Hanse 400e

Hanse 400e

Sunday, June 14, 2015

Heavy rain squalls and a decision to stay put

Sunday 14th June 2015

Despite some optimism in the forecasts, the weather has not improved significantly. There is a bit less wind and a lot more rain. There were very heavy falls last night and this morning accompanied by gusty squalls. There was little enthusiasm for a soaking day at sea, so we decided to postpone our departure until tomorrow. None of us slept particularly well with the boat bouncing around during the night due to the wind and sitting on the bottom at low tide.


It was a bit gloomy looking out through the dodger this morning

Checking the instruments yesterday, I was surprised to hear the shallow water alarm go off, and noticed we had 0.3 m of water under the keel, with a further 0.5 m of tide yet to go out. Mark draws 0.2 m more than me so he had even less. I knew it was shallow here and have always been conscious of coming in on the high tide, but didn't realise it was this bad.

We filled out the morning by going for a bush walk late morning, when there was a break in the rain. There is quite a nice track through Double Head National Park which results in great views of the coast and out to the Keppel Islands.



The Beach between Double Head and Bluff Rock


The walking trail is very well maintained

The first lookout provides a view out to sea of the Keppel Islands, and also a geological rarity called Fan Rock.


Great Keppel Island can just be seen in the hazy conditions


Fan Rock, where basalt columns have been pushed into a fan like pattern but upward volcanic pressures in the past



The second lookout gave us a great view of the marina and Yeppoon in the distance.


Nearby was a short second walk to Pebble Beach, a rugged inlet between the two headlands.


Pebble Beach (note how dirty the water is after the wild winds we have been experiencing)

As we are already prepared for departure, we do not have a lot of chores to get out of the way today, so a nice relaxing lunch at the marina restaurant seems the order of the day.

By 3 pm, it was a a completely different day. The rain and clouds appear to have blown away and have been replaced by a lovely blue sky.


The wind has built up a bit, but it is a lot better than it has been.




This Pandanus Palm looks like it could use a bit of relief from the wind as well


A quiet dinner on board tonight is planned to allow an early night so we can get away early tomorrow.


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