Brisbane to Bribie

8 June 2020
Finally the big departure day has arrived. We are extremely excited to throw the lines and get underway (salty sea dog terms). If you go on a long road trip you leave nice and early however on a boat you must wait for the right tide – unless of course you are a cruise ship but who goes on them anymore? You must balance any tide advantages with the need to anchor in the dark - an ill-advised action.

Our plan is to leave around 11 am on the outgoing tide across Moreton Bay to Bribie Island. Although the trip is only about 20

nautical miles it is the longest passage for us to date and we will need to cross the Brisbane River shipping channel.

We will be travelling some way up the coast with one of our marina neighbours from No Regrets. Chris and Jo are a lovely couple who have one year cruising experience including a blue water passage to New Caledonia. It’s good to have experienced support although their stories of de-masting (extremely rare event), blocked toilets and maggots make me a little hesitant.

The First Passage
We depart as planned and hoist the sails taking advantage of the light to medium south to south-easterly winds. The dog assumed his soon evident normal sailing position curled up in his bed. Everything goes well and we sit on just over 6 knots across the bay. Did I say we were excited? We recorded all the relevant details in the log book including coordinates that will be transfer onto a paper chart for back up. We arrive at Bribie Island 4 hours later and anchor near the bridge to the mainland.

Anchoring
This is almost the most important thing to get sorted if you plan to become sailing nomads. It’s not good to wake up floating towards New Zealand or worse into a reef, rocks or another vessel.

Anchoring is quite a complicated process. You need to be in water deep enough not to scrape the bottom when the tide goes out but shallow enough for the amount of anchor chain you have. You need to be protected from the prevailing winds or else I won’t sleep and everyone will be unhappy the next day.

Once you have identified an appropriate anchorage you need to estimate the amount of chain required to drop to keep the anchor from dislodging. If you were to anchor at low tide you would add the depth of water plus the tide difference plus the draft of the boat. Then you would multiply by 4, 5 or 6 depending on the weather, holding (quality of the sand, mud, reef or other underneath you), expected wind strength and direction, boats around you and other factors that John seems to make up each time I question his calculation. His application of the formula varies widely however he is the captain so

I must not argue……

There is a whole lot more to anchoring and anchor drag apps are great if you remember to activate them when you drop the anchor. It has taken me quite some time to get used to the boat movements. You go to sleep with the view of the shore and wake up with a view of the ocean. You swing around at the change of tide. You rock up and down when the wind and tide are fighting for dominance.

Bribie Island
We didn’t see much of our first anchorage although we have visited by car in the past. It looked like there was a nice beach and beachfront shops and restaurants (although few were open during this Covid time). We both agree Bribie would be worth a return visit and is a good stop on the way to Mooloolaba.

Today’s Reflections
What’s good: Freedom, sea air, meeting new people with amazing life stories, no timetables.
What’s bad: The immoral amount of money spent on US elections which could be spent on health. I am having trouble coming to terms with the concept that I cannot argue with the captain.
There's going to be problems when my friend who has renamed herself "Admiral" comes aboard. Chapped lips.
What we have learnt: Sailors call sailing boats stick boats and motor boats stink boats.

Photos:
P 73 Departing Manly Marina
P 74 On the Bay

P 75 The Captain
P 76 Bribie Island Anchorage
P 77 Leeds Port Marker and Onboard Tracking Map
P 78 Happy Captain and Second Mate at First Anchorage

Next: Bribie to Mooloolaba