Cruising North Queensland Australia

I was chatting with Leon and realised I should start a new thread.
The Boss and I left Mooloolaba last Thursday afternoon and headed north, crossed the Wide Bay Bar that night and anchored at Pelican Point (south end of Fraser Island, the largest sand island in the world)
The next day we progressed up the inside passage and spent a couple of nights in the Susan River.
From there an 8 hr passage to Bundaberg where I am waiting for a new AVR for my gen set.
From here we will head further north to the Whitsunday Islands.
Normally we have a couple of nice anchorages in the Broadsound area, Pearl Bay, Island Head Creek but they are in a Military Training area and will be closed for 3 weeks as of Sunday, this may entail a straight 20 hr steam out wide to the Percy Islands.
Will attach some photos as we progress.

Benn

Hi Benn,


Speaking of good walks in Hinchinbrook, you reminded me that I once walked the length of the island. *It certainly was beautiful and it took four days of walking and camping in different spots each night. *We were dropped off by boat at the southern end then picked up at the north end four days later. * Amazing beaches, rainforest and also lots of fresh water creeks that if you go up stream on you do not have to worry about the crocs.


The only negatives were some of the local critters, lots of insects and then these small native rats that would get your food unless you went to extreme lengths each night to secure it. *They would happily chew into your tent if they could smell food. *I seem to remember stringing our food up in bags hangng by fishing line from a tree each night. *They could not grip the fishing line so could not get to the food.


Keep updating as you go as the Queensland coast is a great area for cruising.


Cheers, Leon.

Lookin forward to the stories and the pics!!!

The trip north started in Mooloolaba on Thursday June the 25 th.
Gayle arrived up from Brisbane in the morning and we were off the wharf at 12 30 hrs.
Heading north we crossed the treacherous Wide Bay Bar at 20 30 hrs. A good crossing on a very dark night.
The boss wasnt happy but relieved once we were anchored at Pelican Point.

The next day we started up the Sandy Straights ( between Fraser Island and the Mainland) and into the Susan River where we were to stay a couple of nights due to strong NW to SW winds.
Experienced a problem with my generator and wasnt able to externally excite it with a battery so will have it seen to when we get to Bundaberg.
Headed of from the straights hugging the coast to keep out of the SW winds and arrived at the Bundaberg Port Marina at 1700 hrs on the 28 th.
A couple of days in Bundaberg while we waited for the supply of a new AVR for the gen set and we missed a couple of days of good motor boating weather.
New AVR and we departed Bundy with the intention of steaming overnight to Kepple Island.
We pushed into a stiff NEasterly and by 2330 hrs that night we were buggered so a quick left turn thru the 28 odd waiting Buaxite and Coal bulkies at anchor and we headed up the harbour of Gladstone to anchor and rest.
The next morning we had an early start and got out the North Entrance a tricky entrance without much water but the tides were right and we were out and back on track arriving in Wreck Bay Great Keppel Island at 1400 hrs.
This is a beautifull sandy beach bay with good SW protection.
Here we met up with some old friends who had sailed up from Tasmania.
John and Tracy on Midnight rambler used to run the Laguna Quays Marina up in the Whitsundays.
We traveled with them for the next couple of days from Keppel Island to Pearl Bay and then up to Marble Island.
These days were just pleasant motor boating weather with 10/15 knot SW winds and with this on the stern quarter we traveled well and we had to keep going to get north of the Army Training area of Broad Sound that was to close for 3 weeks as of midnight 4 th July.
On the 5 th we had a sloppy cruise up to a very beautiful anchorage on the north side of Curlew Is. We will stay here a couple of days to smell the roses and hopefully have enough time to catch a few fish.
From there we had a very pleasant cruise of about 5.5 hrs to Mackay, another serious coal loading port with about 27 bulkies at anchor.
Here for a few days to see afew old friends and restore.
We then have the daughter comming up for a few days and we will have a couple of days in Laguns Quays before we again start to head north.
When I resize them I will post a couple of photos.

Whilst in Bundaberg I had a look around a small boat builders yard who builds a very nice power Cat.
Lengths from 14.2 mts to 17 mts.
Some of them aree a bit squareish but one in paticular he has some nice curves and a very high standard of finnish.

Benn

And a few more photos

Hi Benn,

Thanks for the update, good to hear about the cruising and I am sure you will start catching Spanish Mackerel as you get a little further north. *Enjoy and keep posting your pictures.


Cheers, Leon.

Hi Guys,
I am now a fair bit further north.
Tied up at magnetic Island just of the coast at Townsville.
Had a strong wind warning out and it is still on.
I am also waioting for a new motor for my water maker.
Bloody brand new and the motor is stuffed. (A waranty claim I hope)
had a walk over the Island today and saw one of the strangest craft , photo attached.
Actually heard about it a few days ago down at Cape Upstart, soon as i saw it I knew it was the boat.
We have had a terrific run of weather and real motor boatin seas.
With nice SE trades blowing I have been able to average about 8.2 knots for the last 30 odd hours of steaming.

A few more photos

It's not clear to me as to just exactly what your dinghy is. Are those ball fenders (yellow) over the tender's sides or are they some kind of full length flotation that are permanently attached to the boat?* Since I'm not a big RIB fan, your tender set up interests me.

Seahorse,
They are a flotation device called Aerofloats Aerofloat.com.au
Inflateable units attached to the side of my tinny for flotation, fenders and also assist in getting in and out whilst free diving.
They are terrific.
When travelling in Northern parts of Australia a tinny is a better tender as RIBs are known as teething rings for Crocks.

Regards
Benn

I have been north of Townsville for about 10 days now and after cruising thru the Palm Group of Islands and an overnight at Orpheus we have stayed around Hinchinbrook Island.
This is one fantastic Island with an incredibly diverse eco system.
The fishing and crabing is awsome.
We entered the passage at the south end past the Lucinda Sugar loading wharf. It is that long it dips 6 feet due to the curvature of the earth.
Will stay up here for another week fishing the mangrove creeks and hope to catch a barramundi before we start to head south.


-- Edited by Tidahapah on Saturday 15th of August 2009 04:37:41 AM

Great pictures Benn. *Hinchinbrook Island is a very very special place. *Good luck with the barra!Cheers, Leon.

Ben:

I tried Googling "AeroFloat but to no avail! Are you sure that the website is AeroFloat.Com.au?

Walt



-- Edited by SeaHorse II on Monday 17th of August 2009 09:23:14 AM

Walt,
Sorry , just checked the site and it is www.aerofloat.com
Hope this is right.
Benn

Leon,
spending a bit more time up the creeks befor I turn round and head south again.
We have a strong wind warning out tonight so no better place to be but anchored up in the passage.
Was over in Zoe bay the other day and walked up to the falls and rock pools what a magneficent view and awsome place.
Benn

Benn:

No cigar! I've tried everything I can think of on Google and to no avail. Did you buy yours from the manufacturer or through a dealer? I hate to be so persistent but my history with RIBS has been horrible. They leak, pulling them up on the beach abrades the bottom, they are "soft" in the morning, the sun plays havoc on the floats, etc.

I want an aluminum dinghy with floats!!!!

Walt

Walt---

Check out the Bullfrog. *http://www.bullfrogboats.com/ *This is the dinghy that's hanging on the davits on Carey's lobsterboat. It combines the advantages of an inflatable (high load-carrying capacity, high stability, good buoyancy) with the advantages of a hardshell dingy (durable, no inflated tubes, no fabric, tough, replaceable aluminum bottom). Their only downside is they are heavier than an inflatable or simple hardshell. I've been in Carey's 10' model on several occasions and it's great.

The Bullfrog has solid foam "tubes" for flotation. Since they are not fabric air chambers, they don't have to be round. So the inside edges are cut straight down which adds considerably more user room to the inside of the dinghy. Carey had a custom fuel tank made up to be an integral part of the center seat so he doesn't even have to carry a gas can.

He has a 15hp Honda on his and it planes with the two of us with no problems. It's the best dinghy I've been in so far. Tough, buoyant, fast, stable, a good amount of room, looks good (they're available in white or gray). I'm sure Carey will chime in here with either additional benefits or things he's found he doesn't like, but it's a great little boat in my opinion.

-- Edited by Marin on Tuesday 18th of August 2009 02:05:08 PM

AllWhat Marin says of the Bullfrog is mostly true. Other than its weight, I love the boat. Just to clarify one thing however. The flotation tubes are high density polyethylene. They are hollow, and provide a great place for storage of smaller items, entered via screw hatches at several points. There is about 6" of foam lining the bottom of these flotation tubes just in case it were to spend a long time flooded. It will not sink. With just myself on board, it runs about twenty knots with the 15 horse. Although rated at a max 15 horse, most purchasers put a 20 horse on it anyway. They do fine.
Carey


PS-The forward seat is the eleven gallon aluminum fuel tank. It really helps getting on plane, and leaves the interior of the boat uncluttered.

CAREY & MARIN:

Thanks for the info....it solves all the problems I've encountered with RIBs .
Although a little pricey, it appears to be the perfect tender for just about all known conditions.

I got a quote that included a Honda 9.9 and rigged with a SeaWise davit. Carey's davit, however, is more to my liking. What is it? I have no need for a 20 kt. tender but do you think the 9.9 is adequate?

Walt

Carey designed the davits himself and had them fabricated by a machine shop in Bellingham. They are powder-coated aluminum.

Everybody (including me) starts out by saying that they have no need for a fast tender so a low-power motor will do just fine.* It's*bullsh*t.* I've found it takes about two uses to change your mind.* We have a very low-power dinghy (4hp) because I wanted to keep the weight down on our 36-year-old swimstep.* But putting along with a 4hp sucks big time.** Dinghies are no different than airplanes and boats.***Outside of the pansies who genuinely have some pathological obsession with conserving fuel, there is no such thing as too much power.* And even the tree-huggers secretly want to go fast.

Carey can be more precise, but in my opinion a 9.9 is not enough power for a 10' Bullfrog.* Sure it will move the boat along okay, but if you have a boat that will go fast, why not go fast?* I would say a 15hp is ideal in real life for the 10' Bullfrog although twenty would be even better if weight and launch and recovery is not an issue.* A friend of Carey's put a--- what was it, 45 hp?--- on his 10' Bullfrog.* I think he got from Bellingham to Friday Harbor in less than an hour.

One feature of Carey's Bullfrog you might want to investigate further.* The side grab rails, which are very handy, are placed in a position that makes it difficult, or impossible, to use the oars in the event the motor conks out.* Carey can explain this better, but it's the only thing I've heard him say he would do differently.


-- Edited by Marin on Tuesday 18th of August 2009 04:08:32 PM

WaltA 9.9 is fine, if your use consists of going from boat to dock, or out a few hundred feet to set a crab pot. If that is how you'll use it, even smaller will do a few knots. I like the speed, because I can run a few miles quickly, to fish, get groceries (meaning a fresh bottle of whiskey), or to a fishing spot. If I'm not in a hurry, I can putt along slowly with little fuel burn. The 10 horse won't plane the Bullfrog. It takes a 15 with Dolphins to get it on plane quickly. The only reason for not going to 15 horse that I can think of would be initial cost, and weight (if you will be manhandling the motor). The 20 horse Honda weighs no more than the fifteen, as the only difference is in the carburetor.
Marin is correct about my buddy's Bullfrog. He bought a blem from Bullfrog, put a center console in it, and mounted a 45 horse Honda. It is awesome. He has run all over the San Juans in a standing position wearing flotation coveralls.


Carey


PS- Don't get the side railing. It will not allow use of oars. I intend to cut out the middle section to allow that. I wanted them only as a means of tying down the dinghy to the stern. There are other ways to accomplish that.


-- Edited by Carey on Tuesday 18th of August 2009 05:30:41 PM

WaltAs Marin stated, the Davits are my design, and are likely overbuilt. As a backyard engineer, with no structural data to support my design, I simply overbuilt. It's all 5086 alloy aluminum. The arms are half inch, with three eighths inch top and bottom. The three pipe crosspieces go all the way through the half inch center piece allowing welding on both sides of the half inch. They cost me about twenty five hundred dollars, but the guy told me he would want more next time. Let's say three grand. Not any more than most decent davits, but not cheap. I also had two pieces made to connect the cockpit coaming to the cockpit deck. A couple I-beams, basically. These were bolted through the deck, joining the arms as one unit. They are ultimately bolted through the aft deck, and all the weight is born by lateral force on the floor.
Carey

Thanks guys for the Bull Frog info. It sure looks like the perfect tender to me. Although the davit that's in the Bull Frog video will work, I like the idea of the tender remaining in the horizontal position and is easily launched and recovered. (More room on the swim step, better view from the helm, no fuel can to remove as well as other things that might be stowed in the dinghy, etc.)

Yes, the davit looks over built, but like anchors, if nobody comments on its size, then it isn't big enough.

Overall, that's a nice cruising package. Lobster boat, no fly bridge, great tender lash up, and the right length. My kinda boat.

For others reading this....I'm not knocking boats over or under 36 feet or boats that have a fly bridge. At 68 years old and not able to scale a ladder topside like I did 20 years ago, Carey's boat fits my liking to a tee!

Also, Marin's point about the size of the motor is well taken. You can always go slow but to go fast requires a bigger motor.

Thanks again,
Walt

-- Edited by SeaHorse II on Tuesday 18th of August 2009 11:02:02 PM

-- Edited by SeaHorse II on Tuesday 18th of August 2009 11:06:20 PM

Actually Carey's boat does have a flying bridge. He's driving from it in his avatar photo. But it's surrounded by clear plastic panels rather than a molded fiberglass shell. It's accessed via a ladder on the port side of the cockpit.

And on the subject of lobsterboats, here is the prettiest boat I saw on our recent trip to Maine and PEI.* This brand new boat is unique in that it's set up to pull pots on the port side instead of the starboard side.* It just goes to show that aesthetics are not necessarily dead when it comes to working fishboats.

-- Edited by Marin on Wednesday 19th of August 2009 12:06:19 AM

http://www.aerofloat.com/
This is the web page and I can connect it every time.
May be Obama has shut down outside access for all you Good ole guys.

Benn

http://www.airofloat.com/
Just tried it agai and all ok.
I purchased direct from the manufacturer.
Does any one else have a problem with this site.
Benn

It works with airofloat but not aerofloat. *Benn wrote it a couple fo different ways just to confuse us.

See there you go , too much cruisin and relaxin.
Couldn't even see my own mistake.
Well winds have adated a bit so will start to head south tomorrow.
Out of Hinchinbrook passage via Lucinda and the sugar berth, very shallow entrance, via the Palm Islands and dsown to Magnetic Is off Townsville, hopefully ther tomorrow afternoon and then a couple of 6/8 hour day cruises back to the Whitsundays to meet up with some friends for a few days around the Islands.

Benn

Well it has been a very slow year and I have not gone any where in the boat.
Got home from work the other day, stocked the boat. The Boss and I got away at 2215 hrs on Wed.
Crossed the Wide Bay Bar at 0530 hrs on Thursday and anchored at Pelican Point for the day/night.I had been up all night so needed a rest.
*The bar wasn't too bad a bit of swell but with little wind and a making tide we had a nice safe crossing, as usual the Boss slept thru it, she finds this a more relaxing way of doing bar crossings.
A strong wind warning and SE change comming thru today and will blow for a few days so have changed to a nice little anchorage in Kauri Creek (just around the corner from where Allan keeps his boat)
We will stay here for a couple of days and see how it all goes .
Being protected inside Fraser Is (The worlds largest sand Island) moving around won't be a problem with thr SE as it is pretty well protected.
May snap a couple of pictures and post them later.
It's just good to be out on the water again(pleasure boating not workin)

Benn

-- Edited by Tidahapah on Thursday 7th of October 2010 09:12:29 PM

Hi Benn
Glad to see you made it up before the 30 knots came in.
What do you draw??
Did you have any trouble getting in to Kauri Creek??
A friend touched bottom there the other day . He draws 4 ft

Allan

Allan,
I draw 5'8" came in at about 1 1/2 hrs before high tide.
It is only the entrance that is pretty shallow.
I think the at the entrance it came down to about 3 ft under the keel.
So far the blow hasn't really got up but we are pretty protected up here.
See how it goes over the next couple of days and may be head further up the straights as it all clears.
Allan when are you down to your boat again.

Benn