After getting the house cleaned up for some tenants, we were late getting away from Wooli to head north along the Queensland coast for the winter, and with our dog Bess getting sick, we only made it as far as Bowen this year. There are posts from some of these locations available from the links in the map below (click a red circle on the map), and the log of the journal is available as a PDF at the bottom.
Click a red circle on the map to open posts from that location
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Wooli 2017
We returned to Wooli after our trip to Lizard Island in 2016. Our insurance requires us to come south in summer to avoid cyclones along the Queensland coast, and we still had much to do at our home before heading north again. During our time in Wooli, we enjoyed trips up the river in the…
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Shelter at Evans Head
We had the motors running and heading out of Iluka at 0930, and at 1000 were over the bar with both motors running at 2200 rpm. Wind was just a breeze out of the NW at 10-15 knots. We sailed close hauled on port tack all morning with the autopilot on wind mode at around…
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Byron Coast Whale Encounter
The view back to Evans Head as we headed out After seeking shelter overnight at Evans Head, the forecast for today was good and I was out of bed at 0530 and by 0600 we were ready to go. But the port motor wouldn’t run. It was start, but idle slowly and die away. After…
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2017 Whales
By the time we left Wooli to head north into Queensland, it was well into the whale migration period, where the Humpbacks travel north from Antarctica through to their breeding grounds under the less of the headlands and islands of the Queensland coast. The Humpbacks were thick in the water, constantly surrounding us and requiring…
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Curtis Coast
After a stopover at Mooloolaba, we continued north to Double Island Point for the night, and crossed the Wide Bay bar into the Great Sandy Straits the next day. My father has a little shack at Tin Can Bay, and here we had to stop to repair both motors on SeeBeeZee. The starboard motor became…
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Percy Island
We missed Percy Island on our first trip in 2016, so this year we made a choice to head out to Middle Percy once clear of Supply Bay. Middle Percy Island has been a traditional magnet for yachties along the Queensland coast for decades, with the lease holders providing onshore facilities for the visiting boats.…
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Thomas Island
Within sight of the crowds that visit the main body of the Whitsunday Islands lay a few smaller islands to the south that are rarely visited. Beyond the usual range of the charter boat fleet lies Thomas Island, offering scenic anchorages from most prevailing winds. We visited Thomas Island a couple of times this year,…
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We leave Bess at Gloucester Passage
Sitting on the side deck when under way was one of Bess’ favourite spots, here keeping warm in a coat in the sun Before we left Wooli to head north, we knew Bess was not well. It began with her letting us know that she had no stamina. The vet detected blood anomalies, and suspected…
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2017 Hill Inlet
Hill Inlet is a tidal estuary that runs into the middle of Whitsunday Island. It is located at the northern end of the world famous Whitehaven Beach. When we were in the Whitsundays last year, we passed by the mouth of Hill Inlet, but being newbies and a bit cautious, the shallow entrance spooked us…
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Macona Inlet
Heading south again now, we stopped at Macona Inlet on Hook Inland and enjoyed the beaches there. The shallow sandy beaches were filled with Lemon Sharks, apparently aggregating as part of their breeding cycle, and fringed with interesting rock formations.
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Nara Inlet
We’re back out at the islands again after topping up supplies at Airlie. Also on Hook Island is the deep bay of Nara Inlet. We sailed to windward all day to get here, tacking out on starboard and then coming back down the passage on port. We anchored first in Refuge Cove which is a…
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Return to Wooli
Returning to Wooli at the end of the trip is the obvious end to this year’s journey. It’s now 2018, but it’s really the end of our 2017 trip that took us to Bowen. Because of the narrow and shallow entrance to the river, it is important to arrive at Wooli at the top of…
2017 Travel Log