Mackay to Brisbane route

[Yachtjuno]

I plan to single-hand my 60 foot monohull from Mackay to Brisbane in the next week or so when i get some northerlies. I would appreciate any advice on routing. I saw a thread on this topic in 2009 and wonder if anyone has any new thoughts on routes. Due to single hand i need to do day sails only and would prefer to anchor rather than dock along the way. I need to be in Brisbane by 22nd Nov latest. A good marina in Brisbane would be helpful too. I am looking at Rivergate but it seems a long way from the city. Suggestions greatly appreciated.

[bungeye]

Hi there,

Sorry, can't help much with the routing, but though I'd reply regarding marinas.

Closest one to the city is Dockside Marina, which isn't large, but sometimes has casual berths available. Contact details are:
44 Ferry St
Kangaroo Point QLD 4169 map...
Phone: (07) 3891 6677
Fax: (07) 3891 1404
Email: info@docksidemarina.com.au

Rivergate is next closest in a straight line from the city, but is in the river and long way from any public transport if you need it.

There are 4 marinas in Manly, about 20km from the city and walking distance to a train station. They are RQYS (Phone: +61 7 3396 8666 Email: mail@rqys.com.au), East Coast (Phone: (07) 3393 3811, Fax: (07) 3393 4252, Email: info@eastcoastmarina.com.au), WMYC ((07) 3396 4639 fax (07) 3893 2775, manager@wmycmarina.com.au, EMERGENCY Number: 0409 636 783 - 24 hours) and MBTBC ((07) 3893 0810, marina@mbtbcmarina.com.au)

Another 20 mins on the train there is a marina in Cleveland, right next to the train station (Phone: (07) 3821 4144, peterhansensales@rabybaymarina.com).

There are other marinas north of Brisbane, but I'm not very familiar with them. They are about the same distance, if not a bit further than the ones I mentioned.

Hope you have a good run south. You're sailing one of the yachts on my short-list for our escape in a few years time!

Cheers
Zach

[bill good]

Dockside is close to City within 10 mins travel . Depends on what you want to do. Short term you can anchor right in the middle of Bris. You are going to be busy to make that date. Best of British!

[JPA Cate]

Okay, yachtjuno,

As I see it, you want to make day sails from Mackay to Brissie. This is doable. What are your average 1/2 day runs? We would harbor hop, lying in anchorages over night. Will your draft allow you to go through Great Sandy Straights, or will you have to go outside everything?

Hopping on a usable northerly is a great and wonderful thing, and you can ride them for more than the endurance of one person. If you can arrange a crew person, you should get 3 days of 24 hr. runs from a good northerly, but obviously, you'd be hallucinating at the end of that time, were you to do it alone, without meaningful sleep, so crew can really help you.

Otherwise, day hops. Assuming your draft is too great for GSS, or that you don't want to be bothered, then go outside almost everything.

Look at your Alan Lucas guide to cruising the Qld. Coast. Figure out when you will have to rest, depends on endurance, and will, and good judgment.

We haven't been to Mackay for such a long time that I don't remember all our stops, but from Gladstone south, we generally go Pancake Ck., Burnett R., GSS, Mooloolaba, Brisbane. Our boat has a 44 ft. waterline, regularly does 160-180 n. mi./day runs.

Hope this helps.

Ann

[Wanderlust]

With a high tides pre dawn or afternoons for most of your trip you are going to find it difficult to enter some ports at a suitable time to meet your schedule if conditions aren't ideal. I saw your Crew Wanted listing suggesting a departure around 15th. That's a tough schedule even with overnighters which you said you want to avoid. I suggest you start earlier.

I assume you could average 7 knots by motoring if necessary. If the winds are in your favour, and you are an optimist, you could do Percy Islands first night, Pancake Creek the second night and Bundaberg the third night.

You then need to decide on an overnighter outside Fraser Island, or work the tides and do the shorter inside route via Great Sandy Straits and then out Wide Bay bar. The tide times there don't fit your schedule very well and weather may keep you inside.

After that it's an easier trip to Mooloolabar and then Brisbane.

It's doable if you are lucky, and you lift anchor at daybreak each day, but I wouldn't like to be tied to such a 7 day schedule. If 22nd is important, it may lead you to make mistakes you would otherwise avoid.

[StuM]

Anne, good advise. I believe his Oyster will draw about 2.8m so the GSS is probably out of the question and at least one overnighter would be on the cards.

For Mackay to Gladstone: Percy, Port Clinton and Great Keppel would be reasonable intermediate points for day runs.

[JPA Cate]

Originally Posted by StuM

Anne, good advise. I believe his Oyster will draw about 2.8m so the GSS is probably out of the question and at least one overnighter would be on the cards.

For Mackay to Gladstone: Percy, Port Clinton and Great Keppel would be reasonable intermediate points for day runs.

Maybe a 60 ft. Oyster only draws about 7-7.5 ft?

He should check to see that the military have not closed Pt. Clinton for exercises.

He could do GSS if the tides were right for it. We, at 7.2, do it often, and if it's just right, can go all the way through in a day. However, also have gone outside, and that's fine, too.

To me, this will be so very much easier with crew, if they come along, then one can just blast through. Otherwise it will be a rather tedious delivery, imo.

Ann

[JPA Cate]

Originally Posted by StuM

Anne, good advise. I believe his Oyster will draw about 2.8m so the GSS is probably out of the question and at least one overnighter would be on the cards.

For Mackay to Gladstone: Percy, Port Clinton and Great Keppel would be reasonable intermediate points for day runs.

Another option would be to go outside Curtis Is.

The thing is, if you have the northerlies, they really don't last all that long, and you can make great time if you take advantage of them. And having to sleep in the middle will trash the window, time-wise. Plus, coastwise, there's enough traffic you don't really want to be off watch. There's a fair amount of traffic, and much of it fishing boats, to whom you have to give way.

FWIW, I believe the long range forecasts are anticipating a strong Southerly change around Nov. 20 at Brissie.

Good luck with it.

Ann

[Yachtjuno]

Thanks everyone. We should make around 200 miles per 24 hours if we have some wind, less if we motor. We draw nearly 2.8 so i will go outside Fraser Island. Friday looks like a good time to leave and i think i will route Percy Islands, Keppel, Lady Musgrave, Wide Bay, Mooloolaba, Brisbane. Seems like the issues are a) getting into the lagoon at Lady Musgrove in the setting sun and leaving in the dark! and b) the long schlep round Fraser Island. If the weather turns foul i still have 5 days in reserve so i am really looking forward to it. Still looking for crew but will leave solo if nothing shows up. Thanks again for all your ideas.

[StuM]

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

Maybe a 60 ft. Oyster only draws about 7-7.5 ft?

I just checked Sailboatdata.com That gives the Oyster 575 a max draft of 8.82' / 2.69m.

[Yachtjuno]

i have sailed 40,000 miles on this boat. The DWL on the drawings assumes an empty boat and is just wrong. I touch the bottom at 2.7m and in any event i am not going to risk a shallow channel in waters that i don't know with no crew. thanks again.

[BobFord]

Think v. carefully re entering Musgrave in poor light. I could do it in the dark, but only if I were desparate ! Have entered many times and touched twice , so have first hand experience. The biggest risk is in lining up the beacons, viz. at night by reflectors. but the approach say , 200m out is critical as is the exit just past the last marker , inbound.I am in Rivergate, there is a berth for 60 footer , but filling fast. No transport to City tho. ! Manly is a good option , but do book if you can. Favourable current about 10 nm offshore ,from aro' lower Swains.

[JPA Cate]

yachtjuno,

Even using trusted waypoints, I would not enter Musgrave in the dark. Why risk the boat? [The pass is marked, but the bommies (coral heads) by the entrance are not.]on to the Burnett R. where you can easily get in in the dark , and have northerly protection. If you don't need Northerly protection because it's gone light, then you can anchor off the NW tip of Fraser Is., and then go north up and out and around BreakSea Spit the next day.

I hope someone chimes in and offers to crew with you. Cruising singlehanded coastwise is very difficult.

Ann

[Yachtjuno]

Thanks Anne.
Just in case you all think i am crazy, having sailed through many of the atols in the Tuamotos there is no way i would attempt the pass at anything other than sun high in the sky, especially with no lookout on the spreaders. I have Bundaberg in mind as the alternative as i will have to leave before sunrise to have any chance of fetching Wide Bay in the light. As you say if the weather is settled i can tuck in behind NW tip of Fraser Island.

Final question. Any views on the tidal streams as i will be leaving on the spring tide? I know that it sets to the south on the flood. Any ideas of rates and whether they are stronger inshore. The bom site suggests less than a knot? I am guessing i will pick up the EAC from Fraser Island?

Thanks again for all your help.

[ozsailer]

Hello Yacht Juno,
we are currently crusing down the coast in our Cat. We departed Townsville last Friday. From Keswick which is just NE of Mackay we went to Hunter Island in the Duke Island groups. Excellent anchorage and well protected from NE to SE winds. Distance for day on log 77.7 Nm trip time 11 Hrs 40 mins, ( The Percy's are closer but we have found not as comfortable as Hunter Island for anchoring.)Departed Hunter Is 4.30am and arrived Pt Clinton 1.15pm Distance 54.8 NM. Next hop to Rosalyn Bay inshore of Great Keppel to refuel but hiding at Pt Clinton while strong SE in force.
Our passage plan is then from Keppel to Pancake Creek 70nm, then Pancake to Bundaberg 62 Nm then Bundaberg to Urangan a short hop of 43 NM. It is a long haul outside of Fraser Island to Mooloolaba and is definitely an overnight trip.If I could suggest you contact Coastal Patrol at Urangan to obtain details of depth through great sandy straights but I believe you would get through easily on a high tide. A much more comfortable and easy trip. You will need a day to motor down from Urangan to Pelican but there are anchorages further as you go if you don't wish to overnight at Urangan.
To cross the wide bar tide at the bottom of Fraser there is a good anchorage at Pelican Point to await the right conditions. Enjoy the trip
Very limited anchoring in Mooloolaba and we have found arranging a marina berth far less hassle. From Mooloolaba to Brisbane is a relatively easy day sail.
Please be aware that the tides and current are at their worst in the area South of Mckay through to Shoalwater Bay and must be factored into your travel. We were encountering currents of up to 3 knots at times. Also the tides change direction around Shoalwater Bay, Don't get caught out with this as I forgot . We had to motor with both engines coming down from Hunter due to the wind and tide conditions. Normally we are very happy cruising at 6.5 knots under one motor but we needed both to maintain just 6 knots from Hunter to Pt Clinton.

Regards
Greg and Sue
SV Sunshine
Lagoon 410