Blog Seven: Queensland Hinterland & The Whitsundays

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Blog Seven: Queensland & Cruising the Whitsundays
We rolled into Byron Bay just in time for Michael to jump in the water and surf for the afternoon, giving June time to walk the endless beach. Byron Bay, a super long point break, was not epic, but still breaking at around 4-5 ft., a bit crowded, but able to enjoy several rides, one being from (the pass) and extending all the way to the inside of the bay - one of the longest rides Michael has experienced - maybe even a bit longer than Scorpion Bay (sorry Ricardo). With the swell dropping, and knowing that the Gold Coast and Brisbane were to our north, we turned inland from the coast (that's west here) to the Hinterland.
We were surprised to be back in the forest within only a few kilometers from the beach. Windy roads, small villages, fruit stands (bananas, pineapples, and avocados-sweet!), and a whole lot of forest was a welcoming change from the yuppie, coastal surf scene of Byron Bay and Noosa. First stop, Springbrook, a very cool National Park. We took a hike, one of our favorites of the trip, up to and under three waterfalls, passing under sheer cliffs and boulders, with endless look-out views all the way to the Gold Coast and beyond. From there, we took back mountainous roads, winding our way north to Mt. Tambourine. an artsy hamlet deep in the forest. The Hinterland sure was a breath of fresh air.
Overnighting at a couple of beach towns on our way to Airlie beach, the Bareboating book emerged from its hiding place and became our main reading material---the anticipation of our chartering intensified (yes, we'll admit, we're cramming). Then the big night finally arrived - boarding our home for the week - "Much Karma". We hoped that the name could help carry us through the five and a half hour briefing and test the next morning. At 1:30, after successfully anchoring off the Abel Point Marina, we waved good-bye to our briefer and throttled up toward the Whitsunday islands by ourselves.
Friends and Family, Friends and Family, Friends and Family this is Much Karma, March Karma, Much Karma on Channel 81, do you read me? Heading inside Pioneer Rocks and across the Molle Channel where the winds are picking up, then heading east across Whitsundy Passage into our possible overnight anchorage in Cid Harbour. Over and out. Captain's Log June 25th - Day One - 13:30 hours Tricky navigation through "unsafe passage" - what a way to start! Turned east entering Whitsunday Channel with 30 knot winds and 3 meter (9 foot) swells! What have we gotten ourselves into? We white-knuckled the Passage and breathed a sigh of relief as we were afforded the protection from Cid Island into the Harbour and set down our first anchor at Sawmill Bay. High-fived the first mate and settled in for a windy, but safe, first night.

June 26th - Day Two - 08:00 hours After hearing the morning weather report issuing a "strong wind warning" of 25-30 knot south-easterlie winds and 2 1/2-3 meter swells (our research indicated only a 1% chance of strong winds in the months of June & July - and its recorded as the coldest winter in 40 years - oh well so much for statistics), our planned course through Hook Passage and south to the much anticipated Whitehaven Beach was left on the back burner for now. All charter boats were limited to stay on the west side of the islands. Recharted and navigated a course to Nara Inlet. Left with the ebbing tide and following seas that made for a bit of a smoother ride than yesterday. Approached Nara Inlet with caution due to the strong currrents, eddies, and high winds as we entered between Proud Rock and the coral reef - here we go again... Thanks to the GPS, tide tables, and a little bit of luck we motored a mile into the Inlet before finding refuge at our anchorage. Arriving in the early afternoon, we had time to explore the inlet in our skiff between rain squalls, before throwing shrimp on the barbie. Laying awake at night, we tried to familiarize ourselves with the noises of Much Karma - which ones are of concern and which aren't - the pulling of the anchor when the wind "bullets" (intense wind gusts in excess of 40 kts.) hit, the slapping of the waves under the stern swim step, the skiff asking to come aboard - knocking against the side of Much Karma as she bounced around, and her general creaks and groans. Checked anchor at 23:00 hours and at 02:00 hours, and tried to grab a few winks in between. Much Karma was as uncomfortable throughtout the night as we were, but the three of us awoke unscathed.

June 27th - Day Three - 08:00 hours weather forecast - same as yesterday - and predicting so for at least the next 3 days. Now we really needed to make adjustments to our itinerary - scrutinized the chart and considered options - heading north.... when attempting to pull up anchor to depart Nara, we found it was fouled. We had to work the windlass up and down and the boat foward and side to side to get it to finally release. Never a dull moment on this trip. Making our way north to Stonehaven, we moored for lunch, soon to find out we were rocking and rolling (and it wasn't to Santana), so we tried a couple of anchorages along the protected beaches, but had no success. Had to return to the mooring for a "swelly" night as the "bullets" hit, like a freight train blastin' past the boat. Once again, not a lot of sleep was had.

June 28th - Day Four - 10:00 hours decided to push north to find a more protected bay on the northern tip of Hook Island - Butterfly Bay. Picked up a mooring at the entrance to the bay (since all inside moorings were occupied). The security of being moored was comforting, yet our location still left us suseptable to incoming swells and "bullets" coming down off the mountain peaks. A lovely location, however, steep slopes on both sides covered with a dense evergreen forest and sheer rock outcroppings. With a short break from the clouds and the rain, we threw on our wetsuits (brrr..the water was much colder than expected), and jumped in for a snorkel...very surprised and impressed with the quality, diversity, and health of the shallow coral reef. Nice to get a hot shower back on Much Karma, before the expected gusty and rollin' night - lack of sleep is building up.

June 29th - Day Five Wishing Pat a happy birthday!!! Our last chance to sneak around the northern end of Hook Island and drop down to the eastern beaches was once again squelched by the morning weather forecast --- a broken record - "strong wind warning", 25-30 knots. Disappointment set in with the first mate (June) as she realized she would not get to see Whitehaven Beach - bummer! We had to turn-tail and retrace our course south to our potential destination - Macona Inlet. Once again, three hour journey riddled with strong winds and swelly seas. The beauty of the islands, water, and vistas somehow balanced out the rocky journey until we hit the washing machine at the entrance to Macona. Weathered the onslaught and found a fairly quiet bay, tucked out of the swell, which made for a smoother anchorage. Explored in the dinghy, spotting two four-foot turtles, and actually able to enjoy a bit of sunshine for lunch. The calm was short-lived as the "bullets" began once again to strike in the middle of the night - ripping one of our bridle snubbers to an unusable condition. Awake again.

June 30th - Day Six - 09:00 hours Weather report: 25-30 knot winds, 3 meter seas, leaving us with few options - back to Cid Harbour to hopefully find a reprieve from the more exposed anchorages of the north - good choice - our afternoon and evening was more peaceful and calm. A little jaunt in the dinghy before the afternoon downpour (at least our timing was right on this one).

July 1st - Day Seven - 08:00 hours Braced ourselves for the Whitsundaty Passage crossing to our final anchorage -Happy Bay. Anticipated it would be a fairly rough one because of conflicting tidal movements and wind direction - Bingo. Course had to be altered enroute to keep the nine-foot swells from hitting us directly abeam. Up and down, back and forth, we jostled renaming Much Karma -"Much Bobber". Some very tense moments in making slow and steady progress. Once moored at the Long Island Resort off of Happy Bay, we went for a hike and felt the firm ground beneath our feet although we were still rockin' and rollin'. Experienced a touch of civilization that evening. Took our dinghy over to the resort, had a drink, and listened to some live music. Quite a change.

July 2nd - Day Eight - 07:00 hours Set course for the final two hour leg back to Abel Point Marina. The wind and tides were on our side making this a smoother ride back to the barn. As I reflect... would I change the challenging experience that it was for calm weather, easy motoring, and access to the eastern beaches? Ya know, probably not. As the saying goes, "it's easy to captain a boat in calm seas". The stormy weather, intense crossings, tricky anchoring, and constant vigilance is what made it the adventure that it was.
Friends and Family, Friends and Family, Friends and Family this is Much Karma, Much Karma, Much Karma on Channel 74, do you copy? We are safely docked at Abel Point Marina. Winds have subsided and the sun is out - looks like a great day to go boating.... however we have a reservation with our campervan. Cheers. Over and out.

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