Log Entry 25th April 2008 (ANZAC Day Sail)

Today we had earmarked as a family outing, particularly as the two youngest girls had not sailed since the trip on the 10th March. As the conditions then had made their sailing experience a nervous one, we were hoping for a nice calm day to alleviate their concerns. The BOM Bay forecast earlier this week suggested a small low off the Queensland coast would generate 15-20 knot winds from the west, south-west, which resulted in a slightly lumpier sea than we would have preferred. The day didn't start too well with Freya expressing her misery about the impending voyage, lamenting loudly that she wanted to go home!

We left the marina about 11:30am, on a running reach under mainsail towards the Huybers Beacon, turning SSE towards Peel island, our intended destination. The sea was a bit lumpy, although reaching into the wind meant the boat stayed fairly dry, not so for yachts we saw beating into the chop. The waves weren't a problem either,as Lara occasionally surfed gently sideways down the bigger ones adding a knot or two to our speed. A largish expanse of greyish cloud blowing in from the SW idly threatened the possibility of a shower, which didn't happen, but the intermittent overcast did cool off the afternoon.

Rounding the beacons off the southern end of Peel Island we ran into Horseshoe Bay, where I had promised the girls a beach walk to collect shells. Unfortunately at about 4:30pm the tide was only an hour or so off low and the gently sloping bottom resulted in Lara grounding 20 or 30 metres off the beach. The area here is beautiful, all yellow sand and clear water, not surprisingly it is a very popular anchorage. The stiction between the Lara's long flat keel and the sandy bottom made it very difficult to push her back into deeper water and we were assisted by two very helpful blokes from a nearby speedboat, one of whom even went down on bended knee so Yolande could step up over the transom. (Oh, do we ever need that transom ladder!) Thanks again guys. Suffice to say the girls didn't get their walk, instead we anchored amongst the other boats for an early tea consisting of salad sandwiches washed down with coffee and chocolate chip biscuits.

Most people I have spoken to mistakenly confuse the penal colony and old hospital leprosarium sites believing the latter situated on St Helena Island. The hospital, or Lazaret as it came to be known, was in fact located on Peel Island. The hospital evolved from the original quarantine station located at Dunwich, an initial planning decision to move it to St Helena revoked after it was decided that St Helena would make a much better prison site. The availability of new drugs and treatment regimin negating the need for strict isolation resulted in the last ten patients (seven men and three women) being relocated to the Princess Alexander Hospital in August 1959, after which the Lazaret was closed.

Heading homeward at about 5:30pm we were treated to an awesome sunset of blues, purples, oranges and yellows until we were were off Cleveland Point where darkness overtook us. As the wind had dropped we motored northwards navigating from beacon to beacon through a slowly quietening sea. The Bay at night is truly a beautiful microcosm, the coastal lights and starry sky seemed both near and distant. Whilst surrounded locally by the dark of night, Lara's interior lights shone through the cabin windows bathing the water immediately around the hull with a comforting white light. I really felt like we were sailing in a giant snow dome in which everything around you is contained in a confined world seemingly so far away and yet deceptively close enough to blanket you with feeling of comfort and security.

Arriving at a point where I thought we should turn west to line up with the lead lights into Wynnum Harbour we found ourselves too far north in very shallow water as I had mistaken the distant lights of the Caltex oil refinery as the Wynnum promenade and had passed through the channel between St Helena and Green Island. Fortunately, with a little common sense and forethought, it isn't too hard to differentiate between landmarks, even at night, to backtrack one's course. The giraffe like cranes of the Port of Brisbane are very distinctive day or night, as is the huge vertical ariel rising up from St Helena Island. Despite this experience we were never lost in the true sense of the word and now knowing what the area around Wynnum harbour looks like at night, I doubt we will become disorientated sailing under these conditions again, (famous last words)?

Finally arriving at the marina pontoon around 8:45 we offloaded and tidied the boat before driving three tired but quite content girls home to an early bedtime. Actually both Yolande and I were also quite tired by journey's end too. Raising and lowering flogging sails, hauling a heavy anchor and chain is satisfying but very physical work. According to Google Maps and its handy distance measuring tool our entire trip was in excess of 50 kilometres. I constantly have to remind myself that Moreton Bay really is a large expanse of water, certainly felt like a great adventure!

Haven't had a chance to properly clean Lara for a while now so I will probably spend my next free day washing her and doing some maintenance. While adequately lit on the bow by a port and starboard light, we noticed that the stern and mast head lights don't work. The mast light will be tricky, and I no doubt will call on my good mate Phil for his advice on lowering the mast to check it. I am slowly leaning that the old yachty joke about boats being money pits needing constant work is true.

Log Entry 13th April 2008

Various commitments prevented us from sailing over the last fortnight, so the Sunday forecast of fine weather with 10-15 knot south-easterlies was the clincher that determined we would definitely be out on the bay this weekend. Unfortunately Yolande and the two younger girls had other engagements and so the crew consisted of Helena and me, and because we had loads of space, my brother and his partner also came along for the experience.

As usual, wind direction and strength determined our course and after thinking about it, I decided a straight beat out through the channel between Green Island and King Island might be best. Lots of boats on the water although the wind was quite light and many were running under power as well as sail. Passing the Thorpe Memorial Beacon off King Island, couldn’t help smiling when I heard a distinct thump as another yacht further inshore grounded, the skipper issuing a startled expletive.

The wind being quite light, I had decided to experiment with Lara wanting to see how well she sails without the centreboard dropped. The casing which holds it forms a long, shallow keel and I thought it would still provide enough resistance to reach and beat to windward. Sailing into the wind was certainly successful however there may have been some lateral drift in excess of that which normally occurs with the board down, was a bit hard to tell with tidal currents mucking up the wake behind the boat.

In hindsight, this may well have been the case, as a tinny, originally anchored off our starboard bow, seemed to slowly “drift” in front of us as we approached it. As we came to within about ten metres or so I decided to bear way to starboard, passing to the leeward side of it. All would have been well except the bloke’s fishing lines were all on that side as well, and I watched with fascination as our keel picked up first one line then another and dragged them along with us. Suffice to say the two fishermen in the tinny were not amused despite my apologies as we sailed past!

Turning on to a starboard tack we rounded the Hybers beacon, and headed north, along the windward side of Green Island, passing over an expansive shelf of coral and rock which in most places, despite the nearly high tide, was only a metre or two below the surface. The girls amused themselves looking at the bottom while dangling their feet in the water to cool off. At about this time a lovely old ketch converged on us from windward and I took several photographs of her as she overtook us. I am really curious as to the manner in which she is rigged as the sail between the masts is some form of jib rather than a mainsail and it certainly gave her an unexpected old worldly charm.

Approaching the southern end of St Helena, we sailed slowly up to a coarse sandy beach adjacent to the rock spit where I thought we would moor and explore the island by foot. We anchored stern first a couple of metres off the beach itself over a gently shelving bottom consisting of sand and rock. Stepping off the boat into crotch deep water isn’t too bad in itself, however having to lift one’s foot up to near chin level to climb back up further reinforced the need for an extendable transom ladder.

The island itself is quite picturesque, very green with lots of cattle grazing in open paddocks. Disappointingly, the remains of the old penal settlement were fenced off; the signage indicating that inspection is only open to officially organised tour parties. Still, the island has large public area, a covered picnic table nicely shaded by mature trees, as well as composting his and hers toilets.

The reach back to Manly took us back along the western side of Green Island, which effectively dampened the wind such that we started the outboard to reach the harbour channel. Helena has become very adept at helming and controlled Lara masterfully as we negotiated the entrance amongst a large number of other vessels, large and small, all returning home. Safely moored against the pontoon saw us quickly tidy up the boat and head off home just in time for Sunday dinner at the in-laws.