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theway · 21-07-2017, 01:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alan Mighty

With your Pearson's draft (about 1.4 m, right?) you are set up to enjoy the bays and passages formed by the sand islands of southern Queensland (especially: K'gari, formerly known as Fraser Island and the Great Sandy Strait; Moreton Island; and the islands of southern Moreton Bay stretching down to Gold Coast City).

I would suggest equipping yourself with the Queensland tide tables (a 4.5 MB pdf download): https://www.msq.qld.gov.au/Tides/Tide-tables.

You might also enjoy the Beacon to Beacon chartlets - a set of pdf chartlets (not GPS-registered) showing beacons, buoys, anchorages, and so on. Free download from Maritime Safety Queensland (a govt agency) See:

https://www.msq.qld.gov.au/Boating-maps

That's good news, I'm excited to scan my charts and find those locations. And the links are quite useful...

theway · 21-07-2017, 01:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alan Mighty

It's not "comprehensive" coverage, but liability coverage.

Most all the marinas in the state of Queensland require proof of you holding $A10 million liability coverage.

That includes coverage for property damage (to the marina and any associated boat yard), personal injury, and collision damage.

Actually on second thought, it did show up in an email from Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron. When I asked about availability, this was in the reply...

"If you would like to go ahead and make a booking, please fill out the attached Marina Arrival form and return along with a copy of your current comprehensive boat insurance."

(I knew I saw it somewhere, I guess that and the comments from the insurance broker screwed my perspective)

**JPA Cate** · 21-07-2017, 01:36

Allan,

What we have are Qld Dept of Transport charts, for from the Seaway, north to the shipping channel, and of course, other charts for Moreton Bay, as well. The old charts have depths printed in the waterways. The older ones, too old, actually, but that's another story, the depths were printed in black over the shades of blue that accompany the depths. We've a couple of sets of those, and have updated them as marks have been added and/or changed. For the Broadwater via Jacob's Well, we use C-Maps, and also for from Wide Bay Bar to Hervey Bay.

Our draft is 2.2 m., and a 2.0 m guideline for depth would not be optimum for us, with the next color at 5 m, especially when you can't actually see the bottom due to the murky water.

I think the Pearson in Fiji, with a draft of 1.4 m. might make out okay with B to B, because of their lesser draft, and I don't believe the MoT still prints out charts, so those ones are not available new, as far as I know now, but I still have a few chandleries to check.

***************

The Way,

When you are arriving in Oz, and cruising here, the severe thunderstorm warnings are broadcast either on VHF 16, or announced there, and then one is told to which channel to go to hear it in its entirety. Our experience has been that they can be quite fierce. If we cross tacks with you, and you ask, we can tell you some sea stories about that.

Ann

Paul L · 21-07-2017, 01:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by theway

Actually on second thought, it did show up in an email from Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron. When I asked about availability, this was in the reply...

"If you would like to go ahead and make a booking, please fill out the attached Marina Arrival form and return along with a copy of your current comprehensive boat insurance."

(I knew I saw it somewhere, I guess that and the comments from the insurance broker screwed my perspective)

Looks like RQYS does require full insurance. From their Marina Rules PDF

Quote:

. All vessels are required to carry comprehensive insurance which includes public liability.

**Jim Cate** · 21-07-2017, 02:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alan Mighty

You're a great ball of negativity, Jim. And incorrect.

The Beacon to Beacon charlets are colour coded to indicate depth:
white = >5 m depth at LAT
pale blue = >2 m but <5 m
mid blue = 1 - 2 m
darker blue = 0 - 1 m at LAT

I'll try attaching the legend as Beacon to Beacon depth colours.jpg

Those broad ranges of depths may be all you want, Alan, but I prefer spot soundings as are shown on proper charts. There is a significant difference in my attitude when in 5 meters and when in 2 meters. So much of the Broadwater area is in that nebulous region... It's interesting, but we've been told that one can't cruise in this area with our draft. Perhaps reliance on B to B charts has developed that view!

At any rate, perhaps my "ball of negativity" comes from operating a 2.2 m draft yacht in an area such as this. Mr The Way will have his own sense of what is good in charting, and with his relatively shallow draft, he'll be able to go places we can't. I hope we cross wakes with him, but likely will have headed south prior to his arrival.

I have enjoyed cruising this coast for some years now, and would add the trip up the Clarence river as a very pleasant cruise, one that would get him a little ways inland in some very pretty country.

Jim

theway · 21-07-2017, 02:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by theway

Actually on second thought, it did show up in an email from Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron. When I asked about availability, this was in the reply...

"If you would like to go ahead and make a booking, please fill out the attached Marina Arrival form and return along with a copy of your current comprehensive boat insurance."

(I knew I saw it somewhere, I guess that and the comments from the insurance broker screwed my perspective)

I looked at some more of my emails and found this reply from Rivergate in Brisbane...

"We require comprehensive insurance with a 10,000,000 public liability component, which is standard for most Australian comprehensive policies."

I think that was enough for me to give up on insurance and start this topic about cruising rather than vegetating at a marina.

(Rivergate did say they'd let me use the lift to get the inspection, to get insurance, nice folks)

But it's nice to know that many marinas are liability only, I may revisit that if I don't have to jump through too many hoops.

Alan Mighty · 21-07-2017, 02:08

Have you already decided on your likely port of entry to AUS?

Remember to use the voyage planner of marinetraffic.com to preview the likely shipping routes. That's the accumulated record of AIS tracks (dominated by cargo ships, but including others). Point your browser (and zoom in on your area of interest) to: https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/voyage-planner

If you were to enter at Bundaberg, you could then make your way S across Hervey Bay and along the Great Sandy Strait (with K'gari - pronounced Gari or Gurry depending your individual mangling of vowels - aka Fraser Island to port. And then enter Moreton Bay.

Or you might choose to enter at Brisbane, requiring entering Moreton Bay and not anchoring but making your way across the bay and up the Brisbane River to the Rivergate Marina (https://rivergate.com.au/). Once entered, you could consider taking a pile berth off the Botanic Gardens in downtown Brisbane, head for one of marinas in Moreton Bay, or head for an anchorage in Moreton Bay (for which see the Beacon to Beacon chartlets and various cruisers guides such as Alan Lucas's _Cruising the Coral Coast_ (or his companion volume _Cruising the NSW Coast_ if you want to head towards Sydney).

For a quick overview, I've attached two screen clips from the Marine Traffic vessel planner:

S QLD marine traffic.jpg shows you the coast from the town of Seventeen Seventy S to the NSW border. The N-S cargo ship traffic is obvious, as is the green blob just off the Town of 1770 (that's cargo ships heading for the coal and other mineral wharves in Gladstone) and the cargo ships at the pilot boarding ground (just under the word Coast in 'Sunshine Coast') for the Port of Brisbane. You'll also see a thin line of AIS equipped yachts heading S down the Great Sandy Strait (and across the Wide Bay Bar).

SE QLD marine traffic.jpg is a close up of the action in Moreton Bay. You'll see the high AIS density traffic of cargo ships entering Moreton Bay from N and making their way, via a couple of preferred channels, to the port at the mouth of the Brisbane R. You'll also see lighter tracks of (1) vessels sneaking past the S end of Bribie Island (not labelled, but the settlement of Bongaree is labelled and you'll also see tracks of mastless MVs heading to marine just W of Bongaree) to two marinas on the Redcliffe Peninsula (Scarborough Marina and Newport Marina - Visiting Cruisers - Scarborough MarinaScarborough Marina and Newport Marina Scarborough | Moreton Bay Queensland | Safe Marina Queensland | Brisbane Australian Marina respectively).

You'll see dense tracks to favoured anchorages on the W shore of Moreton Island, including Tangalooma and The Sandhills). If you run a line N from the 2nd 'a' in Capalaba you'll strike an unlabelled concentration of marinas (East Coast Marina, Moreton Bay Trailer Boat Club, RQYS - the area called Wynnum-Manly) with dense tracks leading to and from.

And you'll also see dense tracks moving S through the islands of S Moreton Bay (right at the S edge of the image is the Coomera River with Boatworks, the well respected boat yard at which Jim and Ann are hauling out). Inspection of the relevant chartlets in Beacon to Beacon will show anchorages all the way down to the urban areas of Gold Coast City. And you can exit the protected waters to head S at the Gold Coast Seaway.

Alan Mighty · 21-07-2017, 02:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by theway

(Rivergate did say they'd let me use the lift to get the inspection, to get insurance, nice folks)

The wharf for entering at the Port of Brisbane happens to be at Rivergate Marina (the thugs at the Aus Border Force used to rotate the entry wharf among two or three marinas, but of late its been stuck at Rivergate, presumably because the thugs find it convenient).

Once cleared in, you're not obliged to stay in such a pricey marina.

I'd guess that you could find an Aus insurer who will sell you third party liability insurance with that liability cover for $A10 mill that satisfies most every other marina in Queensland without the need to slip your boat.

theway · 21-07-2017, 02:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alan Mighty

Have you already decided on your likely port of entry to AUS?

Remember to use the voyage planner of marinetraffic.com to preview the likely shipping routes. That's the accumulated record of AIS tracks (dominated by cargo ships, but including others). Point your browser (and zoom in on your area of interest) to: https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/voyage-planner

...

My original entry was going to be Cairns and I already sent customs my advanced notice, which I'll have to email them a change or cancel until a closer date. But right now I'm not sure, I've been told Vanuatu->New Caledonia->Bundaberg is a nice way to enter From Fiji.

Wow, I've used marine traffic but never that feature.

And double Wow for your annotations and advice!

I recently got the iSailor charts for the Pacific and Australia so between that and the B to B I'll start getting familiar with the area. I also have the Garmin charts which I use less often.

Alan Mighty · 21-07-2017, 02:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by theway

Actually on second thought, it did show up in an email from Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron. When I asked about availability, this was in the reply...

"If you would like to go ahead and make a booking, please fill out the attached Marina Arrival form and return along with a copy of your current comprehensive boat insurance."

Understood.

The point is that most cruisers, whether local or foreign-flagged, do not berth at RQYS or Rivergate. That's for a different socio-economic stratum.

People in Aus might smell classless, but the people who are members at RQYS have a sweeter fragrance around them. Requiring comprehensive insurance is their way of keeping the rabble out.

**Jim Cate** · 21-07-2017, 02:43

As of a couple of weeks ago, one is allowed to clear into Southport at the Southport YC. much easier place to get to than up the river in Brisbane, and plenty of nearby places to anchor and with good shore/reprovisioning access.

It has been possible to clear out from there for years, but this is a new feature... and welcome, too!

Jim

theway · 21-07-2017, 02:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

Allan,
The Way,

When you are arriving in Oz, and cruising here, the severe thunderstorm warnings are broadcast either on VHF 16, or announced there, and then one is told to which channel to go to hear it in its entirety. Our experience has been that they can be quite fierce. If we cross tacks with you, and you ask, we can tell you some sea stories about that.

Ann

This is good to know, thank you.

I do plan on getting phone/data service when I arrive so I can stay active on weather watch. I also have an iridium go and Weather 4D which has proven useful.

44'cruisingcat · 21-07-2017, 02:48

Bundaberg is a good relaxed place to enter. And there's no problem anchoring in the river. A better angle than Brisbane too. If you leave from Vanuatu, Huon and Chesterfield reefs are good for a rest, and virtually on the rhumb line.

Try not to arrive in Aus on the weekend, entry fees are double!

On entry fees, check out the east-west rallies, I believe it replaces the port to port, which used to cost $200 to join, but paid your $330 entry costs.

https://www.downunderrally.com/about-go-west

Just glanced through, it's now $495 to join the rally, and they pay the $400 AQUIS fee. Not as good as before, but still might be worthwhile....

Alan Mighty · 21-07-2017, 02:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by theway

My original entry was going to be Cairns and I already sent customs my advanced notice, which I'll have to email them a change or cancel until a closer date. But right now I'm not sure, I've been told Vanuatu->New Caledonia->Bundaberg is a nice way to enter From Fiji.

Hmm ... a few days sail N of Cairns, you'll find Cooktown in the Endeavour River. And the local museum in Cooktown has a museum with a fun exhibition associated with Jimmy Cook. Depending on how you read J Cook's log of the Endeavour, he seems to suggest that the easiest route from Cairns to Brisbane would be via Darwin and Perth.

Which is to say that the prevailing winds along the QLD coast are SE. Of course, you'll find N winds. At times. Big mobs of them some years. Sparse other years.

Entering at Bundaberg or Brisbane might be better if you're aiming to be S of the cyclone belt.

Depends what month you plan to arrive. And how well you go to windward (Jimmy Cook's Endeavour did not go hard to weather). And your luck. And so forth.