After the strong winds and rain finally passed us, it was time to move. Back around the corner, where we had problems anchoring, past the “yacht club”, and on down the Canaipa channel. It was an interesting section with lots of homes nearly each having a boat on a mooring ball. A bit further south it must have been the wealthy area as expensive looking docks with locked gates replaced the mooring balls.
There was a shallow section that Dave (SV Nimrod) had highlighted with the suggestion to only go at high tide or nearly high tide. We saw a low of 1.7 meters below our keel, plenty of depth. Lots of meandering of the waterway finally led us to a bar crossing entrance to the inter-waterways that is call Jumpinpin. Lots of posted signs about moving sand bars and shoals kept us on our toes and we did see a couple of spots get down to the 1.5 meter depth.
It wasn’t too long before we snuck into a spot that Carl had picked out. It was quite narrow for anchoring and we probed the shore and then out to the sand bar, actually hitting the starboard keel on the shoal. With not enough room we moved further out but this spot too was just not big or deep enough. On we went. Just a bit further south there were a few boats anchored and ultimately this was our chosen spot for the night.
After a review of the maps, we formed a game plan to hike to the sand dunes on South Stradebroke Island. After getting permission from the Southpoint yacht club outpost (the main yacht club we would visit tomorrow), we left our dinghy on the dock and followed their instructions to remain on public land to the “surf beach.” It was a short hike and soon we were climbing over sand dunes, into valleys, and finally arrived on a pristine, long, empty beach. Wanting to get to the north of the island, a time was set to meet, and I was off. My pace was fast and near the water the sand was firm. I did my best but ultimately ran out of time about two-thirds of the way. Oh well, near a section of a ship wrecked yacht, I headed into the interior sand dunes for a small exploration before huffing it back to meet up with Roxy and Carl.
Fueling up for lunch brought on a food coma, and a much-needed nap. Quite refreshing and a gentle passing rain cloud woke me up an hour late. As I was cooking it suddenly became dark as a squall rolled nearby. We were in the clear until about halfway through eating when the wind kicked up to 20 knots and it started to sprinkle. A short break before the wind came back and brought within it constant light rain. This continued late into the night with a decent wind to accompany it. But all in all, a good spot and good night’s sleep.
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