Who to believe when the charts and pilot guides don't agree.

November 27, 2015

Middle Percy Island to Island Head Creek

Rising to the alarm before dawn is not easy sometimes and getting the Our Dreamtime crew up and operational this particular morning after a very social evening was a challenge. We’d had a late night in the Percy Hilton with other cruisers enjoying wild goat stew and the odd bottle of red wine so no one was keen to leave their bunk but we had a fifty nautical mile passage to Island Head Creek ahead of us.

The cats Seabreeze and Howzat at anchor under the pink, pre-dawn sky at Middle Percy Island's West Bay

Once we’d all downed a good, strong coffee our productivity improved dramatically and we soon had the boat prepped  for sea and the anchor up. We slipped out of Middle Percy Island’s West Bay as the eastern sky began to lighten. Breakfast was despatched underway and we had left the island well astern even before the sun appeared over the horizon.

We’d raised the main and mizzen sails in anticipation of a predicted gentle north easterly breeze but relied on the engine for propulsion for the first couple hours of the trip. As the breeze began to fill in a little we were able to get our asymmetric spinnaker up and flying. It’s always a great feeling when the motor is turned off and we’re able to ghost along downwind in near silence.

We love flying our asymmetric spinnaker.

The new friends we’d met over goat stew the night before, David and Nerida from the catamaran Seabreeze and Rick on Howzat had weighed anchor soon after we had so it was nice to have some company around us. With the benefit of a huge screecher, Howzat had no trouble overtaking us once our engine went off and disappeared into the distance but we were able to keep Seabreeze to our stern right through the long day. You know the story, two boats or more in sight means there is a race on, particularly on a light winds days when nothing much else is happening to keep you occupied.

Fair winds, smooth seas, sunshine and a sketch pad makes Karen a very contented cruiser.

 

The wind did strengthen into the low teens in the afternoon seeing us get up over seven knots for a while but overall it was a fairly uneventful trip until we approached the mouth of Island Head Creek. The tidal run around the point here causes quite confused seas and we found waves standing up steeply despite the moderate winds. This made the time spent on the foredeck dropping the spinnaker in its snuffer and getting it stowed away a little more lively an exercise than normal. The mizzen was also dropped and main furled away before we motored in towards the river mouth.

This would have been a very impressive land slip at Island Head when it occurred.

Both pilot guide books* we had on board indicated there was a wide shallow bank mid stream in the creek mouth with narrow channels each side. Both recommended steering very close to the rocky cliffs on the north side. In direct contrast, our Navionics chart showed the deepest water smack bang in the middle. It was near low tide so we were a bit worried about which may or may not be correct. To further confuse the issue, the Navionics was also showing a set of cruiser contributed waypoints for entry that seemed to align with what the pilot guides suggested rather than the contours shown on the electronic chart.  After some discussion, we decided to go with the pilot guide advice and hugged the northern shore. We found ourselves in a narrow channel with over 15 metres of water under us which eased our nerves about the steep cliffs only metres off our starboard side.

We carefully eased by close to the rocky northern side of the Island Head Creek entrance.

As we cleared the rocks and had nothing but sand around us we began to relax - until the bottom shelved almost instantly. Rob threw the wheel hard over to port, hit reverse and slowed the boat down to a couple of knots as the depth gauge dipped to 1.8 metres. We have a fairly modest draft at 1.5 metres but any depths as shallow as we were now in scare the pants off us, particularly if unexpected.

Edging back towards centre stream the gauge slowly climbed to three metres,  four, then five and we began to breathe again. We proceeded very carefully well up stream to the area we’d chosen to anchor. Seeing a couple of boats, including Howzat already there made us feel a little more comfortable about our choice. However, we still found it quite shallow and eventually dropped anchor in just a bit over two metres satisfied that the evening’s incoming tide would provide a more comfortable depth.



Middle Percy Island to Island Head Creek – 52.6 Nautical Mile – 11 Hours 16 Minutes 

Average Speed 4.7 Knots – Highest Speed 7.8 Knots





 

After electing to trust the pilot guides over Navionics, our track shows our entrance skirting the northern rocks. We had 15 metres of water under us where the chart indicated as little as 0m. The black dots are way points contributed by a cruiser "Silver Sailor' in September 2014 before Cyclone Marcia. The first three of these suggested way points worked for us near the rocks but we almost ran aground on the way to the fourth where you see a sharp turn to port. The white areas mid stream are shown to be up to seven metres deep at mean low tide but our friends who went with that option with their catamaran reported threes and fours along with a very shallow sand bar about in line with where we had a scare.

The Google Earth image shows the shallow sandbar midstream inside the creek mouth. I often check anchorages on Google Earth before entering them but had no Wifi service in this area at all and only saw this image later.

This part of the coast was ground zero when extreme Cyclone Marcia made landfall early this year as evidenced by the many trees still with only a thin amount of foliage showing. The area also experienced massive flooding so we can only assume that the creek mouth may have experienced some silting with banks and channels moving since last charted. David and Nerida on Seabreeze entered the creek shortly after us and, after facing the same dilemma as we did, elected to take the Navionics option and steer their Lagoon Catamaran straight down the middle. They reported depths of over three metres most of the way but also crossed a very shallow sandbar just when they thought they were through and safe.

Whatever, we would recommend using extreme caution to anyone navigating  the Island Head Creek mouth, particularly if entering or exiting anytime other than on the high tide.

We anchored well inside Island Head Creek where we were well protected if the northerly wind picked up overnight.

Our post passage beers tasted extremely good once all was secured and we could truly relax. Karen was very pleased to free up some more room in our backup fridge by producing another awesome meal from our declining stocks of Wahoo which we enjoyed on the stern as the sun set.

Our dinner view of the sun dipping behind the mountains.

It was a very peaceful night on the hook well protected from all directions. We slept soundly in the knowledge that the tide would be a little higher when we left in the morning and if we followed our own track back out through the creek mouth we would have enough water to be safe all the way.

*The pilot guides we had on board were Alan Lucas' Cruising the Coral Coast and Noel Patrick's Curtis Coast.

It's hard to photograph a rising moon from a moving yacht but Rob got close to pulling off.
Good night from Island Head Creek.

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Eating Wild Goat Stew on Middle Percy Island

November 26, 2015

With the wind predicted to hold from the North East for the next few days we were keen to keep moving South but there was one stop we were not going to bypass, the boatie Mecca of Middle Percy Island. In the conditions, we could have sailed much further than the 20 nautical miles it lay from our overnight anchorage at Digby Island but, having sailed straight by on the way North, it was a must do visit for us now.

Karen kept herself busy with her sketchpad on the short passage to Middle Percy Island

West Bay at Middle Percy Island has long been a popular stopover for sailors heading up and down the Queensland coast, largely because upon obtaining the lease to the island in 1964, Englishman Andy Martin, welcomed yachties with open arms, offering fresh produce like honey, fruit, vegetables and goat meat for sale or in exchange for help on the island.

Karen first visited Middle Percy on her parents game fishing boat ‘Wahoo’ on their way north in the late 1970s and was fortunate enough to spend time with Andy. In those days there were far fewer boats travelling the coast. It’s a far cry from the hundreds if not thousands of boats that now make their way up and down Queensland each winter. During the time they stayed in West Bay only one other boat came in, a family circumnavigating on a small yacht. Karen has fond memories of playing with the children off that boat and Andy’s kindness to them all.

In one article the online cruising publication, The Coastal Passage, said of Andy, The "A frame" started construction around 1979/80. ….. With help from a variety of sources, the beach at West Bay became a welcoming wonderland for visiting boaty's, and an outlet for the produce of the island. Andy produced honey, excellent jams, bread, homebrew mead and beer and welcomed visitors to the homestead for meals at modest cost. In these areas, he excelled. Andy was at his best when it came to management of the natural resources of the island and producing food from them.

As the years went on, more boats were making their way along the coast at the same time that other island agricultural leases were being relinquished and often replaced with resorts that were not always friendly to passing boaties. The legend then of Middle Percy was firmly established, and for good reason. It took the strange combination of an eccentric (Andy hated the term applied to him but…..) Englishman, an island paradise and a regular fleet of passing boats to make it all happen. It could be concluded that the whole thing was less an act of altruism, than a flawed attempt at commerce…… But who cares about that. It's the result that matters. In the end, in spite of, or because of Andy's unusual nature and his circumstances, he is remembered with fondness by most. He was complex and flawed and certainly, remembered.



Andy Martin

In recent times the island has been subject to a great deal of controversy and a protracted legal battle after the elderly and ailing Andy was conned out of his lease for just $10 before he passed away. The island's facilities were left to deteriorate, animals died, and yachties were no longer welcome. Thankfully in 2008 courts awarded the island back to the family of the original leaseholder. His cousin, Cathryn, has returned the island to its former glory as a wonderful, welcoming place for sailors to meet, socialise and enjoy their own little slice of paradise.

 

There’s a great article about the island, Andy Martin and what went on available here,  http://www.smh.com.au/national/the-possibility-of-an-island-20121218-2bl9b.html

We found the anchorage at West Bay calm and beautiful.

The narrow entrance to the lagoon at Middle Percy's West Bay

We enjoyed a straight forward sail across to Middle Percy and, like our experience at Digby Island, we found the much maligned anchorage in West Bay flat as a tack and unbelievably beautiful. The bay is lined by a pristine, white sand beach backed with coconut palms and presents as the idyllic island paradise. At the north end is a narrow entrance into a lagoon which is navigable at high tide but as the whole lagoon dries at low it is only useful to catamarans or monohulls that can be careened against the small jetty.

Digby Island to Middle Percy Island – 21.8 Nautical Miles – 4 Hours 24 Minutes
Average Speed 4.9 Knots – Highest Speed 7.6 Knots

The lagoon at Middle Percy Island can be seen in this satellite photo of our West Bay anchorage

 

We anchored in clear sand making sure we had ample water under us to allow for the seven metre (20ft+) tidal range. After a couple of traditional post passage beers and lunch of homemade pizzas baked in the bbq’ very little time was  spared before we were treading squeakily across the fine sand to explore some of the many wonders of Middle Percy Island.

The Percy Hilton viewed from Our Dreamtime at anchor

 

The centre piece of West Bay for cruisers is now the A-Frame structure dubbed the Percy Hilton which has become both a shrine and social hub for sailors. The now well established tradition of leaving behind some memento of your boat’s visit to the island has led to the structure being decorated in the most unimaginable, eclectic range of memorabilia.

Karen and Marc on the swing seats

You can spend hours checking out all the Percy Hilton's treasures

Says it all really.

A well travelled block from Our Dreamtime now hangs from the rafters.

We spent a considerable amount of time examining the various treasures left by cruisers to mark their passing by and delighted in discovering the mementos of boats we knew. We also met other cruisers off the two catamarans in the bay, Seabreeze and Howzat. While we were chatting one of the local residents, Ernst, arrived down from the homestead and welcomed us to the island. He also invited us all to return to shore that evening for a meal of Middle Percy’s well renowned specialty, goat stew. Understandably this was universally accepted with great enthusiasm.

Our Dreamtime at anchor in West Bay.

Marc chillaxing and Nerida from Seabreeze checking the view from up top.

We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering further afield. The A-Frame hadn’t existed when Karen last walked this beach. Instead the focal point of Andy’s hospitality back then had been a small shed further up the beach which she was delighted to find still standing. It too still housed mementos from visiting boats but of much older vintage than the newer and grander Percy Hilton.



Karen got creative as always.

When we returned ashore after dressing for dinner, ie: getting out of our wet swimmers and changing our t-shirts, Ernst had a good fire burning down to coals in the firepit behind the Percy Hilton. A good sized, cast iron pot hung above ready and waiting. To supplement the generous provision of the goat meat, all the cruisers supplied a range of vegetables for the stew which Ernst cooked with red wine. Some of it even went in the stew. After much communal chopping and dicing, all the ingredients went into the pot which was stirred with great regularity.

Ernst preparing the open fire for our goat stew.

Amongst the distraction of vigorous conversation, Ernst suddenly realised he’d forgotten one essential ingredient of the recipe. He quickly darted down to the beach with a short piece of rope which he tied to his ankles and used to shimmy up one of the many coconut palms.  With a healthy amount of coconut milk added to the pot sundowner drinks and conversation were duly recommenced.

A nice skill to have.

Being a very citified Londoner, Marc was revelling in this form of ‘having people over for dinner’ that was so far removed from his normal world. ‘Chaps, if I invite someone for dinner a trip to the supermarket for produce may be required before I place it in the oven, here it involves killing a goat, chopping wood, lighting a fire and climbing palm trees for ingredients.’ It may have been in that this point of his OZ adventure was akin to Dorothy discovering she was no longer in Kansas.

Time to serve up our outstanding meal.

The goat stew served was incredibly rich in flavour, the meat tender and the meal extremely filling, all in all earning a Gold Star rating.  Thank you Ernst. Your hospitality was outstanding. We can only imagine how many London dinner conversations Marc will be able to star in regaling the time he ate a wild animal cooked over an open fire under the stars and a full moon on a tropical island in the Coral Sea. It’s a story worth telling.

We are so pleased we did not sail on past Middle Percy Island this time. We can see how the anchorage in West Bay could get rolly in the wrong weather but our experience there was nothing short of superb. We will be back.

Good night from West Bay - Middle Percy Island

 

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A litte too Up Close and Personal with Digby Island

November 25, 2015

With our new freezer full of frozen food, our old freezer managing to stay cool half full of food from the fridge, wine, beer and drinking water on ice and a modest sailing wind predicted we were three happy yachties getting underway again from Mackay Marina bound for an anchorage at Digby Island.

The obstacle course awaiting us off Mackay.

But first we had to negotiate our way through the fleet of big bulk carriers anchored off the Hay Point Coal Loading facility just south of Mackay. There were even more ships waiting for their turn to load up with the black stuff than when we came north. Yes they are anchored so you’d think picking your way through would be easy but we were pointing reasonably high going to windward  which restricted our manoeuvrability a bit. Just to make the game a little more entertaining, every so often we’d see smoke suddenly appear from a stack as a ship began upping anchor and moving.  We did cross very close to the bow of one of the monsters in the middle of the pack and hoped it wasn’t about to get its call up to go into the dock. Seeing the last of them slip behind our stern was a nice relief.

We never want to see one underway this close.

Sailing to windward with both headsails, mainsail and mizzen set.

Karen's take on our upwind sail trim on passage to Digby Island

Prudoe Island slipping by.

Karen keeping herself occupied while off watch.

 

We then had a fairly straight forward sail through the Prudoe Channel past a number of attractive islands. What we’d read about the anchorage at Digby Island in Alan Lucas’ Cruising the Coral Coast had been fairly unflattering so when we slipped between  Noel and Hendersen Islands and reached the bay at Digby we were very pleasantly surprised. Anchoring in nice, clear sand off the beach and closely surrounded by the other islands the place had the feel of a tropical lagoon. The water was dead flat and clear as crystal with very little current.

 

We found Digby Island an excellent anchorage in the easterly breeze that was blowing.

Mackay to Digby Island - 46.6 Nautical Miles - 9 Hours 21 Minutes
Average Speed 4.9 knots - Highest Speed 6.9 Knots.
All those green circles are swing anchorages for bulk carriers waiting to load at the Hay Point Coal Facility

 

Our Dreamtime anchored off Digby Island

The beach looked extremely inviting and we had the whole place to ourselves which is always a bonus. It wasn’t long before the dinghy was down off the davits and we made our way ashore. It really was delightful. The whole scene was very picturesque in the afternoon sun and Rob was busy taking photos - until the batteries in the camera went flat that is. Doh! Really should put them on charge more often probably.

Marc on the Beach at Digby Island with the fateful row of rocks behind.

Our Dreamtime’s other two crew were exploring the foreshore when Karen looked around instead of down and tripped on a rock. Marc described it as having been like a Coyote moment from the old Roadrunner cartoons as, just for an instant, it appeared she would regain her balance, before gravity won out and she face planted the stones. Ouch!!!

As any cruiser will tell you, bruises and abrasions go hand in hand with being at sea on a boat. In fact it was only days since Karen had told us about an internet friend of hers from the  Women Who Sail Australia Facebook Group who jokes about carrying a letter from her doctor to show any police that appear concerned about her welfare. Her letter supposedly states words to the effect ‘Please be advised that the constant injuries seen on this woman are not as a result of domestic violence. She simply lives on a yacht.’

With blood splattered all over Karen's face and clothing from what we diagnosed was likely a slight break in her nose, along with bruises up her arms and legs, our Digby Island beach frolics not surprisingly came to an abrupt end. Fortunately once back on board, cleaned up and panadol administered, Karen’s spirits were fine as she joked about it beginning to appear she may need to get a REAL letter from our doctor before someone gets arrested. Marc simply suggested that even the Pope doesn't kiss the ground that enthusiastically while Rob lamented at having no battery power to get a gruesome photo for the blog. Naturally Karen was touched by all the compassion in the air.

By sundowner time she was much improved and joined in our traditional toast to the end of day – or two, well maybe three. We even still kept up our dedication to Project Eatathon ato create room in our replacement fridge. We knocked off a nice cheese platter with our sundowner drinks then had a great dinner that night courtesy of Karen. She had put together a very tasty Greek style lamb shanks dish in the Shuttle Chef before we left port. It then spent the day cooking itself while we were underway.  Best of all it was using no power at all while it was at it. Now it was just a case of serve and enjoy.(For Karen’s recipes and information about our Shuttle Chef see the Our Galley page of the blog)

 Greek style lamb shanks with feta thanks to Karen and our fantastic Shuttle Chef

We had a very calm and peaceful sleep that night and would have been more than happy to spend another day or two at Digby Island had we not wanted to push on southwards while we had a suitable weather window. Maybe next time.

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Broken refrigeration = an unplanned visit to the City of Mackay

November 23-24, 2015

The refrigeration system on Our Dreamtime definitely qualifies as ‘Old School’ and consists of a very power hungery 12 volt electric motor belt driving a compressor similar to those found in car air conditioning which then chills huge eutectic tanks in both the freezer and fridge cabinets. We spent a fair bit of money and a lot more time resurrecting it when it failed in Brisbane twelve months ago and now it had stopped working again.

Anchored at Brampton Island with a freezer and fridge both packed to the top with lots of dollars worth of food it was about the worst possible time for it to fail so we needed to come up with a solution fast. As a result we decided to head for the City of Mackay where most services are available and look for the best option there.

It's always great to get the kite up and enjoy the sunshine.

We got underway early on Monday morning in light conditions but were happy to find enough following wind to turn the engine off and raise our asymmetric spinnaker to compliment full main and mizzen. This saw us getting along nicely at four to five knots across flat seas in the tropical sunshine. The sort of very relaxed sailing we really enjoy.

Rob on the bow

 Karen was working diligently on making sure the amount of food in the fridge was reduced. After producing a huge breakfast for us all, it seemed like no time before she appeared with more fresh coffee to accompany cream covered blueberry and apple pies she had baked. No sooner were they devoured than she disappeared below to start working on lunch. It was a good thing Mackay was not days away or we all would have exploded long before reaching port.

The way he's getting fed we're not sure Marc will ever go back to London.

Mid morning a catamaran appeared over the horizon on an intersecting course with us. As it drew closer Rob had the camera out and snapped off a few shots of it. Photos of your boat under sail are amongst the hardest things to get when you’re cruising so we take every opportunity to shoot other peoples’ boats when they’re around us. Many are destined to sit in a folder on the hard drive ignored forever but quite often we are able to get the pics to the boat owners.

Clawdette approaching.

She presented a nice picture crossing our stern - for a cat of course.

In this case we called up the cat ‘Clawdette’ on the VHF and found that her owner, Roger, had been doing the same thing as us. After a very sociable chat, we quickly exchanged email addresses and both now have more photos of our boats for our collections. You can find out more about Clawdette on their blog www.svlogbook.com/Clawdette Hopefully our tracks will intersect at an anchorage for sundowners one day.

One of the shots of Our Dreamtime under spinnaker that Roger sent us. That's Marc on deck sunning his English skin.
We may be biased but we think our Whitby 42 is looking pretty good for a 33 year old. 

The tide changed as we approached Mackay which turned the current against us and also produced some interesting overfalls along some of the shallower areas of our route. Regardless, we were able to fly the spinnaker and full sail virtually to the breakwaters at the harbour entrance before spinning and dropping the lot.

We were nicely snugged up inside the marina by noon which gave us plenty of time to wash the boat down, get all the laundry done and get on with our internet research and phone calls on possible solutions to our refrigeration problem.

Brampton Island to Mackay - 20.3 Nautical Miles - 5 Hours 08 Minutes
Average Speed 4.0 knots - Highest Speed 6.3 Knots

Despite being unexpected, Mackay Marina Village proved a quite pleasant stop

It soon became apparent that getting someone to either repair our current antiquated system or replace it with a modern danfoss alternative would both be very time consuming affairs and could see us stuck in the Mackay Marina for weeks if not longer. This lead us to explore a Plan C which involved buying a ready to go, 12 volt camping fridge/freezer to use for the rest of our trip south. We could then get the boat’s system repaired/replaced at our leisure once back in Brisbane.

The marina has a hire car available for $45 a day which seemed very convenient so we booked it for the next morning and headed into town on a mission. After checking all the available options we settled on a 90 litre Fridge-Mate combination fridge freezer which was clearly the best bang for buck. It was soon installed in the salon and switched on to cool down while we headed back to the shops to top up our fresh fruit and veg supplies along with essential beverages and wine. The trick was then transferring everything from our freezer into the new Fridge-Mate. With much jiggling and rearranging it did fit but left very little room for anything from the fridge.

With a table cloth over it our salon based refrigeration solution passes as a coffee table - sort of.

What we found though, was that the big eutectic tank in the boat’s freezer was still very cold and doing a good job of keeping that cabinet cool despite not having been running for over two days. The food from the fridge that Karen hadn’t already plied us with to near bursting went into the freezer with the plan to open it as infrequently as possible until we'd eaten down the contents of the new fridge/freezer enough to make space. Yep! Project Eatathon was still all go. Not that we were actually complaining but rather enthusiastic participants all taking ‘another bite for the team’. Those diets could start later.

The important thing was that we now had a workable refrigeration option, the boat was fully provisioned, topped up with water, wine and beer, and we were ready to get off the dock and back underway at first light next morning.

There were still a lot more islands and anchorages waiting for us.

Push a heavy trolley up there a couple of times at low tide and no gymnasium visits will be needed.

MARINA REVUE: MACKAY MARINA VILLAGE ****

http://www.mackaymarina.com/

Berth rate was $51 per night for our 42 foot boat.

Mackay Marina Village is located behind huge breakwaters adjacent to the Mackay Harbour. It is very well protected from all weather. We spent two nights in the marina and found the staff extremely friendly and helpful. The berths were quite wide and easy to get in and out off. There is a huge tidal difference here which makes getting a heavy trolley of groceries or the like up or down the pontoons at low tide quite a workout. A small chandlery stocking a reasonable supply of essentials is incorporated in the marina office.

The laundry facilities are excellent and even air-conditioned while the shower facilities could be best described as good but not great. Along with apartment buildings, there is a range of restaurants, cafes and a hotel located in the marina. Shops, supermarkets etc are located in the city itself and not within walking distance. A cheap hire car is available from the marina office.

Boat yard facilities including haul out and hardstand are adjacent to the marina. The marina is also a Port of Entry for customs, immigration and quarantine.

Despite the brief and unintended nature of our stay, we enjoyed the marina and would happily recommend it.

Our berth was very easy to get in and out of which is critical for our full keel, no bow thruster ketch

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