Date First Posted: November 29, 2006
Log Entry Start Date - October 17, 2006
Log Entry End Date - November 3, 2006
Locations Covered - New Caledonia to Australia
Present Location: Scarborough (Brisbane), Australia
Latitude: 27 Deg 11.6 S Longitude: 153 Deg 06.4 E
Weather: Warm and breezy
Distance covered since last entry: 805 nautical miles
Total distance traveled since departure from Antigua: 10,174 nautical miles
Commentary:
Time
was running short as we prepared to leave on the last leg of our Pacific
crossing. The weather forecast showed that a strong wind shift and heavy
rains would reach the east coast of Australia on Sunday (4-1/2 days), and we
wanted to try to arrive before this occurred. With a distance of about 800
miles, we would need to make good time.
After
finally installing the replacement muffler, we still had leaks around the
hoses and we got a late start as the installation had to be redone. We
didn’t have time to make sure there weren’t any more blockages in our
cooling system, but at the time, we seemed to have adequate water flow after
the leaks were fixed. Unfortunately, our outboard wouldn’t start and
couldn’t be repaired, so we didn't have a backup in case our main engine
can’t be used. The pictures show Willy and Julian from the Ship Shop in
Noumea working on our exhaust system and replacing the muffler.
Under
cloudy skies and some rain, we finally left and motored out of the pass in
the reefs, west of Noumea. The winds were strong, but from a good
direction, and for the next two days we made great time. At that pace we
would reach Australia by dark on Sunday. We planned on clearing in at the
port of Bundaberg, about 150 miles north of Brisbane. The weather change
would reach Bundaberg later than Brisbane, giving us a bit of a cushion,
plus the entrance to the port would be easier if we arrived after dark. In
addition, we had been told that the officials were easier to deal with for
clearing in.
Naturally,
this plan changed when the direction of the winds made Brisbane an easier
destination, and we seemed to be ahead of schedule. The distance to
Brisbane was almost the same, and as Brisbane was our final destination, it
would save us from having to make the 150 mile passage down the coast
against possibly adverse winds. The picture at right shows sunrise
with swells of 10-15 feet. Given the long distance between swells,
these conditions are "easy" compared to waves of only 4-5 feet on the Great
Lakes.
Of course, then the wind died, and we motored all of the third day, and started to keep a close watch on the weather forecast. Both the Australian high seas weather forecast and Russell Radio, a radio net out of New Zealand we were checking in with, began predicting that the winds would shift around to the northwest, then southwest and finally south, and pickup to over 30 knots. The exact time wasn’t known, but we expected the wind shift to hit earlier than forecasted when we left, probably late Saturday night or early Sunday morning. We were prepared, having put two reefs in our mainsail, and furling in our yankee part way while we were motoring. Thankfully, the wind shift came just after daybreak on Sunday morning. Not only didn’t it take long for the winds to build to a steady 30 with gusts over 35 knots, the seas grew to an average of 15-20 feet, and sometimes higher. The high seas were probably due in part to the prevailing current being from the north, opposite from the wind.
With the wind and seas right on our beam, (remember, we’re heading west at this point), we were making great speed and Encore II was handling the conditions pretty well. The autopilot kept us on course except when an exceptionally strong gust and high wave coincided, when we would hand steer temporarily. We had all of the plastic windows down around our cockpit, and stayed reasonably dry in spite of maybe 10-20 of the highest waves breaking next to us and pouring water over the decks and contributing to annoying leaks around our hatches. The view at right is from under our dodger with a lot of spray. After having lost time motoring on Saturday, we were now back to an average of nearly 10 knots of boat speed, and on schedule to at least get to the entrance of Moreton Bay by dark.
Moreton Bay is a very protected area about 40 miles long and 15 miles wide, with Brisbane being centered on its western shore. We’ll be leaving Encore II at Scarborough, a marina north of Brisbane in the bay, but will have to clear customs and immigration at Manly, a harbor 15 miles south of Brisbane, near the south end of the bay. We arrived just at sunset at the northern entrance to the bay, and got out of the 20 foot seas. We still had 30 miles to go, however, threading our way down narrow channels between sandbars, avoiding freighter traffic, and motoring into steep chop against the continuing 25+ knot winds. We tried calling the marina as well as the coast guard, to see if there would be anyone to meet us late at night at the marina, but never heard back from either. Finally, the harbor control for Brisbane talked to us via radio and suggested that we find a place to anchor for the night and enter the marina the next day. That was fine with us, and about midnight we dropped the hook in a sheltered area on the west side of the bay next to Moreton Island. We were too tired to celebrate the end of our Pacific crossing, but happy to be safe and secure.
The
next morning we were able to take in our picturesque surroundings. The
island next to us had massive sand dunes, and although we could see the high
rise buildings of Brisbane across the bay, we had a beautiful anchorage. We
called the marina and told them we would come in later that day, giving us
time to clean up the boat and be ready for the quarantine officials who
would take all of our remaining fresh food, customs and immigration. As we
got ready to leave, we weren’t getting any water flow through the engine,
and it was apparent that bits of the water pump impeller that had failed
were stuck in our oil cooler heat exchanger. After a couple hours of
trying, we gave up getting the pieces out, and decided to simply sail to the
marina and arrange another tow into the customs dock. The Australian Coast
Guard is primarily a volunteer organization, and when we got into the
channel for the marina, we had one of their small boats come up along side
to help us in. Our adventure wasn’t quite over.
Arriving
about 5PM, we were at “low tide springs”, meaning not only the lowest tide
of the day, but also for the month. The captain of the Coast Guard boat
warned us that the channel was silted over and to go way off to one side to
avoid getting stuck. In spite of following their directions, we still ran
aground. With their help and waiting for the tide to rise a little, we
finally got in. We made a donation to their organization to cover their
time and fuel, and experienced the first of many friendly Australians during
our arrival. Contrary to the rumors, the quarantine official was easy on
us, leaving us with some items we expected to have to give up. Australia is
perhaps the strictest of the countries in the region, being very careful to
protect their agriculture by prohibiting the entry of meat, eggs, milk
products, grain products, and all vegetables. The dock we were at had a
separate locked gate and barbed wire fence, and serious signs prohibiting
people from going ashore before being inspected, or people on shore
visiting. It may have been due to the fact that it was Sunday evening and
the official had a meeting to attend, but he was prompt arriving and quick
to leave and wish us well. We then started in filling out the forms for
customs and immigration. These officials couldn’t have been friendlier as
well, and when we were done with them, we had our own electronic gate pass
and were on our way for an Aussie steak dinner at the Manly Hotel they had
recommended. By the next morning the winds had died and the harbor was
glassy as seen above.
The next morning we met the mechanics that worked in the marina, and in contrast to our experiences in the Caribbean and elsewhere crossing the Pacific, they showed up to help us with our engine before we had even finished our cappuccinos at the café in the marina. They worked straight through until the job was done, taking the oil cooler off and cleaning out what looked like the bits and pieces of more than one water pump impeller that were stuck in the cooling tubes. They replaced some seals in our water pump that were leaking, and had to fix some leaks in the piping that occurred during the repairs. While they were at it, they repainted the parts before reinstalling them, and everything looked like new. What a pleasant surprise to get prompt attention and quality work, rather than waiting for a week and never knowing when someone might show up. It didn’t take them long to also diagnose our outboard problem, unfortunately, we had very low compression, signaling that costly repairs were likely. Given that the outboard was getting old, we opted to replace it.
Meanwhile,
the marina (East Coast Marina) staff was friendly and the facilities were
first class. The actual Manly Harbor is a manmade area that contains over
1400 boats between several independent marinas and yacht clubs. In addition
to the engine mechanics, there are sail makers, riggers, fiberglass and
painting contractors, a laundry, and boat brokers. The town of Manly is a
short walk from the marina, and has several thousand residents. It is one
of several municipalities that are officially part of the Greater City of
Brisbane. It reminded us a bit of Harbor Springs, an upscale waterfront
community in Michigan, with the restaurants, marine chandleries, and
boutiques. During our stay, we ate at a Celtic Pub, sushi bar, Italian
restaurant, and an elegant seafood restaurant, not to mention the Manly Hotel
which is a favorite restaurant for the townspeople.
We
got to know the owners of one of the marine chandleries, and invited them
down to our boat for a party we had with several other boaters we met in the
marina. We could have moved the boat to our final marina in Scarborough,
but decided to stay for the town’s annual Halloween party. The entire
downtown is closed off and most of the residents don costumes for the street
party that starts in the afternoon and doesn’t end until the clean-up crews
are done early the next morning.
They
had a parade going down the street, with hundreds of costumed walkers in
addition to a few floats. While most of the focus was on entertainment for
the children that come from all over the area, by mid-evening, the teenagers
were taking to the streets. We had a good time watching, and were glad to
have been around.
We
got a ride into the adjacent town of Wynum to do some shopping, and then
walked back to the marina along the shoreline. As the tide went out,
the shorebirds were working the mud flats looking for food. We saw
many more of this same kind of bird along the sidewalks, pecking in the
grass and acting as tame as pigeons.
In
Australia, wildlife has a lot of protection, with fines imposed for just
bothering birds, or even collecting worms.
Perhaps
the most fascinating creatures in the bay were the jellyfish. During
our walk, we saw some that had washed up on the shore. They were about
the size of large grapefruit, with a translucent blue color and cross like
pattern inside. We think they're a form of "moon" jellyfish.
Perhaps
as the result of the weather conditions, during our time in Manly, these
jellyfish started to appear in larger numbers in the marina. They
would propel themselves around the boats and seemed to enjoy feeding off the
bottoms of boats and alongside docks.
Eventually,
they seemed to take over the marina, a "jellyfish invasion". While we
were told that these were relatively harmless, Australia is known for their
"box jellyfish", that are found in the northern waters during certain times
of the year. These are frequently lethal if you are stung, and keep
most people out of the water when they are around. Of course,
Australia is also known for their killer saltwater crocodiles, and great
white sharks, not to mention many species of deadly snakes. Nancy saw
an especially large and ugly jellyfish in the marina that she was told was a
"lion's mane" jellyfish. What she saw was size of a two drawer file
cabinet, although reports are of ones up to seven feet in diameter.
This species is more dangerous and sometimes fatal. One online report
about them in Australian waters indicated that they are cannibalistic,
feeding on "moon" jellyfish. They certainly had many to choose from.
We
also took a day to take the train into downtown Brisbane's train station.
For only a few dollars, we had a roundtrip ticket on the train, and passes
to ride on the ferries that run up and down the Brisbane riverfront. While
on the train, we met another friendly Aussie who gave us advice on how to
spend our day sightseeing, including taking a free bus that loops through
the downtown. While on the bus another Aussie then gave us more suggestions
about visiting a hundred year old cathedral that was still under
construction, and about South Bank, an area with restaurants and
entertainment.
Given
these suggestions, we rode the bus, getting our bearings for future visits
to Brisbane, and got off to visit the cathedral. The cathedral was
interesting in that it had been built in stages. Knowing that their
financial resources were limited, the first third of the cathedral was built
in the early 1900’s to accommodate a population of perhaps 100,000. After
World War II, the next section was completed. This Christmas, the final
third will be completed and dedicated, now serving a population of 1.5
million people. We had a guided tour of the cathedral by a gentleman who
told us about not only the building, but some of the history of Brisbane,
and in particular the war years. We didn’t realize that hundreds of
thousands of American soldiers came through Brisbane, well outnumbering the
residents. Our guide joked that the local men of that era held a bit of
grudge against the Americans, as they took all of the pretty women home to
America.
Trees
were in bloom all over the city, given that October in Australia is spring.
This park across from the cathedral had people eating lunch in the warm
weather. These are the local jacaranda trees.
We
got back on the bus and went across the city to the river and walked over
the bridge to the South Bank. This was a run down industrial area that was
redeveloped after Brisbane hosted the Expo ‘88 World Fair. It now has a
beautiful waterfront with a park, restaurants, theaters and museums.
This
pagoda was part of the exhibit from Nepal for Expo '88.
We
had lunch, and then took a ride on one of the riverboat ferries that act as
a bus line back and forth across and down the river.
The
skyline of Brisbane is impressive, while the river has several marinas and
anchorages for sailboats and motorboats. We may bring our boat up the river
to do some sightseeing. Ironically, the night we were there was the night
they have open markets and large crowds wandering around and visiting the
sports bars. We stopped to watch the Detroit Tigers playing in the World
Series against St. Louis. Other than one other man (from St. Louis) who sat
with us, no one cared about baseball and they switched to a soccer match.
After pleading our case, they put the baseball game back on. The game went
quickly, as it was tape delayed, which only prolonged our finding out that
Detroit lost this game and the rest of the games in the Series.
We
enjoyed walking to the small Presbyterian Church in Manly. Climbing up
a path from the shore to some cliffs overlooking the waterfront, we passed
through a nature area filled with flowering plants and trees.
The
church was in a one room building with less than two dozen people. As
visitors we obviously stood out and everyone was interested in meeting us.
We went back that evening for a program and potluck dinner, making more
friends. Some had already visited our website to learn more about our
voyage.
After waiting for Halloween and final boat repairs, we motored up the bay to
the town and marina at Scarborough. Although much smaller than the harbor
at Manly, the Scarborough marina is still very modern and well staffed with
marine trades and a chandlery. We’ll be confident leaving Encore II here
while we’re home for the Christmas holidays. In fact, we met a couple (Andy
and Sandy) on the boat Jakaranda, who were friends with our sailing friends
Peter and Karen on Piquet, having sailed with Jakaranda back in the mid
1990’s. Andy is a sail maker, and will be repairing and replacing our
dodger and sail cover. He’ll also be watching our boat during our absence.
So, nearly eleven months after our departure from Antigua in the Caribbean, and over 10,000 nautical miles, our passage to Australia has been completed. We’ve returned home to celebrate Thanksgiving, Nancy’s and our son’s birthdays, and Christmas. We’ll return to Australia in January, and now plan to spend at least another year in Australia before deciding about a passage to New Zealand. From January to May, during the Australian summer, we’ll cruise south to Sydney and then back to Brisbane. We’ll return home in May during the Australian winter, and then return next September, and cruise north to the Great Barrier Reef and the Whitsunday Islands off the Australian coast.
It seems that even though we took more time this trip than in 1997 to cross the Pacific, we still could have used more time. We hurried some times to take advantage of a full moon for night passages while some of our delays were waiting for the occasional repairs to be done. More often we were waiting for weather which was unusually wet and windy this year due to an “El Nino” weather condition in the Pacific. We did see more of Panama and Ecuador than before; we visited new islands in the Galapagos, the Marquesas, and Fiji and got a glimpse of New Caledonia. We could have spent more time in the Tuamotus, Tonga, Fiji and New Caledonia, and we missed Vanuatu completely. Perhaps after cruising Australia for a while we’ll double back and spend some more time in Tonga, Fiji and New Caledonia.
In
1997 we were part of the Expo '98 Rally, with over 50 boats sailing in a
fleet. Then we formed long friendships with several of the Rally boats, and
met a few boats outside of the Rally in the Pacific. This time, although
not being part of a Rally, we met over a hundred boats. Our guest book
lists visits onboard Encore by crews from more than 50 different boats from
over a dozen countries, plus people from the islands we visited.
Perhaps the most memorable cruiser we met was Don, a single handler on the boat next to us in New Caledonia. He grew up in Canada, close to where we live and cruise in the summer. At the age of 16 he and a friend ran away from home, snuck across the border to Detroit, and hopped on boxcars to get to the Gulf of Mexico. From there he stowed away on a ship, and began a life as a seaman. After years sailing the world, he settled down for a while as a marine geologist in the Pacific and eventually made Vancouver his home. Now at an age of over 70, he sails on his own around the Pacific.
We will probably not be updating our website very often now that we are in Australia, as the sailing adventures will be fewer and we’ll be more conventional tourists. Just the same, we appreciate getting emails from the visitors to our website that have enjoyed reading about our travels. We’ll continue to send out a notice to people on our mailing list when we do post new information.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.
Psalm 139: 9-10
This site was last updated 11/29/06