Alison Stocker | Photo: Unexpected guest, Ciaron, ready to head to shore at Mast Head Island
After spending almost two weeks at Lady Musgrave and Fitzroy Reefs, now that the weather forecast was for calmer conditions, we did not have long to visit any new reefs before we needed to head towards Great Keppel Island and Yeppoon. Given this constraint, we planned to try Mast Head Island, a small sand cay that we had not visited before. There was a single public mooring there but the satellite photos did not show clearly if there was open sand in which to anchor. If we completed the 25 nm passage to find the mooring occupied and no suitable anchorage, we could continue a further 15 nm to North West Island where we had previously anchored in the large sandy area northwest of the small cay.
We left Fitzroy Reef at 7:45 am on Monday (14th June) which was as early as we felt was safe on a rising half-tide. At the time there was little wind and we had good visibility, so exiting through the pass went very smoothly...following our breadcrumb trail. A squall-line soon caught up with us, allowed us to sail on just the jib in 23 knots of following wind. The wind dropped again after about 90 minutes, so we had to motor the rest of the route to the west-northwest, arriving at Mast Head Island to find that the single public mooring on north side of island was unoccupied. The rest of the afternoon was showery with some distant thunder which scuppered my hopes of an afternoon snorkel. The forecasts did suggest that the wind might swing from the south to the north during the night, but at only 5 knots such direct exposure to the winds and waves should be quite tolerable.
A black-saddled toby (to 9 cm or 3.5 inches) seen at Mast Head Island with its short dorsal fin outlined in red, and its mimic, the mimic filefish (to 10 cm or 4.5 inches), seen at Fitzroy Reef with its much longer dorsal fin highlighted in red
Around 3 pm, we heard a voice from outside asking us if we knew if there was another mooring. We climbed into the cockpit to find a very wet young man in an open-hulled trailer boat alongside. We explained that there was no other mooring here and the closest would be at North West Island. Instead, we suggested that he tie his boat "White Wolf" to the stern of Tregoning. He was thankful for this offer and then expected to stay in his boat for the night. With no cover and plenty of water sloshing around, we insisted that he come aboard and spend the night on Tregoning. He was hesitant to impose upon us at first, but soon saw that as bedraggled as he was, we were not going to leave him out there.
Thus, we met Ciaron (pronounced kee-air-ron), who explained that he had left Gladstone that morning, trying to get to Mast Head Island in time for the midday high tide. This was necessary so that he could get his boat over the shallow barrier reef to camp on the island for a few days, for which he had a permit. Despite his boat being capable of good speed in relatively calm seas, conditions on the 30 nm passage had been winder and rougher than he expected, so the slower progress had caused him to miss high tide and the reef was now too shallow cross to the beach. He was tired and did not want to risk the return trip to Gladstone this late in the day.
We gave him a dry towel and once he had changed, he looked much more resilient. After keeping an eye on his boat for a while to make sure that it was safe and was not going to bump into Tregoning, we started trading stories. He was a keen fisher and had made other trips to these islands from Sydney but this was his first time to Mast Head Island and his boat was fairly new to him. A hot, thick chowder for dinner was much-appreciated and he even professed to enjoy learning Mexican Train Dominoes to which we subjected him for the evening's old-folks' entertainment. We cleared-out the forward bathroom for him but because the forward cabin was full of stuff, we made a bed for him in the main salon. Being in the middle and most stable part of the boat, he claimed, at least, to sleep quite well.
In our aft cabin, Randall and I did not get much sleep at all. As forecast, the wind swung around to the north during the night but was much stronger and created correspondingly larger waves from which we had no protection. We should have known better than to be optimistic when a trough is passing over. Not only was it bouncy at the stern but the dockline attached to Ciaron's boat was very noisy as it yanked on Tregoning's cleat and rubbed on the stern cap-rail. Of course, as designated worrier, I was also convinced that "White Wolf" would somehow break free and we would feel responsible for losing Ciaron's pride and joy, and all his fishing and camping equipment.
Under such conditions, I would normally have moved to sleep in the main salon or we would have given-up and left the mooring to return later or go elsewhere. With Ciaron aboard, we did not consider either option but I eased my worry for part of the time by reading up in the cockpit where the motion was less and I could keep an eye on "White Wolf" and the line to her. It was not the ideal introduction to the new site for us.
Fortunately, by sunrise the wind had swung back to the south and gradually eased during the day. Apparently refreshed from his night aboard Tregoning, Ciaron interviewed us for his YouTube site. After getting little sleep, I am sure that we must have been a rather bedraggled sight and not been our most articulate as he asked us about our global cruising adventures. However, he seemed satisfied, thanked us profusely, returned to his boat, and went fishing.
A longfin grouper seen at Mast Head Island (to 38 cm or 15 inches)
While he zipped back and forth along the reef in this Conservation Park zone, where limited line fishing is allowed, we launched the dinghy for a snorkel. Rather than mess with the outboard, Randall volunteered to row and I suggested that we anchor in front of Tregoning, closer to the barrier reef. From the surface, it looked as though there were fingers of coral with sand between them, which is usually a good habitat for a diversity of fish. Not only was this going to be the first REEF fish survey for this area but there were no fish records here on iNaturalist either. This was part of what had made me so keen to stay and snorkel.
This was probably not an ideal part of the reef as it was obviously quite prone to wave action and the sand had been stirred-up enough for the water to be a little cloudy. Since Randall decided not to get in the water but was bouncing around in the anchored dinghy, I did not want to linger too long or wander too far away. I raced around, recording and taking photos of as many fish as possible. However, with the water surging in constant motion and the less-than-perfect visibility, I doubt that the 65 or so species that I recorded in 37 minutes really did justice to the site. Having not slept well did not help either, as I was getting cold more quickly than usual.
I did not see any species that were new to me, but there were a few that I had not seen at Lady Musgrave and Fitzroy Reefs such as the Australian cowtail stingray and longfin grouper. There were many giant clams and in deeper water the corals were diverse and attractive. Away from the areas prone to wave-damage, there were probably some interesting parts of the reef. Although not ideal, this snorkel had satisfied my curiosity about the reef at Mast Head Island and confirmed that we would need much calmer conditions and the outboard on the dinghy to make a revisit worthwhile.
Australian cowtail stingray (disc width to 180 cm or 71 inches)
It was still sloppy enough at the end of my snorkel that hoisting the dinghy aboard Tregoning's deck was quite difficult. We were thankful that we had not tried to use the outboard but, in retrospect, it would have been calmer if I had waited to snorkel in the afternoon.
Meanwhile, Ciaron had been busy, and around midday he pulled alongside to pass us a couple of the fish that he had caught as a "Thank you" gift. This was very thoughtful of him and we enjoyed the small Spanish flag (a type of snapper) and tuskfish for a very tasty dinner. When we first started cruising, Randall had speared the odd reef-fish with his Hawaiian sling. But concern about attracting sharks, and preferring to watch the reef fish rather than eat them, had meant that it had been a long time since we had eaten any aboard Tregoning.
A bucket with the tuskfish (top) and Spanish flag that Ciaron gave us
As hoped, Ciaron got his boat over the reef at high tide and established a small campsite for himself. With the forecast for more unsettled weather later in the week, he was not sure that he would be able to stay for long but we were glad to see that he would enjoy at least one night on the island on his own. Considering the long journey he had made to get here, we were impressed by his determination and boldness.
Like something from a "Boy's Own" story, Ciaron fishes along the reef surrounding the coral island that he has all to himself
Needless to say, Randall and I had long naps during the afternoon and both slept well in the much calmer conditions that night. But that was enough of Mast Head Island. The following morning we would head towards Great Keppel Island, to position ourselves to be sure of getting into our reserved berth at Keppel Bay Marina in Rosslyn Bay on Friday.
P.S. Did we think twice about inviting a stranger aboard for the night?
I would be lying if I said that it never crossed my mind that there might be some concerns about this, but we never hesitated to help this fellow boater. Of course, we had to make a snap decision that depended upon appearances, a convincing explanation, and all our personal judgements and biases. In this case, it did not take long to realize that this was genuinely honest young man temporarily in need. Did I take my purse into the aft cabin that night? Yes. But I am certain that I need not have and doing so says more about me than our guest. Would we invite any stranger aboard? No, but even if we had slight doubts, we would try to find a way to make it work. By the time we finished the dominoes game, Ciaron may have wondered if he was the one taking the bigger risk!