Bob sails Oz

14 May 2009

The Captain Steps Ashore

It was late Thursday afternoon and the sun was going down over the Whitsunday Rent a Yacht jetty at Shute Harbour. The Captain took off his sea boots for the last time.

When he stepped onto the jetty it was 7,844 nautical miles and 203 days since he and Emil had sailed north to begin the circumnavigation of the big island of Australia. It is testament to the patience and forbearance of the 21 people who crewed the various stages that it happened at all. My grateful thanks go to each and every one of you. It has been a wonderful experience for me and I enjoyed sharing it with you.

My thanks go also to the many people who supported the undertaking. I include both the people at home who provided moral support and refrained from expressing their reservations and the many wonderful people I met along the way. The scenery was fantastic but the people were better. There is something about the sea which brings out the best in people.

I want to mention two people in particular.

Glenn Read is the Managing Director of Whitsunday Rent a Yacht and manages an extensive fleet of charter vessels of which Capricorn is one. He is an accomplished sailor and his support and practical assistance have been invaluable.

Richard Verco organized an extensive maintenance program which was carried out at Fremantle Sailing Club after the half way point was reached at Geraldton. The work was done in record time and I was able to resume my journey.

I will maintain the website as long as it is useful for those who embark upon a similar adventure. To them I say fair winds and safe shores!

13 May 2009

We woke to yet more rain. It was very easy getting away from our anchorage last night and the main sail went up right away. Soon we took the reef out as the wind wasn’t as strong as yesterday. Then the Genoa went out as well. The wind was good today as we crossed Thirsty Sound and we were under sail the whole day again. There still is heavy cloud all around us but fortunately we aren’t getting a lot of rain right where we are. When we were taking the main sail down at the end of the day one of the slides broke again.

We anchored at Refuge Bay at Scawfell Island. This is a popular bay judging by how many boats are anchored here. The hills are quite high and will give us good protection from the wind for tonight.

Just after anchoring, I was on deck recording the details for the day when a guy in a runabout came by and asked if we wanted some fish. He had been fishing and caught too many so was trying to find a good home for them. He offered me a big fish which was too much for us so we accepted the small one with delight. It turned out to be Coral Trout and tasted absolutely delicious. It was a huge improvement on the planned menu of various canned goods that are still left. What a nice surprise and a fantastic way to end our last night on board.

12 May 2009

We were up very early again and off, headed back out of the river. It was a bit slow at times for it was very shallow in places but we used the track that we had used to get in which makes things so much easier. The moon was still up and it was so very pretty. Later there was a beautiful sunrise.

Once we were out of the river, the sail went up right away. The winds weren’t quite as strong as yesterday but we still made good time. We went by a few islands on the way which was cool. We were under sail the whole day apart from departing from our anchorage and then going into the one tonight which is fantastic.

We had intended to anchor at Middle Percy Island but the wind had changed to the south east so that was going to make it too rolly a night so we changed to an alternate anchorage going to Blunt Bay on North East Percy Island instead, anchoring just before dark.

When we were approaching the Island it was raining so hard that visibility was very low and we could hardly see it however as we got closer the rain eased off and then all was well – except that we got a bit wet which had been the order of the day anyways.

11 May 2009

The first thing we did upon getting up was to check out all the things that could have caused the engine to stop yesterday. Everything seemed to check out until Bob found a loose bolt which may have let air into the fuel filter. The other option is that it may have stopped due to us heeling over too hard (it had been a stiff breeze) as part of the boat’s safety mechanism, or……. Whatever it was, when Bob tried to start the engine voilá it started. Yes!!! We then emptied the two jerry cans into the tank and were set to go. The seas are 2-2½m with ½m swell; winds are 20-25 kts and gusting; fair amount of clouds. We hoisted the main sail before departing and didn’t put out the Genoa as we are already going 7kts and in this amount of sea and wind it wouldn’t be advisable.

During the day the Captain had to radio the Yeppoon Coast Guard and the guy said “What’s it like out there?”(as in he knew the conditions were a little bit rough). We saw one catamaran going the other way with the teeniest of a Genoa up…about handkerchief size.

The wind and seas increased through the day - we reached a maximum of 9.4kts and the boat was under a lot of pressure. Bob decided that we needed to reef the sail and it was while we were doing this in fairly heavy seas that I saw the boom drop. Oh man!!!! What else can happen??? Thankfully the boom was way over to the side and was secured with the preventer, otherwise it could have fallen on one of us and knocked us out.

Once we had the sail under control an investigation revealed that the shackle for the topping lift halyard had failed and if it wasn’t for the fact that the halyard had also been tied to the sail bag as a backup, it would have gone up the mast and we (in double speak that would have been me again) would have had to go up the mast to retrieve it.

I had to go forward to undo the preventer for the boom to bring it towards the middle and it was then that I noticed that one of the Genoa cars had come loose and a piece of it was lying on the deck…luckily it hadn’t gone overboard. That’s what else (can happen)!!! We then brought the boom to the centre and, resting it on the dodger, we secured it to the dodger with ropes.

We anchored at Island Head Creek which was a very pretty place. Earlier in the day we heard over the radio that there had been a suspected sighting of a crocodile but this is unsubstantiated at this stage.

Thankfully there was a spare shackle in the parts box so that was the first thing on the agenda to fix and soon the Genoa car was working as well (fingers crossed that it holds till Shute).

10 May 2009

We woke to a bright full moon that lit up everything almost like daylight. We had a very early start and got over the bar ok but with not much room to spare – the bright moon helping us to see the markers easier. Motor sailing was the order of the day as the winds were up and down so it was putting the sail up, then taking it down, then up…….

Today we crossed the Tropic of Capricorn on Capricorn which the Captain was very pleased to announce and we took pictures of the spot as well as Cape Capricorn which is right next to the actual spot which was so named by Captain Cook. How cool was that????

Cape Capricorn

We are now starting to see islands around us which is a change in scenery and the coral reefs are beginning.

All was going well and just before we were to round the headland to go to our anchorage at Great Keppel Island we furled the Genoa. No sooner was it furled than the engine died!!! What??? The Captain tried to start it a couple of times and it would turn over but wouldn’t start. OK…now we have to let out the Genoa again (but only halfway) and sail to our anchorage and anchor under sail again. Thankfully we were just close enough to the anchorage that we were able to do this before dark as this anchorage was one to watch out for rocks, etc. At least this time the conditions were more favourable with the wind and seas being much calmer. The anchoring was executed successfully and without a hitch.  The sun had well and truly set and it was near dark by now so can’t check most things out till the morning to see what was wrong. We weren’t able to get in far enough to a better spot so it will be a rolly night but I am just so glad to be here safely. It was a very long day today and we did a lot of miles.

09 May 2009

We left Bundaberg bright and early. The weather was good today and the temperatures have been warming up a bit which is really nice. There was a fair wind so we put the Genoa up right away and were enjoying the sailing. It soon became apparent however that we weren’t making enough speed to reach our destination before dark so we reluctantly turned the engine on and motor sailed.

We were buzzed by a Customs plane in the afternoon and we radioed him right away. We subsequently heard him on the radio with a few yachts further south of us as well.

We anchored in Pancake Creek. The entrance was quite wide but when we were approaching we could see a bar going across a lot of the way with waves breaking on it so we slowed right down. It was nearing low tide and because of the full moon we were on a spring tide which means that the tides are a bit exaggerated, ie lower or higher than usual, and we got to about 0.5m depth crossing it so not too much clearance. We had been planning to leave at about 4am in the morning but with this low clearance we will have to wait a bit later for the tide to come up a bit higher.

It is a beautiful and calm anchorage. There is a lighthouse just on the other side of the hill which is tall enough to be seen on our side so it was cool to see the light flashing. There was a glorious sunset and the full moon made everything so bright that it was magic.

Checking the Anchorage at Pancake Creek

08 May 2009

Yesterday we had navigated the shallowest part of the Strait so today was much easier going. Soon we were out of the Strait and crossing Hervey Bay on our way to Bundaberg.

In the afternoon we heard someone on the radio asking for the way points to cross the Wide Bay Bar and the Tin Can Bay Coast Guard advised them to wait to cross as the conditions were too rough…we sure were pleased to have crossed before the conditions worsened.

The Captain had been on the radio and Cran and Ann from the catamaran Lettin’go overheard him so they radioed afterwards. They were about an hour ahead of us and after some conversation, an arrangement was made to rendezvous on their boat later on.

We finally arrived in Bundaberg and after a welcome shower we headed off to their boat and exchanged stories. They are also doing a circumnavigation but have only just begun their adventure.

Finally we left to go and have a bite to eat at the marina café which was a welcome change from the current menus on board Capricorn. We have been endeavouring to use up all the provisions and the menus have become very entertaining to say the least…at the end of the day we tally how many cans, packets, sachets, etc we have managed to use. It’s pretty funny.

07 May 2009

We were on our way at 5am as we had a super long day ahead of us. We were headed for the Great Sandy Strait between the mainland and Fraser Island which is the largest sand island in the world. The entrance to the Strait is guarded by the Wide Bay Bar and you need to get the 3 coordinates for the crossing from Tin Can Bay Coast Guard and be there on a rising tide before you can attempt it. The seas were described as ‘sloppy’ (I soon found out what that meant) with the swell at 2.5m but we found many king ones that were higher..oh boy!! There came a point when we needed to furl the Genoa before starting the crossing to be under engine power only. Yet again, the furler jammed about a 1/3 of the way through the furl #*%^# so we had to leave it like that and hope for the best for there was no way we could do anything about it then.

As we got close to the Bar the waves built up even more as the bottom got shallower and the waves that had hit the shore were now coming back on themselves and we were in for quite a ride…hang on tight. A nail biter for sure. Then we had to turn to the next coordinate and the waves were hitting us from the side which is not a good thing. We made it through just fine in the end and breathed a huge sigh of relief. We had to radio the Coast Guard before the crossing to log on so now we had to radio them to advise that we were safely over and log off.

Now the Strait became very shallow and we had to creep along to negotiate the next 20nm of the tortuous maze of sand bars (flat water now). There were many channel markers for the bigger ones but many were not marked and we had to rely heavily on the chart plotter, dog legging around several of them. We were behind another yacht, Firefly (we had chatted with them in Mooloolaba), which we knew drew 2.4m of draft (we are 1.95m). We followed their path religiously. However they finally came across a bar and got stuck. They got off and got stuck again and I could hear them calling out the depth…0…0.2…0 as they tried to find a way through and then they decided to wait for a higher tide. We pressed on due to a shallower draft but eventually we too got stuck, got off, but then got stuck again and couldn’t get off so had to wait for a higher tide. It was around this time that Bob used 2 more of his “get out of jail free” cards. A little bit earlier he tried to see if the furler would unfurl the sail and that worked (whew) so now we attempted to furl the genoa and it furled…yay!! - #1. Then when we got stuck we unfurled the genoa a little bit hoping it would help rock us off the sand bar and that eventually worked as well - #2. Things were starting to look up.

In the meantime another yacht as well as Firefly caught up with us at about the time that we got off so now we were a convoy. The new yacht took the lead as they seemed to know the way, with us following, then Firefly cautiously trailing behind being the biggest yacht. Later on, as the sun was about to set, we decided to anchor at Yankee Jack Anchorage for the night which was the calmest anchorage one could hope to find. We retired down below for a well earned dinner and rest.

05 May 2009

Dawn Breaking Over Gold Coast Seaway

As usual we were off by 6am. We met up with Sand Dancer again and continued to follow them through the Seaway.  John and Denise were headed for Brisbane so near the end of the Seaway we both stopped and chatted for a few minutes and said farewell. It had been such good fun to travel with them.

Leaving Gold Cloast Seaway for Moreton Bay

It was an uneventful day but a long one. It rained a bit and the seas were fairly heavy, especially towards the end of the day, so things were really moving about down below and it was hard to move about. We were headed for a marina in Mooloolaba and didn’t get there until way after dark. After finally arriving at the harbour we found it to be well marked so going down the channel to the marina was done with ease and, with the aid of a torch looking for our berth number, we finally found it and berthed up.

Shortly after arriving the heavens opened and it just poured so we were thankful to have arrived just in the nick of time and be down below all warm and cozy.

04 May 2009

We were on our way at 6am yet again. As we have a long day every day to get the miles in, this has now become a familiar routine for me to be up before light, underway by 6am, enjoying the beautiful sunrise a bit later and then anchoring sometime shortly before sunset (with a bit of luck).

 Sand Dancer took the lead and a catamaran that had been anchored near us last night followed suit so now we were a convoy. There were still a lot of heavy clouds off to the east of us this morning that were raining hard. The winds strengthened during the day and became strong and gusty. In the afternoon the clouds from the east were getting closer and had the very same look and conditions which produced the spout yesterday so I kept a vigilant eye out. Yesterday we also had lightning right over top of us (from lightning to thunder was about 1½ seconds) about the time when the spout re-appeared the second time but fortunately we didn’t get a repeat of that scenario today. That was pretty scary yesterday. It had the potential to do so much damage and it was coming our way like a freight train. We were very lucky to have evaded it.

The Gold Coast is an amazing sight. When we were near the Gold Coast Seaway I looked back and all I could see were hi-rises along the coast as far as the eye could see.

Sand Dancer arrived at the Gold Coast Seaway a little ahead of us. After we arrived we then followed them through the maze of channels. Going through here was going to save us several miles. Up to this point I had been surprised to see hardly any boats around but as soon as we entered the Seaway we found out where they all were – there were boats going everywhere, in all directions, zig zagging all over the place. It was like a free for all. After being out on the ocean it was a bit of a jolt to the system. The Seaway is very shallow in most places and we had to wind around all the sand bars. Sand Dancer lived up to her name when she came to an abrupt stop on a bar. She got off fine and we proceeded on to the Calypso Bay Marina which was lovely. I especially appreciated that they had a raised jetty so that there wasn’t such a big step to get on or off the boat.

We met up with some long time friends of Bob’s, Paul and Alison, and their two children, Sam and Matt, for dinner at the Drift Inn which was adjacent to the marina.