Our First Sail

Starting from Scarborough, Monday 23/9/2024 heading towards Tangalooma, Moreton Island. This was our first anchorage. Anchoring is a challenge and a skill to master. We did ok though for our first anchorage. Following Bill’s example we switched on our anchor light (which is on the top of the mast) but from our perspective we didn’t know if it was working as, it seemed very dim. The next morning, we asked Bill if it was ok and he reassured us it was very bright! It was the first meal we cooked in our oven which was a big success. We were rocked to sleep with the passing of the Tangalooma Ferries, however, slept well. Little did we know there were more challenges and lots more rolling to follow ….

The next anchorage was further North of Moreton Island, at Bulwer.

Above chart (taken from Google 16/11/2024) shows the area sailed starting at Scarborough (note this was not the chart we used to sail with officially … lol) to Tangalooma, Bulwer on Moreton Island, Peel (Turkrooar), Karragarra, Russell, Lamb, Macleay and Coochiemudlo Islands.

Both spots were very scenic with beautiful crystal clear, blue water and a soft sandy beach. We ventured on shore via our tender. Castaway Cafe, Bulwer, was a hidden gem where we celebrated Bill’s birthday.

Below are photos of our stay in Tangalooma and Bulwer.

It was my birthday the next day and we were going to sail to St. Helena Island. The phone signal worked well through our mobile signal booster, with lots of messages and phone calls from friends and family. However, due to the forecast weather being too rough, plans were changed, and we sailed to Peel Island instead, as Horseshoe Bay at Peel Island is sheltered. We were not alone, many boaties had the same idea, but there was room to anchor. Another good anchorage with no problems. We went ashore on our tender and walked on the beach the next morning before we sailed off to our next destination. My birthday dinner was cooked for the first time on our coal fired BBQ. It was a new experience for Markus, but all turned out ok.

Below are photos on our way to, and our stay at Peel Island.

Thursday, we sailed to Russell Island, however anchored at Karragarra, and the next morning sailed to Russell Island which was only a short sail away.

Russell Island was a beautiful stay and such a lovely place. It’s a very busy town with lots of commuters travelling on SeaLink Ferries and Car Ferries going to and from the Terminal. During our stay we travelled by tender to shore, tied our tender next to the Terminal and walked into town.

Russell Island has lovely cafes, a great supermarket, hardware store and petrol station. The lady at the petrol station was so nice, she gave us a lift back to the Terminal when we bought diesel and had to carry a 20 Lt container back to our boat. Not once but twice she drove us. We were very grateful. People on the Island are so friendly and helpful.

We met Lida and Bill’s friends who now live on the Island, but prior to living there lived and travelled on their catamaran for many years and stayed at Scarborough for a while, and that’s where they became friends. Now their children have grown up, they are ready to sell their catamaran that they have anchored in the bay.

We visited different cafes, went for walks, were invited over to Doug and Carmen’s for dinner, which was amazing as Doug is a Chef, and a great one at that! We filled up with water and fuel and stocked up with groceries ready for our next stops.

The challenging parts of Russell Island’s stay was the anchorage in the bay. It is so busy with Ferries morning, noon and night, it becomes very rolly when living on a boat and anchoring can be very difficult. Also, the tides change quite drastically in the morning and in the evenings. So, combine all that together it made anchoring not the most pleasant experience. We had to move a few times, and it was always when it was dark and windy. Also, it’s a busy bay with so many Ferries passing by, the Ferry ‘path’ has to be kept clear, so you are limited with spots to anchor as there are many boats. With visiting different Islands, it has been great overall and has given us lots of experience.

Sailing around the waters between the Islands can be very tricky as the depths can change very quickly and can become very shallow. Markus is constantly looking at his Navigation app and the charts, checking that we are going exactly where we are meant to be, as our keel is almost 2 metres below the water line. I’m at the wheel following instructions to stay on course. Running aground is not part of our itinerary… lol.

After Russell Island we sailed to another bay surrounded by Karragarra Island, Lamb Island and Macleay Island. It was such a busy bay. Again, with Ferries travelling through regularly and many boats are anchored in the bay, and the changing tides. Anchoring in the bay was not pleasant and we had to move a few times due to boats being too close to each other and not having a lot of room to anchor.

The good side of stopping and anchoring is that during our stay we spent the day going to shore, on our tender. We travelled to each of the Islands and explored what each Island had to offer; they were all great. We had a wonderful time walking around, each Island quite different, also spending time with Bill and Lida at the rustic cafe on Lamb Island. The next morning, we left the Bay and sailed to the North side of Macleay Island. Once we settled in and dodged not only the boats anchored in the bay, but also the buoys where the crab nets were set, we did our usual and went to shore to look around. We had a lovely afternoon. Ended up at the Bowling Club for a drink checking out the lovely view of the Bay and talking to some of the locals. Everyone was so friendly.

The next morning we woke up early as the weather was meant to be good early in the morning, so we could go to Coochiemudlo Island. We managed to sail there ok and it wasn’t that far away, however, Coochiemudlo is a popular Island and there were so many boats anchored in the bay. Bill and Markus tried to anchor our boats but it was too windy and very crowded, so we both decided to leave and go back to Macleay Island where we were the night before. The wind had picked up very quickly and we were experiencing problems with our boat, so we were happy to go back and Bill and Lida too as they were also having trouble anchoring. Just goes to show it doesn’t matter how experienced you are at sailing, or anchoring, even the best and more experienced have their moments.

The next morning we were up early but this time we went our separate ways. Bill and Lida sailed back to Scarborough and we sailed down the Brisbane River, to Rivergate Marina.

Below are photos of the Gateway Bridge over the Brisbane River. I took the day photo when we stayed at Rivergate The night photo was taken (I found it online) a couple of weeks later during a storm.

Motoring down the Brisbane River was another interesting voyage, as it is quite industrial and is a very busy thoroughfare. Coming towards us were: Jet Skis, motor boats, Tug boats towing cargo ships, sail boats, cruise ships, little fishing boats - it was pretty scary especially noticing boats seemed to be travelling all over the river. We berthed on an outer part of the marina and then moved at 5.00am the following morning during slack tide. The Brisbane river is very tidal and fast flowing. The wind pushed us around, so we had two tries at re-berthing being successful on the second go. This was the first time we had berthed inside a marina and found it was another skill to master and can be another bit of a challenge. The marina was very different to Scarborough. It is right near the Gateway Bridge which lights up every night with different colours, and there was always something happening and movement on the river. Due to the large motor ships, and cruisers that went by, it caused significant washes and so became very rolly on our boat at times. We found that you do get used to it quite quickly. The marina had a car people living on their boat could use to do their shopping, or pick up bits and pieces. It was a nice change to go for a drive and back into a city environment. We also did some very enjoyable trips to shore in our tender to look around at the sights near-by including the relatively new North Shore precinct. Lots to see and do.

We left early on the morning of the 10 October to return to Scarborough. It was a pleasant trip down the river until we reached the Heads and then the rain commenced and continued until we reached Scarborough where it kindly stopped while we berthed with minimal fuss. It was lovely to be back into a place we know and with friends. We could finally relax again.

To view our photos of our first adventure, go to our Gallery page.