Dear Cracklin Rosie fans,
Greetings from the Exmouth Boat Harbour, into which we sailed yesterday afternoon. However, back to the beginning of the Broome - Exmouth leg (about 515 nm). We welcomed Alec Holm and Ros Mackinlay aboard in Broome, and thanks to the loan of a vehicle from Ros' niece Gina, we were able to get all of our provisions (food, booze, fuel and gas) with ease. Getting them to the boat via our leaking rubber ducky was less easy, given that the cardboard boxes holding wine and beer dissolved en route, result in 14 bottles of wine and 30 cans of beer rolling around the floor of said dinghy. However, we managed to get them all on board without losing any.
We left Broome on 19 September, and sailed not stop for four days heading for the Montebellos. Alec and Ros were introduced into the dubious pleasures of night watches, although the sailing conditions were reasonable benign, although rough conditions on one day required Alec to end a day lying on his bunk. Along the way, we caught a Mackerel Tuna, which although it has quite dark meat, was perfectly adequate for two meals. Alec and Ros introduced us to crossword puzzles which as well improving our minds, helped to pass the time. Finally, we ran the competition for estimating each day's 24 hour run, with Alec, Ros and Don winning on day each, and with Alec as the overall winner. For readers' information, the day runs were 84, 105 and 119 nm respectively. And we also instituted euchre playing with Jim and Alec comprehensively thrashing Ros and Don 6 games to 1 over the course of the whole trip.
We arrived in the Montebellos at about 11 pm on the 22nd, and spent all of next day there, with shore trips via swimming to see the site where the atomic tests occurred in the 50s, and also to eat some oysters. It was a very pleasant and relaxing day in a lovely location.
We set off the next day heading for an anchorage off Barrow Island and almost immediately caught a good-sized Spanish Mackerel, which provided for four excellent meals. We had some dramas with the anchorage at Barrow Island (string winds, rocky bottom, and stuck anchor), but after recovering the anchor by diving over the side, we relocated to a better place where Alec caught two good Spangled Emperor.
From there we progressed to Thevenard Island, and we admired untold now redundant oil platforms along the way, and we could see the developments at Chevron's Wheatstone LNG plant quite clearly by day and night. While anchored at Thevenard, we were visited by two good sized sharks, and a huge cod, which was clearly hoping to be fed.
Next day, it was off to Surrurier Island (also called Long Island), which is a beautiful pot with crystal clear water and long sandy beaches. Alec, Ros and Don swam ashore and explored.
We had not seen many whales on our trip up to then, but we were rewarded yesterday coming across the top of the Exmouth Gulf when we saw many whales, some breaching, and tail slapping etc. It was great to see. After arrival here and cleaning up, we took ourselves off to the flash Novotel Resort for a slap up feed last night which was very enjoyable. Today, we have reprovisioned and just now said goodbye to Alec and Ros, and we will soon be welcoming Jim Murray aboard for our trip down the west coast to Perth - but that will be the next story!
regards
Don and Jim
Monday, September 28, 2015
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
Thursday Island to Darwin and then Darwin to Broome
Dear Cracklin Rosie fans,
Apologies for the big gap in correspondence - but having got to Darwin and then returning to Perth, the tale of our travel from Thursday Island to Darwin just got overlooked. Hence this blog is in two parts - (1) TI to Darwin, and then (2) Darwin to Broome.
(1) After taking on fuel, water and indifferent food supplies at Horn Island (just over the water from Thursday Island), Jim, Wayne Fletcher and Don left on the morning of July 29 for the long haul across to Darwin, a distance of 727 nm. We sailed non-stop with the night watches divided into Don (2100-2400), Wayne (0000-0300) and Jim (0300-0600) and this arrangement worked very well. We had a very good run with arrival in Darwin five days later on the morning of 3 August.
We were blessed for most of the trip with good trade winds enabling relatively high speeds and generally comfortable travelling. On a couple of days, we did have some squally weather requiring adjustments to the sails, but otherwise it was very good. The daily runs (over 24 hours) - in nautical miles of course - 151, 140, 156, 146, and 134. We ran a small competition at estimating the daily runs, with wins by Jim and Don on two days. On one day we were all so far out, the prize was not awarded!
Fishing continued and we were rewarded with a modest-sized tuna that provided sashimi to accompany pre-dinner beers, and one good fish meal. We decided the sashimi, accompanied with horseradish sauce and soya sauce was a real hit!
Cooking was something of a drama en route, given the boat was rocking and rolling, with some spectacular spills in the galley, and Don managed to upend at least one complete meal onto the cockpit deck.
After all this excitement, it was something of a relief to come into the placid waters of Cullen Bay Marina (via a lock system which was very interesting) and prepare for three weeks R&R in Perth. Before we left, we serviced two of the winches and organised for the purchase of more anchor chain (to cope with the anticipated high tides in the Kimberley) and additional jerry cans for fuel (given limited fuel supplies in the Kimberley).
Overall the trip across from Thursday Island was a great experience, and Jim and I are very grateful to have had Wayne's enjoyable and experienced assistance on this first long non-stop ocean sail.
(2) After completing R&R duties in Perth, Jim, Don and Georgina Wilson arrived in Darwin on 25 August to prepare for the trip across the Kimberley to Broome. Having loaded up with all resources required (we hoped), we passed through the Cullen Bay Marina lock on the morning of 27 August, said goodbye to mobile reception and emails and set course for Cape Londonderry (280 nm), the northern-most point of WA, which we anticipated would take three days non-stop sailing. Unfortunately, the winds were not cooperative and we had a slowish passage, mainly motor-sailing (i.e. a combination of sailing and engine to maintain speed in light winds). In fact, we had to change plans slightly, and our first landfall on 29 August was at the appropriately named Jim's Bay, just east of Cape Londonderry. This is a very attractive location, and we went ashore to claim the area for the occupants of Cracklin Rosie!
From there, we have proceeded relatively slowly along the extremely convoluted Kimberley coast, anchoring adjacent to islands, and in various bays. The scenery in general is excellent, and Georgina as our team photographer has taken untold photos of cliff faces, sunsets, sunrises, island beaches, wildlife (when they cooperated) and the like. We visited some ancient Aboriginal art (more photos) and a wonderful retreat at Silver Gull Creek where our hosts Mal and Shelley invited us to have a swim in a spring fed freshwater tank - our first decent freshwater wash for several days. It is of course genuine wilderness and on many occasions we had the sea and the gulfs, sounds, harbours and rivers to ourselves. Having seen no other travellers for several days, we had afternoon drinks with other yachties in the magnificent environment of Prince Frederick Harbour and then on the following day in Ivy Cove, another great anchorage.
It was slow travelling - apart from fluky winds that always seemed to be coming from the direction we were headed in, the tides are amazing. On one day we hurtled between Mary Island and Two Rocks with the flooding tide at up to 11 knots, and later that day we battled around Cape Bougainville at about 2 knots pushing into the ebb tide. Planning for the tidal flows meant that on some days we started at 5.00 am to catch the right flow, and others, we sat anchored for several hours during the day waiting for the right conditions to go.
Catering for 21 days without supplies was challenging. We did catch a Spanish mackerel early on our travels which provided for 4 meals, and we had several feeds of bangers and mash. Under-catering on bread required strict rationing, and the breakfast cereal and milk supplies have just held out. Alcohol supplies were strictly rationed to one beer ppn and one bottle of wine between the three of us. And chocolate was available only every second night at 4 squares pp.
Ok that is about it - we are all glad we have seen and experienced the remoteness and splendour of this region, but perhaps next time we might like to do it in the comfort of a cruise vessel, several of which we saw in the area!
So we say farewell to Georgina here in Broome., and we will be collecting Alec Holm and Ros Mackinlay for the next leg of this epic - from here to Exmouth where we will report in about 10 days time.
regards
Don and Jim
Apologies for the big gap in correspondence - but having got to Darwin and then returning to Perth, the tale of our travel from Thursday Island to Darwin just got overlooked. Hence this blog is in two parts - (1) TI to Darwin, and then (2) Darwin to Broome.
(1) After taking on fuel, water and indifferent food supplies at Horn Island (just over the water from Thursday Island), Jim, Wayne Fletcher and Don left on the morning of July 29 for the long haul across to Darwin, a distance of 727 nm. We sailed non-stop with the night watches divided into Don (2100-2400), Wayne (0000-0300) and Jim (0300-0600) and this arrangement worked very well. We had a very good run with arrival in Darwin five days later on the morning of 3 August.
We were blessed for most of the trip with good trade winds enabling relatively high speeds and generally comfortable travelling. On a couple of days, we did have some squally weather requiring adjustments to the sails, but otherwise it was very good. The daily runs (over 24 hours) - in nautical miles of course - 151, 140, 156, 146, and 134. We ran a small competition at estimating the daily runs, with wins by Jim and Don on two days. On one day we were all so far out, the prize was not awarded!
Fishing continued and we were rewarded with a modest-sized tuna that provided sashimi to accompany pre-dinner beers, and one good fish meal. We decided the sashimi, accompanied with horseradish sauce and soya sauce was a real hit!
Cooking was something of a drama en route, given the boat was rocking and rolling, with some spectacular spills in the galley, and Don managed to upend at least one complete meal onto the cockpit deck.
After all this excitement, it was something of a relief to come into the placid waters of Cullen Bay Marina (via a lock system which was very interesting) and prepare for three weeks R&R in Perth. Before we left, we serviced two of the winches and organised for the purchase of more anchor chain (to cope with the anticipated high tides in the Kimberley) and additional jerry cans for fuel (given limited fuel supplies in the Kimberley).
Overall the trip across from Thursday Island was a great experience, and Jim and I are very grateful to have had Wayne's enjoyable and experienced assistance on this first long non-stop ocean sail.
(2) After completing R&R duties in Perth, Jim, Don and Georgina Wilson arrived in Darwin on 25 August to prepare for the trip across the Kimberley to Broome. Having loaded up with all resources required (we hoped), we passed through the Cullen Bay Marina lock on the morning of 27 August, said goodbye to mobile reception and emails and set course for Cape Londonderry (280 nm), the northern-most point of WA, which we anticipated would take three days non-stop sailing. Unfortunately, the winds were not cooperative and we had a slowish passage, mainly motor-sailing (i.e. a combination of sailing and engine to maintain speed in light winds). In fact, we had to change plans slightly, and our first landfall on 29 August was at the appropriately named Jim's Bay, just east of Cape Londonderry. This is a very attractive location, and we went ashore to claim the area for the occupants of Cracklin Rosie!
From there, we have proceeded relatively slowly along the extremely convoluted Kimberley coast, anchoring adjacent to islands, and in various bays. The scenery in general is excellent, and Georgina as our team photographer has taken untold photos of cliff faces, sunsets, sunrises, island beaches, wildlife (when they cooperated) and the like. We visited some ancient Aboriginal art (more photos) and a wonderful retreat at Silver Gull Creek where our hosts Mal and Shelley invited us to have a swim in a spring fed freshwater tank - our first decent freshwater wash for several days. It is of course genuine wilderness and on many occasions we had the sea and the gulfs, sounds, harbours and rivers to ourselves. Having seen no other travellers for several days, we had afternoon drinks with other yachties in the magnificent environment of Prince Frederick Harbour and then on the following day in Ivy Cove, another great anchorage.
It was slow travelling - apart from fluky winds that always seemed to be coming from the direction we were headed in, the tides are amazing. On one day we hurtled between Mary Island and Two Rocks with the flooding tide at up to 11 knots, and later that day we battled around Cape Bougainville at about 2 knots pushing into the ebb tide. Planning for the tidal flows meant that on some days we started at 5.00 am to catch the right flow, and others, we sat anchored for several hours during the day waiting for the right conditions to go.
Catering for 21 days without supplies was challenging. We did catch a Spanish mackerel early on our travels which provided for 4 meals, and we had several feeds of bangers and mash. Under-catering on bread required strict rationing, and the breakfast cereal and milk supplies have just held out. Alcohol supplies were strictly rationed to one beer ppn and one bottle of wine between the three of us. And chocolate was available only every second night at 4 squares pp.
Ok that is about it - we are all glad we have seen and experienced the remoteness and splendour of this region, but perhaps next time we might like to do it in the comfort of a cruise vessel, several of which we saw in the area!
So we say farewell to Georgina here in Broome., and we will be collecting Alec Holm and Ros Mackinlay for the next leg of this epic - from here to Exmouth where we will report in about 10 days time.
regards
Don and Jim
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Greetings from Thursday Island
Dear Cracklin Rosie fans
We (being Jim, friend and experienced long-distance sailor Wayne Fletcher and Don) have had a good trip from Cairns to Thursday Island over 10 days (I think), calling in at Cooktown and Lizard Island and sundry bays and coral cays along the way. We have been favoured with moderate to strong trade winds coming over the stern, which when combined with goose-winged headsail and main have pushed us along at between 6.5 and 8 knots.
Cooktown has an excellent museum dealing with its Indigenous, mining and wartime history, and of course Cook also features - the Endeavour's anchor and one of the cannon are there. Lizard Island had excellent snorkelling over beautiful coral and untold giant clams. We had just come back onto the boat when two little reef sharks and a giant cod turned up to say hello. The other interesting place we called into was Portland Road (or Roads) which consists of about 10 houses and a café that has an excellent reputation, which was unfortunately closed for the day .... just our luck.
We arrived here yesterday and have spent today reprovisioning (food, fuel and water, plus lemon juice to keep scurvy at bay) for the next leg, being 727 nm across to Darwin, which we hope to achieve in 5 days. Thursday Island is a pleasant, very tidy and laid-back town of about 4,000 people located across two islands (connected by ferry) and the local people are attractive and friendly. It would be nice to have spent more time here.
But back to our trip from Cairns. Having Wayne on board has been great and we have learnt a lot about long-distance sailing from him. He has also fixed some of our dodgier sheeves and blocks and even climbed the mast to inspect the mysteries that happen up there! Wayne's other major contribution has been in augmenting our food supply, and after careful choosing of a squid lure, we have caught two mackerel and have enjoyed several great fish meals. One of them came in at about 8 kg and has so far fed us for three meals, with at least one more to go. We are getting more confident and have made minimal meat purchases here, with an expectation of at least one more mackerel (or perhaps a dolphinfish) to get us through to Darwin.
We continue to have Adventures. We had a battle getting to an anchorage in the Hope Islets located amongst coral reefs, but after getting the anchor secured (which we checked by diving on it), Wayne and Don swam ashore and walked around a little well vegetated coral island, looking for stranded sailors. Getting out the next morning was also rather stressful, but we managed to get out without incident. We were not so lucky when we anchored north of Lizard Island at a large bay called Bathurst Bay. We had howling winds of - we think - up to 40 kts, and at about midnight we realised that the anchor was dragging. After three men in their underwear peered at the GPS, and blundered around in the dark on the deck, we managed to get the boat to hold by letting out the remainder of the anchor chain. We had a similar experience at the Piper Reef, where after going ashore for some snorkelling off Farmer Island, we noticed that the island seemed to be moving away from the boat. Panic! It was back to the boat via dinghy and re-anchoring in better, shallower ground.
We have done our first overnight sail, which each crew member doing a three hour shift through the night. It all went very well, with the plotter and chart providing assurance that we knew where on the planet we were, and also where all the bits we could bump into were - definitely important info. We wore harnesses attached to the boat throughout, which is essential safety behaviour!
What else? Yesterday, we had a great sail yesterday between Escape River (just south of Cape York) via the Albany Passage to Cape York and then here to Thursday Island. We went through the Albany passage (between Albany Island and the mainland) on the flood tide in light winds at up to 9 kts, and admired the great scenery. We then went ashore at Cape York to join untold grey nomads in walking to the furthest point north - again great views over islands and nearby beaches - with our boat looking very smart anchored safely below the Cape over a white sandy beach. We have seen quite a lot of turtles, one dugong, one crocodile, lots of dolphins playing under our bow, and some high-leaping fish giving the bait fish a hard time.
Alright, that is probably enough for now - we will report in again from Darwin.
regards
Don, Jim and Wayne.
We (being Jim, friend and experienced long-distance sailor Wayne Fletcher and Don) have had a good trip from Cairns to Thursday Island over 10 days (I think), calling in at Cooktown and Lizard Island and sundry bays and coral cays along the way. We have been favoured with moderate to strong trade winds coming over the stern, which when combined with goose-winged headsail and main have pushed us along at between 6.5 and 8 knots.
Cooktown has an excellent museum dealing with its Indigenous, mining and wartime history, and of course Cook also features - the Endeavour's anchor and one of the cannon are there. Lizard Island had excellent snorkelling over beautiful coral and untold giant clams. We had just come back onto the boat when two little reef sharks and a giant cod turned up to say hello. The other interesting place we called into was Portland Road (or Roads) which consists of about 10 houses and a café that has an excellent reputation, which was unfortunately closed for the day .... just our luck.
We arrived here yesterday and have spent today reprovisioning (food, fuel and water, plus lemon juice to keep scurvy at bay) for the next leg, being 727 nm across to Darwin, which we hope to achieve in 5 days. Thursday Island is a pleasant, very tidy and laid-back town of about 4,000 people located across two islands (connected by ferry) and the local people are attractive and friendly. It would be nice to have spent more time here.
But back to our trip from Cairns. Having Wayne on board has been great and we have learnt a lot about long-distance sailing from him. He has also fixed some of our dodgier sheeves and blocks and even climbed the mast to inspect the mysteries that happen up there! Wayne's other major contribution has been in augmenting our food supply, and after careful choosing of a squid lure, we have caught two mackerel and have enjoyed several great fish meals. One of them came in at about 8 kg and has so far fed us for three meals, with at least one more to go. We are getting more confident and have made minimal meat purchases here, with an expectation of at least one more mackerel (or perhaps a dolphinfish) to get us through to Darwin.
We continue to have Adventures. We had a battle getting to an anchorage in the Hope Islets located amongst coral reefs, but after getting the anchor secured (which we checked by diving on it), Wayne and Don swam ashore and walked around a little well vegetated coral island, looking for stranded sailors. Getting out the next morning was also rather stressful, but we managed to get out without incident. We were not so lucky when we anchored north of Lizard Island at a large bay called Bathurst Bay. We had howling winds of - we think - up to 40 kts, and at about midnight we realised that the anchor was dragging. After three men in their underwear peered at the GPS, and blundered around in the dark on the deck, we managed to get the boat to hold by letting out the remainder of the anchor chain. We had a similar experience at the Piper Reef, where after going ashore for some snorkelling off Farmer Island, we noticed that the island seemed to be moving away from the boat. Panic! It was back to the boat via dinghy and re-anchoring in better, shallower ground.
We have done our first overnight sail, which each crew member doing a three hour shift through the night. It all went very well, with the plotter and chart providing assurance that we knew where on the planet we were, and also where all the bits we could bump into were - definitely important info. We wore harnesses attached to the boat throughout, which is essential safety behaviour!
What else? Yesterday, we had a great sail yesterday between Escape River (just south of Cape York) via the Albany Passage to Cape York and then here to Thursday Island. We went through the Albany passage (between Albany Island and the mainland) on the flood tide in light winds at up to 9 kts, and admired the great scenery. We then went ashore at Cape York to join untold grey nomads in walking to the furthest point north - again great views over islands and nearby beaches - with our boat looking very smart anchored safely below the Cape over a white sandy beach. We have seen quite a lot of turtles, one dugong, one crocodile, lots of dolphins playing under our bow, and some high-leaping fish giving the bait fish a hard time.
Alright, that is probably enough for now - we will report in again from Darwin.
regards
Don, Jim and Wayne.
Thursday, July 16, 2015
Greetings from Cairns
Dear Cracklin Rosie fans
Greetings from Cairns, which welcomed us yesterday (16 July 2015) with absolutely no
fanfare – harrumph!
We had about a week in Townsville getting some sail repairs done and
also collecting Jim’s daughter Jenny who joined us for the run to Cairns. We had a good time – catching up with
Townsville friends over dinner – and making new friends amongst the yachty
fraternity. Having access to Ian
Watson’s car was a huge help – thankyou Ian and Louise Watson. As well as the boat maintenance type
activities, we went to the excellent Museum of Tropical Queensland, and the
Aquarium which was also very good. We
became good friends with Michael and Ann Trimble who were moored near us in the
marina, and shared meals, beers and bottles of red. Ann shamed us by having table mats when we
had dinner with them, and so we now have table mats – of a fashion. Michael is an ex-ship’s master and provided
us with many interesting tales of life at sea.
He also explained celestial navigation to us over a beer, but alas, we
may need further instruction.
Last Friday, with Jenny Crossland on board, we left and just sailed the
10 nm over to Horseshoe Bay on Magnetic Island which is a very pleasant
anchorage. As usual there were plenty of
other boats there! From there we went to
Little Pioneer Bay at Orpheus Island, having seen two whales en route. Little Pioneer Bay is another lovely spot,
and after ringing the next door James Cook University Research Station to
receive assurance that there was nothing nasty in the water that would bite us
or sting us, Jenny and Don took off for some very good snorkelling over a fringing
coral reef about 50 m from the boat.
From there, we had a pleasant sail past Hinchinbrook Island and then
through the Family Islands to Dunk Island.
On this leg, we were involved in a genuine emergency, being the first contact
to pick up a radio message from a man on a houseboat in a creek on the other
side of Hinchinbrook Island who said his wife was missing! We then immediately informed Ingham Voluntary
Marine Rescue and for the next 40 minutes, we acted as the go-between for
messages for and from the man (who was obviously very distressed) to and from the
shore-based authorities, who by now included the police, in confirming details
and the man’s location. Because of the
situation, the police were anxious to talk to Jim and Don, and while at Dunk
Island, we were collected by the Police and taken over to the Police Station at
Mission Beach (about 3 nm from Dunk Island) to provide separate formal statements. We were relieved when we compared our
statements after returning to the boat that it seemed we had been involved in
the same incident! There was a report
about the missing woman in Wednesday’s Cairns
Post, and sadly she is still missing, with the Police still searching and
investigating. It does not look good ….
From Dunk Island, we had a long day motor-sailing to Fitzroy Island (just
off Cairns). The weather was great for
the trip, although the impact of the cold snap even reached here, with jumpers
being de rigeur all day! Fitzroy Island is simply wonderful! It is a hilly island, with rainforest
vegetation, white corally beaches, crystal clear water and beautiful fringing
coral reefs. We anchored very comfortably
just off the beach, and the weather was ideal.
On Wednesday, we spent the day variously bush walking, snorkelling
(excellent), swimming, sitting in the bar reading a book and having dinner with
yachty friends who we met in Townsville.
The coral is absolutely wondrous in its diversity, and both Jenny and
Don had close encounters with turtles. Don
sent a photo of the lovely scene to his family, and daughter Helen responded
immediately with a photo of her in-tray at work!
Yesterday we made the short trek into Cairns (about 15 nm) where we have
today picked up Wayne Fletcher for the journey across to Darwin and we will say
farewell to Jenny who is flying home to Perth on Sunday. We will then head north again via the Low
Islets, Cooktown, Lizard Island, the Flinders Islands, Lloyd Bay, Morris
Island, Margaret Bay and other places, the names of which we have forgotten, to
be in Torres Strait at the end of the month.
We must go ashore at Cape York just so that we can say we have done
it. From there we anticipate being in
Darwin on 8th August.
Because services are rather limited going north, we have done a huge
shop today, although the menu on board is rather limited. We have ascertained that Wayne is happy with
curried egg sandwiches for lunch and that he likes spaghetti bolognaise …. Bangers and mash are also a local
favourite. However, with Wayne’s expert
advice, we are expecting Big Things in the fishing department, having had no
success at all up to date.
Ok that is just about enough for now.
Given that communications will be a bit dodgy from here on we have
activated our satphone. The number is
0011 8707 7611 5660. We will not have it
on all the time, but if you ring you can leave a message and we will check it
at least twice a day.
Ok – next stop Cape York!
Regards
Don and Jim
Thursday, July 2, 2015
Greetings from Townsville
Dear Cracklin Rosie fans
Greetings from Townsville.
When we last reported in, we had just arrived in Hamilton Island with
Bev and Ken Mullin in tow, waiting for Ken’s partner Janette Spencer to
arrive. Hamilton Island is Rottnest Island
as we would not like it to be, with full-on large resorts, a comfortable
marina, a very expensive grog shop and untold little golf buggies running
around that one can hire. However, it
does have a good bakery, better ablution facilities than can be found on Cracklin Rosie, better coffee than
Moccona instant, and $10 cocktails while watching the sunset.
After Janette arrived, the five of us had a short sail to
Cid Harbour, which is a very safe anchorage between Cid and Whitsunday Islands,
where we stayed the night, along with about 17 other boats. We dined alfresco on a gourmet meal prepared and
cooked by Janette on our hanging-over –the-stern-barbecue, based on what scraps
we could find in our larder and some items from the Hamilton Island General
Store. Janette and Don slept outside in
the cockpit, given that things are pretty crowded down below with five on
board. The next day we sailed across to
Whitehaven Bay, which boasts a very white 5 km long sandy beach, and joined
untold tourist boats, other yachties, and two seaplanes who arrived for the Whitehaven
Beach Run. We watched this event until
the tide had turned to allow us to get through the narrow Solway Passage and
back to Hamilton Island. The trip back
was rather rough, but the team held it all together, if you get my drift. At a rather critical time, the engine decided
to play up, and after a lot of head scratching back at Hamilton Island, Jim and
the local mechanic found that all the fuel pipes had been incorrectly fitted in
Hervey Bay. It remains a mystery to Those
Who Know About These Things how the engine had been working at all. However, all is now fixed.
On arrival back in Hamilton Island, we met Helen Burnside
and husband Mike Cleaver, who had come over to replace Ken and Janette. After effecting the changeover on the 21st,
and the aforementioned engine repairs, we (Jim, Bev, Helen, Mike, Don), plus a
satisfactory amount of food and refreshments and far too much luggage set off
for a circumnavigation of Whitsunday Island, with overnight anchorages at Cid
Harbour, Nara Inlet on Hook Island, Cateran Bay on Border Island and Whitehaven
Bay. Mike and Don tried sleeping outside
in the cockpit three nights in a row, each time being chased inside by rain in
the middle of the night. Not happy!
Cid harbour was even busier this time, with 38 boats
anchored across the expanse of Sawmill Bay.
Helen, Mike and Don did some exploring ashore, and Mike swam back to the
boat, just because he could! Nara Inlet
was less crowded and we copped a wind squall as we entered which buggered up
the headsail furler. However, smart work
by Jim resulted in a repair and after looking at some Aboriginal cave paintings
in the morning, we pressed on to Cateran Bay (Border Island) through the quite
narrow Hook Passage. Despite having been
told it was not a good idea to tow the dinghy, we towed the dinghy until the
painter (explanation for landlubbers – rope connecting dinghy and boat) came
adrift from the dinghy, which was then seen floating about 30 m behind Cracklin Rosie. After some heroics by Mike, Jim and Don, we
managed to recover the dinghy, get the outboard off it and haul it onto the
foredeck. This incident has been added
to the many Lessons in Cruising that we are having every day! We did some enjoyable snorkelling over a
fringing coral reef at Cateran Bay, and again at Chalkies Beach the next day,
while anchoring overnight again at Whitehaven Bay. Finally, we returned to Hamilton Island,
having completed our circumnavigation.
While not in the same league as Flinder’s circumnavigation of Australia
completed in a leaking sailing ship on 1803, we did feel some sense of
achievement. After saying farewell to Bev,
Helen and Mike last Sunday (28th), Jim and Don reprovisioned the
boat, and set off for Townsville on Monday 29th.
Since then, we have had four very good sailing/ motor-sailing
days into Townsville (arriving yesterday afternoon 2nd July). We covered 150 nm, with overnight anchoring
at Gloucester Passage, Cape Upstart (named by Cook) and Cape Bowling Green (yes
that is right – God knows who named that!).
Today, we have had morning coffee with Louise Watson (spouse of ex-Ag
Dept rangeland hero Ian Watson who is kite-surfing in Cocos) and her mother
Pat. Louise has kindly lent us Ian’s
car, and we have since made a modest contribution to Townsville’s economy
getting haircuts ($15 ea!) and purchasing some more boat stuff. We look forward to shouting Louise and Pat a
feed at the Yacht Club over the weekend.
We are ahead of schedule and will be here for about a week while waiting
to collect our next volunteer crew person in Jenny Crossland who is arriving
here on the 7th, and after she has checked out Townsville, we will
be on our way for Cairns, via some promising looking anchorages. In Cairns, we will be collecting experienced ocean sailor Wayne Fletcher, who will be with us until we reach Darwin in early August.
Now – on the subject of the blog – we are still having
trouble with uplifting photos through our phone hotspots, and so in response to
overwhelming requests by no fewer than one person, we will start a Facebook as
well a blog, hoping that it is easier to get the photos into Facebook. However, the text will be the same in both
places.
Ok, that is enough for now – we will soon be going over to
have a sundown drink with a nearby boatie couple and then home for dinner. It is all go here in Townsville.
Regards
Don and Jim
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Greetings from Hamilton Island
Dear Cracklin Rosie fans,
Apologies for the absence of updates, but we have been quite busy lately. When last we wrote, we were in Rosslyn Bay, near Yeppoon. We left there and had a lengthy (about 40-ish nm) motor sail to Pearl bay, a lovely anchorage located within the Shoalhaven Military Area - a very pleasant trip. Alas JLC noted that we were getting some minor leakage via the prop shaft, and so we decided to hasten our trip to Mackay where we could pull the boat out of the water for repairs. The next day - Sunday 7 June - we sailed to the Duke Islands and anchored in the lee of Hunter Island. We had a quick trip sailing all the way, with 15-20 kt winds and a swell coming over the starboard quarter. Lots of rocking and rolling and three attempts to make coffee resulted one's shorts being soaked and smelling strongly of Moccona!
The next day was much the same as we sailed at 6-7 kts from Hunter Island to Curlew Island, again with a calm and attractive anchorage. We are very pleased with how the boat is handling the sea, with very little water over the side, and the auto helm is excellent. One of us maintained the tradition of early morning wake up and washing swims off the stern of the boat. The day's drama was that the new electric toilet (termed 'the head' in nautical terms decided to stop working resulting in a rather messy attempt to fix it. There is no need to go into details! On Tuesday 9 June, we left Curlew Island and after a robust day's sailing - including some rain - we threaded our way through about 16 coal bulk carriers and arrived in the Mackay Marina, we berthed safely, but not after some mild argument with a grumpy next door neighbour - who were later advised by marina stuff has history in this regard. This completed Leg 1 of the whole trip - being 400 nm since leaving Hervey Bay.
Over the next four days, we (i) caught up with DGB's cousin Ian Morgan who he had not seen for about 35 years (of course neither had changed a bit!), (ii) struck up a great friendship with a Dutch couple who have been sailing for 6 years, and who were also in for repairs, (iii) pulled the boat out of the water repairs to prop shaft and toilet - we had great assistance from the local tradesmen - and (iv) greeted Bev and Ken Mullin, who were kindly delivered to the marina by Ian on Saturday 13 June. We had an enjoyable celebratory dinner on the boat of - you guessed it - spaghetti bolognaise and modestly priced red wine.
Sunday morning 14 June, we left Mackay heading for Brampton Island (20 nm), which was once a resort, but is now abandoned. We had a good anchorage and enjoyed stir-fry beef alfresco through what was a very dark night. Owing to some seasickness amongst the crew, we decided to head straight for the Hamilton Island Marina (40-ish nm) and await Janette's arrival - who is coming in today. The trip was great - we came roaring in on an ebb tide doing up to 9 kts as we came past Cape Conway and then through the passage between Dent Island and Hamilton Island - all a bit nervous making! Hamilton Island is a full on tropical resort island with untold ways to spend money, but reasonably attractive none-the-less. Yesterday afternoon we had a swim at Catseye Beach, at low tide when snorkelling allowed. So far we have resisted expensive dining outlets, relying instead on DGB's mastery of diced lamb and simmer sauces, all cooked in the excellent $199 frying pan. However, we intend to breakout tonight to celebrate Janette's arrival.
Ok, that is enough for now,
We will report in from Townsville in early July.
regards
Don and Jim.
PS - we are still battling with the photos, but will go back and try and upload some now, but after we have had a sundowner drink!
Apologies for the absence of updates, but we have been quite busy lately. When last we wrote, we were in Rosslyn Bay, near Yeppoon. We left there and had a lengthy (about 40-ish nm) motor sail to Pearl bay, a lovely anchorage located within the Shoalhaven Military Area - a very pleasant trip. Alas JLC noted that we were getting some minor leakage via the prop shaft, and so we decided to hasten our trip to Mackay where we could pull the boat out of the water for repairs. The next day - Sunday 7 June - we sailed to the Duke Islands and anchored in the lee of Hunter Island. We had a quick trip sailing all the way, with 15-20 kt winds and a swell coming over the starboard quarter. Lots of rocking and rolling and three attempts to make coffee resulted one's shorts being soaked and smelling strongly of Moccona!
The next day was much the same as we sailed at 6-7 kts from Hunter Island to Curlew Island, again with a calm and attractive anchorage. We are very pleased with how the boat is handling the sea, with very little water over the side, and the auto helm is excellent. One of us maintained the tradition of early morning wake up and washing swims off the stern of the boat. The day's drama was that the new electric toilet (termed 'the head' in nautical terms decided to stop working resulting in a rather messy attempt to fix it. There is no need to go into details! On Tuesday 9 June, we left Curlew Island and after a robust day's sailing - including some rain - we threaded our way through about 16 coal bulk carriers and arrived in the Mackay Marina, we berthed safely, but not after some mild argument with a grumpy next door neighbour - who were later advised by marina stuff has history in this regard. This completed Leg 1 of the whole trip - being 400 nm since leaving Hervey Bay.
Over the next four days, we (i) caught up with DGB's cousin Ian Morgan who he had not seen for about 35 years (of course neither had changed a bit!), (ii) struck up a great friendship with a Dutch couple who have been sailing for 6 years, and who were also in for repairs, (iii) pulled the boat out of the water repairs to prop shaft and toilet - we had great assistance from the local tradesmen - and (iv) greeted Bev and Ken Mullin, who were kindly delivered to the marina by Ian on Saturday 13 June. We had an enjoyable celebratory dinner on the boat of - you guessed it - spaghetti bolognaise and modestly priced red wine.
Sunday morning 14 June, we left Mackay heading for Brampton Island (20 nm), which was once a resort, but is now abandoned. We had a good anchorage and enjoyed stir-fry beef alfresco through what was a very dark night. Owing to some seasickness amongst the crew, we decided to head straight for the Hamilton Island Marina (40-ish nm) and await Janette's arrival - who is coming in today. The trip was great - we came roaring in on an ebb tide doing up to 9 kts as we came past Cape Conway and then through the passage between Dent Island and Hamilton Island - all a bit nervous making! Hamilton Island is a full on tropical resort island with untold ways to spend money, but reasonably attractive none-the-less. Yesterday afternoon we had a swim at Catseye Beach, at low tide when snorkelling allowed. So far we have resisted expensive dining outlets, relying instead on DGB's mastery of diced lamb and simmer sauces, all cooked in the excellent $199 frying pan. However, we intend to breakout tonight to celebrate Janette's arrival.
Ok, that is enough for now,
We will report in from Townsville in early July.
regards
Don and Jim.
PS - we are still battling with the photos, but will go back and try and upload some now, but after we have had a sundowner drink!
Friday, June 5, 2015
Dear Cracklin Rosie fans,
Greetings from Rosslyn Bay Marina, near Yeppoon, and apologies, despite assistance from Pat Kershaw, I still can't seem to uplift photos onto the Blog. Bother.
Anyway, on with the text .... When we last reported in, we were in Pancake Creek. On 2 June, we left there are sailed and motored about 53 miles to Cape Capricorn where we joined 5 other yachts in a delightful anchorage in the lee of the magnificent headland of Cape Capricorn. As usual, one of us had a morning swim off the back of the boat as part of a wake-up and wash procedure. On the following day, we entered Keppel Bay - again named by Cook like so many other features along this coast - which is full of rocky islands. We passed by Hummocky Island (a potential anchorage) and pressed on to the magnificent Great Keppel Island, which is about 7 miles off the coast at Yeppoon.
Getting into Great Keppel was a bit tricky as we had to pass through a narrow passage and as the tide was low, we had only 0.3 m below the keel. However, we held our breath, and made it to a lovely bay to the north of the island, with a magnificent white sandy beach. Our German-American- Belgian friends Alex and Iris were also anchored there. We invited ourselves to sundowner drinks on the beach with about 20 other boaties, which was most enjoyable. People from all walks of life, doing all sorts of interesting sailing, with some I suspect escaping from the rat race. After that, we adjoined to Alex and Iris' magnificent yacht via our faithful rubber ducky and were fed home-made empanadas (much nicer than the ones we had in Argentina), washed down with ample wine. Alex produced some excellent rum - well after all we are at sea - which was most enjoyable, but at least one of us was a little sluggish in the morning.
From there, it was only a short sail across to the marina, where we have been all day today, taking on water, fuel and provisions, doing the washing and vacuuming the cabin and cockpit.
Tomorrow, we will be off to Pearl Bay, about 50 miles up the coast and we are promised good following winds, although the forecasts have not been all that accurate up to now. From there we will be island hopping to Mackay, arriving there, God willing, in the afternoon of Thursday 11 June, where we will be preparing to welcome Bev and Ken Mullin on board on Saturday 13 June. In short all is going well, and DGB is now only bumping his head about 4-5 times a day on the entrance to the forward cabin!
We will report in from Mackay next Friday (12 June) if not before.
regards
Don and Jim
Greetings from Rosslyn Bay Marina, near Yeppoon, and apologies, despite assistance from Pat Kershaw, I still can't seem to uplift photos onto the Blog. Bother.
Anyway, on with the text .... When we last reported in, we were in Pancake Creek. On 2 June, we left there are sailed and motored about 53 miles to Cape Capricorn where we joined 5 other yachts in a delightful anchorage in the lee of the magnificent headland of Cape Capricorn. As usual, one of us had a morning swim off the back of the boat as part of a wake-up and wash procedure. On the following day, we entered Keppel Bay - again named by Cook like so many other features along this coast - which is full of rocky islands. We passed by Hummocky Island (a potential anchorage) and pressed on to the magnificent Great Keppel Island, which is about 7 miles off the coast at Yeppoon.
Getting into Great Keppel was a bit tricky as we had to pass through a narrow passage and as the tide was low, we had only 0.3 m below the keel. However, we held our breath, and made it to a lovely bay to the north of the island, with a magnificent white sandy beach. Our German-American- Belgian friends Alex and Iris were also anchored there. We invited ourselves to sundowner drinks on the beach with about 20 other boaties, which was most enjoyable. People from all walks of life, doing all sorts of interesting sailing, with some I suspect escaping from the rat race. After that, we adjoined to Alex and Iris' magnificent yacht via our faithful rubber ducky and were fed home-made empanadas (much nicer than the ones we had in Argentina), washed down with ample wine. Alex produced some excellent rum - well after all we are at sea - which was most enjoyable, but at least one of us was a little sluggish in the morning.
From there, it was only a short sail across to the marina, where we have been all day today, taking on water, fuel and provisions, doing the washing and vacuuming the cabin and cockpit.
Tomorrow, we will be off to Pearl Bay, about 50 miles up the coast and we are promised good following winds, although the forecasts have not been all that accurate up to now. From there we will be island hopping to Mackay, arriving there, God willing, in the afternoon of Thursday 11 June, where we will be preparing to welcome Bev and Ken Mullin on board on Saturday 13 June. In short all is going well, and DGB is now only bumping his head about 4-5 times a day on the entrance to the forward cabin!
We will report in from Mackay next Friday (12 June) if not before.
regards
Don and Jim
Sunday, May 31, 2015
Days 6 and 7 - Port Bundaberg to Pancake Creek
Dear Cracklin Rosie fans,
Greetings from Pancake Creek, which is a sandy, tidal creek a bit south of Gladstone. Thanks to everyone who has responded to earlier missives, which is encouraging me to write more!
After mucking about with the diesel in the bilge and carpets, and getting things reasonably clean, we left Port Bundaberg yesterday morning at 5.00 am to travel the 62 nm to Pancake Creek, which was highly recommended as an overnight anchorage. We had a fabulous trip, with the boat pointing nicely into light-ish north east winds, but we had to keep the engine going to maintain enough SOG (speed over ground) to get us here before dark. En route we had a pod of dolphins playing under the bow and leaping out of the water for about 15 minutes. They might have stayed longer, but I foolishly announced I was going to take some photos with my phone, and that was clearly the signal for them to clear out. Overall, we averaged about 5.5 kts, and arrived here at about 5.10 pm. We had one minor drama when anchoring when the anchor chain nearly ran completely out causing some serious anxiety for the anchor man (DGB). However, the situation was retrieved and the anchor chain is now attached firmly to the boat. We had a beer each, bangers and mash for dinner, and early to bed. I am enjoying re-reading a biography of Flinders and noting his visits to some of the places we have been to or are going to.
Today, we achieved another milestone when we launched the rubber ducky and put the outboard on it, and did a brief exploration of Pancake Creek, which is a lovely location - excellent anchorage and with sandy beaches, although the sandflies are not much fun. We enquired of a local about nasties in the water, and were assured that it is too cold for box jellyfish (he referred to them as 'boxies') or Irekangi, said there are bound to be sharks, and doubted the presence of crocodiles. Courageously, we had a short swim off a sandbank, keeping very close to the shore. Apart from that we have done some more tinkering on the boat.
We are enjoying the navigational challenges, using charts, GPS plotters and trackers, and an excellent book called Cruising the Coral Coast to negotiate shallows, headlands and navigational markers. The importance of tides are new to us - not something one needs to worry about much in the Swan River. Here at Pancake Creek, the difference between low and high tide is about 3 m, and the water moves very fast between high and low tide, and we have to consider the tides when deciding to leave or arrive at a location.
Tomorrow we are off to Cape Capricorn (about 40 nm north) and then the next day to Great Keppel Island. There has been a request for photos, but I (as in DGB) does not seem to be able to work out how to do that, but will keep trying ......
regards
Don and Jim
Greetings from Pancake Creek, which is a sandy, tidal creek a bit south of Gladstone. Thanks to everyone who has responded to earlier missives, which is encouraging me to write more!
After mucking about with the diesel in the bilge and carpets, and getting things reasonably clean, we left Port Bundaberg yesterday morning at 5.00 am to travel the 62 nm to Pancake Creek, which was highly recommended as an overnight anchorage. We had a fabulous trip, with the boat pointing nicely into light-ish north east winds, but we had to keep the engine going to maintain enough SOG (speed over ground) to get us here before dark. En route we had a pod of dolphins playing under the bow and leaping out of the water for about 15 minutes. They might have stayed longer, but I foolishly announced I was going to take some photos with my phone, and that was clearly the signal for them to clear out. Overall, we averaged about 5.5 kts, and arrived here at about 5.10 pm. We had one minor drama when anchoring when the anchor chain nearly ran completely out causing some serious anxiety for the anchor man (DGB). However, the situation was retrieved and the anchor chain is now attached firmly to the boat. We had a beer each, bangers and mash for dinner, and early to bed. I am enjoying re-reading a biography of Flinders and noting his visits to some of the places we have been to or are going to.
Today, we achieved another milestone when we launched the rubber ducky and put the outboard on it, and did a brief exploration of Pancake Creek, which is a lovely location - excellent anchorage and with sandy beaches, although the sandflies are not much fun. We enquired of a local about nasties in the water, and were assured that it is too cold for box jellyfish (he referred to them as 'boxies') or Irekangi, said there are bound to be sharks, and doubted the presence of crocodiles. Courageously, we had a short swim off a sandbank, keeping very close to the shore. Apart from that we have done some more tinkering on the boat.
We are enjoying the navigational challenges, using charts, GPS plotters and trackers, and an excellent book called Cruising the Coral Coast to negotiate shallows, headlands and navigational markers. The importance of tides are new to us - not something one needs to worry about much in the Swan River. Here at Pancake Creek, the difference between low and high tide is about 3 m, and the water moves very fast between high and low tide, and we have to consider the tides when deciding to leave or arrive at a location.
Tomorrow we are off to Cape Capricorn (about 40 nm north) and then the next day to Great Keppel Island. There has been a request for photos, but I (as in DGB) does not seem to be able to work out how to do that, but will keep trying ......
regards
Don and Jim
Friday, May 29, 2015
Dear Cracklin Rosie fans
Day 5 (30 May), and we are making varied progress since leaving Hervey Bay on Tuesday. The sail out of Hervey Bay was tricky as there are a lot of sandbanks and it is quite tidal. In the end we adopted the best traditions of our Georgie (our shared boat in Perth) experience and followed the boat in front of us! This proved to be a Mistake, as (i) it was a catamaran with shallower draft and (ii) it was not going where we wanted to go. After some dithering, we eventually made it into deep water and sailed over to the west coast of Fraser Island, where we anchored about 70 m off the beach in calm water. After one of us (DGB) had a refreshing swim, we feasted on curry and rice and had a very pleasant evening.
We had been told there were whales at Rooney Point, further north on Fraser Island. So on Day 2, we motored (winds were very light) for most of the day to Rooney Point. Another lovely location just off a sandy beach, but alas no whales. On Day 3, we decided to head across to Port Bundaberg, a distance of about 40 nm (nautical mile = 2,000 yards for all you landlubbers), and we had a lovely sail, with the boat reaching 6.5 kts (1knot = 1 nm per hour, again for landlubbers), in gentle 10-13 kt winds from the south east. Champagne sailing! We are getting the hang of the sails and rigging, and the autohelm makes it all very easy.
On arrival at the very pleasant Port Bundaberg Marina, we refuelled (more of that later), moored and then were invited by the couple on the magnificent next door yacht to drinks. Very enjoyable. Alas we discovered that in the process of refuelling, a quantity of diesel had migrated via the venting outlet into the bilge and also had soaked part of the carpet in the rear compartment. Disaster! Thus we spent most of Day 4 here in the marina taking buckets of diesel to the recycling tank, and mopping up the bilges. We have some more cleaning up to do today, but it should be right after that. Our new friends next door - Alex and Iris Frowein from New York and Belgium respectively - who have been cruising the world on their yacht for 6 years were quite philosophical and said that cruising can be defined as 'fixing your yacht in exotic locations'! We are beginning to understand that.
Ok, that's all for today. All being well, tomorrow we will be heading north to either Round Hill or Pancake Creek (about 60 nm) where there are safe anchorages.
regards
Don and Jim
Day 5 (30 May), and we are making varied progress since leaving Hervey Bay on Tuesday. The sail out of Hervey Bay was tricky as there are a lot of sandbanks and it is quite tidal. In the end we adopted the best traditions of our Georgie (our shared boat in Perth) experience and followed the boat in front of us! This proved to be a Mistake, as (i) it was a catamaran with shallower draft and (ii) it was not going where we wanted to go. After some dithering, we eventually made it into deep water and sailed over to the west coast of Fraser Island, where we anchored about 70 m off the beach in calm water. After one of us (DGB) had a refreshing swim, we feasted on curry and rice and had a very pleasant evening.
We had been told there were whales at Rooney Point, further north on Fraser Island. So on Day 2, we motored (winds were very light) for most of the day to Rooney Point. Another lovely location just off a sandy beach, but alas no whales. On Day 3, we decided to head across to Port Bundaberg, a distance of about 40 nm (nautical mile = 2,000 yards for all you landlubbers), and we had a lovely sail, with the boat reaching 6.5 kts (1knot = 1 nm per hour, again for landlubbers), in gentle 10-13 kt winds from the south east. Champagne sailing! We are getting the hang of the sails and rigging, and the autohelm makes it all very easy.
On arrival at the very pleasant Port Bundaberg Marina, we refuelled (more of that later), moored and then were invited by the couple on the magnificent next door yacht to drinks. Very enjoyable. Alas we discovered that in the process of refuelling, a quantity of diesel had migrated via the venting outlet into the bilge and also had soaked part of the carpet in the rear compartment. Disaster! Thus we spent most of Day 4 here in the marina taking buckets of diesel to the recycling tank, and mopping up the bilges. We have some more cleaning up to do today, but it should be right after that. Our new friends next door - Alex and Iris Frowein from New York and Belgium respectively - who have been cruising the world on their yacht for 6 years were quite philosophical and said that cruising can be defined as 'fixing your yacht in exotic locations'! We are beginning to understand that.
Ok, that's all for today. All being well, tomorrow we will be heading north to either Round Hill or Pancake Creek (about 60 nm) where there are safe anchorages.
regards
Don and Jim
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