Sailing The Narrows Gladstone Australia

[Mal Christine]

We have a mono 44' with 2m draft. We are heading north via Gladstone. I would like to hear from anyone sailing north from Gladstone up through The Narrows. Would there be enough depth for our 2m draft yacht. Any information, guides would be appreciated.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by Mal Christine

We have a mono 44' with 2m draft. We are heading north via Gladstone. I would like to hear from anyone sailing north from Gladstone up through The Narrows. Would there be enough depth for our 2m draft yacht. Any information, guides would be appreciated.

We draw 2.2 m and have been through. Use the tidal criteria that Alan Lucas and others posit and you will be ok depthwise. And there are really big tides this week, so get cracking! (Of course, Oma could cloud the issue a bit)

Jim

[Reefmagnet]

I've done it 3 times, it's easier to do than what it seems when you read about it. The actual narrows section isn't that far from one side to the other and there is good water depth either end to wait for the tide.

[Mal Christine]

Thanks for the advice. This route will be about 2-3 hours shorter. Cheers.

[sailhand]

I would suggest staying in the gladstone marina for a few days. Check the weather forecast, cyclone heading your way.

[Mal Christine]

Yes looks like big winds and waves comming. Our trip North will commence May from Coomera. Cheers.

[GordMay]

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[Hasbeen]

I have been through half a dozen times, some each way, with 7'2" draft & only 6 horsepower. It is not a problem really.


One tip for all such shallow places, & rivers. Banks that almost completely cross the channel come from either side of the channel in various places. When you encounter a shallow spot mid channel, you don't know which way to turn to find deeper water.


I learnt to stay close to one side of the channel. Then if it starts to shallow, you know to turn away from that side to find deeper water.

[njwilliams449]

The instructions you need to follow are those in Noel Patrick's
Curtis Coast p108, sketch at 109. Lucas is not detailed or accurate enough in a couple of places. Jim Purcell at Gladstone Coast Guard is the expert and is very helpful. I reduced the instructions for a north south trip when I did it last year to a series or written steps which I can email to you, but they are no substitute for a detailed conversation with Jim (whose knowledge will be up to date) together with the guide. You will need 5m of tide at the Narrows (we draw 1.9) and precise timing but you will need to do your own calculations. it is a great trip, not to be missed, and according to rumour at least will soon be impossible because of a proposed bridge.

[Cliffhanger]

Yes, it is good fun. Especially if you get high tide around midday letting you ride the incoming tide to the narrows and then ride the outgoing tide out the other side.

[picklesandjesse]

We sailed through there in the 70's with a gaff cutter in a headwind, I can still remember that we did 127 tacks !!! Was a lot younger then. It was a challenge but lots of fun. Had running backstays too.

[TopHat]

It's a fantastic area, very handy to make some North if weather is not cooperating to go outside.
I went south to North followinging the Curtis coast book. Getting to Boat Creek right at high tide i was pushing a fairly strong outgoing current from there for 1nm. If i was doing it again i would aim to be right at the cattle crossing (Ramsays crossing) at the high tide for there which is 12 minutes earlier (than boat creek)which would have been perfect, still it was fine.
With a 3.52m high tide the shallowest depth isaw was 2.2m IIRC.
Make sure you have mosquito netting at night.
Enjoy.

[clownfishsydney]

We have sailed through three times, but we only have 1.1 metres to worry about.

Much better to go this way than the open ocean as there are few good places to anchor overnight heading north (from Pancake Creek) if you cannot make Great Keppel Island in the one day.

Good places to anchor before and after the passage are Graham Creek on the south side and Badger Creek on the northern side. If you have tides are the right time, you can easily get to Great Keppel Island when heading north. Heading south you will need to stay someone once you pass through as too far to get to any safe anchorage (Pancake Creek or 1770).

[44'cruisingcat]

If you're going to anchor overnight in the creeks before or after the narrows, insect screens are invaluable. There's one creek called Mosquito creek. The name would be appropriate for all of them

[Simi 60]

Originally Posted by 44'cruisingcat

If you're going to anchor overnight in the creeks before or after the narrows, insect screens are invaluable. There's one creek called Mosquito creek. The name would be appropriate for all of them

Yep
Did inside once, never again.