TripSailor.com® Sailing Blogs

We’ve all agreed Queensland is infinitely better than NSW with its inland waterways and scenic islands and coastline. 

After swapping Royce over for Karen and Alan (2 for the price of one) we set off in the dark out into the busy Brisbane shipping channel. This narrow channel seamed to go on for ever with large cargo ships everywhere. We existed the shipping channel at dawn as we passed by te Glasshouse Mountains and we off sailing north. The SE winds kicked in and we had a good sail up to Wide Bay Bar.

Donning our lifejackets (legal requirement for crossing the bar) we radioed the VMR andgot the latest waypoints for navigating the bar. With Karen directing and Alan steering we successfully made it over the shallow bar and as we approached Fraser island we (well at least some of us) saw a large shark swim under us in the shallow water.

Then it was through the narrow inland waterwaters of the Great Sandy Straits that run behind Fraser island towards Hervey Bay.

An overnight sail saw us pass Bundaberg and into Pancake Bay for a very scenic lunch stop and a bit of a break from the constant sailing.