Fri, 23 May 2003
"This is a nice angle, look at this!" We'd just tacked back to the beach after clearing Round Hill Head and we had a great lift. This was supurb upwind sailing; sunny, warm, flat water, 15kts of wind, and a great lift besides. We were having a glorious day.
It hadn't started out this good. We'd left Mooloolaba Australia at 7:30 on Saturday and there was no sailing. Until noon the wind was light and variable and we motored, teased by occasional zephyrs. We tried to sail and we had sails up and down, up and down. As soon as we'd set them in response to a little bit of breeze, the breeze would stop. After 30 minutes of no wind whatsoever, down would come the sails and on would go the motor. Within 10 minutes the wind would come back up, but not trusting it to last we'd continue to motor in nice wind for 30 minutes or an hour. Finally we'd give in and set sail once again, only to see the wind instantly drop altogether and we'd repeat the process. But it was warm and sunny. If it weren't such a nice day to be at sea it would have been a frustrating day, but we were happy just to be out and moving.
In the afternoon the wind filled in and we sailed in good wind after that. At first it was right out of the North and we held out to sea close hauled on port tack, looking for the forecast sea breeze, which didn't appear. Instead, as the wind increased, it went left and while we were well offshore on the wrong side of the shift, we were at least lifted to our rhumb line up the coast. We saw some boats inside; they were motoring, maybe it was good to be offshore. The wind continued to build and in the evening we changed to the #4. At around midnight we saw 20 knots and it was getting a little rough. We hove-to to stow the dingy and to otherwise clean up the foredeck, then we were back sailing and we charged north all night, sailing free and fast in a 15kt SW wind.
Before dawn the wind shifted again, this time to the right, and from Southwesterly became Northwesterly. We tacked and sheeted in on Starboard and took the long lifted tack towards Fraiser Island. At dawn on Sunday we saw the northern end of Fraiser Island to port.
For 280 miles we beat up the Queensland coast, tack on tack, having a nice sail and enjoying sunny days and moonlit nights. We passed close by Lady Elliot Island during the night Sunday and made the mainland coast at Round Hill Monday morning. By noon Monday we were crossing Bustard Bay. Captain James Cook stopped here in 1770 and cooked and ate a Bustard. This was his first stop in Queensland. There is a town here called Seventeen Seventy. We sailed close by hoping to pick up a cell phone signal and do email, but apparently they don't have cell phone in Seventeen Seventy, at 100 yards off the beach we still didn't have a signal. We tacked out and carried on north.
During the night Monday we heard a radio call for help from a sailboat aground back at Round Hull, where we'd been the day before. They'd been trying to go into the river and instead wound up on the bar, three persons on board, motor not working. The seas were washing them further aground. We listened to their "Pan, Pan, Pan" then responded. "Vessel calling Pan Pan, this is sailing vessel WINGS." I told them we were too far away to come to their aid but could relay their radio calls. If no other station could hear them, maybe someone could hear WINGS. They tried again and Gladstone Harbor Control answered. We listened for a while as a rescue was arranged and wondered if any Coast Guard would get out there in time to save their boat, then we passed out of radio range.
Another night of beating then another morning and another island. We arrived in the area of the Keppel Island group before dawn and sighted them at first light. This was to be our destination and we tacked through the rocks and islets toward an anchorage. By 07:30 we were anchored off a pristine beach in clear water, with a clear blue, cloudless, sky overhead.
Fred & Judy