Hervey Bay Urangan
Sunset fishing at Big Woody Island
Tuesday 19th July 2022
Had an awesome night at Big woody island. It was so calm and still that we awoke to a blanket of sea mist so thick we couldn’t see the island about 100 meters away from us! It took until about 9.30 for the mist to clear enough to start heading over to the Sandy Straits Marina in Urangan where we will be seeing out the rough weather to come. We called ahead to get our berth number so I could mentally prepare for docking. Fortunately they have given us a berth on the end of a finger which always makes it easier. We have about an hours sail over to the mainland with a shallow area of sand banks to negotiate as well as the strong tidal flow that can make entering the marina a bit tricky but hopefully with conditions not yet building we will be there in relatively calm weather.
So we had a good run over although our depth alarm did go off around the sand banks getting down to 1.7m which only gives us about 300 mm under the keel! So very tight! Coming into the marina was definitely a tussle with the tide but overall not to bad. I think we are getting use to handling the boat in rougher conditions and compensating more automatically which makes it easier. A quick 360 and backing up onto the dock was also ok but not something that’s automatic yet especially compensating for the wind pushing us on or off the dock. Anyway we are all tied up safe for the big blow coming and the Marina and staff are lovely. We are here for a week or so and are keen to explore. There is a huge whale watch industry here and apparently the whales are here early this year and plentiful which is fantastic for business although the impending weather will keep them in dock for a few days I would imagine.
Some lovely looking cafes and restaurants we are looking forward to checking out and the facilities are nice and clean. Had brunch at Cafe Balena and was awesome chicken filo with mango and macadamia yum!
Went for a walk along the bike path and grabbed an ice cream at the Urangan pier but bit too blowy to venture out. There is meant to be a market here in the morning so will come and check it out and bring the bikes. Found a lovely local jeweler who had crafts sea animal pendants and was very taken with the gold whale tail. Maybe an early birthday pressie!
Got back to the boat and I immediately got out the bikes to get them ready for peddling adventures tomorrow.
We were full from brunch and ice cream so stayed in and had platypus ( our family term for a platter of cheese, dips and biscuits) for dinner complete with frozen berry champagne which is my new favorite!
Wednesday 20th July 2022
View from Urangan pier
We were up reasonably early to try and get best out of the farmers market. Headed off on the bikes following the bike trail which runs all the way along the foreshore here from Urangan to point Vernon about 14km. We soon had to stop and put more air in the tyres as I had read the pressure wrong and only had the at 24 instead of 35psi! Opps. Thank goodness my ever ready husband remembered to put the pump in his back pack. It was only a couple of km to the pier but we were disappointed to find there was no farmers market on despite the advertising saying it was! No problem though we did a quick ride out along the Urangan pier to the end. It is extremely well maintained especially since it serves no purpose now other than recreation although once was the center of shipping cut lumber from Fraser Island for building overseas including London and the Suez canal. It’s an amazing 1km long pier although I would recommend walking rather than bike as it was extremely bumpy.
We decided to peddle along until we found a place on the foreshore to have a nice brunch. About 45 mins later we were seated overlooking some anchored catamarans, out the front of Hervey Bay Yacht club, having a lovely brunch in the sunshine.
While we were out we got a call from David and Lisa on Elektra who we had met in Coffs Harbour and again at Peel island in Gold Coast. They were coming into the marina where we were staying and as they were already experiencing up to 30 knots of wind they asked if we could be there to catch their lines and make docking a bit easier. They were due to arrive around 2pm so we got the details of the berth and after checking out a few shops made our way back to the marina to check out Elektra’s berth then waited on Nauti Kitty until the AIS showed them to be getting close. We got some great video of them working really hard against that tidal flow to turn into the marina. It certainly looked a little hairy from where we were.
Lisa was at the helm and she maneuvered the boat brilliantly coming in bow first into a tiny slot between dock and a small cat.
David through the lines and we soon had them well secured. They had booked a hotel for the next 2 nights as the weather was now rapidly deteriorating and their on boat accommodation is quite small, David can’t stand to full height, so would be a bit miserable to be stuck inside for a few days. We made arrangements to meet later for dinner. It will be great to catch up.
Spent the afternoon catching up on blog and Rick did some work before headed out for Chinese for dinner. It was great catching up with David and Lisa and finding out how similar we are in how we approach our sailing and docking, with mental rehearsal playing a major roll in how we approach it. It’s amazing the same thoughts and fears we both voiced and the weather trials we have faced in our journey so far. We talked about our thoughts on our next adventure with perhaps a land vehicle towing a 28 foot dragonfly trimaran. Hopefully to give us more flexibility in regard to travel and weather and more speed on the water to get out to islands in short weather windows. Who knows we certainly are not finished with this adventure yet and everyone keeps telling us it only gets better from here.
Friday 22nd July 2022
Spent yesterday hunkered down in strong gale force conditions with wind lashing at us and driving rains. Taking any break in weather to make a break for the toilets then back to the warm safety of Nauti Kitty.
Today we decided to head to the shopping center as sky’s were fairly clear when we got up and going. We caught an Uber to the shops but had little luck finding anything on our list. Rick wanted a range finder so that we can tell in an anchorage how far away other boats and the shore is as your perception on water is altered dramatically. It would ensure we know we won’t collide or run aground when wind and tide swing us around. Anyway supposedly there was a Drummond golf somewhere nearish to the shopping center so off we went in search. We were wandering around for an hour or so when the heavens absolutely bucketed down. We had raincoats but were absolutely soaked and worse when we tried to get an Uber from the op shop we had taken refuge in there were either no cars available or extortionist trying to charge 3x what it had cost to get there. We decided to brave the rain and head back to the shopping center as Rick had a scheduled work call he needed to take in the next hour! Fortunately when we were back at the shopping center dripping wet I was able to actually get an Uber at the regular price and it was only 5 min away.
Managed to make it back in time to get dry and changed and for Rick to do his call. What adventures we’re having😂
We rewarded ourselves with dinner and a movie at the Hervey Bay Boat Club which is in our marina. A lovely meal followed by a dreadful movie. Honestly the latest Thor movie Love and Thunder is absolutely ridiculous! What a waste of many very talented actors to produce such a slapstick cheesy piece of rubbish. On the bright side we got free popcorn 🍿
Saturday 23rd July 2022
Painted wall near breakwater
Finally the weather is starting to settle so we grabbed our bikes and headed out. First stop was post office as I had a parcel to collect, then on to the lovely Jewelry shop where my whale tail with 3 diamonds was waiting pick up. It is beautiful and such a special reminder of this place. My husband spoils me.😘
We had booked into a pharmacy, for our 4th COVID booster, which was along the foreshore path so we had a lovely peddle about 8 km and as we were early we headed back to our brunch spot on the beach and had a repeat of last time. We cut it a bit fine timing wise as Rick looked at the time to drive not walk to the pharmacy. We made it anyway and the pharmacist was awesome. A very friendly chatty guy which made the jab a bit easier.
Rick had found a range finder at the Golf club some 8 km away so after making sure there was no major reaction to our shots we jumped back on the bikes and headed out. The bike path was such an asset and we had beautiful sea views to enjoy along the way. There was a challenging hill into a head wind to get to the golf club but we made it and knew the return trip would be a breeze.
Finally with range finder in hand we made our way back enjoying the16 km seaside jaunt grabbing an ice cream treat at the pier on our way. Sore bums and muscles but great fun
We caught up with Lisa and David for afternoon tea as they are heading out tomorrow. They told us that they had done a tandem bike ride through Europe with a bike that came to pieces and stacked into a suitcase that at the other end the suit case converted to a bike trailer to carry their gear as they peddled. What an amazing thing to do. It certainly got us thinking about possibilities for future adventures. What a great way to see a place and if you get tired you pack it all away and get a bus, plane or train to next place! Awesome!
Back to the club for dinner and drinks with live music entertainment and dancing! Very tired!
Sunday 24th July 2022
Quiet day Of work and chores
Monday 25th July 2022
Walked the breakwater of the marina and breakfast at our favorite Balena cafe.
We made the decision that we would stay here for a couple more days until the strong westerlies blow through then we are going to spend a few weeks just hanging out around the whales since they are here and apparently there are lots of them we want to make the most of it and hopefully get the opportunity to swim with them. The weather is looking good for as far out as we can see ATM and we can always head back in here if needed.