Wind S SE 15 – 20 knts   44 nmi

One by one the yachts departed  the anchorage, it was a lovely peaceful night , only a slight roll at high tide. Another lovely sail today averaging 7 knts but sometimes between 8 and 9.

 

We started with a reefed main but the wind slackened off later and we really could have taken it out but didn’t want to turn into the wind. Instead we furled the jib and put up the screecher giving us more speed.

 

Didn’t bother putting a line out as its too hard to pull a fish in when we are doing so many knots.

Hay Point coal terminal was not as busy as we have seen in past years, I could only count 17 ships waiting out their turn in their allotted anchorages. I suppose this has something to do with the downturn in the mining sector.

The Port of Hay Point is still one of the largest coal export ports in the world. Combined with Darymple Bay coal terminal next door they service the mines of the Bowen basin.

 

We wove our way in and out of the giant behemoths waiting to be filled then back off to various parts of the globe. We were advised by the harbour master that their was no traffic movement in the area , the only requirement was that we stay clear of the 4 km loading jetty by 1 nautical mile. Our course and the wind took us rather close to what looked like a brand new chinese ship the China Sea Exploration which dwarfed us and would have been very daunting had it been underway.

Ovive sailing past CS Exploration – photo courtesy of Back Friday

We arrived at Mackay Marina at 2:00, pretty much on low tide. The ramps from the marina to the land were a mammoth climb as we stretched our legs on the way to the marina office. The tide has a whopping 6 metre tidal range here.

We paid a very reasonable fee of $70 per night and then the crews of our 4 boats gathered for drinks at the bar and discussed the days great sail.