Showing posts with label â. Show all posts
Showing posts with label â. Show all posts
Monday, 28 March 2016
Mackay Marina – On the dock waiting for a weather window
16-23 November 2016
Normally we try to avoid set schedules but sometimes it can’t be avoided. We had to be in Mackay on Friday for a crew change with John flying home and our eight year old grandson, Kristian, flying in from Canberra for the rest of the trip down the coast with us to Brisbane. We would have preferred to make the twenty nautical mile run south from Brampton Island on the Thursday but the forecast indicated 20 knot south-easterlies returning after a day of 15 knot nor-easterly turning easterly on Wednesday so Wednesday it was.
We raised the anchor soon after first light hoping to take advantage of the more favourable morning nor-easterly but found ourselves sailing to windward from the time we rounded the western point of the island. What followed was a bumpy and uncomfortable beat for the next four hours with genoa, main and mizzen all sheeted in tight.
In a typical example of Murphey’s Law, we caught a good sized queenfish about an hour into the trip after failing to hook anything while sailing over smooth seas for the past couple of weeks . Being a fisherman’s daughter, Karen is the super-proficient one on board with a filleting knife and had the unenviable task of cleaning and filleting our catch on the heeling and heaving aft deck. As always she did and outstanding job of hanging on and hacking at the same time but with blood and guts going everywhere, John did suggest it all looked a scene from a Hollywood slasher movie.
 |
| Not the best conditions for Karen to be slicing and dicing a big Queenfish. |
 |
| The boat was not only heeling pretty well but really bouncing over the swells. |
Our Dreamtime sails quite well to windward at wind angles better than 45 degrees or so and we managed to make quite reasonable time against a contrary tidal current. Surfing through the breakwaters of Mackay Harbour into its flat water was a relief for all of us however. It was enough for John to say he really wouldn’t be keen to face days of similar conditions on a bluewater passage if he could ever avoid it. We pointed out that under normal circumstances we the wimpy type of cruisers who sit and wait for favourable winds rather than choose to sail to windward unless absolutely necessary.
 |
| Brampton Island to Mackay Marina - 20.4 Nautical Miles - 4 Hours 06 Minutes Average Speed 5.0 Knots - Max Speed 8.4 Knots |
 |
| The gardens and surrounds at Mackay Marina were our home for a week |
 |
| John doing it tough on his final day on board Our Dreamtime. |
After getting most of our boat jobs ticked off in the marina that afternoon, we spent a fairly quiet Thursday relaxing before enjoying a farewell with John at the very good Thai restaurant in the marina. His 11 days on board were a ton of fun but had wizzed by as they often do when we have guest crew.
 |
| Rob and Karen about to enjoy some great Thai food at a restaurant in the marina. |
Next morning we hired a car from the marina office and headed for the airport. As luck would have it, John was flying out on the very plane that Kristian was arriving on. Very convenient in deed. There was much excitement as young Master Kristian was escorted through the arrivals gate by a flight attendant to begin his month or so with Nanny and Poppy.
 |
| Eight year old grandson, Kristian, was very excited to be our new crew member. |
We would have loved to have been able to sail away southwards the next morning but unfortunately we had to wait a full five days for the 25 knot south easterly wind to abate. In the meantime we hired the car again for a trip into the hinterland to visit the national park rain forests at Eungella. We also kept our small man occupied with walks out the long breakwater to see ships entering the harbour and a trip into the great swimming lagoon in Mackay to cool off.
 |
| Brilliant views down the Pioneer Valley from Eungella. |
 |
| The rain forest walks at Eungella are fantastic. |
 |
| Kristian with Poppy at Eungella. |
 |
| And clowning around with Nanny. |
 |
| Kristian on the breakwater with Our Dreamtime in her berth over his left shoulder. |
 |
| Watching tugs assist the latest visitor into Mackay Harbour to take on a load of sugar. |
 |
| Mackay's swimming lagoon was a hit with Kristian. |
We also achieved a bit of a mile stone while we were in Mackay when our blog passed 150,000 page reads on the all time counter and topped 11,000 in a month for the first time. We're really pleased people are enjoying our scribblings and photos.
Finally with the winds abating and favourable weather forecast, Our Dreamtime all fuelled up, water tanks full and loaded with fresh provisions we were ready to cast off the lines to begin our month or so passage south to Brisbane. Next stop Middle Percy Island.
 |
| Good night from Mackay Marina. |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We love to receive comments on our blog from readers. If you do leave a comment and you also have a blog, please leave a link as well. We'd like to click over for a visit and leave you a comment too.
If you like our photos and would like to see more follow us on Instagram
To stay right up to date with what we’re up to and see lots more photos check out and 'like' our Dreamtime Sail Facebook page at DreamtimeSail
If you have only recently discovered our blog and would like to read how it all started, or work through our previous adventures, click the link to go back to our first blog entry. Stuff it. Let's just go sailing anyway.
Saturday, 18 July 2015
Cala Deia – no sand but what a beach
August 24 - 2012
After our wild, windswept night we left Port de Soller reasonably early in the morning with the original thought of maybe sailing 21 miles west to Dragonerra Island just off the north western corner of Mallorca. However once again something in our pilot guide had caught our interest.
Cala Deia was listed as a small, picturesque bay with a small beach and fishermen’s huts at its head. The nearby town of Deia was described as being about a mile inland and ‘amongst the lovliest of Mallorca’s villages and the antitheses of the tourist resorts that abound on much of the coastline.’ Now that sounded intriguing but it was only about three miles down the coast so not much of a sail.
Never the less we felt we really should have a look and if the anchorage was OK and the place seemed as interesting as it was described we might stay. In no time at all we were anchored in a very attractive little bay surrounded by high cliffs that provided good shelter from the south westerly breezes blowing. It certainly wouldn’t be the place to be in any sort of northerly though.
The beach was in fact all stone with just two small restaurants but was well populated with swimmers. With its rocky shore, ancient looking boat sheds and lack of resorts, Cala Deia simply had a nice feel to it. So OK, we set a new Alcheringa record for the shortest day’s sail at 3.7 nautical miles as we quickly decided to stay. That’s what we love about having a true cruising schedule, no rush.
 |
| Fantastic old fishermen's boat houses at Cala Diea |
 |
| Karen cooling off at Cala Deia - Mallorca |
It was a particularly hot day so we cooled off with a good swim before having lunch aboard. Then we headed ashore to walk it all off with a visit to village of Deia. While the guide book had said Deia was ‘about’ one mile inland what it didn’t mention was in that mile the elevation went from sea level to about 1000 feet and the path winding through the olive groves and goat farms was more like three miles and all UP! It was certainly a good work out in 40c heat but very picturesque which made it enjoyable.
 |
| The path to Deia goes up through the olive groves |
 |
| And up over live stock barriers |
 |
| And up some more |
 |
| And up through the lanes |
 |
| And all the way up to the church |
 |
| But most importantly, up to a rehydration stop |
When we did finally reach the village though we went straight into first café we came to for re-hydration therapy. Deia is everything the guide book said and more. It’s a fantastic traditional village largely unspoilt by modern times. We had a great time wandering around the narrow laneways admiring all the very old stone houses and cottages. This was also the home of author and poet Robert Graves who wrote I Claudius and over 140 other works for over 50 years before his death in 1985. We passed by his house and made our way right to the church right on top of a high ridge overlooking the town, the valley and sea where visited his very humble grave.
 |
| Marc leading the way through Deia |
 |
| The view from the churchyard back down the valley to the water |
 |
| The very modest final resting place of Robert Graves |
Finally we made our way back down to the beach and had a couple of huge G&Ts in the very rustic beach bar. After our trek, sitting and watching the antics of the kids somersaulting off the rocks was a very entertaining way to relax. Rock jumping seems to be a very popular activity here on Mallorca. Anywhere we go where there’s rocks and water people seem to love leaping from one to the other. By the time we’d narrowly survived our second near litre glass of Gin and Tonic in the beach bar (at 3 euro they were hard to resist but a third would have been fatal), we’d watched people of both sexes and from about 6 to their 60s find a suitable rock and throw themselves off it.
 |
| It's not the camera angle. The G&T's really were almost a litre each. Alcheringa at anchor in the background |
It even continued when we got back to the boat as we watched a particularly agile group repeatedly scale a reasonably sheer cliff beside us and leap into thin air. Sometimes with elegant splashes on entry and at others creating massive eruptions of water which we can only assume would have been accompanied by considerable levels of pain somewhere. Each to their own.
 |
| First you climb the cliff from the water |
 |
| Then he jumps. See if you can spot him against the background of the rocks |
 |
| Then she jumps. Then they do it all over again. |
That night we had the entire anchorage to ourselves as the few other boats that had been around all left before sunset. With almost no wind, no waves, no shore side discos and no bongo drums it was super peaceful. Our lack of sack time the previous night combined with our mountain hike ensured we all slept extremely well.
Thank you Cala Deia for a fantastic day.
For more about our travels check out and 'like' our Dreamtimesail facebook page at
http://www.facebook.com/DreamtimeSail?ref=hl
For more about our travels check out and 'like' our Dreamtimesail facebook page at
http://www.facebook.com/DreamtimeSail?ref=hl
Wednesday, 19 November 2014
Cala Portals Porto Veile a great place to waste time – Around Mallorca beach by beach
September 3-4 - 2012
To be assured of a good anchoring spot in Cala Portals you either get there before the day tripping boats arrive or as they're leaving so we were up early on Monday morning to beat the crowd. There was very little wind so we motored the short distance around the corner with Marc and Karen winging about early start. They’d obviously got too accustomed to the sleep ins of the last week or so.
 |
| We arrived at Cala Portals before the hordes that followed. For some reason it was the day of the massive motorboats. This is only a portion of what were in the bay. |
 |
| Beautiful Cala Portals next morning before all the day trippers arrived |
We were beginning to feel like locals here this being our third visit. We were able to drop anchor in our favourite spot just off the beach in the most sheltered corner of the bay. The only difference to our previous stays was a heavy rock breaker and excavator working on a construction site on the hill. So much for the serenity.
 |
| Nothing like a massive rock breaker to enhance the ambience |
This time the wind did what was predicted and while we had some rain and overcast in the morning the sunshine took over for the rest of our stay. As always in Cala Portals it was a case of swim, read, snorkel, tan, a bite to eat, a glass of wine and most of all, relax.
We got word on Tuesday morning that our radio was back at last so we made arrangements to go back to Palma the next day to get it fitted and to have an insurance assessor have a look at the boat so we could arrange repairs.
It may have been a short stay in Cala Portals but it was another good one.
For more about our travels check out and 'like' our Dreamtimesail facebook page athttp://www.facebook.com/DreamtimeSail?ref=hl
Thursday, 9 October 2014
In the Whitsundays at last – Shaw Island
21 October 2015
After days and days of south easterlies, the wind was finally forecast to swing to a north easterly so it was definitely time to leave our cosy spot on Brampton Island’s northern shore and move on. We decided to sail to an anchorage on the southern side of Thomas Island which looked good on the charts and enjoyed good reviews in both of our cruising guide books we were carrying.
We made an early start to the trip to make the most of the wind before the northerly change came through. As Brampton grew smaller over the stern railing, the breeze persisted from the South East in the 10-12 knot range giving us a fairly gentle downwind sail.
We spotted a catamaran a mile or so east of us sailing south and our AIS revealed it to be friends from our time on the Indonesian Rally in 2011, Colin and his son Alex on Splashdown. We had hoped to catch up with them in Airlie Beach but now they were taking advantage of the predicted break in the ever persistent south-easterlies to run for home on the Gold Coast. We were able to have a good chat on the radio though as we sailed by each other.
By the time we rounded Tinsmith and Linne Islands there was still no sign of the predicted wind shift so we elected to change our destination to Shaw Island further to the north. There are anchorages both sides of its western end in the bay of Burning Point or in Billbob Bay which would provide us safe options whether the wind stayed south easterly or did in fact swing north.
 |
| Our intended destination changed to Plan B of Shaw Island when the wind didn't swing as forecast. |
It had been quite an uneventful sail on relatively smooth seas. The sail trim needed very little attention and Ben & Gerry (our B&G autopilot) were doing a great job of steering the boat. We were very relaxed in the cockpit watching the world slowly float by when the sound of the ratchet on our fishing rod screamed loudly for a few seconds.
We were both at the stern very quickly peering out towards our trailed lure where a dark shadow in the water appeared to be lazily following behind stalking it. Rob grabbed the fishing rod out of its holder and eased out some line to drop the lure back towards the lurking shape. It also dropped back. He then reeled in some line and as the lure moved forward the shadow kept station about a metre or two behind again. The lure was alternatively eased then retrieved another two or three times as the game continued until suddenly the ratchet screamed as the line ran hard. The fish had taken the lure and was off.
As Rob slowly wound on the resistance a fair bit of line ran out before the reel started to hold it. The moment he tried to wind some back in the previously unidentified fish revealed itself emerging high out of the water and tail walking across the surface ready to fight for its freedom. We’d hooked a good sized sailfish. Ever the game fisherman’s daughter determined to try to land the catch, Karen screamed “How the hell do I back the boat up on the fish under sail?”
The short answer is “You can’t,” but it was all a moot point as our sailfish made short work of our tackle and busted free seconds later. Retrieving the line we found the swivel had broken. Rob suggested that it was probably for the best as trying to land an angry sailfish on our high stern without one of us getting impaled on its bill may have been a risky exercise. Karen would have none of that maintaining if we’d got it to the boat she’d have “landed the bastard.” Knowing her determination she probably would have. Excitement over, we resumed our near horizontal positions in the cockpit and continued our otherwise sedate passage to Shaw Island.
 |
| The water shelves very slowly to the beach at Shaw Island so we were anchored well out. |
 |
| Looking across the passage to Lindeman Island Resort - also mothballed at the moment. |
There was still no sign of any wind shift as we approached the island’s western extremity so we sailed around Burning Point and anchored in very calm waters of its bay. We were now officially in the Whitsunday Islands at last.
 |
| Brampton Island to Shaw Island - 24.2 Nautical Miles - 4 Hours 36 Minutes Average Speed 5.3 knots - High Speed 6.9 knots |
 |
| Calm conditions in the anchorage at Shaw Island |
 |
| A number of other boats joined us in the bay through the afternoon. |
 |
| Good night from Shaw Island. |
If you have only recently discovered our blog and would like to read how it all started, or work through our previous adventures, click the link to go back to our first blog entry. Stuff it. Let's just go sailing anyway. We hope you enjoy reading the previous posts to catch up on our story.
Thursday, 11 October 2012
The Island of Capraia – A hidden Italian Gem
June 7-8, 2013
It was unusual to be able to have a sleep in on a sailing day but on Friday June 7 we were leaving Corsica and making our way eighteen nautical miles to the Island of Capraia, handily located a third of the way to Italy’s Tuscan coast. The forecast predicted no wind before around 11am so we didn’t lift the anchor until 10.30. This gave us enough time to motor clear of the huge wind break of Corsica’s Cap Corse and be in clear air to take advantage of the expected eight to ten knot breeze, if and when it arrived. Yes we’re still sceptics when it comes to weather forecasts in the Med.
This time the weather gurus were pleasantly spot on the money. Within twenty minutes we turned into the slowly building wind to raise the mainsail, eased back onto our course, turned the motor off and enjoyed a glorious broad reach in warm sunshine almost on a direct line all the way to our landfall on the southern tip of Isola Capraia.
 |
| Marc trying to get a phone pic of our Italian landfall to post on his facebook |
 |
| Isola Capraia is a great stop when crossing from Corsica to Italy |
And what a land fall it was. Punta Zenobito is a spectacular geological formation. The western cliffs feature well weathered granite, contrasting red rock infusions with a sporadic coverage of dense, low green foliage and bright yellow wild flowers. Rounding the point we were completely sheltered from the breeze and sailed into dead calm waters. We discovered a fellow cruising yachtsman anchored in a tiny indentation in the cliffs where the aged granite met a sheer cliff face of red rock. It was certainly a picturesque spot to say ‘Hello Italy’ for although the island is closer to French territory in the form of Corscia than the Italian mainland, Capraia is very Italian.
 |
| Karen enjoying the sunshine and sailing as we approach Isola Capraia |
 |
| The contrasting rock colours, vegetation and wild flowers were dramatic |
 |
| What an anchorage under the cliffs of Punta Zenobito |
 |
| No Karen. There is not room in there for us too. |
It’s known to have been settled in Roman times and the ruins of a Roman villa can still be seen near the village at Porto Capraia. It was later settled by monks who over the course of time apparently slipped into what Pope Gregory the Great referred to as ‘unorthodoxy and loose behaviour.’ It must have been very loose because the said Pope dispatched an armed force to show them the error of their ways and ‘encourage’ them back into line. Like much of the Mediterranean, the island was also ravaged by pirates for centuries. Lord Nelson captured it, which no doubt looked good in Admiralty dispatches at the time, but in the end there was no point in keeping it so he sailed away and onto the next conquest we guess. These days the small population of islanders earn a modest income from a little tourism.
Capraia is part of the Tuscan Archipelago Nationals Park with the island and its waters a marine reserve. No access is permitted at all to a large area off the west coast while in the waters around most of the remainder no fishing of any sort is permitted with all diving and anchoring regulated. The harbour at Porto Capraia itself is the only landfall permitted on the island but we chose to make the most of the incredible looking water and anchored in Ansa Ceppo, a bay surrounded by sheer cliffs on the south eastern side.
 |
| In the clear waters of Isola Capraia Karen had her first swim of the summer. |
It was glorious. Marc and Rob had no sooner got the anchor on the bottom then there was a loud splash at the stern. Karen wasted no time getting in for her first swim of the summer and was in even before the engine was turned off. Rob followed soon after in snorkelling gear. Checking the set of the anchor in the sand was a simple matter as the bottom could be seen clear as day over eight metres below the surface. He also took the opportunity to give the boat’s waterline a quick scrub to remove a bit of the marina grime that had built up since she went back into the water in Ceuta back in March.
 |
| A guy's work is never done. Cleaning, cleaning, cleaning. |
The rest of the evening was spent enjoying the serenity, with a few sundowners of course and a great BBQ dinner in the cockpit. It’s so nice to not be living below all the time now the weather has warmed up. We love summer.
 |
| OK. So it's not all hard work. |
 |
| Macinaggio to Isola Capraia - 18.2 Nautical Miles - 3 Hours 55 Minutes Average speed 4.6 knots Max 6.6 knots |
Next morning we raised the anchor and headed offshore a little to try and pick up some phone service. Back home in Australia our Daughter, Yasmin, was expecting our fifth grandchild anytime now so we hated being out of reach. Unfortunately our French sim card couldn’t quite connect across the 33 kilometres of water back to Corsica so we gave up and turned for Porto Capraia.
 |
| Wow! Approaching Porto Capraia we rounded a point as found this. |
What a gem of a place. With the weather predicted to stay very settled, we were able to safely anchor in a corner of the harbour beside some cliffs topped by a medieval watch tower. We soon had the dingy down and made our way the short distance past an unusual sculpture of a sea nymph on the end of the breakwater and into the inner harbour and marina area to the waterfront village.
 |
| That's what you call anchoring under protection. |
 |
| Looked like this little sea nymph at Porto Capraia was deep in thought. |
 |
| Anse Ceppo to Porto Capraia - |
It was a very attractive spot with just a few dockside cafes and a small general store. Our priority was to find some WiFi to get an update on the state of play with not only the impending birth of our soon to be youngest grandson, but also to catch up with how our elder two were faring with their racing in the Junior Dragster Class at Australia’s biggest event, the Winternationals.
We adjourned to one of the cafes and ordered a nice bottle of Tuscan wine as we made our connection with the outside world. First things first, Yasmin was able to inform us that she was still regrettably in one piece rather than two. However she had been experiencing some labour pains so said she was expecting to evict Junior sooner rather than later. Like all mums to be in the final stages of pregnancy she was clearly over it all and looking forward to the idea of sooner much more than the possibility of later.
 |
| Things are pretty relaxed on Isola Capraia. This how you change a tyre. |
On the racing front, Ethan had driven exceptionally well but unfortunately his car didn’t match his performance on this occasion and he’d been beaten very narrowly in the first round. Caleb on the other hand was going gang busters and was moving through the elimination rounds quite nicely. He had one more race to win to reach the quarter finals and get to be part of the huge main finals day of the event.
Our fingers were crossed that things went smoothly for both Yasmin and Caleb but as we were sailing for the Italian mainland the next day we were going to have an anxious wait until we reached port and could connect again to get the next instalment of news from home.
While we handled all of our communications with family, Marc went off in search of a teller machine to get some cash. A friendly local provided the info that there wasn’t one in the village and said he’d have to go ‘to the city’ pointing to the walled fortress and it’s surrounds on top of the hill. An hour or so later Marc reported back that the city was in fact a very nice, but sleepy and very small town atop the hill overlooking the harbour entrance.
 |
We found Capraia an absolutely delightful, unspoiled place, with extremely open and friendly people. It would have been nice to spend another day there and explore the old fort and long closed prison along with some of the national park area but the weather gurus were predicting a very good sailing wind to push us the rest of the way to the Italian coast the next day . You have to make the most of the wind when it’s in your favour, and besides, Pisa, Florence and the hills of Tuscany were calling us.
For more about our travels and lots more photos check out and 'like' our Dreamtime Sail facebook page at Dreamtime Sail on Facebook
If you only recently discovered our blog and would like to read how it all started, click the link to go back to our first blog entry. Stuff it. Let's just go sailing anyway. We hope you enjoy reading the previous posts to catch up on our story.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
