Position: 27 33.8 S 153 19.2 E
At anchor off Coochiemudlo Island
Wind: N F1 light air
Sea: rippled Swell: nil
Weather: sunny, warm
Day’s Run: 19 nm

This morning I awoke to peace and quiet. No helicopters buzzing overhead, no whining PWCs chopping up the waters, and no jet-boats full of screaming tourists adding to the chaos. All I could hear was the occasional creak of the pontoon and the sound of ripples gently slapping against the hull. Much better!

After breakfast we slipped our lines from the Montauk Tavern’s pontoon and settled in for another long day of motoring. Today the wind was from the North so the wind was from right ahead and we were not able to get any assistance from the sails. On the plus side, however, there were no shoal patches that we had to cross so as long as I didn’t get careless with navigating the narrow winding channels the risk of running aground was relatively low.

While the wind was in the North for today, tomorrow the wind will shift into the South and strengthen (a strong wind warning has been issued). Consequently once clear of the channels I was seeking an anchorage with protection primarily from the South. I ended up selecting a bay on the NW side of Coochiemudlo Island, where we duly came to anchor in four meters of water at 1315. I was grateful to be able to shut down the engine, which I am pleased to say has been running trouble free since replacing the injection pump (touch wood etc.).

I was looking forward to some lunch and a bit of a rest when, ten minutes after having let go the anchor, I heard a vessel calling for assistance. The vessel’s name was Knee Deep and it was rapidly taking on water. Normally when one hears these calls the vessel is too far away for one to be of any assistance but in this instance it turned out the distressed vessel was anchored only 200 meters to the South of Sylph. I waited for the conversation between Knee Deep and the local Volunteer Marine Rescue unit to finish, then called Knee Deep up to see if I could be of any help. I did not receive a reply to my call and decided not to pursue it further as no doubt Knee Deep’s crew were rather preoccupied. I thought about what I could do and decided the best thing was to row over and offer my assistance with a bucket brigade if that was required. Accordingly I threw a couple of buckets in the dinghy and rowed over to Knee Deep which turned out to be a 12 meter catamaran. Fortunately, there was no sign of it being down on its marks. The crew, Ian and Dorothy, welcomed me on board and were grateful for my offer of assistance.

As it turned out by the time I arrived Ian and Dot had worked out the source of the leak, namely a so-called dripless stern shaft seal, and Ian had taken measures to seal it. It turned out the starboard shaft seal was not so dripless and it was doing its best to give the vessel’s name a new meaning (I am sure the name was meant to imply that the catamaran could float in knee deep water on the outside of the boat, not for one to be able to stand in knee deep water on the inside the boat - sorry, it just had to be said out loud). According to Ian the float switch must have become stuck because the bilge alarm did not sound until the starboard engine was almost underwater. Consequently, despite having isolated the leak, their starboard engine is now out of action; however, being a catamaran they still have one engine to manoeuvre with and Ian and Dot had already booked to have Knee Deep slipped tomorrow as they had previously noticed the drip but until this forenoon it had not been a serious problem.

Having offered my tuppence worth of assistance, which was barely worth that, I wished Ian and Dot good luck, said farewell, and rowed back to Sylph for a late lunch.

>From here it is fifteen miles to the entrance of the Brisbane River and a further thirteen miles up the river to Dockside Marina where I have booked a berth from Friday until Monday morning. The broad plan between now and Friday is to anchor wherever will provide for a comfortable night. Tomorrow we will remain where we are. Wednesday the wind is forecast to be from the East so I will likely go to anchor off North Stradbroke Island. And on Thursday the wind is from the NW, so my current thinking is to then go to anchor off Mud Island, which is relatively close to the Brisbane River entrance, and which in turn will put us in a good position to make our trek up the river on Friday morning.

I am looking forward to the weekend. It is looking like it will be quite a family gathering.

All is well.