We have made very slow headway southwards. The weather has not been very cooperative. So no dazzling reef nor exciting snorkeling this week, just hard yakka to get south!
Anchored in the Round Hill Creek, at 1770
We left the reef last Monday, headed for the coast and made a two nights’ stop in the very pretty 1770 settlement. It is an odd name for a little village on the edge of the Round Hill Creek, but this relates to the year 1770 when Captain Cook landed there for the first time. It is said to be the birthplace of Queensland.
From there, we battled headwinds to reach the Burnett River at Bundaberg where we sheltered from strong conditions for several days. Very strong easterlies and south easterlies were forecast to last for days. Floating around in a river with not a lot to do is not exactly our idea of fun in the tropics, especially since we are on a schedule. But we used the time well: re-provisioning (lots of treats to console ourselves), laundry, repair to a leaky toilet and bilge pump replacement, and of course plotting our escape to Fraser Island. It was this or an extended stay at the rum distillery to drawn our sorrows!
QLD-NSW Map
So why are we experiencing so much trouble with the weather? The combination of predominant SE at this time of year and the direction of the Queensland coastline running NW to SE means we are struggling to get down and around the border into NSW. Once in NSW we should be fine. Their prevailing wind in summer is more evenly spread between NE and SE and the coastline angles back NE-SW! In previous years we have enjoyed long tail wind runs under spinnaker along that stretch of coast.
We dream of tail winds. Sailing to windward sucks. But waiting around sucks even more! We were hoping for the strong SE to switch or at least lighten to enable us to leave Bundaberg and hide behind Fraser Island, but after 3 days of waiting with no change in sight we decided our only chance to move on was to do a dash across Hervey Bay under motor-sail in the dead of night, having noticed all is quiet after dark! The things you have to do to make progress! We are now at Fraser Island and probably will be floating at Platypus Bay for a day or two!
So to cheer us all up, we thought we would display a gallery of pretty skies, sunrises and sunsets we have enjoyed during our last week. We suggest you do like us and enjoy these with a gin and tonic or rum and dry, a favourite way to end the afternoons on Take It Easy.
Sv-Anui 
Sorry to hear the winds haven’t been favourable, hopefully they will change soon for you. It is gusty here right now, and so hot. A very strong northerly, well it sounds strong, hopefully that will change later when the cool change comes through.
We are expecting a change tomorrow, so will head further south while we can! Still fun on the water though!
Just love those sunsets, have fun on Fraser., the sands and inland lakes are great.
Yes Fraser is lovely and the Sandy Straits are sheltered waters. Will be here for a couple of days.
Hi guys This is Mal,we hope to cross the wide bay bar on tues morning on the high tide,heading towards mooloolaba,might see you in the straits.
Hi Mal, it would be great to see you. What’s the name of your boat? We will keep an eye out… We will be in the Straits for this week given the weather!
20 kt nor easter at Coffs at the moment!
That is what we want, but that the NSW coast! We have East to South East till Sunday so we will be around Fraser Island for a while.
hi guys, I am home with Outback Dreamer moored securely. Have read your posts and continue to be inspired by the photos. Merry Christmas
Good to hear you are not too discouraged. May be we need to aim for an Easter trip together… Deal Island or the small islands around the Prom! Have a good Chrissy.
It’s early morning, so rum or gin is out of the question for me, but I still enjoyed your gorgeous images. You make it seem so easy–all you need is the sun, the sky, a few clouds, and the water.
Hi Mike… Well the one thing about this weather is that the skies make for interesting sunrises and sunsets. It is our consolation for not being able to go where we need to!
Beautiful gallery, though too bad about the headwinds! That really is no fun… Hope the wind clocks around for you!
Thanks guys – can’t control the weather, so enjoying what we get and where we are.
fantastic sunsets!!! Fair winds to you both!
Thank you Cybele – looks like we will be able to get south tomorrow!
I am a bit late to tell you about the wild dingoes on Fraser, if you land keep a good lookout as they can at times go for you. Good to see you are a sailor winning races. I keep my fingers crossed for a wind change to keep you moving. It seems you had a good bar crossing. Last I was there we followed 3 fishing trawlers at 5am with no worries, the only way to go. Cheers and beers you will soon be on the down hill run, TERRY
Hello Terry. We did keep a look out for the dingoes on Fraser but did not see any! The bar was calm, just a bit rock and rolly for the “mad mile”. We are now past Noosa and heading for Yellow Patch at the top of Moreton Bay. Looks like we’ll be there for a couple of days. This weather is not letting us leave QLD!