Great Sandy Straits
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1600 Position: 25 06.9 S 153 03.7
E The last two days have involved lots of motoring with light winds and the challenge of negotiating the intricacies of the Great Sandy Straits. We left Tin Can Inlet yesterday morning just after sunrise, after saying farewell to Mark and Mary Lee the night before, to make the most of the flooding tide. Unfortunately the timing of the tides was less than ideal and we had barely made it out of Tin Can Inlet before it started to turn against us, which meant we were pushing the tide for most of our way up the Great Sandy Strait. Towards the middle of the Strait there is a shallow spot which requires the aid of high water to get across and we were definitely not going to make it through on the morning tide, and the afternoon tide would have been too close to sunset to be feasible. On the plus side it turned out that So Farr So Good was at anchor in Garrys Anchorage which is a little ways before the shallows and a good spot to wait for the following morning's tide. So, just on midday we came to anchor in Garrys Anchorage where I was in time to catch up with the crew of So Farr So Good to share a walk ashore. We met on the beach and decided to take a track that looked like it might lead to one of K'gari's fresh water lakes. Between us, however, we did not possess any useful maps and it turned out that the track led to within about 200 meters of the lake but then there was impenetrable bush between us and the lake, especially when one of our hiking party was Mike and Emily's three year old daughter, Maya. Nonetheless we all enjoyed the leg stretch (and Maya being carried a good part of the way) and then a game of hide and seek back on the beach. It was a social evening thereafter. Maya and I initially adjourned to Sylph to watch a movie while Emily prepared dinner and Mike took the dogs for a walk (So Farr So Good's crew includes two dogs), then Maya and I proceeded to So Farr So Good for a delicious repast of fried rice (thank you Emily) and a pleasant conversation between the adults after Maya had fallen comatose on the settee. This morning I arose with the sun once again and after a quick breakfast got the anchor in and continued motoring through the rest of the Great Sandy Straits. We successfully negotiated the shallows with a meter under the keel, though I had a moment of concern when I realised that the port hand buoy marking the shallows was several hundred meters to the west of where it was indicated on my chart. For a moment I thought maybe it was out of position but as another deep keeled yacht had rounded it ahead of me it was clear that the narrow channel through the shallows had moved since the survey on my chart had been completed. Eventually we cleared the Great Sandy Straits emerging into Hervey Bay mid-afternoon, where the wind remains calm so we continue to motor. My plan is to anchor for the night off the beach on the western side of K'gari, there to plan the next leg of our Queensland voyage and to get a good night's sleep before setting off again in the morning. All is well. |