SV True North

 We had a very good sail from Island Head Creek to Great Keppel Island. The wind was coming across our port beam giving us a fast reach and allowing us to sail directly without tacking.  I think this is the first day of off the wind sailing since I left the west coast of Australia.  As we were approaching Great Keppel, a catamaran sailed out of the anchorage at North Keppel and closely passed us. It was a friend Steve on his yacht Jester. Jester After anchoring we went ashore, picking Steve up on the way.  As we walked up the beach towards the pub we found this interesting creature at the edge of the water. A sea slug - Euselenops luniceps typically found in sandy environments  No one wanted to touch the creature until I looked it up with google and we determined it to be a sea slug. After having a happy hour beer at the pub with Steve as well as Dan and Aya we had met at Middle Percy, Steve invited  Nancy and I to his boat for a lamb curry dinner.  Na...

 We had a light wind motorsail from Middle Percy Island about 50 miles south to Island Head Creek.  The winds were very light from out departure at 06:00 until mid-afternoon.  As forecast the wind picked up to 8 to 10 knots for our last few hours of the sail.  Wizard of Oz followed us in to Island Head Creek and anchored just behind us.  The entrance to the creek has in the past been quite shallow and I had to be careful navigating over the bar without running aground.  Yesterday we were near the top of a 12 foot or 4 metre tide and the sandbar appears to be washed out so we had a minimum of 25 feet or 8 metres under us.  We anchored just behind a large sandbar which provides excellent protection from any swell. True North at anchor facing towards the mouth of Island Head Creek Our friends anchored behind us Once anchored we took the dinghy over to our friend’s yacht for a sundowner drink.  They invited us to stay for a delicious pasta carbonara a...

 We spent three days at one of my favourite stops on the east coast of Australia, Middle Percy Island.  We anchored in West Bay which is usually quite crowded and often has swell which makes it quite rolly.  This time the anchorage was mostly empty and very calm. Middle Percy Island is famous for its A-Frame structure on the beach at West Bay which holds many momentos of various types documenting visits by previous yachties.  There are signs, clothing, hats, bouys, bathing suits, shell sculptures and mobiles, old boat parts and many other forms of memorabilia covering almost every inch inside he structure.  The A-frame also has dining tables, a barbecue, kitchen with dishes and washup area so most yachties gather there around 16:00 to socialise and have their dinner.  We spent two of the three evenings at the A-frame and met many other sailors.  The last evening we had a couple Dan and Aya from Wizard of Oz over for a homemade pizza dinner. A rock maze...

 We anchored in an excellent anchorage towards the south end of Shaw Island.  As we were getting the dinghy ready to go for a hike on Lindeman Island another yacht anchored near us.  We dropped by to say hello on our way to the hike and met a lovely couple who invited us back for sundowners when we returned. Lindeman Island has a good hike up Mount Orford and provides great views from the summit. The pictures below show the 360 degree view. True North is anchored off the beach by the point at the top right of the photo Looking north towards the rest of the Whitsunday Islands Lindeman Island had. Club Med Resort which closed around 2011.  The resort is still there but has been rotting away with no maintenance since it closed.  I’ve taken to calling the old resort Club Dead 😱.  When we returned to the dinghy after our hike I took a few photos of Club Dead. The caretaker told us that the resort had been recently purchased by a Singapore company and they are a...

 We had a nice sail from Gloucester Resort to Airlie Beach with light wind in the morning picking up to a good breeze by the time we arrived.  We had to depart Gloucester towards the top of the tide so we would be able to get through the shallow start of the Gloucester Passage.  The Airlie Beach anchorage was unusually quiet with many fewer anchored yachts than any previous time I’ve visited.   Airlie Beach Airlie Beach with the Coral Sea Marina at the right background. We headed into town for groceries and found it very busy with crowds of backpackers and others.  I grabbed my groceries and retreated back to True North for some quiet.  The next day I dropped Nancy in town and then went back to True North to do some maintenance and repair work.  The next day we headed south to Shaw Island.

 We anchored in Horshoe Bay on Magnetic Island.  This anchorage is usuall a bit rolly because the predominant southeast swell wraps around into the bay but it provides reasonable shelter.  There is a nice street fronting the bay with cafes, bars, a convenience shop and bus service to the rest of the island.  If more civilisation is needed a ferry runs frequently to nearby Townsville.  The island has extensive walking trails which are varied and scenic. I spent the first day aboard True North doing some needed repairs while Nancy went for a hike.  On the second day I went for a hike to several beaches, up to the WW II gun emplacement and forts and the across to Arcadia one of the other towns on the Island.  I saw lots of wildlife including Wallabies, Achidna and many birds.  In Arcadia I stopped for a beer and took a swim in the hotel pool before returning back on the hiking trail to Horseshoe Bay.  It was a very good hike! Balding Beach The t...

 We anchored in Pioneer Bay in a well protected spot.  All the public moorings were in use so we had to use our own anchor.  There were lots of good anchoring locations available so this was not a problem.  We took the dinghy ashore to do a hike which took us across the island to a high hill on the east side.  It was not a great hike but gave our legs a stretch.  The next morning we took the dinghy ashore at the Orpheus Island Research Station which is owned by the University of Queensland.  We were met at the beach by a nice young staff member who offered to explain the programs at the station before we went on our planned “creepy crawler” hike behind the station.  The tour was very low-key but pleasant. The hike was up and over a ridge through jungle and then down the east side to a rock beach at the ocean.  As we came down a dry creek bed towards the ocean side we found several trees with interesting flowers or growths coming out the trunk...