Hot Springs, Waterfalls and Red Mud
“You go ashore for a look around darling, I will look after your curry on the stove”. This extremely rare selfless offer is made in an attempt to placate a long suffering wife, who has been putting up with a selfish surfer and know-it-all Captain for far too long. Shortly afterwards the Captain falls asleep, dreaming of perfect waves with the aroma of delicious food. Awakened by the return of the chef, and to the smell of burning curry! “Oh s**t, this is NOT going to improve crew morale!”
They say that variety is the spice of life and New Caledonia certainly has that on offer. Prony Bay is a perfect example as a place where you can find a stark contrast to the beach, reef, and ocean mode. Long walks, rivers, waterfalls, barren mars-scapes, hot springs. A chance to flirt once again with the earth element of the soul.
22 September 2015
On Thursday the 10th we had a great forecast to sail to Prony Bay in a south westerly wind. Lyn posted our latest blog with much difficulty due to the quantity of photos and poor signal, but managed to get it done by reducing their size. We had a marvelous sail along the coast, reaching along inside Ouen Island and through Woodin channel. We stopped for lunch at Casy Island in the middle of the bay, picking up a mooring on the northern side, the only boat there. This is an absolutely stunning spot, the boat is moored within a stone’s throw from the narrow beach and beautiful overhanging trees. The water is clean and inviting, there is perfect calm shelter from the wind and the only sound is the tweeting of little birds on the shore. All of which lulls a tired Captain into a pleasant afternoon sleep.
Fortunately Lyn returned from her walk on the island filled with excitement of the beauty she had seen, which made her far more forgiving on the lazy Captain than might otherwise have been the case (perhaps he will pay later). Weaving her galley magic, she rescued the curry with more sauce and a second cook. In the meantime we decided to head further into the bay for the night and sailed with headsail only into East Carenage bay, dropping anchor in this perfectly sheltered anchorage with only one other boat there. We were serenaded by the variety of bird songs from the shore as we sipped sun-downers and later enjoyed the twice-cooked curry which actually turned out to be delicious.
Next morning we took the dinghy up the river a bit to the hot springs wharf, a tricky dinghy trip to dodge the shallow areas which would have been much harder without the online guide information we had on the route. It was a pleasure to plunge into the bath-like spring and clean the crusty salt from our skin. This is a great little spot with a man-made pool with the spring water flowing through it, benches and pagoda etc. Not natural but nevertheless very nice and not a soul there apart from us. Fresh and clean we walked upstream to the nearby cascades and continued rock-hopping up the river, one of our favourite activities, and further high up the valley along a section of the renowned GR1 walking track. The river is very pretty and the surrounding countryside has an alluring, although somewhat stark charm, with low vegetation broken by bright red mud areas of eroded soil or mining damage which has been inflicted over the years.
After lunch on Jolifou we took the dinghy through East Carenage bay to the dinghy landing on the Prony blue river and walked up to the nearby swimming holes, which are large and deep and would be a great place to hang out on a hot summer’s day. We met two gorgeous puppies from the “La Cabane” camping area and Lyn was all over them, getting her dog fix in the absence of our beloved Silus.
On Saturday we moved Jolifou to West Carenage bay, which is also a great anchorage. We took the standup paddle boards up the Prony River and left them up on the banks whilst we walked to Prony village. It was a long, tiring, but interesting walk, and the village is quite charming, with convict ruins, displays and some fascinating trees with roots integral with the rocks and buildings. We had to visit the puppies again on the way back and Bruce had a quick chat with the owner and look around at the charming camping area whilst Lyn had her puppy time.
Next morning we packed a picnic lunch and set off on the walking path up the Carenage River to the waterfall. This is a gorgeous area which again we had all to ourselves, not seeing another soul the whole day. We took the opportunity to take our clothes off and bathe in the refreshing pool at the base of the falls and then warmed up in the sun on the hot rocks. As we do, we had to explore further so we climbed to the top of the waterfall and had a fun time negotiating jumps across the water between rocks and doing a bit of bouldering rock climbing. After lunch we took the direct route back down, rock-hopping all the way down the cascades and river, an excellent adventure!
On Monday the weather improved with the trade winds moderating, sunny skies and flat calm inside the anchorage. We had a vague plan to try to scuba dive the Prony Aguille, which is a really unusual pyramid shaped mound, formed by hot spring water rising up through the ocean bed. Unfortunately by the time we got out there the trades had started blowing again and the visibility would be very poor, so we changed plan and returned to the Northern mooring on Casy Island. This little island is right up there with the most beautiful we have seen. It has a huge variety of contrasting landscape and vegetation, from the many pristine white sand beaches and rocks, through green forests of a variety of trees and the stark contrast of the mars-like barren red area at the top.
Walking around the island as we passed through the area close to the abandoned resort and wharf on the Western side, we came across a large dog. Lyn, of course, tried to say hello and pet him, but unusually the dog was not interested and remained quite aloof though not unfriendly. As we continued our walk the dog trotted past us and started leading us along the pathway. We would cut across to a beach and walk along it and the dog would shadow us, mostly remaining on the path. On one occasion he entered the water and appeared to be looking to catch fish. This strange and independent dog remained close to us all the way around the island. We have since discovered that his name is “Moose” and he was left abandoned on the island some years ago, surviving by living off fish from the fishermen, but also catching his own fish and foraging for crabs in the rocks. We have heard of other cruisers having the same “guide dog” experience.
That afternoon we fired up our new L&W dive compressor for the first time and it worked really well as we topped up three tanks in a short space of time. Our NZ friends Brent and Deb from Gucci arrived with three new friends aboard and we had a great night with them on the beach, cooking dinner around an open fire. We spent the night on the mooring and next morning Gucci set off towards the Isle of Pines, in a forecast of strong trade winds on the nose which we would not choose to take on if we can avoid it. We motored up into Bonne Anse inside the eastern peninsula of Prony Bay and took shelter on a mooring in Anse Magic Bay. We were delighted to see Jim and Anne arrive on Insatiable 2 and went around to enjoy sundowners with them and catch up with the latest news and gossip.
On Wednesday morning we paddled the standups down the peninsula to the pretty little beach on the end. Lyn walked down the outer shore finding nautilus shells and spotting a reef shark in the shallows. We took the boards and snorkel gear out onto the reef to a gulley we had spotted and had a nice snorkel, stunningly beautiful variety of colours of brain and stag corals etc., saw a huge eel and lots of pretty tiny fish but not much else. We paid for our fun with a really tough paddle back against the stiff wind that had built up over the day, dodging into the little bays along the way to try and get some shelter. Jim and Anne came around for Sundowners on Jolifou, always a pleasure. That night we heard a lot of fish jumping and grabbed the big spotlight to illuminate a bay full of jumping fish, quite extraordinary!
Next morning we set off to the Isle of Pines, watch this space.
The Deer Hunters
BANG! Slightly hung-over from drinks on Insatiable 2, we were rudely waken from our early morning slumber. “What was that!?” A loud bang on a yacht is NOT something any sailor wants to hear. It usually indicates some form of major and life-threatening damage – hitting something, mast down, engine blowing up. BANG, BANG, BANG! The sound of galloping hooves. We look out the hatch and there is a herd of wild horses galloping along the beach and up the hill.
View from the top
My first thought was that someone was herding the horses using explosives? Then I saw a man holding a rifle, BANG, BANG, BANG, and a herd of frightened deer bolting away through the thickets towards the other side of the island. It looked like they had escaped, but then I noticed a deer lying prone on the ground with another hunter approaching it. The 6 hunters then all stood still like statues, guns at the ready. The drama had only just begun to unfold.
6 September 2016
At time of writing this the swell is a bit down and a couple days of Westerly winds forecast so we decided to cut the cord with the surfing of Ouano and move a bit further afield, at least for a while. On Thursday night (3 September) we had a bit of an “au revoir” dinner party on Jolifou with Perret, Patrice, Ness and Pete featuring Lyn’s world famous slow roast lamb, roasted pumpkin with sesame seeds. Perret had brought gelato for desert and this was a rare treat with Lyn’s berry sorbet. The red wine and interesting conversation flowed. Patrice enthralled us again with his conspiracy theories and explanation of his archaeological work. He has been studying ancient cultures such as the Aztecs, Incas and Mayans for over 30 years and he analyzes drawings and symbols on rocks (including local finds) extracting images, which often prove his theories of an extraterrestrial presence cooperating with mankind at that time. We love his obvious passion for this work and are fascinated by the topic but the jury is still out on whether we are totally on board with this. We will look at his website http://www.ultimate-archeology.com with an open mind when we have a good internet connection.
In the morning a nice south westerly wind gradually filled in across the lagoon, perfect for our sail southwards to St. Vincents bay. Insatiable 2 had the same plan and they do say that if there are two cruising boats headed in the same direction then there is a race on! Insatiable is a 46 foot cutter with lovely racy sleek lines and Jim would have fancied his chances, but ultimately Jolifou taking a short cut inside Konduyo island as the wind backed more to the south gave us a better wind angle which translated to an unassailable lead (horizon job?). We later heard that Jim spent a day cleaning his bottom as a result of this defeat.
We needed to top up the diesel a bit so sailed to Port Quenghi marina at the bottom of the bay, which is suitable only for shoal drafted vessels. Even with the small draft of Jolifou at 1m (board up) we had a few white knuckle moments on final approach to the marina entrance as we zig-zagged down what appeared to be the deepest channels in the muddy water. No English and no credit cards here so we handed over all the cash we had and managed to communicate to the nice French man to give us as much diesel as that would buy. We got 114 liters for 13000 cfp, which actually is a rather good price when compared with Australia (somewhere around 150 dollars). We spent the night in Moustique bay on Ducos island, which is a lovely anchorage, and had a delicious curry dinner on Insatiable 2 with Anne and Jim.
Saturday morning was the deer hunting show. We had front seats to the drama which was unfolding in a basin in the land really close to our anchorage position. The main herd of deer had escaped to safety during the initial salvo, but a few poor stragglers remained, frozen and hiding in the thickets. This the hunters knew, and they waited patiently. A deer would be spooked from its hiding spot into the open by a hunter approaching or just plain losing its nerve. Then all hell would break loose with hunters firing numerous rounds at the fleeing animal. I must say that I think most of them were very poor shots because often the deer would actually make it to safety unscathed despite not being particularly quick or nimble in their fleeing. It was almost farcical but eventually they would find their mark, usually only injuring and laming the poor animal, which would then pathetically stumble around trying to escape its inevitable fate. On one occasion a blood thirsty hunter indulged his perversion by finishing the defenseless animal off cutting its throat with his hunting knife. What a man!
Deer hunting is quite prolific in New Caledonia. Deer are obviously not an indigenous species and back in the day after they were introduced to New Cal there was a time that they were a bit of a pest, destroying the indigenous vegetation. In some cases they apparently spread to different islands by swimming to escape a fire at their original home. So historically the hunting of deer has been encouraged to keep the population down. In more recent years private land owners have stocked their land for their own sport and food, and in some cases there are commercial operations with foreign tourists paying to hunt. We hate the act of hunting and cannot condone it, even if the deer are bred for that purpose you cannot justify the cruelty of killing them in an often painful way.
By around about midday, the hunters had killed enough. Four deer in total were dragged down the hillside and loaded onto their smallish tinny, plus the 6 hunters, and they set off slowly back towards the mainland. Their families would eat venison that night (and presumably quite some nights into the future). We took the opportunity to head ashore for a walk, climbing up the steep ridge of the nearby hill/mini-mountain. Near the top there is a magical area of rock and trees where we were able to indulge our rock-climbing passion a little before summiting to a marvelous view of St. Vincent’s bay and surrounds. We had a good view of the arrival of our friends on Eos 2 in the anchorage before we descended down the other ridge. That night we had Anne and Jim of I2 and Lani, Slade, Keani and Amahikai of E2 for dinner on Jolifou, a tasty and merry affair as always, featuring Moroccan chicken and Lyn’s delicious first attempt at baking fresh sourdough bread rolls.
15 September 2015
On Sunday the 6th we awoke to a forecast of a southerly wind direction (rather than the prevailing south-east) and decided to use it to continue south eastwards towards Noumea. With the prevailing south easterly winds here it is really easy to travel north westward up the lagoon, but when it comes to the return one needs to use every opportunity to avoid a windward slog. Early on there was no wind at all and we motored through St. Vincents bay enjoying the passing scenery of the bay islands. It was glassy windless conditions out in the lagoon so we decided to head out to the reef at Uitoe pass and anchored in a gorgeous spot just inside the reef. Bruce noticed that there were a couple of surfers riding the right-hander on the reef and took the dinghy out there for a surf. A fun little wave but nothing like as good as Ouano. Lyn explored the reef on her paddle board. Shortly after returning to the boat a cloud bank came in from the South accompanied by a gusty southerly change and suddenly this was no longer a good place to be! We upped anchor and sailed with headsail only to the excellent sheltered anchorage of Maa bay, just before Noumea. We had a nice quiet night there despite a French boat inexplicably wanting to anchor right on top of us in a huge anchorage with only one other boat.
Next morning we left early for the short motor to Noumea before the wind came up. We filled up with diesel at the CNC marina (yacht club) and then anchored in Orphelinat bay. We took the dinghy to drop Lyn at the supermarket for a big stock-up shop and Bruce continued on across the bay to the chandlery for some odds and ends. We learned that Aussie gas tanks can be filled by Noumea Yacht services (no one else does it and Herve fills by gravity feed from a local bottle). That evening we decided to treat ourselves to dinner ashore. In Citroen bay we found a really nice bar (called La Barca) which has excellent atmosphere and is obviously popular with the locals. It was surprising to see the number of locals out on a Monday night. Our mistake was eating there as the tapas menu food was really ordinary! On Tuesday the fresh food market was open and Lyn completed her stocking up mission. We picked up the gas tanks and were treated to the drama of a fire on some old tug boats in the harbor, which we had front seat views to as we bought dinghy fuel at the fuel dock. We had intended leaving Noumea for Prony bay that afternoon, but the easterly was blowing strongly so we elected to remain another night.
With the wind from the north east the next morning, we decided to head out for the famous Amedee island near Boulari pass, a really pretty island with excellent coral very close to the moorings. When we arrived we were the only boat there and Lyn lost her hat whilst we were deciding on a mooring in the roughish waves and it sank before we could get back to it. Bruce dove for the hat and had a bit of a look around seeing a few sucker fish that had decided to adopt the Jolifou. They are funny looking fish and not very perturbed by humans. We took the dinghy ashore, rescuing the New Zealand crew of “Guchi” on the way as they struggled to row against the wind and waves. At the dinghy beach we were treated to the spectacle of three small white tip sharks over the shallow reef and also three sea snakes in the nearby rocks. We walked around the island marveling at the lighthouse, which is an impressive structure but was unfortunately closed to public access. It is an extremely beauitiful island, unfortunately spoiled by some fake touristy infrastructure. There is a cordoned off food area reserved for the people who pay for the tour out on the ferry boat, complete with waiters dressed up in grass skirts, Polynesian music band etc. – very cruise ship touristy and not what we like at all!
Wind turbins on the New Caledonia mountains
That afternoon, with the wind staying in the north east we decided to head back to the mainland for the night. Uere Island was as good as we could lay without a rough sail. A sucker fish came along for the ride, remaining attached just off the stern all the way across. Even after we started the engine it remained in place and only left us after enduring the prop wash for quite some time. Uere island anchorage is excellent protection and a really scenic spot very close to Noumea. It took 2 attempts before we were able to anchor in a nice position evenly spaced between a small boat on a mooring and two swimming platforms, but it was worth it as we ended up nice and close to shore in a great spot. We had a nice peaceful night there in company of 3 other boats including our new friends on Guchi. Next morning a nice south westerly was blowing and we set sail eastwards for Prony Bay. More on that next blog.
South West Coast Surfari
As I sit, surfed out and arms aching, basking in the sun on the sugar scoop and feeling the cold easing from my body, I gaze out past s/v Akimbo at another perfect set of glassy waves peeling down the reef and say to Lyn (basking in the sun on the other side of the scoop): “It doesn’t get any better than this!”. This is the third day in a row I have said that, and it keeps getting better! As a keen surfer and sailor I am sure I share the dream vision of many to anchor one’s yacht in a nice settled anchorage position with perfect waves nearby. Ouano surf break on New Caledonia’s west coast is one of the places where this dream can come true.
At time of writing we have already had ten days of excellent surf pretty much all to ourselves (Pete, myself and a couple others). The wave reminds me of Cloud Break in Fiji, but is less intimidating with a friendlier end section, which all in all gives it a pretty mellow and safe feeling. On the larger waves you often make all three sections and there is usually a barrel on offer if you are brave enough and good enough. You can anchor the boats a bit further into the pass and wide of the waves and it is a remarkably quiet anchorage given the setting.
31 August 2015
We left Port Moselle marina at about midday, Thursday 13th August, and began our island-hop Northward up the lagoon. That afternoon we sailed around Orphelinat and Citrons bays getting a feel for the coastline near Noumea, then out to Maitre Island where we took a mooring and went ashore on the paddle boards. It’s a pretty island with a nice looking resort and has an excellent kite-surfing location on the South Eastern side where the Noumea based kite surf schools take their students. It’s a perfect beginner kiter setup with a large shallow sand and sea grass area, on-shore in the prevailing trade winds. The wind was light when we were there but flags on the beach advertise the various schools and manufacturers.
Pretty Resort on Maitre Island
We returned to the boat and headed a short distance north to Nge Island. We took a mooring and went ashore to explore this pretty little sand island (no resort on this one). This island is fairly typical of many of the islands in the huge lagoon fringing New Caledonia. It is low-lying and surrounded by a pretty white sand beach. Off the shore is fringing coral reef or coral patches and heads mixed with a bottom of coral slate or sand, in places sand and sea grass. The islands vary in their nature protection, a few do not allow landing at all, most allow landing and have nature reserve restrictions, many allow camping and have some rudimentary facilities including toilets. One of the great things about New Cal is that it is a lot more easy-going with respect to legislation than Australia (the nanny state). People camp wherever they like on the islands, wear no helmets on bicycles etc. There are rules and they are obeyed, but there are not a million signs telling you what not to do.
We spent the night at Nge including an absolutely stunning sunset (the first of many). Next morning we set off on a meandering sail northwards, investigating Dumbea pass and various islands in the lagoon. The Western lagoon is formed by a fringing reef which is only about 3 to 4 nautical miles off the main island. This makes for very sheltered flat water sailing conditions which are an absolute pleasure. In flat water a yacht will slip along quietly and easily, even with little sail up and light winds, so sailing up and down the long length of the lagoon is really nice and easy. There is also a vast choice of good sheltered anchorages, so there is no pressure to get to a particular spot on time before sunset. In fact, much of the lagoon is 12 meters or less deep, so you could in fact anchor just about anywhere in need. That afternoon we settled down in a beautiful bay west of Ndukue island, a spot recommended by Pete from Akimbo. It is a small bay inside a rock point with small limestone overhanging cliffs and sheltered by hills. We were all alone there in a stunning setting. We took the stand-up boards ashore, finding a deep enough pathway through the pretty lilly-pad-like fringing coral (Lyn spotted a Lion fish) and walked up the hill for a lovely view of the surrounding area then enjoyed the sunset from the beach. Next morning on the high tide we paddled around the island investigating the overhangs and caves, coral, beaches and shallow waterway between Ndukue and the main island. Then it was off to St. Vincent’s pass and Tenia Island.
We sailed past the left-hand surf break of St. Vincent’s pass, it was quite windy South Easterly trade wind with a big swell and quite wild conditions, but the 3 surfers in the water were getting some good rides. Bruce was itching to get in the water but the conditions were a bit sketchy for anchorage and leaving Lyn on the boat so we headed in to Tenia island. Tenia is one of the most beautiful islands here. It is quite a large low island in a heart shape integrated with the main barrier reef, including a hooked section of the reef that creates one of the few outer reef dive spots sheltered from the waves. On the Northern side of the island is a large sand-spit finger and yachts can anchor on the sand bottom between the spit and the reef. Shoal draft vessels such as Jolifou can get in really quite close to the island beach which is a really lovely setting. One could remain there overnight, but it can get a bit uncomfortable and rolly on the high tide and potentially dangerous if the anchor dragged, so one tends to just day-anchor there.
We spent three days at Tenia island during the day then doing a short sail to a great anchorage at Puen island for the night. Bruce took the dinghy out to St. Vincents left for his first surf. A bit of an intimidating experience as it was a long trip in the dinghy with quite strong wind and big waves, and ended up being the only surfer out there. It was nice to get the surfing mojo going tho. Akimbo arrived on the second day and Pete and Bruce had a good surf together in nicer conditions the next morning. On day 3 we went for our first scuba dive, taking the dinghy out over the reef at high tide and diving on some interesting deep bommies on the outside. This is not the main recommended dive spot at Tenia but we wanted to start somewhere tame because it had been a long time since our last dive. We saw a huge ray, a sea snake and some large fish in a nice swim-through gulley. We also did some exploring on Puen island including an absolutely magical sunset walk with a spectacular sky reflecting off the glass-like water over the shallow fringing reef.
The Shipwreck at Titanic Surf Break
Next morning it was time to head North to the allure of Ouano surf break, which Pete had assured Bruce was even better than St. Vincents. We had a look at the “Titanic” surf break on Isie pass on the way, which looked really nice (a hollow right-hander) but the locals are very protective of this break and foreigners are not welcome. We had our first surf at Ouano in fairly windy conditions but the waves were still excellent, this is my new favourite surf spot! We spent the night anchored in Ouano bay about 4 miles from the surf break and headed out the next morning for another excellent surf. Just Pete, Bruce and one other French local surfer in 4 to 6 foot perfect waves. Next day it was Bruce’s birthday (21 August) and mother nature gifted him even better surf, 4 to 6 foot, glassy conditions and just Pete and Bruce out there. We went out on Akimbo leaving Lyn on Jolifou as she wanted to prepare the birthday dinner. She was thrilled to have Perret ask her if she wanted to have a lift to La Foa for some much-needed provisions. In the afternoon Bruce had his first kite-surf in the anchorage area and we ended the day with a beautiful birthday dinner with Pete, Ness and new friends Patrice and Perret from s/v Bonte. Patrice and Perret are pretty much permanent residents of Ouano bay on their majestic schooner and Pete and Ness had befriended them on previous trips. Bonte is a really striking and unusual boat built by Patrice over 40 years ago: pirate-ship like with huge aft state-room and elegant figure-head, and this may be the only yacht in the world with a microlight airplane aboard! As you would expect, Patrice and Perret are unusual and extremely interesting people.
With a bit of a hangover, smaller surf, and expecting weekend crowds we took a break from the surfing on Saturday 22nd and had a relaxing day exploring a little island near the reef and a late afternoon walk up the hill overlooking the Oauno anchorage. By Sunday the surf was firing again, glassy 6 foot perfection and the Aussie yachties (Pete, Bruce and Slade from Eos 2) had an epic early morning session to themselves before a few locals arrived on their boats. The locals generally have trailer-able tinnies or speed boats that they drive up from Noumea, launch at the boat ramp in Ouano bay and bring out to the surf break at the pass. Fortunately for us, they don’t get out very early. They usually spend the whole day out there and there is a bit of a carnival atmosphere. Everyone was very friendly and there was never much more than 15 surfing at a time, so still plenty of waves for the yachties in our afternoon session. We are however very respectful of the locals and mindful that they only have the weekend whereas during the week we can have it to ourselves, so we keep a low and mellow profile out there.
On Monday the waves were a touch smaller but we still had an excellent morning session again. By midday the South easterly wind had picked up a bit and we launched Bruce’s 12 square meter kite off the back of the boat for the first time ever. This is something Bruce has wanted to do for some time, but can be quite tricky to do. He pumped the kite up half in the water on the sugar scoop, connected the lines and let the kite float downwind letting out the lines slowly. The kite tried to mess itself up a couple times on the way out but eventually launched nicely and Bruce had a fantastic time kiting/surfing the waves. This is a perfect setup for surfing waves with the kite as the South Easterly trade wind is a perfect cross-offshore angle on the waves, especially for a goofy footer like Bruce. That night we had apertifs and drinks on Bonte and got to do the tour of this amazing boat. It is pretty huge compared to our boat and just so solid. Patrice has made a lot of very clever things on the boat over the years, including a gimballing bed and of course the aft platform for the microlight. They can launch and attach the wings of the microlight from the boat (it is effectively a sea-plane with a floating hull). Perret also has an amazing on-board garden, made using boxes and pots.
5 September 2015
The surf had gone down by Tuesday and Lyn paddled the standup board over to a pretty lagoon island (Konduyo) while Bruce went in the dinghy with the other board. We paddled around this perfect little island exploring the reef and then enjoyed skinny-dipping on our own private island for the rest of the day. Next day we took Joilifou out to have a look at Isie pass and the big ship-wreck out there, then, for a change of scenery we went in behind Lebris island to a pretty little bay anchorage where we had lunch. At the same time Lyn was doing some laundry on the boat and after some initial hiccups she managed to get the washing machine working. Later in the afternoon the South Easterly was getting quite strong and we moved further into Ouarai bay to an anchorage advertised by the cruising guide as “the place to go when you need a good rest from developed trade winds”. It was indeed really well sheltered and we were lucky enough to see two small sharks (fins) as we watched the sun going down.
Next morning we motored back to Ouano anchorage as we wanted to join Perret, Pete and Ness for a trip into La Foa. Apart from provisions we were able to sign up for a Mobilis “Liberte” pay as you go sim card which has enabled us to have a working phone here as well as being able to activate internet access in one hour (unlimited data) chunks. This is now enabling us to post these blogs for the first time in a while.
The next few days were a bit like groundhog day, but with a perfect surf theme. Early morning 5:30 am Bruce would awake and start getting the boat ready for leaving for the reef. By 6:00 am there would be a flotilla of four aussie yachts motoring out to the reef (Jolifou, Akimbo, Eos 2, Rhino). Lyn might rise at this stage and have a coffee and enjoy the sunrise during the trip. By about 7 the yachts were anchored off the break and the surfers headed out to the lineup (each boat only had one surfer each). Whilst the boys were surfing the girls would do any number of activities including: paddling to the nearby little island on standup or kayak, snorkeling, swimming, sunbaking, taking photographs. Somewhere around 10 or 11 the surfers would return to the boats one by one, for a coffee and croissant or toast and to warm up a bit. On one occasion Lyn paddled out on the standup with croissants and water for Bruce, now that is what I call great service! There might be a second surf session before or after lunch and at some stage around mid-afternoon the boats would sail back to the anchorage (jib only) in the South Easterly wind that had built up. There might be a late afternoon walk near the anchorage and then possibly sun-downers on one of the boats. Surf trips don’t come any better than this, I am sure.
It was almost a relief when the swell declined again and our aching arms were granted a reprieve. There was a day of an unusually strong Northerly breeze where Bruce had a wonderful kite from the anchorage out through the channel along the edge of the reef and back. Then the surf came back and it was groundhog again. Believe it or not, when you are blessed with so much good surf it is possible to become a bit jaded and take it for granted. One finds oneself sitting out in the lineup and letting a really good looking set wave pass by because the wall on it doesn’t look like it will line up perfectly on the reef. Bruce started experimenting with boards (he has 7 short-boards on the boat) and found joy in finally discovering the potential of his “5’8 Spitfire” unleashed by using the WCT fins on it in a thruster setup. Spoiled brat surfers – that is us! (I wonder what the poor surfers in Sydney are doing right now?)
Lord Howe to Noumea
Clunk, clunk, clunk, clunk, clunk; the recently installed lightning protection cable makes it’s persistent noise slapping on the inside of the mast, joining all the other annoying noises as the boat is tossed about in the chaotic waves of the Lord Howe lagoon. The rudders also clunk back and forth on the play in the bearings, the centerboard clunks in its case, the boom break creaks and bangs slightly as the force of momentum lets the rope slip a bit, dishes and glasses in the cupboard and sink clink intermittently, and of course there is the waves slapping against the sides of the hull and under the stern. Add the motion itself to the mix and sleep is not on the menu during a bad night at Lord Howe lagoon.
The most beautiful island we have visited yet, but nights like this one are the price you pay to be here on your yacht, and as much as we love it here we have also had enough of this torture, time to move on.
30 August 2015
It has been a long time since the last blog entry, mostly because we didn’t have a good internet connection until now, but also I confess because we were just too busy discovering New Caledonia. Our last two days at Lord Howe Island were pleasant but with a larger South West swell at high tide we really experienced how uncomfortable the moorings here can be. We had a night of being in washing-machine like conditions, with small waves over the reef bouncing off the nearby rocks. By far the worst conditions we have ever been moored or anchored in so far, the plus side is that we will probably tolerate less severe discomfort better for this experience.
We had a night of worry about possibly being trapped in the lagoon as the large swell was causing breaking waves across the North Pass entrance, but fortunately the next morning the swell had abated a bit and we said farewell to Lord Howe. The weather window looked very good for the trip and it did not disappoint, after half a day of motor-sailing in light Northerlies the South Westerly wind arrived and we had excellent downwind sailing for the rest of the trip, varying from about 10 to 25 knots. We had the jib poled out either to leeward or windward almost the whole trip. Nice sailing and pleasant weather with the odd rain squall, but not with any major wind in them. We are disappointed to not have seen any marine life bar a few squids on deck, the odd flying fish and sea-birds including the majestic albatross.
One moment of concern was when we discovered persistent water coming into the bilge again. Not alarmingly fast, but maybe a bucket-full every hour. It seemed our previous analysis of the cause of the leak had been incorrect. After a long process of elimination and investigation we eventually discovered the true problem: The through-hull fitting for the generator cooling water exit had a leak in its seal. This is underneath the boat, but fortunately on the stern quarter where it is not constantly underwater. After removing everything from the port stern locker Bruce was able to get to it and it was clear that some water was getting in as every wave lapped up from behind. There were some moments of panic trying to think how we could seal something that was constantly wet. We have since learned that there are good products available for this, but we had to work with what we had. In the end Bruce decided to just try to completely smother the area with Sikaflex 292. He dried and cleaned the area with acetone as best as possible between waves, then quickly squirted large quantities of sika around the area, building it up a few times. This eventually did the job, which can only really be done properly next time we are out the water. To date the repair is holding well.
As seems to often happen to us, we had to slow down a lot so as to arrive on Monday, because you can’t clear into New Cal on the weekend. We sailed in through Dumbea pass at sunrise, accompanied bhy the only ship we had seen the whole trip and watching some excellent peeling rights breaking down the side of the pass. Formalities at Port Moselle Marina were a pleasure with all staff and officials very friendly and helpful. The one small hitch was Bruce having a bit of a struggle finding the immigration office despite having a good map, it is in an extremely non-obvious looking building. Lyn had over-catered for the trip mostly due to us eating very little during the rougher weather and we had heard that all fresh and even frozen food would be confiscated. Lyn’s solution was to slow roast the remaining lamb and pork, starting at 4AM in the morning on approach to Noumea. After all that the quarantine official was extremely nice and allowed us to keep all the meat, eggs, honey and cheese. He only confiscated a small amount of fresh fruit and vegies. We were lucky as we heard of other boats having all of these items confiscated by more stringent officials in the past.
We spent three nights in Noumea at the marina exploring the town and doing some small maintenance tasks on the boat. I have to say we are not over enamored with Noumea town center. It is quite dirty and bleak in places. Other areas like the Latin quarter are nicer, but still not really a place we want to spend a lot of time. Lyn did really like the fresh food market near the marina and we were also very impressed by the range of equipment and spares at the Marine Corrail yacht chandler. Nevertheless we did enjoy our three days at Port Moselle on the visitor’s finger of the marina, meeting other cruisers. One of the striking things about this marina is that there are hardly any plastic motor boats and most yachts are truly blue-water live-aboard cruisers. This is a stark contrast to Sydney and the Pittwater where marinas are full of white plastic motor boats, racing yachts and production coastal cruisers.
We were very happy to have Jim and Ann of Insatiable 2 arrive the day after us. They are true veterans of the cruising world and we had met them previously in the Pittwater. Our friends Pete and Ness (Akimbo) arrived late in the day and we invited them all to dinner which was a very happy affair. The next night we were all on Insatiable 2 for sundowners and laughs aplenty. We are so fortunate to have these really experienced cruisers offering us advice, tips and knowledge of the area. Pete has taken us through his paper charts of the area, pointing out the good anchorages, surf spots etc. truly valuable information to get us started in this unfamiliar area.
By the end of the third day we were starting to get itchy feet, eager to get out there into the true beauty of New Caledonia and start our holiday properly. More on that coming up very soon in the next blog post.
Destination Lord Howe
We might not have stopped here had the weather gods deemed a direct voyage to New Caledonia more fitting, but sitting here in the lagoon on a perfect winters day we are so happy that we decided to stop at Lord Howe on the way. Words cannot convey the spectacular beauty of this place, the intimidation of the majestic sheer heights of Mount Lidgard and Gower sharply contrasting the welcoming aquamarine lagoon. From early this morning when the moonlit silhouettes of the mountains and Balls Pyramid came into view we have been enchanted. Coming in through North Passage shortly after sunrise, perfect lefts peeling down the reef alongside, we were already totally sold. Ashore there is an immediate captivating charm, a feeling of time slowed down, pretty green vegetation, quaint roads and buildings. Our experiences with the friendly policeman Simon and all other officials and locals we have encountered has further warmed us to the place, where there is an obvious sense of pride and community. Although not much further North than Sydney, the warm eddy of the Australian east coast current makes the weather here much milder than on the Australian mainland, with the water temperature quite friendly for this time of year.
30 July 2015
During the final stages of the boat work in Newcastle we started to look at the weather windows for the trip to New Caledonia using the PredictWind weather routing service we had subscribed to and familiarizing with using the Iridium Go and PredictWind software to download weather GRIB files. Fortunately there was a decent weather window to leave on Monday the 27th July, however the later stages of the trip to New Caledonia could be unpleasant with the possibility of winds turning North East. The South Westerly on the back of a big low pressure would be perfect for getting East to Lord Howe and we could arrive in good weather when the winds had faded and turned Easterly, which would make the lagoon a quiet haven (strong SW winds make for very rolly and rough conditions in the lagoon). After clearing customs we would struggle to make Lord Howe in daylight hours on Wednesday, so we planned to leave in the afternoon, take it easy and plan to arrive early Thursday morning.
Such was the plan and all started quite well. After sad farewells to our friends, parents and beloved Silus (our dog could not come with due to difficulty returning to Oz), we headed out of the breakwater at about 3:30 PM and went straight to 3rd reef and full headsail in a moderate South westerly, which built to the forecast 20 to 25 knots as we cleared the coast. All good so far, but as we got out further into the east coast stream we started to experience the classic rough wind and waves against current conditions. It felt like about 30 knots over the water and we had quite large swells with the occasional breaking crest. Not really serious conditions, but enough to be a bit concerned, especially as we were a bit rusty at this stage having not sailed anywhere for a while. This went on for the whole night with us getting no sleep at all. It was still rough on Tuesday morning and we put up the staysail, furled the jib and dropped the main completely, which made things much more comfortable and the auto-helm more easily able to cope with steering.
By midday Tuesday we had crossed the main east coast stream and in the back eddy towards Lord Howe the current had changed and become favourable with smoothing seas but still a big swell. We hoisted the main again and the boat was going really well with 3rd reef and staysail in a 20 knot Southerly, reeling along averaging about 9 knots over the ground with the odd 12+ surf. We elected to sail through the night with just staysail in order to try to get some sleep and to slow down to avoid arriving at night time. During the night the wind faded and we motor sailed and both got some good sleep. The favourable current continued and we spent Wednesday sailing with full sails in a light South Easterly, very pleasant sunny and the swell had eased considerably.
Around mid-afternoon Wednesday we were just starting to feel really relaxed and happy with things, well rested, all was good. As is wont to happen in boating it is often just at these moments that something goes wrong. We discovered a largish amount of sea water in the bilges, in the front and the back of the boat. Not enough to be totally alarmed, but a concern nonetheless as the boat is usually really dry. This put a damper on things (literally) as we dried out the bilges, only to discover more water later. A potential candidate was the front bilge pump Jabsco one-way valve malfunctioning, so Bruce inspected it and we then plugged the pipe to eliminate that one. There appeared to be more water later, but it may have been lurking alongside the water tanks and worked its way out.
The wind faded and headed on Wednesday night so we resorted to motoring with the mainsail (3rd reef) to stabilize the rolling a bit. At the end of her watch at 2 AM, Lyn spotted the silhouettes of Lord Howe and Balls Pyramid in the moonlight. By 4 AM it was clear we would get there too early, so we hove-to (stopped) with 3rd reef and a tiny bit of headsail backed the wrong way. We both went to sleep for a couple of hours like this before motoring the final few miles to the North Passage entrance. Simon was really helpful and accommodating, talking us in explaining the leading posts and buoys and we were soon safely moored just inside North Passage.
2 August 2015
After arrival on Thursday we did a bit of a tidy up, drying the bilges etc. before heading ashore to meet Simon for the formalities. Very brief and easy and also with all the advice we wanted on facilities etc. We did a brief explore of the foreshore whilst picking up a key to the showers, had lunch at the Anchorage (starving) and a very welcome hot shower. Returning to the JoliFou we were overcome by tiredness and had an afternoon nap, waking for a quick trip over to North Bay at sunset.
By Friday morning the forecast North Westerly had started to build. Bruce awoke his kitesurfing mojo and we headed to the main lagoon beach with kites, boards and Lyn’s Brompton folding bike. Lyn went for a ride around the island, discovering the beautiful beaches on the Western side. She also explored some of the charming shops doing some shopping and found an internet connection at the museum. Bruce had an awesome kite on the lagoon, heading down almost the full length and back upwind. A few sketchy moments with shallow reef as the tide went out, but a great place for it.
Saturday was another day of perfect winter weather, sunny and light wind. We took the opportunity to break out the paddle boards and paddled all the way down to the South end of the lagoon, exploring the reef and Blackburn Island on the way. The water was spectacular and the coral quite beautiful, but we were disappointed by the lack of fish and other marine life. The lagoon is over 4 km long and by the time we had paddled back against a light North Westerly we were both physically buggered, neither of us being at a high level of fitness at the moment.
After lunch and a bit of a lie down we took the dinghy ashore to Old Settlement Beach and climbed the track to Kim’s lookout where we enjoyed sunset beers. The scenery from here is breathtaking as you sit atop the high point of a sharp ridge. To the South you have the whole vista of the island and lagoon, with the imposing mountains as a backdrop, to the North there is a 182 meter sheer drop cliff below you straight into the ocean depths and the endless blue horizon. To the West, the sunset framed by Mount Eliza, to the East the pretty Noddy and Roach islands.
That night we went ashore with food and wine, walked over to Neds beach where we used one of the many public barbecue fires to cook a delicious meal of steak and vegetables. It was a perfect setting with the recently arisen moon illuminating the rocks and beach and the squawking of the sea birds filtering across from the islets.
4 August 2015
On Sunday we hired a bike for Bruce, and Lyn rode the Brompton as we did a bit of shopping chores and explored the island. The dinghy was running a bit low on fuel so this was the number 1 priority (nice planning on a Sunday). The only place to get petrol on the island is at Top Shop, so named (I presume) because it’s at the top of the hill, which didn’t make our mission easy. The whole Yamaha 25 liter fuel tank went on the back of the Brompton rather well and we rode and walked up to the shop. Fuel was pricy at $3 per liter, but that’s to be expected. 2 stroke oil from Thompson’s store completed the task. It’s testament to how organized the island is that we were able to achieve all of this on a Sunday. The shops here are small but oh so well stocked. The isolation and the need to get stock by way of the Island Trader ship has made the shop owners really good at knowing what is required and keeping appropriate supplies. Joy’s Shop in particular is an amazing general store where you can get virtually anything you may need, the variety of items is phenomenal.
We visited the extremely pretty Blinky’s beach near the airport which has an excellent sandy expanse and looks like a good surfing venue in the right swell direction. Later we went for a walk on the South side of the island to Mutton Bird point and back. We had intended going further to Boat Harbour but our unfit legs were not in agreement. This track along the South East side of the island is really scenic (I think they all are) and Mutton Bird is impressive.
Yesterday started badly as Sod’s law kicked in with a vengeance! Bruce was doing his morning check of the weather, downloading weather GRIB files on the PC when he plugged the PC charger into the 12 volt outlet at the chart table. A short time later he noticed smoke pouring out of the chart table console area!! Mad panic ensued, batteries turned off, fire extinguisher at the ready, pulling the console apart to find the source. Eventually the smoke subsided and we put 2 and 2 together and realized that it had to be something to do with the 12 volt plug. The plug and the PC plug were totally burnt and melted, along with some wiring behind the console. After some initial despair we finally figured out that the damage was thankfully confined to the two 12 volt outlets in the chart table region. Lyn went ashore to sort out admin and finances at the internet café (museum) and Bruce spent most of the day removing and replacing burnt wiring and repairing the system, this time with a fuse that will hopefully prevent recurrence of this event. On testing the new system all worked except the TV?? On closer inspection the end of the TV plug was missing and we found it in the molten plug socket, the ultimate cause of the issue was now apparent. When Bruce had removed the TV plug earlier the end of it had remained in the socket and plugging the PC charger in had caused a short circuit in the socket. We were relieved that the cause was explained (rather than just bad wiring) and we even managed to salvage the tip of the TV plug and screw it back into the plug (tightly). All back to normal, one day lost.
We had considered leaving today as the weather is favourable, but we think it will be more settled and even better Tomorrow or Thursday so will keep an eye on it and decide later. Lyn is hopefully going to be able to post this later this morning.
Home
It’s sad to say this will be the final blog post of our Whitsunday adventure. I am writing this a full week and a half after arriving back in the Pittwater and maybe I’ve been dragging the heels a bit because it is like signing off that our first adventure is over. In some ways it all feels like a dream from long ago now, it’s amazing how a change of lifestyle makes time seem to have suddenly passed so quickly by.
TMM
Coffs Harbour was again a very enjoyable place. This time it was a lot friendlier than the huge swells we encountered there on our trip up. We realized that yes, you could actually anchor here in comfort in the right weather conditions, ‘tho we were safely in the marina enjoying the TMM status once again (Tallest Mast in Marina). We spent 2 enjoyable days there waiting for the southerly wind to change to northerly. On the first night we caught up with an old skiff sailing compatriot Evan Beeby and his friend Kirsty, burgers at Attitude burgers which were delicious, finally satisfying a seed that had been planted a few weeks back by young Drew Randall: “I feel like a nice hamburger for dinner!” The girl serving us looked exactly like an older version of Sarah Rodgers, daughter of our good friends Brian and Julie – it was uncanny. The burgers were so good we went back for lunch the next day. On the second night we went over to the yacht club for drinks and happened upon the meat tray draws which Lyn managed to win twice. This continues a long history of Lyn’s luck with meat tray draws and I’m waiting for it to translate to a big Lotto win soon (our retirement plan). Silus loves Coffs, especially the awesome main beach, which is a dog leash free area. If only other councils would follow this lead!
JoliFou and Anthem in Newcastle
We had a lovely trip from Coffs to Newcastle, partly motor-sailing and part downwind with poled out jib. We had a magical encounter with a huge pod of dolphins off Port Stephens before the southerly came through and we motored into it for the last couple of hours to Newcastle. Newcastle is like our second home and so close to Sydney that it really felt like this was our arrival home. Joey had arranged a berth for us right out the front of the boatyard and the club, what a pleasure, especially when Anthem arrived the next day and was berthed right alongside us. We had a re-union with Chris and Katrina at Joe and Belinda’s place and a good time and drink was had by all! Chris and Katrina caught a cab home and decided they may as well leave the car for us to use whilst we were up there – fantastic!
Keith and Merle caught the train down to Sydney to continue their search for a home for when they finally come to Oz permanently early next year. With my work and I deciding that I may as well only start work again Monday week, we were able to enjoy a really cruisy few days in Newcastle, a great way to relax before getting back to the true reality of work and Sydney. Thanks to having the car to use I was able to have a fun kite at Nobby’s beach. The wind was marginal but good enough for the 17 meter kite and I had a few moments skimming over the reef as it sucked dry in the waves but all in all a really fun place for kiting (not for beginners).
Adrian (of Anthem) invited us (and Joe and Belinda) to join him, Claire and Laura at their beautiful house in the Maitland (Woodville) countryside for dinner. Mike who has come out from Colorado to sail with Adrian for a while was also there. He’s an interesting man who has lead an extremely adventurous life including a long stint in the Antarctic, rock-climbing all around the world and kiting with skis through the snow. Needless to say, the fine wine flowed freely as we devoured Claire’s delicious curries.
By Thursday it was time to leave. The forecast was really good for the trip to Sydney and I was fearful if we stayed for the weekend I would have to once again risk my Laser sailing reputation in the NCYC fleet which is growing ever stronger. We had a wonderful sail down to the Pittwater. No need for the motor and most of the way we had the Gennaker and single reefed main up in about 12 to 18 knots of north-easterly. Nice as it was to have Keith and Merle join us for a while, it was fitting that the final leg be just the two of us. The leg was punctuated by a bit of action as the gennaker furled poorly outside broken bay and we had to take it down in the increasing wind. This was soon sorted and we had the gennaker stashed in the sail locker and headed towards Lyn’s (previously) favourite island Lion Island, sailing beautifully downwind under main and poled out jib.
It was very special to be welcomed into the Pittwater by the full complement of parents (Keith, Merle, David and Joliette) at the West Head lookout (Lyn is Vice Commmodore of West Head – Shag Island Cruising Yacht Club). To add to the occasion, we had frisky whales breaching just off Barrenjoey and the kite surfers were out in force at my local spot Palm Beach. We cracked open some cold beers as we sailed gently down the Pittwater, all the way to Longnose point, before picking up our favourite mooring in Morning Bay and enjoying the sunset and champagne with our friend Kelly Ambrose (and Kango) who had been looking after our commuter boat for us. Then it was over to Church Point Café for a lovely welcome home dinner with the parents. Home is not so bad a place after all 🙂
Familiar Places, Familiar Faces
As much as it is a wonderful adventure to discover new places, there is also a joy in re-visiting familiar places that you know and like. The familiarity allows one to be a lot more relaxed on arrival as you know the terrain, know how things work etc. Our trip back to the Pittwater had quite a few such re-visits and was the better for it.
31 October 2014
Tankers off Gladstone
We were supposed to be back in the Pittwater by today. We are a long way from there, off the coast of Gladstone and approaching the town of 1770 which will be our next stop. Time has lost relevance in our lives over this trip, which is a wonderful way to live, but reality is setting in as I need to get back for work commitments. More importantly Lyn’s parents Keith and Merle arrive today for a 3 week visit and we certainly don’t want to miss seeing them. As I write this the sun is just rising over a calm sea, reflecting off the sides of 20 tankers at anchor outside Gladstone. Lyn and Silus sleep below having done their dog-watch earlier. We are motor sailing in light North Easterly wind making good time.
The crossing from Fairey Reef to Percy Isles was fairly uneventful after the fish event (see previous blog). The wind was moderate northerly and sailing with full main and Gennaker (sometimes poled out) and some motor assistance at times. With the wind from the north we had an opportunity to see the other side of Middle Percy at Whites bay, which the Alan Lucas guide describes as “an excellent anchorage in delightful surroundings”. Well I concur absolutely and would even go so far as to say that this (in Northerly wind) is the nicest anchorage we have come across to date. The bay is framed by a couple of small islets in the north east side, white sandy beach and high dunes in the middle and beautiful rocks either side. The shelter from swell (at least when we were there) is absolute and the holding in the gently sloping sand is excellent. The water is crystal clear, none of the siltiness that spoils much of the Whitsundays and the place just has an atmosphere of beauty and safety. Middle Percy Island is now probably our favourite island, a really happy place for us for many reasons.
Our friends Pete and Sue from the schooner Argos arrived a bit later and stopped by for sun-downers. We gave them some wahoo, pleased to be able to contribute to the revolving credit of fish after being benefactors a few times. The original plan was to spend just the one night but, after an excellent sleep, on our way up the walking track to the homestead we decided that this place is too good and we had to extend at least another night. The track from Whites bay is beautiful, following a ridge ever upwards, with stunning views along the way, and especially at the top. At the homestead we were re-united with John, Ernst and Donny and met Steve and Martin. Kate was unfortunately away on the mainland recuperating from a hip operation. Silus got on much better (than our previous visit) with Bronte the Labrador and the other resident dog who were ever so keen to make acquaintance with a new dog.
We went on to have a look at Ernst’s new house. It is absolutely charming with a clever design of a fold-up deck that has one of the world’s best views down the valley to West Bay. Ernst is quite a character. In about his mid-thirties (I guess), he has lived on the island for 10 years now, helping out at the homestead, hunting goat and using his extensive handyman skills to help maintain stuff and build himself a house. He says that he dedicates his life to the island and he has never had a partner. It must be a lonely existence which I for one could not do, but he thrives on it. Back at the homestead we enjoyed a glass of the famous honey and lemon water and were able to get an internet connection for messages to the loved ones letting them know where we were up to.
We invited the homestead boys to a wahoo dinner on the JoliFou, if they were able to get there. Steve couldn’t make it but the others were keen. Transport of the four of them would be a quad bike and Ernst’s motorbike down the walking track (and up again in the dark) – sketchy! We had intended walking back down via an alternate route recommended by John, past the old airfield and down the valley. On the way there Silus had a complete mental moment (as he sometimes does) and took off into the bush after some goats. He usually always comes back and finds us so we continued along the track, but after some time and no sign of him we started getting concerned so turned back to look for him. For about half an hour increasingly fraught shouts of “Silus! Siiiillluuuuus!!” could be heard across the hilltops as we split up and tried to find him. No sound of him (usually you hear the barking) and him not coming to us was a big worry, visions of finding him bleeding to death from a goat horn wound creeping into the thoughts. Eventually I heard loud panting and found him in a shady part of the path further back. He was absolutely buggered, lying on his side and panting, but otherwise okay – pheeww. I ended up carrying him most of the way down the path because I was worried he might do himself some damage if those little old legs took any more strain.
We met the homestead crew on the beach for sundowners followed by dinner on JoliFou including a catamaran crew, Will and Tina, whom we had just met. The homestead boys were quite pleased to hear there was no beer and that rum would have to be the drink of choice and we had a lovely evening with a delicious wahoo meal. Later on the way back to the beach in the dinghy Donny says to me: “You know Bruce, I am 70 years old. The Penis is gone, the heart is still strong. I just love cuddles from beautiful women and my cuddles from Lyn and Tina tonight will last me a very long time.”
7 November 2014
Entrance to 1770
It was with a tinge of sadness that we departed Middle Percy the next morning, we will be back. The wind was from the North and the going good. The original plan was to stop the next day at Pancake creek but when we heard from our friend Jarrod that he was at 1770 we decided to go there rather and pop in to see him on the way. Arriving quite early the next day and with the wind still good from the North we were thinking to just stop for lunch, catch up with Jarrod and then carry on South. After a tricky and shallow entrance into beautiful Round Hill Creek we dropped the anchor right next to Jarrod on his Lagoon 42 catamaran and he came across with some beers (we had run out). It was great to see Jarrod, a new friend but an absolute kindred spirit. One drink lead to another as we went ashore to the bar, bought a case of Corona, drank some, had lunch, drank some more Coronas. It was becoming clear we weren’t going anywhere on this day and by now drinking rum on Jarrod’s boat seemed a much better idea. We met the two young Brads from another trimaran and had a hilarious drunken evening entertained by Brad (Bluey) who should be on stage as a standup comedian. In the drunkenness of the evening we left the remains of the Coronas on Jarrod’s dinghy so still no beer on the JoliFou – oh well Jarrod will enjoy them for us.
Mindful of how shallow it was entering Round Hill creek, we wanted to leave on a high tide, but with high tide at 3AM we were certainly not leaving in the dark so we left at first light on a falling tide. Jarrod’s advice was to hug the fuel dock side on the way out which we did, but shortly after it started getting really shallow. Lyn said she could see stingrays on the sand both sides of the bow, and shortly after we nudged on the bottom. We reversed off, very confused as to where to go. Eventually we figured out that we had to be VERY close to the mangroves on the starboard side, it was still quite shallow but we made it through. After a few more nervous moments we were finally into the deep sea again.
Breaksea Spit
The goal was to get to Mooloolaba before a southerly change came in and we needed to make good time to achieve this. We had decided to go outside Fraser Island rather than through the Sandy Straights which would have needed us to be exiting wide bay bar at night time, not a wise move. We had a good reach to the northern tip of the Breaksea Spit and then it got even better as we found ourselves sailing down the east side of Fraser in 3 to 4 knots of current. Down wind and down tide is the best way to go, no doubt, and it was awesome to be seeing 12 to 13 knots speed over ground for sustained periods, probably averaging over 10 knots for at least 4 hours and we had at least 2 to 3 knots with us most of the way to Mooloolaba. I don’t think it’s always this good, but we got it good indeed! We also had many dolphin visits which was great as this was something the Whitsundays seems to lack for some reason. This was all very fortunate indeed because we had no sooner tied up in the marina at Mooloolaba when the Southerly started building. After a shower and catching up with some sleep I took a cab down to the beach at Cotton Tree Parade where Lyn had been told was the good kite surfing spot. I had a really fun kite surf in small waves off the beach and then got a lift back to the marina from one of the other kiters.
Next day was a big day for visitors. We had a very old family friend David Mildren and his partner Colin drive up from Brisbane and not long after they arrived Lyn’s parents Keith and Merle arrived from the airport. Keith and Merle are in the process of immigrating to Australia from South Africa and had flown in to Sydney a couple of days previously. They are sailors so decided to fly up and join us for the rest of the trip. It was wonderful to see Dave and Colin again, it has been too long and we love their company, such great people. We all had lunch at a seafood place near the marina then there were chores to do, laundry, shopping etc. In the evening a good friend of Lyn’s from school days, Kerry came by and we had dinner together at the yacht club.
The original plan was to leave at 1AM in the morning and take the route inside Moreton bay and through the Gold Coast canals, exiting at Gold Coast Seaway. Why 1AM? This time meant we would be able to navigate the channels and exit the seaway bar in daylight hours and we would also have favourable tide most of the way. The forecast had indicated the wind would be lighter and have swung from the south east to a more easterly direction, so all looked good. Well unfortunately the reality was soon discovered when we ventured out into the dark sea. There was still plenty of south in the wind and plenty of wave action too, extremely short and steep due to the shallow waters in this area. After about 3 miles of bashing up against it we decided to abort and turned tail back to Mooloolaba. A lovely little adventure for the in-laws first up, we were all quite relieved to get back safely tied up at the marina. We ended up staying for the day as the wind was still not co-operating, but it was Melbourne Cup Tuesday, so we went to the yacht club and Keith picked the winner!
The next morning the wind had gone round to the north east and we set off bright and early, but in daylight. The waves had decreased a lot and the going was quite pleasant as we motor-sailed with full working sails. The plan had changed and we now were headed outside Morten Island by way of Cape Morten. Once outside the islands we picked up really nice favourable current of about 3 knots. We saw dolphins many times and they spent long periods playing at the bow, seeming to almost be scratching their backs on the hull as we watched from above. Lyn got wet in the bosun’s chair hanging over the bow but it frightened them off, but I was able to touch a dorsal fin with my foot dangling down from the bowsprit.
That evening, in the vicinity of Ballina, the thunderstorms were brewing inshore and headed our way. We monitored the radar and the seabreeze wind and it appeared that we would only get a little rain and no squalls but we had decided to motor with a triple reefed main and no jib anyway because the forecast was calling for up to 30 knots northerly winds. It was lucky we did because during Keith’s watch in the late evening all hell broke loose, howling wind and rain squalls. The reefing line nappy somehow came free (it transpired I had tied it wrong) and the main was flogging. Half an hour of drama and Keith Lyn and I getting soaked as we dropped the main, then fixed the problem and re-hoisted later when the squall had passed. After the weather settled down we had a nice peaceful night motor-sailing downwind. In the morning we pulled up the full main, poled out the jib and had a very pleasant sail for much of the way towards Coffs harbor, where we would stop due to a southerly change coming.
Thunderstorm Approaching
Approaching Coffs in the early afternoon the thunderstorms were brewing again. We were taking no chances this time so it was sails down, motor on and full wet weather gear. We were ready, but in the end thankfully the main storm passed north of us and we only had a little rain before we were docked in the marina.
Wahoo!
28 October 2014
(To the tune of Woo Hoo by Blur)
Lyn finally caught a fish, it tasted just delish
It wasn’t easy, but nothing is no
Wahoo!
Total chaos ensued
Wahoo!
If it bites you you’re screwed
But Lyn gave it whisky and we soon had delicious sashimi
Pleased to eat you!
The wind had started building gradually from the East, replacing the glassy calm with small spreading patches of ripples as we motor-sailed across the calm ocean. Bruce: “It looks like something is dragging on the fishing line, must have snagged some weed or something”. Lyn: “Maybe it’s a fish!” Bruce: “Maybe, doesn’t look like it though.” The fish was dragging fast behind, mouth wide open, not skipping along the water like I’ve seen before.We excitedly pulled it in on the hand-line, no fight, it must be dead already. As it gets close to the boat it starts to fight with what it has left, my hands are getting cut by the tracer wire. “Get a towel or something!” We manage to get it onto the sugar scoop – it’s big! Lyn jumps down with a knife and cuts it’s throat, it’s still struggling a bit, pours whisky in the gills, still struggling. Eventually with the head almost cut off it hangs still from the pushpit by its tail. It’s a huge wahoo, our first fish!
Last Tuesday at Abel Marina, Airlie Beach Cattsy (Paul Catts) arranged to meet us at Sorrentos bar for drinks after work. As chance would have it I bumped into Craig Parsons (Ocean Star) on the way to the showers. He had just arrived back after flying down to the Central Coast for his daughter’s engagement party. We ended up having almost a re-union of the drinks and pizza of a few weeks earlier with Cattsy, Emma and Craig, except this time at Sorrentos and with the delightful addition of my Mom Joliette.
On Wednesday we headed out in the direction of Happy Bay. With the wind still blowing strong from the South East we kept the sails down and motored with Lyn driving and me working down below, a truly mobile office! We stopped at Bauer Bay on South Molle Island for lunch on the boat, picking up one of the resort moorings. The resort is closed and Lyn and Joliette took Silus ashore to have a look, but were chased off by one of the staff. We continued on to Happy Bay, where the Long Island Resort has a much more welcoming policy. After work it was to the shore for some very expensive but delicious cocktails. Mom and I had the Toblerone, which is a bit like an alcoholic chocolate milkshake – delicious, whilst Lyn went for her own customized version of the Capriosca.
The next day was largely uneventful, with me doing my software work and the girls and Silus relaxing on the boat. Late in the day Anthem arrived, just in time for sun-downers at the beach bar. We had a hilarious evening of cocktails and dinner at the beach bar. Farm boy Adrian couldn’t resist catching one of the scavenging Curlew birds, with Lyn to the rescue releasing it. There was a brief moment of concern as one of the resort staff had some stern words for the cowboy, but all was soon forgotten and more cocktails consumed.
Friday was the last day of my two week remote work stint. No more need to stay in internet zones – yay! We arranged to meet Anthem out at Chalkies Beach as we wanted to show Joliette this lovey place before she had to fly out on the Saturday. We motored against the South-Easterly in the afternoon, with me completing my work with the last of the internet before we turned into Solway Passage. Anthem were invited to dinner, delicious chicken on the barbie washed down with Adrian’s fine wine. As chance would have it Joliette, Julie and Phil were all on the same flight out of Hammo so the two boats headed off for Hammo in the morning. We moored the boats on the Hamilton Island moorings in Dent passage and took the travelers across to the marina in the dinghies. It was sad saying goodbye to my Mom, we always so enjoy her company but we will see her again soon back in Sydney.
Setting off back to the boats Adrian took a sharp left turn out of the Marina and up to the airport runway. When we saw him standing up in his boat waving both arms we thought: what a sweet guy he is, waving goodbye to his friends so enthusiastically! We thought nothing more of it as we let go of the mooring and started motoring off. Then we saw someone in the distance rowing his dinghy furiously across the tide and being swept way down-stream of the moorings. It was Adrian. He had run out of fuel and his waving had been for us to rescue him. We felt terrible that we had not realized as we gave him a tow back to Anthem.
Heading to Bait Reef
Now the race was on! Anthem versus JoliFou versus time itself. It was 1pm when we left Hammo and the destination was Bait Reef. The wind was a good moderate South Easterly and the tide was ebbing Northwards in our favour, but it was going to be touch and go to do the 35 miles and get to the reef before sunset. We sailed Northwards inside the islands before turning out through Hook Passage for the crossing to the reef. There was some discussion at this point about the advisability of continuing or rather overnighting at Butterfly Bay. The thing is, the wind was really good and was going North East tomorrow so it would mean a long motor against wind and tide in the morning. On the other hand, continuing on would mean arriving at Bait Reef at sunset. Although we are now quite familiar with the place (this would be our 4th time there), we had never before anchored there and we had to be prepared for the likely scenario that all moorings would be occupied. After some thought and discussions with the Cowboy (Adrian, he voted yes of course) we went for the “fortune favours the brave” approach.
We arrived as the sun was setting. Adrian went to investigate Manta Ray mooring as an option but it was way too exposed and bumpy. There was one private mooring available inside the stepping stones, which we knew had no mooring line on it, so would require us to thread our own. We decided to have a go at it, but after a highly stressful time trying to snag it and breaking the boat hook in the process whilst dodging bommies either side in quite fresh wind, we decided that anchoring was the better option. It was now getting quite dark. We followed Adrian to a spot on the chart, north of the stepping stones, where we had seen boats anchored before. The bottom was 15 meters deep with a mix of coral and sand, but the anchor held to our relief and we were settled, albeit ending up much too close to Anthem as we both tried to get set as soon as possible. Oh well, we are all good friends. Adrian was kind enough to pick us up in his dinghy to save us launching ours and we went across for steaks for dinner on Anthem (and fine red wine of course).
It was a restless night with us getting much too close to Anthem in the wind and strong tidal flow. In the middle of the night I let out more chain which improved the situation and we got some sleep. Next morning it was beautiful, with the wind dropping away. A boat left a mooring at the stones and we decided to take Anthem over there with all of us and our dive gear and leave JoliFou by herself on anchor (by now we were very confident of the anchor holding).
Dive Buddies
Photo bomb
We left Silus down below on Anthem and took our dinghy with dive gear up-tide and over to Anaconda III who agreed that we could tie it on their mooring. We had a very pleasant dive on the stepping stones, drifting down-tide and somehow managing to land up exactly under Anthem. To our great surprise a madly barking Silus had managed to find a way out onto deck although we had had him in the pilothouse with closed door.
Time for some different reef exploration, we set off for Fairey Reef 15 miles to the North West, motoring in the light breeze. This time we arrived in good time at about 3PM, which was just as well because we were the only boats there, did not know the place and took a while to figure out that the Navionics chart position of the lagoon entrance was wrong by at least 100 meters. We are starting to realize that although the electronic charts are superbly accurate in the oft frequented areas, in the remote places they definitely cannot be trusted. With Lyn standing on the pulpit at the bow, me steering and Adrian following close in our wake on Anthem, all with hand-held radios we picked our way in through the bommies of the entrance area and anchored in a sandy area. Absolutely gorgeous clear blue water!
After filling the tanks on Anthem Adrian and I set off for a dive whilst Lyn opted to relax with Silus on Anthem. We started at a nearby bommie but the fish life was un-inspiring so we took the dinghy all the way out to the outside of the reef entrance. Here it was much more interesting with many large fishes including a few huge Maori Wrasse. It was approaching dusk, feeding time and the fish were frisky, including three or four reef sharks who were being quite aggressive in their approach to us. Whilst I was occupied with something Adrian disappeared up a gulley and I couldn’t find him. It was starting to get quite dark under water now and I elected to head back to the dinghy. I had a few worried moments sitting in the dinghy and concerned for Adrian as it got progressively darker. Lyn had the same concerns as for the second time recently she saw only one person in the dinghy and didn’t know if it was Adrian or I. She started heading over in the JoliFou dinghy, but Adrian soon popped up and all was good. We stayed on Anthem for barbecue fish that Adrian had caught earlier (some kind of sweetlip). Then it was time for bed, exhausted we slept really well in the quiet anchorage and light winds.
JoliFou
Next morning dawned with perfect still glassy conditions. Two boats alone, seemingly in the middle of the ocean in perfect clear sparkling water. Lyn and I took turns going to the top of the mast to take photos and enjoy the view of the surrounding reef, then a swim and breakfast before our next dive. We took the dinghy out to the same area we had been at the previous afternoon, south side of the entrance. We started in a gorge just inside and worked our way out and around to the outside wall. The visibility was stunning and it was an amazing dive – best ever on the trip with much fish life including a huge Queensland Grouper and a large turtle. At one point we saw a large black tip shark, I followed it and it swam into a cave-like narrowing gully. The others came over and we swam carefully into the cave.
Shark in cave
Shark cave
The shark was lying on the ground facing away from us, Lyn snapping photos madly. Then Adrian started further into the cave and the shark swam upwards up the gully with Adrian and I following. It then started to get that trapped feeling and turned around, heading straight back at us! Adrian and I hugged the ceiling, trying to get out of the way as much as possible as the shark swam beneath us. Lyn had not seen it turn and was right in its way, getting a huge fright as the shark suddenly appeared underneath me. The shark was probably the most frightened of us all and turned again up and out the top of the gully/cave into the shallow reef and away. We were all really elated after the dive as we cruised slowly across the clear water back towards the boats. We passed over what must be the Henries Bommie dive site as we saw a huge giant clam in a gully in the middle of it.
Unfortunately the time had come for the JoliFou to start heading south and now was the right time with the wind forecast to blow from the north for the next few days. We bid a fond farewell to Fairey Reef, following our track on the plotter back out of the lagoon with Lyn reef spotting up front. Sadly we were also parting company with Adrian and Anthem for at least a while, as he was staying in the island for a few more days awaiting delivery crew arrival. We hope to catch up with him in Newcastle later if he doesn’t manage to overtake us on the way.
Hammerhead Shark
Motoring in glassy flat conditions outside Fairey Reef there were swarms of birds with plenty of fish activity. Anthem and JoliFou were weaving along trying to hook something on our trolling lines, but with no luck. Later we saw a large fin cutting through the water and altered course towards it, with Lyn on the bow identifying it as a huge hammerhead shark, shortly followed by another. The wind filled in gradually and the sails went up and we had lost interest in the fishing line out the back when we hooked the fish. The enormity of this catch must be seen in context of the fact that Lyn has been trying to catch a fish for a very long time. Neither of us have ever done much fishing and the plan was that this would be Lyn’s thing. It started months ago in the Pittwater with Lyn getting much advice, loaned gear etc. from our keen fisherman friends there (thanks Dal, Jonty). Despite many hours with a line over the side the efforts only yielded a couple of tiny snapper which were released. Then on this trip we have been trolling a line for much of the time, heeding valuable advice from James and Leah and Craig Parsons (who seems to catch more than his fair share). But nothing, nada, couple of nibbles, one straightened hook, no fish. We were beginning to lose hope, so this huge wahoo is a significant milestone indeed in our journey towards being proper cruising sailors.
Remote Working
17 October 2014
Happy Sunset
I am writing this from Happy Bay, Long Island. It’s a very pretty place, though a fair bit tamer and civilized than we prefer. Being in direct line of sight of Shute Harbour on the mainland it is one of the spots we have discovered that has both excellent Telstra (4G internet modem) and Optus (mobile phones) coverage for us. An added bonus is that visiting yachts are allowed free use of the resort facilities here at Long Island Resort, so we can have a shower or use the pool, tennis courts, mini golf etc. if we wish to. And of course we may also buy a drink at the bar or have a meal.
Last Saturday we sailed over from Stonehaven to Happy Bay as part of our exploration of good work locations. We decided it was a good spot and anchored for lunch, intending looking at other places later. After lunch we figured why not just spend the night here? We had been in contact with our friends from Mahiti who were heading out from Airlie and we arranged for them to meet up with us at Happy Bay. I also had a chat with Mugsy from Shala and he said that they might come and join us too (but they didn’t make it).
Happy Bay wallaby
Happy Bay
We went ashore and were very happy to discover the free facilities and went for a walk to a pretty bay on the other side of the island, followed by a drink at the beach bar. Mahiti arrived and we had sun-downers on the JoliFou. It was great to catch up with James and Leah and Ewyn and Hamish. James had taken on an Italian couple, Mikaeli and Sabrina as extra crew for a few weeks to help out with the boat and the boys as Leah is going to Thailand for a couple of weeks holiday with her mom.
The wind was forecast to blow strong from the North on Monday and Tuesday, then come through strong from the South early hours of Wednesday morning. This presented a bit of an anchoring location challenge, especially as we also needed to retain good internet connection. So on Sunday we set off on a little voyage to investigate anchorages and connectivity. We did a loop through Shute Harbour (great shelter in Northerly, good connection, access to Airlie shops) then across to Gulnare inlet, which is a shallow inlet with good shelter from almost all wind directions and close to Hamilton Island for connectivity. We anchored for lunch in Gulnare in a spot with great connection, not too far in so that we had clear line to Hammo.
After lunch we decided that we would head back to Happy Bay for the night, planning a dinner with Mahiti. A great night was had on Mahiti, with Chicken Curry by Lyn and Thai veg curry by Leah.
Dinner on “Mahiti”
Mikaeli and James, Cruisers Fine Wine
Monday morning it was time to resume work – ouch! Actually I am quite enjoying work, it is good to use the brain again in different ways and every now and then one needs a break from mindless fun. If only the world worked like this, where everyone could take a short break from fun, rather than taking short breaks from work.
Around midday the Northerly started building, putting us on an increasingly nasty lee shore at Happy Bay. I used my lunch break for us to motor up and re-locate at Shute Harbour.
Shute Harbour
Cyclone aftermath
Our shallow draft with the board up meant we could have our pick of spots in the inner bay and it is a great anchorage although Shute is not the most scenic of places. We had a comfortable night here and Lyn used the opportunity to catch the bus over to Airlie and stock up on essentials such as beer whilst Silus got plenty of ashore time.
21 October 2014
Beach 25
The wind was forecast to remain quite strong from the North with a Southerly change in the early hours of Wednesday morning, so a good anchorage from all directions was required and at lunch time we sailed over to Gulnare to the spot we had checked out on Sunday. I spent the afternoon working with good internet and we then moved the boat further into the inlet for better shelter from the coming Southerly. At sunset we took the dinghy to an empty beach south of the entrance to Gulnare and Silus had a great time exploring the beach and the mangroves. We then invited ourselves to Mahiti for drinks, which would be our last chance to farewell Leah before her trip to Thailand.
As forecast, the Southerly did indeed come through during the night. It was not too bad but not the best sleep for the JoliFou crew. After a morning of work we sailed back over to Happy Bay where the shelter from the South Easterly is better.
Pretty
Long Island walk view
Tree Girl
Tame Wallaby
We stayed at Happy Bay for the next 3 nights, enjoying the good internet for Bruce’s work, drinks at the bar at sunset and a couple of walks on the island (without Silus unfortunately). Nothing remarkable but a nice “happy” existence.
The weekend had a forecast of strong South Easterly winds – time for a kite! We set off early Saturday for the Whitehaven beach area. When we arrived the wind was not yet strong enough so we headed down towards the Hill Inlet area.
Moored at Esk
Esk Hole
One of the beaches
Another Beach (Esk)
Esk Island is a beautiful tiny little island just off Hill Inlet which we have always wanted to explore but you need to use a mooring and the two moorings have always been occupied. The moorings were empty, probably due to the strong winds, and we took the opportunity. It was quite a wild mooring location with strong wind and a tidal eddy against it. Beaching the dinghy on the surging coral beach was also a bit wild, but now we had the whole island to ourselves. We decided to try to walk all the way around it on the fringing rocks, a bit of walking, bit of rock hopping and bit of rock climbing was required. We came across some stunning little beaches, set amongst beautiful rocks. About three quarters of the way around we came to a dead end, with high steep cliffs directly into a small cove.
Exhausted after a big adventure!
Electing to cut inland rather than swim, we began bush bashing our way in the general direction of the dinghy. I was a bit worried about the dinghy on the beach as we had not intended being away so long, so it was with relief that we eventually were able to make our way down a gully to the first beach we had come across and walk back around to the dinghy beach.
We motored across and into Tongue bay, adjacent to Hill Inlet, where we were fortunate to get one of the three moorings. After lunch the wind was up. Lyn dropped me at the beach and I walked over the hill to the Hill Inlet area with my kiting gear. It was a perfect wind strength for my 12 meter kite and is a fantastic kiting location. I had a great time kiting off the beach, playing in the small breaking waves. The tide was coming in and I got up-wind to the shallow Hill Inlet entrance and was able to kite into Hill Inlet and play in the flat water between the white sand-banks. I bored of this after a while and it was back to the waves. At one point I spotted a large stingray in shallow water just off the beach, shortly followed by a largish yellowy brown coloured shark, a bit disconcerting but probably not the biting kind.
Turtle at Tongue Bay
Kited-out, I walked back over to Tongue Bay, radioing Lyn with the hand-held to come and fetch me. She told me of the antics of a catamaran that was anchored fairly close to windward of us. There was duff duff music blaring from the boat and we had earlier noticed a naked man walking on the deck. After Lyn dropped me off and was headed back to JoliFou past the catamaran, there was a naked woman on the front, standing at the forestay and posing. Nothing wrong with a bit of nudity, but this was clearly seeking attention! Back at JoliFou we had a nice cold beer and settled back to enjoy the on-going show. The girl had some clothes on now (a short pixi-dress) and was dancing all around the boat, stripper-style to the loud music. By now she had the attention of all of the anchorage (which seemed to be the intent), especially the nearby back-packer maxi. Free entertainment, excellent.
The audience was distracted somewhat by the appearance of a beautiful 70 foot ketch, which limped into the bay with anchor chain hanging over the bow.
Off to the rescue!
The skipper was dangling over the bow trying to attach a halyard to the anchor and didn’t appear to be getting much able help from the elderly guests on the boat. Lyn suggested I offer assistance. I reluctantly pulled myself away from the strip show and headed over in the dinghy. My offer of assistance was gratefully accepted. Their anchor winch had broken and the anchor was too big to pull up by hand. I was able to help by re-attaching the halyard to the anchor chain multiple times whilst they winched it up and retrieved chain a meter at a time. Eventually we were all very happy to see a big shiny anchor, which we were able to secure with me pushing up and the skipper pulling from the deck.
Champagne Queen with spoils
They handed me a bottle of very nice champagne and headed off for Hamilton Island marina. On delivering my hard-earned payment to the champagne queen of JoliFou I was told that I had missed the climax of the show, which was apparently very loud screams of sexual pleasure, but didn’t last long. (We suspect this may have been part of the financial contract).
As the sun was starting to set the anchorage was getting increasingly rolly as the building swell started to bend into the bay. We had a bit of a thought that we should re-locate for the night, but decided not to. This breaks one of the rules of cruising that we are starting to understand: If you think you should do something (eg. up anchor, reef, extra mooring line) then you should do it! We paid for our mistake with a largely sleepless night with the boat rolling about. At one point in the middle of the night we discussed moving the boat, but on reflection there were really no good safe options nearby. Whitehaven beach would be just as rolly in the strong wind and anchoring in the steep shelving sand close to the reef at Chalkies beach or at the unfamiliar Windy Bay would be highly inadvisable in the dark.
Next morning we were happy to drop that mooring and motor South into the wind, towards Solway passage. We were very amused when the entertainment cat came motoring past us, full throttle, really close, and we had another brief show.
Joliette
My mother, Joliette was joining us for a week and she was due to arrive at Hamilton Island later in the morning – a great excuse for us to check into the marina and get some rest. Mom had only just arrived back from a trip to South Africa and London for my niece Emily’s wedding (sorry we couldn’t make it) so was a bit reluctant but we love spending time with her and were able to talk her into it. Mom has been at our side assisting us all the way with this adventure and she is the “Jol” in “JoliFou”. Once through Solway we pulled out the jib in really quite rough conditions on the windward side of Whitsunday Island. The depth here is quite shallow, less than 20 meters in places and the 25 + knot winds were causing quite large waves (for the Whitsundays anyway) which were often breaking at the tops. The cowboy quite enjoyed the trip but there was some concern from the rest of the crew. We were very happy to bear away into calmer waters in Fitzalan passage (tide with wind) and be informed that our marina berth had come available early so we were able to go straight into Hammo marina.
It was wonderful to see my mom’s happy face again after quite some time apart. Silus recognized her immediately and bolted across the marina lot to her, barking madly and proceeding to go through his entire repertoire of cute tricks! On our way to the showers later we noticed that Anthem was in the marina and shortly after we bumped into Adrian and his crew. We went out to dinner at the tavern and joined Adrian and his crew of Julie, Nadia and James, followed by Irish coffees on Anthem.
“Barcelona”
Next morning we set sail for Airlie. It was an excellent sail with 20 knots of wind from behind plus a favorable tide of 2 to 3 knots, we were averaging about 9 knots over ground. That night we got together with Lizzie from Shala (Mugsy is away working at the moment) and the new Anthem crew of Adrian, Julie and Phil at our favourite restaurant, Barcelona. A great feed was had by all, followed by Irish coffees (with or without coffee or Whisky) and Milos on the JoliFou. As we prepare to post this we are all a little jaded from too much of the good stuff. Anthem is heading off into the high winds but we are choosing to remain in Airlie for another night until things moderate a bit.
Drift Dive
9 October 2014
Drift Dive
At the same moment I realized that I was away from the reef in very deep water, a large Black Tip Shark appeared out of the murky visibility. It looked at me and turned around, heading directly for me! This was not even my biggest concern in the predicament I had fallen into. More on this later.
Speak no evil
On the morning after the Abba party we went over to Whitehaven beach and anchored there for a while. The South East breeze picked up a little and I got out the 17 meter kite to have a go. It’s a perfect place for kiting, but unfortunately the wind was not quite strong enough, so although I was able to get going I couldn’t stay upwind, so had to do a few walks back up the beach.
“One More” and “Anthem” at Chalkies
Unfortunately our friends were nearing the end of their holiday so needed to start heading in the direction of Airlie. We sailed and motored to Cid harbour on the other side of Whitsunday island, including a hairy moment going through Fitzalan passage with standing waves against about 4 knots of tide. The boat was surfing but we were going no-where fast. Cid is a perfect sheltered anchorage but with a lot of boats anchored there and very murky water. We anchored in closest to the beach and had the usual sun-downers on the beach followed by dinner with “One More”. Next morning we all (except Silus) did the hike up to the top of Whitehaven peak. It’s a pretty walk and pretty hard on the unfit legs too! The wildlife was un-inspiring. On the way up we saw 5 lizards, 5 LIZARDS! Awesome! The view from the top is breathtaking though, especially to the North.
Looking West
JoliFou in the distance
Drew, Chris, Joe, Angus, Karma, Emma, Lyn, Sarah and Katrina
Katrina, Sarah and Lyn enjoying the view from the top
Looking South
The Walk
After lunch we sailed to Airlie and checked in to Abel point Marina once more. We had a delicious (and expensive) feast at Barcelona restaurant, the last meal with Chris and Katrina as they were flying out early the next morning. Next morning it was time for some chores – Lyn washed the boat and did the laundry, whilst Bruce packed away the gennaker and staysail, changed the dive computer battery and got the dive tanks filled. Joe and Belinda had spent the day cleaning “One More” and finally managing to solve the mystery of the broken toilet! We had a walk through Airlie in the afternoon, sundowners at Sorrentos for the girls, then went to dinner at Hoggs Breath (Drew’s choice).
Dinner on “Anthem” with Adrian and Andrew
Silus making himself at home on “Anthem”
Next morning it was sad to farewell Joe and Belinda. It had been a wonderful holiday with a week filled with fun and adventure, but for them it was back to running the boatyard. For us the holiday goes on. We filled the boat and dinghy tanks with fuel and headed out to Blue Pearl bay, following on the tracks of Anthem who had also been in Airlie with Adrian changing crew and sorting out the water in gear oil issue. The plan was to overnight at Blue Pearl and head out to the reef early morning it was much less crowded after the school holidays and managed to get a mooring. After sun-downers on the beach we enjoyed a delicious meal and fine red wine on Anthem, meeting Adrian’s friend Andrew who is a great bloke with many entertaining stories. Andrew was on the Adrian crash course of scuba training and had had his first dive ever that afternoon.
We left for Bait reef at the relatively civilized hour of 7 AM and had a lovely reach across to the reef in a 10 to 15 knot South Easterly with full main and headsail and later Gennaker. After Anthem we were the second boat out there so picked up our “usual” mooring close to the stepping stones. Right on cue the wind faded (as forecast) and it was time to dive. With the tide ebbing North we took a dinghy to Gary’s inlet and worked our way down-stream back to the boats. With the spring tides it was less visibility than on our previous dives here but still was quite spectacular and not too extreme for Andrew who had literally been thrown in the deep end, but did really well. Back to the boats for lunch and fill the tanks for a dive again in the afternoon.
Drift Dive
With the tide still ebbing the plan was to do Manta Ray wall by taking two dinghys, leaving one at the Manta Ray mooring and the other at Gary’s Inlet. The tide was now ripping really strongly along the wall and it was quite rough as we got in the water at Manta Ray, having to hold onto the dinghy to prevent being swept away. We were to go through the small gully that we had done before (in slack tide) and continue down the wall. We all let go of the dinghy together and started downwards, it was immediately apparent that this was way different to our previous dives, the visibility was quite murky from the ripping tide and we could not see the reef wall or gully.
I had mask leaking issues so re-surfaced a couple of times to sort it out. The second time I submerged I could no longer see the others. I swam down in the direction of the gully entrance but could still not see anyone. Suddenly I realised I was really deep at 30 meters, there was down-pull caused by the ripping tidal eddies and I was struggling to get shallower, swimming hard upwards but the gauge was remaining at 30! Eventually I started getting shallower and decided I should surface and try to locate the others, I could still not see the reef wall despite swimming hard in that direction. I had been down for about 10 minutes when I finally reached the surface again. Looking around I was totally disorientated, I was clearly quite far away from the reef wall but also I could see a dinghy which I was already past and it was the JoliFou dinghy, but we had started from the Anthem dinghy!
It took me a while to process all of this and to finally realise that the current had taken me all the way down here in just 10 minutes. No sign of the others and I was now getting worried. What if the same thing had happened to them? What if Lyn had been taken down by the down-eddy and was in trouble, with me no-where around to help!? First priority I had to get back to the JoliFou dinghy which I was now down-stream of, so I needed to get out of the deep water and to the reef where the current would be much less. I went under to start swimming hard towards the reef …. And that’s when I saw the huge shark. We see reef sharks often when diving, but somehow when you are at the reef in good visibility it all feels quite safe, and you just enjoy the beauty of these graceful fish. In the deep, murky, tidal water it was different and the shark was of the size where “it’s too small to bite me” no longer applied. And it had turned and was coming right at me!
Somehow with the worry for Lyn and the others uppermost in my mind I had a sudden mind-change from fear to anger. Come on shark, if you get close to me I’m going to kick you and punch you and you will be sorry! The shark turned away and continued its course, pheww. Maybe it read my mind and got frightened? More likely it decided I was not what it eats and it became bored.
I finally reached the reef, well downstream of the dinghy. I stood up on a shallow bit of reef and looked around, but no sign of the others. I started swimming as fast as I could along the fringe of the reef. Mercifully the tide here was light and even the odd back-eddy to help me on my way. Along the way I saw two schools of huge Maori Wrasse, an amazing thing to savour in any normal circumstance. I finally clambered into the dinghy, stood up and looked around. I saw one diver a little further up-stream near the reef and started heading that way. I’m hoping like hell it’s Lyn or Andrew (I’m not so worried about Adrian as he is extremely experienced). As I get closer I see it’s Adrian – shit, what has happened to the others? Adrian points up the reef and yells “go and get Lyn and Andrew first, she is freaking out!” – relief. They are close to the Anthem dinghy still, at the exit of the initial gully. We are all extremely relieved and happy to be back in the boat and together.
Time for a rum! Back at Anthem and a few rums later we figure out what must have happened. The others had made it into the gully and at the exit there was a back-eddy which kept them there as they surfaced to look for me. They were very concerned as I had literally disappeared. Lyn had seen me on the surface as she went down, went down to the others, realized I was not there and came up to look for me. Meantime I had missed the gully, been swept wide into the deep tidal stream and by the time I surfaced I was already 300 meters away and we could not see each other. Respect for nature’s forces! If you do some simple math, At 4 knots a current will rip you 1 nautical mile in just 15 minutes – that is way further than the eye can see each other at head above water height. Lyn thought I might be dead having visions of me being sucked down and hitting my head or something, she was extremely worried! Meanwhile Andrew was struggling a bit in the rough seas so there was concern for him too. Adrian set off swimming to get the JoliFou dinghy, leaving Lyn and Andrew behind. When they saw someone coming in the dinghy they weren’t sure if it was Adrian and were extremely relieved to see it was me!
“Anthem”
“MacGyver” Session
Next day the two boats headed over to Hook Reef, the plan being to do some spear fishing which is allowed there (but not at Bait Reef). We picked our way through the bommies quite far into the “hook” and anchored in sand between some likely looking bommies. Adrian and Andrew came over to the JoliFou to have a look at the spear gun inventory that we had inherited from the previous owner. Lyn and I have never spear fished so there was a lot to learn from Adrian who has done it a lot. Between our 4 guns Adrian was able to Macgyver one that works. We need to get the others serviced, new rubbers etc. We all set off in the dinghy with Adrian and I with the guns and Lyn and Andrew were to be the fish killers in the dinghy as we tossed all of the fish in. Well it didn’t quite work out that way. There were not many appropriate fish large enough to shoot. We both had a couple of shots at one, but missed. This spear fishing is a lot harder than I thought it would be. We then decided to take both dinghys over to the outside of the reef and try there, but this too was a failure as the tide was rushing in over the reef and we had no chance of staying at the reef edge. Oh well, at least I now know the ropes and what we need to sort out with the gear.
The wind was building and it looked like it was not a good idea spending another night at the reef, so we upped anchor, pulled up the sails and headed back towards the islands. We parted company with Anthem as they were headed for Gloucester Island and we needed to get somewhere with internet connection as I am going to do some remote work for the next couple of weeks.
11 October 2014
Date Night
As we prepare to post this blog we are in Stonehaven anchorage on the west side of Hook Island. The Telstra modem gets us an internet connection here and I was able to connect to the work VPN yesterday but it is not strong and we need to find a better place for work next week and to post the blog. Last night was the first night with just the two of us in a while and we had a date night with a delicious candle-lit meal of slow roasted goat (courtesy of the homestead on Middle Percy Island a few weeks ago), followed by watching “The Internship” (hilarious). The mission for the weekend is to try to find a good beautiful anchorage that has good Telstra 4G connection so that I can do the remote work effectively including video conferencing. Airlie beach is always an option, but if possible we would like to be somewhere nicer. We have a Telstra coverage map and we will be sailing around and testing the signal, probably further South around Hamilton Island area.
JoliFou 