Rendezvous Reload for our Lady Musgrave Experience

Having abandoned our first attempt at reaching Lady Musgrave by 23rd September there was nothing for it but to actually arrive on the 23rd. The Bloke estimated that if we set off at 04:00am we would at least minimize the length of time where we would experience swell against tide, the wind was meant to be abating 3-5kts and the swell down by 0.5m. Wind angle was predicted to be more southerly too for our southeasterly course. Another wet and wild ride but better than earlier. We wouldn’t be smashing into it (quite so much) and actually sailing into better conditions. Estimated arrival time might coincide with Main Event -The Lady Musgrave ferry. What could go wrong with this plan reload? Lock and load. We contacted the kids before their planned 18:00 early bedtime. Their overnight drive from Brisbane to Bundaberg (Burnett Heads) with 01:00am departure was still ’ON’. If we were slow arriving they could at least participate in the ‘Lady Musgrave Experience’ activities with the ‘Main Event’ for a couple of hours.

It seemed a viable plan revision so we gave ourselves a bit of a rest after our 6 hour bruising only to re-anchor 300m from where we’d started. At dusk we headed back out to Clews Point, the outer anchorage of Pancake Creek and picked up one of the 2 new moorings there. It would save us 30minutes in the morning and without worry of the tide situation nor be stressed dodging any idiots who failed to have their nighttime anchor lights lit. We’d already had a big lunch so we turned in early for our ‘stupid-o’clock’ start.


The shipping lane into the Port of Gladstone is a busy one. The route takes ships around Lady Musgrave and its large reef system. We were on an intersecting path at one stage with this ship, according to our AIS, but in the end we just passed one another close enough to smell their engine fumes.


The plan went pretty well. We had a very vigorous sail in better conditions although it was a wet ride and at a heel that might have ‘spilled our chardonay’. Our average speed was over 6kts with plenty of time at 7kts. The Bloke commented later that he felt the bow was ploughing down quite a lot. After our arrival we got a clue as to why.


Unbelievably, our arrival almost coincided with the ferry just as we approached Lady Musgrave Island around 09:50. We had updated the kids of our progress just before losing phone signal, suggesting they keep an eye on the horizon for our sails. It was very exciting to watch the speck on the horizon resolve into the shape of the ferry knowing our youngsters were aboard. We think they were pretty excited to see us coming too. Even more pleased though that their own rough ride would be at an end. The ferry had been cancelled on the 2 preceding days and the sea state far from settled so it had hardly been a dream run. Lucas was the only one of his party not throwing up. The kids dubbed the ferry ‘The Vom Express’.


Our excitement was swiftly terminated by the unnoticed arrival of the jet boat from the town of 1770. They barged their way past us at speed just as we were about to enter the narrow channel through the reef entrance. The Bloke had only seconds to abort and veer away to avoid being pushed by current and boat wash into the reef. Good grief, commercial dive boats are run by cowboys and they think they own the place!

The reef entrance is marked by port and starboard markers. We came through at mid tide.

Once through a sharp turn to starboard is required to avoid this substantial bommie.

Now came the job of anchoring up then reinstating the boat from passaging mode to floating caravan for 6. The kids were going to be occupied for an hour or two with their guided Island tour, glass-bottom boat trip and lunch but in the end the skipper radioed to make sure we were coming to collect our passengers. Preparations aboard Zofia were not going smoothly.

Water ingress is never fun. Salt water never dries and everything will remain damp eventually becoming mildewed too. To my horror a brown gritty stain had appeared on the for’d cabin wall and worse yet the mattress and bedding was partly wet and gritty as well. Far from merely laying out the doonas, pillows and towels home-sweet-home style, this would require an urgent complete strip-out plus an emergency laundry session of sheets, mattress protectors - the works! Thank heavens the pillows and doonas were still stored in their vacuum sealed storage sacks. Investigation of the source of this water and grunge would have to be postponed beyond of course assuring ourselves we were not at risk of sinking. The gennie was swiftly set up on the foredeck to run my little 2kg twin-tub washing machine (my little saviour) as well as small blow heater to help dry out the cabin. There was no time to grab the dehumidifier which we’d only just stowed in ‘the shed’ (the space behind our bunk and under the helm stations) the night before. We couldn’t rip the stern cabin apart as well to get to it. We already had our work well and truly cut out. Getting the kids aboard together with luggage loomed as a horror prospect amongst the chaos!

Somehow it all came together even if the kids arrived to a boat decked out like Hoo Flung’s laundry with sheets flapping from the life lines. Amy, Lily and Tom recovered from their earlier mal-de-mer and we all settled in for our own 5 day Lady Musgrave Experience. We each felt like we’d pulled off the impossible.

Dinghy down - cocktail time!