Delivery Trip: Mackay to Gold Coast

On Thursday Jan 9 we flew up to Mackay in Queensland to join the final leg of the delivery trip to Sydney. Or so we thought! Weather conspired against us and we had to make an unexpected stop but more on that later.

Mackay Marina

Mackay is about half way down the Queensland coast, just south of the famous Whitsunday Island group.

The boat was moored at the Mackay Marina which is by far one of the nicest marinas we’ve ever visited. Really well kept facilities and several restaurants where you can grab a meal. The pylons that the docks slide up and down on are built tall to withstand a cyclone's storm surge.

Our delivery skipper Gary had flown in a day before us to tidy up the boat and greeted us at the airport. On arrival at the marina we noted the overwhelming heat exacerbated by the humidity. Thank goodness for the air conditioners we have on the boat.

The boat was still in delivery mode with the extra fuel tanks strapped on deck, carpet on the floors and seats still wrapped in plastic. It still looked new so well done delivery crew.

After spending our first night on the boat we noted: good toilet, big shower, lots of space to get dressed without hitting anything and of course air-conditioned comfort. It's like living in an apartment.

Passage Making

We got underway around midday the next day after spending our first night on board. The forecast was for small seas and light winds.

Our plan was to head directly to Sydney. We had enough fuel on board so there was no need to stop. The trip would take around 5 days. Our shifts (watches) were split: 3 x 4 hours during the night, 2 x 6 hours during the day. Christine & I shared our watches and we took the first night watch (6 - 10 pm).

The idea of sailing on through the night after the sun went down was weird to us. Normally you are back on the dock or at anchor before the sun sets. Would it get calmer at night? How do you see things in order to avoid running over them? We found we were relying a lot more on the instruments - the chart software and especially the radar which could highlight other ships and even storm clouds which ominously started appearing about 40 miles out.

Stormy Weather

At 10 pm Gary came up to take over while I went down to try to get some sleep and Christine stayed up on the flybridge. Sleep was difficult because I was still pretty pumped about actually being on our boat and cruising.

I got an hour or 2 of fitful rest but then it started getting quite rough and the engines changed speed. It's never a good sign when you hear the engines change. I opened my eyes and could see white flashes through the closed blinds. Lightning! I went upstairs and saw Gary standing at the salon console peering out into the darkness. He was adjusting the throttles manually so as to slow down to around 4 knots as we crested each oncoming wave, then speeding up again after it had passed. The wind was blowing around 25-35 knots directly in front of us and the seas were about 2 metres. Every now again lightning would illuminate the surrounding seas and you could make out the maelstrom happening around us.

At one point three waves hit us in quick succession. One was higher and a serious amount of green water came over the bow, hitting the flybridge which is about 2 metres above the deck. A lot of water was in the front cockpit now but it drained quickly enough and the watertight front door did its job well.

I have to say, if you are going to run into an unexpected lightning storm in the middle of the night, then doing it with a 17 year coast guard veteran is the way to go. Gary remained calm throughout. The boat felt solid as well, aside from the fender locker hatches which would spring open at the worst possible times including when the big wave came over. The bilge pump got a good workout from that one. Which reminds me - one thing added to the to-do list is to fix the C-Zone alarm system. It is throwing up all sorts of advisory alarms requiring us to acknowledge each one. But there were so many being thrown up that stormy night you couldn't navigate the screens.

After 3 hours or so we had got through the worst of it and Gary could go down. Christine & I took the next watch as conditions gradually returned to normal. It was a memorable first overnight passage.

The next day we took the opportunity to transfer the remaining fuel from the IBCs (Intermediate Bulk Containers) on the deck to the boat's fuel tanks. Surprisingly this didn't make any noticeable difference to the trim of the boat.

The next 2 days we had wonderful weather as we continued on our watches. During the day we saw dolphins and fish activity. At night we listened to our favourite podcast "Real Survival Stories" to help pass the time.

Here we are passing Moreton Island from about 12 miles offshore.

Eventually the skyscrapers of the Gold Coast appeared on the horizon.

Detour

But the forecast was changing. It looked like the Southerly we were hoping to beat was going to arrive earlier than expected, plus there were higher winds forecast than we were comfortable with. Time for plan B. There are a few spots further down the New South Wales coast we could have made, including Port Macquarie and Port Stephens, but then we had the idea of stopping at The Boatworks at Queensland's Gold Coast. We had wanted to get some work done on the boat anyways, and this is arguably the best facility in Australia to do it. By 6.30 pm we were safely tied up after doing my first docking (it was easy).

Weather Woes

Turned out to be a really good call to make the detour. The headlines reported that the storms in Sydney and the coastal areas were brutal.

Here in Sydney 2 days later the wind is still howling. These were the strongest winds in 5 years apparently.

Boat Works

Well, what a pleasure it has been dealing with The Boatworks - a 55 acre shipyard and marina facility located at Coomera, Queensland. Starting with getting the boat hauled out for an anti-foul. We have a 8.7m beam and they have a travelift that can handle up to 9.65m. The crew were well versed on this procedure and I felt like I was in good hands as our boat left the water and was transferred to a hard stand.

We spent 2 days arranging to have a number of jobs done including new anti-fouling and replacing the cutlass and rudder bearings. After 4,500 nautical miles they were still serviceable but were showing the effects of their run ins with fishing nets and ropes. We are also getting some covers made up for the cushions, having it detailed, and tweaking electronics settings.

Next Steps

We are getting quotes and organising the schedule for the boat work projects. It will likely be 3-4 weeks worth I expect. After that we'll get Gary back and have another crack at getting Pikorua to Sydney.