With a month to spare before our scheduled trip home, a visit up the Brisbane River was a natural choice. Visit the kids, friends, a spot of Xmas shopping. Leaving the Deanbilla anchorage at North Stradbroke Island at 06:30am would gift us an ebbing tide to assist us to the Brisbane River mouth in Moreton Bay and from 09:30 the Brisbane River would commence its flood to assist us upstream. A pretty good plan we thought. What could go wrong? To begin with the weather forecast was for a trough. Oh no, the gloves are off! We planned around the forecast which suggested 20kts for a period from around 11:00am before dropping off and by which time we would be well upstream and in protected waters. So to be honest, we were a little surprised to get 38kts across our bows by 09:30am.
Even the prawners were hiding behind Mud Island and lashed together.
Some fishing Ninja types undeterred by adverse weather or perhaps also caught out?
The arrows are the predictions of strength and direction. The black line is the recorded observation. Earlier and stronger!
We were going to have a tricky day any way we looked at it, even had we remained in Moreton Bay. We just pressed on. At one point we were passing through the port with 38kts blasting at us from the west when the Bloke noticed the cover on the kayak blowing off. He urged me to go forward to prevent both the cover and stuff that we keep there, from flying away. Luckily it was possible to save the anchor ball (day shape) which was only just hanging onto the lifelines by a snagged sister-clip we use to secure it when in use. The coiled jackstays were handy to tie the cover down because that cover had a mind to come off and the Bloke had a moment of mirth watching me on the bow lying on top of it all just trying to hold it all down!
We pushed on into a headwind through the lower reaches of the river beyond the Port of Brisbane and the industrial areas east of the Gateway Bridges. There is a popular anchoring area near Bulimba and a bit of high drama as 2 yachts were dragging anchor in the strong gusting winds. Other yatchies in their tenders were attempting to control one of the unattended vessels and united in their efforts. They were going to earn their rum ration, that was for sure. Gosh how we hate westerlies.
We kept going for the city reach.
On two previous visits, we’d been able to hire pile moorings adjacent to the city botanical gardens. We knew that these would not be available this time since 50% had been removed to make way for a Brisbane City Council marine initiative - the construction of a ‘River Hub’. The remaining moorings were now chock-a-block with the same neglected, unseaworthy hulks that we’d observed 3 years ago. Anchoring space was at a premium in the area beyond the pile moorings, especially as the vessels were swinging and moving wildly to the opposing forces of tide and gusting wind. To make matters worse there were buoys demarking what was probably a sunken vessel and taking up even more territory. We had a couple of goes at anchoring but we were likely to swing out into the channel heavily traversed by Brisbane’s myriad of river ferries. The Bloke wasn’t having any if it!
In the end we turned about and decided to try out the area just ahead of the Storey Bridge. By the time we’d got back there a catamaran had anchored at about the spot we’d mentally noted when inbound. Good for them. Unlucky for us. The first space we tried, opposite a now removed wharf, had a rubbly bottom and offered poor holding so we went ahead a bit and squeezed in ahead if an unattended boat sporting a
For Sale sign. Our golfers lazer range finder came into its own reassuring us that 33m separated us. We spent the next few hours adjusting our thinking with regards getting ashore.
By a strange coincidence, some American cruisers we know (Kindred Spirit) had witnessed our anchoring efforts from their passing ferry. They tried to attract our attention but we were pretty focused and wearing our headphones too, so their voices just carried away in the wind. They did send us a message though asking where we had finished up. On their return trip from the art galleries they took a photo. They were in Brisbane for only one day and were flying home the next morning. The odds of being spotted were pretty small, but we were!
By sunset and after the tide change we thought we’d be OK, however once the wind direction altered the little boat in the picture was giving the Bloke conniptions. Without any particular plan he declared this was not a place in which he’d get a wink of sleep so it was a case of 'headphones on and anchor up' and away we went into the night!
We’d paid some attention earlier in the day to a new wharf/floating jetty arrangement at New Farm Park. It is in fact one of the so-far completed (August 2019) River Access Hubs. It was predictably, highly illuminated and completely devoid of users. It was to become our refuge. Our overnight stay was obviously going to exceed the intended 2 hour limit but we decided it would do us nicely. It had been a long day and the Bloke? Well he was totally 'over it' and focused on having an 'anchor dram'.
Tied up at the jetty of refuge and perpetual light.
The Brisbane Powerhouse Arts Centre -our morning view.
We are at the edge of one of Brisbane’s loveliest parks (a favourite of our grandchildren) and getting to know the locals who are fascinated to finally see the facility in use. Zofia may need a publicist judging by the photography going on.
