Tangalooma Wrecks - Moreton Island

Quartermoon
Mike Share & Sammy Byron
Sun 22 May 2011 09:29
Leaving Mooloolaba was exciting, we exited the river into a large rolling swell. It's quite odd motoring just out the back of a surf break but we couldn't head out for a while due to shoals. The wind had dies so we had to motor south heading for Tangalooma wrecks. The passage was pretty uneventful except for planning which of the many confusing shipping channels to avoid and take to our anchorage for the night. No fish again, I think this coastline has been well over-fished as with our newfound skills as fisherman we've had a pretty dry run since getting here.
 
We navigated down through Moreton bay and could see the wrecks in the distance as the sun was starting to dip. We don't generally like doing the last, usually more complicated navigation during dusk or dark but the days are so short here now it seems every day passage is the perfect distance that you cant quite do it all in daylight during winter! You either start before first light or finish after sunset.
 
We had to pass the wrecks before turning up and inside them to anchor. Slowly was the name of the game as we anchored in almost dark, again owing a lot to electronic charts and probably relying on their accuracy and the depth gauge a bit too much!
 
     
 
Next morning and what a weird sight! There are 15 or so good size wrecks scuttled on a sandbank to create some shelter to the channel area of Tangalooma. They don't do too much to stop swell or wind but do look cool and beg for an explore. They looked a bit too old and rusty to go clambering on but you can easily see what type of ship they were, some of the wood and most of the superstructure and hulls still in tact. The old whaling vessels were particularly eerie so I grabbed my mask and went for a snorkel through the wrecks. The water was murky and cold with a strong current running, so Sammy made the wise choice to stay on QM and drink tea! It was worth it though with heaps of fish life; we'd love to come back in Summer with clear water for a proper look around.