Heading South - Townsville to Fraser Island (4th - 16th October)

We have had a busy couple of weeks and covered around 590NM.

Coles Online Delivery

After a week in at the Breakwater Marina we escaped on Saturday the 4th of October and headed over to Magnetic Island to wait until a good weather window turns up to allow us to continue our progress south.   One thing we have very much embraced during the later stages of our trip is provisioning the boat using Coles online which is fantastic idea especially when one does not have a car.  So once again we arrange to get the man down for the door to door delivery to the boat with the trolley load of food to stock up for the next few weeks!

Horseshoe Bay Slipway!

Horseshoe Bay is a popular spot for boaties to hang out and we had plenty of company with around 45 boats in the anchorage.  Being the end of the school holidays and also a long weekend in Queensland meant that there were plenty of people on the island.  We spent a bit of quality time at the Marlin Bar to watch the F1 race followed by the final of the NRL  - great to see the Bunnies win!  We also got to catch up again with Zenitude and low and behold the Dilligaf's who have caught up with us again after being trapped in Cairns for a few weeks getting their water maker fixed. 




Horseshoe Bay

Magnetic Island is well known for its walking tracks and we have done our fair share however, we thought we would try a new one which takes you from The Forts down to Nelly Bay.  The walk takes you around the hills that look over Horseshoe Bay and then down into the flats at the back of Nelly Bay where we stopped for a coffee before taking the bus back up to Horseshoe Bay.  We also found time during our stopover to catch the bus down to Picnic Bay to the pub for lunch before heading off on Wednesday.






Lunch at Picnic Bay



Sassy at Bait Reef

We left Horseshoe Bay early on Wednesday (8th October) with the plan to head down to Bait Reef, which is a coral reef at the top of the Whitsunday's.  A snorkel or two at Bait Reef is always a nice way to treat yourself after an overnighter.  The trip was uneventful and we pretty much motored all the way with Dilligaf in sight for most of the trip.  Luckily the plan all came together and we arrived at Bait Reef around 8 in the morning. 






As it has been calm weather there are plenty of boats in the anchorage however, luckily a few decide to depart upon our arrival leaving a couple of mooring's free!  We were also joined during the day by Sassy out for a day cruise from Hayman Island - which was our very close neighbour!



Bait Reef Local

After a couple of great snorkels and plenty of fish feeding off the back of the boat we headed into the Stonehaven anchorage off the western side of Hook island to pick up a mooring for the night.  As usual after an overnight passage we were pretty stuffed so after sundowners and a quick bite to eat it is into the sack for some well needed shut eye. 







Fish Feeding at Bait Reef



 

 

 

View of St Bees from Keswick

 Thursday we continue our progress south and head off from Stonehaven down to Shaw Island for the night with a quick pit stop in at Hamilton Island to pick up some fuel and water.  Friday and we are on the move again for the short hop down to St Bees Island which is around 15NM North East rom Mackay.  As the weather is looking good for travel for the next few days we figure we may as well stop here for the day and have a bit of an explore so it is dinghy down and we are off to Keswick Island for a look around.  Keswick Island has a residential development that was started around 20years ago and hasn't really progressed that much.  All the infrastructure is there which is great and will hopefully mean that better things will come however at this stage there are not that many homes built and there are around 15 permanent residence.  It does also cater for holiday makers if you are looking for a spot of quiet time!.  Despite the lack of development there are some lovely views including one from the local shop which has manages to open from 12 - 1.30 on Saturday and Sunday. 

Café View at Keswick

The islands of St Bees and Keswick are also well known as they became home to a Blue Heeler dog named Sophie that fell off the back of a boat that was out on a day trip from Mackay.  The story goes that Sophie managed to swim some amazing distance to the shores of St Bees and even more amazing was that she apparently made several trips between the two islands across the Egremont Pass which has a bad reputation of fast running currents (up to 4knots) and a good supply of sharks.  Although very little is known of her time running free on the islands it is reported that she now has quite a taste for ferrel goat which is one of the main residence on St Bees



Tardis  at St Bees

Over the last few days we have been in touch with Steve Richo and the crew on Tardis who are picking up their boat from Long Island for the delivery trip from the Whitsunday's back to Martha Cove after competing in Hammo Race week in August..  After some discussions they have decided to join us in the anchorage at St Bees for the night which was great as we were able to catch up on some news from home.






On the morning of Monday the 13th October we are up anchor at 5.30am for the 165NM passage down to Rosslyn Bay at Yeppoon.  It was a very pleasant trip and we were able to sail for a number of hours although we motor sailed for the majority of the trip.  We arrived at the marina at around 8am Tuesday and before we stopped for lunch Mark had already serviced the main motor and the laundry was done which gave us the afternoon off *YAY* 

The Gang at Capricorn Cruising YC - Rosslyn Bay

Before long we were joined in the marina by Tardis and would you believe it - Dilligaf.   Just when we thought that we must finally be ahead of them, as they were planning on spending a week in the Whitsunday's, the good weather window was just too tempting so once we meet up with them again.  Until we get to Brisbane, which is their final destination south, we not making any predictions about getting ahead of them again!.







When we first arrived in Rosslyn Bay we were expecting to head out again on Thursday morn but like the Dilligaf's the weather window on Wednesday is just too tempting so after a stock up in the morning we departed from the marina at 13:00H for the 185NM trip down to Fraser Island.  Once again it was an uneventful trip with a little sailing and mainly motor sailing.  We hardly even saw another soul during the passage although we did sail past the 25 coal boats that were anchored off Gladstone which provided some entertainment for a few hours.   Due to the late start on Wednesday it meant for a late arrival into the anchorage in Kingfisher Bay however, after a bit of navigating through the northern sections of the Great Sandy Strait we made it safely into Kingfisher at 21:00H.  Not long after the anchor went splash the beers where open and we enjoyed a much needed feed of lasagne before hitting the sack.

The plan from here is to hang out at Kingfisher for the next couple of days which means we MUST have lunch at the resort tomorrow before heading down to Sheridan Flats for the night, which is a much closer anchorage to the dreaded shallows, which we have to tackle early on Sunday morning.  We then have to face the Wide Bay Bar early on Monday morning for the trip down to Mooloolaba - lets hope the weather remains as forecast so that the plan can come together.