Year 2 -11 May 2025 - Stonehaven Anchorage- Farewell Whitsundays and back to the mainland- Woodwark Bay
The rain continued on and off in the night and the wind howled. However, it was not too bad when we woke and the day generally seemed brighter. We had a cereal breakfast and a good coffee. We were itching to move on and decided we would go and have a look at Blue Pearl Bay on the North side of Hayman Island.
We prepared the boat and then slipped the mooring and headed out of the bay. There were two reefs beside Black Island and Langford Island which we could go between. The tide was at a state so that we could not see the reefs but we could see a little sandbar. There was a bit of a swell so we continued and came round Hayman Island which also has a reef on its Southeast end. We saw the resort behind the reef on the shore and there was a little marina it appeared. We came round Southwest corner and up the North side and saw a helicopter on the shore. We motored on and soon came to Blue Pearl Bay which was a pretty bay but there was quite a bit of a swell. There were no other boats here. We picked up a buoy and in the process Paul could not release the boathook from the pickup rope and so we lost the boathook in the water. Luckily it floated and once we were moored Peter jumped in and swam and got it and brought it back.
I could see this bay would not be comfortable and getting the dinghy down would have been difficult. I considered other options and then thought of some islands near the shore as tomorrow we will have to start moving to Townsville. We chatted and agreed to sail to South Molle off the mainland about 15nm away. We released the mooring and set off and we had to sail close hauled. This was quite hard core with winds 20-29 kts and a sea state of 1-5-2m. Initially we had 3 reefs in the main and full staysail and we were bombing along with spray coming on the deck. It proved to be too much sail and so I put a further reef in the main and a reef in the staysail. Despite this we could still make 6-7.5 kts.
We sailed on without too much strain and the tide was pushing us North quite hard and due to the wind angle we would have to motor over to South Molle into the swell when we ran out of room on this tack. The angle we were sailing meant we could miss Airlie Beach and could make Woodwark Bay which appeared to be a reasonable anchorage. As we got close to the coast the weather seemed to improve and we had sun which we have not had for days. We sailed on and after a couple of hours we came to Woodwark Bay after Grimstone Point and anchored near two other boats and off a beach and in calm water. The 2008 Hollywood blockbuster movie Fool’s Gold filmed a scene with Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey at Grimston Point. They spent some time filming in the Whitsundays, and the cliff hanger scene at the blowhole is filmed here. (There isn’t actually a blowhole at Grimston Point, they added that with movie trickery!)
We had lunch and then John and I made some bread which came out very well and it is the first bread John has ever made on his life as well. Others rested and then we decided to go ashore and have a swim. We got the dinghy down and headed ashore and it was quite shallow close to the beach. There was a little camp spot behind the beach and a loo. We walked around for a bit and then went for a paddle and a swim. When I was walking in the water I saw a fish which had been buried in the sandy bottom swim off and I also saw a large ray which had a tail 2m long. It gave me a bit of a shock when it took off. Luckily it did not swish its tail at me. We swam and paddled and enjoyed being on land again. I saw large sea eagles soaring above the hill nearby and they look so big and healthy which is great.
We returned to Stormbird and had some tea and then a sundowner in the sun again. Paul then cooked sausages and mash with peas and cabbage which was great. We chatted again and put the world to rights. We will move on up the coast tomorrow toward Townsville. It had been a much better day today weather wise and it was good to have sun again and little rain. The picture of the day is me at the helm in the strong winds.
Need/Opportunity Year Three
In year three I will be going from Thailand to Sri Lanka, India, Maldives and then on to Chagos, Mauritius, Reunion, Cape Town, St Helena, Azores and back to the UK. I am looking for crew from Reunion to Cape Town and from Cape Town to the UK. If of any interest do email me.
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