August 2021
Finally after nearly two months of sailing around the Whitsundays and Airlie Beach we decided that it was time to move on and continue north to Townsville. The distance from Airlie to Townsville was about 130nm however along the way there are plenty of bays to stop in. So we decided that rather then do the trip in one go we would break the sail up into about four or five day hops of less then 40nm. The day we left we only went as far as Double Bay which was about 11nm from Airlie. This was a lovely sail with a perfect 15kt breeze and the current in our favour, which meant it was only a few hours later that we were dropping anchor in the far end of the bay.
We only spent that night in Double Bay as we weighed anchor shortly after breakfast the following morning to continue north. That day we were aiming for the Gloucester Passage, about 16nm away. Originally we had planned to spent the night anchored in front of the resort just beyond the passage, although on arriving we ended up having a change of plans. The sail to the passage was awesome, we had the trade winds in full force and with a first reefed main, staysail and jib we were maintaining speeds well over 4kts. With such great speeds we ended up reaching Gloucester Passage just before lunch and were flying through it at speeds well over 6kts as the tide was in our favour. This was truly amazing but meant that it was only midday when we dropped the anchor. So this led us to creating a plan B, instead of anchoring there for the night as we had originally planned we decided to weigh anchor following lunch and continue sailing.
Our next stop was to be Bowen where we would anchor in Greys Bay behind Cape Edgecumbe which was only 13nm away. So as soon as lunch was done and tidied away we weighed anchor and had a roaring downwind sail to Bowen. Once again we had the first reef in the mainsail but this time only set the jib to stop it being shadowed by the staysail. However even though we had one less sail we didn’t lose any boat speed, instead we were racing, breaking Allagai’s speed records and achieving one of our highest passage averages. That afternoon as the beautiful Gloucester Island faded in the distance we were achieving speeds of 5-7kts and it was only two and half hours later that we were dropping anchor in Greys Bay, stunned by the speed of the sail we had just completed.
When we arrived in Greys Bay we realised that there was a walking trail around the entire headland of Cape Edgecumbe. So the following day we decided to wake at sunrise and complete the walk before sailing off later that morning. When we arrived ashore the sun had barely risen over the hills and we had the whole trail to ourselves.
The track led us to several lookout points with stunning views from every side of the headland via a track that was completely different to anything we had walked in a very long time. Cape Edgecumbe was a very rocky and boulder strewn headland and so much of the trail involved walking over large boulders and climbing rocky stairs. What also made the trail different was the lack of rainforest and greenery as this was a very dry headland with hardier vegetation used to a lot less water. Instead of rainforest we were walking on a track bordered by to coastal trees mainly consisting of pines and eucalypts and dry grasses however this didn’t make the walk or its scenery any less beautiful or enjoyable. The whole trail was about 5km and so within two hours we had completed the circuit and were returning to Allagai ready to start the next part of our day.
That day we wanted to continue our sail to Townsville and the next spot we were aiming for was Upstart Bay about 35nm away. So after short break following our walk we once more readied the boat for sea, lashing the dingy to the foredeck and stowing to boat properly down below as we were expecting another exhilarating sail. That day we were forecast for more strong trade winds of 15-25kts and were going to be crossing a large expanse of open water so we wanted the boat properly stowed.
When we finally left Greys Bay we started the morning with a second reef main, staysail and jib. However it wasn’t long before we decided to shake one of the reefs as away from the land the wind wasn’t nearly quite as strong and left as bobbing along rather then sailing with any speed. But once the reef was out we set a nice pace and spent the rest of the day enjoying a lovely sail towards the imposing figure of Cape Upstart ahead of us. For the most part that day we had a rather peaceful sail, the winds were fairly strong but Allagai handled everything perfectly. It wasn’t until we reached Cape Upstart that things got a little interesting. We had less then three miles to the anchorage when the wind off the land started to pick up, which was made considerable stronger when we started to turn up into it as we rounded the headland to get into the bay. We had already put the second reef in the hour before when we were regularly reaching speeds of 7-8kts and surfing down waves but it seemed we would also need the third reef.
Cape Upstart was a huge headland, 5nm long and 5nm wide, with mountains between 500-700m tall and this was causing incredible bullets of wind to come flying off the land. Allagai was coping fine but we knew that something was going to become damaged if we continued on as we were. So as soon as we could be took in a third reef and brought in the jib. However even this wasn’t enough in the end with every gust getting stronger. At that stage there was little else we could do so we were enjoying an exhilarating sail while also getting closer to the anchorage until the horrible sound of tearing sail was heard. We had blown out the mainsail with three moderate sized tear’s. The tear’s were one above the other and essentially looked like the scratches of a giant cat claw about half an metre above the third reef. As soon as this happened the main sail was brought down and furled and the engine used to push us the last half mile to the anchorage.
That day we’d had an amazing sail but were feeling quite disappointed at the tear as the sail was original with the boat and over 20 years old with many years of cruising around Australia and the Pacific (previous to us). Although the tear wasn’t too unexpected, we had fixed this sail many times over the last two years and knew that we needed a new one but it seemed that this tear might be the final straw. However all wasn’t lost as we did have a spare main that we could make work. It was an old sail but had never been used as it was donated to us while we were in Tasmania by a local fisherman that had no need of it. However we hadn’t used it yet because it was too short on the foot and had a smaller luff. But the main problem was that it had a much higher peak angle and longer head which meant the gaff would need some modifying to make it work. Although this didn’t stop Hugo as the following day the old mainsail was removed and the gaff modified to accept the new sail by lashing the boom gallows to the end of the gaff.
This wouldn’t be a permanent fix but would at least let us continue on to Townsville where a more permanent solution could be found. Hugo spent most of the morning making the new sail fit and once that was done we used the afternoon to test out the new rig. Thankfully the modified main set perfectly although it was only the size of our first reef and we wouldn’t be able to set the gaff topsail off it any time soon but at least get us sailing off the following morning.
When we left Cape Upstart the next morning we were greeted with wet, overcast foggy conditions which we hadn’t seen in about two to three months. However that day the forecast was the only day for the rest of the week calling for a lighter 15-20kt trade wind. So we had no choice but to wrap ourselves up in our wet weather gear, weigh anchor and set sail. That day we sailed the whole way and dropped anchor late that afternoon off Cape Bowling Green 37nm away. We had an amazing sail with our modified main however it wasn’t pleasant sailing. It rained on and off for the entire day and we had large standing seas left over from the high winds the day before. This made our journey to Cape Bowling Green more unpleasant then it needed to be and left us glad to stop for the day and drop anchor. However our peace was short lived as Cape Bowling Green should be renamed to “Rolling” Green as the small sand spit that was the cape barely offered any protection from the wind and the sandbar was so great that we had to anchor about a mile offshore and even then it was only in about 2m of water. However with little choice we rode the night out in one of the windiest, rolliest and bounciest anchorages we’d had in a very long time.
The following morning we wasted no time in weighing anchor and leaving glad to be out of the rolling and bouncing. That day we were aiming for Cape Cleveland which was about 25nm away. When we left we set the main and jib and had a much more pleasant sail then the day before, setting a good pace and arriving in the anchorage behind Cape Cleveland just in time for lunch. Following lunch we spent the afternoon relaxing on Allagai preparing for the final step on our journey and recovering from our sleepless night. From our anchorage we could see both Townsville and Magnetic Island in the distance.
The following day we left our anchorage and headed for Magnetic Island, we had decided that before heading to Townsville we would spend a week exploring the beautiful island that we could see in the distance. That morning we had only 12nm to make to get to Horseshoe Bay on the northern side of Magnetic Island. However for the first time that week the wind wasn’t blowing 20kts and with our “new” small main sail we just couldn’t make more then 2-3kts and so ended up motoring most of our way to the island. Although with such a short leg it wasn’t long before we were dropping anchor and ready for a week of exploring.