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Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Goldsmith Island More fish great beach a badly anchored naughty cat and a storm

Stingray Bay on Goldsmith Island

13-14 November 2016

After a couple of fantastic days in Sea Eagle Bay on Thomas Island we raised the anchor at the extremely civilised hour of 9.15 AM and set sail for our next stop at Stingray Bay on Goldsmith Island. It was only a short, ten mile hop so, with a modest northerly pushing us along downwind, we elected to run with just a poled out genoa and didn’t bother to raise the main or mizzen. We got along very comfortably at a relaxed four knots until we reached the passage between Goldsmith and Linne Islands. Here the adverse outgoing current met the northerly wind generating a short, sharp chop that combined with the tidal flow to bring us almost to a dead stop. We soon gave up on wind power alone and started the engine to push on through the overfalls that were developing.

Sailing downwind with headsail only.

Battling the currents between Linne and Goldsmith Islands

Once out the other side the water was beautifully smooth as we turned into Stingray Bay. We anchored far into the bay as close as we felt comfortable to the fringing reef in about five metres of water over good holding sand. There was only one other boat in the anchorage when we arrived and it was on the far side of the bay. With miles of swing room around us, we laid out forty five metres of chain to allow for the rising tide and just to be safe in case an unexpected south easterly should blow up which would see us on a lee shore with coral not far behind our keel. We then had a nice lunch on board and a relaxing afternoon taking in our surroundings.

Sea Eagle Bay, Thomas Island to Stingray Bay, Goldsmith Island – 9.7 Nautical Miles
Average Speed 3.7 Knots – Max Speed 6.4 Knots

We anchored far into the bay well protected from the northerly wind as close as we felt comfortable to the fringing reef.

Next morning Karen spoiled us with pancakes topped with fresh fruit for breakfast. What an awesome way to start another fantastic tropical day in paradise.

Rob about to tuck into breakfast.

With Karen in the galley, boat food is never boring.

Stingray Bay is a ‘Green’ conservation zone so no fishing is permitted at all. Fortunately that’s not the case just around the point to the west so Rob and John zoomed around there in the dinghy for Rob to have a go at spearing us some fresh fish for dinner. John had a boring time sitting in the dinghy keeping an eye on Rod as he snorkelled back and forwards along the rocky point in a fruitless search for a suitable target. Much to John’s relief, he eventually decided to give up the hunt and headed back to the dinghy where unbelievably he discovered a good sized brown coral trout lurking around a rock right underneath. Thank you Mr Fish. Dinner was now catered for.

The nice coral trout Rob speared for dinner.

With the provisioning sorted, the three of us then headed ashore to explore Stingray Bay. The place lived up to its name extremely well with a number of very large stingrays spotted as we made our way over the shallows. The beach is split in two at high tide by a rocky outcrop in its centre but, lower on the tides, the sand stretches all the way across. At the eastern end of the bay, a small stream emerges from the rocky slopes behind to empty across beach.

Karen walking the beach in Goldsmith Island's Stingray Bay

John enjoying the shade.

A small stream emerges from the rocky slopes behind to empty across beach.

This area around Mackay experiences some of the biggest tidal ranges on the Queensland coast, and when the water receded as we wandered the beach, it really receded. We were left with quite a way to haul the dinghy before we could refloat her and return to the yacht. With the weight of a fifteen horsepower engine hanging off the stern we are so pleased we fitted a set of beaching wheels to the new dinghy. If not for them, we may have spent a few extra hours ashore waiting for the tide to come in.

When the tide goes out on Goldsmith Island it really goes way out.

OK! Now here’s a question. Why is it that when we’re anchored in a big, wide open bay with miles of room for everyone, people have to come and anchor right on top of us? It happens time and time again. We first experienced the phenomenon in the Mediterranean where we could be the only ones in a two mile wide bay but any boat appearing around the point could be relied on to come and anchor within spitting distance of where we lay.

Rob did eventually develop a defence strategy to ease the problem. On seeing a yacht approaching, he would get the binoculars and see what flag they were flying. If it was the Union Jack or Stars and Stripes he’d wait until they were getting close and then stroll up to the bow naked, ostensibly checking our anchor. The prudish Brits and Americans would turn tail and anchor as far away as possible. Unfortunately we discovered most Europeans were immune to this defence and would be more likely to also appear on deck naked as they shouted greetings and anchored in our virtual pockets.

When we returned to Our Dreamtime here at Goldsmith Island, a catamaran had anchored not far off our stern. Considering they had the whole bay to anchor in, they were annoyingly nearby but at least not dangerously close. However, an hour later another catamaran appeared around the point, appropriately named Bad Catas it turned out. Sure enough, it made a bee line for our particular piece of Stingray Bay and anchored very close to our bow. Rob had no need to drop his pants this time or even say a word for as soon as he walked forward on deck the solo sailor on the cat began pulling his chain back up. He apologised and explained he had no windless and had to pull up the anchor by hand so wanted to anchor as shallow as possible.

After moving a few metres further off our starboard he re-dropped his anchor, again annoyingly near but, in the mild northerly conditions, probably OK. Not wanting to seem grumps, we let the issue lay. That was a mistake.

Storm clouds building in the distance over the mainland.

After sunset a pretty impressive lightning show started to develop over the mainland giving us enough cause for concern to check the weather radar. Sure enough, there was a pretty nasty storm system heading our way. It looked like it may slide through a little south of us towards Brampton Island but we took all the usual precautions anyway. The dinghy was secured up on its davits, we made sure nothing loose was left on deck and centred our booms. (When at anchor, the main is usually swung out to one side or the other to avoid shading the solar panels on our cockpit roof while the mizzen is put to starboard to improve access on the stern.) Considering how warm it was below decks, we left closing up all the portholes, hatches and cockpit enclosure until we could hear the rain approaching.

Radar image of the approaching storm cell.

Rob's coral trout went onto the BBQ for a very tasty dinner before the weather turned.

Unfortunately the storm didn’t miss us and when it hit the wind roared into the bay swinging all the boats around. Our stern was now facing the reef which was far enough away not to be a danger as we began to stretch out our chain. Unfortunately the same could not be said for the cat nearby. It was on a far shorter amount of chain and we were fast approaching a collision. It only had a masthead light showing and was also extremely hard to see in the driving rain.

We started the engine and with John hanging half out the rear of the cockpit getting drenched while illuminating the bows of the cat with the spotlight, Rob motored forward and away each time we came close. Meanwhile Karen was unsuccessfully trying to raise the skipper of the other boat on the radio to ask him to turn some lights on so we could see him better. What he needed to do was let some more chain out so we wouldn’t reach him but with his bridle in place and no windless that would be impossible by hand even if we could have raised him.

As the wind gusted up to thirty-five knots and beyond with the rain pelting down and lightning flashing overhead with booming thunder, we spent the next half an hour or so repeatedly motoring away from the cat each time we stretched back on our chain and swung to within metres of it. When the worst had passed, we were able to call across to the skipper of the cat who was again very apologetic and quickly agreed to let out more chain as soon as the wind eased.

Fortunately once the storm was gone the gentle northerly conditions resumed and we were able to get a reasonable night’s sleep although Rob was up a few times checking on the still very nearby Bad Cat.

When you have this much open bay why do people need to anchor on top of us?

The morning after the storm.

When we arose the following morning, our near neighbour was still apologising but Rob was quick to tell him that shit happens and not to worry about it. It’s all another deposit in the experience bank. We should have asked him to move further away originally. We will certainly do so next time. No doubt he will also be keen to provide more swing room in future as well and turn his radio on in similar circumstances. We hadn't expected a storm to blow into the bay but after a similar experience with more damaging results in the Med we should have factored in the possibility. (To read what happened to us on Alcheringa CLICK HERE.)

We’ll all be smarter for this latest experience and our guest crewmember, John, learned about yet another aspect of the cruising life.

Now it was time to move on to our next tropical island paradise.

Good night from Goldsmith Island.

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Monday, September 5, 2016

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Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Great Barrier Reef hopping first stop Fitzroy Reef

21-22 June 2016

We negotiated the narrow channels to exit Pancake Creek in the pre-dawn light by closely following our own GPS track. If we didn’t run aground coming in we were not likely to hit bottom going out exactly the same way.

The moon setting over Pancake Creek

The full moon was yet to set in the West as the sun made an appearance over the opposite horizon as we cleared the rocks of Clews Point and pointed our bow North East. Our destination was an anchorage inside a coral lagoon at Fitzroy Reef, 35 Nautical Miles off the coast.

Once we were well clear of the hazardous rocks that stretch seaward from Bustard Head we silenced the motor and let our sails push us along at a comfortable five and a half to six knots. The ten knot wind was square on the beam while the swell was reasonably mild and the sun was shining. What more could anyone ask?

We enjoyed very comfortable sailing conditions through the morning.

It was a very pleasant sail through the morning only interrupted by a mackerel-tuna having a bite at our lure and reluctantly coming aboard. These fish actually taste awful but as we were out of bait for our crab pots, Karen sliced and diced it into freezer bags for just that purpose.

Soon to be crab bait

About an hour and a half before reaching Fitzroy Reef we received a radio call from Gary and Anne on the catamaran Chances. They were a few miles behind us also on their way to the reef and were now asking if we’d been through the narrow entrance in the coral that must be negotiated to enter the lagoon. We explained we had never been here before but had downloaded Google Earth imagery and overlaid it on our charts and were planning on entering using these for additional guidance. They then asked if we could slow to let them catch up and follow us in.

It was a simple request to agree to. If we had it right why not let them follow the leader. If we got it wrong at least there would be another boat standing by to help. We furled away the headsail and bobbed along while they closed the distance from behind.

The entrance to the lagoon is very narrow and curves through the very menacing coral coming up near vertical and protruding above water level except at high tide. We timed our arrival for just after midday so the sun would be high in the sky providing the clearest view of the coral below the water. We didn’t mind entering a little later as that would put us closer to the low tide slack water and reduce the amount of current that can race in and out of the narrow gap.

Just after 13.00 hours Karen positioned herself on the bow for our passage through. With one of our small radios she was able to communicate exactly what she was seeing directly back to Rob on the helm as he followed the electronic chart. Once the boat was actually into the entrance itself the coral walls lining the edges were very clearly visible in the sunlight making steering through a lot easier. We imagine an overcast day would be much more nerve wracking.

With Chances following closely astern we cleared our way through never seeing less than six metres on the depth gauge and entered the expansive lagoon’s totally calm waters. Right on cue, what remained of the morning’s breeze dropped out to leave dead still air. We edged our way around a couple of bombies (coral outcrops that rise from the seabed) into a wide, clear area of sand in seven metres of water and dropped our anchor. The water was so clear, we could see every link of the chain laying on the lagoon floor. This place was simply amazing.

The narrow entrance to Fitzroy Reef as seen from inside the lagoon

Our track into Fitzroy Reef lagoon on Open CPN with the chart overlayed with Google Earth.

Pancake Creek to Fitzroy Reef – 34.9 Nautical Miles – 6 Hours 56 Minutes
Average Speed 5.0 Knots Max Speed 7.1 Knots

No sooner had we zipped up the sail covers and tidied up the boat than another yacht arrived at the lagoon entrance. It was friends we’d made last year in Bundaberg Marina on their boat Sea Whiskers from Eden on the NSW South Coast. While sailing over from Pancake Creek we had spotted Chris and Sally on our AIS heading north from Lady Musgrave Island and guessed they may also be planning on spending the night at Fitzroy and were delighted to see them motoring over to anchor beside us. It’s always great to catch up with cruising buddies. They are on their way North again and we were very pleasantly surprised to learn they too are bound for the Louisiade Islands.

Our Dreamtime at anchor inside Fitzroy Reef. We offset the boom to keep shade off the solar panels.

Our anchor chain could be seen clearly laying on the sand almost 8 metres below the surface.

By now the water inside the lagoon had totally glassed out and in very short order each boat’s crew was heading off to different areas of the reef in their dinghy to snorkel. Sadly much of the coral was suffering from the bleaching that huge areas of the Great Barrier Reef is experiencing that has been very widely reported in the media. However the fish life was abundant and we were still able to find colourful examples of different corals dotted along the reef section we snorkelled.

On our way to snorkel on a coral outcrop inside the Fitzroy Reef lagoon.

Sea Whiskers, Our Dreamtime and Chances anchored inside Fitzroy Reef

We came up with so many great photos it was difficult to choose what to include here in the blog.

Much of the coral was dead or bleached but the fish life was amazing.

Fitzroy Reef coral

The snorkelling conditions at Fitzroy Reef were amazing.

It was fantastic to still find vibrant colours at Fitzroy Reef.

Please ignore the date on the video. We haven't worked out how to set it on the new camera yet. Technology is wonderful.

That evening we experienced one of THE most amazing sunsets we have ever seen. It seemed to last for an hour with the sky altering its spectacular display constantly.

Back on the boat ready to see what Fitzroy Reef had in store for sunset.

Chances in the glassy conditions.

Sea Whiskers was silhouetted beautifully by the stunning sunset

Annie on Chances got this shot of Our Dreamtime and Sea Whiskers in Fitzroy Reef lagoon

Even the view from the galley was awesome

The light continually changed as the sunset made its way through to darkness

Finally the heavens were totally devoid of sunlight or manmade illumination and the more stars shone brightly through the very still, clear night air than you could ever imagine. The glassy water mirrored each and every one of them making it impossible to determine where the horizon lay and what were stars and what were reflections.

This all changed in the early evening when a bright red globe arose slowly from the Pacific Ocean before gaining height and taking on its normal white hues. What a night to be treated with a full moon. Unfortunately it was all impossible to photograph from a floating boat.

Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is an incredible gift of nature that we are looking forward to seeing a lot more off.

Goodnight from Fitzroy Reef

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