Gypsy Cruising

28 September

The Narrows to Gladstone

The Narrows.  I'd pored over this bit of territory for a long time back home, imagining what it would be like.  Here we were about to tackle it for real.

The variation between high and low tides in this part of the world can exceed 5 meters.  In addition, the channel between Curtis Island and the mainland is both extremely narrow and extremely shallow.  So shallow in fact that at low tide it dries for over six miles of its length and, in parts, can be up to 2 meters above sea level.  Technically then, Curtis Island perhaps isn’t really an island at all.  The parts that dry are simply absorbed into farmlands.  The navigation charts show those sections coloured green, always a sign to stay clear.  We treat green zones as pretty much the same as dry land.  Much better to stay in the blue sections, where boats tend to stay afloat.

This morning, at high tide, we ran The Narrows along with the six other boats that were anchored nearby.  There was a flurry of activity on each boat around 7.30am, with all of us lifting our anchors within a few minutes of each other.  I was happy to let some of the other boats lead, particularly one with a deeper draft then me.  By agreement we were all monitoring the same VHF channel and the lead boat, a shallow drafted power boat, kept calling depths to the rest of us.  In the end we got through without any problems, always having three quarters of a meter or more of water under our keel.  It made for an absolutely delightful 90 minutes of motoring as we travelled through mangrove forests and farmland.  This is a piece of Australia that almost no one sees, or even knows exists, and can only be accessed by boat.

The procession of seven boats through The Narrows.  This is a section that dries at low tide.

Alert but not alarmed - we were less than a boat length off the shore in many places but it was a lot of fun

At low tide it must be incongruous to see this navigation mark sitting on dry land next to stock fencing

Just for fun - here's the chart plotter showing us crossing one of the smaller green patches along the route

Fully kitted up.  As well as the normal chartplotter and other boat's navigation equipment I add a tablet running its own chart plotting app to give me additional detailed information.  Modern tech makes a whole world of difference.

The Narrows brought us into Gladstone which, from the water, is simply ugly.  Coal loaders, LNG terminals, aluminium smelters, a power station and other heavy industrial centres run literally for miles along its waterfront.  It’s incongruous that this could exist in the Barrier Reef which, for the past four months, has shown me nothing but beauty.  This is the reality of what makes Australia an affluent nation, hidden away from the view of most of the population.

One of the LNG plants

A couple of coal ships

We were in our anchorage before 10am, in a protected piece of water surrounded by an island archipelago opposite Gladstone Harbour.  From there we could see the full expanse of the industrial complex.  It actually became attractive by night once it all lit up.  The day proved to be quite relaxing and a useful break from the business of travel.

Gladstone at night, from our anchorage