Wind   10 – 15 knots increasing to 20 in afternoon  SE  Sunny

After hosing down the boat and filling the water tanks we departed the marina at 8:30 and headed up the congested channels to the Narrows.

The Narrows is a mangrove lined, calm waterway between mainland QLD and Curtis Island. The approaches to the Narrows have changed dramatically since we came through in 2005 and are now punctuated by  very contentious natural gas liquefaction plants on Curtis Is and bulk coal and mineral loading terminals on the mainland.

We aimed to get to the middle of the Narrows at high tide as it completely dries for a 2km stretch in the middle around the cattle crossing area. When we got there  at 11:30 we only had 1.55 under the keel as the tide had already changed and had been on the run out for 30 minutes. I think the tide charts must be out a little. The cattle crossing is fascinating as at low tide the cattle are driven across the channel to and from Curtis Is.

After successfully negotiating the the channel we dropped anchor off Maria creek to have lunch and sort out the autopilot that has been playing up again and rounding up. John is starting to get some pain again.

We arrived at Sea Hill on the inside of Curtis and went ashore for a walk on the long yellow sandy beach . Morgan madly chased the ball and what looked like larger Hardy heads . Sea Hill was once a busy pilot station for Rockhampton until it closed as a commercial port in the 1960s.

 

A simple dinner of lamb chops with mashed potatoes, onion gravy and vegies for tea.