T22, Day 4. Back to Townsville

Cape Cleveland lighthouse, after sunrise

 

Lighthouse bay

Up anchored at 9am and motored upwind into Redrock Bay nearby with furled main and jib stored below. The GPS chart allowed Teria to follow the "shoal line" which allowed minimal fetch resulting in easy small wavelets to punch through.

Motoring into a 25 knot SSEer

Kept the water depth at 6 - 8 feet. It's a muddy sand nearly flat bottom for many miles, no coral bombies to hit. Its an expansive seagrass meadow which protected dugongs and green sea turtles feed on.

There were a few recreational fisho's camps and shacks dotted along the Cape Cleveland coast, tucked into sheltered bays with orange sandy beaches (the Cape is Granite rock, similar to Magnetic Island, so rounded headlands and hills between)   Its extremely tidal and shallow at times of tide, so only for beach-able small boats of under 1 foot draft who can work the tides.

Put the mainsail up but soon dropped it again as the boat was totally unbalanced and unsteerable without a jib up as well in the fresh breeze. I hauled the centerplate up too fast and it got stuck up in the centercase and wouldn't drop down again (lift wire shackle jamed underwater), so even less hull/sail balance control. Resorted to the outboard which pushed us along nicely at 5 knots and the 25-30 knot winds had spray flying over the bow, but it was a nice cruise with the tillerpilot whirring away again as well. Plenty of time to enjoy the view of the Capes rugged hills slipping by for many miles.

Motoring west, still windy with spray flying. Cape Cleveland's hills.

Running northwards, Cape Cleveland astern, drying out gear

Downwind to Townsville (Galley and Ice boxes in cabin).

Goosewinged run home, reduced sails. Bimini stowed. 

Reached the low lying isthmus which joins the Cape to the mainland. Ashore its mostly tidal saltflats and mangrove forests form the coastline. Inshore waters were also less exposed and easier to navagate. 

Hoisted the #2 jib on the spinaker halyard and motor sailed on a close reach. Later turned downwind for Townsville.  Did 3 knots with tillerpilot self-steering on, drying clothes out, navigating. Very relaxing after the wilder Cape waters.

Put the main up later to increase speed to 4 knots, even as the inshore winds weakened a bit.

Reached the Duckpond at 1.30pm. Then anchored very close to The Strand Beach (near Marina/sailing club house) Paid out anchor chain until it was 5 foot deep. Donned the stinger suit and dive gear, then dived under the keel with a sturdy dive knife in hand and levered the centerplate free. I was astounded that it was done on the first dive attempt.  Wore my "crocs" boating shoes, so the squishy hardly visible muddy bottom was ok to stand on and brace against. Theres's potentialy dangerous sealife about (croc's, sharks, box-jellyfish) so was back aboard within a minute. It was my first snorkel dive in years, but its like riding a bicycle, you never forget.

At the Strand for diving, centerplate repairs.

Quite happy about fixing the stuck plate so quickly in the water. It would've been a major multi-day drama at the shed ashore working against gravity and 1 ton of boat hanging above, something best avoided (see blogposts from that era).

The bilge had 2" of water in it, so pumped most of it out until a fallen wingnut got sucked up into the bilge pump intake tube rendering it useless (no strainer on it yet, oops). The backup sponge and  bailers weren't required.

So it was time for a cuppa coffee, safely anchored in the Duckpond for awhile. emptied some unused fresh water containers on deck to wash it down and lighten the boats weight before motoring to the ramp for haul out.

While Teria was moored at the floating pontoon, and the ramp was quiet, i did a bit of trailer maintenance in the car park as it was easy to access without the boat on it. Oiled/CRC sprayed all the keel rollers, some had gotten sticky over the last few years. Then deflated my utes 4 tyres from 40psi to about 30 psi, so they would have better traction on the ramp.

A young fisho helped winch Teria up, with the tilt trailer helping. The tide was not too low but some slippery ramp slime was under back wheels still. This time the ute stayed put (it had done some scary  ramp sliding last trip). The take-off did involve a little bit of ramp slime removing wheel spin but it was ok and the ramp will be easier to use for the next guy.

My ute is a rear wheel drive 2WD, utes are notoriously too lightweight at the rear end. I had readjusted the trailer towballs weight before the trip, back to 10% or about 120kgs which has helped the backwheels grip the ramp better as well.

Of course it would be far better to have a 4WD's traction and low-low gear selection (Then your also wouldn't need a small Invesigator 563, a 20 - 24 foot far more comfortable behemoth would also be towable. However budget constraints and ministers of finance wouldn't like it. A good 4WD costs 10 times more than my ute to buy and several times more to maintain/run.

It takes about an hour to de-rig. The young pontoon fisho was amazed how long it takes to de-rig a TS compared to a speed boat's retrieval. (and i'm likely slower than most TSer's) . It's not easy to explain some of the pro's and cons of sailing. Taking more time is often seen as a con in this fast-lane instant gratification world.  

Derigging at Coast Guard ramp

Fuel cost's are a pro for TS, i used 5 litres of ULP91 for this 4 day sail. TS's are also a bit less dependent on Australian volunteer Coast guard (AVCG) "tow home's" than single engined powerboaters are, as TS's have 2 major forms of propulsion backing each other up. Sails + motor. This was the case on this trip, when i couldn't sail the motor kept on chugging away, until conditions improved. 

Usually the AVCG needs a donation to cover its towing costs, they are not a government agency but self-funded private volunteer organisation here in Queensland (i went on a 25mile tow rescue once, aboard 47 foot "Rotary Rescue" when i was a AVCG crewmember. It was a 50 nm round trip, which took a few hours. The skipper said it cost $700 in diesel fuel, wow. But the vessell did about 25knots outbound, gots there quickly, and towed the 20 ft powerboat back at 15 knots. They had anchored at an Island overnight after engine failure, ended up a 50 kms roadtrip from Rollingstone ramp where they had launched) Generally big rescue/tow boat running costs are about $250 - $500 per hour. So CG "marine assist" subscriptions of $100 per year per boat, are like a good value insurance policy, and its optional to also donate a bit of $ for towing costs. I've paid my CG subs for many years of Teria ownership and (touch wood) haven't required a big tow home. It's just good to know someone with a good rescue vessell standing by is always keeping a benevolent eye on you when you're out there.

The AVCG QF8 Base, Townsville, the VHF radio operations room is here. (Teria moored at CG ramp's floating pontoon.)

Sailing is about the slow travel, a few challenges, plus the destinations (fishing and diving can be optional extras). It requires a completely different mind-set from "life in the fast lane" that is so common these days.

T22, day 3. Overnighter at Cape Cleveland

 No more showers and squalls forecast, so headed upwind on starboard tack and reduced sail. The wind freshened to 20-25 knots so hand steered.

Around 2pm, tacked and got in closer to the Cape's hills where the waves soon became much smaller and easier to handle. Watched a tugboat hauling a large barge for hours, it was doing 1-2 knots crabbing sideways pointing into the near gale with the barges huge windage acting like a shuttlcocks feathers, must have been burning allot of fuel too. They later reached more favorable inshore waters and port ok.

However at the Cape, the wind increased further, tacked back to starboard tack and reached the Cape's lighthouse bay late afternoon. Unfortunately the jib halyard parted (at wire to rope join seizing) while lowering sails. 30 knot gusts hit between 10 knot lulls.

Neap tides allowed Teria to anchor in close as possible. Had 3 ft below keel a lowest tide predicted overnight. Set the poptop to "dodger mode", with the front lashed down to the deck and the back angled up like a windsheild while cooking dinner. Later all hatches were battened down for the night. Had the fishfinder on during watch checks, to monitor depth/bottom below keel and watch "fish TV". They were also splashing around the boat. 

Cape Cleveland lighthouse

Safely anchored

Strong winds 

Sundown

The wind kept moaning through the rig overnight. Slept well thanks to the heavy CQR with all chain and plenty of scope out. (plus anchor alarm on). Early hours the moon rose so plenty of vizibility. The tidal flow current reversed and the boat rolled around allot more. I lowered the centerplate and put a few water bottles down into the keel wells below the cabin floorboards which helped improve the motion.

Trip 22, day 2. A short day sail from Townsville

 Thurs 23rd April,

A cool gentle SSE land breeze made for calm idyllic conditions as Sunrise broke through rain clouds on the horizon. 

Sun breaking through - Port of Townsville

Sunbeams

Sunrise clouds at Duckpond

Magnetic Island Car ferry enters port

Setup the 40W solar panel down aft to trickle a few amps back into the 12v system.

Around 8.30am, called Coast Guard on VHF radio to start a trip-log. Then set course North Eastwards, close reaching at 5 knots under reduced sail (#2 jib and a reef in main) as the wind increased to a strong 20-25knot SE'er. There was a huge very dark rain squall ahead, (which can have winds 40% stronger than forecast) so decided to turn back about 2 nautical miles out and get back to port.

leaving Townsville

Tillerpilot steering

Castle Hill astern

The squall began to overtake Teria. now on another more spirited close reach with spray flying off the bow and over the decks and cabin top. The wind got stronger, so hove-to (with jib backed to windward, tiller lashed to leeward) dropped and furled the mainsail. Set off again under the #2 jib alone, still doing 4-5 knots but in a much more manageable, safer and sedate manner.

Motored the final upwind approach into the Duckpond, past moored and anchored vessells and  anchored in the shallow area.   The wind was still howling through the rigging but it was safe flat waters again. Dried out sailing gear and logged off with CG via VHF around 10am. 

Had a lunch of pre-made bread rolls while charging devices up, as 1 amp of solar power trickled in through the grey cloud cover. 

The wind abated but it was a "squally day". Two more rain squalls passed through, one at 2pm and another at 3.50pm. Battened hatches down each time mostly to keep rain out in the 25 knot plus squalls which lasted only 10-15 minutes each. 

A large warship entered port, tug boats turned her around and put her into a snug berth. It was HMAS "Choules" a logistics/supply ship. 

Thought about hauling out and driving home for awhile, but spent another night anchored instead. Learnt a bit more about weather. The BOM "rain" radar on my mobile phone app showed the squalls coming through. On land they are referred to as "occasional showers" by BOM and don't raise an eyebrow, but at sea they are rain squalls with strong winds that could knock a small boat over if not handled well. 

First sail 2026 dry season (Trip 22)

 Pre-launch - post wet season

It was a good wet season this year. It was hot, extremely humid and muggy, lots of heavy rain and squalls, so Teria was laid-up since October 2025 under her tarp. In december she was moved away from tall trees as cyclones developed and passed nearby. All fabric items and allot of equipment was removed and stored inside the airconditioned house.

Some maintenance on the trailer and boat was carried out.

In Mid April 2026 the season began to change a bit for the better. So cleaned everything inside, a bit of mould had formed but not much, as a small 240v electric fan kept the dank air moving  in the cabin and open hatches under the big tarp allowed for good ventilation. Setup the fan and battery charger on a powersocket timer - it came on daily at 7am and off at 5pm, (while the house's rooftop solar was producing 16-24kw of electrical power each day)

Put everything in dry storage back aboard, tested equipment (eg test tank ran the outboard). Revictualled using a check-list, so as not to forget anything.

Trip 22, Wed 22nd April 2026

Teria wet season storage area

Teria rolled out for provisioning

Final food loading and preps were done in the morning. Got away about 2.30pm, navigated the 10km of roads to the Coast Guard ramp, Ross Creek (near the Ferry Terminals and Port of Townsville ship berths). (Have used this ramp only once previously, on the first sail in 2013, 13 years ago) The small roundabout at the Strand was ok and easier than first imagined.

This ramp in Townsville is usually extremely popular with power-boats, recreational fishermen mostly (which outnumber trailer sailers 99 to 1 up here). On weekends, public holidays and gentle breeze mornings, it is absolutely jam-packed full, there is never a spare trailer park space remaining. (The fishers usually launch early mornings eg 2am-5am and return as the daily seabreeze increases around 8am-1pm) (In Addition, many trailer park spaces are often used by some non-boating Magnetic Island ferry passengers as well..)

So the secret is to use this ramp when the crowds don't want to. Monday-Friday afternoons are best. Usually the seabreeze has piped up by then and any powerboaters have already retreived and gone home.

Rigging up

Positioned Teria head to wind in the open carpark. Had to test raise the mainsail and also run a new, longer, 8mm reefing rope through the reef cringles and boom blocks..Went slowly to make sure every component of the rig looked sound, and to plod through every rig-up procedure after 6 months of seagoing memory fade ashore.

The half tide was ok, and the tilt-trailer helped slide Teria off with a rush at 5pm. There was allot of slippery mud on the ramp after wet season floods etc. Maybe there is less boat ramp traffic to clean the mud off, due to recent fuel price hikes ?

Tied up at Coast guard ramp pontoon

At Coast Guard ramp pontoon - Ross Creek channel

Anchored at the Duckpond

Motored a fairly short distance around to the Duckpond, anchoring in the shallows, away from larger boats. The sounder and tide tables allow for precise depth-planning, so she won't bottom out at the lowest predicted tide.

Anchored at Duckpond

Route from ramp to Duckpond

The best thing about the Coast Guard ramp/Duckpond setup (in off-peak periods) is convenience and safety. Trailer sailers can be fully rigged-up on land. The Coast guards VHF room is only about 30m from the ramp, and their rescue boats are moored nearby.

It's also very sheltered and the tidal current flows don't affect the ramp pontoon tie-up area. The ramps gradient is fairly moderate, not steep. In a strong South Easterly, the Townsville Port's breakwall's, large shed's and large ships sides, act as wind-breaks. They also shelter the area just outside the ports entrance.  There are good breakwalls around 3 sides of the Duckpond, which makes for a flat water, non-rolling anchorage. (However the SE trade-wind can still howl through)

Galley setup - boiling water on Trangia 25

After dark, unpacked the galley box, boiled the kettle and re-heated dinner while listening to local FM radio. 

Had the hatch secured as the strong SE'er persisted well into the night. The halyards and rigging wires moaned during strong wind gusts, while the sounds of the brightly lit port rumbled in the background.  The heavy anchor on all chain rode was secure in soft mud below. Watched the fishfinder, a few fish were below (and the keel had a few feet of clearance at low tide later on)