June cruise 2024 (trip#20), Day 4. Flat calm motoring weather - Magnetic Island Eastern Bays.

 11/6/24, Day 4. 

It was flat calm day, an unusual thing. However i found that motoring around with the tiller-pilot steering all day was quite relaxing and easier than sailing.

It also allowed Teria to navigate much closer to shorelines than normal, so the coastal views were spectacular.

Sea mist lifting at Duckpond

The first leg was to follow Townsville's coastline North westwards. Along the Strand tourist beach, Kissing Point (Jezzine Park), Rowes Bay beach and Palleranda.

Townsville Marina entrance, Duckpond

Melton Hill apartments and "sugar shaker"

Longboards (rocky groyn), The Strand. 

Fishing jetty, the Strand.

Kissing Point rockpool, the Strand.

Tiller pilot steering

Palleranda beach

Then turned North eastwards and headed for Magnetic Island, skirting around middle reef and passing Picnic Bay.

Misty sea, Magnetic Island

Middle reef marker

Motoring with tillerpilot, glassy misty sea

This was my first close approach to Nelly Bay, the main ferry terminal for the Island which also has a good marina for cruising boats.  

Nelly Bay harbour entrance, car ferry entering.

Nelly Bay, Bright Point apartments.

Passed Alma Bay and had a look into Arcadia bay. The wharf area there is a dive charter operations zone, so headed back out. It was all good navigation practice. Used my chart, tide-watch, GPS, fish-finder and polaroid eyeballed it. 

Arcadia dive boat wharf

It was a bit scary watching the depth sounder decrease rapidly when Teria idled over hard to see coral reef and a bombie (It went from 30ft deep sand bottom to 10ft - 4 ft deep coral in seconds!)  However, the reef was at a safe depth as the tide was well above the neap low mark. Alan Lucas advice in, "Cruising tropical waters and coral", page 10. Coral can only grow upto the average neap low-tides mark, however the caveat is watch out for loose boulders thrown up by cyclones, this is more probable in exposed areas. 

Lucas's "First rule of Coral" is always go around all reefs (even at spring high tides, due to the rogue boulder phenomenon)

Having 4 ft draft centerboad down and 2 ft draft board up, is good for coral reef waters. I always leave the board down when near shore.

Arthur Bay, my chart indicated bombies were there.

Rugged granitic headlands

Balancing boulders and Hoop pines.

Rocky shores

The Islands Coastal hills are ruggedly spectacular when close inshore. Large granite boulders sometimes balance precariously on each other and the  iconic hoop pine trees grow on the steep slopes that are untouched by mankind. Rock wallabies and other wildlife like it though. Magnetic Island has both venomous and non-venomous snakes, so its best to stick to walking tracks when hiking ashore.

Florence Bay was a beautiful place for a lunch stop while the weather's right. There are National Park Mooring bouys to use, so moored Teria here. They can be used upto about 20 knot winds, and have different colors and ratings for different sized vessels. A few small craft were anchored on the beach and a cruising cat anchored close inshore. About half of the bay is a shallow coral reef, it's edge is marked by white conical bouys and is a no-anchoring zone.

Florence Bay, public mooring

It was a bit nostalgic,  7 years since my last visit (in Teria) and 30 years since the first sail in there on my Hartley TS16 "Jakkari". 

Florence Bay

Florence Bay, Magnetic Island, Google Earth.

Departed at 2pm and motored back to Ross River at 5.5 knots. (Had to cut across the shipping channel when clear, then reset course for Ross river)

There was a  vessel steaming up and down the Ross River outer channel producing a huge wake. Getting Teria de-rigged was broken up into 5 minute segments, ready to hang on when the 25 foot workboat ("Survey") rolled Teria violently each time they did a run past. 

The sand bank and channel depths must shift a bit with time and charts must be updated for the ports trawler and small ships basin (Rosshaven).  The current port land reclamation development on Ross Rivers' entrance is going well, the rockwalls are nearly filled in by dredge sediments from the main shipping access channel. 

Anyway, finally motored under the port bridge.. into calm Ross river waters again, hauled out without incident and got home safely.

Day 4 - Calm motoring Duckpond-Palleranda-FlorenceBay. Motor-sail return to Ross River.