Motor to Moreton Island! Thursday, November 29, 2018
29 November 2018 | Moreton Island Anchorage, Queensland, Australia
Helen/Mark
Our late night last night, put us to bed after 10 pm. The wind was still howling on and off thru the night. Slept well. Got up around 6 am. Had breakfast. Mark added our course to Moreton Island to the gps. We showered at the marina. Made a couple phone calls. Then we drove to a marine store and Mark was able to get fuel filter bleeding value washers for free. We were going to pick up some bread, but decided we had enough. Mark is the only one eating it. Headed back to the marina and Mark called Europcar to see if they would drive us back to the marina. They said 'no'. So, Mark arranged a ride back with Grant, from the marina. Thank you, Grant, for taking such good care of us at Rivergate Marina! Colin & Julie also offered a ride, so thank you as well. We stopped at a gas station to fill up the tank. Our fuel cost $1.17/litre. We had stopped a few days ago, so the tank was not empty. Back at the marina, we got the boat ready to leave. Mark said it looked like slack water. He mixed up the high and low tides. So, it was a motor out the Brisbane River. Had to dodge several cargo ships coming in and going out of the port area. We cleared the river and the wind picked up. So much for the forecast of 6 knots. It was over 20 knots on the nose for most of our motor across Moreton Bay. I heated up some rice, veggies and ground beef from the other night for lunch. Mark was at the helm for most of the ride. We each took a short nap. The seas got increasingly larger until we got close to the island. We finally arrived around 5:30 pm. There were 3 other sailboats anchored between the wrecks and the sandy beach. There are hills onshore. We can see several houses and apartment buildings, which could be resort condos. They have a long dock off the main village. The island is big and this is the only place we saw any sign of life. One tour boat arrived just before sunset. I was wondering who would get in the water at that hour. The boat had a glass bottom so the passengers didn't get off the boat. It was a hot sunny day, but the breeze on the bay was cold. Our salon temperature reached 88 degrees. Outside in the big breeze even Mark wore his rain jacket as there was some spray shooting over the deck to the helm. We can feel a little motion here at anchor in 23 feet of water. It's either some wake or some long swells rocking us. The sunset was amazing. Very red sky afterwards. Red sky at night, sailors' delight. Need to find out what time slack water is here and dinghy over to the wrecks. We enjoyed our time in Brisbane, especially our drive out to the Gold Coast. We will be sailing south thru the Gold Coast, after we snorkel the wrecks & check out the island tomorrow. Thanks to everyone who sent emails and messages. Almost ready for dinner!