Progress up the East Coast

THIS IS A WEIRD POST MADE UP OF MANY SHORT STATEMENTS AS WE MOVE UP THE COAST. BUSY, BUSY AND VARIABLE WIFI.

Date: 16th May 2025

Location: Middle Island, Percy Group, Central Queensland

Today we've had a rest day. Percy Island is a delight. Just three people live here, self sufficient and caring of the island. For well over a century a few hardy souls have found peace and solitude here. For sailors arriving on the island there's a bay protected from the SE trade winds that blow at this time of the year and on the beach is the most amazing A-frame structure where generations of sailors have left pieces of wood, pearl balls, life rings and numerous other artefacts each with a boat name and a date. For those of you who know Paradise Beach on Carriacou it's a bit like that but totally rustic and improvised. There's a fire pit to cook your line caught fish on as you watch the sun go down with anyone else who happens to have arrived. We met a guy who lives here in a driftwood house who suggested we walk up Short Walk, steep but short, to The Homestead at the top of the island, chat with John and Kate and walk back via Long Walk (4k rather than 2.5k). This we did. Kate found her way here via Malaysia after her parents died very young. She visited and then stayed here with her cousin Andy for many years. The well documented history of the island (look it up on Google) is a microcosm of Australian history. We both felt we could live here especially as they are now linked to the outside world by Starlink!

Percy Island from the A-Frame

What stories to tell!!

Kate and Jon's home - The Homestead up the track.

Gill, Kate and John

But as usual I've jumped on a long way away from our previous update. We ended up spending nearly two weeks in Gladstone Marina sheltering from the big winds and waves out at sea. Friends on Che Figata encountered 5m waves on their way in. Much better to be in the marina.

Ian arrived by train and new friend Rob picked him up in his car. It was great to see him and he settled in quickly. But as the days passed and imminent departure seemed as far away as ever he decided to return to Noosa, Rose and the dogs.

Ian arrives.

Ian departs!

Meanwhile Dan and Tara, friends from Canada, arrived on Meraki. Sailors themselves they were looking forward to sailing to the Whitsundays too. But in the end they also decided to jump ship and caught an overnight bus to Airlie Beach from where they could take a ferry to Whitsunday Island. We don't know if that happened though as we have had no cell service now for several days 

Rob and his wife Lauren are seasoned sailors themselves and set about organising us. Tours of the area followed and long discussions over the route north. Gladstone is a large commercial port. Inbound ships bring bauxite whilst outbound vessels are full of coal and explosive LPG.

Dan and Tara made the best of their time including organising a trip north to Rockhampton. Famous for its free of charge zoo we finally got to see our first koala, Shawn, blind in one eye but nevertheless a koala. The keeper's talk on saltwater crocodiles was more sobering. They are very intelligent and can lie in wait for you if you go swimming at the same place and same time. And they have VERY strong teeth. Sailors beware especially those of us in kayaks (us) and paddleboards (Meraki). After the zoo it was off to the botanical gardens for a typical Aussie BBQ. A long day but a good one.

Large saltie.

Rainbow lorikeet on the dinner table.

Typical Aussie BBQ - except its vegetarian!

The big debate as the winds began to ease was whether to attempt The Narrows northwards. If the tides are right and if your boat doesn't draw too much and most importantly if you have the balls for it you can attempt The Narrows. They are a narrow channel around five miles long fringed by mangroves on either side. The thing is, when the tide is out the land is 2m above the water level. Indeed it's so high that there's even a cattle crossing across it! Should we. Shouldn't we. In the end we decided we would. We'd motor to the waiting anchorage and traverse The Narrows on the 8.15am tide early the next morning. And then we talked to another local sailor who persuaded us not to after all! [As it happens Che Figata did cross on that tide and were OK but discretion was the better part of valour for us]. 

So out the North Channel and our early mornings started again with a series of 40, 45 and 50 miles days. Yet again hard sailing up this east coast of Australia. The winds were basically coming from behind us and we're sailing north. So you get protection in bays on the north of the headlands and islands we pass. First night we hoped to anchor north of Capricorn Head but as we approached and turned in there was little protection so we continued to Hummocky Island. Better but not a comfortable night.

Next up Great Keppel Island. On the way we poled out the yankee. And then it was on past Port Clinton to Pearl Bay, a narrow entrance and anchored behind an impressive craggy islet.

And so to Percy Island where we are now.

Date: 21st May 2025

Location: Cid Harbour, Whitsunday Islands

We're getting north now!

We've been really short of mobile signal so you're getting two updates for the price of one here.

The Whitsundays are the mecca of Australian sailing. Sheltered anchorages, blue water and sandy beaches. A charterer's dream. But that's maybe a bit later in the year. At present the trades are still blowing strongly and we're scuttling from protected anchorage to protected anchorage.

We arrived in the first of the Whitsundays, Shaw Island, by way of a 100 mile overnight sail from Percy Island. A mix of motoring and really nice sailing it was a perfect night. An almost full moon and a flattish sea. Nothing went wrong or broke though Gill has been feeling a bit queasy for a few days probably due to the recent rolly anchorages. The highlight was passing through the massive anchoring field for 40 large ships waiting to enter Mackay. We called VTS Hay Point on the radio to request permission to traverse the area which was happily granted. And so we weaved our way between the tankers and cargo ships, all lit up in the darkness. Each ship is allocated a numbered swinging circle with a radius of 1k. We popped out the other end and continued on to Shaw Island early the next morning. I caught a nice 3kg spotted mackerel.

At Shaw Island we expected to see charter boats for the first time. But there were none, absolutely nobody at all other than us in one of the best anchorages in the group. We learned later from a solo sailor we had met at Percy Island that charter boats are not allowed that far south as conditions are typically less settled. We chilled there for a day before gently sailing the 18 miles here to Whitsunday Island. An odd mix of strong winds and sheltered stretches we just used our small foresail for most of the way. As we negotiated Dent Passage a plane flew low over us before landing on the airdstrip jutting out into the passage. Meraki with their much larger genoa and newly installed folding propellor easily outpaced us. Hopefully this is not going to cause a problem as we continue further up the coast as slowing for another boat can be frustrating.

Trying out the cast net. More difficult than it looks.

We're planning another week or so in the Whitsundays before continuing north up the Australian east coast. Just a few more towns before we reach the top. Townsville where we will catch up with Bob and Bev who have now settled there, then Cairns, maybe Port Douglas and Cooktown and that's about it. We will probably make a short stop at remote Lizard Island too. So we've begun to explore possible exit ports from Australia next month. The two main possibilities are Thursday Island right on the top tip of Eastern Queensland and Gove across the Gulf of Carpentaria on the north east tip of Northern Territories. Our Australian visas expire on 24th June so unless we apply for expensive extensions we need to be checked out by then. Watch this space!

One of many 'walks to the top of the island'.

View from the top of Whitsunday Island.

Date: 29th May 2025

Location: Gloucester Island, Queensland

Bad news. The generator wouldn't start. Good news. I repaired it. It ran beautifully for 90 minutes. Bad news. It stopped again. Grr.

We've spent the past week or so further exploring the famous Whitsunday Islands including Whitehaven Beach the "best beach in the world" according to TripAdvisor in 2022. Indeed beautiful and surprisingly uncrowded yet again. But best of all - it squeaks! The pristine white sand is so fine it really does squeak as you walk on it. On Day 2 there we got up early and dinghied ashore, were the first on the beach and watched the sun rise.

Apparently it's called Whitehaven Beach because it's sand is the same colour as St Bees beach near Whitehaven back in Cumbria, UK where we used to live. Indeed this whole area is packed with Cumbrian memories. Scafell Island, Saddleback Island, Brampton Island, Carlisle Island, Maryport Islet, Helvellyn Rocks, Keswick Island, St Bees Island, Aspatria Island and many more - great memories of the best part of England.

The world famous Whitehaven Beach.

That was indeed magical but better was to come. Next day we quietly motored 25 miles to Gloucester and anchored in little known Little Jonah Bay. A perfect anchorage. 5m deep, completely protected, just us and Meraki. Again we dinghied ashore and then as the evening approached we took our newly launched dinghy (yes it still works) out into the bay to try fishing. Shawna and I fished while Gill puttered us along the fringing reef. And then it happened. These little dolphins came out to play and hunt. At first we thought they were sharks but then they started to blow. As we motored amongst them they chased little fish trying to catch them for dinner. The scared fish would leap out of the flat water and skitter on their tails across the water for 100m or more. And then out of nowhere came a fish eagle. He just swooped down leisurely and somehow he caught one of the skittering fish! Just how did he do that? Absolutely amazing and the sort of thing David Attenborough would enthuse about. To top it all the evening was beautiful - serene and wonderful. What a day. One we will always remember.

Next day we motored through the shallow pass between the mainland and Gloucester Island and arrived here at Gloucester Resort. Swimming pool, restaurant, laundry, cheap mooring balls and the wonderful Molly from Manchester behind the bar.

Date: 8th June 2025

Location: 100 miles south of Darwin

So we continue to move north. Next stop was the wonderful Magnetic Island. Just off Townsville we spent a couple of days there exploring with locals Bob and Bev. They've sold their boat and settled back there so knew all the best places to go. They caught the ferry across for an afternoon of hiking. Great views from the top of the island and we FINALLY SAW A WILD KOALA. So now we can leave Australia happy.

It's prawning season in Horseshoe Bay, Magnetic Island.

At last. That elusive wild koala...

...and a bonus echidna (well hidden)....

...and even a rock wallaby.

Thanks for bring our guides Bob and Bev.

However with Indonesian visas and Craft Departure documents to complete together with final purchases we took advantage of Townsville's marina. Initially booked in for one night everything took longer than expected (surprise, surprise) and Gill then got a fever and sore back. Dates were amended and we decided to leave from Thursday Island at the top of Australia rather than Gove in Northern Territory. And then it was Bev's birthday to which we were invited. 14 people only two of whom were not blue water sailors. A great evening.

More good news next when Kevin and I identified a small air leak in the primary generator fuel filter. Tightened it up and now it appears to be running sweetly.

The 'bleeding' generator.

So with a massive final stores purchase complete and Gill finally on the mend we returned to Magnetic Island for a recovery night.

Then on to Orpheus Island in the Palm Group of the Great Barrier Reef where we took a mooring ball to avoid damaging the coral. On the way and within a minute of my lure entering the water I caught a cracking 10kg Spanish Mackerel but not before Shawna had had to cut free a shark she hooked.

Now that's one tasty Spanish Mackerel.

At Townsville we had met up with Zack and Jill again, former high flying US attorneys in Che Figata their beautiful 54' Hylas built by the same yard as Mehalah in Taiwan. They came to Mehalah that night to share some of the fish and many nautical stories.

By now the winds were negligible and we were mostly motoring across flat seas protected from swell by the outlying islands of the Great Barrier Reef. Increasingly remote and very beautiful. But the weather at the top of Australia looks nasty for a couple of weeks and by then our Australian visas will have expired. So after much debate we decided to apply for new ones to cover the remaining time in Australia. Hopefully they will be approved because £560 each they are not cheap!

And finally some random photos that needed including somewhere....

Looking back on the previous day's passage.

Our first salty? Actually no, its just some rocks. Kevin was well spooked though!

I ran down from the top of Dunk Island. Chilling on the beach.

Manta Ray seen a while back.

Mehalah anchored in theWhitsundays.

Aboriginal (First Nation) art. The first hot air balloonists?

Heading for Home

Date: 2nd May 2025

Location: Gladstone Marina, Queensland

On our way home!

Well, this is pretty weird. Leaving Scarborough to travel up the east coast of Australia actually felt for the first time that we set sail for home.

Yes, we've finally left the comfort zone that was Scarborough. What a great marina and especial thanks to Richard, Teri and the yard team. 12 miles motoring into the wind across Moreton Bay to Bribie Island for the first night out. And what a night. Thunder, lightning, 45 knots and a boat almost dragging into us in the rain and darkness. Man, it's great to be back on the water!

First night out. 55k thunderstorm. White dot is us!

Since New Zealand it's been a bit of everything. We hired a car with Meraki to get groceries for the trip to Indonesia and beyond, to transport 5 litre containers of engine oil, to collect our new sail bag and to use as a general run around. As we got off the bus to collect the car it absolutely threw it down. My red jacket isn't waterproof after all I found.

Anyway the aft toilet is fixed (bigger circuit breaker), the engine is serviced (including a full tear down of the primary fuel filter), the workshop has been reorganised (new hooks for ropes), Port seat repaired, mast climbed and rigging checked, new house batteries installed and hull cleaned by a couple of divers.

Meanwhile Gill has been stocking up. The big grocery prize she won at Christmas has been completely used up and we had the usual "not more food, where are you going to put it all" gripe from me. OK, it does all seem to have gone somewhere in the boat. She's also been making covers and bags for various items now I have finally fixed the sewing machine. Thank you Mr YouTube.

So plenty to keep us busy but not crazy busy. That gave us a some time to see a bit more of south Queensland before departing northwards. We decided we must organise 'things to do' in advance otherwise we would just stay at the marina doing more jobs.

First up was a visit to Brisbane, on the 50 cents anywhere by train in Queensland, a first for Kevin and Shawna. There was a big exhibition about the sinking of the Titanic. 'Immersive' was the word they used for it I think though that sounds a bit dodgy for the story of a sinking ship. It was a good way to spend a couple of rainy hours though before a trip down the Brisbane River and lunch at the excellent Felons brewery.

On the City Cat. A wet day in Brisbane.

My outing was altogether more risky. On my birthday back in New Zealand and after sharing a rare bottle of wine with Gill I was lying in the cold tent with Gill asleep next to me. As I scrolled through Facebook I saw an ad for a show by Bob Geldof in Brisbane the following month. I followed a link, "only a few seats left, book now". I clicked and booked four of the few remaining seats. I went to sleep happy. Next morning I realised what I had done. The classic scam. Don't click on a Facebook link and don't purchase in the heat of the moment especially if there's only a few tickets left. Gulp. What have I done. The money had left my account but no confirmation email. Ah well, it's done now. Hopefully it's all above board. I'll make it a surprise for them. A few weeks later I start getting confirmation emails so it's looking good. We drove in to Brisbane, had a fantastic vegan Mexican meal  and made our way to the venue. No billboards, nothing. And then a tiny sign and we were in. It was then I came clean and told them this story. As it turned out it was a great night. Bob came on and talked solidly for three and a half hours about his childhood, his marriage and of course Live Aid. A few songs too. He's pretty coarse, in fact his show was titled "Life, What the Fuck" but we all had a great night out.

Next it was back to Noosa. Rose and Ian wanted a night off dog sitting to visit their son in Brisbane so we arranged to drive up to theirs to look after Hunter and Luna. Kevin was still fitting his new folding prop so they came up the following day by train. I got to drive Ian's Tesla which was a bit disconcerting as it kept wanting to drive itself but we climbed Mount Ninderry again and started planning the next stage of our journey. Rose and Ian came back, we went to the beach and for a Thai meal in the evening. Next day on the way back to Scarborough we stopped off in the Glasshouse Mountains and another great view over Moreton Bay. Thanks R&I for another lovely break.

Last chance to catch the impressive Glasshouse Mountains.

Shawna. At Rose and Ian's with Hunter and Luna.

It was only a couple of weeks later that we got this picture from Rose. See if you can spot the slippery visitor on the deck. Pythons though are pretty common in their area and its said that if you have a python in your attic you won't have any mice or rats. Hmm.

Two weeks later at Rose's. Spot the vertical python!

And then it was time for goodbyes including a memorable evening at Frank and Nikki's house with Bob and Bev who we'd met in the Pacific. Nikki's story off stripping off on Frank's boat on their first date was well received and not only by Frank.

Before that big thunderstorm on our first night out we had a beautiful sunset to remind us all of what we had been missing. It's always a wrench (or is it a spanner [N American/European in joke]) to leave the marina but once you're out there again you wonder why you left it so long.

Tranquillity before the thunderstorm.

Yeah. Finally out of the marina.

So the first target was Wide Bay Bar at the bottom of Fraser Island. That's the Fraser Island that biosecurity sent us outside on our arrival here eighteen months ago because of our termite issue. This time we wanted to go inside as Meraki had done on their way down. Now, Wide Bay Bar has a reputation as one of the trickiest bar crossings on the east coast. You need to hit it on a rising to full tide with wind less than 15 knots and a swell of less than 1.5m. To get there was a long overnight sail and with shallow water around the tides were key. Unfortunately high water that week was early in the morning and in the evening so for several days it was leave at around 4.00am which meant waking at 3.30am and setting off in the dark, getting to the bar just as it was getting light. We made a first stop at Double Island Bay and settled down in the calm to await the next morning and our crossing of the bar.

Fraser Island. Wide Bay Bar entrance at the bottom.

By 6.30 we were at the bar with just enough light to see what was happening. The swell was OK but as we turned to line ourselves up for the entrance a squall came through and it blew over 20 knots for the next 40 minutes as we negotiated the bar. It was lively to say the least. Breaking waves on both sides of us with a not entirely obvious way through. The local Coastguard had provided us with waypoints to steer to and we pretty much stuck to them following Meraki in ably steered by Shawna. By 8am we were through and into the calm waters behind the bar. The next day would require another high water three hours after our start so we anchored in the shallows surrounded by shoals with pelicans sitting on them. Phew. Good to have that behind us.

The notorious Wide Bay Bar on a grim dawn......

....but it could have been much worse. Another sailor's view of Wide Bay Bar!

The next target was the famous Kingfisher resort where we hoped to finally get a bit of rest and relaxation. But to get there we had another tricky, early morning passage up through the shallows behind Fraser Island. We motored and sailed happily through most of the route. But when we got to the crux where the water was only just deep enough for us even at high water I made an error. We wiggled our way through and more by luck than judgement we avoided hitting the sand bank - though a shallowing 40cm under the keel was a wee bit stressful. 

Every number is a change of direction. Need to concentrate.

Kingfisher Resort is pretty up market but if you walk boldly in they are happy to turn a blind eye to cruisers. And indeed there we met the Swedish sailors we had spent time with at Christmas in Sydney. But more to the point we also met up with Paul and Sue from Meridian Passage, Australian sailors from down near Melbourne that had spent the summer with us up in Scarborough. After a loud reunion with them we decided to hire a 4x4 the following day and explore the island. 

We were anchored off the resort in swirling, reversing tidal currents which kept throwing us close to one of the Swedish boats entailing several re-anchoring attempts. Additionally we returned from our visit to the resort to find the tide had come right in stranding the dinghies well offshore. Kevin and Paul gamely swam out on rescue missions before we all met up on Mehalah for sundowners. Swimming in muddy water at dusk where shark attacks are not unknown? Maybe not the best decision!

Fraser Island is most famous for two things. The drive along its Pacific Coast beach and dingoes. We wanted to see both. And we did. What a day. Great fun to be driving off road again. Three drivers each with a driver's licence from a different continent.

The wild Pacific Coast of Fraser Island.

The team. We never stopped laughing.

Shipwreck.

Shady lunch stop.

Shawna and Sue drifting downstream in the sunshine.

And at the end of the day - a dingo. Lean, fit and mean. You do have to be a bit careful of them. Don't walk alone, watch out for children, if camping only camp in a fenced camp site if you have anyone under 14 with you.

At last. A dingo.

It was brilliant day which worked well for all of us. Sue and Paul wouldn't have done it without us and we really enjoyed their company and they helped to keep costs down. A memorable day all round. [As it happens it seems both of our daughters separately made the same trip many years ago during their respective gap years].

The wind turned north westerly pushing us onto land so we opted for another early start and a push towards Gladstone where we could shelter from even stronger winds and await our respective visitors. Meraki have friends flying out from Canada and Ian (of Ian and Rose) will be joining us. But first we have to get to Gladstone. We had a great sail to our interim destination of Bundaberg. It was here eighteen months ago that we first landed in Australia and realised we had sailed halfway round the world. The only fly in the ointment was an odd swishing sound that seemed to be coming from the lagged exhaust pipe in the engine compartment. Ignore it, perhaps it will go away. That evening we discussed N America, and particularly Canadian, politics as it is general election time there at present (stop press: liberals win another term with Bank of England Mark Carney leading them).

Next day, yet another early morning had us making the 65 mile passage to Pancake Creek. Nice sailing again to start but when the engine went on again it was obvious the exhaust had a problem. Much swishing, hot exhaust, CO in the saloon. Not good. And to make things worse there were bush fires all around us. Indeed at one stage it looked as though there was one actually in the night's anchorage. Anyway we finally limped into the gorgeous Pancake Creek and spent a very quiet night. I bound some additional exhaust lagging around the worst area and hoped for the best next day.

Approaching Pancake Creek. Hopefully that fire is far away?

Only 30 miles to go to Gladstone and we motored and motor sailed just about all the way. Gill was very tense but all was well as we made our way to the marina passing numerous big ship docks on the way. Smaller boats like ours have a special approach channel keeping us away from the coal, aluminium and LPG shipping plying up and down the water. Of course just as we made the last turn into the marina a tourist boat came out causing us to throttle back and keep well to the inside of the bend.

Gladstone is a busy and rich port. The marina is paid for by Gladstone Docks with grassy surrounds, modern facilities and even classical music piped in to the toilet block! We are safely tied up now and just awaiting the arrival of Ian in a few hours. The exhaust has been stripped of its lagging and indeed the pipework was in two pieces. Amazingly within 10 minutes of arriving some Americans had called on Kevin and Shawna having seen their large (VERY large) Canadian flag flying as we approached. They of course knew the best welder in the marina and once we had removed the exhaust it is now with him to make the repair. We will need some new lagging so Gill and I spent the morning walking the 30 minutes to Napa to collect their last roll only to find they didn't have one after all. Grrr. Still Mufflers across the road had one roll which is now on board Mehalah awaiting the repaired exhaust.

So now we wait and are dependent on the weather. The wind is ramping up and the forecast not good. Not ideal for guests who would like to get out to the Whitsundays. We shall see.

Oh dear. One broken exhaust. Spot the crack on the join.

Industrial Gladstone.

We're getting near to the tropics again.