Turtle Bay

Wednesday 2^nd September 2015

After a quick walk into town to get some fresh bread , we were ready to go, and left the marina at 9.30 am. There is a Northerly forecast for today so we decide to head south, and anchor at the bottom end of Whitsunday Island, in Turtle Bay. It is not an anchorage we have previously visited as Northerlies have been very scarce during previous trips up here.

Conditions in Pioneer Bay were pretty lumpy where we put up the mainsail, and remained so until we passed the headland and turned South. There were a few dolphins sighted in the bay, but they were a fair way off.

Wilparina under way in Pioneer Bay

 Initially we were going to sail down the Molle Channel and cross into Whitsunday Passage below South Molle.  The wind was right up our tail, so we opted to sail across the passage, and through Unsafe Passage (it isn’t really), that runs between North and South Molle. There was a little turbulence on the Whitsunday Passage side and we then had a great sail down through the Fitzalan Passage and around past Hamilton Island to Turtle Bay.

It is a lovely anchorage, well protected from anything from the North. There are a couple of nice sandy beaches, and fantastic views South to the Southern Islands. Wilparina is sailing with us, and once anchored, we went in to the beach for a walk around and a swim.

Looking South from the beach

Kim, Steve, Carole and Nicole on the beach at Turtle Bay

The tide was running out pretty quickly, so we had to walk the dinghy out in the water quite a way before we had enough depth for the outboard on the way back to the boat.

Looking back to the beach from the boat

We had a BBQ on Mica with Steve and Kim, followed by a good nights sleep in a very peaceful anchorage.