An Overnight Anchorage at Orpheus Island - Monday 3rd Sept 2012

Sunset at Orpheus

Monday 3^rd Sept 2012
0630h MrJ and I sailed out of Horseshoe Bay, leaving Maggie Island behind; hauling up the sails wing on wing and put the trolling line out.

Around 0900h just as we were approaching Cordelia Rock, we hooked a Spotted Mackerel, 65-70cm, a keeper; MrJ had to reel it in.

We certainly made a big mess cleaning our catch on the back deck.

passing Brisk, Falcon & Eclipse Islands

 

1400h moored in Little Pioneer Bay Orpheus Island The Palm Island Group with 4 other boats.

aboriginal settlement in Challenger Bay, Great Palm Island

The Palm Islands are located 10n/m off the QLD coast, all except Orpheus and Pelorus Islands are administrated by the Palm Islands Aboriginal Shire Council as a part of the traditional lands and sea country of the Manbarra people. Orpheus Islands is a National Park, excluding 10ha of privately owned land and Pelorus Island is crown land  administrated by Cardwell Shire Council.

Last time we came through we went ashore with Ric and Shelly off NERIKI and climb up the big hill. This time we did not go ashore.

boat on a public mooring

Orpheus Island is part of the Palm Island Group (18 46'S, 146 51'E), which is a group of 12 granite continental islands surrounded by fringing reefs. The island is 12km long and is comprised of 1,368 hectares of rainforest, woodlands, granite outcrops beaches and bays. Orpheus provides access to an unusually wide variety of Great Barrier Reef habitats. Fringing reefs of the group are characterized by a terrace platform formation. Terraces are particularly evident at island tips and become less apparent in the protected bays. The leeward western fringing reefs at Orpheus Island (Iris Point to Harrier Point) and bays (Cattle Bay, Pioneer Bay & Hazard Bay) are generally protected from the prevailing winter SE winds (June - Nov). These habitats support a wide range of marine life with 1,100 species of fish and 340 of the 350 known species of reef coral being found in the underwater gardens of the surrounding fringing reef.
James Cook University's Orpheus Island Research Station (OIRS) is located within Pioneer Bay. In Little Pioneer Bay you can go ashore, see the historic old Sheppard’s Hut and climb to the hill top. This Bay is coral/sand based and approx 10m deep so it is best to try and take a public mooring.

a painting by Richard Brydges Beechey,  depicting the February 1863 shipwreck

The name 'Orpheus' was given to the island in 1887 by Lieutenant G E Richards, referring to HMS Orpheus.  HMS Orpheus was a British Jason-class Royal Navy corvette that served as the flagship of the Australian squadron. Orpheus sank off the west coast of Auckland New Zealand on 7 February 1863. 189 crew out of 259 died in the disaster, making it the worst maritime tragedy to occur in NZ waters. The Aboriginal name for this island is Goolboddi Island.

MrJ and I had fish for dinner – yummo!