Woodwark Bay

Tuesday 30th June 2015

Finally we are out of the marina and on our way to anchor somewhere outside the marina environment.

Leaving Airlie Beach behind

Our initial plan was to to go to Cid Harbour.  However, when we left Abell Point, the weather over Whitsunday Island looked very poor. We could see  a lot of rain  clouds and were already experiencing a  a bit of early wind, which turned into a powerful squall with plenty of rain. It was a complete whiteout and visibility was 100m at best, so we decide to just put up a headsail and hide from the weather under the dodger, it was already blowing 18 knots and we were moving along comfortably at around 5-6 knots with just the self  tacker up.

Consulting with Koonya and Wilparina, we decided to head for Woodwark Bay, rather than Cid Harbour, as we had been advised by others that Cid Harbour already had about 40 boats in the anchorage.

Koonya sailing into Woodwark Bay

We ended up having a good sail to Woodwark Bay, running a lure behind the boat all of the way and catching nothing.

It is a very large anchorage with good protection from SE winds, but still a bit bumpy.

Comfortably at anchor Koonya (above) and Wilparina (below)

Once settled, Carole and I put the dinghy in the water and go exploring. It is a very large bay, and right at the end is a luxury residence rented out to the rich and famous. We cannot get ashore as it is low tide and would have to cross a rocky shoal that was too shallow for us to get across.

Looking towards the end of the bay

Dinner tonight is a BBQ on Wilparina. As we have the only dinghy in the water, we provide taxi services.

The strong wind persisted all night, but the rolling was minimal.