Year 2 – 21st April 2025 –Middle Percy Island (Percy Islands) to Mackay
I woke early and it was just getting light. Paul and David got up about 6.00am and we had a cup of tea and then at 6.30am upped anchor and headed for Mackay. It was a nice sunny day and the Island looked beautiful but again there was little wind.
We had about 65 nm to cover to get into Mackay harbour which has only a marina and no anchorages and it looked like we would have to motor all of the way. This was pretty well a straight course except to avoid the many islands dotted about seemingly randomly and some reefs and shallow patches. We set the engine on about 1300 revs in gori (the most efficient propeller pitch) and this pushed us along nicely at about 7-7.4 kts. There was little traffic initially.
We chatted away and the day got hotter and sultrier particularly when there was little wind. We took turns with hourly shifts but most of the time we chatted. I got out the day skipper book and we tested each other on our knowledge of various sailing rules etc. I got out our flares and flare gun and we went through them and how and when we could use them and the type of emergencies we may encounter. We talked through the man overboard actions one would take if someone fell overboard and how we could recover the person who went overboard. You hope you never have to put these actions into practise and so it is good to talk it through and to show Paul the halyards we would use to winch someone on board and where from on the boat.
We made good progress but still had quite some way to go and then we gradually began to see on the plotter a large number of tankers or cargo ships anchored some 10nm off Mackay. There were at least 30 in the main section and about another 10 closer in. Our course took us through this anchorage and we could see the cargo ships high in the water as they were unladen, still and appeared deserted. It looked a bit like a cargo ship graveyard. You wondered how long they have been waiting to be laden again and which parts of the world they would go to. We saw one cargo ship leaving on the plotter and she was bound for Singapore which would take 2 weeks to get to.
Mackay’s port operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week and extends over 800 hectares of land and water under the direct control of North Queensland Bulk Ports. The Mackay region is the largest sugar producing area in Australia, and the port hosts one of the world's largest bulk sugar terminals. It is also one of the largest ports in the world to export coal from Hay Point just a few miles down the coast.
Mackay is a city in the Mackay Region on the eastern or Coral Sea coast of Queensland, Australia. It is located about 803 kilometres (499 mi) north of Brisbane, on the Pioneer River. Mackay is described as being in either Central Queensland or North Queensland, as these regions are not precisely defined. More generally, the area is known as the Mackay–Whitsunday Region. Nicknames of Mackay include the Sugar capital, Alexandra and Macktown. It is at the heart of the sugar cane region and a good port from which to start to explore the Whitsundays.
Founded in 1862 the settlement was originally known as Alexandra, in honour of Princess Alexandra of Denmark, and was later renamed Mackay after John Mackay. Sugar became the economic foundation of the city, with plantations using South Sea Islanders that had been blackbirded as indentured labourers or slaves. The trades ending in 1904 roughly coincided with the immigration of Mediterranean migrants from Italy and Malta beginning in 1891 to work the sugarcane plantations, and by the 1930s one third of Australia’s Italian migrants lived in North Queensland. The city was nearly destroyed in the 1918 cyclone, and the following reconstruction used primarily Art Deco and Spanish Mission architectural styles for which the city is famous.
Mackay has a rich history and culture, known for its architecture, food, and as a cultural-melting pot. Mackay is considered the capital of South Sea Islander culture, being home to the largest population in the nation. The city is noted for its seafood, tropical produce, public art and laneways, jazz scene, and festivals including the Mackay Festival of Arts and Jazz in the Park. Mackay's coastal highlights include, Cape Hillsborough, the national parks of Round Top and Flat Top islands and the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Great Barrier Reef.
The city was named after John Mackay. Captain James Cook, sailed past the Mackay coast on 1 June 1770 and named several local landmarks, including Cape Palmerston, Slade Point and Cape Hillsborough. It was during this trip that the Endeavour's botanist, Sir Joseph Banks, briefly recorded seeing Indigenous Australians.
As we got closer we could see the outline of the port and its commercial buildings. It will certainly not be as pretty as Middle Percy Island!! At about 3.30pm we entered the large breakwater of the port which had a large commercial basin and a passage leading to the marina. The tide rips through here and you have to be careful manoeuvring. We came into the marina and saw the berth we had been allocated as I had looked up the berth on the berth map on the marina website. However, before we could moor I thought with David aboard we should refuel as we had motored a lot recently and we had not refuelled since Sydney.
We reversed down between the pontoons and found the fuel berth. She took nearly 800 lts to fill the tanks and it was good to get this done. We then went to our mooring and moored. We had arrived in Mackay and in time for David to get off tomorrow. The marina is quite large and once we had had a welcome beer we walked up to the marina office area which was closed by now. However, we found the showers, laundry and chandlery. We then walked on and found some restaurants and bars etc. We enjoyed a good supper and a glass of wine feeling good that we had arrived safe and sound. As I write this I am sitting in the cockpit looking at the inside the of the breakwater which has a regular flow of cars and people going to the end to I suppose take in the air and to admire the view and watch the boats. It is not attractive but would provide good protection in rough weather. We had motored 69.3 nm.
The Picture of the day is an aerial picture of the port with part of the marina in the bottom where we are moored.
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