NO F*#!KING ROLLING

25 July 2023

I love the Hinchinbrook Channel. For the first time since departing from Gladstone I had a wonderful sleep without rocking and rolling. The creeks here are flat calm, the swell can’t reach them. The scenery is wonderful and so far the mosquitos and sand flees have been absent.

From magnetic Island we had a slow sail up to Great Palm Island, not much wind, just enough to keep us going right up to the anchorage. The wind dropped even more overnight and the anchorage was peaceful, just a slight swell curling around the headland to rock me to sleep.

From Great Palm Island it was another slow sail, just a few miles to Orpheus Island. It took all day but there was no hurry. Whales were all around the boat. They were diving and spending many minutes under the surface. I am not sure what they were doing down there as the water is quite shallow, I suppose they must be feeding on something. A couple of miles short of the anchorage the wind died away completely, there was no option but to use the motor to get in before dusk. Luckily I found an empty parks mooring and dropped the large mooring hawser over the bow bollard. All secure for the night. I like being on a good mooring, more secure and comfortable than being at anchor most times.

On Saturday morning it was a short sail across to the entrance to Hinchinbrook Channel, I could see the sugar loading jetty from Orpheus Island anchorage. I was aiming to get to the channel leading marks a couple of hours before high water as there are some shallow sandbanks to cross over. We arrived on time and I was relived to see an excellent sectored leading light to follow all the way into the channel. The sugar loading terminal is a way offshore in deeper water and the conveyor to take the sugar out seems to go on forever.

Once in the channel the wind died away and the water became flat calm. We motored on up the channel enjoying the warm sunshine and spectacular views. There were a number of small boats out with people fishing, not a bad way to spend a Saturday afternoon. At Haycock Island I dropped anchor for the night. Once the engine was off I could hear the birdsong in the bush. At last an anchorage without swell or rocking and rolling. This is the first time since departing from Gladstone that there has been calm water, I will sleep well.

After a quite night at Haycock Island I drifted up to Sunday Creek and anchored for the night. Sunday creek is a branch off the main channel and very quiet with mangroves either side of the creek. I enjoyed a leisurely afternoon relaxing and reading a book in the cockpit enjoying the scenery, tranquility and wildlife. Of course there are crocodiles around here and I have to admit to being scared of crocodiles. Australians I have met on the way have filled my head with crocodile horror stories so now I am paranoid about the things. I have been told that Sunday Creek is home to a large crocodile with a liking for inflatable dinghies. I will not be going anywhere in the dinghy, it will remain firmly lashed on deck.

Monday morning and I moved from Sunday creek a few miles north up the channel to Gayundah Creek. Another sheltered spot with a good view of the Hinchinbrook Island mountains. I had a weird dream last night about crocodiles, maybe it was the cheese I ate, but I decided to leave Sunday Creek behind.

Gayundah Creek proved to be a calm and tranquil anchorage. Tuesday and I had planned to sail further up the channel today. However, a strong wind warning deterred me, I decided to stay where I was. During the course of the day another five boats came into the creek and anchored, also sheltering from the expected strong south easterly wind. I am not adverse to having other boats around, it was very dark last night and now there a few lights around and company.

It looks like the wind will be strong offshore for a couple of days. Nothing too bad, just strong trade winds that could give me a good push up the coast. I will have another look at the forecast tomorrow, maybe I will stay here for another day and wait for it to pass.