On to Bundaberg to sit out the next Southerly

Thursday 1^st October 2015

It was a lovely night at Lady Musgrave. We had almost no wind, and glassy water. We were reluctant to pull up anchor and move on, but need to seek shelter from the next southerly system expected to come through on Friday. Our plan was to leave at 7 am and sail to Bundaberg. As usual, we were up early and at 6am, the boats were leaving in droves. We figured they must know something we didn’t, so move our departure time forward and were on our way by 6.20am. It was about half way into the incoming tide and there was plenty of current through the reef entrance.

Our final view of Lady Musgrave Island from our anchorage before we depart

With plenty of revs we were through opening , experiencing plenty of turbulence, and were soon back out into clear water, where we set the mainsail and pointed South towards  Bundaberg. There is only a very light breeze, and glassy water, so motor sailing is all we can do for the first few hours.

Wilparina going through the reef entrance (Fairfax Island in the background)

Isolated danger mark near the entrance channel

Boats still at anchor inside the lagoon as we head South

Just past the Southern side of Lady Musgrave, we encounter two large freighters crossing our path. They appeared to be travelling in tandem.

As the breeze built a bit more from the NE we were able to hoist the code zero, and back off on the engine a bit, giving us a comfortable 7 knots with the benefit of a favourable current.

Wilparina motor sailing in glassy conditions

Mica with Code Zero up

It wasn’t until the last 2 hours that we could turn the engine off and sail the remainder of the trip, still only in 7-9 knots of breeze, but able to achieve around 6 knots with the code zero.

There were various whale sightings, dolphins including one very large pod which appeared to be feeding, lots of birds and the odd flying fish.

A whale breeching ahead of Wilparina

We arrived at Bundaberg at 2.30 pm, about mid outgoing tide. It was bouncy on the way into the port with a strong current. By now the wind had built to around 12 knots with afternoon sea breeze. It had also moved more East and made getting into our berth that much more difficult, but with Steve and Kim catching our lines, we got in trouble free.

The marina is filling quickly as everyone is seeking shelter for the next few days. Just about everyone is checking in for 3 days and maybe more if it takes longer to blow through.

Once checked in to the marina, Steve’s brother and wife turned up at the marina, as they are in Bundaberg doing an aircraft engine maintenance course. They joined us for drinks and  a BBQ dinner on Wilparina.