Bribie to Mooloolaba

9 - 11 June 2020
The trip from Bribie Island to the Mooloolaba River was our first real sea passage. We continued, as we had the first day, by following No Regrets from a distance. We started out early (for us) pulling up anchor 8 am-ish feeling like adventurers about to start on a voyage of discovery. Maybe the discovery will be about us? Can we handle our new life?

The standard travelling calculation is to average 5 nautical miles (nm) an hour and hope the wind and tide are with us. At around 45 nm we

expected the journey to take around 9 hours. As there was no swell and the wind was coming from the right direction we made to the Mooloolaba Bar a little quicker. It was really good travelling with another vessel. No Regrets radioed us to tell us of the 30 knot winds around the Mooloolaba headlands so we were able to drop the mainsail before we took off like a rocket. The bar crossing was easy and we entered Mooloolaba River. Our first real voyage was completed.

Mooloolaba River
I have spent quite a bit of time at Mooloolaba over the years. It is completely different from a water perspective. We passed the commercial part of town and the marina on the starboard side and massive waterfront dwellings on the portside in the canal estate. Further down the river there are numerous boats moored and anchored on the river. Unfortunately some of them are wrecks taking up all the good spots. We found a spot right at the end near one of the Nicklin Way bridges. It was an interesting anchorage – million dollar houses, a busy highway (reasonably quiet) and two small beaches and parks for Tallis to run around on.

Hanging Out on the River
We spent two nights on the river. It was overcast and rained lightly on and off. We had some washing to do. Tallis made his opinion clear

about no access to solid ground and toileting opportunities by draining litres of fluid into our bed. Once ashore he then ran towards the 4 lanes of duel carriage way totally ignoring our calls and whistles – supposedly he is deaf. It took ages to get him back.

We stayed close to Summer Breeze but managed to have a social time anyway. On the first night we had sundowners with No Regrets. We reviewed the weather conditions and planned the next leg of the passage. The following night we were fortunate that my brother Dave and his wife Adi were able to pop in for dinner. Even though we lived in Alice for decades and travelled thousands of miles for holidays I can’t get over the traffic miles the east coasters do.

And now……
We are currently sitting in Crayfish Bay on Whitsunday Island looking over Hamilton Island. More about that later…

Today’s Reflections
What’s good: Catching up with friends and family. Meeting new people with a similar outlook on life.

What’s bad: La Nina stories of floods, storms and cyclones. You can get TV, phone and internet reception 30 nm offshore on the outer reef but hardly any on the Whitsunday islands. IT problems are magnified on a boat.
What we have learnt: “Sundowners” are not people with night time confusion - they are the term for having drinks on the shore or on boats with other cruising sailors. Accepting all sundowner offers can be bad for your liver health.

Photos:
P 79-80 Bribie to Mooloolaba
P 81 Mooloolaba River
P 82-83 Hanging out on Mooloolaba River
P 84 Tallis on Shore Leave

Next: Mooloolaba to Double Island Point