Green water and a tough night

27/28th Aug 2010


The weather decision to go was a close call. The forecast suggested a tough start with improving conditions which would turn again shortly after our planned arrival. So waiting until the 09:15 update, I made the ‘D’ to go and we were off at about 09:30. The other aspect of the later departure was that I needed to accommodate the ETA variability between a good run of 6 kts and a bad run of 4 kts and the desire for a daylight arrival.

As expected , we set off into a 15+ kts head wind right on track. The seas had already had a couple of wind blown days so we immediately started plowing the nose and taking green water over the deck every 10 or 20 waves. These events not only put strain on the boat and crew, but tended to wash off speed to around 3 kts whereupon the sails and the engine would slowly take charge again and push us back up to 5 kts +. With the wind on track we were also forced to lay off some 30 degrees or so to get some lift in the sail and this further reduces the VMG (velocity made good on course) by around 15%, turning 5 kts into just over 4 kts. Still. the plan was for things to improve by midday so until then we just had to ‘hang in’.

At about 15:00 I was pretty convinced the improvement was not going to happen and as things worked out, but for about an hour where 15kts dropped to 12kts; we suffered this weather all night long. In fact, at sundown I knew we were in for a long tough night! Even so, working the 2 hrs watch system after dark, things were reasonable with some chance of a cat nap now and then but with crashes, bashes, water coming through the vents and hatch covers and a transitory electrical problem, I cannot say it was the best night of my life.

As said, we were taking half meter deep solid green water all over the foredeck from time to time and during these events, the Dorado (air) vents and the double combing hatches could not possibly hope to keep out the water that was hitting them with considerable pressure and volume. This meant wet bedding in the forward cabin and drips in the front area of the main cabin. Now none of this was in any way threatening of course but it certainly does adds to the discomfort. Such are the joys of sailing!

When finally the sun rose to a grey day and after a further 4 hours of pushing weather, we at long last hove into sight of Airlie and started feelingjust a little pleased with our effort. On arrival we anchored just outside the marina for a while ( can’t get there early or they charge another day), had a snack and started the cleanup and dry out tasks. When we did move to the marina berth, just on arrival we suffered a tacho failure which was of little concern but somehow seemed to cap off the night nicely.

We plan to stay here a day or so and let some real winds pass and of course – I’ll sort out the electrics and the tacho. Who wouldn’t own a boat!

ps: the photo is a file shot  as I was a little busy for photogaphy on the night

Full moon and smooth seas

24th Aug 2010


After waiting for a good weather window for the last few days, we left Cairns pre dawn and were in the leads outbound by 06:00. The expectation was for some headwind initially with a reduction as the day went on and this is pretty much how it turned out so we had a really good day, albeit under motor, in reducing winds and calming seas.

With the Raymarine auto helm and the Yanmar working well all day (note Paul's hard working posture left) we made surprisingly good progress to Maroulyan so it was at this point that I enacted my previously but confidential determined plan to push on to Magnetic some 90 kn away. This meant an all night sail but given the great conditions and a full moon this did not seem too much of a challenge. After dark I set up a two hour watch system which worked well and all in all the night passed quickly but for the occasional traffic issues.

On two occasions we had conflicting ‘heavy; traffic as we were in the shipping route but in both instances, the ‘heavies’ altered course to give us room so that was nice and , I suspect, was something to do with the fancy AIS kit Pilgrim has – money well spent maybe.

Originally we had an arrival time at Magnetic of around midday but as things worked out we soon brought this back to just after dawn. With the sun rising to a beautiful day and the anchorage in sight, the effort of the last night soon drifted away. Once at anchor I did some clean up and ‘post flight’ stuff and the after a deck shower – hit the sack for a beaut sleep to about 11:00.

We had escape the far north trades!

“Pilgrim, this is Warship Melville, do you read?”

20th Aug 2010

Up at 05:00 and underway by 06:00 we motored out of Low Isle in calm conditions and waited for the sun to rise. The trip was largely uneventful as conditions were ideal for driving south but on arrival we were faced with a low tide at Cairns and, as it turned out, traffic in the form of the Navy Vessel HMAS Melville, a 2550 tonnes hydrographical ship.

We saw it coming up the channel behind us so it was little surprise when I heard the call on VHF “ Sailing Vessel Pilgrim, this is Warship Melville, may we pass you on your starboard side?”. You see we had right of way being the overtaken vessel but what was I to say?

We will sit here and wait for the next weather window before heading off back to magnetic Island but in any case I have a number of jobs including a periodic service on the engine, a task that will be simple second time around but tough this first time as I will be doing it myself. At this stage, I expect to replenish fod, fuel, water gas etc and will probably hit the road Monday.

A hard slog

19th Aug 2010


After watching the weather every couple of hours for the last few days, it has becoming clear that if we head to Lizard, we risk the potential of being stuck there for a week to 10 days. This of course would be less than fun as the anchorage is subject to significant bullets (intense wind gusts) and is without any supplies or services as the resort is completely off limits for grotty Yachties . This has led me to the ‘D’ to wait the opportunity and head south and that opportunity looks like today.

Heading off at dawn, we pushed out into 15-20 knot headwinds right in the nose. This had us motoring with about a 30o track offset to keep the main sail loaded and making only 3.5 knots. With 63 Nm to go this would result in 18 hrs of driving into wind and swell but the good news was that the forecast was for the wind to drop off as the day progressed and we travelled south and this is how things worked out. By about 13:00, the seas had settled quite a bit and the Yanmar was humming beautifully giving us around 5 kts and an ETA of sometime around 20:30 at low Isles.

Now going anywhere at 3.5 kts is a slow and arduous affair but becomes even more painful when a large ship ( or several in our case) travels past at some 14 kts with thousands of HP pushing it through all in its way. Even the flotsam that predominates this area, appears to be travelling faster than us!

Anyway, it all worked out probably better that I expected so all that was left was a night arrival in the crowded anchorage. This was tight, as anticipated and therefore didn’t really work out perfectly but I was too tired to move and thought I would worry about things later when the tide changed. This meant setting a 12:30 alarm and spending an hour or so on deck watching the swing on tide changes but all was well so I went back to the cabin, resigned to what we had.

Another day in Cooktown

15th Aug 2010

With light winds forecast I elected to stay in Cooktown for today rather than burn fuel getting to Lizard. The winds tomorrow will be much more favourable - for going North.

Now here is the issue – going South is very wind dependent as unlike north bound tracks which are well suited to the Trade winds, heading home is a constant battle against the very thing that has gotten us here. These trades are meant to ease sometime soon but the more North one is the later this happens so there lies the conundrum. The way the weather looks now, we will likely be stuck at Lizard for a couple of days then we will go for a run back here. If we were to go further North ( and I really did want to get to the Tip of Cape York) the deeper this conundrum becomes. All a bit disappointing (as retreat is not one of my strong points) but at the same time, I believe a prudent call as things stand. Now, I did say I’d offer some explanation on this turn around decision so here it is:

The original plan was a very grand one with an Australian circumnavigation in mind. To be honest, soon after starting this trip it became clear that a bigger boat was needed for a trip of this magnitude as the extra size adds a few precious knots to cruise speed, increased tolerance to sea and swell and a considerable increase in carrying capacity, allowing for more stores and hence longer duration of autonomy. The other thing I would need, is at least two fully competent crew, to man a 24hrs watch cycle. Other factors are ‘home front’ specific. Without detail, suffice it to say that a number of domestic dimensions are stating to bite so put all this together and you have the rationale.

Still the trip home, while likely to be a little tough, will be made that little bit easier by the experience and expertise we have gain thus far so I plan to enjoy the return as much as the outbound adventure and will keep up the blog accordingly.

Anyway, maybe I’ll get another shot at this in the future – we’ll see!

Capt Cook and Cooktown

14th Aug 2010

With a plan to make either Hope Island or get all the way to Cooktown, we left early just as the sun was rising at 06:15. The wind was lighter than yesterday so we started out motor/sailing in order to keep a speed required to give us a chance at Cooktown and as things turned out, we motored pretty much all the way. Even so, it was a good trip with an opportunity to make pancakes for morning tea and the additional plus of a couple of wildlife sightings.

Enroute we saw a whale and calf playing in the ‘near shore’ areas around Cape Tribulation and shortly after we noted a basking shark drift by on the surface. So a ‘critter’ rich trip but the other thing of interest here is the proximity of the main shipping channel to the shore as shown in the photo right. It does look odd to see a big ship well inshore of us and extremely close to the beach but that’s the nature of this part of the reef, as is the predominance of Capt Cook features.

For example, Cape Tribulation, Cook named because, as he said in his journal, “It was north of this point that our troubles began”. He was right of course as just north is Endeavour Reef, the one he hit in 1770 and almost lost the ship. Recall we had Hope Island as a potential destination – well these are just little further north of Endeavour reef and it was here that Cook decided that as the pumps were finally keeping up to the leaks then that had cause for Hope. And so it goes on with Cooktown, on the Endeavour River; being the location of Capt Cook’s 48 days of repairs to Endeavour.

Entering Cooktown, I was surprised at how tight things were. This is after all just a small river with not too much water of places to anchor. Our first attempt found us in about 30 mm of water so we moved to a deeper spot in a neat line with four other boats. Once settled we had a walk through town (the photo is not mine) and back to the boat for dinner.

An unexpected paradise

13th Aug 2010
Leaving harbour at 07:30 we motored some 3 miles along the leads to find deep water then turned north. The trip was uneventful with good wind and good conditions but for annoying quartering seas that, for Pilgrim, tends to result in an occasional undamped rolling motion. Even so, the good sailing condition gave us a sound 5 kts + average all day.

While Low Isles was the planned destination, I really hadn’t developed any expectation as to just what this place was like. On arrival then, we were more than surprised to find a beautiful little Paradise as good as any we had experienced to date. Made up of a low coral caye and a couple of pimples of land, this place has a light house, a couple of ‘Parks and Wildlife buildings, and absolutely great sand and coral. It is also a sanctuary so this fish life was abundant. The anchorage, behind the cay is snug and as such already had a number of cruising boats and a fleet of fishing boats although these were later to disappear sometime during the night.

As we dropped anchor and got the dingy in the water, we were met by a turtle and a very large fish (wrasse I think). Later, while snorkelling off the beach and admiring the fish life, a sizable shark drifted casually past me, a completely non threatening but none the less noteworthy event to be sure. Once back on the boat we had a completely pleasant night which include good phone contact – always a plus in this environment.

Further North maybe South

12th Aug 2010


After a long stop over at Cairns we will be setting off tomorrow for places further North. The reason for the stop included repairs that needed parts (we had to wait for these of course) and poor timing on the weather as the last few days have been somewhat ‘sub-optimal’. None the less, the rest was good but as ever, we a chaffing at the bit.

Up North is Cooktown, Lizard island and then the Cape; a stretch that promises to be “without much for the cruising sailor” to quote our cruising guide. The other issue with this part of the leg is that this stretch is well know for its persistent Trades Winds so for South bound sailors this is a real drag. South bound you say?? Yep, sad to say but there are things brewing and things that already are, that will likely se us turn around before too much longer – I’ll let you know.

Cairns

06th Aug 2010

A simple trip around Cape Grafton and though the entrance channel to Cairns soon had us snug in the Marina just after midday. Apart from the very shallow water all around here (only about 1m mostly) Cairns appeared pretty much as expected in that it is a shinny tourist spot full of places to spend money and equally full of international tourist.

The plan here is to vote, do some repairs, plan ahead and generally rest up so there will be little to report for a few days.

Wack!

05th Aug 2010

Wack! That was the sound of something very big hitting the lures so hard that it pulled the trace out of its crimp. This happen about 3 hours after leaving Mourilyan Harbour enroute for Mission Bay. We lost the fish of course but the good news is, we did land a good one after a little while longer but more on that in a moment.

After a great nights sleep, helped along by afternoon drinks in the cockpit with Greg and Alan, our colleagues from BANJERIN, we weighed anchor at 07:00 and soon found the same westerly as yesterday. Sailing at 6 kts with the grey skies clearing, Banjerin, who had left just ahead of us, called VHF and asked if we were trolling as they had already landed two good Mackerels. Of course the line was out in a flash but little happened for some time, we had obviously missed the school as all was quite. Quite until the big hand reel with wire trace and 100lb line, leaped in the air. On catching the airborne item the line went taut and – wack, gone! On retrieval we found the remnants of the rig and it was clear that a lot of force was required to strip the crimp. What ever it was, it was big! The next strike was smaller but failed to hook up. However, about 30 mins later, we knew we had something but judging from the fight it wasn’t big. Wrong again! As the 70cm mackerel hit the surface, all hell broke loose as it struggled to get free. Flinging it into the cockpit, the frenzy continued until Paul got the knife to its head but by this we had quite a mess on the boat. Still, a small price though for at least 4 good meals.

Just prior to arriving at Fitzroy Island, we had a momentary diversion as the alternator went into ‘overvolt’ but it settles after a non specific look the wiring. I can only hope it was an aberration but I’ll check more thoroughly at Cairns.

As for the Island, a nice enough place though small, as is THE near new (unlicensed?) resort located here. After a brief look around we returned to the boat for some reading. It was during this time, while in the cockpit, that I was disturbed by a very large splash about 50m from the boat. Not a fish, more dolphin sized but not a dolphin. The water left by the splash was a swirl of wash about 2 to 3 m in diameter. Shortly after, while still looking at the swirl settle, I saw what looked like a croc’s back. I can’t be sure but thats the facts! I think tonight will include a little listening for things that go ‘bump in the night’.

Can’t do Kent!

04th Aug 2010

As explained, we needed to leave Hinchinbrook before 06:00 in order to have enough depth to get out of the marina. As it was we saw '0' on the sounder a couple of times but did not touch bottom. Once clear we were surprised by a fresh and cold ‘land breeze’ that pushed us along under full sail at over 6 kts. This was a completely local effect as the forecast was still with S/SE so as expected, it died off after about 2 hours. Still, a good start to the day and one that gave us perhaps the most spectacular sunrise to date.

With the motor running again to assist the sails we drifted past Dunk Island and Mission Beach. Both these, in fact the entire area, seemed really appealing so I made a point to return one day and have a look around.

Now our target for the day was a little island called Kent. We had read about this in another cruising book we have on board and while ‘Lucas’ listed it as a good weather only anchorage, we expected just that! On arrival what we found was indeed and idyllic little island much like the type you might see in a cartoon. Perfect vegetation, golden sand and complete isolation. Unfortunately it was simply too small to offer any protection at all from either wind or swell so reluctantly we pushed north to Mourilyan Harbour.

As you can see from the photo, the entrance is very tight thus affording this place an “all weather’ status A small commercial port dedicated to sugar, here will be our snug little hide away for the night..

Architects and crocodiles

03rd Aug 2010


After a good day we are now in a marina at Port Hinchinbrook not far from Cardwell. As ‘flash’ as things are, this is a place that has obviously been conceived in the mind of an architect and sadly, it doesn’t work! The marina is half empty, it is ridiculously shallow (we had 400 mm at high tide) and most of the ‘condos like’ houses are up for sale. But there is more!!

Needing some groceries, I was advised to walk to Cardwell via the coast walk, also designed by an architect. This is a narrow, low walkway that treks right through the mangroves, between the marshes and the shore. Obviously crocodile territory to anyone but the architect that designed it!. I don’t know if they have lost any tourist but I was most certainly on high alert as the sun was low and ( I felt) the threat level was approaching extreme. Don’t you love the idealist arty type who haven’t got a clue? But lets go back to the start if the day.

After a calm and still evening as discussed in the last blog, I woke around 03:00 with the wind building rapidly. This was in the forecast but I did not expect either the time or the rapidity of the onset. The outcome of this change found us tugging at the anchor with what sounded like ‘dragging anchor chain’ running across and over coral mounds. The ride in Pilgrim was very turbulent with sever rolling when we were driven across the swell and noisy pitching when facing into the blow. Now none of this was in any way dangerous or threatening, just bloody uncomfortable. But, with that said, while forward checking the anchor security, I all but fell over board on a particularly bad roll. Image that; falling into the dark mid night water in 25 kts of wind in my PJ shorts.

Because of tides we delayed our departure to 10:00 as we needed depth into Hinchinbrook entrance and the speed advantage of a flood tide was worth waiting for. On arrival the first thing of note was the ‘Sugar Wharf’ at Lucinda. This is an amazing sight at 5 km in length. In fact this thing is so big ,one struggles to get the perspective right. (see left)

On entering the Hinchinbrook Passage, both Paul and I were amazed by the spectacle. This is a unique place where a person can sail in amongst the great dividing range. Hills to almost 1000m and channels as wide as Sydney Harbour give you an idea of the scale of this place. The passage up the channel was really special with views that just wouldn’t quite.

Another plus is that the passage is well marked  as shown at left.  Even so, we did think the port marker in amongst the trees was just a tad redundant given that to go the wrong side of it would probably require a land drover. And that brings me back to the crocodiles!ack to the crocodiles!

Tomorrow is and early departure as we simply will not get out on much less than a high tide – This, I am told , is not the architects fault but is a result of some Government Environmental git exerting their authority. Save me!

Orpheus Island

02nd Aug 2010

We woke to a cloudy by generally fine day with little wind. Leaving Magnetic about 07:45 we motored and then motor/sailed uneventfully, all the way to Orpheus island, north of the Palm Group. The main island of this group is of course Palm Island, a big place’ dedicated to the Aboriginal community on its west side. While it has a number of good anchorages, landing on Palm is not permitted so the recommendation we were following was to go to Orpheus which is all national park and boast a marine research station belonging to James Cook University.

On arrival we dropped in quite deep water (11m) to avoid the coral reefs along the shore and though this meant putting out every bit of anchor cable on the boat, I was confident that we were secure. The only problem here is the possibility of damaging the coral with so much chain but there seems little option.

Although there were some boats slightly north of us, we had this spot to ourselves so it was all ours to enjoy the crystal clear water and a general vista was top class. The sea was glassy and the afternoon was near perfect so this was already on the records as another great spot!

Shortly after settling in, a small runabout from the research station came over for a G’Aye. After a time, it came up that my sweet daughter Brianna (PhD) was into marine research and it turned out that one of the folks knew of her through a mutual colleague – small world. With that we were invited to come over and have a tour of the place at our pleasure. This we did, as the photo show and then proceeded back to Pilgrim for a spot of fishing before dinner (I don’t think this is a sanctuary??). This, in fact, turned out to be successful endeavour with me quickly landing a very good sized Mangrove Jack which was soon cleaned and in the fridge as I Paul had already prepared dinner.

Tomorrow will be a late, so easy, start as I need to get the tides right for both the entry and course through the Hinchinbrook passage. Once there we have a bout a 20 nm trip inside what Lucas describes as one of the best inland routes in Australia. This will take us up near Cardwell for the night and then its onto Kent Island the next day.

Magnetic Island

01st  Aug 2010

Today has reaffirmed my view on this magnificent place; yes, we decided to stay!

After a relaxed breakfast we headed for the beach where I left Paul while I set off to explore the island. Walking in relatively warm and humid conditions for a guy from Sydney, I spent around 4 hours investigating the bays on the NE of the Island and some of the WWII sites.

Starting at Horseshoe Bay I walked to both Florence and Arthur Bays. Both, beautiful little hidden away paradises with a handful of swimmers enjoying the pristine water. The shot above left is looking over Arthur bay towards to North but fails to really capture the magnificence of the day. Perhaps a better view was the next, taken from one of the forts higher up the island. These were WWII emplacements associated with guns , Radar and searchlights and a body of some 120 troops – great posting!

Walking on further I came to a lookout that provided a view back Townsville across Cleveland Bay which shows the snug maritime geography of both Townsville and Magnetic. Being Sunday and a near perfect one at that, the heavy boat traffic between the mainland and Maggie was not surprising.

In fact, the sea all around the isalnd was near perfect with a deep blue colour, calm and glimmering conditions and a general appearance that might lead one to forget just how horrid the sea can become on a BAD DAY,

Apart from views and forts, this treasure of a place has wild life in abundance. In fact, Koalas can be found in vast number ( see shot at right) as can Dugongs but these are much harder to see. (remember to double click the photos for larger images)

On return to Horseshoe, hot tired but thoroughly fulfilled I had a swim, spent time in my latest book (over a white wine) and finally returned to the boat to a sunset that was in keeping with the rest of the day.

While we could easily stay here a while, we must move on so tomorrow should see us up anchor around 07:00 as we head off to what ever it is that may lay ahead.