Sailing at last

Farewell to Tassie for now.
We have cleared customs for NZ.
We have a great breeze on the stern quarter and are averaging 6 knots with just the headsail out.
Low head lighthouse is getting smaller behind us. Nelson is only 1,228 nautical miles to go.
Wayne n Kathy

Tuesday or Wednesday departure

Unfortunately the weather doesn't look too good for our planned departure on Tuesday with W to SW winds at 25 - 30 knots. So we may delay leaving until Wednesday 31st Dec. The latest plan is to sail from Launceston on Monday morning and call in to collect our kayaks at Deviot. Stay at Spring Bay on Monday night. Then on Tuesday continue down the Tamar River to Beauty Point and stay at  Low Head Pilot station on Tuesday night.  On Wednesday morning customs will travel down to Low Head to clear us and then we hope to depart about 10am for New Zealand. Our ETA for Nelson will be the 11/1/15.
We had a taste of high latitude cruising today with 5 seals at the Cataract Gorge in Launceston. They might be here for the annual eel migration?

Voyage on Wildflower Complete

TUESDAY 1st June
As the wind was still up around 20 to 25 knots. Dan and I decided to wait at Cid Harbour until the high tide around midday before setting out across the Whitsunday Passage. The tidal flow floods South and ebbs North, so with the ebbing current going in the same direction as the wind it promises to be a smoother trip.
I have sailed across here with the current  opposing a 25 to 30 knot wind before and it was a rough trip. As it was Wildflower revelled in the conditions and we surfed the manageable waves up to 8.5 knots boat speed plus another knot of current to give us nearly 10 at times.

We picked up a mooring overnight off Airlie Beach on the advice of another yachty and moved into the Able Point Marina Wednesday morning.

We did 1,077 nautical miles since leaving Sydney on 2nd June and arrived at the marina 30 days later.
We averaged over 6 knots, with the wind behind us all the way except motoring just 7 hours through the Sandy Straits in a calm and a patch of tacking just North of Crowdy Head for about 3 hours.
I am currently waiting at Posserpine for a flight back to Sydney. Dan is prepping Wildflower before Maxine joins next Monday.
Until the next voyage,
Wayne

More Bullets at Cid Harbour

Monday 30th June at anchor in Cid Harbour on Wildflower.
We have been here since Friday and have enjoyed a hike to Whitsunday Peak, fishing a nearby reef and a hike to Dugong Beach.
We plan to head over to anchor off Airlie tomorrow afternoon.
Meanwhile it is blowing 30 + at Hamilton Island and we are getting some gusts (bullets) over the hills to windward occasionally but it is comfortable enough.
Perhaps some snorkeling this arvo when the tide drops a bit.
All is well on Wildflower
Wayne and Dan

Goldsmith and beyond

We were hoping to get some swimming and snorkeling done on Scawfell Island and again on our last night's anchorage at Goldsmith but the cool windy conditions at both were not conducive.
We are currently underway with the wind behind us. The headsail poled out, the main triple reefed. Doing 7 knots as we are is a comfortable speed, any more and the steering gets challenging.
We are heading to Cid harbour where we are guaranteed a snorkel and a chance to hike up a nearby peak. The weather is supposed to moderate this afternoon then come in hard again Sunday and Monday.
Whilst the 20 knots we have had since leaving Mackay give us a pleasurable sail as we weave our way between the islands, the anchorages have been rolly and quite often we have been hit by bullets. Bullets are a term given by sailors to mean sudden wind gusts or down drafts over and through valleys on the land to windward. They are often stronger than the prevailing breeze.

All is well aboard Wildflower
Wayne n Dan

25/06/2014, At anchor 20`51.7 S 149`35.7 E,  Refuge Bay, Scawfell Island

We left the Marina at 0800 this morning and planned to head to Scawfell Island about 25 nm away. The straight line brushed the Island of St Bees so we entered a waypoint to steer clear to the south of the off lying reef and shoals.


A look through the binoculars to check that the lights on the breakwater indicating shipping movements were not red, we proceeded through the gap in the marina breakwater which leads to the shipping harbour then through the outer breakwater. Once committed, the Tall Ship Young Endeavour was turning to pass inbound, we made our way off the leads to pass port to port as I am sure she altered slightly to Starboard as well to accommodate us. Once past, we proceeded through the outer Gate. We turned seaward to see an inbound ship at close quarters with 2 Tugs and quickly got off the leads to starboard again since we had enough depth to proceed. We were given 5 short blasts after making this turn but I am sure we had already made it obvious so held my course.


Anyway once clear of all pesky shipping, phew, we set a 3 reefed main and full headsail. We got the 20 knot breeze we had expected in the forecast and we began to enjoy the ride as we beam reached at 7.5 knots. It was a real pleasure and an occasional breaking wave flopped over the windward rail. Danny got some good GoPro footage from many different points on board.


We arrived at our anchorage at lunch time and got the anchor down in 8 metres of water. Danny knocked up some Tuna Nachos and we read and rested the afternoon away. A bit too windy to enjoy a swim or snorkel and the dinghy stayed tied to the foredeck due to lack of interest. The Island is rugged and covered completely in uninviting rain forest. The water in the bay is a beautiful turquoise and we spotted a large turtle as it came up for a breath.  
All is well

Regards,
Wayne
Sailing Vessel Wildflower
sv.ambler at amosconnect.com

Digby Island anchorage

Dan and I decided to go ashore again on Middle Percy Island to find out more about the history and future of this iconic (for sailors) place. We struck out for the homestead which lies inland and the other side of Andy's Lookout. Here we were able to connect again with the outside world via the internet and thanks to Telstra mobile. We also downloaded the latest grib weather files.
Once the internet and gadgets were put away we strove on to see the new caretaker lease holder. 3 young labradors met us at the gate and heralded our coming. We were invited in by Kate and sat around discussing politics and park services. The parks service has taken over the island and plan to burn almost all of it shortly. The lease is now tenuous with Kate's name on it, she is the cousin of Andy, now deceased. The original lease holders worked and or farmed the land. The parks service now want to return it to its natural state, ignoring the heritage of the island.
We walked back to West cove with Bronte, one of the Labradors, who would find her way back to the homestead once she had delivered us safely.
We collected 2 more coconuts and headed back to Wildflower for lunch and a swim before setting  out for Digby.
Setting full sail we covered the 21 nm in 3 1/2 hours. We shared this anchorage with 2 other yachts.
We are now on route to Mackay harbour marina for reprovisioning.
All well on Wildflower
Wayne