Year 2 – 26th April 2025 - Brampton & Carlisle Islands -Pelican Island to Dinghy Bay
I was woken by Paul’s alarm on his phone which was to remind him to do park run at 5.30am in the morning!! It was getting light anyway so after a few minutes I got up. It was a lovely still day with little wind and we marvelled in the environment we were in whilst we had a cup of tea. I then made a berry smoothie which was refreshing and tasty and then we had a little cereal.
The water looked quite high and high water was at 9.30am-10.00am. The isthmus between Brampton and Carlisle looked full and navigable. We therefore chilled, had a coffee and decided to set off with our swimming gear etc just in case. There is an 8km walk around Brampton which is supposed to be nice but it is not easy to know where to leave your dinghy as the tidal range (difference between high and low water) today was about 5 meters which is quite a lot and you could come back and have to wait hours before you can get your dinghy into the water. We got in the dinghy and motored on toward the isthmus and the water was right up in comparison to yesterday and we saw the buildings of the old resort and we could go beyond them. There was in fact someone living in one of the huts and I think it is a caretaker of this island. There were lots of signs saying keep out -private etc. We saw lots of small fish jumping out of the water which must be being chased by bigger prey. We saw an outdoor saltwater swimming pool by the huts which was now very run down. We motored on round the isthmus and beyond the old resort. There was a very clear sandy area where we could swim and others from small motorboats were walking on the beach. There was no coral here as it dries out.
We motored back and went passed the resort and old swimming pool and landed on the beach. We walked along the beach back toward Stormbird going North. There was an old railway track which we assumed the resort used to bring people to the resort from a pontoon where the water was deep enough when at low tide. These tracks went for about a kilometre along the island. We came across some walking signs and a sign showing the route to the peak and round the island. We could not leave the dinghy as we were not sure how far the tide went out etc. We therefore walked around and spotted a potential snorkelling point as well as observing some herons on the water’s edge.
After some time, we returned to the dinghy and then motored slowly along the shore to the point where we thought there was a good snorkelling point which looked like it had some good coral. We therefore stopped and anchored the dinghy. We put on our stinger suits (not a fashion accessory!!) and went in. It was good that the water was clear so we could see any sharks around etc. However, there was no coral but a lump of breakwater of different type of stones and there were air bubbles emitting from it. We had a bit of a swim and then got back into the dinghy and then motored along the shore and the island and back to Stormbird. We talked to another boat earlier who said Oyster Bay on the South side was nice and round that area.
I looked at the books and chart and thought it would be nice to see another bay and the wind was so light it would not matter if it blew us toward the shore. We therefore upped the anchor and said goodbye to the bay and motored round the south side of the island and into dinghy bay where we anchored. We could see two beaches and they looked lovely. The larger one had a large area of turquoise water which must be sand. Once we were settled we got in the dinghy and went to this area. On the way we saw rocks and weed and once we entered the turquoise area we anchored and snorkelled or rather swam as there was just sand and the odd rock to see. It was lovely and refreshing.
There was on other motorboat there anchored. We returned to Stormbird and showered etc. We then had some lunch and chilled. I got on with some admin and planning etc which took a little time. We noticed over a number of hours the tide lower to the extent that the rock and weed were exposed so that within about 75 m we had rocks. It was as if we were anchored in a deep pool and there were rocks around us.
The motorboat on the beach was staying and we saw the couple with a dog light a fire at the back of the beach. I am not sure where they are staying and presume they have a tent. They walked the beach and we saw the plume of smoke from their fire. We sat on the aft deck as the sun lowered and the light was fantastic on the shore. We saw the odd turtle rise to the surface and the odd sea eagle fly overheard. The birdsong at dusk was melodic and luckily there were no squawking cockatoos to spoil this.
Once the sun had gone down we had the last of our mackerel fish with a sauce, mashed carrots and peas. It had been a great day and we had seen a new bay and had a good swim. We return to Mackay Marina tomorrow.
The picture of the day is Stormbird anchored at low water and the dried-out rocks nearby.
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