September 2021
Following our extended stay in Townsville and the arrival of our brand new sail we were more then ready to get moving again. With summer quickly creeping up on us we were keen to make one more push north with the goal to reach Cairns. We were also on a bit of a schedule for this trip as Hugo’s family were flying in from Adelaide in just over two weeks. However even with a deadline we were keen to stop and see as much as possible along the way. The first place we had decided to visit on our journey north was Hinchinbrook Island, a beautiful island covered in tropical rainforest and soaring mountain peaks.
The day we left Townsville we aimed for Magnetic Island as we had decided to spend one more day there before moving on and had Hugo’s sister and one of her friends on board for the day. By stopping at Magnetic Island it also meant that our sail to Hinchinbrook Island the following day would be 10nm less. Our sail to Magnetic Island was a true test of our new sail as we had to beat into winds of 10-20kts and even got to test out the first reef point. Our new sail was marvellous as not only were we able to go upwind better then before but we were also doing it at a respectable 4kts meaning we were arriving in Horseshoe Bay a little before lunch . That day we had brought Hugo’s sister and one of her friends along for the sail and so spent that afternoon relaxing on board Allagai and the beach with them. We had a lovely day on Magnetic Island and would have liked to continue sailing the following day. However the forecast was for light winds so we hung out on Magnetic for one more day before moving on.
The day we left Magnetic Island we had a forecast for a lovely 15kts of wind from the south east. However once more the wind prediction was wrong as the wind never really arrived meaning we had to rely in the engine much more then we would have like to to make the 40nm to Orpheous Island. That day we set everything in the hopes of catching enough wind to allow us to sail however without the engine we were only able to drift along due to the current at 2kts. We arrived in Pioneer Bay on Orpheous Island with an hour to spare before sunset, dropping anchor with plenty of room between us and the reef protection buoys.
When we’d arrived on Orpheos Island we had been keen to swim the reef that we’d anchored off the following morning and also enjoy a walk ashore before heading to Hinchinbrook in the afternoon. However this plan was foiled in the early hours of the morning when a stiff breeze from the south west arrived. This gave us a rather rude awakening as Allagai swung around to the beach and a swell started rolling us from side to side. Once again this wasn’t a breeze that was forecast and rather then continuing to sit on a lee shore right next to a coral reef we decided to weigh anchor and aim straight for the Hinchinbrook Channel. From our anchorage on Orpheous to the entrance of the channel was about 11nm but to an actual anchorage it was about 14nm. This distance wasn’t an issue it was the need to be there before the change of the tide in only a few hours time that had us worried, as with our little engine we knew we had no hope of pushing into an out going tide.
The sail to Hinchinbrook was fairly uneventful. We set the jib, staysail and first reefed mainsail which caused Allagai to charge along at 4-5kts for some time. However eventually the wind dropped out, the reef was removed and eventually the engine started as the race to enter the channel before the change of tide began. Thankfully we crossed the bar into the channel at the top of the high tide although it wasn’t long after that that the tide began flowing out. Slowly our speed dwindled to two knots or less, but we weren’t to be deterred and pushed onwards to find a spot with a depth of less then 10-15m to drop the anchor in. Eventually, after two hours of pushing into tide, we decided to drop anchor a little ways off Fisherman Point.
This was set to only be a temporary anchorage as at the change of tide we once more weighed anchor to find somewhere a little more sheltered to spent the night as we had some strong winds forecast for the following day. By the time we weighed anchor it was approaching late afternoon but now the tide was in our favour meaning Allagai flew along so that it was only a little under an hour later that we once more dropped anchor behind Haycock Island. We were quickly realising that the Hinchinbrook Channel was a truly beautiful place and where we dropped anchor that evening was no different. Everywhere we looked we had rolling green hills and mountains all lush with rainforest that from the bird calls we could hear must have been teeming with life.
We only stayed the one night anchored behind Haycock Island, weighing anchor early the next morning to catch the morning incoming tide. That day we decided to take the long route up the channel by taking a detour up Sunday Creek. Thanks to our shallow draft we were able to enter from one end of this shallow creek and exit out the other end. At times our depth sounder dipped below two meters and our alarm went off in warning but thankfully we never touched the bottom, Allagai’s shallow draft meant we got to enjoy some very beautiful and secluded scenery.
Leaving the beautiful Sunday Creek behind we now didn’t have long until the change of tide and so had to give the engine a few extra revs to get us to our next anchorage. That day we were aiming for Guyandah Creek which was about six miles from Haycock Island. When we arrived we were once again blown away by the beauty of Hinchinbrook Island. We dropped anchor in a creek barely 50m wide, lined with mangroves and at the base of a soaring mountain. However this little spot did come with a few drawbacks, all of the buggy variety. As soon as the wind stopped the boat would become inundated with midges, sand flies and mosquitos all of which had a taste for my blood and not Hugo’s.
We spent two nights anchored in this little creek while we waited for some windy weather to pass, which we never felt in our anchorage. We spent all this time aboard as the Hinchinbrook Channel is notorious crocodile territory and neither of us felt that any of our dingys we really croc ready and with no where to actually land there was little point in leaving Allagai. So we spent two days completing jobs on board and giving Allagai a much needed spring clean. But after two days of sitting still we were more then ready to leave Guyandah Creek and the Hinchinbrook Channel in general especially as I was covered in more insect bites then I could count. Although even covered in bites we were both still in awe by the beautiful scenery and would visit the spot again. With only just over a week to the arrival of Hugo’s family we were now starting to feel the pressure to reach Cairns in time. However we still had a couple more stop we wanted to make before then the first being a quick stop on Dunk Island.