Islands and waterways

Catching up with family

A period of very windy weather kept us close to the Marina for several days, so we took the opportunity to restock our food and grog supplies and do some investigating of caravanning accessories. We also got to catch up with family: Kirsty was on the coast to run the 10km for the Gold Coast Marathon and Shaunagh and family were up here for the school holidays. The wind finally dropped on Sunday so we picked up Shaunagh, Mark, Loanna, Tom and James at Paradise Point and cruised up to Sanctuary Cove, where Kirsty joined us for lunch and a cruise back. It was a lovely family day, with the sun finally making an appearance! We farewelled our families in the afternoon and relaxed on anchor at Paradise Point.

Coffee coloured cliffs

On Monday morning, after a walk around the local area and a visit to the shops for a few extra supplies, we raised the anchor and headed north. It was foggy and drizzling as we cruised along with the navigation lights on and the wipers going - not the kind of weather we enjoy! Tipplers was not too busy after the inclement weather of the past week, and the anchorages at Millionaires and Jumpinpin were quiet too. We took the Canaipa channel along North Stradbroke Island and dropped anchor just north of Slipping Sands, at the coffee coloured cliffs to the east of Russell Island, just before lunch. The weather improved as the day wore on, and a few boats headed north or south as the afternoon progressed, but by nightfall it was quiet and still. We enjoyed drinks on the flybridge at sunset, all on our own in our idyllic location.

Tuesday morning dawned bright and clear, as we did our exercise routine on the flybridge and enjoyed breakfast on the back deck. Later we raised the anchor and continued our journey between Russell and North Stradbroke Island, turning into Krummel Passage, between Russell and Karragarra Islands. We dropped the anchor not far from the northern shore, and took the dinghy across to the Russell Island ferry terminal. It's a busy place, with hourly ferry trips in either direction plus regular barges picking up or delivering cars, trucks and other heavy equipment. We walked up to the shops then along a couple of streets, but there is not much for the tourist to do on Russell Island, so we soon returned to Manookatoo, where we enjoyed lunch and a lazy afternoon. After the peace of the night before it was a different story here, with the regular commuter craft rocking us until late at night and beginning again very early in the morning!

Incongruous power pole

The captain raised the anchor not long after sunrise on Wednesday morning and we continued west, out of the Krummel Passage and south into the Main Channel. We stopped just near the entrance to Fisherman Channel, on the south side of Russell Island, for breakfast, then continued south, calling in to Horizon Shores Marina for a walk around the many boats and a coffee at the cafe. Leaving there, we retraced some of our journey, turning east into the channel between Tabby Tabby and Kangaroo Island, where we dropped anchor on the deep side of the channel, revelling in the stillness after yesterday's rocking around. After lunch we took the brig and explored some of the local waterways, zooming past mangroves and sandbanks, and signs saying "shoals" without worrying about depths as we would in Manookatoo! A lovely still night on the boat followed our relaxing day.
Thursday was exercise morning while the water was still. Then, after breakfast, we headed further down the main passage, dropping anchor at Jacob's Well and taking the brig to shore for a good look around. There is a small supermarket there as well as an inviting looking bakery and a pub - everything we would need! A caravan park is adjacent to the boat ramp, we could always bring "Vanooka" here to stay :-) Returning to the brig, we were just setting off as a fisherman caught a large fish by the tail, and required our assistance to keep it! Using the bailing bucket and some ingenuity, the captain saved the fish for the lucky fisherman. We returned to Manookatoo and continued for just a little way, into the entrance to Calypso Bay, where we tied up at the jetty and went to lunch at Harrigan's Pub - delicious! Later, we made the momentuous decision not to turn right towards the Broadwater and Paradise Point, rather, to turn left and spend another night away, this time at one of our favourite anchorages, Tipplers at South Stradbroke Island. It will mean an early start in the morning to get the first mate to her hand therapy appointment, but as we are heading south next week, and this will be our last night on the water until August at least, it is worth that small sacrifice to enjoy another lovely evening. We made the most of it, cooking a three course meal and enjoying the sunset and the starry sky before retiring early to bed.