Bluechip's 2016 Winter Adventure

[Hickers]

Day 1 With the boat shipshape, the car safely stored away and light winds forecast we enjoyed a late start to ride the tide through main passage from Marina Mirage to Horseshoe Bay . Trip took about 4 hours to cover the 33 miles and was uneventful other than the crazy qld boaters rushing home at 20 knots thru narrow channels featuring carefully placed crab pot floats. Beautiful evening here in Horseshoe Bay with about 12 boats in the bay all facing in different directions.


Hickers
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[andrewf]

Hello Hickers

Hope you have a great trip north.

I think I met you and yours including your "salty" dog at Sandy Straights Marina last January.

I think also I owe you an apology for possibly keeping you awake on Australia Day eve at Moon point, when we "peaked" very early prior to Australia Day. My much better half said that we must apologise to you when we see you back at the marina, but I think you had moved on, so if I did keep you up I am really sorry Maybe you didn't hear a thing if so all good.

We were on the T end at the marina when you were there, I am sure, and then low and behold I noticed your posts on this forum and recognised your boat and name.

It pricked my conscience and felt I should say something.

We are also from Melbourne and travelled north last year to Whitsundays over a few months, we visited many places, Lady Musgrave, Pancake, Yellow Patch, Percy's etc. Had a ball.

 

[Tidahapah]

Hickers,
Enjoy the trip north and hopefully We will see you up the track once we get away , some time near the end of May.
Just going by the number of boats and house boats that returned here to GCCM yesterday the bay must have been packed.

NOTE. if going into Mooloolaba be wary of the entrance as it has silted up a bit.
Get around into the bay, pick up the leads and hug the western side . Not so bad if you are using the top half of the tide.
Cheers
Benn

 

[Hickers]

Hate to miss a good party ? and always good to see people having fun. Next time ??????


Hickers
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[Hickers]

Thanks Benn. Was a madhouse yesterday with idiots everywhere. 3.5 hours out from Mooloolaba having a good run on flat seas and mist. No fish though ?. Look forward to catching up for one of those fast finish wines!!


Hickers
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[Insequent]

Hickers
I'm about a mile south of Blakesley's so you would have gone past me on the way to Horseshoe. I'm heading up there tonight as the winds are shifting to W and NW. Although staying very gentle. I did see a bunch of Riv's and other stuff rushing south, and from past experiences know that most of them don't bother slowing down in the narrow areas.

Benn
The Bay has had every man and his dog out for the long weekend. Basically no wind so you could anchor anywhere really. I left the Sandhills on Sat morning and boats were arriving constantly. As I went past Horseshoe Bay there were about 60 boats in there. Seems that many folks don't use Predict Wind and just go with the herd.

 

[Hickers]

Day 2 left early to ride the tide north to Mooloolaba in a heavy mist and no wind. The mist cleared as we passed Tangalooma and it turned into a beautiful sunny day. We covered 57 nm in 6 hrs 38 minutes at an average of 8.6 knots for about 110 litres of diesel. Moored at our friends waterfront home enjoying a cold beer and plan to depart for Fraser Island on Thursday.


Hickers
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[Hickers]

Brian, and I thought that was a cruise liner on the beach! , what a lovely still night it was and great weather for the run to Mooloolaba.


Hickers
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[Tidahapah]

I see a few boats from the Bay crossed the bar yesterday (Wed) Northern Trek,Silhouette, Dralomaris and Solitaire. All up at Gary's Anchorage Wed night.
Conditions are looking pretty good.
Safe travels.

 

[Hickers]

Day 3/4 spent a lovely day with Peter and Belinda yesterday inc sampling some of the kilos of Spanish mackerel caught on Peters recent trip to the Swains.
This morning was beautiful and with us needing to cross the wide bay bar at 4 pm it meant a 9 am departure from Mooloolaba. It was a good passage with plenty of sun and the odd whitecap from the se breeze. Made the bar at 4 and although the mad mile was a bit messy all the precautions with life jackets and closing up the boat weren't needed!! ?. Anchored in Gary's at 5.30 pm after 8 hours and 46 mins of motoring at an average of 8.3 knots The 73 miles took 169 liters of fuel or 2.31 liters per nm.


Hickers
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[bogranjac1]

Hickers,
Nice to following your progress on a trip north that I did (in parts by ocean and trailer) last year. Also really like that you have been giving figures of hours/n.miles/fuel consumption.
Hope you can continue supplying this data.
It's going to get quite interesting seeing the figures when you get north of Gladstone and start motoring smack into the big tides/swell running south.
Best wishes on your odyssey of discovery - for me it was all new and wonderful - had never been to Qld/FNQ previously and never had a boat bigger than the tinnie.
regards Brett.
p.s. hope the sandflies/midges weren't too bad at Gary's - I had the decks thickly covered in morning.

 

[Hickers]

Brett, thanks for the feedback, I will do my best to keep the info coming on the basis that I have benefited from others doing the same. So still here tonight but we are inside with the screens closed, Insect coils burning and repellents on, been eaten alive here before.
I'm counting on maintaining consumption under 3 litres per nm! Mind you with diesel being so cheap now not such an issue. Paid $1.12 at Raby Bay in March and will top up at Bundaberg tomorrow at $1.14, figure it may be more expensive further north!


Hickers
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[Tidahapah]

Hickers,
You may be surprised at the fuel costs up north. When traveling by road some of the cheapest diesel is at towns around Mackay and Proserpine. Bloomsberry is normally really cheap so the coast can be pretty good. Hamilton Island is usually cheaper that Airlie Beach.

 

[Hickers]

Day 5 Gary's Anchorage to Bundaberg on a beautiful sunny day, crossed the shallows in the Great Sandy Straits at high tide and a very calm run to Bundaberg in a South Easterly that struggled to make 10 knots all day. Filled the tanks when we arrived which took 1050 litres. Our last fill was at Raby Bay in March so pretty happy with that. Taking a lay day today and will head for Pancake Creek tomorrow am. Covered 70 miles at 8.2 knots average using 169 litres of diesel at 2.41 lpnm. Fuel rate increased due to running against the tide through the Straits.


Hickers
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[Tidahapah]

Ye Ha , looking good.

 

[Hickers]

Indeed Benn, at this rate will be less than 1300 litres to the Whitsundays! Not much wind either, saving it for your trip perhaps!!


Hickers
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[Hickers]

Day 6/7 caught up with friends Friday night which turned into far too much red wine and rum so Saturday was a day of much needed rest! Left Bundaberg at 7.15 am this morning full of fuel and water. The 63.6 miles to Pancake Creek took 8 hrs 16 mins and used 145.5 Liters at 2.28 lpnm. Averaged 7.7 knots with no tide assist and slowing down to match pace with the crew from Silhouette who had offered to lead us into Pancake given we would be arriving at low tide! What a stunning place and miles from anywhere. We plan to stay here for a few days at least. Happy Mothers Day!


Hickers
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[Tidahapah]

Good to see you have caught up with some of the Moreton bay crew.
Arrived Athens today after a good Etihad flight.

 

[Hickers]

Day 8/10 were spent relaxing in Pancake Creek, beautiful spot, nice walk to the lighthouse and caught up with the Moreton Bay cruisers for a drink or two at their beachside camp! Great fun.
Day 11 off to Great Kepple Island, a long haul so anchor was up at 6.30 am and we headed out into a brisk southerly breeze. Turned out to be a lovely trip with the wind dropping as we passed Cape Capricorn and we finally entered the tropics!! The water here on the northern side of the island is beautiful and we will stay a few days to appreciate it. Total trip today 71.3 miles over 8 hours and 41 minutes at an average of 8.2 knots using 162 litres of diesel.




Hickers
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[Hickers]

Day ??? Currently anchored at Brampton Island off Mackay, our last anchorage prior to entering the Whitsundays. We have covered about 162 miles since leaving Great Keppel stopping at Island Head and Percy. We have kept the average speed at 8.2 knots and fuel consumption around 2.34 litres per nautical mile. Next stop is only 25 miles away at Lindemann Island. From there it's off to the marina at Airlie Beach for a week to restock the boat before heading off for a few weeks cruising around the Islands.




Hickers
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[andrewf]

Thanks for the posts Hickers, it sounds like you are having a great trip North and visiting all the right places.

What are you powered by? You are getting great fuel economy I reckon.

Also what are you using for internet ? We found it very patchy at best once we got North of Keppel.

Thanks Again

 

[Hickers]

Hi,
Bluechip had two Cummins qsb 5.9 380 hp diesels. With a semi displacement hull and all our life aboard she is no rocketship but at around 8 knots we are pretty economical. Max cruise is 15/16 knots at 120 lph or around 8 litres per nautical Mile so doubling the speed quadruples the fuel use!! We weighed in at 19 tons when lifted at the Gccm with about 1500 litres of diesel and 900 litres of water on board ( but not much wine!) We are not in a hurry so happy to enjoy the lower fuel usage!

For Internet we have a Telstra wifi 4gx hotspot hooked up to a directional dual output antenna. I just look at the map and point it at the nearest town. We regained 3G about 40 miles off Mackay. I also have an Ericsson w35 but as its 3G it's so slow in good service areas and the antenna is non directional.

I really do need to add another inverter though to run the Watermaker and hot water whilst travelling, twin 120 amp alternators mean we have plenty of wasted power at the moment but our 2.5 inverter would be hard pressed to cope with the constant demand! A project for another day!






Hickers
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[andrewf]

Right Thanks

What is that directional antenna you have? That sounds interesting.

I have a Telstra 4G hotspot thing with its Sierra Router but external antenna would help.

We have a 5KVA Inverter that we use a lot. Underway we can run most things, boil the kettle, ice maker and run aircon in main saloon etc so we don't need to run genset when underway. We cant run main fridges as inrush current is abit high for inverter bu we have eutectic fridges anyway so no big deal, they hold over well.

For hot water why don't you have a heating loop from your main engine? Most marine hot water units are set up for it but often are'nt plumbed in, might be worth looking at.

We have water maker its a 24 volt one , we have never used it. Mind you we are pretty smelly people.

 

[Hickers]

So when we catch up for a drink we will bring some water then???

Here is the aerial which plugs directly into the hotspot or into the charging cradle.

Would love to hook the hws up to the engines but that's another boat Buck! I will have to go back to work at this rate!!


Hickers
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[andrewf]

Forget the water....it only dilutes the Scotch, highly over rated IMHO.

Good for ice though

Where did you get that antenna? Might be handy, take it upstaires and plug into your hotspot got to help at times. I have pretty much the same hotspot thingy as you, it works well most of the time.
Thanks

 

[Hickers]

A NOT SO GOOD DAY!
Left Stonehaven this morning and as we departed the autopilot died, I figured it was just a fuse and I would sort it at Cid when we arrived.
Lifted the floor to be confronted with 3 litres of bright red hydraulic fluid that had sprayed everywhere at high pressure, what a mess. The power steering pump housing had come loose from its motor ?. Only took 6 hours to disassemble/repair/reassemble and clean up the mess. Love boats! But not today!


Hickers
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[andrewf]

Another golden thread in boating's rich tapestry!!!

 

[Tidahapah]

Good to see you got it all sorted Andrew.
Never a good sight when you open up a compartment and see something like that.
Good days ahead.

 

[Hickers]

Took two bottles of red to get the smell of hydraulic fluid from my nose!


Hickers
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[Tidahapah]

Ah well it was not so bad then hey, otherwise it would have affected the grape price.