Middle Bluff.
06 May 2015 | South Point, Big Woody Island, Great Sandy Strait.
Hot, 31C no wind.
Well we never did get the weather that Brisbane and surrounding areas got late last week but enjoyed calm conditions and only a shower on that Friday night. On the Saturday afternoon we were over whelmed by the 150 plus Trailer Yachts which came in every model and size. At sunrise on Sunday morning they stirred and by 0730 they were all gone. I later heard that they formed up near South White Cliffs and raced from there to where-ever the finish line was. So after the departure of the Trailer Sailors I retrieved my crab pot and measured the Mud Crab I had caught, damn, 3 cm to small! So back he went. There followed afterwards a very quiet day.
On Monday morning we were underway by 0730, which turned out to be an hour late as we were caught by the changing tide and had to stem the ebb tide for the last hour. We proceeded up to the turn past Tooth Island, just before the shallows for those who know the area, and there I started to believe that we were being swept to the west with the tide when looking at where we were going and the chartplotter. I finally came to my senses when the echo sounder started to record depths approaching 1 meter below us. It was then that I realised my three year old chartplotter program was 200 meters out. My plot up to that buoy looks like teeth on a saw blade.
By 1100 hours we were anchored in behind the Sheridan Flats at the southern end of South White Cliffs. As low tide occurred I checked the depths inshore of Seaka with a Mark 1 echo sounder [lead line] and found that there wasn't enough room if the wind went to the west so we re-anchored 100 meters further out. I saw over a dozen turtles in this area, the most yet of this voyage.
Next morning on the turn of the tide we motored out into the Strait enroute north to Big Woody Island. Not sailing you say, well look at the photo above, that's how rough it is! Anyway we proceed up to Big Woody Island with the intention of going up the north side, far enough to sail directly north on Wednesday, and avoid the Long Middle Bank to our east. Well when approaching the channel to do so I had second thoughts as the tide was still ebbing and I was starting to get depths of 2 meters, not enough to manoeuvre in such a small opening. So I retreated to the west side of South Point and anchored west of Outnumbered, whom I had met at Garry's Anchorage.
Mark from Outnumbered came over and after discussing the channel we took my portable echo sounder over in his dinghy and found the channel for a passage on Wednesday. Oh yes, the weather has failed us again, Wednesday's weather will now occur on Thursday and I suspect that the iron sail may also be employed.
This morning after I packed away the dinghy, I proceeded up the channel without any problems and we have anchored off Middle Bluff, with a dying short swell that should be gone tonight. Preparations for tomorrow are done, should get out of here around 0400 to take advantage of the ebbing tide and the full moon, giving us enough time to reach Burnett Heads as I suspect the winds will be lighter than that forecast. We are expecting the temperature to reach 31C today and there is no wind!