the inner passage
There are two ways to head north from the Gold Coast. One is to head back out to sea and turn left, the other is to travel up the ‘inner passage’, a maze of narrow waterways that wind between the mainland and North and South Stradbroke Islands.
Going to sea is quicker and more straightforward but does require the right breeze and conditions. The inner passage is very picturesque and doesn’t depend on wind, but is longer, can be very shallow and a bit confusing for us inner-passage virgins.
The winds weren’t right for us, so rather than wait, Waz and I decided to give the inner passage our best crack. The next big decision within the inner channel then, is whether to follow the Main Channel or the Canaipa Channel route. The Canaipa Channel seemed a bit shorter, and because both had precarious shallows, and time was a slight issue, Canaipa it was!
Within a short while we’d left behind the rush and bustle of the Gold Coast and found ourselves putting along quiet, windy tracks bordered by little sandy beaches or marshland. We stopped for lunch at Jumpin Pin, giving time for the tide to continue to rise before approaching our first known shallow spot.
My boat measures 2.19 mtrs from the waterline to the bottom of the keel, so I like to have at least 2.5mtrs if at all possible. Unfortunately it wasn’t, and we slowly slid into the mud at the designated spot. A couple of factors come into play once you become stuck. One is obviously the depth of the water, but more important is if the tide is rising or going out. A further factor is the current and where it will take you once the tide allows you to float off – further into the shallows or back into deeper water.
In time we floated off again and sneaked forward into deeper water. Big relief! Though within a couple of miles we saw ahead a yacht smaller than mine caught on the bottom. Although we thought we may have been able to slip by him (I have no idea why we thought that might be possible), it wasn’t to be, and another hour or so ensued as we awaited the last of the tide to rise.
Finally afloat again, we went for it and, though our companion made a graceful getaway, ours was less so. In fact we were unable to continue and needed retreat.
Quite a disappointing result at mid afternoon and high tide, which left us with a choice of heading all the way back to the Gold Coast or trying the Main Channel which we no longer had the daylight to complete. With a full tide now, we agreed that we’d make it comfortably over the most shallow spot before dark and continue on our labyrinthine voyage the following morning.
In the quickly growing darkness we found a mooring to pick up and spent a very peaceful evening filling our bellies and our minds with possibilities for the morrow.
At 4.30am we slipped the lines and glided away into the quiet, still morning. Eventually the darkness started to give way to various golden and orange shades in anticipation of our primary source of light and life, as it took centre stage for another meander over our heads.
With an almost full tide we felt increasingly confident with all subsequent shallow sections and at around 8am emerged into Moreton Bay feeling relieved and triumphant.
Over the next four hours we crossed Moreton Bay, protected from any swell, as the breeze from the south slowly built. By the time we were level with the north of Moreton island and the south of Bribie Island we had eighteen to twenty knots from the south with a building swell. Such a contrast to our glassy, still morning.
making a big entrance
The following four hours saw the breeze continue to build to 25-30knts along with a swell that was probably around 2.5mtrs. While Waz was probably glad he’d popped a couple of Kwell, there was no time to be sick! It was a very energetic sail, and a relief to finally be making preparations to enter the harbour at Mooloolaba.
As it was my first time into this harbour I thought it prudent to give the Coast Guard a quick call to let them know we were arriving and ask if there was anything I should know. Peter, the guy on duty, sounded quite alarmed that I was about to enter in such strong conditions. It is their policy not to give advice, just to give the conditions. Of course this did nothing for my confidence! To go on would mean another eight hours to Wide Bay which we would have done if need be, but we were both pretty motivated to get in, and the actual harbour entrance looked a lot calmer. Ended up being OK, and within half an hour we were anchored in the quite protected but still very windy harbour of Mooloolabar, to the slightly penetrating beep of my motor overheating again. A huge day!
By morning it was clear that we weren’t going anywhere further north in a hurry, so reluctantly we agreed that this was as far north as Waz would be joining me. A few days were enjoyed hanging out at Mooloolabar, sampling the local food, beaches and beer. And tending to the overheating problem by swapping out the impeller.
I was sorry to see Waz head off before reaching Airlie together. It really is great having good company on board. Oh well, there’s always next time mate!
