Year 2 – 25th April 2025 - Scawfell Island- Brampton & Carlisle Islands
We woke early as it got light and it was enjoyable to see the day begin to start. However, due to the large hill the sun rose behind it and it took some time for it to begin to appear over the hill and to shine on us. We saw the odd turtle rise to the surface to breath before they dived again. We had a leisurely cereal breakfast and then a nice coffee. We were moving on but we were not in a rush.
The owner of the catamaran anchored nearby called Vivaldi came over to say hello. His name was Steve and an Australian from Mackay. He had bought the boat in Italy and had sailed it back last year through the Pacific sort of the same time as me . We had a good chat and he said that there must have been hatching from our local beach last night of turtles as they had lots of small turtles round them. It was a shame we missed them but good that they are hatching and their environment is safe.
As we discussing whether to go for a snorkel the skies darkened and there was dark and thick cloud which started to bring rain. We therefore upped the dinghy on the davits and prepared to leave. However, I wondered whether the rain was temporary or more permanent and so we waited for a few minutes. It was odd because I could see aa few miles out it was warm and sunny. I thought right let’s go in the rain and see how we go. This proved to be a good decision as we left in pouring rain and then got up the sails and headed for Brampton/Carlisle Island some 20nm North and after about 30 minutes the rain began to peter out and we were in the sun again. I put on the radar and we could see the rain on the radar and as we left Scawfell it seemed as if the rain and clouds was localised on that Island due to its hills. In fact, it seemed to be covered in black cloud for many hours as we slowly moved away.
Once we were out of the rain we were sailing on a beam/close reach doing about 6 kts in 10kts of wind. This gradually began to dry Stormbird out after the drenching. We decided to put out some fishing lines as we were going a good speed. We slowly passed Keswick and St Bees and headed toward Brampton and Carlisle which has a channel in between but it is not navigable. We then caught a Spanish Mackrell which was nice and we filleted that and had our supper sorted and we decided to put out the line again.
We sailed on and it was lovely calm sailing as there was little swell. Then the plotter at the helm seemed to be having a problem and was doing things of its own accord. It would suddenly flip from one place to another and then suddenly go very small. I turned it off and on and that did not work so I asked Paul to helm for a few minutes and turned all the instruments off and then on and that did not solve it. I then looked as to whether there was a software update and there was so I decided to download it using Starlink. This took about 10-15 minutes in the meantime we were without any plotters so we just sailed a straight course well away from the shallows and reef patches. Once it updated and uploaded the software it seemed to work without issue. We then caught another fish so that is two for the day on the same line. This was another and slightly bigger Spanish Mackerell. Paul gutted and filleted this one as well.
We then took the sails down and motored round the Southern end of Brampton Island. We saw Carlisle Island which seemed to have a few nice beaches. The Southwestern end of Brampton is known for its overfalls (disturbed area of water) and today we could see ripples, eddies and small wavelets. I am sure it will be quite worse in bad weather. We motored round and went into the channel between the Island and some shoals and then approached the bay beside Pelican Island. There were a number of boats already anchored and it was a bit like a lagoon with a sandy/rock horseshoe bay with some buildings with palm trees around them. We read that this used to be a resort in 1970’s-80’s but was now closed.
Brampton Islands is a national park in the Mackay Region, Queensland, Australia, 834 kilometres (518 mi) northwest of Brisbane. The park covers much of Brampton Island and all of Carlisle Island. The park features rainforests, sandy beaches and coral reefs. Walks exist to the summit and a circuit around the whole island. The 8.7 km circuit track leads visitors through open eucalypt forests, vine thickets, dry rainforests, grasslands and mangroves. Marine stingers (jelly fish) are found in the waters of the park between October and May. One of the most striking features of the national park is Brampton Peak, which rises 214 metres above sea level. Of the mammals in the park, koalas are represented, coastal sheath-tailed bat and black flying-fox. Bampton Island is a large 770 hectare island surrounded by sparkling azure waters, twelve golden sandy beaches with seven idyllic beaches being easily accessible via walking trails, coral gardens and an array of walking and jogging tracks. Just offshore is a diverse range of fringing reefs where you can discover an amazing array of marine life and soft and hard corals. The passage in-between Brampton and Carlisle Islands is known as the “Fishbowl” and is a renowned snorkelling area, where reef sharks, turtles and a kaleidoscope of tropical fish can be witnessed.
We approached the bay and decided to anchor behind the other boats a little way out. In this way we had plenty of room and could swing without any risk of going near the other boats. Once settled we looked over on the Starboard (right) side and saw a fish about 2 foot under the water and just beside the boat. I said that is a Mahi Mahi but it looked a little unwell. In fact, it had some of its side was missing. We then saw two reef sharks’ surface near us and they were obviously looking for this fish. We hoped it got away but this was unlikely as it is not usual to see the reef sharks at our depth. We decided to have some lunch and chill and enjoy our surroundings. I was then looking over the water on our starboard side when I saw a large silver shape in the water about a foot or two under. It looked like a small whale but I am sure it was a large silver shark and about 3m in length. It just swam out of the bay. It could have been a Bull, Tiger or Great White!. I thought I am not sure I fancy swimming or snorkelling here!
We had a siesta and then decided to get the dinghy down. The tide was running quite fast and I was looking out for sharks. We decided to explore a little and to take our snorkelling gear and suits with us. We motored into the lagoon and passed the other boats and as we got closer to the end we could begin to make out the weed and coral and rock patches. We meandered our way in and anchored a little way off and waded ashore. This was mainly sand, mud and weed and too shallow really for sharks. The tide was some way out and we saw lots of uncovered weed, sand and bits of coral. The water was a bit cloudy and not suitable for snorkelling. There was a couple ahead of us walking on the surface which would be covered at high tide. We had a little wonder but then decided to go round the other side of Pelican Island, whose creek seemed to go further than the creek we were in. We motored round there and it seemed to be more exposed to the wind and quite shallow. We then motored on to another beach but could not get that close. We saw the odd turtle come up for air.
Once we had explored enough we returned to Stormbird and changed. We enjoyed sitting on the aft deck whilst the sun gradually disappeared over the horizon and the sun and colours and light shades during this period are wonderful. We did not see any more sharks.
Paul cooked our fresh fish for supper with sweet potato mash with carrots and peas-it was delicious. The picture of the day is of us looking up at the fishbowl at relatively low tide. At high tides this area is covered and there is water between the two islands.
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