Sunday 2 October 2016

Airlie Beach South to Mackay or Kayaks to Swallows

We left Airlie early heading south back to Mackay to catch a plane back to Adelaide for our grandie Peter's third birthday.

First stop was back at Macona inlet where we took the dinghy in to the beach at the northern end to have a look around.





Venture at anchor in Macona Inlet

We had the beach all to ourselves








Some very odd shapes in the rusty rocksrock formations


No trails to follow but we enjoyed the serenity :-)

Leaving Maconna Inlet heading for Linderman

We stayed a couple of nights and headed south again to Linderman Island.  We really like this anchorage..  It's basically a really large bay sheltered on the East and South by Shaw Island and the North and West by Lindeman.  Lot's of sandy beaches and very peaceful surroundings.

While there this time, we broke out the inflatable kayaks!  We carry two on board but rarely use them mainly because they are a real hastle to blow them up and re-pack them afterwards.  But it's fun when we do get them out.

We were anchored in the second bay from the western end of Lindeman so we hopped in the kayaks and went around the point into the first bay.

About half a mile or a bit less than a kilometer

It was quite peaceful when we left the boat :-)

Terry in the new kayak had the camera

Dave in the ancient one did not have a camera :-)

Bloody hard work!

Nice view over to the Northern end of Shaw Island


Terry on rubbish collection duty.



On the way back though, it was a different story.  The wind had blown up, there was a significant current against us and my kayak was deflating!  It was really hard work right until we got back to the boat and by that time, both ends of my kayak were sticking up in the air.

Terry was laughing so much she didn't take a picture :-)

We stayed a couple of nights at Lindeman then headed directly back to Mackay to avoid thunderstorms predicted for the next day.  It was a relatively pleasant 6 hour passage sailing SSE in a Northerly wind at around 10 to 15 knots.

We were overtaken on the way by a couple of light day sailors flying their kites.  We rarely get our asymmetric spinnaker out as it's tricky to find the right breeze.  15 knots from behind just doesn't work, we need around 10 knots from 80 deg to 120 apparent on either side. More wind and it can get hairy and if the wind is too far aft, it keeps collapsing.  We've got a spinnaker pole attached to the front of the mast but that just adds another complication and I've not worked out how to use it yet..





We left Venture in Mackay while we headed back for the birthday party.

The undercover car park in Mackay is home to a bunch of swallows..  Not very good pics but it's pretty spectacular to watch them fly in and out.  I believe they are called "welcome swallows" and everywhere we go, when we anchor, we're greeted by a few who drop by for a looksee.  Aptly named!













Location: 44 Mulherin Dr, Mackay Harbour QLD 4740, Australia
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