Early lunch, then into the beach with our swimming mat.
Kristie, Kristina and I walked up to the end of Leekes Beach to check out the headland/lagoon at the end. (Emma stayed and played in the sand). A nice long walk, some good shells found.
Nic and Kenny were heading off for a snorkle, and dropped Charlee on the beach with Emma just before we got back to them.
The girls enjoyed a bit of time in the water and playing in the sand.
And some beach cricket with both girls:
Back to Lazuli to get dry and changed ready to come back for sips ‘n dips on the beach with everyone else.
A good spread of food as usual with Viv & Russ, Nic & Kenny, and Jana & Sebastian (a new boat Kristie stalked on FB - they have 4 kids!).
Back to Lazuli in the dark - our new solar sensor light works very well :)
Thursday 5th
School and Work.
We’d organised to have dinner on the beach over at Svendsons tonight, so we moved Lazuli over that side so we didn’t have as far to tender (it was also a little bit more out of the wind). The other boats stayed where they were.
We had an early lunch then went into the beach for a swim.
The other two tenders and crew were on the beach. A quick chat with them before they all went back to their boats.
Water was a bit cool, but still got wet!
Back to Lazuli to get dry (and for a tiny bit more work), and then get prepared for an afternoon on the beach.
We met the others on the beach at about 3:30pm and got ready for the night. We ended up with 5 boats and 9 kids! The kids all had a great time playing in the sand, running around and exploring the bush.
There’s a permanent fire area set up on the beach, with gazebo, table & chairs and a selection of cooking equipment. They also have a stack of pre-cut firewood to help yourself too.
With the fire going it was time to bust out some food and drinks.
Usual platter:
cheese
chips
olives
asparagus dip
Kristie and the girls made some damper, and we got that cooking.
Sweet potatoes went in the fire wrapped in foil.
Marshmallows came out before dark. The kids enjoyed finding and sharpening sticks (our usual forks are still in the camper trailer!)
Always opportunities for sunset photos over the water.
There was a big grill to put over the fire, so we had
fish
chicken
pumpkin
more chicken
steak
cauliflower
There was also a salad. Plenty of food for everyone to share and enjoy!
More wine/cider, then the schnapps came out again (thanks Russ, very tasty!), and we alternated between that and the bottle of Port I brought along.
Gradually the others left until it was just the four of us with Viv and Russ, enjoying the fire on the beach.
What a great night.
Managed to find Lazuli without too much trouble :)
The following is Emma’s recount of our time on the beach:
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At the Great Keppels we had a fire on the beach. There already an area set up which made things a lot easier. We had five boats of friends of boats with us. In those five boats there was nine kids and that, equals CHAOS! We build a giant sand fortress in a race against the tide. We build it for baby Mia, but she wasn't allowed out of the carrier so we basically built it for nothing! We found and cleaned some stick for cooking marshmallows and sausages over the fire. I helped mum make damper and Kristina helped me stir. The damper took a while to cook but it was delicious when it was ready.
The following is Kristina’s recount of our time on the beach:
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Last night we went to Svendsons beach with out boat friends. We started off with just four boats and that was fun but then another boat came and it had two more kids. There were nine kids, lots of sand and lots more chaos. All us kids (except for the two toddlers) started working on four Baby. It was a giant sand castle that was hollow on the inside. It had walls and a big moat surrounding it. Fort Baby was about two meters long and wide and we called it Fort Baby because it was for the two toddlers. Although neither of them were allowed in so we made it Charlee/Fake Donald Trumps grave.
Friday 6th
Bella and Exhale left early to head around to Fishermans Bay.
We had school and work so didn’t move too early.
We figured we’d just move back to Leekes Beach and walk across to the resort (we needed an Ice Cream and to find an Echidna).
With Lazuli moved, we had a lunch then got ready to head into the beach. Jana & Sebastian and the 4 kids joined us for the walk.
We had to walk a bit back down the beach, then along the track up to the 1st Lookout (which has seen better days!).
Bit of an up hill walk, but once there it was easy down.
Walked to the pub on the corner.
One of the other kids had climbed up a few of the coconut trees and pulled down a collection which the kids carried down the road.
They set up and with the help of their trusty pocket knife had them opened up ok.
We got our ice creams and walked back to meet the others who’d stopped outside the resort.
We all tried the coconut water:
…some less impressed than others!
With twilight fast approaching we had to head back down the beach to walk over the headland.
Kristie came across an Echidna just on the top of the beach by the cabins. We all came back for some photos. It was completely un-phased by any of us.
A quick stop for a swing along the beach on the way back:
The walk up the headland was ok. There’s a rope on the other side to help get down.
Some lovely sunset photos on the beach.
By the time we got back to our tender there were some fairly decent waves breaking on the beach! Didn’t look like a nice comfortable night.
We got back on and called across to Russ to check out what it was like there… still a bit of a roll but didn’t sound as bad as what we had here.
Quick anchor up, and we were off before the sun could set.
Most of Fisherman’s bay is a bit too shallow for us, so we were out just a bit behind the others. Rolly, but not as bad as the other side.
The following is Emma’s recount of the walk we did:
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We went on a walk at the Great Keppel Island. We waited for our friends on Leekes Beach. When they arrived we started to walk along the sandy beach. At first the path was rocky and sandy, and then it got steep. When we got to the top the rocks turned into bitumen which made it easier to walk. At the bottom on the other side, there were some coconut trees. Yoshi climbed the coconut trees and tossed coconuts down. Malo cut them open with his pocket knife so we could drink the milk! I didn't like the taste but the others did. We also bought some ice creams because we have a boat rule that we get an ice cream every place we visit. We started to walk back then we saw an echidna. The echidna was trying to find something to eat. We stood still and the echidna walked 3cm away from my foot. We named it Bobirina!
The following is Kristina’s recount of the walk we did:
On Friday we did a walk at Leekes Beach. We beat our friends to the beach so we pulled our tender up and waited for them. While we were waiting some other kids that we hadn't seen before (apparently they were on Keppel Island before got there) came to the beach. Mum and Dad did a bit of talking with their Dad and at the end out newest friends said they were going to tender over to the other side of the Island. They left then some of our other friends came over. (We have so many boat friends that it's getting hard to keep track of them.) Since they got there we started walking up the beach. We all found the start of the walk. The first bit was lovely, with soft dirt beneath our feet and lush trees above our head. Then the trees got thinner and the dirt turned to gravel. Emma started complaining about the fact that it was getting steeper. None of us liked that bit but the rest of us kept it to ourselves. After a bit the gravel turned into pavement and we were back under lush trees. We got to the resort and we noticed all the coconut trees that were full of coconuts. Yoshi was the first one to react, shimming upt the side of a tree. It took him a couple tries but he managed to get down two big coconuts before coming back down the tree. We continued walking and found thw shops, a good spot to sit near the shops and two small coconut trees. This time both Yoshi and Malo climbed up. One of the coconuts go me on the head but it didn't hurt too much. After the boys had collected eleven coconuts Malo decided it was time to opn them with their own personal pocket knives. Neither me nor Emma liked the coconut water but what we did like was the Ice creams we got to obey the rule we have on Lazuli: We must have at least one ice cream each place we go. This was Mum and Dads way of bribing us onto the boat. We were heading back along a different path then Mum told us she found one of the echidnas. We came over to see it then she showed me where our new friends from earlier were. I ran over to get them because they were just about to leave. I told them but although they didn't believe me they came anyways. Amy, Yoshi, and Malo had seen an echidna last time they were here and Amy named it Bob. This one was a different colour so we named it Boblina. OVer all it was a good day and I'm glad that we went on the walk.
Saturday 7th
We had a reasonably big day today - about 45nm to get up to Pearl Bay. We’ve heard it’s nice.
With breakfast done and the boat ready, we dropped the tender so we could offload our rubbish to the bins at the beach. We’ll be a bit more remote the next week or so with no option to drop rubbish anywhere.
We said our goodbyes to Exhale and Bella, they’re hanging around there a bit longer while we have to head north a bit quicker. It’s been great travelling with them the last month (we met them the start of May at Fraser Island). Hope to see them again in the Whitsundays!
Motored out and around the islands. No wind sadly :( Once out of the green zones the lures went in - one on my rod, another on the hand line the girls had given me last year (and I’d yet to catch anything on it).
We’d probably been motoring for an hour or so when my reel went nuts. We slowed down and tried to reel it in. It put up a great fight, especially when it got close to Lazuli.
I got it to the surface, and with Kristie’s help got it in the net and onboard. I managed to get it across the other side before it splattered too much blood.
It was a 65cm Mackerel Tuna. A bit bigger than the last one I got that was 55cm.
Just as I’d got it off the hook and in the bucket I noticed the lure on the hand reel had hooked up another fish and was dragging it along the surface at high speed! Glove back on, and started the lengthy process of bringing in the hand line. The fish wasn’t fighting at all which did make it easier, no way I could have pulled in the last one by hand! Again, got it close to the side and Kristie scooped it up. Another Mac Tuna, just a bit smaller than the first one.
Gave them time to bleed, then started the process of filleting and cleaning up. Got quite a haul of meat out of both.
Dinner sorted for a couple of nights.
The wind came up eventually (to maybe 10knts) so we put the sails up and enjoyed a nice 30min sail before having to drop them again.
Motored the rest of the way in to Pearl Bay.
Tried to find a less rolly spot, but not too many options for us.
Anchor down, and then cleaned up and put the infill back on.
Quick school and a bit of work this morning at Pancake Creek.
Kristie tried calling the lighthouse on the VHF, but no response (turns out it was broken on their end!).
Mozzie spray on, hiking pack ready, tender in the water and off we went. The tide was mostly full, so we didn’t have far to drag it up and tie up to a tree.
We had to walk about 50m to find the path, which then went across a bit of a mangrove swamp (mostly dry).
The walk was easy enough (3, maybe 4 skittle stops?), albeit fairly overgrown.
One of the caretakers (Pat) came out to greet us when we got to the top. She was hesitant to do the tour, as the LARC was on the way up (20min or so away), and the tour would take longer than that. Kristie managed to convince them that we didn’t need the full (nor shorter) tour, just a quick 20min ($10pp) up the lighthouse and back down.
Pat’s husband came and did the tour for us.
The steps used to go around the outside, but now on the inside:
Interesting history, and good views from the top.
The LARC turned up as we were up the top, so a bit of a rushed climb down.
The caretakers had suggested (a few times) we walk back down the way the LARC had come up to go see the lookout over Jenny Lind Creek. The tour guide/driver from the LARC also suggested it, so off we went (after some snacks).
It was only about 500m down the track. We didn’t get all the way to the bottom, but still a great view.
Back up the track to the lighthouse, and then back the way we came. Was just over 7km all up.
The tide had gone out considerably since we’d left. We probably had 25m or os to drag the tender to the water. The mudflats are pretty good for dragging, and with the girls pushing it didn’t take long.
Back to Lazuli for a late lunch.
As we were in Pancake Creek, it was only natural that we should have pancakes for lunch. The long life cream works surprisingly well :)
By the time lunch was done and cleaned up it was almost dinner time… and time to hide from the mozzies!
Lovely sunsets over the still water.
The following is Emma’s recount of our time at Busted Head:
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We went on a tour in Busted Head Lighthouse. In the forest, on the way there, we saw lots of neon yellow butterflies. The butterflies were in the bushes collecting nectar. Mummy found some Antlion holes and dug one up for us to look at. I didn't want to touch it because it looked like a tik. There was soo many spooky spiderwebs in the trees that made me shiver. Eventually we got to the lighthouse. We were lucky and got a tour just before the LARC came. On the bottom flow we saw a mermaid figurehead. Then climbed up the spiral stairs to the top. There was a fog horn. They would use the foghorn when it was foggy so the ships would not run aground.
The following is Kristina’s recount of our time at Busted Head:
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At Pancake creek, we went on a lovely walk. ON that walk there was one thing that stood out. Every where we looked there were butterflies. It was so amazing! After a little bit of walking our Mum pointed out some Antlions that were making holes to catch their lunch. I didn't want to touch them and neither did Emma or Dad. We did some more hiking and then we decided to stop for a skittle break. Unluckily for Emma the stop was under some trees covered in spider webs which made her shiver. When we continued walking it was smostly nonstop other than two more skittle breaks to keep us going.
Thursday 29th
We’d booked two nights at the marina as we needed to do a big shop for the next leg of our trip north (also, Gladstone Marina has really nice showers!).
With no wind, it was about a 4hr motor with easier/calmer conditions than last time we came to Gladstone.
I worked more or less the entire way in while Kristie kept watch and directed the autopilot.
At one stage the reel started running a little bit, we thought we caught dinner. Turns out it was just some seaweed.
We were in berth A8 this time. You come around the corner and into the marina and have about 300m to line up the entry into your berth! There was still someone there from the marina to catch our lines.
Lunch, check-in, then time for boat jobs:
filling water
emptying rubbish
washing/dryer (Kristie was plesently surprised to get the squid ink out of her dress)
It was raining, so some of the jobs we had planned got pushed to tomorrow.
Kenny and Nic came over for drinks and nibbles while Kristie was up waiting for/getting the Woolies delivery. (was handy to have another set of hands to help unload the trolley and get the bags downstairs - thanks guys.)
Dinner on the boat tonight.
Friday 30th
When I’d published the last blog and mentioned we were on the way to Gladstone, one of our friends (Bride) messaged to say that she and her partner Andrew would be there as his mum was currently in the Gladstone hospital.
They kindly offered the use of their car so that we could do some shopping while they were visiting his mum.
We met up for breakfast at the cafe conveniently located at the end of our berth/pontoon. We left the girls onboard and went up for a tasty breakfast and a bucket (at least 2x a normal mug!) of coffee.
Kristie went back to Lazuli to start school with the girls.
It was still a bit early for visiting hours, so Bride & Andrew helped me spend more money on the boat (Gladstone has turned out to be our 2nd most expensive city!):
Yamaha 2kva generator for those rainy days when solar won’t top up our batteries
Two new red jerry cans for unleaded (we ran short with the diving compressor and tender usage on Musgrave)
Oil for generator and outboard.
I dropped them into the hospital and continued shopping at Bunnings and BCF.
A box to wash regs/dive computer/camera in
The solar sensor light as recommended/used by both Exhale and Bella.
Toilet paper (we get the light camping/RV rolls that dissolves quickly)
Back to the boat after a stop in at Woolies for more food (and a hot chook).
Quick unload then back out to Kmart to get some ugg boots/swim shoes for the girls. (the swim shoes I got Kristina was too big and fit Kristie!)
Kristie went for a walk to get the gas bottle filled and did a couple of trips back and forth to the fuel dock with the 6 empty jerrys.
Back to the boat and time to test the generator. Filled up the fuel and oil and started up ok. Tested a few appliances. Ran the toaster and microwave, but the big kettle we have was too much. So off to BCF (again) to buy a collapsable lower power (but still 240V) kettle.
With Bride and Andrew in town, we also organised to have dinner with them tonight.
We’d booked a table up at the Gladstone Yacht Club. I still had their car, and when they called it was more or less time for us to head up for dinner. I took both girls with me while Kristie set off for a rainy walk there. They were staying just up the road from the yacht club, so once we were dropped off they took the car back and were back pretty quickly (before Kristie got there).
Good drinks and dinner: another Mexican parmi for me!
Walked home, only a light rain/mist, but we had umbrellas and it’s not that far.
Saturday 31st
We were supposed to leave today, but the weather wasn’t great, and it looked like we’d just be anchored off Facing Island in rain, chop, and swell from the port traffic. I went up to see if we could stay another two nights. That was fine and we didn’t even have to move.
I spent the day working as I hadn’t been able to do enough hours this week.
Kristie gave all of our dive gear a good wash and hung it up to dry.
Everything had been starting to feel a bit sticky from the salt. So Kristie got out the self soaping scrubbing brush/broom and gave the whole deck & cockpit a good scrub.
As there was nowhere dry left to sit, Kristie disappeared up to the marina lounge room to use her laptop up there.
I also installed the solar/sensor light, and got some fishing rod holders fixed to the bimini.
Kristie had seen a local markets advertised. Just across the bridge - easy walking distance. We met Kenny + Nic + Charlee at 4:30 and walked over. They weren’t great markets. However, the girls found some fidgets (3d printed) so they happily spent some of their pocket money there. Food options weren’t great, so back to the boat for dinner.
Bride and Andrew popped over for a drink/chat after dinner.
Sunday 1st June
We had spent some time yesterday planning our next month ahead. We need to be up at Airlie by the 29th to pick up the first of our Whitsunday guests. With the plan we had, we’d need more food/supplies.
Thankfully (for us, not for Andrews mum) Bride and Andrew were still about and we could use their car again.
Kristie and I enjoyed avo on toast on the boat, before heading up to the cafe to catch up with the other two boats (and some others). I had another bucket of coffee, hot chocolate for Kristie. We talked our plans through with the others. They aren’t on such a tight schedule as us, and don’t need to be in Mackay until a week after we’re in Airlie.
Bride and Andrew turned up not long after coffee was done, and we headed off so that I could drop them at the hospital. Getting to know Gladstone reasonably well!
Back to the marina to pick up Kristie and the girls (and Charlee). Kristie would do the Woolies shop while I took the three girls to the playground.
They all declared it a fun park.
Stopped in at Kmart on the way back to get some more iPad charging cables: two of these new ones ended up breaking the same day we opened them :(
Sushi for lunch before driving home.
Charlee stayed on Lazuli a bit longer, before inviting the girls back to her boat.
Vacuum sealed the meat and filled up the Engel freezer (We now have lots of dinners!) while Kristie headed up for another load of washing/drying.
No Bunnings/BCF trips today :)
The others went over to the Yacht Club for music and drinks, but we stayed on board for an earlier/easier night (turns out the musician stopped a few songs after they got there).
Monday 2nd
We were all (us, Bella, Exhale) checking out of the marina this morning and making our way north.
Our plan was to check out Cape Capricorn (Yellow Patch) and see how conditions were there. If it was good we’d stay, if not keep going to the Keppels.
A few final boat jobs (topping up the water) and we were ready.
We (and Bella) weren’t keen to exit the North Channel at low tide, so out of the marina and to the East Channel (same way we went out to Heron). Russ and Viv had to fuel up and that opened at 8am, so they weren’t far behind us.
Exhale took a bit longer to get going with their outboard. With that working (and their shallower draft) they left for the North Channel.
There was some good wind in the main channel heading out of the marina, but by the time we got out past Facing Island there was none to be had.
We motored the entire way north :(
Crossing the Tropic of Capricorn gave us a bit of a chance for some extra schooling, but the girls weren’t too interested.
Refresher:
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The Tropic of Capricorn is a line of latitude located 23.5 degrees south of the equator. It marks the southernmost point where the sun can be directly overhead at noon. This occurs during the December solstice in the Southern Hemisphere.
Shortly after this momentous event we rounded Cape Capricorn and got into the bay there. With the next few low tides not being too low we could tuck in reasonably close. (turns out I probably got a little too close - 2.8m depth the final low tide when we swung with the NW winds!)
Russ and Viv decided to press on to the Keppels as they had work to do.
Exhale anchored near us. We dropped the tender and geared up to walk up to the lighthouse. As Kenny was working, we picked up Charlee on the way and took her with us.
Smooth ride around to the beach where the walk starts, then 380m (distance, not elevation!) walk to the top. We “needed” two skittle stops ;) It turns out the care takers had just been down to paint the seats and rocks along the path, so it was easy enough to follow (though still too overgrown for Emma’s liking).
There’s no tour or anything at the top, but still a good view. We had our snacks.
The lighthouse has a red sector for the rocks (Rundle Island) just SE the headland. The sun just happened to line up so the girls got in that sector.
Back down to the beach then off to explore/walk around the rocks some more. We got around to the next little beach that was a lot nicer - sand instead of rocks/shells.
We hadn’t been exploring too long when Kenny and Nic turned up. The girls had a great time on the beach and in the water. Another yachtie came in, and we had a quick chat to him.
It was nearly 5pm by the time we left the beach and went back to our boats.
At some point after dinner we could hear some commotion on Exhale (“get a bucket!”). Turns out they had some squid. I put my squid lure in, and after a bit of time managed to hook one tiny squid. I tried for more, but a combination of mozzies and tiredness got the better of me.
The stars have been fantastic. Covered in mozzie spray & oddies, Kristie & Emma enjoyed using the Sky Guide app to find all the different constellations.
The following is Emma’s story about her stargazing:
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We are anchored at Cape Capricorn. It's only a little bit north of the Tropic of Capricorn. At night time me and mummy were stargazing using an app called Sky Guide. Using the app, we found all of our star signs. My star sign is Scorpio and I memorised the position of all the stars for it! I really enjoyed star gazing with mummy!
Tuesday 3rd
School and Work.
Today we wanted to go explore the sand dunes and Yellow Patch. It’s a favourite spot for many sailors and locals.
We needed to be leaving this area by 1:30pm at the latest so we could get to Great Keppel Island (GKI) before dark.
Working backwards meant leaving Yellow Patch by 1pm.
We had a pre-lunch lunch, then jumped in the tender for the trip across, nearly 2km. The crew from Exhale were in their tender and following along as well.
It was low tide, so we dragged the tender across a small sandbar rather than go all the way around.
Once around the corner you’re into a lovely protected waterway and a stunning sandhill (when the sun is out).
There are a few deep (4m) spots, but in general this area is too shallow for Lazuli :(
We pulled our tender up the beach, and Kenny went off to check his crap pots.
Lots of fun jumping and rolling down the sand dune.
Time was starting to get away from us, and still no sign of Kenny. He eventually came back, sharing the bad news that he didn’t have a single crab to show for his efforts :(
We all got back in and went back to get ready for a sail north.
Quick lunch, then we got Lazuli ready. Exhale with their dodgy outboard went first, and us following close behind.
By this stage, we probably had a 13-15knt W wind. I ended up putting in a reef, but even still at the start I had the traveller down and main backing a little, and still doing 8-9knts.
We aimed to go around GKI from the West, and Kenny was aiming for the Eastern side. Bella was in a bay in the north.
With the westerly winds there wasn’t much swell, so we had some glorious sailing conditions.
We were matching Exhale for speed, so it’d be a tight finish (it’s always a race!).
The wind started to die out about 30min out from GKI, and with the sun going down we started motor sailing. That didn’t last long until there wasn’t even enough wind for that. The sun disappeared before we got through between GKI and Middle Island.
We got around to Leekes Beach and to Bella at the same time as Exhale, and dropped anchor before it was actually dark!
Lots of reviews mention how rolly it can be here, but it’s no worse than anywhere else we’ve had.
There’s probably 20 other yachts in the bay with us.
Calamari for entree, steak and noodle salad for main.
The following is Emma’s recount of our time at Yellow Patch:
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Yellow Patch is a giant orange sand dune. When we arrived, we climbed up the sand dune with Charlee. It was tiring since it was so tall and so steep. But hopping down made the climb worth it. We climbed up again and played tag on the big open area behind the sand dune. It wasn't long before tag was over so we hopped down and dug some really deep holes in the sand. When Charlee was half way through digging her hole, Kristina and I climbed up just a little bit and rolled down! The orange sand stuck to us making us look like Dorietos! We went for a swim to wash off but the sand didn't come off easily.
The following is Kristina’s recount of our time at Cape Capricorn and Yellow Patch:
Yesterday, we went to the beach at Cape Capricorn. The shore line was full of rocks so me and Emma were glad that we had shoes on. Charlee was wearing crocks but that didn't stop her from coming with us. IT was mostly the same as all the other walks we did except every now and then a family of pigs would run across the path. When we got to the top there was a stunning view but Charlee realised that the mozzies were getting us. So our group went back down the hill.
(today) We tendered over to Yellow Patch and go a great view of the dunes. Despite the name Yellow Patch we think that the sand dunes look more like ginger bread orange. Charlee got there first but when we got there Kenny went to check the crab pots. We raced up the dune but this time Augie their dog beat everyone up. The climb was kind of hard because it was steep and crumbly but we still made it up to the top. When all the kids (and Augie) were up the adults took a photo while we bunny hopped down. (It's our favourite thing to do on big sand dunes) Up we climbed again but this time we stepped in our previous foot prints so it wasn't as hard. When we got up, we decided that the giant flat area of sand was the perfect spot to play tag. It was fun until Emma got upset that I tagged her. To get back down we did some more bunny hops then Me and Charlee started digging some deep holes. Eventually Emma joined in the hole digging process. After a little while I started helping Charlee with her hold. The hole got about neck deep but then Me and Ema go bored. So I came up with a rolling down the hill. After we tried it we realised that we looked like dorietos because all the orange sand was sticking to us. We got a photo then rolled down a couple more times. Charlee saw how much fun we were having and couldn't resist joining in. We had more fun but then the adults told us to wash it off. It was hard to wash it off especially when it came to getting it out of our hair. By then it was getting close ot the time when we were going to sail. So we packed up and waited for Kenny to come back. We all hoped that he had caught some thing but id didn't. He missed our on all that fun for nothing!
We had the boat ready, so at 8am we cast off to head out through the East Channel, destination Heron Island. Exhale and Bella wouldn’t be far behind us.
We’d timed our Gladstone transits well (NOT!).. We were against the outgoing tide when we first came in, and leaving now against the incoming tide.
The other two boats left via the North Channel, which they both said was easy and really quite pretty. Our path from the East Channel had us going directly through the fleet of ships waiting/anchored off. There was lots of checking on Marine Traffic to make sure they weren’t moving!!
We motored all the way, no wind at all.
We trolled most of the way, not fish at all.
We got to Wistari Reef in good time. There were three free moorings. We grabbed the first one.
Tender down, wetsuits on, and in the water for a quick snorkel.
This was what our trip had been about - diving and snorkeling the reefs/islands in Queensland!
The other two boats turned up while we were in the water. We gave them a wave.
No wind, perfect afternoon conditions.
Kristie geared up and got in for a solo night dive.
A pleasant enough dive apart from a very leaky mask. Turns out there’s a good chunk missing out of the frame the holds the prescription lenses in. A new mask has now been ordered.
Sunday 18th
Had breakfast then filled tanks. We still had two tanks that were empty from diving in NSW.
We got the dive gear ready, and the plan was to head over to Heron Bommie and dive/snorkel there.
Kenny and Kristie went in first, and had a nice 40min dive - they saw over 20 turtles, a dozen reef sharks and a Manta amongst everything else here.
The girls and I stayed up the top and snorkeled. They lasted about 30min before getting too cold and hopping back in the boat.
Kenny and Nic then took the girls back to their boat (via Lazuli, so they could get changed and grab essentials like iPads!). Kristie and I enjoyed a very relaxing dive by ourselves.
Back to Lazuli for lunch and filling tanks while the girls were still on Exhale. Kenny and Nic even fed them - thanks heaps guys.
Got the girls back onboard, then took Kristie for an afternoon drift dive along the Wistari Wall (probably ‘Wistari 2’ -> ‘Wistari 1’).
Sunset drinks on Exhale with us and Viv & Russ.
Monday 19th
School and Work.
Early lunch then into Heron to walk around the island and have a swim. We saw a couple of the turtle nesting areas that were roped off for protection. The NW side, sheltered from the wind, was particularly nice to swim at. Calm and clear water.
We had to wade through the water to get around the corner back to the boat. I carried Emma on my shoulders, whilst Kristie and Kristina had to wade along after me.
In the tender and a bumpy/wet ride back to Lazuli. The wind was up so we weren’t going to be doing much else for the afternoon.
Tuesday 20th
Early school this morning as we needed to be on the island for a tour of the Research Station. The girls had their wetsuits on for the wet ride across.
We were met at the rotunda at the end of the jetty. A quick walk and a bit of a chat about turtles and some interesting research correlating nest temperature with the resulting sex of the baby turtle. The station also has a touch pool with a variety of starfish, coral, and sea cucumbers… all for touching!
I enjoyed the fast-paced race to see which starfish could turn itself over after being placed upside down in the tank.
They also had a nice map of dive sites:
We said a very quick hello to Diana as she walked past on her way to go diving. She was on Heron Island for the week teaching a Coral Health Workshop. We had planned to catch up for sundowners on the beach, however the wind picked up and it wasn’t possible to get back across in the tender.
The following is Emma’s recount of our time at the Research Station:
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We had a tour at the research station on Heron Island. Our tour guide talked about three turtles before we walked in. Green sea and logger head turtles nest on the island but hawksbills just visit. She took us inside and showed us the touch tank. My favourite thing in the touch tank was the fluffy coral. Its small tentacles made it fluffy. Next to the bridge there was some experiments. They were trying to learn more about coral bleaching.
Wednesday 21st
Conditions were better this morning. Kristie and I got the dive gear sorted and went across to Heron for another dive. We tied the tender up to the mooring at (what we think is) Pams Point, and drifted towards Heron Bommie. Lovely dive.
Not long after we got back to Lazuli, Exhale and Bella left for Fitzroy. We still had more diving to do so we weren’t going to head off with them.
School & Work when we got back from our dive.
Filled tanks in the afternoon, and replaced one of Kristie’s reg hoses as it was about to pop.
Thursday 22nd
Early school, then wetsuits on for one last dive/snorkel at Heron Island (back at Heron Bommie).
The girls and I had a snorkel while Kristie did a solo dive. We had tied up to the moorings to get Kristie in the water; not long after the tour / glass bottom boat came past and asked us not to use their mooring. There was a fair bit of current, so we ended up doing a bit of a drift snorkel. Drift north, then motor back to the start. The girls lasted about 30min. I stayed in the water, and eventually Kristie came up.
There was a Manta Ray on one of the bommies, so I snorkeled out to that. I managed to convince Emma to get in and she saw it, but Kristina didn’t. Emma later explained that the reason she called it “dumb” was that she was cold and hungry.
Back to Lazuli for an early lunch and then to motor to Fitzroy Reef (no wind at all).
I finally managed to catch something on one of the lures I’d been trolling out the back! This time I hooked a 55cm Mackerel Tuna.
I got it in, and it managed to splatter blood everywhere. Got it bled, and then filleted before getting into Fitzroy.
We had an easy passage in through the very narrow channel. Kenny had his drone up and was watching/filming us on the way in. “in 20m you can turn to port”. Thanks Kenny.
There are only 3 moorings there, and all were taken. We dropped anchor near not far from the others.
They were just off for a snorkel, so we had our tender in the water and wetsuits on pretty quickly.
We loaded up the swim mat and met the others close to the entrance channel. Lots of fun with the mermaid tails, and some snorkeling.
Sips ‘n dips on Exhale. Some tasty G&T’s from Russ, thanks!
Friday 23rd
Early breakfast, then loaded up the tender for Kristie go to diving. We just popped outside the entrance and around the corner. Easy dive, but not much big stuff there (not surprising when you consider the number of fishing boats that overnight at Fitzroy!).
Exhale & Bella left for Musgrave while Kristie was underwater. We’ll see them tomorrow.
Back to the boat and school for the girls.
Lunch then more time in the water. We took the swim mat to another reef near us, and had lots of fun with mermaid tails.
The wind was predicted to swing about during the night, so with two moorings now free, being on them was going to be better… apart from the mooring ball smacking into your hull in the middle of the night :(
Not long after we’d picked up the mooring, we noticed a turtle was enjoying a good munch on the growth on the mooring line. More importantly, 3 massive squid were also hanging around it. With possibly the fastest lure change I’ve done, I had a squid lure on and on the first cast hooked one before they swam away. It squirted out quite a bit of ink when hooked, and on the way in. I thought I was in the clear so I lifted it up to get it in the bucket. It then unloaded another supercharged jet of ink that went all over our nice white deck, and Kristie (it got her dress and face :(
After much cursing and cleaning, I had the squid ready for eating. Sadly cleaning the deck wasn’t as easy.
Calamari for entrée, and the mac tuna for the main course. Yum. Hope to catch a few more of either of those :)
There were now a dozen other boats in the lagoon for the night. Very popular in these good conditions.
Saturday 24th
We left Fitzroy Reef at 7am with just a slight outgoing tide, heading to Lady Musgrave Island (LMI). With no wind we had to motor the entire way.
We got to the entrance at about 10:30am, and there was a lot of water rushing out the channel. I wasn’t super keen to go against that. We grabbed the mooring that’s right at the entrance and decided to wait for slack water at midday. We had tanks to fill, so it wasn’t a waste of time.
By 12:30pm the water had slackened right off, so we cast off the mooring and headed in. The entrance is much wider and deeper than Fitzroy, but still you worry about it! We were about halfway through the channel when the dive boat from the pontoon shot straight past us at full speed. Just what you need! Couldn’t see the edge, and the waves were big enough that Emma had to sit down. They are a bunch of clowns.
20 years ago I had first come to Musgrave Island as a Dive Master on Esperance Star. I was so impressed and taken with the place that I vowed that one day I’d come back in my own boat. Today was that day! I’ve been back and spent some time on the island on other trips, but being here on our own boat was really special.
Exhale and Bella had anchored just to the left/NW of the entrance (pretty much as far away from the island as is possible!). Their friends where also there, so with plenty of space around them (and it looked magnificent) we dropped anchor there as well.
Kristie and I went for a quick dive in the lagoon. Easy, apart from the end when we ran into a lot of current. Wasn’t expected nor appreciated!
We came back to the boat to get the girls and take them to another spot to give them a go at the scuba thing. We had borrowed an XS BCD from Chris R, but it was still too big for the girls. I had my ally backplate, so we tried that. With the harness setup I could get that pretty tight across their shoulders and waist. The plate is still a little big, would be good to have a smaller one.
Kristina didn’t feel that comfortable and did not really get a dive, but Emma had a nice little swim and really loved it.
While on the tender, we got the call over #69 that dinner was going to be on Exhale tonight, 5pm, and all were invited to come and bring something to share. Another boat, “Sailing Papao” (they spearfish - you can check them out on the socials) were next to Exhale, and had given Kenny a massive slab of Spanish Mackerel. The beast it came from was probably 1.2m or so, nearly as big as Emma. Everyone else was out of potatoes, so I offered to cook ours up and bring along something.
We got back to Lazuli at about 4pm, and I got the potatoes in the oven pretty quickly, and sorted out downstairs while Kristie filled tanks.
Potatoes came out of the oven and into the Billy Boil with some sun dried tomato pesto.
There was so much food - we didn’t get through all the Mackerel. The steaks took up half a plate each! Also, plenty of drinks. Russ brought out an unopened bottle Danish schnapps. We finished that bottle. I had also taken the rest of the Port. We also finished that.
Good times with great people.
Sunday 25th
7am departure for Manata Bommie. We offloaded some dive gear into Kenny’s tender, then the 3 of us (in two tenders) set off. It’s a good 2NM from where we were anchored to the dive site. It’s a long time in a slow tender (ours isn’t running that well).
I did surface watch when Kenny and Kristie dived. I eventually dropped anchor and managed to get it firmly stuck in some coral.
I had plenty of Manta Rays on the surface with me. After a good drift, I picked the other two up (I’d had to chuck my anchor rope overboard attached to a pool noodle to get later).
We took our tender back to the anchor and fixed it there, and the 3 of us went back to the start of the dive in Kenny’s tender. We dropped in a little further away from the mark this time. Kristie and I had an amazing dive. We were lucky enough to see 3 mantas on the top of one of the bommies. So cool.
Otherwise, plenty of fish, sharks, and other critters. We managed to drift past the abandoned tender anchor. It was easy enough to unhook and send drifting for Kenny to pull up.
We had a slow trip back to Lazuli, only just managing to get in through the outgoing channel!
I did the washing up, and then we set off to go snorkel and a reef walk with the others.
We had a nice snorkel not far from the island, then the tenders all made their way into the beach (avoiding coral and landing boats from the pontoon).
We walked through the island and across to the campsite to explore the reef (it was now low tide).
Saw a bunch of squid in some of the pools at the end, a seahare, and lots of sea cucumbers, crabs and starfish.
We were last back to the tender, and the others were long gone. We headed over to just in front of the pontoon. Jess (from Sailing Papao) had mentioned there was a bit of a turtle cleaning station there. There were a bunch of turtles, but they all fled when a boat load of snorkelers turned up and jumped in on top of them.
We had a long snorkel, and ended up seeing quite a few turtles after the tourists all left.
Back to Lazuli for a late lunch.
Kristie went off for a SUP, then we filled tanks.
Just sips ‘n dips by ourselves tonight.
The anchorage gets quite rolly at high tide (which were at night while we were there). However, it makes for a nicer morning/day when it’s low tide.
Monday 26th
School.
Wetsuits on as we were going to head into LMI to walk around the island (has to be done on every trip). Girls enjoyed jumping off the boat to cool down.
Quite a few trees down along the eastern corner of the island.
We all had fun exploring and looking for shells and turtle tracks. There were some fresh tracks around the southern side. We stopped off for a quick cool down in one of the pools by the waters edge.
We had also packed dive gear into the tender, so with the walk done it was back to the turtle cleaning station and tied off to the mooring there (no day boats today - nobody to interrupt us or move us on :)
Kristina went first, and had nice dive around the bommie. She saw quite a few turtles (some shallow, some down at 6m), and even got to see one with her fingers ;) (what’s that saying: “Fingers don’t have eyes!” ;)
Emma had a go, but had troubles equalising and was put off. Kristie went to take some photos of Kristina swimming around with her mermaid tail. I convinced Emma to have another go, and she did really well the 2nd time. She also got to “see” the turtle down at 6m.
With the girls (and Kristie) exhausted from the diving, it was back to Lazuli for a late lunch.
Charlie paddled over, and the girls played lego, roblox, and watched some tv.
I went for a nice SUP around the reef near us. Saw a few reef sharks and plenty of fish.
Back onboard it was time to put away as much gear as possible, ready for the sail/motor tomorrow.
I had the engine on to charge up the batteries a bit, then it dropped into gear and wouldn’t get out of gear! Bit of a panic (wasn’t looking forward to getting stuck in the lagoon!).
I tried a bunch of things, then called over kenny to help. Turns out the morse/cables had a hydro lock, and with that released it was back to normal operations.
The following is Kristina’s recount of her dive:
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We had a great time at Musgrave Island and we did so many fun things. My favourite thing was when our Mum taught us how to do Scuba-diving. The first time I tried the belt wasn't tight enough so the tank kept wobbling. That made it keep flipping and rolling me around. The next day I tried again and it went way better. Instead of rolling around my Mum made sure that I was staying the right way round. Another thing was that I got to pat a turtle who was sitting on the floor and eating some of the seaweed. I enjoyed it so much that I want to do even more diving when our tanks are full again.
The following is Emma’s recount of her dive:
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Musgrave Island is amazing. At Musgrave I scuba dived for the first time. On one of our dives we visited the turtle cleaning station. At the cleaning station, turtles get cleaned by little fish. We saw a turtle resting on the sand eating sea grass. We slowly swam down to touch the turtle. We couldn't swim fast because we'd use up too much breath and scare the turtle away. At the end of the dive the water was freezing and each breath I was shivering. But I had so much fun.
Tuesday 27th
The night before we’d heard over the radio that the others were planning to leave at 7am. They were heading for Gladstone. We had planned to leave at the same time, but we were going to stop for a snorkel with Mantas on the way, and then head to Pancake Creek for two nights.
So up early, and the others were both off before 6:30am. Lucky we weren’t racing ;)
We left at 7am on the dot, and motored to the mooring just off the island. Quick drop of the tender and over towards Manata Bommie. Surface conditions were a bit more choppy with the NW winds. We saw one on the surface but couldn’t get to it in the water. Kristie jumped in to snorkel to see if she could find one (the girls and I stayed in the tender). Not long after, we saw one underneath us. Kristina got in quickly and saw it, then Kristie came over and she and Emma saw it. It ended up swimming off pretty quickly.
We were done, back to the boat to rinse off, raise the tender, and head off.
We got the sails up, and initially the wind was ok. However, after 30min or so it dropped off and swung to the W. The best I could aim for was south of 1770 - a long way from where we needed to be. Sails down, motor on.
Time to work. I had a work meeting from 11-12:30. It was going well until 12pm when Starlink decided we were in the wrong spot (not on land!) and everything dropped out. An hour or so later when close enough to the land it came back on ok. It’s the first tme we’ve been out of service the entire trip.
Dropped anchor in Pancake Creek just before 4pm. It was only just after low tide, so we couldn’t go much further than the entrance.
With the tide going to rise another 3m, the sandbar protecting us from the northerly swell was going to disappear. Just before 5pm we pulled up anchor and slow motored further down (we had 1.1m of tide - up from 0.3m low). The lowest we saw was 2.6m. Definitely could not have got in at low tide.
With the tide up, it’s still a bit rolly, but much better than it would have been further up.
