Trip back to The Gold Coast - Tin Can Bay to Hope Island

Day 21 - Saturday 13th August

0430 hrs - awoke to a frosty and foggy morning as you can see from above - Russell wakes half an hour later and enjoys toast and coffee while we ponder when to leave - As I said in the last blog, the high tide at the Wide Bay Bar is at 0400hrs and we have about a 2 hour grace period before the run out tides starts to make a safe crossing, and as it is a 1-1.5 hour run from here we decided to get going asap.

But just before we leave, last evening whilst enjoying a sundowner or 2, these snub nosed dolphin, that are hand fed down at the restaurant, started playing around Fete. These beautiful creatures swum around for around an hour before disappearing again - a good omen I think for tomorrows trip down to Mooloolaba.

Map courtesy of "Images

of Tin Can Bay" on

the web.

We set off in darkness down Snapper creek, logged onto Coast Guard and headed down to the bar. I was a bit apprehensive as to what might happen due to all of the problems we have had this trip, but its too late now as we are off on the 80 odd nautical mile trip to our next destination.

0645hrs - The bar was a little lumpy as you can see from the pic above as we made our way down the Mad Mile to way Point 2 before turning NE and heading out of the bar proper.

0815hrs - Finally out thru the bar with no problems and turned to a direct heading for Wolf Rock and Double Island Point before we finally head south for the 63nm trek to Mooloolaba this evening.

Heading South with Headsail & Mizzen up and

Double Island Point in the background

Out past Double Island point the breeze had been on our nose up until now and a good breeze came in from the E/NE, so Russell hoisted the Headsail and Mizzen and we are now travelling at over 6 knots. I gotta say, Fete really sits perfectly on this type of passage runs and handles the swell very comfortably.
So far so good - Checked the stern gland and coupling and all's good.

We spent the day just cruising down the coast and as you can see from the clip above. At one stage we passed close to Peregrine Beach, approx. 5 K's south of Noosa, where my daughter lives. I called her and she came down to see us sail by, but didn't get any pics as she had to get home and get to work.

 Dusk set in fast and it was getting cold so we couldn't wait to get back into the Mooloolah River behind Point Cartwright and drop the anchor for a good nights sleep.
A strong wind warning was out for tomorrow with seas of 2.5-3 meters outside, so we decided to stay close to the shoreline and head down to Moreton Bay via Caloundra and then onto Peel Is for the night.

Heading south - Pt Cartwright in the background

Day 22 - Sunday 14th August

0700hrs - Awoke to slightly overcast day and headed out past Pt Cartwright and started down the coast towards Caloundra.
The wind had turned south and was directly on our nose so Russell decided to raise the Headsail and steer a direct course for Cape Moreton. Seas were lumpy so we headed for the N/E Channel on the lee-side of the Cape to go down past Tangalooma.  Once in the lee of the island, we dropped the sails and ran under engine down to the resort where we would spend the night.

 Once again this stretch of the trip took us thru the main shipping channel from Brisbane and as you can see here, we had to keep a good eye out for trouble but at least it was daylight this time.

It was early when we decided to stop at the Tangalooma Resort, behind the wrecks as we knew it would be a long day tomorrow back to the Gold Coast and we wanted an early start.

Tourists love this Resort as they also hand feed the dolphins at night and as you can see from the pic at left, there are some divers were going out for a sunset snorkel around the wrecks.

Day 23 - Monday 15th August

 0600hrs - awake to cold and blustery day with a 20kn southerly hitting us. We are heading for the Gold Coast so we upped the anchor and headed out to the channel.
The wind is so strong that even under motor we are stalled on 0.3 - 0.4 of a knot as we are against a run out tide. Eventually we passed the changeover point and started to make good headway.



1100hrs the wind and current change and up went the headsail and we are flying at around 6-8 knots on a heading of 180 deg and straight for the marker to the Hope Banks as we don't want to get stuck in there.
1300hrs - wind has died but we had a great run across the bay and just by luck we found the marker to the banks which we had sailed well to the west of and closer to the mainland around Raby Bay. Changed course and headed for Peel Island, still little to no wind.

1500hrs - having rounded under Peel Island,  we steered down the southern coastal channel towards another favourite anchorage between McLeay and Karragarra Islands for the night as it is just a short 4 hour hop from there back to home base.
The following morning we cleared the mooring around 0800hrs and headed off and just as Russell Predicted, arrived at the berth in hope Island marina at 1230hrs.

For those of you who will inevitably asked me the result to Problem #5 - the tender? Well upon arrival home it was taken to the Zodiac Repair shop and is now back on Fete as good as  new - (Problem #5 - Fixed).

Well now that the trip is over and I have had time to reflect, I am well pleased with the trip as it was always going to be a shake-down cruise to see what else Fete needed before we attempt other more adventurous challenges.

I have learnt a lot more about Her, especially from Mark and his crew at Tin Can Bay, but the most important lesson that I learnt was that boats are NOT meant to sit idle in marinas or elsewhere, but must be used and enjoyed and that's exactly what I intend to do.

So until next time, as always . . .

Cheers from Fete & Me

Out the Seaway & turn left . . . . Almost!!! - Part Two(?)

Day 7 - 31st July Tin Can Bay Inlet.

Here we go . . . when we left this blog last time we were in the Tin Can Bay Inlet for the last nite before setting off in the morning to head further up north to a place called Garry's Anchorage.

We had an early dinner and watched this lovely sunset looking over to the Tin Can bay Yacht Club.

Looking forward to shoving off in the morning.

This pic was taken on the trip with Zom, (SV Upstart), back in October 2013 on our way back to the Gold Coast from Yepoon. 

Garry's Anchorage (above) is the half way point from Tin Can Bay on the way north, our destination for today. This stop is used by many boaties on their way thru the Sandy Straits, both north and south, as you need to get the right tide to get over the Sheridan Flats without incident, and with Fete drawing 1.85m (6' 2") that was imperative. The tide for us to cross the Flats was around midday tomorrow so we could leave Garry's around 0930 hrs and be thru the Flats on a high tide and then on our way to the Kingfisher Bay Resort a couple of hours further on, our next destination. 

Kingfisher Bay Resort is situated on the western side of Fraser Island  looking over to the mainland and Hervey Bay.

The resort is a fantastic island resort where guests have the choice to just relax and enjoy the facilities or simply experience the natural wonders that this World Heritage Listed Island has to offer.

By the way, The earliest known name for Fraser Island was 'K'gari' in the Butchulla people's (Aboriginal) language and was pronounced 'Gurri'. which means Paradise.

According to Aboriginal legend, when humans were created and needed a place to live, the mighty god Beiral sent his messenger Yendingie with the goddess K’gari down from heaven to create the land and mountains, rivers and sea. K’gari fell in love with the earth’s beauty and did not want to leave it. So Yendingie changed her into a heavenly island today called Fraser Island.

Pics downloaded from "Images of Kingfisher Bay

Resort" on the web & The aboriginal bibliography

came from Wikipedia.

Today's name comes from Eliza Fraser, who along with her husband and others were shipwrecked on the Island, just north of here, and tried to get back to Moreton Bay in life rafts, but ended up here on this exceptionally pristine piece of wilderness.

And that's where Russell and I will be heading tomorrow.

We awoke around 0530hrs to prepare for the day ahead and had the regular 2 "Cups Of Breakfast". The morning was crystal clear. A good Omen!!! and as you can see from above, the water was silky smooth and we couldn't wait to get going.
Engine on, everything ship shape - we're off, but for the first part of the trip we will be heading into a incoming tide until we reach the bottom of the straits and then it should be plain sailing up to Garry's as mentioned before.

 

A couple of miles up the inlet we noticed that the bilge pump was continuously going off so we decided to check . . . and yes sure enough the stern gland was spouting water into the bilge every revolution of the shaft. So we decided to head back to Tin Can Bay and go into the marina to get the problem sorted out - (Problem #4).

After securing Fete in her mooring, and as it was a Sunday, and because the shipwright, Mark Parry, wouldn't be able take a look at our problem until tomorrow morning, a restful day was planned with early lunch and a couple of beverages down at the Tin Can Bay Yacht Club.

As you can see, the day was bright and warm  and we enjoyed just sitting out in the sun, chilling out & thinking of those horribly cold winters days we left back on the Gold Coast just over a week ago.
After lunch Russell decided to get the bike out and go for a ride as you can see below.

Days 8 & 9 - August 1st & 2nd

Awoke early as usual as Mark was due to inspect the damage to the "Dripless Stern Gland" at around 0730 hrs. Richard, the weekend manager of the marina had organized it yesterday with him, so all was looking good.
Dead on 0730, Mark arrived and took a look. He saw the problem straight away but its what he said that stunned me. Just by looking at the seal on the gland he said the problem was caused by "LACK OF USE" and Yes I was guilty of that.

He went and got the tools and had the job fixed(?) in just over 1/2 hour, but said that the seal needed to be replaced when we got back to the Gold Coast or when I lifted her out next. (Problem #4 Fixed)
I can't say enough about this guy for his knowledge and his friendly nature, so if you are passing thru Tin Can Bay, pop into the marina and say hi to him and Richard - in fact, everyone, including Janelle and Richard's wife that were lovely, genuine people and I surely will visit them again, but hopefully not to get work done.
Now that the seal fixed we planned to leave on the next tide around 1230 hrs tomorrow - so I decided to cook a roast for dinner and also have a nice bottle of Red, as you can see here at left.

Day 10 - August 3rd

0600hrs - Awoke to a chilly and overcast/foggy morning, as you can see from above, and the shot at right is actually the berth that we were in prior to departing - Berth C30 - the reason for this shot will become obvious soon.

Take special note of the empty berth across the way alongside to the motor-sailor and small trawler as it had a part to play in our next 10 days or so . . .

Upon leaving this berth, we were caught by wind and tide and were thrown broadside over to the other side of the marina and came into contact with the wharf and the motor-sailor. Luckily enough, Russell had tied our tender to the port side so as we wouldn't back over it.

And as you can see at left, the damaged  tender which took most of the brunt of the impact and at right, the berth where we ended up after being man handled into it with the help of some wonderful people whom I owe my sincere thanks. The repair to the tender ended up costing over $650 to fix professionally, but it was worth it. (Problem #5)

Tin Can Bay Pub

Day 11 - August 4th

Mark came by early in the day and advised us that there was a strong wind warning with storms expected for the next three days, so we decided to stay in the marina till it blows over.

Around 1630hrs I had a couple of Buddies and Russell had a couple of whiskeys and then we headed off to the local pub for dinner.

Prawn & Steer Char Grill -

Tin Can Bar Pub

Days 12 & 13 - 4th & 5th August

The next 2 days were very laid back as we couldn't do anything due to the  raging Southerly (up to 40+ knots) outside of Double Island Point, and as we had decided to head back to the Gold Coast when it abated, we would be heading straight into it. That and the fact I was a bit over all the breakages and problems encountered this trip so far seemed the best option at this stage.

Went to the pub again on both nights as the food in the restaurant is extremely good - this is the restaurant at left and a must to try.

Day 14 - Saturday 6th August

0700hrs - Finally we are told that the weather has abated and we get ready to leave. But before getting excited, I decided to check the stern gland seal again to make sure all is good. Upon Inspection I noticed that the propeller shaft was sitting out of the engine coupling and therefore we would have no propulsion, forward or reverse. (Problem #6)

Found Mark working on another boat just  down from us and asked him to have a look. Mark immediately came up to Fete and his exact words were, "You ain't going nowhere".
There were several issues here - Firstly, the travel lift here at the marina could not lift us out due to its configuration - Secondly, we needed to have a new coupling -Thirdly, the old coupling had to be sent to Brisbane to get made/replaced or whatever and that week in Brisbane there was a public holiday due to the Brisbane Show, so it looked like another week here in Tin can Bay & Finally, the replacement would have to be done while Fete was in the water. Mark assured me that this could be done, but there would be a lot of water coming into the hull.

Day 15 - Sunday 7th August

While Mark set about getting the old coupling off to Brisbane, 2 yachts that were in the Gold Coast to Kepple Island Race during that wild weather, came into port. The first yacht, Khaleesi, was dismasted up on the northern outside point of Fraser Island with an estimated $200k worth of damage. . .

 The second vessel, Bravo, we were told had a problem with a Kite or the headsail and decided it was too rough to continue - and there they are backing into their berth. And one of their crew was an old cohort from 30 odd years ago, Bruce Maizey, here at right. Nice to catch up again mate.

Mike & Ellen Preischl with Russell seated

and me up back.

Day 16 - Monday 8th August

To my surprise, I ran into Mike & Ellen over at the fuel wharf at the marina whilst getting the jerry cans filled and it was good to see them again. We last saw them in Mooloolaba so we decided to have a meal at guess where, yes the pub.

Mark came by to let us know that Rogers & Lough Engineering were trying to get the parts back to us by tomorrow but more likely Thursday due to the Holiday as mentioned before.

Day 18 - Wednesday 10th August

Yesterday was a lay day, all that happened was Russell took the bike for a ride again and then we strolled into town for some shopping.
The crew of Khaleesi were busy cleaning up the mess and getting pics for their insurance company. In the end they decided to motor the vessel back to Brisbane as their insurance company had an office there and there were more avenues to get the boat fixed while the crew returned to Sydney.

New stern gland & seal at left & coupling at right.

But today, Mark came over and told me the parts had indeed arrived last evening and he was gearing up to install them today. Before Mark sent the old coupling off to Brisbane, I told him we should also get a new stern gland and seal as well as the new coupling and as you can see here, both stern gland and coupling were replaced.

As I stated earlier, this type of job was normally done on the hard but due to the circumstances he would do it at the berth. Again his knowledge came to the forefront, when he devised an ingenious way to stop most of the water from coming in while he replaced both parts. Bloody amazing - I learnt a lot from watching and assisting him on this job. Once again Many Thanks Mark, when I am next in town we will surely enjoy a Bundy Rum or 20. (Problem #6 - Fixed)

Storms were predicted for the next 2 days so we spent them checking the engine & transmissions oils and having dinners at the pub.

Friday 12th August - We had a closer look at the weather and the tides and as the high tide would be 0400hrs tomorrow morning, we decided to get up early and head out so as we could cross the Wide Bay Bar at around 0600hrs and have a full days sailing down to Mooloolaba.
To get us ready for the trip and to avoid any problems like before, we had the marina guys raft us to an outside berth so as to give us direct access to the channel and hopefully not hit anything . . .

That's where we will leave this chapter for now, but the next blog "The trip back to the Gold Coast", will not be far away

So until next time, as always . . . Cheers