We have left Moreton Bay, and are headed for the western shores of Fraser Island. We are positioning ourselves so we are adventure ready!
Here are a few shots taken on our last night in Raby Bay, Cleveland. We spent a few days anchored in the bay after dropping off our guest, Trevor. This is a very comfortable spot in southerlies, a handy location for provisioning, and with cousins and friends living nearby, it is always a social hub.
But now it is time to leave the safety and gentleness of Moreton Bay and turn our sights towards K’Gari (Fraser Island) and beyond. This will be where we wait for our buddy boat and the weather window to begin our expedition to some of the Southern Coral Sea Atolls. Yap you read that right, we have big hopes for the start of our winter cruising season. We are in need of physical and mental recharge, so adventure beckons, but you know what cruising plans are like – written in sand at low tide! Whether our buddy is definitely free to join us, whether they get the conditions to come south, whether the weather cooperates for an offshore foray, it is all up in the air. We depend on external forces over which we have no control, let alone any certainty. We will tell you more about plans in a later post.
For now, back to living in the moment! Earlier this week, we left Raby Bay for a slow sail to Yellow Patch at the northern tip of Moreton Island, marred with autopilot issues which we hope to have resolved.
We got there early enough for a little play with our new tandem kayak once at anchor. We purchased it late last year, but the rude 41/2 months interruption to our fun meant we have only now been able to try it out. It is a Bay Sports Air Glide inflatable model. We keep it tied down to one of the nets at the bows when not in use. It should make life easier to get ashore on islands and coral cays without the need to break our backs dragging the heavy dinghy in the soft sand! It will provide good exercise and easy transport for us and for Bengie too when we take her on beach walks.
Our next leg was a 70nm sail to Double Island Point, which was a very comfortable anchorage despite the lagoon no longer being accessible. In fact, as we were floating totally flat in the evening, listening to the sound of the wind blowing high above us, we remembered how it used to be years ago before the lagoon even existed and smiled. When wind and swell are from the south rather than the southeast, it is perfect in there!
We are crossing the Wide Bay Bar as we post this and will follow the Sandy Straits along the western shores of Fraser Island. With a bit of luck, humpback whales and their calves will be milling around in the northern bay for gorgeous sights and songs.
Sv-Anui 
halaluhlah (or however it is spelt. You get the drift!) That kayak looks somehow familiar 🙂
Is that what you guys have?
Yup. We have the longest version of the two person kayak.
Yay! I’m glad that you guys are underway! The kayak looks nice but I wouldn’t feel safe because of the sea creatures. 😂 I hope the autopilot can be repaired.
Oh John, the sea creatures are nice! Don’t be scared! 😜 Auto pilot appears to have settled although we don’t quite know why it played up nor what we did to fix it!
I’m glad it fixed itself! I grew up on a big lake in Michigan and was always afraid of what’s on the bottom. You can’t see the bottom in a lot of places, and the long stringy weeds were so creepy to swim through! Paranoid! 😂
Hope the whales are there to welcome you back into your adventure play ground. Happy sailing and exploring again.
Hi Ann, we saw our first whale as we were approaching the Wide Bay Bar. It came close then went for a dive under our hulls 😧
Wonderful and a wee bit scary all at the same time
Fantastic news Chris and Wade!
Have a wonderful sail.
The Humpbacks are on their way – lots of them passing Sydney already!😊😊
Hi Matty, it’s good to be underway. And we’ve passed our first whale for the season! Much to look forward to!
Your shot of ‘Evening Glow’ is absolutely picture perfect. Enjoy Fraser Is.
Thanks Caroline!
Comment from Sue Marlin
It was good to read that you had such a good time in Morton Bay with Trevor.It was good that he was not too sick. Those sandhills are big and would have been hard to walk along. Lucky you got fit in the gym over the last months. It sure helped with your cancer journey as well as preparing you for new adventures to come.
The kayak looks really good and you will both have fun in it. Hauling the dingy out of the water sure takes strength, It will make exploring a lot easier. i do not think you will do yourselves an injury managing it.
I love the idea of welcoming the whales back to QLD, say hi to them from me. They are such lovely creatures
Stay well and strong Love Sue
Hi Sue
Yes the kayak should make things easier when island hopping.
We’ll hopefully have a chance to use it around Fraser.
Kayak looks good. Great idea having a tandem, Wade does all the heavy lifting and Chris takes the photos! 😄
Sadly, we just sold our kayaks a couple of weeks ago, we’re too woosey to go out in chilly Scottish waters 😕
Happy sailing guys!
Yeah you got the idea! Mr Muscle does the work! And we can understand getting chilly and wet kayaking in Scotland would lose its appeal. Hopefully we’ll get some good use of our new toy.
Adventure ahoy. May the weather gods smile upon you all
Let’s hope so, Mick!