December 2021/ January 2022
The day we left Gladstone marina we finally had good weather to do an overnight sail to Fraser Island, glad to be moving further south once more. The morning we headed off we had beautiful weather and light winds although with an opposing tide it was a long trip out the channel. However we weren’t in a rush, so with full sail up and with the assistance of our little engine we slowly drifted down the Gladstone Channel while staying well out of the path of the large ships.
After nearly two hours of drifting we finally made it to the entrance of the channel where we found a nice surprise. We had stumbled across another Wylo setting sail, also on their way south. However this wasn’t our first meeting, as while we had been in the Keppal Bay marina we had been berthed nearly opposite this same boat and had met the owner the day we had departed. This was the first time in nearly two years of travel that we were going to sail in company with another Wylo 2, both of us a little excited to show off and glad that the wind was light enough for full sail with topsails and jibs flying high. However even with all this sail as usual we were the slow boat as this Wylo, named Penardun, had a bermuda rig and had an extra few feet of waterline, so naturally they were slightly faster then us. This meant that it wasn’t long before they were pulling away from us and although they weren’t disappearing over the horizon they were still clearly gaining ground away from us.
That day we had a wonderful sail, turning the engine off as soon as our friend in the other Wylo set sail and with a 10-15kt breeze we were flying along at 4-5 kts and then 6kts as the tide kicked in. With such good sailing we kept to our plan and sailed through the night however in typical style as soon as the sun dipped below the horizon the wind died out and we were left to a long night of motoring.
That night I had the first watch and as the last light of the sun disappeared I was greeted with a lightning show that I’ll never forget. From about eight O’clock onwards a wall of lightning began a slow but steady march towards the coast and although it started nearly 100-150km inland I could see the cloud band and lightning strikes like they were only a few K’s away. The whole skyline for as far as I could see looked like the scene of a nightclub as lighting continuously lite up the sky in a strobe-light like affect. This was both an incredibly amazing and simultaneously terrifying thing to watch however I was pretty confident that it would fizzle out before reaching the coast. Although two hours later when I handed the watch to Hugo the lightning was still flashing across the sky meaning I was starting to doubt my earlier confidence.
Apparently the lightning continued for much of Hugo’s watch and according to the weather radar only fizzled out 50km from the coast in his last hour of watch. This was a huge relief for us both as neither of us were real keen to take on such an intense looking thunderstorm system. With the passing of this storm the rest of our motor sail, thankfully, passed by fairly uneventfully with light winds and not enough sailing. That day we dropped anchor late that afternoon off Fraser Island’s Sandy Point, just in time to avoid yet another developing thunder storm. Thankfully this storm also missed us, although for a time it was looking like we were going to have another moment like Percy Island as the storm tracked towards us from our unprotected side. However we were lucky and the storm just missed us meaning we only had a little rain and thankfully no strong winds.
The following morning we decided to continue further into the Sandy Straights and decided to anchor in Kingfisher Bay. We spent three nights anchored here and spent that time keeping ourselves busy by giving Allagai a thorough spring cleaning and finishing the making of the landing legs. The Sandy Straights seemed like the perfect spot to beach Allagai for a day to remove the reef that had started growing on her hull. So with two test fits in shallows off the beach of Kingfisher Bay we finally got the legs finished and now just needed somewhere to land Allagai, although we soon realised that finding the perfect spot for this endeavour was going to be harder then we first thought.
The following morning in search of the perfect sandy flat to beach Allagai we set off once more and headed further south into the Sandy Straights and anchored off a spot called White Cliffs. At first we thought we’d find the ideal spot near the entrance to a nearby creek. However we soon discovered that the local solider crab population had done a serious job at making the sand soft and not really suitable for our first test beaching. So instead we spent a further two nights anchored off White Cliffs where we caught up with our friend off the other Wylo Panardun for dinner one of those nights. After our short stay in White Cliffs we decided to move on and headed to the popular Garry’s Anchorage once again hoping to find solid sand without crabs. Although upon arrival we realised that we were still out of luck so after spending the night there we headed to Tin Can Bay for water and groceries. Without knowing it at the time Tin Can Bay was to become our unofficial home for the the next 3-4weeks as we rode out week after week on unfavourable weather, an unfortunate mechanical problem and a surprise but mild natural disaster.
Our first week was spent going between Tin Can Bay and Pelican Bay as we explored the place and used the town to buy groceries and fill up on water. In Pelican Bay we enjoyed a lovely walk along the beach checking out the state of the Wide Bay Bar and enjoying the sight of white sand and clear water.
While in Tin Can Bay we enjoyed walks into the town and along the sandbar where the sand was also riddled with more crabs then you could count. Tin Can Bay was also the place where we decided to spend Christmas that year. But unlike previous Christmases where we’d had lovely weather this Christmas was spent holding on tight while the wind blew outside, praying that we wouldn’t lose the roast lunch from the BBQ in a strong gust. Thankfully the roast survived and was delicious and was followed by a truly tasty pudding.
Following Christmas the weather forecast showed the approach of some rather interesting weather. So for our second and much of our third weeks of our extended stay in the Sandy Straits we anchored in Kauri Creek located opposite the Wide Bay Bar. We spent so much time in this little creek as we feared the impacts that Cyclone Seth were going to have on the area. Seth was declared a low pressure system of interest on Christmas Day in the Northern Territory, however it wasn’t until the system was off the Queensland Coast that it was declared a cyclone and given its name. Although this cyclone never actually directly impacted us we still had many windy days of over 30kts, abnormally high tides and later flooding, all which were rode out in relative comfort due to the creeks amazing protection.
When we finally emerged from Kauri Creek it was seven days later following a quiet new year in our little hidey hole. By this point we were more then ready to get off Allagai for a walk, something we hadn’t been able to do in the mangrove lined creek. So we headed back to Tin Can Bay to fill up on water and used the excuse to buy groceries to get off Allagai and stretch our legs. By know we were up to our fourth week in the Sandy Straits and although Cyclone Seth was still hanging around offshore he was now only an ex-cyclone but that didn’t mean that he wasn’t going to go down without a fight. A couple of days after our arrival back in Tin Can Bay Seth finally made landfall over the top end of Fraser Island and although he only brought moderate winds we had torrential rain. In Tin Can Bay we had 150mm over 48hours however a little further inland there we records of 650mm. The whole area was under flood watch, with many inland towns experiencing damage to roads, houses and businesses.
Although we weren’t directly impacted by the flooding the water around us turned the colour of tea. But the drama’s didn’t end there for us as apparently our little engine decided that it had had enough and had started for the last time. We had known for quite some time now that the engine was losing power and in need of a bit of love and a rebuild. However we were hoping to give her the attention she needed somewhere a little more accessible but it seemed that we didn’t have a choice in the matter. Luckily we had bought a new head gasket while in Brisbane on the way up. So since we needed the engine to exit the bar and with a week of settled weather while we waited for the next set of northerlies Hugo had little choice in completing a minor top-end rebuild on Allagai’s little engine. Thankfully we were in a safe spot with access to a post office and a small chandlery for extra supplies. Within the week the rebuild was complete and the engine was sounding much healthier with her valves tuned up, water cooling system unclogged and new oil and filters.
After five weeks it was finally time to leave and we had an absolutely perfect weather window to get us to Moreton Bay. So after one last walk ashore to buy groceries we weighed anchor and moved Allagai to Pelican Bay in preparation to leave. We were so excited to be finally leaving the Sandy Straights and spent the remainder of the day scrubbing the hull and making the deck sea worthy. However that night as we were preparing to head to bed, as we were expecting an early rise the following morning we heard the news of the latest disaster, a tsunami. We couldn’t believe what we were reading and the thought of crossing the bar with the uncertainty of rogue waves and unusual tides and currents meant we decided to wait one more day. As far as we could tell we didn’t feel the effects of the tsunami.
However one more day turned into one more week as following the tsunami warning we were issued a damaging surf warning due an ex-cyclone offshore. However not wanting to be beaten and with swell at only 2-3m we thought that we may still be able to get out of the bar. Although we quickly realised that we were just going to have to be a little more patient as we barely made it two miles before having to turn back. With 2-3m waves at sea the channel leading into the bar was churned up with some waves even attempting to break in the channel. So we turned back and anchored which led to yet another week in Tin Can Bay where we weathered yet another storm of strong winds and rain. However one week after our attempted bar crossing we had yet another brief window of wind and this time with no storms, cyclones or tsunamis in sight were able to finally exit the bar six weeks after arriving in the Great Sandy Straits.