Cockles, mussels and other sea life

Sea Piper hasn't been totally stationary since my last Blog update - more like this Blog writer has been a little slack.
While we spent October 2011 on land (In Victoria working and for our eldest grandson's 18th birthday), November saw us return to Townsville and take Sea Piper on several beautiful sails using the marina as a return base. The weather was superb during this month (and we are reliably told for the entire time we were down south in October).
We then packed the boat up for the Wet season - Code Zero and head sail down, along with the wind generator and bbq. The main sail and tender were lashed and every other exterior item either stowed or lashed down. The process took half the time of the previous year - it obviously helps when you know what you're doing.
After an excellent summer in Rochester we returned to Townsville in mid-March to lift Sea Piper out of the water for anti-fouling and the replacement of some skin fittings (the salt water inlets in the hull below the waterline - these provide salt water to cool the engines, and for the deck washes, toilet flushing and kitchen sink rinsing).
For the first seven days of our return the Wet season kicked in and it poured, and poured, and poured some more coupled with a mini-tornado that ripped through several suburbs near the airport (thankfully not near the marina though we experienced very strong wind gusts at the time).
The weather delayed our trip to the slipyards by almost a week. When the call came to bring her around, our good friends from Double Vision came on board with us to take her around the breakwater and into the Ross Creek to the slipway.
Rather than a lift out, this historic slipway uses a steel trolley with four upright posts to lash to the boat. The trolley is mounted on rail line with the whole lot run out into the deeper water via a huge 1920s winch. The winch is used to pull the boat out while the reverse procedure uses a windlass and a snatch block to drag the trolley back in when antifouling/repairs are completed.
Our first attempt to slip her into the trolley was aborted as the structure wasn't quite wide enough. With four hands on board (one on each corner of the boat) this was accomplished smoothly with each of us pushing back on the trolley uprights to glide the boat back out. (There are no photos of this as we were all a bit busy at the time!)
While we tied up at a nearby empty marina berth-end and had a cuppa, the shipyard blokes modified the trailer with an oxy torch and sledge hammer before sending the trolley back out into the water again. The second attempt went as smoothly as could be. Once we were lashed on to the posts the winch took over and gently edged us onto dry land. (My compliments to Sea Piper's skipper who maintained an admirable calm during the whole process. Not a swear word heard!) 
From then on it was sheer hard work. The slipway blokes pressure-hosed the hull to remove the majority of the barnacles and other marine growth, then Royden took to the grinder to remove flaky paint and any other debris that didn't belong. This is a long and dirty process, covering man and boat with tiny particles of black anti-foul.

Oh dear!

It was a relief to move on to the replacement of the anodes and the skin fittings to the two motors and the toilet saltwater inlet and lastly to the application of new anti-foul - Royden on the brush and me on the roller.

There's a lot to be said for a $5 paint-suit

Summarising it here, it doesn't sound like much but the whole process took six days, pretty well non-stop physical work, especially for Royden. Needless to say we were exhausted at the end of each day.
However to see the job completed with shiny props, new anodes and skin fittings, and a smooth barnacle-free black underside was very satisfying.
The final test of course was the refloat which took place on the high tide (5am) in the dark last Friday. As we slowly edged back into the water and before untying from the trolley, we checked the new skin fittings at least 10 times each!
All was well and we enjoyed a beautiful pre-dawn motor out of the Ross Creek and back around  the breakwater to the marina where our good (and early-rising) friends were waiting to catch our ropes and secure Sea Piper in the marina pen.
It was a very interesting experience to live in the blokey atmosphere of a boatyard/slipway for a week but, oh, it was lovely to be somewhere clean again.

Looking good - blue masking tape still to be removed.

Not all work - however at this point the job is finished!

Walk, swim, walk, swim, etc

There's so many great walks on Magnetic Island, most of them leading to yet another lovely bay to swim or snorkel in.

As we sailed across the other day, the sea was awash with tons of coral spores. There was an accumulation of them in Florence Bay yesterday creating some spectacular colours  - blues, greens and reds - on the beach and in the water, though the stuff on the beach was a little smelly and the colours looked better through sunglasses.
All up we walked up and down hills for about 12 kms yesterday exploring Florence and Radical Bays along the way.
Radical Bay is picture perfect with waving palms on a sandy beach and turquoise water.
And then, of course, there is lovely Horseshoe Bay where we are anchored. When we arrived  on Sunday evening I counted 38 boats at anchor. That number is probably halved now but I'm sure the weekend will see another influx. It's a good chance to catch up with people we've met somewhere along the coast.
Last night there were mysterious navigation lights playing out around the south-west corner of the bay and we figured the vessels must have been part of the military exercise going on in Halifax Bay at the moment.
We woke this morning to a small flotilla of Army ducks tied up together in the bay so our guesses were correct.

Military versus catamaran

Today the bay is as calm as could be and we have shifted anchor to prepare for a predicted strong south-easterly blast tomorrow. On Friday we'll make our way across to Townsville, with friends on board for the sail across.
In the meantime, we'll continue with the walk, swim routine. It's a very nice way to spend a day.

Whale watch

We had the best intentions to sail all the way to Cape Upstart from Bowen, but when the wind dropped below two knots it was back to motor-sailing with the Code Zero out whenever the breeze picked up in order to cover the 40 nautical miles.
Of course, as soon as we rounded the cape, the wind freshened and blew well into the night, rocking us around a bit at anchor.
Upstart was a lot busier (land-wise) than when we anchored here back in May. It's Queensland school holidays so the holiday shacks along the beachfront were alive with people and runabout boats.
We had planned to stay here for a couple of days but a look at the forward weather forecast showed us that, if we wanted to sail north, yesterday was the day. From today the wind is predicted to drop away before swinging to the north for the next few days.
We hoisted the main sail and hauled up the anchor at around 5.30am yesterday. As we passed the headland we had enough breeze to put out the Code Zero and we were away.
As the sun slowly emerged over the horizon, we spotted what was to be the first pod of whales going south. By the time we reached Cape Bowling Green (32 nautical miles) we'd passed by three pods (that we saw). The last one put on a great display, leaping right out of the water, sometimes two at a time. As the little Agfa el-cheapo camera isn't much on distance or zoom, we didn't try to capture the images, but just watched and enjoyed the experience.

Freighter-watch replaced whale watch

From Bowling Green to Magnetic Island it was `freighter-watch' rather than whale watch. These huge ships seem to zoom up from the horizon and Sea Piper is tiny by comparison.

The one that didn't get away

There were plenty of other distractions, including the huge mackerel that took all Royden's strength and energy to haul onto the boat. Around the same time, the wire trace on the other lure was completely bitten off.
The catch made up for the previous day when, on two occasions, we'd lost good size mackerel within a few metres of getting them into the boat.

Just in case you couldn't figure the size from the previous photo

We made great time, travelling at around 6 knots, and decided to press on from our planned overnight anchorage at Cape Cleveland (south of Townsville - which we'd reached by 3.30pm) to Magnetic Island's Horseshoe Bay where we dropped anchor - and I doubt we'll lift it up again for a few days.
We're due over at Breakwater marina next week where Sea Piper will have a rest while we fly down to Victoria.

The only boat in the bay ... but this could change ...

We're still in Bowen and loving it. There are so many gorgeous beaches here and we've decided to see and swim in as many as possible while we wait for the wind to drop.
Once ashore, you would hardly know the wind was blowing in many of these lovely protected bays.

Horseshoe Bay looking towards Gloucester Island

Lonely Sea Piper in Grays Bay

We walked to Horseshoe Bay and Queens Bay today then came back for a swim at Grays Bay where we had the dinghy anchored offshore to allow for the run-out tide.
This weekend is the Bowen Fishing Classic and the start of school holidays so it will probably get a lot busier and Sea Piper won't be the only boat in the bay.
The wind looks like dropping tomorrow but we're hanging around till early Saturday morning to pick up the Weekend Australian before heading to Cape Upstart for a day or two on our journey north.

Blowin' in Bowen

Sunset from Sinclair Bay looking towards Bowen

When we first heard the term ``blowin' in Bowen' we laughed. Yeah, it was breezy last time we were here, but it would calm off from time to time.
Well we're back in Grey's Bay at the back of the township and guess what? It's still `blowin' in Bowen'.
But for some reason, Bowen has great appeal for both of us. It's a bit sleepy. It's a lot friendly, has beautiful beaches and the bus picks us up, takes us shopping and drops us back to the boat ramp where we leave the dinghy!
Plus there's a fabulous cafe in Bowen `Food Freaks' with great cakes, coffee and atmosphere.
We sailed across Edgecombe Bay from Sinclair Bay yesterday morning on the outgoing tide with (initially) a gentle wind pushing us along at 4 knots. A few ticky tacks got us across the bay where we picked up a 20 knot plus wind which zoomed us up and around the headland into Queen's and Grey's Bay.
In the middle of changing course and adjusting the sails, a good-size mackerel decided to hit the trailing line. Royden pulled this one in and was in the process of letting the line out again when he got a second hit - this time just a bony herring which got to swim back in the sea.
As we rounded the rocky bar at the tip of Cape Edgecombe I just happened to look out to sea as a whale breached. Luckily it did it again for Royden to see.
It was fairly swelly when we anchored in the bay as the wind was gusting through from the north east but around 9pm it shifted more to the south-east and things settled down - and so could we for the night.
We'll probably stay here for a few days before heading towards Cape Upstart and then on to Magnetic Island.
We're at the whim of the weather.
PS: All negative thoughts about Olympus have been cancelled. The company has replaced our `not-waterproof' camera with the latest model (it is currently in Benalla). The first thing I will do is test it in a bucket of water. In the meantime, the little Agfa special is doing a fine job.

Holy mackerel

On the way to Sinclair Bay

No prizes for guessing what's on the menu tonight.

Bay hopping

We've been out of range of technology for a few days as we bay-hopped our way up the coast.
As we have no plan other than to be in Townsville marina by the end of the month (in order to fly to Melbourne), we decided to explore all the little bays that we passed by as we headed south earlier this year.
It's been a beaut, and beautiful, experience.

Morning in Double Bay East

It helps that we're always heading north of course, so wind and tide are generally with us for our little `hops', but despite BOM predictions to the contrary, the nights have been so still and calm in these bays, it's lulling us into a sense of ``maybe this is what it's supposed to be like most of the time''.

Double Bay East again - with morning rainbow

We remained in Double Bay East for a couple of nights then moved one bay north to Double Bay West (very inventive names!).
We were alone here all day then towards late afternoon several other boats came in and anchored tucked in for protection against the rare northerly and a predicted wind change to south west during the night. Apart from a few stray gusts, the night was peaceful and calm.
We met up with the owners of another catamaran Backchat in funny circumstances. We noticed they'd dinghyed in close into the mangroves, assuming (correctly) they were setting some crab pots. As daylight was fading we decided to haul our dinghy up and having done so, looked around and noticed the Backchat tender was being rowed back from shore.
Thinking their motor had broken down, we re-launched our dinghy and went ``to the rescue''. Approaching them (at this point they'd almost got back to their boat) we realised they probably didn't need rescuing as both had broad smiles on their faces. Turns out Jenny, the rower, is/was a white water rafting instructor and likes to keep her hand in on the oars. Anyway, we had a good laugh over a drink and next morning were the recipients of a beaut mud crab which we had for dinner last night.
Following our Double Bay anchorages, we motored around the corner to Erlando Bay. It was a lovely bay except for the Keep Out signs along the beachfront of the closed-down resort (yet another one). We spent the morning there and met up with the owners of Midnight Blue who were heading south. It's great to have these catch-ups with other `cat' owners. We always learn something and hopefully share something in return.

Jonah Bay

Random rocks - I liked the colours.

Our next sail took us around George Point and into Jonah Bay where we anchored for the night. The bay had a great beach to explore with several fishing camps tucked away in the bush. We met one camp and the bloke who came out to greet us grew up in Mentone and went to St Bede's (same as both my brothers for those who wouldn't realise the link).

Looking towards Bowen from Gloucester Passage this morning

Yesterday we briefly visited Dingo Beach but the outgoing tide and the extent of the reef didn't lend itself to lunch at the onshore pub (reputed to be very good), so we continued on to Montes, in the Gloucester Channel, and had a beaut lunch there instead, enjoying the company of a honeymooning couple from Brisbane and also the owners of the catamaran Endless Summer which was anchored out front with us.
We also spotted a whale breaching several times well south of Gloucester Island. It must have been huge as it was a long way away and its massive body could be clearly seen leaving the water and crashing back in. Spectacular.
Today we are planning to duck around the corner to Sinclair Bay. It's less than three nautical miles so hardly a big day - unless of course we decide to explore somewhere else as well.
NB I know people are still having problems commenting on the blog. I don't know why it's not happening for you as I've removed any possible restrictions. If I discover any clues I'll post them on the page.
* Go Sam Stosur - what a champion.