15-22 August
After a three-month break we came back to RaRa in Great Sandy Straits Marina, Hervey Bay, where we found the boat in a better-than-expected condition. We organised a diver to clean the bottom and it came out great, the growth wasn’t too bad. We gave her a good clean inside and out and stocked up on supplies. We had half-expected we would need to go to Bundaberg to put her on the hard and do a new round of antifoul, but it seems it can wait for another 6 months or so. The wallet is happy!
Bundaberg
Friday 15th, a week ago, we set off and even though we didn’t need to do much boat work, we decided to have the first stop in Bundaberg. The 8am departure of the passage was a little cold and cloudy, with 10-12kn S breeze, and we motor sailed to get there before the sunset. A few whales and dolphins were spotted along the way, but frankly not as many as we had hoped for. We had the good luck of our arrival at the Bundaberg Port Marina coincided with the weekly Friday night BBQ organised by the marina. They put on free meat/sausages and everyone brings a plate of sides to share. We also caught up with the Brian and Mel on catamaran Go, which is now repaired after its bad incident in a bar crossing, which cost two engines, new front windows and some electronics.
On the Saturday we went for a longer walk as well as filled up Diesel (much easier and cheaper than in Hervey Bay) and also motored into Bundy Creek in lovely sunshine and light winds for an afternoon sightseeing.
After two nights in Bundaberg we were ready for the next passage which was to Pancake Creek, 64NM north (not many other options for a day sail north). Again, fairly light S breeze which meant mostly motoring. The stress is on to arrive before sunset as it always feels good to reach a new to you anchorage in daylight. The entrance to Pancake Creek was shallow and we had to carefully follow the navigational marks. Once arrived in the creek it was calm and beautiful.
Pancake Creek to Facing Island
The next morning we started with a nice breakfast celebrating our 35th wedding anniversary! The wind was stronger today, SE 15-20kn, and we sailed most of the way. We had decided not to go into Gladstone this time around and, instead of doing the Narrows, take the outside way east of Curtis Island. Our stop for the night was on the north side of Facing Island, which is really shallow – how good it is to have a shallow draft in these waters!
On the way to Facing Island, having observed a lot of shipping traffic, we were also treated to a real dolphin show on the way – around 20 dolphins playing around us for half-an-hour or so. A very special treat on our anniversary.
Great Keppel Island and a pit stop for repairs
From Facing Island there was another 40nm to Great Keppel Island – our first real stop at the Great Barrier Reef. Again, we set off early in the morning and had good wind from behind, 15-25kn and a swell that was building. There were some storms brewing in the distance and we managed to dodge any significant rain. As we do these days the autopilot was on all the time, and we didn’t quite realise what strain it was under – about 5 nm from Keppel Islands it gave up on us! No major worries as we could hand steer the boat, but we realised it needs a repair soon, as we still have many long passages ahead of us. We ducked in on the north side of Great Keppel Island, and stayed the night there. It was rather rolly and still windy throughout the night. Not much sleep was had.
Luckily Rosslyn bay and Great Keppel Marina was only 1.5 hours away, and in the morning of the 20th we headed over there in much better weather for autopilot repairs and recuperation.
We realised that Great Keppel Island had so much more to offer so we decided to head back there Friday morning once the repairs were finished, finding an anchorage outside Fishermans Beach – that was a good choice as such a good day was had today. A walk on the island, see the resort followed by some snorkeling on the reef just outside the beach.
We look forward to upcoming adventures along the Great Barrier Reef, which we’re now inside!