CLIENT: Training Voyage
VOYAGE NUMBER: 20241020
FROM: Coffs Harbour To: Manly
DATE: 22 October 2024
POSITION: Big Sand Hills, Moreton Is
REPORT: Blue Watch
We awoke to a still blue morning on the Gold Coast’s Broadwater, followed shortly after by a coffee stop at Labrador, courtesy of Skipper Jim, Kate and Rachael in the tender. Using the capstan and manual pump, we raised the anchor along with our heart rates. By then bright and alert, we spent some time identifying beacons and cardinals.
After that we motored through the seaway, past South Stradbroke Island, Couran Cove, Jacob’s Well, and Goat, Russell and Macleay Islands, arriving finally at Horseshoe Bay on Peel Island. Swans, Sea Eagles, pelicans, and cormorants accompanied our journey. Around Peel Island, several of the crew spied dugongs, and we enjoyed a refreshing swim.
Under light winds, we performed tacking drills until early evening. The breeze dropped to a perfect still evening, a red sunset over the bay, and we dropped anchor at the Moreton Island sandhills.