Four days ago I emailed Michael a job advertisement - as I sometimes do - fully expecting him to say - as he usually does - "nah, its not for me." Instead he said "hey, I could do this!" and sent in his CV. Three hours later Michael received a call from the boss saying "you are perfect for the role, lets meet". Yesterday we hired a car and drove the four hours north to the town of Hervey Bay on the Great Sandy Strait, and overlooking Fraser Island to scope out the place and have an interview.
Long story short, Michael got the job. Its perfect for us. Although we had planned to cruise for a couple of months more before stopping, the job is in the exact area we were looking at to settle in and get some much needed boat work done. The pay is good, the location is gorgeous, and the potential for weekend and holiday sailing around the area is really attractive - the Great Sandy Strait for starters, and the southern islands of the Great Barrier Reef. Plus its only 3 hours from Brisbane!
We've sorted a marina berth at the Great Sandy Strait Marina in the Urangan Boat Harbour and will spend the next two weeks sailing up the coast.
A great bonus is that Michael's new boss Lawrie is totally happy for us to meet Michael's parents in late October and take them over to Fraser Island as planned - its all fallen beautifully in to place.
Friday, 28 September 2012
Sunday, 23 September 2012
The Gold Coast
Visiting the Gold Coast by water is totally different to doing it by land. Oh sure, there are the kazillion-story highrises, pumped-up leather-skinned men in fluoro green budgie smugglers and dickheads on jetskis... but we've been lucky to see a different side to the Goldie to our previous visit about 8 years back (Isabella - do you remember???)
After a day or two in Bums Bay (which was surprisingly relaxing, with its contrasting backdrop of the Gold Coast skyscrapers and coastal scrub) my sister Imogen and her fiance Michael (yes, confusing - we call them Michael One and Michael Two) flew in for a friend's wedding. They put us up in their hotel for a night down at Nobbys Beach which was great because it was off the main drag at Surfers Paradise and had great views down the coast to Burleigh Heads. It also meant we could catch up on all our laundry - joy! After drinking A LOT and being denied entry to the hotel pool by a creepy caretaker around 9pm we scrambled down on to the beach and stumbled around like Schoolies, before coming to our senses and marvelling at the warm water, bright stars and dramatic GC skyline.
Two days later (after recovering from our crashing hangovers) we met up with Imogen and Michael Two again and drove 30 minutes south to the coastal town of Currumbin to check out the Swell Sculpture Festival - a beachside display of works from over 50 artists. It was a perfect QLD day: bright, bright blue skies, sunshine hot enough to burn if you let it, the coastline misty from the surf-spray - aahh! Its so good to be here.
To top off their visit, on Thursday we broke with Bass Voyager tradition, dressed up and went to a restaurant called Glass at the Southport marina (think Sheraton and Versace hotels - yikes!) and met Imogen and Michael's friends Tracy and Josh who were just married a few days earlier. We had a lovely night. Great company, amazing food and wine. Thanks Imo and Mike - we loved seeing you!
Two days ago we decided to up-anchor from Bums Bay and head a little further up the Broadwater for a change of scene. We're now anchored off the beach at Paradise Point, trying to have a sense of humour about the jetskis, power boats and waterskiers flying by dangerously close to us! On the up-side, the township here is really nice - cafes and shops along wide beachfront parklands.
Yesterday was a great day. A new friend of ours, Ron from the yacht Stormalong, who we first met back at Pt Stephens, picked us up for a day touring the GC hinterland with his wife Sue. First they took us to a farmers market at Nerang where we stocked up on beautiful local produce and, much to Michael's delight, experienced green olives stuffed with cheese, crumbed and deep fried - ON A STICK! Genius.
After that they drove us up into the hills above Mudgeeraba at a place called Mt Nimmel. Ron and Sue bought their property in the 1970's and have split their time between sailing the south pacific and raising their kids in this truly idyllic spot, 500 metres above sea level overlooking Burleigh Heads and the Gold Coast. It so was fantastic to see a different side of the region outside the craziness of the tanned bubble-men and meter-maids!
Over the next few days we're catching up with some other sailing friends before pushing on to BrisVegas, hopefully in time to find an anchorage and catch Riverfire over the weekend.
View from Bums Bay
A selection from the Swell Sculpture Festival at Currumbin
Ghost dogs...
Imogen and Michael
Scary, enormous, unfinished mansions on the Sovereign Islands near our current anchorage
After a day or two in Bums Bay (which was surprisingly relaxing, with its contrasting backdrop of the Gold Coast skyscrapers and coastal scrub) my sister Imogen and her fiance Michael (yes, confusing - we call them Michael One and Michael Two) flew in for a friend's wedding. They put us up in their hotel for a night down at Nobbys Beach which was great because it was off the main drag at Surfers Paradise and had great views down the coast to Burleigh Heads. It also meant we could catch up on all our laundry - joy! After drinking A LOT and being denied entry to the hotel pool by a creepy caretaker around 9pm we scrambled down on to the beach and stumbled around like Schoolies, before coming to our senses and marvelling at the warm water, bright stars and dramatic GC skyline.
Two days later (after recovering from our crashing hangovers) we met up with Imogen and Michael Two again and drove 30 minutes south to the coastal town of Currumbin to check out the Swell Sculpture Festival - a beachside display of works from over 50 artists. It was a perfect QLD day: bright, bright blue skies, sunshine hot enough to burn if you let it, the coastline misty from the surf-spray - aahh! Its so good to be here.
To top off their visit, on Thursday we broke with Bass Voyager tradition, dressed up and went to a restaurant called Glass at the Southport marina (think Sheraton and Versace hotels - yikes!) and met Imogen and Michael's friends Tracy and Josh who were just married a few days earlier. We had a lovely night. Great company, amazing food and wine. Thanks Imo and Mike - we loved seeing you!
Two days ago we decided to up-anchor from Bums Bay and head a little further up the Broadwater for a change of scene. We're now anchored off the beach at Paradise Point, trying to have a sense of humour about the jetskis, power boats and waterskiers flying by dangerously close to us! On the up-side, the township here is really nice - cafes and shops along wide beachfront parklands.
Yesterday was a great day. A new friend of ours, Ron from the yacht Stormalong, who we first met back at Pt Stephens, picked us up for a day touring the GC hinterland with his wife Sue. First they took us to a farmers market at Nerang where we stocked up on beautiful local produce and, much to Michael's delight, experienced green olives stuffed with cheese, crumbed and deep fried - ON A STICK! Genius.
After that they drove us up into the hills above Mudgeeraba at a place called Mt Nimmel. Ron and Sue bought their property in the 1970's and have split their time between sailing the south pacific and raising their kids in this truly idyllic spot, 500 metres above sea level overlooking Burleigh Heads and the Gold Coast. It so was fantastic to see a different side of the region outside the craziness of the tanned bubble-men and meter-maids!
Over the next few days we're catching up with some other sailing friends before pushing on to BrisVegas, hopefully in time to find an anchorage and catch Riverfire over the weekend.
View from Bums Bay
A selection from the Swell Sculpture Festival at Currumbin
Views from the hotel at Southport
Scary, enormous, unfinished mansions on the Sovereign Islands near our current anchorage
Wednesday, 12 September 2012
Bums Bay, Gold Coast, QLD
10 months and 3000 nautical miles and we're finally in Queensland! Phew. Surely there's an easier way...!
I love the name of this anchorage. Its officially "Marine Stadium" but locals call it "Bums Bay" because mooring here is free and all the ritzy yachts (i.e. not us lot!) pay big bucks to moor down south in front of the expensive marinas, casinos and five star resorts. Apparently there are proposals to develop the bay into a private marina, but most locals want it retained for the bums who love it just the way it is. All power to them.
So anyway, we're here! Its been an amazing, fun, incredibly challenging journey so far, and its a bit overwhelming to think about how far we've come in such a very ... very long time! ;o)
We have a few social engagements over the next week or so - lots of friends to catch up with plus my gorgeous sister and her fiance are flying in for a friend's wedding - perfect timing! So we'll be around here for the next little while, before deciding where to go next.
Motoring into the Gold Coast this morning over silky-calm seas...
Last week Michael bottled his first precious home brew (Coopers of course)
I love the name of this anchorage. Its officially "Marine Stadium" but locals call it "Bums Bay" because mooring here is free and all the ritzy yachts (i.e. not us lot!) pay big bucks to moor down south in front of the expensive marinas, casinos and five star resorts. Apparently there are proposals to develop the bay into a private marina, but most locals want it retained for the bums who love it just the way it is. All power to them.
So anyway, we're here! Its been an amazing, fun, incredibly challenging journey so far, and its a bit overwhelming to think about how far we've come in such a very ... very long time! ;o)
We have a few social engagements over the next week or so - lots of friends to catch up with plus my gorgeous sister and her fiance are flying in for a friend's wedding - perfect timing! So we'll be around here for the next little while, before deciding where to go next.
Motoring into the Gold Coast this morning over silky-calm seas...
Last week Michael bottled his first precious home brew (Coopers of course)
Can anyone tell me what kind of bird this is?
Hawk? Eagle? Very pretty bird - he moved on to BV while we were in Port Macquarie but really overstayed his welcome by dropping gory bits of fish he'd caught on the deck and crapping all over the place! Plus after three weeks I was seriously over his intensely piercing squark... damn nature is annoying sometimes!
Update: ian.eco tells me this is probably a young White-bellied Sea Eagle - thanks Ian!
Tuesday, 4 September 2012
Coffs Harbour
We just completed a fantastic two day passage from Port Macquarie to Coffs Harbour and are now anchored just off the historic Coffs Jetty (check out the new "Where is Bass Voyager?" map on the right).
After the excitement of our arrival at Port Mac we left no "i" un-dotted in planning our departure. Tides were calculated and recalculated, weather forecasts deconstructed and reconstructed. Of course it was a complete anti-climax: not a ripple on the bar. How boring!
It was a "sitting-on-the-rail-dangling-your-feet-in-the-water" kind of passage: warm, sunny, good winds, calm seas - bliss! We overnighted at Trial Bay near where we went diving last week, before setting out again at the crack of dawn as the sun rose over calm, misty seas. Today we sailed close-hauled up the coast past Nambucca Heads to Coffs, running a gauntlet of humpback whales along the way, including this little guy...
After the excitement of our arrival at Port Mac we left no "i" un-dotted in planning our departure. Tides were calculated and recalculated, weather forecasts deconstructed and reconstructed. Of course it was a complete anti-climax: not a ripple on the bar. How boring!
It was a "sitting-on-the-rail-dangling-your-feet-in-the-water" kind of passage: warm, sunny, good winds, calm seas - bliss! We overnighted at Trial Bay near where we went diving last week, before setting out again at the crack of dawn as the sun rose over calm, misty seas. Today we sailed close-hauled up the coast past Nambucca Heads to Coffs, running a gauntlet of humpback whales along the way, including this little guy...
To top off the trip, Michael caught a large bonito as we approached Coffs Harbour - Kitty was most impressed!
There is some strong northerly weather coming through the next few days so we will chill out here and look for an opportunity to head to Yamba and the Clarence River. Bye for now!
Wednesday, 29 August 2012
South West Rocks
We are still in Port Macquarie, waiting for the weather to change so we can head north again.
Yesterday we hired a car and drove up to South West Rocks - a town about 1 hour north of here. We had hooked up the South West Rocks Dive Centre to take us out to the famous Fish Rock Cave where we could dive with Grey Nurse Sharks. After launching at the boat ramp in the Macleay river we sped over the river bar and around the headland towards Fish Rock. What would usually be about a 30minute trip took much longer because we had a few visitors along the way! Three humpback whales, including a baby, approached us about half way across from the mainland. Not content to just check us out and leave, they began to put on an amazing show, broaching, slapping their tails, and rolling onto their backs and slapping the water with their fins. It was an AMAZING sight. The captain cut the engine into neutral and we drifted in the current for about half an hour as they stayed right alongside and playing around. They were completely uninterested in leaving us alone - they just follwed the boat as it drifted towards Fish Rock, popping up on one side of the boat, and then the other. It really felt as if they were showing off - to us or each other, Im not sure! Both the crew on the dive boat commented that they had never experienced such an long and active display. It was something I will never forget - everyone on board agreed it was a pretty special experience.
Amazingly, our day had only just started! Once moored at Fish Rock we kitted up and a group of us, led by dive guide Mike, descended into the rocky gutters beneath the boat. The visibility was fairly poor, but it didn't matter as we immediately spotted Grey Nurse Sharks, patrolling sleepily along the gutters. These fierce looking critters are actually harmless, but their ferocious look has meant they were mistaken for man-eaters and are now endangered.
After a surface interval we descended a second time to conquer the famous Fish Rock Cave. The cave is about 125 metres long and runs right through the small rocky island. Its entrance is a triangular hole at the end of a gravelly gutter at about 25 metres deep. The entrance is guarded by schooling bulls-eye fish, and it is quite a bizarre feeling to enter the darkness, pushing through a curtain of hundreds of these pretty sentinels!
With the dive guide in the lead, we switched on our torches and filed into the cave one by one, following a narrow passageway into complete darkness. The inside was rocky, and quite bare except covered with pink and brown algae. The cave roof opened up above us, but remained quite narrow for about 20 metres until we reached a "chimney" leading up to the next level. there was a large crack extending from the floor, up the chimney. Inside were at least 10 huge painted crayfish. We slowly ascended the chimney, controlling our buoyancy as we went. Large blue gropers and hundreds of other fish call the cave home. Soon a blue glow appeared ahead and the magnificent silhouette of two grey nurse sharks and hundreds of fish appeared at the exit of the cave. On the swim back to the boat we saw Eagle Rays, and more sharks.
A great day, and we can definitely recommend South West Rocks Dive Centre - they were very professional and fun.
PS I asked a local guy why the town is called South West Rocks when it is neither in the south, or the west. Apparently when James Cook spotted it, it was SW - from his position in the north east. So there you go. Its all relative.
Michael's video of our amazing whale encounter
A few still images
Video with the Grey Nurse Sharks (and friends) at Fish Rock
Map of Fish Rock Cave - courtesy of SWRDC
Cave exit
Yesterday we hired a car and drove up to South West Rocks - a town about 1 hour north of here. We had hooked up the South West Rocks Dive Centre to take us out to the famous Fish Rock Cave where we could dive with Grey Nurse Sharks. After launching at the boat ramp in the Macleay river we sped over the river bar and around the headland towards Fish Rock. What would usually be about a 30minute trip took much longer because we had a few visitors along the way! Three humpback whales, including a baby, approached us about half way across from the mainland. Not content to just check us out and leave, they began to put on an amazing show, broaching, slapping their tails, and rolling onto their backs and slapping the water with their fins. It was an AMAZING sight. The captain cut the engine into neutral and we drifted in the current for about half an hour as they stayed right alongside and playing around. They were completely uninterested in leaving us alone - they just follwed the boat as it drifted towards Fish Rock, popping up on one side of the boat, and then the other. It really felt as if they were showing off - to us or each other, Im not sure! Both the crew on the dive boat commented that they had never experienced such an long and active display. It was something I will never forget - everyone on board agreed it was a pretty special experience.
Amazingly, our day had only just started! Once moored at Fish Rock we kitted up and a group of us, led by dive guide Mike, descended into the rocky gutters beneath the boat. The visibility was fairly poor, but it didn't matter as we immediately spotted Grey Nurse Sharks, patrolling sleepily along the gutters. These fierce looking critters are actually harmless, but their ferocious look has meant they were mistaken for man-eaters and are now endangered.
After a surface interval we descended a second time to conquer the famous Fish Rock Cave. The cave is about 125 metres long and runs right through the small rocky island. Its entrance is a triangular hole at the end of a gravelly gutter at about 25 metres deep. The entrance is guarded by schooling bulls-eye fish, and it is quite a bizarre feeling to enter the darkness, pushing through a curtain of hundreds of these pretty sentinels!
With the dive guide in the lead, we switched on our torches and filed into the cave one by one, following a narrow passageway into complete darkness. The inside was rocky, and quite bare except covered with pink and brown algae. The cave roof opened up above us, but remained quite narrow for about 20 metres until we reached a "chimney" leading up to the next level. there was a large crack extending from the floor, up the chimney. Inside were at least 10 huge painted crayfish. We slowly ascended the chimney, controlling our buoyancy as we went. Large blue gropers and hundreds of other fish call the cave home. Soon a blue glow appeared ahead and the magnificent silhouette of two grey nurse sharks and hundreds of fish appeared at the exit of the cave. On the swim back to the boat we saw Eagle Rays, and more sharks.
A great day, and we can definitely recommend South West Rocks Dive Centre - they were very professional and fun.
PS I asked a local guy why the town is called South West Rocks when it is neither in the south, or the west. Apparently when James Cook spotted it, it was SW - from his position in the north east. So there you go. Its all relative.
Michael's video of our amazing whale encounter
A few still images
Video with the Grey Nurse Sharks (and friends) at Fish Rock
Map of Fish Rock Cave - courtesy of SWRDC
Cave exit
Sunday, 26 August 2012
Port Macquarie NSW
Another overnight sail saw us arrive at Port Macquarie on the 16th at about the right time recommended for a safe bar crossing. After speaking to Marine Rescue and getting some advice we were quietly confident. The winds were light, swell was low and the Marine Rescue operator said the bar looked pretty good. We watched a few motor boats pass through with ease. We had asked the Marine Rescue operator if we should follow the leads and were told "I can't tell you not to follow the leads" - not exactly what you want to hear at this point. We looked and looked and looked for the leads but could only find one of them? Consulting the charts showed the approach that the leads would have suggested but looking at the surf it was not going to happen. We waited until we thought the last of a larger set of swell had finished passing and made a run for it. We got it a bit wrong.
The boat was grabbed by some breaking waves and shoved from about the centre of the channel to the northern side and way too close to the breakwall. Luckily Bass Voyager has a great sense of self preservation and didn't allow herself to be over powered. Caitlin steered her hard left as I shouted directions from the deck - I had a much better appreciation of the conditions from there. (Caitlin here - what he means is I was freaking out inside the cockpit! I don't get scared often when sailing. This time I was scared.) It was all over in a matter of a minute and we were safe and sound inside the channel. On reflection we should have waited and studied the wave patterns longer before making our run. We caught the last wave of the larger set rather than coming in just after it. At least we know how well our boat can cope with some serious surf on the stern.
A few days later we met Caitlin's Mum at the airport and checked into a hotel called Macquarie Waters where we made the most of free wireless internet and free washer and drier (a novelty when you live on a boat!). We hired a car and explored the local region including the Ellenborough Falls and the Camden Haven area.
We saw Bev off at the airport this morning and now we are back home on Bass Voyager. We are waiting for the weather so that we can make our next passage up to the Clarence River and Yamba. In the meantime we're going to go scuba diving on Tuesday at the famous Fish Rock Cave which is just north of here.
Kookaburra at Kooloobung Creek Nature Park, Port Macquarie
Fruit Bat colony at Kooloobung Creek Nature Park, Port Macquarie
Michael and Bev on the roof of the Macquarie Waters hotel. The weather has been spectacular
Checking the conditions of the Port Macquarie Bar - reconnaissance for our departure
Bev and Caitlin on the foreshore at Pt Mac.
Visitors and locals have painted all the breakwall rocks. There's a lotta love out there for Port Macquarie.
Ellenborough Falls - one of the highest single drop falls in the southern hemisphere.
Spectacular view of Camden Haven from the top of North Brother Mountain. This is also a sky diving launchpad.
The boat was grabbed by some breaking waves and shoved from about the centre of the channel to the northern side and way too close to the breakwall. Luckily Bass Voyager has a great sense of self preservation and didn't allow herself to be over powered. Caitlin steered her hard left as I shouted directions from the deck - I had a much better appreciation of the conditions from there. (Caitlin here - what he means is I was freaking out inside the cockpit! I don't get scared often when sailing. This time I was scared.) It was all over in a matter of a minute and we were safe and sound inside the channel. On reflection we should have waited and studied the wave patterns longer before making our run. We caught the last wave of the larger set rather than coming in just after it. At least we know how well our boat can cope with some serious surf on the stern.
A few days later we met Caitlin's Mum at the airport and checked into a hotel called Macquarie Waters where we made the most of free wireless internet and free washer and drier (a novelty when you live on a boat!). We hired a car and explored the local region including the Ellenborough Falls and the Camden Haven area.
We saw Bev off at the airport this morning and now we are back home on Bass Voyager. We are waiting for the weather so that we can make our next passage up to the Clarence River and Yamba. In the meantime we're going to go scuba diving on Tuesday at the famous Fish Rock Cave which is just north of here.
Kookaburra at Kooloobung Creek Nature Park, Port Macquarie
Fruit Bat colony at Kooloobung Creek Nature Park, Port Macquarie
Checking the conditions of the Port Macquarie Bar - reconnaissance for our departure
Bev and Caitlin on the foreshore at Pt Mac.
Ellenborough Falls - one of the highest single drop falls in the southern hemisphere.
Spectacular view of Camden Haven from the top of North Brother Mountain. This is also a sky diving launchpad.
Wednesday, 8 August 2012
Nelson Bay, Port Stephens, NSW
Today we went diving for the first time in many months. Fly Point at Nelson Bay is apparently one of the best shore dives in Australia. Well, as South Australians we have Rapid Bay to compare to, sooooo...... OMG it was fantastic. a) we haven't been diving for AGES. b) the water is WARM !!! What a difference 100 nautical miles makes! 4 degrees Celsius apparently. c) beautiful soft corals and colorful sponges, big blue gropers, free-swimming rays, nudibranches, crayfish... d) today we saw the largest flathead THAT EVER LIVED. Bom-Bom-BOM! Seriously. Photo evidence below.
The amazing thing about this part of Oz is it is the temperate waters start to integrate with the tropical waters. We have hundreds of dives under our weight-belts and today we saw fish we've never seen before. Soooooo great to be back in the water!
PS Michael to our cat: "Kitty, the world is good, you just need to know where to find the good."
Here's a few photos from today. As it was our first dive in a while I didn't bother with strobes or anything. It was a point-and-shoot kinda dive, so be kind!
World's biggest pufferfish - 50cm-ish!
These guys were everywhere, chillin' in the basket sponges.
Slightly blurry photo of a big Eastern cray.
1 metre Wobbygong.
Michael and the biggest flathead we have ever seen. We mistook it for a wobbygong shark to begin with! Well over 1 metre length. What a beauty. Tell Tony Abbott: marine parks clearly don't work... ;o)
Pretty fishies.
The amazing thing about this part of Oz is it is the temperate waters start to integrate with the tropical waters. We have hundreds of dives under our weight-belts and today we saw fish we've never seen before. Soooooo great to be back in the water!
PS Michael to our cat: "Kitty, the world is good, you just need to know where to find the good."
Here's a few photos from today. As it was our first dive in a while I didn't bother with strobes or anything. It was a point-and-shoot kinda dive, so be kind!
World's biggest pufferfish - 50cm-ish!
These guys were everywhere, chillin' in the basket sponges.
Slightly blurry photo of a big Eastern cray.
1 metre Wobbygong.
Michael and the biggest flathead we have ever seen. We mistook it for a wobbygong shark to begin with! Well over 1 metre length. What a beauty. Tell Tony Abbott: marine parks clearly don't work... ;o)
Pretty fishies.
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