolaba with the view that we might leave early the next day if things settled down...alas that is not to be, as the next day had wind observations at 30 knots or greater on Double Island Point, which has continued since then.  The crew arrived at Mooloolaba at 3am and successfully navigated the channel and marina berths in the dead of the night.  

To our great delight, the crew aboard Allusive arrived a few hours later and we have since caught up a few times.  We have learnt a number of new anchorages and options for future trips already from the Allusive crew, as well as scoring a cuddle from the pups Mac and Tillie.
  The crew plan to explore a little more around Mooloolaba (we really like it already), and head up to the mad mile possibly Thursday or Friday weather permitting.

Catch you at the next Port

Nic

The Next Chapter...

My last post had Escape Pod at Port Stephens and a lot has happened since then...

 

Last Sunday the crew headed to Broughton Island as the weather looked good to enjoy a few days at what is essentially an ocean anchorage.  We spent the first 2 nights at Coal Shaft Bay, which at low tide is a lovely protected anchorage.  At high tide however it can become a little rollie due to swell.  The captain of course did a spot of fishing and caught some nice small Snapper, another Benito and a couple of squid - the water is so clear at Broughton Island that when I went forward to drop the anchor I could actually see the line in the sand where the anchor dug in (this was at 12 feet), clear water like that is not normally conducive to large fish however!

 

 

The captain and one of his snapper


 

Our plan was to then spend a night in Providence Bay (when the wind turned lighter) and this anchorage proved to be an absolute delight - again the water is crystal clear and due to a very light northerly we were able to comfortably sit at anchor with almost no swell.  Just prior to sunset (with a glass of red in hand) the Captain did manage to hook up to a large eagle ray (did you know Eagle Rays are the only ray considered a game fish due to their fighting ability?) which created delight when it jumped clear out of the water a number of times.

 

Charlotte - enjoying a run on the beach

 

 

The wind as expected started to pick up mid morning so we retreated back to Coal Shaft Bay with the plan to head to Esmeralda Cove when the forecasted 25 knot Westerly/North Westerly blew in - it came a little earlier than expected but dutifully the crew headed around to the new anchorage.  Unfortunately the anchorage proved to be very tight for more than 1 boat (with a rocky lee shore about 8 meters from our stern and bow), and a difficult holding, so at about 4.30pm we made the decision to do a night entry back to Port Stephens.  A challenge was set by the Captain for me to find the mooring buoy in the dark and to pick up the mooring buoy first go - which I managed with great finesse (okay it was maybe with a bit less finesse but I did all that was asked!)

 

Escape Pod - Providence Bay

Early the next morning we made the decision to do the overnighter to Coffs as the weather was looking quite good - knowing the forecast was for a decent blow in the Hunter waters late afternoon we didn't waste time.  The crew were absolutely honoured to be accompanied by a massive superpod of dolphins (and a number of whales at various times) which had great delight in jumping and skipping through the water of Escape Pods bow and stern - it was the best encounter with dolphins I have seen as the water was crystal clear.  The crew spent about 45 minutes up the bow (auto pilot was on) cheering and clapping at these beautiful creatures.  The Captain was able to take some amazing photographs below of these guys.

 

Photo taken from Escape Pods bow

Here's looking at you?

 

My turn, no it's my turn!

 

 

 

Our new AIS identified a yacht trucking up behind us for the entire trip and we became intrigued by the boat known as Allusive...

 

Escape Pod got our first look at Allusive just out of Coffs and upon arrival into Coffs Marina we were greeted by the lovely crew - what we didn't know until we arrived was that Allusive also carries the 2 cutest crew called Mac (Mr Mac) and Tillie (Miss Tillie).  After a clean up and some dinner we were kindly rewarded with a few reds with John, Di and Crew aboard Allusive which was a thoroughly enjoyable evening - I say enjoyable but I do have to mention our First mates foray into the water in the dead of the night. 

 

Who is a clever girl - Miss Tillie from Allusive!

 

As we were leaving the crew of Allusive in the pitch black dark, the first mate in her haste not be left behind, did not look before exiting onto the wharf and promptly fell into the water between the stern and the marina (our missy is use to jumping down onto the wharf from our boat and not across from a stern to wharf is our only excuse).  My first thoughts were OMG I am going in for a rescue, but the Captain has lightning fast reflexes and dropped down to his knees and dragged the first mate wringing wet onto the marina!  There was no harm done, as Charlotte then promptly tried to follow Mr Mac down the wharf with tail wagging - however there was a late night blow dry and wrestle with the captain and a towel.

 

The crew has spent the last 2 days doing odd jobs, reprovisioning at the local Sunday markets and getting some rest - all going well we will head to the Gold Coast on Tuesday morning which will again be an overnighter of about 24 hours.

 

The crew of Escape Pod hopes this finds everyone well - we will see you at the next port

 

Nic

Have I Told You Lately...?

Have I told you lately...that we are going sailing again?

Yep we have set sail for a final destination unknown, so surely you jest that I haven't told you before now! Escape Pod and the crew have set sail on a heading North of Lake Macquarie, with a number of destinations planned on the way.

Where might we go you may ask? Definitely Broughton Island, Coffs Harbour is planned for our first overnighter, second overnighter to Gold Coast, take the inland seaway to Moreton Bay and then onto the Sandy Straights.  From there we will head out to the glorious Lady Musgrave, The Percy's, The Whitsundays and well who knows from there, it isn't like we are in a hurry!

After a slightly slow start on our planned departure date, due to the 'jobs list' (read: renting the house out, moving everything out of said house, moving a zillion things onto the boat and a list of boat jobs longer than Charlottes tail) we have arrived in Port Stephens and have been enjoying a lovely few days at Fame Cove.  As a sailing friend (Mr Matt) requested, we are singing along with the Eagles song ' taking it easy' and simply enjoying the ride - we have encountered 3 whales to date, numerous dolphins out to sea and enjoyed an hour of watching the dolphins in Fame Cove round up the bait fish (into the shallows).

So far on the trip the tally is 4 fish for the captain.  A good size bream, a Benito (which we had as sashimi for lunch today!) and a couple of tailor (negative points there for the tally)

I would hazard a guess that I have loaded dry provisions on to the Pod weighing 2 tonne - everything from powdered wasabi we made up today, to bread mixes,  to dried nuts and every Asian ingredient known to man!  We definitely wont starve...

Anyway we are off to Broughton tomorrow if this light southerly stays with us and then mid week to Coffs.  I will leave you with a photo of the Captains fish to enjoy - I know my tummy did!

Nic

The End Is Nigh..

As with any great adventure there is a beginning and an end...

Last Friday an early start from Coffs Harbour had us sailing with the intention of heading straight through to our home port of Lake Macquarie.  There was a forecasted Southerly due in the early evening of Saturday.
 

The Friday was one of those days that is so awesome that you never want them to end.  A consistent 15 knot breeze from behind (North/North West) that had the Pod sailing along at a consistent 7-8 knots.  The breeze built a little in the late afternoon to 22 knots from behind which had the Pod sitting comfortably at 10 knots - not bad for a 12.5 tonne old girl!  We reefed the main on sunset to ensure we didn't spill our cups of tea...it is all about priorities for the crew now.

 

During the day and as Suellen promised there was a zillion whales and their accompanying pods of dolphins.  The most flipper 'smashes' we counted by any given whale was 19 in a row - it had us laughing and feeling good to be alive.  I can't describe how seeing these big guys jumping out of the water up close makes you feel.

After a great night sail, the breeze died completely and 6am'sh found us at the heads of Port Stephens.  Being a bit weary and not wanting to fight a southerly we berthed at the Dalbora marina by early morning. 

Although the plan is to sail to Broughton Island this weekend the chances are looking slim so it maybe home again, home again...although I have been working on some lino printing for some table ware so wherever I am this is what I will be doing!

Hope you had a great week and that the long weekend is safe whatever you are doing
Nic