November 2021
When we decided to leave Airlie Beach and the Whitsunday’s behind to head south we had a perfect weather forecast however as usual nothing went to plan and we ended up with some of our worst sailing to date. When we left the Whitsunday’s it was from Shaw Island about 365nm from our end destination of Fraser Island, which we had high hopes of reaching before the end of the northerlies. For this leg of our journey we had every intention of sailing non-stop until we reached our goal however the weather gods had other ideas and through a series of unfortunate weather changes we fell short of that by about 200nm. The day we began this unfortunate sail we had a morning of light winds which rather then leave with we used to get Allagai ready for sea. That day I spent the entire morning cooking sea meals for our overnight sailing and baked a stunning banana bread on our BBQ. It was just as I was finishing half a weeks worth of sea lunches that the northerly breeze finally filled in, which was our cue to weigh anchor and set sail.
Our first night at sea went well enough. We had a northerly breeze and were able to sail all the way up until dark. However as the sun set the wind died along with it, which left us a with yet another night of noisy sleep as the engine was turned on and off with the fickle winds.
By morning we were both tired and so when we received a new forecast which suggested an evening of heavy rain and severe thunderstorms we decided to make our first stop of the trip at Middle Percy Island. That day we continued our slow motor south watching in awe as huge cumulonimbus clouds built and then collapsed all around us. With such phenomenal cloud formations we knew we were in for thunderstorms that night and as the sky took on a bruised purple look we were eager to drop anchor in Rescue Bay on Middle Percy Island.
It was moments after the anchor hit the water that we started to hear the first rumbles of thunder in the distance. From then on we had the most spectacular light show ever playing out behind us with lightning in the clouds and the occasional ground strike in the distance. However the fact that the lightning was behind us and moving closer should have been an indication for what was to come.
With less then an hour of sunlight left the front of the storm finally hit us bringing with it an unforecast south easterly wind change. We were totally exposed with lightening striking all around, driving rain and 30+kts of wind which put us on a lee shore. We were absolutely terrified that the anchor would drag as the sea state became whipped up with the wind. Allagai bounced so hard her bowsprit was basically submerged as Hugo battled the helm. To reduce the pressure on the anchor we had the engine in gear as we knew that if we dragged we were going straight for the rocks. This change was not forecast and had we been more rested we would have realised that due to the trajectory of the lightning that a wind change was expected. However we were stuck and could do nothing but hold on and prey for the anchor to hold. The storm lasted for about two hours before shifting to a more easterly direction and abating slightly. But even with the change and decreased winds the sea state didn’t die down until some time later meaning we had another sleepless night spent on the floor and saloon berth which was a lot less bouncy then the normal forward berth.
The following morning we woke to a completely different sight with flat seas and a gentle breeze. It was a complete 180 from the night before and waking early we wasted no time in leaving Rescue Bay behind. That day we left with the best intentions to continue our non-stop sail to Fraser Island however it was just before lunch that our hands were forced once more. All day we had been fairly hard on the wind as we battled tide and an easterly wind, so when the wind shifted to the south east we had no choice but to abort. Following the lead of another boat with the same idea we headed for the Duke Island Group which was about 10nm from us at the time of the wind change. However due to the intense tides that swirled around the Duke Island Group we were still in for an uphill battle. Because of our slow speed we missed the tide by a fraction and so had to take the long way round to reach the anchorage behind Hunter Island. However once this rather long detour was completed we were greeted with a beautiful calm anchorage which was a welcome sight after the previous night. When we had left the Whitsunday’s we’d been promised a week of perfect north easterlies however as each day passed the forecast came further and further to the east making our life more and more challenging.
Since Hunter Island was privately owned we remained aboard Allagai for our short stay and left the afternoon following our arrival. Due to the tide we couldn’t leave until after lunch, but as soon as the tide was appropriate we wasted no time in weighing anchor and heading off, hoping this time for no more unplanned wind changes. However due to so many unplanned stops and delays we had shortened our goal to Yeppoon, 90nm from the Duke Islands as with what was left of the northerlies it was now infeasible to reach Fraser Island during this wind window. When we made the decision to head to Yeppoon we felt that it wasn’t an unreasonable distance to make in what time we had left. However this will go down as our worst sail to date due to a severe lack of wind in the most atrocious of sea states we have ever sailed in. With an easterly wind still blowing we were hard on the wind yet again but what made it more challenging was having to time and plan everything we did with the movement of the tide. When we left Hunter Island the tide hadn’t quite changed meaning it was appropriate to leave the island group. However once clear it meant that we had to put up with being sucked south into Shoalwater Bay for a couple of hours and blown north with the next tide while being pushed in an easterly direction whenever we passed the various channels leaving Shoalwater Bay. This was all completely reasonable and to be expected given the bay and its river systems and all taken into account during our planning. However what was unexpected was the sea state which only deteriorated with the more time that passed as the opposing tidal directions caused immense turbulence in the water. Allagai was not sitting or sailing happy as she bucked and bounced while hard on the wind, it was a miracle that neither of us became sea sick in the washing machine like motion that was occurring on the back deck of Allagai.
When we passed Townsend Island that evening we thought that the sea state may flatten out, but we were wrong. It was in the fading light with a mile off the island that we tacked to give us sea room after dark, a course we kept until we had three miles of breathing room. The events of that day continued well into the evening as we settled into a night of long and rolly watches. For much of the night we remained hard on the wind so the engine was needed to keep us travelling the right way, as if Allagai had her way we she would have rounded into the land with the gusts or strayed downwind in the lulls all while only doing 1kt. To make things even more interesting we also spent much of that night dodging numerous squalls which built right before our eyes in the forms of massive, angry looking cumulonimbus clouds. So on sunrise when Keppal Island could be seen in the distance it was a most welcome sight as it signalled the end to a very long and rather unpleasant passage.
Due to the weather and the sorry state of Allagai’s crew we decided to spoil ourselves a bit and booked a marina berth in Keppal Sands Marina off Yeppoon, a first time for us in nearly a year. But it seemed that even with the marina in sight the weather gods were still not done with us yet. We had five miles to the entrance when we were hit with one last, rather intense, squall. The wind went from a lovely 10-15kts to 30kts in seconds with rain that drove horizontally. With no time to apply wet weather gear I was going from a first reef to a third in minutes and soaking wet from the rain in seconds, grateful that at least tropical rain was warm. Being a squall it was hard and fast so it seemed that it was only moments after my drenching that the squall had passed and we were entering through the marinas breakwater like nothing had ever happened, the only thing to show for it was our drowned rat appearances.
Our time in Yeppoon was spent recovering on board Allagai and trying to forget the week we’d just had. We spent much of our time contemplating our life choices and trying to remember what what it was about sailing that we liked. However with a little recuperation the stress of the week slowly dissipated and we realised that one week of bad weather wasn’t enough to put us off, remembering that we’d had more good times then bad during our sailing adventures. Although it was the morning of our expected departure that the stress levels once more went through the roof. We were making final preparations to leave when I brushed against the cupboard which held our batteries and felt a heat that should not have been present, as the timber was alarmingly hot. So hot in fact that the battery was quickly uncovered and discovered to be nearly melting, it was too hot to comfortably touch. It was barely six on a Sunday morning but that didn’t stop the cupboard from being dismantled in record time and the battery taken onto the wharf. The whole casing was bloated and some of the top plastic had started to melt. We were incredibly lucky to catch this near disaster when we had as a few hours more in this state and we may of had a more disastrous outcome. The battery linked to it although not bloated was also suspicious as it radiated just as much heat so was also moved to the deck to cool down. With two 120amp batteries removed we were now severely lacking in power and forced to buy new batteries from the marina. However in the end the marina batteries and the price was exceptionally good so our two 120amps were replaced by lunch with two separate 165amp batteries giving us way more power then previously. Although due to the mornings chaos we had missed our weather window to leave and had to book the marina for an extra two nights.
With another day in the marina we decided to use this time to complete a 7km return walk out the Bluff Point. This was a most enjoyable walk which we reached by walking the beach rather then the road. Bluff Point itself offered exceptional views from several look out points out to Keppal Island and south to Curtis Island. Following this we headed back to Allagai and got her in a seaworthy state for our departure the following day, as after five nights in a marina we were more then ready to get moving again. Although we weren’t going all that far as we only had a day of usable winds which we were going to use to get us to Gladstone via The Narrows behind Curtis Island.
