Garry's Anchorage Stopover

Having negotiated the Wide Bay Bar we logged off with VMR Tin Can Bay on Channel 80 and thought "Hurrah, we're in!" and followed Bilbungara up to Garry's Anchorage. Here we could have a rest after our rolly night on anchor and enjoy a little stillness away from ocean swell: at least for a little while.

 The distinctive stern of Bilbungara - an aboriginal word for Pelican

A popular spot. The catamarans taking a closer position but too shallow for us.

 Get it wrong and.....you get this...ooops!

 

Once the tide retreats the channel is a little more obvious and the drying out areas are extensive. In fact, you're in for the duration! The skipper of Bilbungara thanked us for bringing him into a swamp! We anchored in good silty mud in 6m of water and lost 2m in the tide.

We were treated to a splendid sunset.

What isn't necessarily obvious in the shot, there is a dried out bank at least a metre high!

 

Drinks aboard Zofia hosting crews from Bilbungara and Starship 

were interrupted by this stunning, stunning evening sky!

It's a very popular spot and some nice walks to be taken ashore on Fraser Island which is meant to be the largest sand island in the world. We'll make a more extended visit on our trip south. Meantime we left with warm memories of a still night, warm fellowship, fabulous sunset and the daysend howling of Fraser Island dingoes, right on cue!

Rules is Rules - Macerating Capability Counts.

Maritime regulations vary from State to State and making sure that we are compliant as we cross into new jurisdictions has mostly impacted the use of the dinghy/tender and it's labeling. We got around all the variations of what constitutes a Tender and how far away it can be operated from the mother-ship etc by registering it as an independent vessel. Queensland however,  has some particular regulations with regards to toilet waste. A holding tanks is insufficient and even if the regulations are vague and difficult to locate, if we were to visit the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park the rules are quite clear. Macerate. Macerate. Macerate.

 

A finger in the ear is a proven aide to thinking

Several options were explored and in the end it came down to 3 possibilities, each with it's own cost and degree of difficulty. Did we want to spend a lot, a whole lot or lots and lots?

• Fit a macerator to the base of the holding tank
• Install a brand new electric toilet since they come with a macerator
• Fit a conversion kit to upgrade the toilet from manual operation to electric

Adding a macerator to the base of the holding tank would involve working with the existing sanitation hoses and filled the Bloke with horror. Installing a brand new toilet was very appealing since a whole new toilet was potentially cheaper than the macerator alone, however, the available space was an issue. The cost of purchasing a unit with the same footprint (a Jabsco model does exist) was twice that of the conversion kit. An electric power supply was not a problem since the location is adjacent to the shower sump pump.

Marine toilets are notorious for blockages and failures with attendant nasty surprises and the possibility of restoring the toilet to manual operation, either as a fall back in the event of disaster, or once away from highly controlled marine districts, appealed greatly. The idea of not completely destroying the 'heads' or bathroom compartment was also a draw card. Best of all was the installation diagram that indicated the installation of the conversion kit entailed only a few steps and could be completed in just 15 minutes. What was not to love?

The instructions looked easy enough

 So far so good. 

The Manual pump removed but that alone took 15 minutes.

Optimism on display.

A quick job like this can be done in your best shorts apparently.

I'm instructed to ignore The Bloke's attire plus the time taken.

We are now 'legal'.

It goes without saying that there's no truth in advertising. It took so much longer to install than the instructions indicated. We just hope it takes a proportionally long time before it 'fails' too!

Water, Water Everywhere but not a Drop to Drink

Marina time comes into its own in bad weather. If it coincides with a much needed re-provisioning stop, more the better.

The Bloke is very protective of our boot stripe and water-line. He hates any discolouration of the hull just above the anti-fouling. To that end, the water-line was raised when we were in Hobart in recognition of the reality that we are traveling with a lot of 'stuff' on board. It's not all crew member shoes and sewing machines, there's also quite a bit of wine and other creature comforts attributable to The Bloke himself.

 

The back beach - or what can be seen of it.

As a rule marina water can be low quality with multiple boat bilges discharging diesel residues and other unsavoury stuff, so the waterline easily gets yellowed during a marina stay. The Bloke's method of minimising this is to postpone filling our freshwater tanks until the last minute and keep the hull riding high of this 'murky stuff' and within the raised anti-foul zone. It's a sneaky hack that works until the tanks run dry, I throw a 'paddy' and refuse the delivery of 'food service' until the internal taps deliver fresh water!

We arrived at the Keppel Bay Marina a week ago to re-provision and had hoped that the weather forecasts would again be wrong but,  in our favour for a change.  Are we crazy? A weather event delivered as predicted. In fact the wind as usual, located our bow almost precisely, so a 3 day booking became 1 week, and then a little longer again. Now we'll wait for the swell to drop. Oh yes, wind is only a part of the formula.

The 24 hours 9am 16th July to 9am 17th July, delivered over 250mm of rain to Yeppoon (8km away) courtesy of a surface level trough although it might as well have been a mini hurricane. 48 hours of gale force winds accompanied the rain service.

Daytime view through the deck windows

The Marina is almost at capacity with weather refugees such as ourselves and we've tried to amuse ourselves as best we can but a rocking and jerking boat with drips being wind-blown down the mast, rain being being forced through gaps above the washboard, plus a palpable 'internal atmosphere' augmented by 4 sets of sodden wet weather gear, was proving a form of water torture. No mojo for anything except for meeting up for a coffee ashore.

Resort attire; everyone in wet weather kit.

We sort of reached an accommodation with our circumstances by dusk and I'd cooked some fortifying curries. Then the taps stopped running. Nothing for it: the Bloke was sent out in the dark and lashing rain (to get wet through yet again) and to fill the tanks or face a refusal of Dinner Service. There might have been 250mm flying around the place but there was none to drink.

Island Time at Great Keppel - Day 3

Fabulous weather at last, made it possible to relax and take to the shore and explore. The Bloke's aversion to snakes and such, made me a solo representative from Team Zofia on a walk to the lighthouse. I wasn't alone and got to know my fellow walkers a lot better during the several hours I was gone.

 Yachts at rest. The Bloke too, most likely!

A stunning day rewarded with views 'for ever'

    

The path was marked by whimsical messages on pebbles created by the owners of the small Ecco Retreat at Svendsen's Beach.

   

The Lighthouse is more of a 'light station' + helipad for it's servicing team. It's the modern day equivalent of the traditional Lighthouse with associated Lighthouse Keepers cottages and outbuildings. It had already guided us during our pre-dawn arrival to GKI, escaping the gunnel-to-gunnel rocking of our Hummocky Island stopover. It's always interesting to see an object from both sea and land.

Hummocky Island on the southern horizon

A small cove offering a day anchorage.

A steep trail along the ridge to the lighstation

The lightstation

Island Time at Great Keppel - Day 2

While Great Keppel Island is no longer on the must see list for regular tourists it's definitely a favourite stop-off for the cruising fraternity. Lots of lovely bays and clear water are on offer to accommodate most wind directions although the swell sneaks in, no mater where or what wind. Not withstanding, most of the bays can accommodate a large number of vessels and the possibility of paddling on kayaks, canoes and paddle boards plus the several lovely walking trails on shore, provide ample amusement during the day. The beaches are suitable too for sundowner assemblies around bonfires in the evening. Golden!

Getting ashore was not always elegant. Depending on the state of the tide as well as presence of swell, arrivals could best be described as 'interesting'. Scores were sometimes kept for proficiency. Cruisers are easily amused.

 

We had passengers and we arrived sideways and got a soaking. 

Our score? What goes on tour, stays on tour!

The Judging panel.

Often scathing!

Wheels were occasionally helpful to bridge the gap to the waterline.

A fine way to send off the day

Island Time at Great Keppel - Day 1

During the 70's and 80's Great Keppel Island was one of the 'go to' destinations for an Australian holiday. Zoom forward 30-40 years and everyone is off to Bali, Phuket, Penang, Fiji and similar. The age of the Island Resorts has largely died. A visit to Great Keppel Island was a shock as we'd not appreciated this reality.

As is The Bloke's want, the possibility of a cup of coffee made a shore visit to Resort Bay a high priority. Although the resort itself was fenced off, there was still a small settlement and some facilities for day trippers.

A  local identity

Too bad we don't have golf clubs on board.

Welcome to GKI !

Everything is locked up or for sale

The resort. 

Too much effort to demolish, the resort has been left to auto-destruct while potential buyers squabble with the Queensland Government over the possibility of resurrecting the venue as a casino. There is already an airport/airstrip to fly in the high rollers. For cruising folk like us, this kind of infrastructure is of little interest and the charm of this destination lies in other bays.

Remembering the first inhabitants

Leg 74 - Hummocky Island to Great Keppel Island

Island time. The Tropics. Whooppee....what was not to love? Well, the solid all night rolling at the Hummocky Island anchorage for starters! The Bloke and I tolerated the conditions until barely 02:30. We were both wide awake in the middle of the night and decided that we'd sooner be at sea than stay another minute! The trouble would be that we were in a sea that had hundreds of scattered islands all over the place and our next destination was only about 15nm away and arriving before dawn was not a good idea. We decided we were leaving anyway but would sail as slowly as possible so as not to arrive before dawn and the headsail was set with not a lot more than the UV strip to collect the wind - the proverbial "frilly knickers" configuration! The plan worked. We raised the anchor at 03:00 leaving the anchor lights of our traveling companions waiving about behind us as we left and we reached GKI at dawn. Job done and sanity saved. The others left at dawn, sailed normally and were soon joining us.

An example of island obstacles better passed during the day

 

Great Keppel Island

Great Keppel Island (or GKI as it is often known) has many anchorages and they are all reputedly subject to a bit of wrap around swell. Wind directions can change suddenly at night too, according to the cruising guides, but there seems to be a good spot to be found for any condition. We began at Svendsens Beach but soon popped around the corner to the Western side opposite the old resort after we'd let SV Starship know of our arrival. Goergi and Ross are old hands and know exactly where to position themselves relative to the wind. Their excellent advice was gratefully received and we were happy to be able to catch up on some sleep out of the wind and swell.

Leg 73 - Pancake Creek to Hummocky Island via Cape Capricorn

The few glorious days delivered by light northerly winds that ensured we had a cracking visit to Pancake Creek, soon gave way again to more SE winds and the opportunity to push onward in our quest to reach more tropical climes. The Keppel group of islands beckoned and a significant landmark was to be passed on this passage - THE TROPIC OF CAPRICORN!

Officially, the southern tropic or Tropic of Capricorn, is the southernmost latitude where the sun can be directly overhead. Together with it's northern  equivalent - the Tropic of Cancer, the Equator, the Arctic and Antarctic Circles, it constitutes one of the 5 major circles of latitude. Since the earth's axis relative to the sun varies with time, the tropic is not exactly fixed and is currently moving northwards at a rate of around 15metres per year. It has been calculated to be at 23°26′13.6″ on 15/9/2016. So we have no idea of the precise moment we actually entered 'The Tropics'!

 

Not far now and we'll be IN THE TROPICS!

 

Here we are on the verge of crossing the Tropic of Capricorn - Hurray!

Conditions were too good to miss and we left Pancake Creek with 2 other yachts and a catamaran. Was it a race? Well of course it was - 4 vessels traveling in the same direction! As with all Capes we've experienced; the waters near a Cape are a little weird so we elected to be respectful and stay well out to sea even if the others were happier almost having a 'foot on the beach'! 

Cape Capricorn - At least that's in a fixed location!

Despite having the appearance of being a great anchorage for a SE wind, the Hummocky Island anchorage proved horrendously rolly for us. Friends who'd visited recently gave it a great wrap and stayed a few days. Not us however. It was cold, despite being just north of the Tropic of Capricorn and we rocked almost gunnel to gunnel. The reality with the islands still to come is that they are all prone to wrap-around swell. Our other option was to anchor on the western side of Cape Capricorn but we actually thought that it would be the more rolly choice and besides, Hummocky Island would give us just a bit more distance towards Great Keppel Island and that idea made us very happy indeed.

 

Hummocky Island

Ridgee Didge AIS Alarm

While negotiating the Gladstone outer harbour 'parking lot' we counted 41 AIS targets. All commercial shipping is required to transmit an Automatic Identification Signal (AIS). This signal is used to assess closest points of contact and closing speeds. Essentially it's a system to help prevent collisions at sea. Although it's not compulsory for yachts, we do have an AIS transmitter and it's been handy on more than a few occasions. With over 41 vessels within out 35nm radius there's plenty to be watching out for. Presumably all this shipping was waiting to have their gaping holds filled with our export coal.


All the ships appeared stationary until one target in the list caught our eye. It was moving at 7-8knots and only 3.5 nm away. Scanning the horizon we were convinced this vessel should have been visible. Perhaps it's shape was being obscured by a nearby stationary bulk carrier. What was going on?

We checked the vessel list again, sorted this time by speed, then once again by distance from our position. The map/graphical representation wasn't being obvious other than this vessel would not be pointing into wind like the stationary ships. OK time to check the detail of this "RIDGE....".- the vessel list shows a limited number of characters.

 Anchored. Luckily for us.

The full name was RIDGEE DIDGE. It dawned on us that this was hardly the name of a tanker/bulk carrier. They are generally something grand like 'Phoenix Ocean', 'Pacific Star' and such.

 

No wonder it was hard to spot on the horizon, the list detail revealed that Ridgee Didge was a sailing vessel, just like us!