After seeing Waz on his way and a further four days of heavy winds from the south, I pulled out of Mooloolaba harbour at around lunchtime, heading for Lady Elliot Island. It was a tough and long sail of around one day and eight hours. All kinds of weather, though mostly strong and from the south. The sea was VERY bumpy as well as up to 3 metres of swell. I even started feeling a bit woozy .
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I remember Neil (from B finger) saying that he hates sailing this stretch and only goes the inner passage (between Fraser Island and the mainland) now. I understand completely. Daylight ran out and the night was a mix of squall followed by light breezes. I was stuck in that position of having not enough then too much sail up. The motion of the sea made everything quite an effort but I eventually rounded Lady Elliot Island – surrounded by coral reef – in the dark with quite a strong breeze and a bit of swell. With the sound of breaking waves in the background I somehow found the public mooring, and managed to pick it up on the second try!! I was totally exhausted.
Slept well even though it was very rolly. Next morning things started to settle down. I went for my first Great Barrier Reef snorkel!! Very fab! Just like the old screen savers!
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Later in the afternoon while having a nap, my dinghy painter (rope that ties it to the boat) came loose, setting it adrift into the wild blue yonder. I was very surprised as I’ve been pretty careful of that since I did the same thing a few years ago. Anyway, a couple of fishermen turned up with it and went on their way! Phew.
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There is no phone reception at Lady Elliot Island so weather forecasts are only via VMR (Marine Rescue) – which is good, but quite brief! I was also out of contact with friends and family. Something I embarassingly forgot to warn them about.
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That night a big storm came in – not forecast. VERY unpleasant night! So exposed there on the north western edge of the island. The motion was made all the worse because I was tied to a mooring, so the boat just bounced violently up and down, hour after hour. Hardly slept and very keen to move on by morning.
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The breeze settled to 15-20knts by morning which was good enough for me as I was keen to find somewhere more protected. I set a course for Lady Musgrave Island. All prep done, ready to go, motor idling, raced up to let the mooring lines go and found that my three stranded nylon rope that I’d slipped through the loop of the HUGE mooring line had almost chaffed through!! Yep – two of the three strands were broken. (Lucky a three stranded rope is not easily broken – but I digress!) The line off the buoy is about 80mm thick –Ā way too thick to wind around my cleats so I ran another line through it and tied it off to both my front cleats. So after what was a mammoth night of 30+kn winds and very rough seas, it almost came away. But it didn’t, and THAT’s the silver lining!!
I was keen to make tracks even though it hadnāt completely settled down, I knew that being out there and moving with the sea was going to be lots better than just sitting there. The sail from Lady Elliott to Lady Musgrave ended up being absolutely BEAUTIFUL. I needed it! Following breezes, protected from the swell, sunny day! A timely reminder about why I was actually doing this trip! Within a couple of hours Lady Musgrave could be seen on the horizon.
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Coming into Lady Musgrave I was a little apprehensive as there are mounds of coral reef (bomies) randomly jutting out of the sea floor. Some are just inches under the water surface. Most boats have one person up front guiding the person at the wheel. Luckily I don’t need to waste person-power like that, I just wing it. The charts are actually pretty accurate, but I still just inched along.
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I found a good spot and anchored with about ten other yachts! SO CALM!! SO BLUE!! This is what I have been imagining!! The wind came up overnight which, after last night, set me off a bit, but it subsided as time went by and the anchor didn’t drag at all – of course.
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Breeze persisted throughout the morning, around 15kn getting higher with gusts. I decided to move on tonight for Great Keppel. It’s about a seventeen hour trip, so if I leave around 4pm, I should arrive mid morning. Weather as far as I can determine (still no internet) is going to be OK. The VMR doesn’t give much overnight detail.
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The breeze settled right down after lunch. I just went for a snorkel off the back of my boat. Iām not sure how all this works yet. I have a dinghy, but I don’t have an anchor for it, nor am I sure youād be allowed to use one in case it got caught on any coral. I think what others do is someone stays on the dinghy while the other/s jump in. Anyway, Iāll work something out. In the meantime I jumped off the back of my boat and swam over to where thereās coral and life. There was a dark spot about 75 metres from my boat so I thought Iād give it a go. Water temp is just beautiful. 23? Made it over and the first thing that completely shocked me was how close and huge this bomie was to the surface of the water!! It would do incredible damage to one’s boat if hit.Ā
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The mound rose up into about 10 metres of water. It was covered in all kinds of different coral. Many of the shapes I recognised from viewing such things over the years, but unfortunately I am unable to give you any names. And then there were fish. Lots of fish, just doing their thing wandering around this coral head. Tiny ones in schools, nothing too large here, and nothing beyond actual fish that I could see, but it was all very lovely. I just floated above or swam down and hung out with everyone there for a while before flapping back to the boat, where it was obvious how dirty my (boat) bottom was becoming. I will need to tend to that before too long!
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Lady Musgrave deserved more time than I gave it. I would like to return down the track and spend a few days here.
Well, I’m really looking forward to this sail to Great Keppel. Iām not expecting there to be too much breeze – maybe 10 knots – though Iām not sure what might happen overnight given what happened here last night. If it just stays at 10, thatāll be fine by me. In case it builds up Iāll leave a reef in the main. The moon should be around three quarters full and it looks like itāll be a cloudless night! So Iām excited to just take it easy and getting to Great Keppel sometime in the morning. It is very possible that I get frustrated at there being not enough breeze at some stage, but right now Iām thinking that a lazy sail heading north east is just what I need. Let’s see what happens.
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That’s pretty much what happened! Calm seas, light breeze (so needed to use the motor more than I wanted) and a moon to light my way. I read, ate, slept, and relaxed the night away and arrived at Great Keppel island this morning around 8.30. It seems like a great spot. I think I’ll hang for a few days and do some exploring. There used to be a backpackers party resort here back in the day. āGet wrecked on Great Keppelā. I think it laid in ruins for a while but is slowly now being revived and is a low key resort with cabins, a bar and restaurant. All pretty simple but great. There are also lots of tracks to walk and places to explore.
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It’s quite breezy again now. It seems that there might be a general pattern of breeze which builds throughout the morning, then subsides in the afternoon to an almost still night, before it builds again. Reckon I can get used to that.
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A relaxing few days were enjoyed anchored on the northern side of Great Keppel. Some adventures were had in the dinghy going ashore to stretch the legs and look around. The anchorage can be slightly rolly, but another great place to visit again.
