21 September
Cid Harbour to Brampton Island
There’s no foreseeable sign of any northerly winds,
but the 10-15 knot east/sou-easterly winds we’re getting aren’t too awful. It means we have to motor sail, with just the
main up, pinching up as far into the wind as we can get while still getting useful drive out of the sail. We managed to get 40 miles under our belt, over a long day.
The 1,000 miles from Airlie Beach to Newport seems like a long way (‘cause
it is a long way), but every day like today nibbles away at it.
It ended up being a bit of an uneventful slog,
with some excellent sailing thrown in at various points along the way. We reached Brampton Island shortly before
sunset and were quickly settled. Having
waypoints marked on the chartplotter at each point I’ve previously dropped the
anchor is proving to be of immense value.
At places and times like this I can simply come straight to the same, or
at least a similar, point and drop again without having to spend many minutes
checking the bottom contours.
One minor regret I have is not being able to visit Thomas Island. This had been something of an ideal for me through all the planning for this cruise. It had come somehow to embody the idea of reaching the Whitsundays. Of course, I did get the anchor down at Thomas on the way north, but the 8 Riviera motor cruisers occupying the small anchorage put a quick end to that. So, a visit to Thomas Island remains on the list of things to do some time in the future.
One minor regret I have is not being able to visit Thomas Island. This had been something of an ideal for me through all the planning for this cruise. It had come somehow to embody the idea of reaching the Whitsundays. Of course, I did get the anchor down at Thomas on the way north, but the 8 Riviera motor cruisers occupying the small anchorage put a quick end to that. So, a visit to Thomas Island remains on the list of things to do some time in the future.
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