No sooner had I got back home than Jamie called me on Sunday evening to let me know the engine issue was sorted, and the weather was going to be just perfect for sailing the last leg to Surfers Paradise on Tuesday - Could I come back up to Mooloolaba on Monday evening for a 4.30 am departure Tuesday ? I wanted to finish the journey, and Jamie is a good friend, so of course I said yes. And with the 3 hour train journey from Surfers to Mooloolaba only cost $5.85 or so, it wasn't exactly a financial imposition. Neil who sailed with us last week had had to return home to Grafton for work, but Jamie had lined up Brady, a very experienced sailor, to join us (and make up for my old age and lack of sailing ability !!), so Brady and I caught the 4.30 train from Nerang, and set off north. Conversation was easy because it turns out Brady likes cars almost as much as he likes sailing and racing yachts !!
At 7.30 pm, Jamie met us at Palmwood station, and we stopped and picked up what turned out to be a delicious (and far too large) takeaway Indian meal, and only just managed to get it back on board Solitaire without eating it in the car, we were all so hungry !! With a couple of beers, and some planning for our departure early the next morning, we turned in at about 9 pm - Only to be awoken at 4 am by the alarm - It
seemed like only 5 minutes after we had gone to sleep !! A cup of tea while we cleaned teeth and prepared Solitaire for departure, and almost on time at 4.30 am we started the motor and headed out through the harbour and into the ocean, taking care to line up our lead lights to ensure we kept to the deepest part of the channel. (These are really simple yet clever - 2 separate lights, and once you have them perfectly in line, then you are on the correct line to avoid whatever hazard is present.)
The sun wasn't yet up, but as soon as we were outside the harbour walls, we hoisted the main sail. There wasn't a lot of wind, so we just motor-sailed for a while. There was
some stunning lights and ships outlined on the horizon as the sun came up, and we headed out into ocean, heading south east in order to get to the outside of Moreton Island. We then put the foresail up although it was flapping a bit due to insufficient wind. We passed really close to a big (Greek ?) tanker that was anchored awaiting cargo, and soon afterwards, Brady and Jamie fitted a pole which helps to keep the foresail from flapping and better enables it to catch the wind, and after that, it was pretty peaceful !
The cat was asleep in the forward cabin - She does NOT appear to be too fond of sailing !! We rounded the northern top of Moreton Island and its lighthouse on top of the hill, and turned slightly more southerly for the run down the side of Moreton Island and North and South Stradbroke Islands to Surfers Paradise. The winds picked up to about 13-15 knots at times, and the seas stayed relatively calm, and basically, apart from minor trim adjustments, we just sailed for 10 more hours in the same direction !! After all the poor winds and seas of the past few days, this was just a real treat,
showing me how pleasant sailing could be when everything is right !! And for much of the time we had a pod of dolphins playing around us, surfing the bow wave, and leaping and turning on their backs - I swear you could see a smile on their faces as they played !! Unfortunately I found it really hard to get good photos of them leaping, because I always seemed to be looking in the wrong direction !! But sitting right up in the bow, it was almost possible to reach out and touch them at times - Indeed a couple of them leapt so high out of the water as the crossed in front of us that we thought they were going to land on the deck ! Just beautiful to watch.
We made really good time, Brady managing to get over 9 knots on the speedo several
times ! But as we approached Southport, the skies got greyer, and it even tried to rain a little, and the winds started to drop off, as did our speed, to about 5-6 knots. Turning into the Southport Seaway, the smooth seas suddenly picked up over the shallow bar, and we were being tossed all over the place. This seaway entrance is notoriously treacherous when the seas are high, and I can now see why - It really wakes you up at the end of a long sail, and you really need someone good on the helm.
If you are interested to see how treacherous the seaway can be, have a look at this amazing clip !!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp9WvZzxdR8 I am told that if you are a sailor, you will realise even more just how lucky these people were to get away with it.
Anyway, we got in safely, and Janet and Trooper were on the rocks at the side of the entrance to watch us come in - I have included a photo Janet took on her iPhone as we came in.
After motoring gently down the Broadwater, we got to Jamie's mooring at Southport yacht club, and once tied up safely had a couple of beers to celebrate the end of our adventure. It has been a long 10 days since we set off, and we have faced all sorts of different weather conditions and problems, but we finally made it safe and sound from
Yeppoon to the Gold Coast. I cannot thank Jamie enough for inviting me to share in this trip, nor can I thank Neil and Brady enough for helping to make it such a great trip by taking up the slack for this old landlubber. Thanks you all, so much - I hope no one gets food poisoning after all my cooking efforts !!! Thanks for putting up with me.
Right - What's the next adventure ??? Oh, that's, right - Off to Alaska !!! Roll on 2014.
Pics of today's sail are here :-
https://picasaweb.google.com/117739775480775657932/SailingToGoldCoastDays910?authkey=Gv1sRgCJWAn8S7w7PzVw#
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