Mooloolaba Introduction

Just wanted to post and introduce myself and my new vessel. I have been a member here for some time, but only recently moved to a more boating friendly location so felt it was time to get back into the game. Anyway I am sure I will have a heap of questions. I can see there is a wealth of knowledge here, especially in the SEQ area, as my experience is all between the Capricorn Bunker Group and the Whitsundays.

New boat is a Blue Seas 36 called Serene and is now in a marina berth at Mooloolaba, having brought her up from Raby Bay over the Australia Day long weekend. She is powered by a fully reconditioned 120hp Ford Lees just fitted in November and has a 6kVA Cummins Onan genset still under warranty. Here is a pic for those interested;

Congratulations on the new boat!

Good looking boat. I lived in Australia for a while, but didn't get to explore Brisbane area. Can't do it all...

Welcome aboard and congrats on your new boat.

Welcome to one of the better boating regions in the country!

May the Mooloolaba bar always treat you kindly, and it will if folks keep up the pressure to have it dredged regularly.

Thanks for the warm welcome messages, much appreciated. Insequent we passed by you on the way to Lucinda Bay Saturday afternoon. But our anchorage was rolly all night, so maybe we would have been much better off further south where you were anchored.

Still learning about the good spots in the bay.

And yes there is active dredging at Mooloolaba now, hopefully it gets kept this way.

As much as I like Lucinda Bay, more often than not it is a bit rolly. I'd suggest installing some flopper stoppers, as they then make the place OK most of the time.

We were actually going to anchor further south at the sandhills, but somebody at the marina told me to get in behind the sandbars at Lucinda and it would be a good anchorage. Well good may be subjective, but it was far from good in my eyes!

Will try further south next trip.

And yes flopper stoppers are a good idea. My father did a custom install on his boat, which is very similar to mine and I have read Beebe's Voyaging Under Power a few times so have a good idea of their design and use.

The Sandhills area is less prone to be rolly, and only has a weak tidal current impact. I suspect it was chockers over the holiday weekend - anchor lights resembled a small city when I looked that way.

The northern end of Lucinda, and Tangalooma area see stronger tidal effects. Depending on wind direction and strength it can worsen the effect of the swell. Ideally you have around 10kn of wind, enough to keep you bow into it, in an area of low tidal flows. When it glasses out even the small waves/swell from ships entering or leaving port can give a surprising amount of roll.

I was at the southern end of the broader Lucinda anchorage, but anchored inside the "Go Slow Zone" which runs out to the 5m depth contour. Nonetheless there was a nonstop parade of trailer boats and jet-skis, and some larger boats, that came within a couple of boat lengths of me running up on the plane, and sometime shore-side of me. "What go-slow zone?" etc. Maybe they slowed down once in amongst a cluster of anchored boats, I'm not sure. Luckily no turtles or dugong struck to my my knowledge.

Greetings,
Welcome aboard, mate and NICE boat!

Nice boat, Welcome Aboard, mate.

pete

Yes very happy with the boat. She has been very well maintained and updated by the PO and is 100% mechanically sound. Just needs a few cosmetic touch-ups, mainly to the brightwork.

Insequent said:

[SNIP]

Luckily no turtles or dugong struck to my my knowledge.

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There was a dugong sighting at the end of the Raby Bay channel just after we passed through.

We saw a turtle surface to breath at Lucinda Bay so they are definitely around.

And yes lots of small go-fast boats everywhere. We even saw somebody in a kayak paddling across Moreton Bay.

May have to pick your brains on Moreton Island anchorages at some stage.

Serene said:

There was a dugong sighting at the end of the Raby Bay channel just after we passed through.

We saw a turtle surface to breath at Lucinda Bay so they are definitely around.

And yes lots of small go-fast boats everywhere. We even saw somebody in a kayak paddling across Moreton Bay.

May have to pick your brains on Moreton Island anchorages at some stage.

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I see turtles every trip, and hear them most days when at Moreton. They are quite noisy when breathing near the boat, much louder than the dolphin school that usually passes by me when at Lucinda. A few months back I saw 5 turtles in one place on the way back to my boat from the beach in the RIB. Most were small & young. That was at the Sandhills.

Happy to offer thoughts on anchorages.

Welcome to the forum and Moreton Bay
We usually hang around there as well. Incredibly convenient part of the world to be.

Currently up at Lady Musgrave.
Thick with turtles here now as it's breeding/nesting/hatching season

Oh, I fondly remember days on Moreton and Tangalooma, Peel, etc. in the little Jarcat 6. Welcome aboard!

We're currently in Batemans Bay but want to head north when maintenance and work time permit.

Simi 60 said:

Welcome to the forum and Moreton Bay
We usually hang around there as well. Incredibly convenient part of the world to be.

Currently up at Lady Musgrave.
Thick with turtles here now as it's breeding/nesting/hatching season

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Being close to Moreton Bay is new for me, having spent most of my seatime between the Whitsundays and the Cap Bunker Group. Very familiar with Lady Musgrave.

Looking forward to exploring Moreton Bay.

Insequent said:

I see turtles every trip, and hear them most days when at Moreton. They are quite noisy when breathing near the boat, much louder than the dolphin school that usually passes by me when at Lucinda. A few months back I saw 5 turtles in one place on the way back to my boat from the beach in the RIB. Most were small & young. That was at the Sandhills.

Happy to offer thoughts on anchorages.

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Yeah we saw a pod of dolphins too. Normally I see one or two surfing the bow wave, but this time we saw a pod of about five or six of them milling about in the middle of nowhere.

Next trip will be leaving Mooloolaba early in the morning, heading to Tangalooma wrecks for the day, just to experience it, then mid-afternoon moving south to an overnight anchorage. Will be looking for suggestions on where to anchor.

We will either try the southern end of Lucinda Bay or the sandhills. Obviously weather dependent.

First, here is the reason you see pods of dolphins in the vicinity of Tangalooma.
https://www.tangalooma.com/dolphin-...Xp_VjB6d-OUdlHNwG9TDHeAi63POaMdBoCr6gQAvD_BwE

Yes, weather dependant for your planned outing. Any wind direction with a W in it will be uncomfortable above 15kn for most of Moreton. Kooringal excepted. If its 15-20kn of wind then N or S will also be uncomfortable, you would want some E in it. Sandhills likely best unless stiff and W and /N winds.

Alternatives are to go west to southern side of Mud, or other islands. Or join everyone else at Horseshoe Bay, S side of Peel Island. North Stradbroke has some options provided not much W. Further south, in the "Bay Islands" (also referred to as bowels of the bay due to water colour) plenty of places to get away from strong winds. But I don't swim in the Bay south of Peel. And anywhere in the Bay shallow, clear water is a pre-requisite for getting wet IMO. Not until you get near Jumpinpin or the Broadwater down at the Gold Coast do you get clear water again.

Serene said:

Yeah we saw a pod of dolphins too. Normally I see one or two surfing the bow wave, but this time we saw a pod of about five or six of them milling about in the middle of nowhere.

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Here is the reason:
https://www.tangalooma.com/dolphin-...Xp_VjB6d-OUdlHNwG9TDHeAi63POaMdBoCr6gQAvD_BwE

Serene said:

Next trip will be leaving Mooloolaba early in the morning, heading to Tangalooma wrecks for the day, just to experience it, then mid-afternoon moving south to an overnight anchorage. Will be looking for suggestions on where to anchor.

We will either try the southern end of Lucinda Bay or the sandhills. Obviously weather dependent.

Click to expand...

For Moreton Island anchorages, wind direction and strength is key. Above about 10 kn and any W = rolly. If its 15kn and gusting a bit more then N or S is crappy also in most places. Ideally have some E in it. Sandhills can be OK N to SE at 20 or more, but if S then Blue Hole is better. Or pick one of the Bay islands to hide behind. Kooringal is a bit tricky to get to, and not a lot of room but is good in N or W. Mainland side of the Bay can work well for something with a W in it, but shallow water so you will be a distance from a (muddy) shoreline. Just stay on the boat. If its quite ugly in the Bay then the Brisbane River is a nice option and you can get as far as the junction of the Bremer River easily, a bit less than 30nm from Luggage Point. Its fairly straightforward really......

For you the biggest hassle is that its a number of hours to get to Moreton from your berth, and it can be a long trip punching into waves to get home if it turns to crap. Try to avoid wind against tide direction. Shallower areas of the Bay can become downright nasty at those times. If I have to go against strong wind I'll wait until i'm also pushing against the tide, if I can. Yes, much slower. But a lot less "excitement", pitching and spray. Your boat will be up for it, but it will not likely be called "pleasure boating" by your crew!

Great information. A very big thank you Insequent. This is the sort of local knowledge I haven't found in Alan Lucas' Cruising the Coral Coast or the Beacon to Beacon guide.

All makes sense and the names are familiar as I have been studying the charts closely, except for Blue Hole. Where is this? I don't think I have seen it on any charts, unless I have missed it.

Insequent said:

[SNIP]

For you the biggest hassle is that its a number of hours to get to Moreton from your berth, and it can be a long trip punching into waves to get home if it turns to crap. Try to avoid wind against tide direction. Shallower areas of the Bay can become downright nasty at those times. If I have to go against strong wind I'll wait until i'm also pushing against the tide, if I can. Yes, much slower. But a lot less "excitement", pitching and spray. Your boat will be up for it, but it will not likely be called "pleasure boating" by your crew!

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Our cruise speed is 7.4 knots at 1,800rpm which seems to be the sweet spot for the boat, so yes understand the distances from Mooloolaba. I have been telling my crew that the boat can handle more than we can handle...it is just uncomfortable!

Serene said:

All makes sense and the names are familiar as I have been studying the charts closely, except for Blue Hole. Where is this? I don't think I have seen it on any charts, unless I have missed it.

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It should be shown. Its just a bit SW of the Sandhills and you enter from the north only. And you will want half tide or more to enter and exit. Initially you might think it would not be much better than the Sandhills, but in stiff S it certainly is.

Insequent said:

It should be shown. Its just a bit SW of the Sandhills and you enter from the north only. And you will want half tide or more to enter and exit. Initially you might think it would not be much better than the Sandhills, but in stiff S it certainly is.

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Got it now. Thanks. Found it on the Beacon to Beacon charts just NW of Crab Island.

It isn't named on my Navionics charts.

@Serene,

A warm welcome to the forum. I will be up your way some time this year (June–July on current plans involving selling our house).

Insequent said:

Alternatives are to go west to southern side of Mud, or other islands. Or join everyone else at Horseshoe Bay, S side of Peel Island. North Stradbroke has some options provided not much W. Further south, in the "Bay Islands" (also referred to as bowels of the bay due to water colour) plenty of places to get away from strong winds. But I don't swim in the Bay south of Peel. And anywhere in the Bay shallow, clear water is a pre-requisite for getting wet IMO. Not until you get near Jumpinpin or the Broadwater down at the Gold Coast do you get clear water again.

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And Horseshoe bay @ Peel is refered to by many as "The Toilet Bowl"
How many boats there on a weekend and how many use holding tanks?

Hi We are another SEQ local, Based Hope Harbour.