Great Sandy Straits

Rutea  off Kingfisher Resort

At the southern end of the 70-kilometer-long Hervey Bay, is the northern end of the Great Sandy Straits.  On one side of the Straits is the Australian mainland and on the other is Fraser Island, which, at 120 kilometers, is not only the largest sand island in the world but is also a World Heritage Site.  The island is heavily wooded but the highest place on it isn't much over 200 meters.  It's calm waters was a great way for us to get back underway as often after spending too much time at a dock we'll lose our sea legs.

After spending three nights at three different anchorages, we got up early this morning to make the passage to the southern end of the island.  Our guide books said that most of the time those who are transiting the Straits for the first time will run aground so we had spoken with as many people as we could for advice and suggestions.  The route is long enough that the tide floods and ebbs from two different directions:  In the northern half, the tide floods to the south and ebbs to the north while in the southern half it does just the opposite.  Even though the route is well marked with navigation aids it would have been difficult to make the passage without our chartplotter, which has been very accurate (although, for the first time since we've owned it, today it did show us sailing across an island - disconcerting) in which we had spent a lot of time programming in a route.

There was quite the parade of boats making the same passage at the same very early hour as everyone was watching their tide charts carefully.  We did fine although we did hold our breaths when we saw the depth get down to 3 feet of water under the keel - which is ok but we're used to having thousands of feet under our keel.  I know that people who cruise the east coast of the US will say, "What?  You had 3 feet and you were worried?  Three feet is a lot of room!" but we've been spoiled by the deep waters off the left coast.

Jellyfish in Pelican Bay

Our charts showed a good-looking anchorage at the southern end of the Straits that looked like it would make a good jump-off point for our next open-water passage.  Pelican Bay also must have look good to a lot of other cruisers as it was crowded when we got there and still more boats came in and dropped their hooks.  It didn't help that it's narrow and shallow.  There were millions of jellyfish - some the size of softballs while some were as big as basketballs and bigger.  We didn't go in the water as this is the southern edge of where the saltwater crocodiles live and they can get up to 7 meters long.  It's also the southern edge of where you might find box jellyfish whose poison can kill a person within hours of being stung.  There are lots of sharks but they seem much easier to deal with than crocs or box jellies..

We leave early tomorrow morning for Mooloolaba where we'll rendezvous with our friend Mark and our daughter, Corie.  Hopefully, it will feel good to be out on the Tasman Sea.

Bundaberg, Queensland, Australia

Downtown Bundaberg

Our arrival at Bundaberg was just as we had predicted - just after sunrise on the 9th of November we steamed up the Burnett River to the Bundaberg Port Marina.  There were several other boats waiting to clear Customs, Immigration and BioSecurity so we waited, not too patiently, for our turn.  As the marina had hosted the Port-to-Port Rally (a rally for cruising boats coming from Vanuatu or New Caledonia) there were few slips left.  Lucky for us our good friends on Dilligaf, Bill and Sue Teasdale, acted on our behalf and pestered the marina staff to get us a slip near them.  It makes life much easier to have a berth in a marina after a long passage.

We didn't waste any time in getting back into marina-mode.  The following day we took the shuttle bus the 20 kilometers into Bundaberg and got phone and internet connections.  Bundaberg reminds me of any small town in the midwest - largely surrounded by big farms (mostly sugar cane), the town has little industry that makes it unique other than the three sugar mills and the Bundaberg Distillery which makes Bundaberg Rum.  I have to admit it was kind of shocking when we stepped into the shopping mall - I knew that we weren't in Vanuatu anymore.  Expensive merchandize spilling out from the stores and crowds of people doing their Christmas shopping.  Without wasting any time, we spent more money that we should have.  We had lunch at one of the bakeries, which are similar to the ones we found in New Zealand.  They offer a wide selection of individual pies, mostly filled with meat or eggs and cheese.  I chose one filled with camel meat, which I had never eaten before.  There was no difference between that and beef, as far as I could tell.

That night the rally sponsors hosted a barbeque.  In a large meadow just across the street from the marina, we could see kangaroos grazing so Ruthie and I walked over there and watched them for a while.  There was no irony lost on us as we returned to the barbeque and ate - guess what?  Kangaroo meat!

We rented a car to run some errands and I was hoping that I could play the part of Mel Gibson in Mad Max.  Alas, I was driving an old beat up Camry instead of a super-charged muscle car and wearing a t-shirt and flip-flops instead of heavy boots and thick leathers.  Also, the coast here is nothing like the Australian outback and I don't look like Mel Gibson.  Well, maybe I do a little bit . . . 

The days of boat projects (mostly cleaning) passed quickly amongst our discussions of where we go next.  The Bundaberg Port Marina is hardly a place anyone would want to stay as it's kind of stuck out in the middle of nowhere.  On Thursday, Corie left with Mark on Merkava in search of surf and more interesting points south.  We sent our anchor and chain in to be re-galvanized so we're stuck until it gets back.  Tonight is the final rally event, a Big Dinner for all participants and it should be interesting as there's some intense thunderstorms brewing.

The Australians we've met have been very friendly even though they talk funny and drive on the wrong side of the road.  People give the impression that they're interested in us and our travels which is flattering.  On more than one occasion people have gone out of their way to help.  It will be interesting to see if that attitude changes as we migrate to the larger towns and cities.  Weather permitting, we should leave here sometime next week.

80 Miles to Bundaberg

With the end of this passage in sight, we're now getting antsy to get in. Of course, now the wind lightens up and the seas are running a moderate 2 meter swell - enough to keep Rutea rolling from side to side and everything that's not tied down inside the boat is in a constant state of motion. We're running Dead Down Wind (DDW) which is not our favorite point of sail and the genoa fills and collapses even with the pole out. Regardless, our spirits are high as we anticipate the arrival in yet another new country. Of course, high on the list of Things To Do is to go out for a meal. We've been warned that Australian BioSecurity will confiscate most of our food on board so we provisioned with that in mind. Therefore, most of Rutea's lockers are sparsely filled and her refrigerator, which is normally well-stocked, looks rather sad. We shut down and emptied our freezer altogether.

The sky is overcast and there are occasional showers. Right now, we're crossing the shipping lanes and the freighter traffic is high. Fortunately, we see them all well in advance on our chartplotter as all of them transmit Automatic Identification Service (AIS) signals which tells us the name, position, course, speed and other things about the ship. We transmit our information as well. It takes a lot of anxiety out of a common fear for many cruising sailors. There was a story about a ship that had a sailboat's mast and rigging hanging off it's anchor when it pulled into port and it never knew how it got there. That won't happen to us.

Our chartplotter says 13 hours, 11 minutes until we're in port. Good on ya, mate.
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At 11/7/2012 7:02 AM (utc) Rutea's position was 22°13.00'S 155°37.00'E

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Vanuatu to Australia

I'm not sure what day this is. I know that it's November 7 (on this side of the Date Line) but I'm not sure how to describe it in terms of our passage from Vanuatu to Australia. We spent 3 (or was it 4?) days at Chesterfield Reef and we left there two days ago. Our destination of Bundaberg, Queensland, is 230 nautical miles from where we are right now.

The day started off with a good scare from our electronics - the circuit breaker for the autopilot tripped and took out all our sailing instruments. Then I got pooped on by a big wave and has I was hoisting the spinnaker pole, it came off the stud and came crashing onto the deck. Luckily, no one was hurt - not even the deck.

But the afternoon mellowed out, the seas flattened and we started making some good time. Now that it's evening, the wind is picking back up as it so often does. I just furled the mizzen and I'm about to tuck a reef into the main. Corie's cooking spaghetti and meatballs for dinner, then we'll settle in for our routine of night watches.

All is well aboard Rutea.
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At 11/7/2012 7:02 AM (utc) Rutea's position was 22°13.00'S 155°37.00'E

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Off to OZ

Hey folks, Corie here. Just thought I'd let you know that we are finally en route to Australia, although we (I) considered taking up residence at Chesterfield Reef. The wind is 14 knots on the beam, the seas have calmed down to a meter or two and we are making good time. If all goes to plan, we will arrive in OZ on (our) Friday morning. And as tomorrow (today?) is election day, get out there and vote for Obama!
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At 11/4/2012 8:48 AM (utc) Rutea's position was 19°52.96'S 158°27.87'E

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Stuck In The Middle With.....

Well, we're not REALLY stuck, but we are having a hard time leaving! However, we ARE in the middle of nowhere, albeit the Coral Sea, with nothing around but shades of blue for hundreds of miles in any direction! We're here with three other boats (two of them are leaving today) and our snorkel gear, dive tanks, books, crosswords, boat projects (yes boat projects even out in the middle of nowhere) and our rapidly diminishing supply of fresh food!

Corie and Mark have been exploring and charting the lagoon by dinghy. They have discovered two thriving coral heads (bomies) about a hundred feet tall. Imagine a hundred foot wall of coral which sinks in to a midnight blue and rises to an aqua hue one foot below the surface of the water. Out of the midnight blue curious sharks swim upwards towards curious snorkelers (me) which then makes me feel less than curious and my heart goes pitter patter! Of course Corie and Mark see the sharks and free dive down forty feet to greet and photograph them and fortunately, that seems to make the sharks feel less than curious and they dart back down into the midnight blue! My area of preference for exploring is the coral surrounded by the aqua water near the surface which is spotlit by sunlight on coral exploding with all of the colors of the rainbow! Red, Orange, Purple, Violet, Green, Blue. It's like swimming over a flower garden in full bloom! There are sea fans, soft corals, hard corals, clams with luminous lips, fish with psychedelic patterns and, oh yeah.... snakes! I have never seen so many snakes on land as I saw in the water over this coral head which Mark named Romancing the Snake and Corie named Snake Charmer! There were long black snakes which slept curled up on the bottom and arose for a sip of air every so often, silver snakes which wound around coral pieces never seeming to need a sip of air and purple snakes which snaked in and out of coral holes and peered at us with small beady eyes. Snakes in the water on/in beautiful coral heads do not look any more cute or charming than snakes on land.

Today we will put two more coats of Teak Guard on the cap rail and hatch covers so we don't arrive in Oz looking like the Beverly Hillbillies. We will bid good-by to Dilligaf and our new Hungarian friends Nellie and Joseph on Epiphany and promise to rendezvous with them in Bundy. Then we await the arrival of our friends on Mystic who expect to arrive tonight, and we will try to guide them in to an anchoring spot after sundown (a real No-No)! Another snorkel and reef exploration or maybe another walk around the islet to photograph more boobies (you name it- red footed, blue footed, yellow footed) and we will unstick ourselves and prepare to leave here by Tuesday for a Friday arrival in Australia. Our weather window is good until the end of the week but I am going to prepare some passage meals just in case "they" didn't mention how rolly it is going to be out there. And then, Oz..... I guess we are off to see the wizard....

R of Rutea
19:52.96 South
158:27.87 East
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At 10/31/2012 9:02 PM (utc) Rutea's position was 19°52.96'S 158°27.87'E

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Chesterfield Reef Still

After two days of snorkeling, crossword puzzles, sleeping, etc, I felt like I needed to get something done. It didn't take long for the obvious answer to rear it's ugly head as our teak cap rail looks like it's been ignored for years. In truth, we had sanded it down to bare wood and coated it with Lingol Teak Guard only last May but the finish was gone from most of the rail and what was left was peeling off in thin, wispy threads.

The irony was not lost on me: Here we were in this remote paradise, the clear water with over 100' visibility, the birds careening overhead, the sun beating down and I've got the generator running with the power sander making the entire anchorage sound like a boat yard in any city. I worked as fast as I could but it's still a time-consuming project. Ruthie did the hand sanding where the power sander couldn't reach. Corie helped for a while but opted to go diving with Mark on Merkava as that was more fun.

Ruthie and I took a break and jumped in the water with our masks, snorkels and fins on. I followed our anchor chain but most of it was buried deep in the soft sand - I never did see our anchor. The wind was almost nonexistent and that improved the water visibility even more. If this place wasn't so remote, it would be a diving mecca.

All of us had been invited over to Epiphany, a Benetau 46, for cocktails in the evening. Joe and Nellie are Hungarian, in their mid-30s and very charming - we warmed to them immediately. They offered scotch as they had bought a case of it while in Gibraltar for US$1.00/bottle - and they don't even drink scotch!
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At 10/31/2012 9:02 PM (utc) Rutea's position was 19°52.96'S 158°27.87'E

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