Showing posts with label Keppel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Keppel. Show all posts
Wednesday, 22 June 2016
Discovering some limits Island Head Creek to Great Keppel Island
November 28, 2015
We followed our previous day’s track on the chart plotter downstream in the pre-dawn light to clear the mouth of Island Head Creek before the lowest of the tide. We were surrounded by four other boats including our friends on Seabreeze and Howzat clearly with the same idea in mind. Sticking very close to our track made exiting the creek much less stressful than the entry had been. The theory being, if we didn’t hit the bottom anywhere we went yesterday we shouldn’t hit it there today either. We did see some readings in the two metre levels again inside the mouth but successfully cleared Island Head without bouncing off anything. We love a theory that works.
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| The sun rising as we depart Island Head Creek |
Again the seas just outside were quite rough and confused and we were very happy that our Leisurefurl in boom mainsail is so easy to raise from the safety of the cockpit. The mizzen can also be reached from the back of the cockpit so with those both raised we soon had the genoa unfurled and set course for Great Keppel Island 60 nautical miles to the south.
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| Rick and Howzat disappeared into the distance again in the downwind conditions |
The coastline here is all part of the Australian Defence Force’s Shoalwater Bay Exercise Area and as such is completely uninhabited, unless the Army, Navy or Air Force are there blowing the place up again in which case we cruisers are forced to sail by well offshore. The geology is quite dramatic with many small, rocky islands rising vertically out of the water to quite significant heights. As soon as the sails had been trimmed and the boat was settled on course, Karen had her sketch pad our recreating a number of the more dramatic looking scenes along the way.
The modest wind blowing around ten knots from the Nor Nor East through the morning saw us edge away from the coast to maintain a workable sail angle so progress was comparatively slow. We gybed back and forwards a couple of times but eventually settled on a long run further offshore in attempt to keep the boat speed somewhere near respectable. The breeze was forecast to strengthen later in the day so we were hoping to pick up the pace in the afternoon or we may be arriving at Keppel in the dark.
Well offshore from Cape Manifold we gybed again back towards the coast. The wind was picking up at last but also swinging around for a while before finally settling in the mid to high teens from almost due North. With our destination now almost due South we poled out the genoa on the opposite side to the main and mizzen and began sailing wing on wing directly downwind consistently making better than seven knots.
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| Our Dreamtime charging downwind wing on wing approaching North Keppel Island. |
With our sails well filled and Our Dreamtimecharging along nicely as ever bigger swells rolled under our hull it was far from the perfect time to hear the ratchet on our game rod suddenly start screaming . We had hooked a large fish that was reeling line off at a scary rate while it was impossible to even slow down the boat let alone stop and back it up on the fish the way you would on a game boat.
Rob grabbed the rod and progressively increased the drag until the speed at which the line was disappearing slowed to a trickle. The fish managed another couple of decent runs but each time Rob was able to manage and then finally stop the loss of line. Eventually he was able to start retrieving line but whatever it was, this fish was not going to give up easily and would try to run again. The battle ebbed and flowed for a few minutes before the stern of the boat was picked up by a good sized swell which we surfed down the face of at nine knots or so putting too much strain on the line. Goodbye fish and goodbye favourite lure. Bugger. Fresh fish for dinner at Great Keppel Island would have been nice.
Mid afternoon the wind began to strengthen further and by the time we were approaching North Keppel Island we were seeing regular gusts over 20 knots. These conditions began to test Ben & Gerry. (The nick name for our new B&G Autopilot) The big swells often swung the stern which presented much more of the mizzen and main to the wind overpowering the genoa. This pushed us off our dead downwind course. The Autopilot was then overwhelmed a number of times as it tried to correct finding the weather helm too strong to overcome.
Reducing sail or even dropping the mizzen completely would have balanced the boat up more but that would mean turning around into the wind and seas to reef and or drop. With the shelter of Great Keppel Island in sight just across the waters we decided to leave things as they were but with Rob taking over the helm from Ben & Gerry.
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| David on Seabreeze got this photo of Our Dreamtime wing on wing as we sailed side by side towards Great Keppel Island. |
By the time we approached the passage between Middle and Miall Islands about an hour and a half later he was questioning the wisdom that decision. The wind was now a steady 25 knots and gusting above that quite regularly. The swells were also standing up steeper and higher in the shallower water. This combination made hand steering physically hard work.
As he constantly worked the wheel back and forward countering the best efforts of wind and wave to send us off course, Karen had the camera out snapping photos of our friends David and Nerida having their own fun and games aboard Seabreeze in the spirited conditions. Marc meanwhile was sitting back engrossed in solving the cryptic crossword in that day’s London Times he’d just downloaded when we regained Wifi service after our days in black hole territory since we reached Digby Island. Rob’s comments about it being hard to get good crew seemed to fall on deaf ears all around.
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| Our friends on Seabreeze hull down between swells near North Keppel Island |
Once in the lee of Middle Island, we were able to turn to wind in reasonably flat water and drop all sails with Rob letting out a huge sigh of relief as the helm resumed its normal feather light feel. We were then left with just a short motor around into the well protected bay at Long Beach on the southern side of Great Keppel.
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| Island Head Creek to Great Keppel Island - 62.7 Nautical Miles – 11 Hours 25 Minutes Average Speed 5.5 Knots – Highest Speed 9.6 knots |
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| The run from North Keppel Island through to the passage between Middle and Miall Islands was spirited to say the least. |
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| Nice and calm in the anchorage off Long Beach on the southern side of Great Keppel Island |
This was always intended to be a shakedown cruise to learn our boat and we had definitely discovered some new limits. Our autopilot problems and experience hand steering in the strongish, downwind conditions convinced us that in future we would probably be better off leaving the mizzen sail in the bag when we sailed wing on wing if the wind was likely to get up.
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| Sundowner drinks on Long Beach after our spirited passage. |
Later that afternoon we hit the beach for sundowner drinks with David, Nerida and Rick where we compared tales of the days passage and told other tall stories. That’s what cruising is about isn’t it.
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Wednesday, 9 May 2012
Trapped at Great Keppel Island
23-28 June 2016
We not sure what it is about Great Keppel Island but every time we come here with plans to stay a day or two it ends up much longer. We try to blame it on the wind not being right to continue on but really we just love the place so much we find it hard to drag ourselves away.
When we stumbled out of our bunk after a great night’s sleep in the calm of North West Island, some forty nautical miles east of the Keppel Islands, we were greeted with an absolutely stunning morning of glassy water and breathless air. Rob quickly took the opportunity to point out to the two New South Wales crews anchored with us what a great State of Origin game it had been the previous night. His enthusiasm for the football didn’t seem shared by either Chances or Sea Whiskers this morning.
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| Anne on Chances took this great morning shot of Our Dreamtime and Sea Whiskers at North West Island |
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| Our anchor chain dropping 9 metres then laying across the sand. |
As tempting as it seemed to stay in the paradise of North West Islands, a moderate north westerly wind was predicted to spring up that afternoon to be followed by a strong south westerly change a day later. This would be a very uncomfortable and potentially unsafe place to be in those conditions. It was time to bite the bullet and motor across the windless water to Great Keppel Island for a couple of nights before continuing on up the coast.
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| Karen on the helm as we say goodbye to North West Island |
We didn’t bother to raise any sail at all during the day as the trip across was about as boring as you could get. With our clean hull and Propspeed coated propeller working well together we were able to maintain six knots at just 1300rpm in the flat water which certainly helps limit fuel consumption. To help the time pass we both read our books while keeping an eye on the waters ahead. Rob also broke his boredom by cooking up a nice pizza for lunch in the BBQ and Karen felt inspired enough to bake some yummy banana bread for afternoon snacks.
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| It's all about the food on Our Dreamtime |
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| Fresh baked banana bread. |
As we crossed the main coastal shipping channel we again made our way through a huge area of brown sludge. We have come across large areas of this in our passages in Queensland coastal waters and the Gulf of Carpentaria. Some people argue that it’s just coral spawn but having lived in Townsville and the Whitsundays we’ve seen enough of that to know this is something else. The crud we motored through this time re-enforced our belief that what we encounter is foul ballast water pumped out by bulk carriers as they approach harbour to load up with coal. It’s awful.
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| This crap in the water is disgusting. |
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| It was not a small patch of the crud that we motored through |
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| The water was nice and clean again once we cleared the shipping channel. This is Barren Island east of GKI. |
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| North West Island to Great Keppel Island - 43.2 Nautical Miles - 7 Hours 10 Minutes Average Speed 6.0 Knots - Max Speed - 6.8 |
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| Our anchorage in 3 to 5 metres of clear water at Great Keppel Island |
Fortunately the water was beautiful, clean and clear where we anchored near Svenson’s Beach on the northern side of Great Keppel Island. Karen prepared a very nice rack of lamb and vegies which Rob cooked on the BBQ as we cracked a bottle of bubbles to salute the sunset.
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We then spend the next few days simply enjoying the fantastic island that is Great Keppel. We did some exploring in the dinghy and put the crab pots down amongst the mangroves in the tidal creek. Karen sat on the beach and did some painting while Rob got stuck into the blog again. More books were read, great food cooked and eaten and a bottle or two of wine emptied.
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| The BBQ continues to get a workout on Our Dreamtime |
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| Putting the crab pots down |
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| Even inside the mangrove creek the Great Keppel water was crystal clear. |
Saturday June 25 marked Karen's Father's birthday but also the 40th anniversary of the day her family launched G.F.V. Wahoo, the 36 ft game fishing boat that was to be Karen's home in the Whitsunday Islands for a number of years. We were able call Trevor with birthday wishes and some nostalgic recollections of their first voyage on Wahoo from Brisbane up to her new home at Shute Harbour. The next morning Karen's Mum emailed us some great old photos including one from their stop at Great Keppel Island back in 1976.
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| Karen with her family on Wahoo's flybridge on launch day. |
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| 1976 - Karen and her brother Russell enjoying Svenson's Beach at GKI while Dad cleans the dinghy with Wahoo at anchor. |
Late each afternoon we made our way ashore at Svensen’s Beach and gathered with other cruisers around the fire to meet new people, swap stories, enjoy a drink or four and of course, discuss the weather and sailing plans.
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| Karen and Anne from Chances at sundowners |
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| Karen's spinnaker themed sundowner snacks |
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| Each night delivered a great sunset |
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| Cruisers around the Svensen's Beach fire for sundowners |
It’s the sort of place where it’s very easy to convince yourself that although the weather tomorrow may be OK to head north it’s probably going to be better if we stay another day – or two. Yep! We love it here.
But enough is enough. The forecast looks pretty good so we will definitely leave tomorrow - probably - OK maybe. |
| Goodnight from Great Keppel Island. |
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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.
We hope you enjoy reading the previous posts to catch up on our story.
Tuesday, 20 March 2012
Northward Ho Next stop Great Keppel Island
27 September 2015
Our next leg north was just a short hop of less than 20 nautical miles across to Great Keppel Island. Although there was no need for an early start, a small but uncomfortable swell began rolling around the point into our anchorage at Hummocky Island around dawn so we decided to up anchor and get underway.
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| Goodbye Hummocky Island. We would have loved to stay longer. |
The easterly swell was considerably larger once we cleared the point and set sail for the bay on the Western side of Great Keppel Island. The 12-15 knot wind was also not too helpful coming from directly behind us if we attempted to steer the direct course. We sailed just enough degrees to the starboard side of the lay line keep our main and mizzen sails filled but it was much to fine to hold the genoa without poling it out. As it was didn’t have far to run we left it furled and still found we were rock and rolling along in the beamy swell at a respectable five and half to six knots.
We held that line for about five or six miles then gybed across to a corresponding angle on the port tack where the swell was more aft and far more comfortable. We were just starting to think this tacking downwind idea was working pretty well for us when the wind began to weaken. Soon our speed was down in the low to mid three knot zone but with our destination so close we were never tempted to start the engine. Even if you’re a bit slow, it’s always much nicer bobbing along under sail if you have time up your sleeve. Lazing back in the cockpit leaving the steering to Ben & Gerry, (our nickname for the new B&G autopilot), is not hard to take and you get a lot more of your latest book read.
We gybed again a couple of hours later and held on as long as we could before finally starting the engine as we approached Monkey Point on the island’s South West corner. The breeze was so weak as we made our way around the corner to Fisherman’s Bay off the resort area of the island that we dropped the sails running downwind.
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| Fisherman's Bay Great Keppel Island |
It was almost low tide and Fisherman’s Bay is quite shallow at the best of times. We used a fair bit of care picking a spot to drop anchor putting it down in just 2.8 metres of crystal clear water. We see every shell on the bottom so it was very easy to be sure our anchor was well dug in.The following day’s low was going to be .3m lower which would leave a clear and comfortable metre of water under the keel. That margin would increase by four metres on the high tide.
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| Hummocky Island to Great Keppel Island - 19.5 Nautical Miles – 5 Hours 03 Minutes Average Speed 3.8 Knots – Highest Speed 6.8 knots Our zig zag track shows where we gybed downwind to maintain a reasonable sailing angle. |
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| Where we anchored on the first night in Fisherman's Bay on the Western side of Great Keppel Island. |
All that was left to do was crack a post passage beer to end our the slowest passage so far five hours after departing Hummocky Island. We may not have been fast but we were certainly well relaxed.
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| A sloop sailing South in the setting sun west of Great Keppel Island |
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| Prawn, pineapple and chorizo kebabs on the BBQ capped a very laid back day. |
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| Good night from Great Keppel Island! |
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 Dreamtime Sail on Facebook
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.
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