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The pros &
cons of cruising in central Queensland waters during the cyclone season.
These were the thoughts going through our heads last July
as we considered a move north. Donna had been offered a job in Rockhampton,
which is 40 minutes drive inland from Keppel Bay Marina 23.09 S 150.47
E. The scary thing about this was being based in the cyclone zone.
We weighed up the negatives .Would we be able to stand the heat, humidity,
all the rain, mozzies, stingers & the likely hood of a cyclone.
Next we weighed up the pros. Time for a change from Mooloolaba, would
we miss the fantastic beach just over the road?
The Keppel Bay Marina, tho expensive is very cruiser friendly. Like
most marinas on this coast it is rated to a cat3 cyclone ( winds 165
- 224 km/h ).A small & friendly boating club. The Keppel Islands
are only 8nm away, so a great week end cruising ground right on our
door step. The narrows are only 20nm south of us, so if a cyclone threatened
we have lots of mangrove creeks to hide in.
After checking that we would be insured we decided to head north. We
sailed out of Mooloolaba on Sept the 16th, both looking forward to a
relaxed 360nm cruise north. It was so good to be back in one of our
favourite haunts the Great Sandy Straits. The strange part of this journey
north was that we were only one of a few heading in the same direction.
Most boats were on their way south again after wintering over in the
tropics. It was also frustrating for these boats heading south as the
trade winds were refusing to let up. Good for us tho.
We have been here 3 months now & yes we do like it. It is hot &
sticky with the night time temperature only dropping to around 25c &
gets into the low 30c during the day. So we have all our covers up &
just love it when the sun goes down. Our 2 fans down below run 24 /
7 & a jetty shower before bed is a must. We do get mozzies so burn
a coil in the cockpit. Some nights they are real bad so have to use
our screens. Thanks Kent for doing a great job of these. The rain has
been unreal, meters of it, but the locals say that it is unusual. Thank
goodness we are not in a river. The trade winds have also continued
to blow much longer, with very few northerlies. Kidnapper is facing
into these, which keeps a cool breeze blowing through. A cool breeze!!
Most days it is up to 30c down below.
We had only been here a month when the marina put on a free barbecue,
it was a good night with over a 100 people enjoying the food. To our
amazement they put on a free sit down Xmas dinner the Sunday before
Christmas for every body with a boat in the marina. All the tables were
set up out side the marina office & restaurant.
The Keppel Islands has many anchorages. These can be rolly in a developed
trade wind, over 20 knots. We are slowly exploring them. Svensons Bay
on the northern side Of Great Keppel Island is a beautiful spot, we
have just spent 3 days there. The water is crystal clear; you can see
the anchor on the bottom in 5 meters
The locals are all swimming with out stinger suits on They say that
these should be worn during northerlies, or when there are jelly fish
around. So with the water temp at 27c we are in & loving it. The
stinger season is between November to late march & the risk is higher
as you go further north.
All the weather gurus, including Bob McDavit were talking about a lot
of cyclones in Queensland this season, with one as early as November.
Thank goodness we have not had one yet. I still keep a good eye on MetVuw
.The locals say that the Queensland coast is approx 1500 nm long &
that you would have to be unlucky to get a direct hit.
So we will subscribe to that theory
.
The photos are : Kidnapper in the marina with her covers up
Anchored in Svensons bay
Jill Knights classic NZ built yacht secure in the mangrove lagoon Great
Keppel Island
Cheers for now
David & Donna
SY Kidnapper
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