Year 2 –1 May 2025 - Goldsmith Island- Thomas Island
When we woke there was a lot more cloud it was a very different day. The weather had clearly changed. We started to have breakfast and it started to rain. There was no real sun and the wind had clearly increased. We decided to get the dinghy down and to go and explore Goldsmith Island before we moved on.
Goldsmith is the largest island in a group of continental islands off Mackay. Goldsmith has 674 hectares of National Park, low open woodlands and eucalypt forest, with brush box, wattles and grass trees form a backdrop to the rocky coastline. There are long sandy beaches on the northern and western side of the island lined with casuarinas and pandanus. The island is surrounded by fringing coral reef, allowing easy access for snorkelling the reef and fishing. Campers and visitors to the island need to be self-sufficient, please ensure you take water and a fuel stove as fires are not permitted on the island. Other island facilities include picnic tables, toilets and drinking water. Permits need to be obtained from the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service for camping.
We motored toward the beach and meandered through the reef without hitting anything and came to the beach. This was a long sandy beach which curved a little and was framed by trees and bush. The beach was clean and had lots of shells and old coral on it. Paul suggested we be careful about picking up shells as some can still have inhabitants which can bite or sting !! We walked along and found a sign which indicated camping and a toilet sign. We walked in and there was a flat area – where I guess people put their tents. In addition, there was would you believe an eco-toilet and fires were not allowed. It would be a lovely location to camp and there was a tree with lichens on it which had many butterflies swarming around it.
We wondered around and then decided not to swim as it did not look clear and was not that easy. We then got in the dinghy and motored round the bay and into the next which had Farrier Island off it which had a few buildings although no one was there now. You could see the tide coming in strongly with white horses and disturbed water. We therefore decided to turn back and return to Stormbird to put the dinghy on the davits. We could see heavy rain coming and we got the dinghy up just in time and then headed inside as the rain came.
We sorted ourselves out and prepared to leave. We decided to wait a little but then after about 20 minutes I decided to go. We could be here all day waiting. I thought we would go to Thomas Island which had a bay near Young Tom’s Island which was protected from the Southeast -the wind direction.
Thomas Island in the Whitsundays has a history rooted in both pre-colonial times and European settlement. The island's early history involves the Ngaro Aboriginal people, who are the traditional custodians of the Whitsundays and have inhabited the area for at least 9,000 years. European settlement began in the 1860s with timber harvesting and later grazing, with the Abell family playing a notable role in the development of the area.
Early Inhabitants: The Ngaro People ‘The Ngaro’, also known as the "Canoe People," are the original inhabitants of the Whitsunday Islands.
Archaeological evidence, including rock art and stone tools, suggests they lived in the region for at least 9,000 years.
The Ngaro maintained a strong spiritual connection to the land and sea, and their traditional practices are deeply rooted in the area.
The Ngaro were displaced by European settlement and faced significant cultural disruption, as detailed by the Whitsundays Vacations.
The pilot book says it is a little off the beaten track and therefore seldom visited. As we had time I thought we should go and have a look and if we did not like it we can move on probably to Shaw Island next. We slipped the buoy and began to motor out of the bay. The two other boats that had been with us in the bay had left earlier. We headed toward Thomas Island and whether we went to its West or East side the wind was going to be pretty well behind. The wind was 15 kts increasing to about 24 kts. I therefore decided to sail as far downwind as I could and just using the Staysail. This was easy as it was one sail and although it was a small sail we were making between 4.5-6.kts. We did not have the issue with the mainsail and gybing and we were in no hurry as Thomas Island was only as the crow flies some 8.5 nm away.
We sailed on gently and everyone was enjoying it although the swell was about 1m. Paul decided to fish (but we did not catch any today). We all chatted and sailed on one gybe for about and hour and a half and then gybed (putting the stern through the wind) over and sailed on a course toward the Southwest of Thomas Island and along its North coast. There were a few rocks around we had to be careful of. We came round and saw Young Thomas Island about a half a mile from Thomas Island. We came past this Island and motored into the bay which had a number of sandy beaches. It was still grey and cloudy but it had a rugged beauty that you see in Scotland even in bad weather.
We had lunch and then had a rest and chilled in the afternoon. The bay was well sheltered and there was little swell. We then had tea and there was no sunset today due to the cloud cover. Peter prepared and cooked a spaghetti bolognaise which we had in the cockpit and which was delcicious. As we were finishing supper the anchor alarm went off and we turned on the instruments. We were now facing North and the wind or current had pushed us round about 180 degrees. We decided to take some chain in as we had more chain than needed out. This would limit our swinging area although we seemed to have enough depth. I made sure that I was happy before we turned off the instruments.
We hope the weather will improve a little but I think we have up to 34 kt winds for a number of days now. We can cope with this provided we have sheltered anchorages.
The picture of the day is our approach to Thomas Island.
Need/Opportunity Year Two
I am in need of more crew from late June to Mid-July. In addition, there is one space from Cairns to Indonesia from mid-July - so if of interest do email me at hine.nick9@gmail.com
In year two I will be going from New Zealand to Sydney and hen up the Eastern Australian Coast, Indonesia and then through Bali, Singapore and on to Thailand to end year two about the end of November 2025.
The blog will continue as we continue the journey. If you have any comments or suggestions about the blog then do email me on hine.nick9@gmail.com