Farewell Whitsundays, hello Keppels

Beautiful Turtle Bay

We love the Whitsundays; the crystal clear blue water, the beautiful secluded islands and inlets, the amazing sea life. It has always been a favourite destination of ours. Leaving the Port of Airlie Marina late on Sunday morning, we headed east towards Whitsunday Island, stopping for lunch at the edge of Gulnare Inlet, then continuing on into Turtle Bay, a beautiful expanse of water with lots of little beaches between rocky outcrops. Soon after anchoring we dropped the kayaks in the water, keen to explore the beaches more closely and paddling around from one to another, greeting other Boaties on each beach we visited. It was a glorious afternoon and the water was too inviting not to go swimming! Returning to Manookatoo for showers and sundowners, we made pizzas for dinner. Our intention had been to eat them in front of the TV, watching the NRL grand final, but we had no reception, relying instead on patchy radio coverage and occasional text messages from Julie, in Melbourne, to find out the score! It was good to hear that Melbourne won, anyway.

On Monday morning we raised the anchor and headed out to the edge of the bay, where we could see Hamilton Island, so that we could check the weather and make a few phone calls. That done, we returned to our previous position deep in the bay and relaxed the rest of the day away, with a couple of kayaking trips and swims to keep us active.

Sunset over Dent Island

Hamilton Island Marina

We decided that it is about time to start moving south, but, for “old times sake” a night at Hamilton Island was in order, so on Tuesday morning we raised the anchor and took the short trip across the bay. As we are planning long trips in the days to come, we bought some fuel before going to our berth. After securing the boat we headed ashore to explore, checking out the shops and taking the courtesy bus across to the main resort. While there are many tourists around it is nowhere near at capacity, and almost half of the stores and restaurants are “closed until further notice”. We had a drink at the Tavern before lunch, then later we packed our iPads and swimmers and walked across to the resort to while away the afternoon by the pool. That evening we returned to the Tavern for a lovely meal on the top deck overlooking the marina.

Coppersmith Light Station

Thunderstorms passing by

On Wednesday morning we decided on a walk - up the very steep hill and down the other side, along the foreshore and back to the boat - it was only a few kilometres but boy, was it steep! We were quite envious of the golf buggies whizzing past us as we huffed and puffed upwards. After a reviving breakfast we took our “Granny trolley” and walked to the IGA for a few last minute supplies, then we filled the boat with water, untied the lines and bade farewell to Hammo,  cruising down Dent Passage and across towards Lindeman and Shaw Islands, stopping in the beautiful Billbob bay, on the southern side, for lunch, then continuing on. This southern part of the Whitsundays is much less visited but no less beautiful, you could spend a month cruising the area and not reach every anchorage. Mid afternoon we passed Coppersmith Rock, with its very modern new age lighthouse, before rounding Goldsmith Island and dropping anchor in Stingray Bay. We had intended kayaking to shore and having a refreshing swim, however the wind got very gusty and we decided against that plan, choosing to relax for the afternoon. As a precaution, the Captain put out over 50m of anchor chain - enough to keep us well and truly in place! The wind continued into the evening and we watched thunderstorms pass just north of us, continuing on to the coast with an amazing lightning show before dying away to calm clear conditions after dark.

ROCKS!!

We woke on Thursday to glassy seas and blue skies - perfect conditions for cruising. We raised the anchor just before 6am and continued south. The rocky outcrops - both large and small - are quite spectacular (and dangerous!) in this part of the Whitsundays and it pays to keep a close eye out at all times; not all of them have navigation warnings on them. Not all are above the water, either, which is why you must also keep an eye on the GPS! Conditions were very calm; the first mate enjoyed her yoga session and, after breakfast, made sausage rolls for lunch! It was too lovely not to make the most of it so we continued past our planned destination, Scawfell Island, on towards Double Island, however we didn’t think it offered us much beach to swim on nor much protection if the wind got up at night. We finally anchored at Digby Island just after 4pm, dropping the kayaks in the water and paddling ashore for a walk. The rolling waves made for an “interesting” paddle, particularly when returning to the boat - by the time we got back the kayaks were half filled with water! The waves continued rolling us around well into the night, encouraging the first mate to choose the couch in the saloon over the bed in the cabin for sleeping.

We woke quite early the next morning, the rolling waves had continued all night and we were eager to get away from the swell. Some islands seem to attract choppy, confused seas particularly at tide changes, but once we were away from the anchorage things settled down a bit - not as smooth as yesterday though. A change of plans has us speeding up a bit, getting to the Keppels by Saturday night instead of taking the slow meandering cruise via some more islands, so the Captain increased Manookatoo’s speed and we headed south, passing a couple of previous destinations, rounding Cape Townshend and  anchoring in Pearl Bay. There were no other boats there - a big contrast to our last stop, in late May. Conditions were also calmer than at Digby Island, however a recalcitrant anchor winch had the Captain manually lowering the anchor while the first mate manned the controls. As the sun set and the full moon rose, we enjoyed coral trout for dinner on the back deck and retired to bed.

Thank goodness for friends!

An early start was in order on Saturday as we still had quite a distance to cover and the wind was forecast to get up as the day went on. Once again the captain manually raised the anchor while the first mate slowly drove forward to his instructions - he needs no more exercise at the moment as pulling up heavy anchor chain and a much heavier anchor is very hard work! We headed out of Pearl Bay into rolly seas (fortunately we had secured everything before we left!) and turned southeast as the sun rose. Conditions settled a little once we passed Cape Manifold, however just as we reached Yeppoon the wind increased, making for an “interesting” entry to Rosslyn Bay harbour and into the marina berth! Luckily, friends Robyn and Dick were on hand to keep the boat off the jetty and help tie up. Phew! We made the most of the rest of the day to catch up on some much needed rest before hosting our friends for sundowners on the flybridge. 

Farewell, Kool Sid

The Singing Ship

Sunday was a much calmer day! We farewelled Robyn and Dick, on Kool Sid II, as they head north, then caught the bus to Emu Park and enjoyed a nice walk up to the “Singing ship” and around the foreshore before lunch at “The Piney” (Pine Beach pub), catching the bus back in the afternoon and then walking over to the beach for a late afternoon swim. Sunday night is (nearly!) always Pizza night, relaxing in front of the television before an early night.

Pebble Beach, Rosslyn Bay

Fan Rock, Rosslyn Bay

On Monday we enjoyed a morning walk up the hill to admire the view to Great Keppel Island and beyond, followed by a refreshing swim. After doing a few odd jobs we returned to the beach for another swim before lunch - temperatures are getting up and so is the humidity!

Manookatoo will remain in Keppel Bay Marina for the next little while, as the captain repairs the anchor winch and does another few small jobs on the boat and the first mate flies south to be with family. How long the boat is here and what the captain does next is a little bit up in the air at the moment; as Doris Day once said “Que Sera Sera, whatever will be, will be”!

The Captain's log: Airlie Beach to Rosslyn Bay

Distance - 241.2 nautical miles

Fuel Consumption - 298.4 litres (1.24 L per NM)

Travelling time - 36.25 hours (average speed 6.65 knots)