With this date in mind we decided against extending our cruising range beyond Great Keppel Island and to focus on a bit of Island hopping down through the Bunker Group if and as the weather permitted. Perhaps we’d get to North West Island, Astari or Fitzroy Reef, Masthead or Herron Island along the way. Were we successful? Nope.
View of Masthead Island on a fine day
With a week till our deadline, we left Great Keppel in light northerlies for the 30nm trip to Masthead Island. There is a recently installed GBRMPA* mooring at Masthead and we’d need to shelter there on the north side with a wind prediction for a return to SE overnight (15-20kt). We were lucky too because the anchorage was empty on arrival and the mooring available. It’s never easy anchoring to an initially lee shore knowing that overnight you’ll switch orientation and then experience stronger winds. Setting anchor is more difficult and not needing to do it was a win. Instead the later arriving SV Vagabond, was forced to do the anchoring.
Not 100% trusting the mooring we set the anchor alarm and then had it go off as the wind switched from a Northerly to SE exactly on schedule at 02:00am. Luckily the Bloke worked out what I’d done wrong in setting the ‘safety perimeter’ after I woke him.
There was no going anywhere the next day with the wind firmly in our face relative to our intended direction of travel so we busied ourselves with some water-making, baking and washing by way of preparation for our guests at Lady Musgrave. Going ashore was out of the question in the conditions
Wrap around swell made our wait at Masthead Island uncomfortable.
Our invitation to the crew of Vagabond for sundowners aboard on the 2nd evening was declined at the last minute. Conditions hadn’t improved. It was just too rough to consider getting into their tender.
Although we contemplated a 3rd night at Masthead before we’d had our 2nd, by morning we were done with hanging to the wind only to be slammed on the side by wrapping swell. We needed to inch further south anyway and the wind angle was suitable for a trip to Fitzroy Reef. As we came out of the lee of Masthead Island however, it was clear we’d be plowing into the horrid sea state generated by the preceding 36 hours. The Bloke and I looked at one another and almost as one said “you’ve got to be kidding!” and immediately re-routed to Pancake Creek where we knew we could sit still for a couple of days leaving only 35nm left to complete for our Lady Musgrave rendezvous on 23rd with the kids.
Conditions at Pancake Creek were as we imagined. Flat although windy. Too windy to go ashore. Too windy to visit another boat but out of the swell. Bliss. Days were running out. The Bloke was particularly keen to reach Lady Musgrave by at least the day before the kids arrived. Mmmm? What were the predictions? Well.... about 18 -20kts SE but with a 2m swell against us. Mmmm? Not our favourite. Hate timetables. We’d been hoping for some northerlies. Actually we’d generally avoid what was on offer and stay on at Pancake Creek like everyone else. Time was running out though. We’d have to give it a shot.
Bustard Head at 07:50 heading out.
Anticipating a rough ride, the Bloke cooked a whopping omelette, raiding my earmarked provisions without mercy. Going below to prepare food wouldn’t be an option today. We got ‘tooled up’ in our foulies and headed off to the acknowledged shaking heads of our anchorage companions. Gentlemen sail downwind! Yes they do, but we have a timetable. Grrrrr.
We’ll spare you an account of the following 6 hours save that it became apparent that progress of barely 3-4 knots in very gusty winds would potentially have us arriving to Lady Musgrave after dark or at best at dusk. The time to arrive at an atoll is midday with the sun overhead to watch for coral heads!! We had a saved track in from our previous visit last year but we weren’t even tempted to be that foolhardy. We took the decision to turn about and return to Pancake Creek and messaged the kids to be on standby for Plan B- once we had one. They were scheduled to depart Brisbane at 1am for their drive up to Bundaberg to catch the ferry.
Once we turned round, one of the skippers back at Pancake Creek called on the VHF radio to check if everything was OK. He’d been tracking us on Marine Traffic, a website that tracks AIS signals and he’d noticed our 2 donuts out to sea. We received a couple of messages from some of our cruiser friends too who knew we were on the move and were also concerned by our funny looking track. Were we in trouble, they asked.
The return trip was none too special even if we were running before the wind. Today was a day when the Bureau of Meteorology’s eternal codicil to their forecasts, that “wind speeds may be 40% greater than the averages given and wave heights may be 40% higher...” were on show. Wind against tide plus gusty conditions made for a most unpleasant and salty day. We were prepared to motor into it if we had to but even at high revs progress was too slow. We did give it a red hot go but trying to stick to a timetable was crossing our safety thresholds. So it was back to Pancake Creek to reassess the Rendezvous. Would there be a viable Plan B?
Clews Point in the afternoon heading back to Pancake Creek.
*Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority
Bunker Group Mooring Map
http://elibrary.gbrmpa.gov.au/jspui/bitstream/11017/3391/1/Capricorn-Bunker-Moorings.pdf
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