By Adrian
On the Gold Coast, the Hope Island marina gave us a base for a few days to catch up with friends and family in the area before heading north. At the end of longer or overnight passages we have booked marina’s to avoid the stress of finding safe anchorage in the dark after an exhausting trip. Anchorages are invariably more peaceful, beautiful and enjoyable so we expect less marina visits as we head North.
From the Gold Coast there are a number of narrow, shallow channels snaking their way North to Moreton Bay and Brisbane. Navigating them just before high tide can help avoid a long and embarrassing wait on the sand for the next high tide to float you off. We nudged the sandy bottom at the shallowest point, but otherwise kept water under the keel.
An electrical fault that shut down the auto helm, chart plotter, GPS, fridges etc reminded us how much we rely on the boats electrical system. We purchased some additional fuses in Brisbane.
We spent a night on anchor at Peel Island in Moreton Bay where I expected a narrow sheltered cove. On closer inspection of the chart, the cove was under water except at low tide (see photo), so it was more like an open water anchorage and we were thankful for light winds. Manly marina gave us a convenient base to spend a day off the boat with my Brother’s family and stock up at the local markets.
We joined the hundreds of boats leaving Manly for a Sunday sail on the beautiful calm Moreton Bay. The wind soon filled in and we headed across the Brisbane shipping lanes. The wind dies every time we cross the shipping lanes which we suspect is the deeper colder water causing local weather interference (or increased levels of anxiety?). We passed the line of anchored yachts at Scarborough and found our own anchorage in Deception Bay with only Dugongs and turtles for company.
Getting used to constantly changing plans has been a big adjustment. We were planning to wait a day or two for better winds to head to Mooloolaba, but that evening the forecast had good sailing winds the next day and several days of light SE winds that would allow us to stay at Noosa. New plan: up at dawn for a sail up the coast to Noosa.
Dawn broke, coffee made, winds picking up…we sailed off the anchor and up the coast in calm seas. We were catching two larger yachts about 15 minutes ahead of us until the winds lightened and they sped away. The ‘friendly’ Mooloolaba coast guard radioed us about an accidental AIS person overboard alarm we set off and we ended up chatting to the water police who had installed similar devices the day before. They were interested in our experience with them.
We approached Noosa at dusk with a little help from the motor over the last few miles. We snuggled in to the anchorage just off the beach and watched the last of surf skiers and swimmers finishing their training. Pretty happy to be here in this gorgeous place!
The next day was bright and sunny, and so we popped into Hastings Street for a little bit of coffee and retail therapy, and a great big run for the dog.
With some weather predicted that we need to be careful of in such an exposed anchorage, our plans from here are to head to the Wide Bay Bar and Fraser Island very soon. We will stop at Double Island Point. More to come.
