TripSailor.com® Sailing Blogs

There is another beach just around the corner “Yarrabah” and we decide to head there for a look. Very disappointing after Turtle Bay. We had to anchor a long way out, there was a lot of mud and not much going for it. So after a brief explore we up anchored and headed to Yorkey’s  Knob and the Bluewater Marina which will be our home for the next couple of months. I suppose it will be a change getting back to civilization again.

15 April 2009

Well we have been here for nearly a month. It is good catching up with all the relatives. We even had a surprise visit from Frog and Taddy, who flew up from Melbourne for a week. Both of the daughters look very fit and healthy and everyone is looking forward to the upcoming births with much anticipation and excitement. Michelle is due tomorrow and Norm will fly to Melbourne on the 19^th of next month for the expected arrival of the Tadpole. In the meantime the engine mounts on Peggy-Anne need replacing. Had rails need painting and there is a few other jobs on the list to do as well. We are going to be busy and in the one place so we’ll let the blog rest until we start heading north again at the end of next month. Keep an eye out for our next trip log “From Cairns to the Top”

We spent a few days at Fitzroy on a mooring with a very small beach to ourselves. We could go to the new resort for cappuccino and did so on a couple of occasions. We headed out early one morning for a trip to the light house, which really got the pulse rates up and gave us graet views of the surrounds. After a few days we left Fitzroy and headed over to Turtle Bay on the mainland. What a great surprise. A terrific sandy beach that stretched for miles. Creeks running to the beach at a few spots and great fresh water swimming holes. We were anchored in pretty close and out of the swell, so thought this spot was definitely worth a couple of days. We even found a pre lit camp fire on the beach, so headed out to the boat and prepared a damper for sundowners. As usual at this time of year we had the place to ourselves.

We spent a few days at Fitzroy on a mooring with a very small beach to ourselves. We could go to the new resort for cappuccino and did so on a couple of occasions. We headed out early one morning for a trip to the light house, which really got the pulse rates up and gave us graet views of the surrounds. After a few days we left Fitzroy and headed over to Turtle Bay on the mainland. What a great surprise. A terrific sandy beach that stretched for miles. Creeks running to the beach at a few spots and great fresh water swimming holes. We were anchored in pretty close and out of the swell, so thought this spot was definitely worth a couple of days. We even found a pre lit camp fire on the beach, so headed out to the boat and prepared a damper for sundowners. As usual at this time of year we had the place to ourselves.

We met the next door neighbours last night. Les and Jill and their friend Ron who have a boat (Fiddler 5) moored in front of us. Great people, offered to loan us their car which we accepted and drove to Atherton to surprise Noami (Dawn’s mum) on her 88^th birthday. Had a great day and caught up with most of the brothers and sisters. When we returned it was off to a Chinese Restaurant for dinner with the crew. Thanks Les and Jill for the spontaneous generosity. Will have a few more days here preparing for the trip to Cairns.

Mourilyan is a sugar and cattle loading port. It would be good to watch larger ships entering through the very narrow opening into the swing basin. We went ashore and walked to a small shop, chatted to a few of the locals and headed back to the boat for a pleasant afternoon and another great nights sleep. The next morning the weather was calm although a lot of rain was falling steadily. We left the harbour and skipped up the coast to Gladys Bay,  the entrance to the Johnstone River. We had  been offered the use of a wharf by a friend of the family and head up the river to tie up behind Tony, Maureen and Luke’s residence. Pip will like having the run of the yard and a couple of playmates. Thanks for the offer guys.

There are some nice little beaches here and lots of signs saying “NO LANDING” . We went ashore anyway don’t think they own the beach even if they do. We travelled to the other side of the island in the afternoon and explored the old resort, which is being reclaimed by the bush. A bit of a mess really.  Later in the afternoon we travelled to Dunk Island and anchored near the resort. Went ashore for cappuccino and had a good look around. The anchorage had a bad swell entering it for most of the night and made sleep a tad difficult. Up early the next morning and forecast was good so we opted to head for Mourilyan Harbour. Not a good move. The conditions away from the anchorage were pretty lumpy so we went back and dropped the pick again. Late that afternoon the wind dropped and we made the run up the coast arriving at 22:00. Anchored in dead flat water and had a perfect night‘s sleep.

Brian and Annette of Muscat 7 who we met yesterday, gave us the number of a friend in Cairns with a berth to rent. We called him and have organised a spot for when we get there. Brian had recommended Bowden Island as a stopover and we headed there the next morning. What a great spot we anchored only meters off a sandy beach. The water was clear and swimming a must. Had a lovely day, but just on dusk the wind did a 180° turn and made things uncomfortable. We rode it for a while hoping for moderation, which didn’t happen. At 23:00 we up anchored and travelled across to Bedarra Island where we found a lee off the new resort.

Had an excellent evening and good meal at Port Hinchinbrook. This morning the dinghy is launched to travel a bit further up behind the marina for outboard fuel, which Pip and Norm organise while Dawn does a little more washing before breaky, after which we fill the water tanks and stow everything ready to leave. We head out at 10:00 into very calm weather and within half an hour anchor the boat off Cardwell and dinghy ashore to get groceries. Bring the shopping back to Peggy-Anne, up anchor and set course for Goold Island. There’s heaps of tide running out of the channel and we make 8 knots for most of the trip. Decide to anchor near Garden Island in the lee. All ashore to check out the beach and have a swim. We meet some other boaties there and head back after lunch for early drinkies and nearly get caught by a huge storm which passes pretty quickly. We will probably make a bit more north tomorrow.

We had a pleasant night at Haycock Island, but were visited by lots of sand flies again. So in the morning decided to travel to the other end of the Channel and spend a night in the marina. We worked the tide as usual and arrived at Port Hinchinbrook Marina at around 10:00 hrs.  It’s quite a new facility and very well presented. We berthed and paid for our pen before using the laundry to catch up with the washing. Then it was time to give the boat a tub. The water is still pretty dirty up here and I had to acid wash the water line again to remove the stain. Now that our home looks spick and span it’s time to wash the dog. Pip has a lovely bath. With all menial tasks done we head to the marina bar for a bit of R and R and then decide to lash out and book for dinner

We had a great time at Townsville. The marina and staff were A1 and we decided to spend a week exploring the city. Pip loved the long walks we took each day along The Strand. We got to give Peggy-Anne a good clean up as well. Took Dawn to the casino one night and ended up pocketing $100 on the roulette table. We were probably lucky that it started to rain and we had to rush back to the boat to close hatches and take our winnings with us.

At the end of a week we were ready to escape civilisation again and took a short trip back out to Magnetic Island, where we tucked in under Rollingstone Point to get out of the weather.

Halifax Bay was closed for live firing by the military so the next day we plotted a course for the Palm Island Group and anchored in the afternoon off Fantome Island. It was a pleasant spot, but you have to anchor a long way out because of the fringing reef. There was a Leprosarium here for many years and we went ashore to check out the remains. From here a short trip saw us anchoring at Orpheous Island in Hazard Bay. We had a phone call from an ex student, who told us to use a mooring they had there. It was in a great spot, just under a headland that gave plenty of protection from the south easterlies. A short dinghy ride around the point put us at Yankee Bay Jetty, with a pontoon and a great beach. This was the site for a Degaussing Station during World War II and a short hike up the hill just behind the jetty we found some remains of the station. We moved north to Little Plantation Bay hoping to spend a night there but found it too uncomfortable with a swell coming in.  We went ashore and took a short walk to a stone shepherd’s cottage now in ruins then decided to head back to our mooring in Hazard Bay. We spent four days on the mooring exploring the beaches and diving on the coral. The weather was fantastic, but we were watching the development of cyclone Hamish and as it started to move down the coast.   We skipped to  Lucinda where we did a quick shop before we cruised up the Hinchinbrook Channel and tied to mangroves in Bluff  Creek, to await the outcome. We were safe, but the sand flies were atrocious. As the cyclone has passed south of us, this afternoon we have left the creek and are anchored off Haycock Island.