Here we sit, finally in Queensland, The Promised Land of surf, sun and white shoes. Well, not quite. It's cold, raining, and.....well, let's start back where we last blogged on, in Coffs Harbour.
We patiently waited the passing of the Last Big Front and saw a neat weather window for the run to the border. Unfortunately, it didn't quite fit with the plans of the crew we'd recruited, but we finally made the decision to head off on an overnight voyage without extra bodies on deck.
And it worked out well....both of us took the night in our stride, with two-hour watches. It was an easy run, with very light winds and while we had the jib out all night, the motor did most of the work. We left Coffs Harbour at around 10.00 am, and kept the speed up until Tweed Heads or thereabouts where we arrived around 0900. Turned off the motor and while we relaxed comfortably in the sun-warmed cockpit, sailed very slowly towards the Gold Coast Seaway at Southport,  crossing a very benign bar on the afternoon flood tide.
We'd spotted whales during the day after leaving Coffs, and a couple more off the Gold Coast, so can only imagine how many we'd missed during the night. And I spotted the first Sea Turtle of the trip!

The marina at Southport Yacht Club suited us fine, and could well be the boat's home next summer when we need to escape the Northern cyclone season.
Comfortable, close to civilisation, close to surf, close to the airport, and close to a strong network of friends and relatives.
The day after arrival, we had a great social day, getting reacquainted with old friends, a superb lunch at Casuarina, and a cruise amongst the live music venues and classic cars at Coolangatta's "Coolie Rocks" celebrations. A fantastic "welcome" day on the Gold Coast.
And the week continued enjoyably, with Andrea Brooks kindly loaning her car for the duration. Thanks Andrea!

We were also pleased to spend some time with my long-lost cousin David. (Well, he's never actually been lost, but we haven't had much contact over the years.) So that was terrific to meet his lovely wife Norma, as well as another of my cousins, Jillian. We spent a night at David and Norma's home in Eagleby, about halfway between Brisbane and the Gold Coast, and David gave me a bit of a preview of some of the channels we'd be navigating in the following week.
 It was a good week for boat maintenance too, especially when we were rained upon for a couple of days during the week. Fuel filter replacement and a couple of other odd jobs, and it was a busy week all round.

So it was after a bit of careful research that we headed north from Southport, along the shallow-ish and complex channel system. Timing is everything, and we set off on a rising tide, anchoring overnight off Tipplers Resort. 
Which was a great opportunity to blow up the new SUP and paddle ashore. I walked from the beach across South Stradbroke Island....a kilometre or so...to the ocean on the Eastern side. Of course, the surf was perfect, and there wasn't even a footprint on the beach. Hmmm. 
Anyway, the inland side was a good place to practice standing up on the new board.

It was a late departure the next day, waiting for the right tide, and then, with a stiff breeze, it was back into the channel navigation. I'd plotted around 70 Waypoints into the iPad for the voyage, and am pleased to say that we had a successful run. We worked well together as a team, and even with our 2.8 metre draft, didn't touch bottom once. We were probably a little too serious about the navigation to relax and enjoy the scenery actually. Our worst experiences were with a couple of massive big powerboats who blasted us with their wake.
We emerged into a breezy Moreton Bay, and after an initial speedy sail, turned into the wind and beat against a nasty chop up to Manly Harbour, where we were amazed at the sheer number of boats in the four marinas that share the space.

We enjoyed Manly. A neat little main street, great restaurants, friendly folks and lots of liveaboards in the marina. We gave a few tours of our boat to fellow double-ender fanciers!
A nice dinner out with John and Jo from the cat "Kirra Kirra" and a major breakthrough with the stand-up-paddleboard. I managed to circumnavigate the whole marina without falling off!
From there, it was a really pleasant sail across Moreton Bay to an overnight stop at Scarborough Marina. 
We didn't need another Marina night, and "Kirra Kirra", a couple of hours ahead of us, was anchored outside without fuss.

Strong Wind Warnings for the next day were slightly concerning, but we carefully studied our "alternative" weather reporting services which all disagreed with the Bureau of Meterology. (We use "Predict Wind", "Wind Alert" and "Willy Weather" and tend to obsess about the weather just a little before a passage.)
Anyway, again a couple of hours after "Kirra Kirra" we set off, we rounded the southern end of Bribie Island and headed north along the coast towards Mooloolaba. A great run, and before we came around into the ocean, we were sailing alongside a big, shiny 50' Beneteau yacht. We hoisted all of our sails, and, on a beam reach in 15 knots of breeze, I was chuffed to be pulling away from her when we had to turn into the wind and fire up the donk.
Once in the ocean, we had a broad reach most of the way for the day, and had a cracking sail. And the bar crossing into Mooloolaba was easy, so a good day all 'round. The sun was shining, but it was a bit chilly, with a rainy change due the next day, despite the "red sky at night" story.

In the morning, we had a visit from old friend and Master Mariner, Robert Cleveland, who's going to be coming on board with us after Mooloolaba for a while, so it was good to see him after so many years.
And then, wearing our foul weather gear, into the dinghy to visit "Kirra Kirra" in a light drizzle.
Which turned into a heavy drizzle, which turned into proper rain, which it did all night. And the next day! So it was tucked below decks out of the rain when I started on this blog, and it rained all day. 
But today, it's back to being Queensland. Clear sunny skies, and we're awaiting the arrival of our son and his kids to join us for a few days. We've been missing those little tykes so will have a fun few days ahead of us I think....

Nope, we're not on the Gold Coast yet, just further south down here on the Bronze Coast.
Not much action for "Endurance" over the past couple of weeks, but a really interesting port, with lots of stories to tell. There's everything we need just a short walk away so a comfortable stay.
We enjoyed a few lovely weather days that would've been nice for sailing, but with ugly weather predicted, chose to leave the boat for a few days, rent a car, and drive up to the Gold Coast. 
The Sanctuary Cove Boat Show was a good excuse for a break on dry land, (And, yes, we were impressed, it's a fabulous show. Lots of nice things that we can't afford!). 
So, we stayed with our old friends Rod and Andrea Brooks in Currumbin, and then spent a few more days enjoying their company.
Took in the Broadbeach Blues Festival, shopped around for, and eventually bought, an inflatable Stand-Up Paddleboard and generally enjoyed having wheels for a change.
I was a bit stressed about leaving the boat behind as a shocker of an "East Coast Low" battered Coffs Harbour with heavy rain and 40 knot winds while we were luxuriating on the Gold Coast.
It was reassuring to know that John and Jo from the catamaran "Kirra Kirra" were moored nearby and keeping an eye on our floating home, and we zoomed back to Coffs in time to farewell them off on the next leg of their Northward trip.

We'd planned to leave Coffs Harbour just a few days later, but that didn't quite go to plan. While we'd even organised a local couple, Daryl and  Linda, to join us on the next leg of the journey, we cancelled out due to slightly uncomfortable weather conditions. Probably not the right call, as another East Coast Low was forming further south, and it meant another longer than expected delay in port. 
So, we settled in as a second big storm came through, with more 40 knot winds, massive swell but fortunately no bad rain to go with it.
This time it was my turn to keep an eye on a friend's boat, as the catamaran "Tell Tails" rested in the harbour, with her owner Mark away off the boat for the week.
The marina has seen better days. All of the floating docks are held together by chains, rope and tie-downs, and everything moves when the swell pushes into the harbour.

A few weeks before we arrived in Coffs, there was an "interesting" night in the harbour when a big commercial fishing boat caught fire. She caused havoc when the engine, which happened to be in gear, inadvertently fired up, and the flaming boat took off through the port. She T-boned a cruising yacht, who's owner took a dive overboard before she sank in just a few minutes. I watched as the "Owl and the Pussycat" was raised from her watery grave. 
Somebody's cruising dreams rudely shattered.

There's lots of interesting stuff going on. A couple of days ago, Geelong boat "Sapphire Of London" arrived (in the nick of time before the big storm) with it's owner/skipper Grant St. Quentin and former RGYC commodore John Kint aboard as crew. Great to see them and have a chat. After our 4 month voyage from Geelong, we had to have a chuckle because they only took 10 days!
And yesterday I had coffee aboard the stylish old wooden ketch "Aralla", built in Hobart in 1923, while Guy, her current owner, showed me coordinates for the surfspots and anchorages in New Guinea and Eastern Indonesia. He's sailed her there!

I was stoked to see another of my pics used as a cover shot on "Cruising Helmsman" magazine this month....I am enjoying the camera, and it's inspiring to see my shots in print. The pic was taken early in our trip, and features the Geelong boat "Patternmaker" in Refuge Cove, Wilson's Prom.

And yes, there is surf in Coffs Harbour. I've had a few waves lately, feeling a bit uncomfortable competing for waves with 15-year old bodyboarders, but at least I've been getting wet a little.

We're heading North in the morning.....Gold Coast bound, expecting a 24 hour voyage in light conditions. An overnighter, with a crossing of the Gold Coast Seaway at the end.
And then we'll be in Queensland!