After meeting with a potential buyer for the boat on Saturday and doing some re-provisioning, Sunday offered us a sunny, light and variable day to motor up to Bribie Island in the northern end of Moreton Bay. We just got out of WMYC in time before low tide, seeing 0.3m under the keel going out of the channel. After that it was an easy 3 hour trip, Ray the autopilot behaving beautifully all the way. Bribie Island was an interesting discovery… I had been thinking ‘Island’… undeveloped, secluded, picturesque… not! Think again… anchoring not far outside the channel, which was a thoroughfare for jet skis, fishing tinnies and other pleasure craft. Add to that a densely populated island, a bridge as busy as the Westgate almost overhead and a pub with music-blaring speakers on the point and you get the idea. When using Navionics to select anchoring locations, it pays to add the satellite overlay to the maps and check out what’s going to be around you in your chosen destination! Nevertheless, it was a very pleasant night with the predicted strengthening southerly not arriving (Paige, what’s BoM up to with their weather forecasting lately?).
I managed to sleep easy all night, not checking our position once to see if we’d dragged anchor. Either I’m getting complacent or more trusting… not sure which. A good night’s sleep meant I was awake early and first up to make tea (a VERY rare event). We saw a ketch leaving at 7:30 and decided it was time to get a move on ourselves; again, needing to beat the low tide to get through the shallow sections of Skirmish Passage around the tip of Bribie. In the end it was very uneventful and we left Moreton Bay behind for a couldn’t-have-been-better cruise up the coast to Mooloolaba; initially 10-15 knots in flat seas on a fast beam reach. It was soooo nice to have the sails up and the motor off – perfect conditions for Children of Phoenix. We quickly caught up to the ketch before Caloundra Head, despite putting a reef in as the breeze picked up to 20 knots. Not wanting to get to Mooloolaba too soon after low tide, we furled the jib as well and had a comfortable armchair ride the rest of the way, still doing 6 knots speed over ground (SOG). Coming into the river was also non-eventful; we pulled in to the marina temporarily and finally picked up the replacement bean bag sent from Melbourne weeks ago. Now to find a shopping centre and some beans to fill it!
After French toast for lunch, we continued on around the bend in search of a likely anchoring spot. The state of some of the boats suggests the official ’10 day maximum stay’ rule may not be strictly applied… there are mussel farms here to rival any of the boats that don’t move out of their pens at home. There’s not a lot of swinging room, so it’s a short chain and yes, tonight I’ll be checking to make sure we don’t drag. I had been quite nervous about our first coastal expedition with just the two of us on board, so it was great to get such perfect conditions and really enjoy sailing with the motor off. It really brought home how much it’s about picking the right weather window (and having a bit of luck…). This evening, Richard’s busy investigating destinations further north and while we contemplate next steps, I’ve been putting the finishing touches to another draft website – for those of you who are interested in checking out some other types of writing I do, have a look at www.kathrynmacfarlane.com. One of the goals I set myself was that by Christmas this year, I would have earnt my first $1 from writing… I’m pleased to say that’s another item I can tick off – Apple currently owes me $2.80 for the sale of some French iBooks for children! Small steps, perhaps a small ambition, but one that has me smiling nonetheless 🙂 🙂 🙂