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.

Wind S SE 10 – 15 knts 30 nmi

Pulled the anchor after a rolls night and headed for the Beverley Cluster at 8:15. Digby Island is the largest of the cluster of 8 islands with a lagoon like anchorage although it can get quite rolly. We had another great sail averaging 7 knots even though the wind wasn’t as strong as yesterday. We put a lure out but caught nothing.

O’vive was the last to arrive at Digby at about 12:00 just behind Bojangles.

Back Friday and Moor R &R were already anchored , as well as Mogo another cat.

Had lunch then went ashore for well earned shore leave.

John , Bryan,( I’m finally spelling Bryan correctly)  Morgan and I climbed up a ridge to the top of the headland which was covered in very short shrubs and long grass.

Definitely a very windblown outlook. We kept a wary eye for snakes as it looked just like their territory but luckily we didn’t see any. What a fantastic vista of the anchorage from the top, the clear blue water and boats made for a picture postcard.

The beach gathering dispersed and John and Rob went fishing in the dinghy around the fringing reefs of the closest islands. They caught a variety of reef fish , coral cod and fusiliers.

I sprinkled some of Mum and Dads ashes as I felt they would like this place.

The tidal range in the area was 5.5 metres so we were a little worried that we didn’t have enough chain out as it had taken awhile to anchor again. That anchor chain is a real pain it twists the anchor onto its back as I lower it. We played scrabble after dinner until high tide at 10:30 just to ease our minds before retiring to bed.

Wind SE 15 – 20knts – 25 offshore    42 nmi

Dawn broke with a 10 knt breeze, a good sign but hard to tell what its blowing outside. Upped anchor and motored up to the first bend where we reefed the main then motor sailed the 6nm down to the entrance. The seas were fairly rough as we came round the headland and there was strong wind blowing with wind against tide and rather large waves.

Exhilarating though. We saw a few large turtles negotiating the entrance with ease.

By 8:15 we were on our way north on a course of 330° so we pulled the jib and averaged 7.5 knots throughout the day even getting up to 11.8 knots. It was a fantastic sail in fairly high seas.

The heated up leftover fish pastry parcels were a treat for lunch, Morgan being the only one who missed out.

I could count six other yachts all heading in the same direction though some were going a little further on to Middle Percy.

Moor R & R saw a whale breaching but unfortunately we were ahead of them and missed it.

Arrived at South Percy at 2:15 and anchored in 3.6 metres of water. John and I scouted the anchorage for isolated bommies so Back Friday could anchor in close as he is a half boat and rolls a lot.

John dropped Morgan and I ashore and as usual she ran wildly hoping to chase fish.

The deserted beach was lovely with clean yellow sand and scattered shells. We wandered over the rocky headland discovering a deep calm pool full of hardy heads.

Rob reckons they are always in that pool. Should have brought the cast net.  The next beach was even more deserted with no boats decorated the anchorage.

John picked us up after trolling for fish and back to Ovive for the rest of the evening. He caught one Spanish Flag but as the lamb roast was already on we had that for dinner.

A game of scrabble was played with the expected outcome of John winning, even if he did try to cheat with ritz. ( is that a legit word? Oh dear I’ve been informed it is.).

Wind  20 -25  knots SSE   60% chance of showers with sun in between

The wind howled at intervals during the night but dropped on daybreak. The morning was calm and peaceful for a while. Intermittent light showers swept across the anchorage, just enough to dampen us fishermen.

Weather report is the same so we might head off tomorrow as the sea state will be less. It would be nice to move on as Morgan has not been ashore for 3 days now and probably wants to stretch her four legs on something other than boat decks and dinghies. Other than the small beach covered in oysters at low tide the rest of the creek is mud where you sink past your knees. There are two crocodiles reputed to live in the creek but we haven’t seen any.

John ,Rob Morgan and I changed tack this morning, instead of fishing upstream we went downstream 500mts and fished off a rocky outcrop which Rob had advised usually sported a variety of fish. We hardly got any bites except Rob pulled in a legal size flounder. After trying for half an hour we moved upstream to our favourite spot where we had a lively time pulling in bream and crescent grunter.

We took home about 7 of the 30 we caught which John filleted and divided between Rob and us.

The remainder of the day was spent alternating between reading and cleaning. The occasional rain squall being handy to rinse off the boat.

John bypassed the controller on the cool box so the temperature now gets down to about 6° then we turn the frig on and off manually. We shall order a new controller when we get to Mackay.

A quiet evening for a change with just the three of us with steak with pepper cream sauce and a heap of vegies as we haven’t had much in the way of vegies lately. Watched the movie Django then retired.

Wind  20 -25  knots SSE   60% chance of showers with sun in between

Still here sitting out some pretty fierce winds in our rather sheltered creek. The weather report via Paul is constant so maybe we can get away Tuesday if the winds drop slightly. Seas will still be up though.

Another fishing expedition however not as many as yesterday.

Caught about 8 bream today so it was preparation for a seafood night on Moor R&R to use up the fish. Still no decent crabs in the pots only 7 small blue swimmers.

Our cold box (beer and vegie frig) is playing up, we think it is the thermostat. The temperature  won’t get lower than 13°. John zoomed over to pick up a spare unit from another boat and will have a go at fixing it tomorrow.

Rob and Lesley on Bojangles arrived from Rosslyn Bay, they had a good trip up the coast doing 8knts although there was a bit of a following sea. They ripped a huge hole in their dinghy as they collided with the pulpit on the boat next to them as they manoeuvred out of the marina pen in high winds.

At 4:30 the social hub including Rob and Lesley and John from Cyclades gathered on Moor R & R for wasabi fish in Panko breadcrumbs, fish filled pastry parcels, potato bake and salad. Tonight it was everyone bring something. Excellent feast but as usual,  too much food,leftovers tomorrow.

Wind  20 -25  knots SSE   60% chance of showers with sun in between

The weather report is still telling us strong winds for the next 3 days so Island head Creek is our home for a while. And what a lovely view from the back of the boat, steep rugged hills and mountains covered in trees and shrubs and not a sign of civilisation except the occasional noises  from the military training area.

Paul on Moor R & R downloaded the weather as his 4G wifi aerial is at the top of his mast and he is just able to receive a medium signal and hence email and internet.

It was Good Morning Island Head Creek with the authentic soundtrack as he relayed the weather on channel  72 to us less technologically privileged floating homes  in the anchorage .

So the foragers, John and I, picked up the traps to find they were covered in brown and green slime with no crabs inside, Very disappointing as the place looks fantastic for crabs.

Some professional fishermen we stopped to talk to said they had 30 pots out upstream and only got 8 crabs. They reckon because its cold at the moment the crabs bury themselves and don’t come out.

Us three and the crew form Moor R& R and Brian motored further up the creek in the dinghies for a fishing expedition. The tide was going out and fishing at the entrance to a smaller tributary seemed to be the go.

Plenty of bream were milling around the entrance however they were mainly small. Between the two boats we managed about 15 over legal size bream. It was very entertaining especially as Morgan let everyone know each time we caught a fish with her high pitched yapping. Some other varieties flathead, whiting , and crescent  grunter were a change to catch but not up to legal size.

The group regathered at the mother boat (Moor R & R) for a lovely morning tea of coffee and scones with jam and cream. The coffee courtesy of  Pauls cafe style coffee machine and Deb’s hot baked scones which she slaved over whilst the rest of us were fishing.  What luxury in paradise.

The afternoon passed away quite lazily reading, crosswords and some sewing repairs.

Tonight we were catered for on Back Friday with delicious fish patties and a Thai dipping sauce (made by Paul) and a sizzling green curry created by Deb and Bryan. Unfortunately the curry was a bit hot for my lips so I couldn’t eat much. Everyone else said it was wonderful. It was an excellent night especially as I didn’t have to cook a thing.

Hi Everyone sorry I haven’t posted any blogs lately but we have had no internet or phone service for 8 days as we were hiding in some remote places.

Wind  20 -30  knots SSE   Sunny

Strong wind forecast for the next few days so we are staying here as conditions here are relatively calm.

John, Morgan and I put our 2 crab pots out on the northern shore. It looked ideal for mud crabs with deep mud banks and mangroves on every side.

We took a trip further up the creek with the portable depth sounder mounted in the dinghy and charted all the deep areas . There was plenty of room to anchor quite a few cats, with an average depth of 3.5 metres at half tide.

While John reread Mondays paper and completed another crossword, Jenny and Morgan made apple, date and cinnamon muffins ( well ,Morgan sat and hoped for scraps), it was a very pleasant laid back morning.

At low tide we went 2 kms upstream to a small island with a short sandy beach as Morgan was keen to stretch her legs. The foreshore was covered in small rocks encrusted with oysters.

Most oysters were small but when we started looking, camouflaged amongst the rocks were huge oysters. I’ve never seen them so big. It didn’t take long to get a container full of the larger ones.

Meanwhile Morgan discovered an echidna a couple of metres from the water which unsuccessfully tried to bury itself amongst the rocky clusters. Her paws got sore from walking on oysters so she sat on the sand and watched us.

Checked the pots on the way back only one small blue swimmer.

O’vive was swinging on her bridal quite dramatically due to the opposing wind and tide so we upped anchor and motored further up the creek where we had previously surveyed. Past anchorage F in Patricks Curtis coast. After dropping the anchor in 3.1 mt water at half tide we sat back and enjoyed the peace and quiet.

Back Friday and Moor R&R decided to follow and the social hub was relocated to a much calmer and less windier anchorage.

Happy hour with oysters Kilpatrick on O’vive  with Foxs hot sauce turned into a longer session with everybody leaving about 8:00 in a jolly mood. Johns Aberlour Abunadh  whisky might have had something to do with that.

The black hawk helicopter from the military training exercise that had flown over us very low up the creek in the day flew back over reasonably low in the dark. Was Peachy on it?

Wind   10  knots SE   Sunny      12nmi

Woke up to a beautiful calm morning with turtles popping their leathery heads up and the quiet punctuated by dingoes howling in the surrounding scrub. I thought i saw dingoes footprints and scat on the beach the afternoon before.

John and I pulled up the anchor and motored out into clearer flatter water to recalibrate the autopilot again as it was about 10° out. The water must’n have been flat enough yesterday, now its only 1° out.

We motored around to the outer anchorage and dropped anchor to head off in the dinghy on a fishing expedition.

We headed over to Round Island and drifted quite close to the rocks. Not many bites so we went over to the point off the mainland and had a great time pulling in Long Finned cod, Parrot fish and a smaller reddish brown reef cod.

John and I got bitten off several times by a much larger fish but we couldn’t seem to catch them or it. We were using Tuna Mac and Hardy heads for bait. Saw a few large turtles popping their heads up and a very large sea snake.

The day was magnificent, only a slight swell, quite acceptable dinghy fishing.

We departed Port Clinton about 12:00 and headed north between the mainland and Entrance Island.

As we headed north inside Delcomyn Is we put out a lure and in five minutes we had a Tuna Mac. John hauled him in while Jenny steered the boat and furled the jib. Tricky catching fish when you have the sails up. John only had light line out so we needed to slow the boat speed down so he could get it in without breaking the line. We let him go as we already had enough bait. Tuna Mac ( actually Mackeral Tuna) is a gleaming blue and black colour with an oval of beautiful coloured stripes on its back. The flesh is very dark and needs to be blanched first if you are going to eat it.

Another nautical mile on we had another Tuna Mac. This fish was larger but by then we had the screecher out which I couldn’t pull in single handed. Took some time to get this fish onboard as we turned down wind to let the screecher flop and finally determine what we had and let it go. Not sure if a shark took it as there was some splashing after we let it go.

Sailed on to Island Head Creek and motored up the channel on the northern side, very deep in places, 20 mts. Quite a few boats  anchored in the creek most up the western end in expectation of strong winds forecast for the next few days. We anchored at the entrance of the last inlet just before where Alan Lucas suggests in 3.6 metres of water at almost high tide.

We could hear booms from the live firing in the military exercise area as a major exercise is currently on. Peachy is there participating as an army reserve recruit.

Dinghied over to Moor R & R for happy hour with Brian and Deb and Steve from Clear Horizons.

Fish Curry and Rice for dinner.

Wind   10 -15 knots SSE   Sunny      44nmi

Departed the marina at 7:30 and headed on a course of 28° to get further out to the wind and be on a better angle for sailing to Port Clinton. We motor sailed for the first couple of hours then pulled up the screecher and goosewinged it with the jib to average 6.5 knts as the wind was quite light.

John caught another Tuna Mac, this one larger than the last about 30cm long. He cut it up for bait.

The day proved to be reasonably uneventful until a squall arrived became visible heading our way.. We hurried to pull in the screecher as we didn’t know how strong the winds were going to be. Visibility went to poor and the clears had to be zipped up. The auto pilot had given up on us earlier, it kept rounding up so we had to hand steer for the rest of the day. The autopilot was 30° out and did not line up with the compass.

We arrived off Port Clinton about 1:30 just as the squall departed and motored around Round Rock and through into the large bay. Back Friday and Moor R& R were already in.  There was enough room to calibrate the autopilot as you have need flat calm water to go round in several large circles. Hopefully it is fixed. Dropped anchor about 2:30 off the southern shore and took Morgan over to a  yellow sandy beach where she ran crazy. John cast the net but no luck.

Brian off Back Friday gave a couple of Spotted Mackeral steaks as he had caught a 70cm spotty whilst trolling along the way. John cooked them for dinner, it was very tasty. Early to bed as we seemed to be very tired.

Wind   15 – 25 knots S  Sunny with showers

Still holed up.

Keppel Bay Marina have a free courtesy car available for a 2 hour stint, even the fuel is free. Our booking was from 8 to 10  so by the time we drove the ten minutes to Yeppoon we had just enough time to get a small amount of groceries, the paper and some fuel filters from a diesel joint out in the industrial estate.

John wasn’t feeling too well so he rested for most of the day. Jenny did a few chores then walked to the co-op to buy some bait , fish and mussels  and to give Morgan some exercise.

We were invited to happy hour on Back Friday ( is cruising one big happy hour on various boats?) then back to O’vive for Spanish mackerel and chips. Delicious, the fish was last nights catch, however we had to buy it as we have yet to catch John’s favourite.

Tues  23^rd        15 – 20 knts SE Sunny with early showers

The wind howled through the night tossing us about as we were beam to the wind. John got up to check the lines and said the wind  got up to 50 knts.

I managed to get a doctor’s appointment  to see if we could pinpoint John’s  problem. He was an excellent doctor, recommended by Paul Lancaster who lives in Yeppoon. The doc said it was muscular not kidney or other organs much to John’s relief. He said most likely the intercostal muscle is damaged,  it is aggravated by sports that require twisting such as golf.  Drugs, rest and a heat pad were prescribed .

Paul took us on a tour of cyclone damaged Yeppoon, it was sad to see some of the original Queenslanders destroyed beyond repair. We visited the international golf courses the Japanese built and although they looked in magnificent condition they looked to be very underutilised.

Paul and Sue gave a carbonara and panacotta for dinner in their lovely house overlooking the ocean then drove us back to the marina. A lovely evening.