Wednesday 16th
May 2012
Hop Around
the Corner to Island Head Creek22’21.481 E – 150’38.620 S
High winds, messy seas, 1.5mt seas, 2mt swell
It was not the best sleep last night with the slapping of the wavelets on the hull and the running of the swell when AR turned after low tide sometime in the middle of the night. Both MrJ and I were up early, earlier than usual making ready to get underway for a quick hop around the corner to Island Head Creek where we think the protection from the weather will be much better.
Sunrise in Pearl Bay from the cabin hatch |
Five minutes
to 0700 I switch on the HF radio to see if we can catch the Shag Island
Cruising Yacht Club (SICYC) sked or Shagger Net as we know it on HF frequency
8161. I here Andy off PAWS loud and clear start up the sked. I answer Andy’s
call; I give our location and our destination for the next anchorage. No one
else has come up on the sked; this leaves the radio open for Andy and me to
have a short chit-chat. We chat about how AR is going and about how things are
back at the Manly Marina. Chit-chat and over we sign off till tomorrow morning
at the same time.
To enter the wide entrance of Island Head Creek MrJ and I take the much favoured north passage leaving the Island Head close to STB, skirting past the rocky outcrops to the inside and the cutting around the sand bar following the deep water channel. There is another passage along the southern headland that we have yet to try.
Looking into Island Head Creek |
Island Head is at the northern end of a mountainous peninsula on the Central QLD coast between Yeppoon and St Lawrence. It has two natural harbours, Port Clinton in the south and Island Head Creek in the north. The western side of the peninsula is Shoalwater Bay a well known military training area. Uninhabited Island Head Creek is a more compact and secure anchorage than Port Clinton, one of the safest anchorages on the QLD coast where you can get up stream and hide out in spectacular wilderness. Most passing boats choose to anchor by the sandbank just inside the mouth or a only a short distance up stream giving them less distance to travel when leaving. The creek is also the home of huge Mud Crabs and is a top fishing spot. Not that we lay claim to be able to catch either! The upper reaches of Island Head Creek are a popular spot with many fishing boats, private or charter.
Thinks that get washed up on the beach |
On the walk
out to the sand spit we meet up with some other boaties on their way back from
doing the same long walk. MrJ and I stop and chat to these friendly people off
Sasha B. Finally we meet after hearing about then and anchoring beside them at
North Keppel. This is what happens in the boating world; one day you will get
to see or meet just about everyone who is out there.
Out on the sand I can see that there is a lot of ocean debris and rubbish that has been washed up over a great time. Well buried in the sand we come across an old tucker box freezer, a plastic drum, lots of containers of all descriptions and sizes and plenty of drift wood. MrJ and I have some fun on the sand making tracks and taking photo of these and the shadows that we make plus the shadow shapes that nature has provided. We play around like a couple of kids.
MrJ is trying to look like he is lost in the desert, but to me it looks like he is doing something else. ;o))))))) |
After lunch
back on board AR, MrJ and I busy ourselves with our tidying up chores till mid
afternoon. It is coffee time, time to sit down and relax, time to do some
writing and photo editing.
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