following Bowen

After Marg had recovered from her bout of pneumonia we left the pond in Bowen to proceed further north. We dropped our mooring at slack tide 1045 on 13th September to head across to the public jetty to fill our water tanks. This meant navigating a very crowded harbour with dozens of boats tied to piles. As we reached the jetty we realised a fishing boat was tied up which didn't allow us enough space to either raft up or attach our lines to the jetty, so we commenced circling. Eventually some fishermen called out "he won't be back for hours, he's gone to Townsville". WTF. A yachty realising our predicament came to the rescue and moved the boat until we could fill out tanks. We didn't leave the harbour until after midday, so plan B was in place - up to Queens Beach to anchor and get an early start in the morning!

Despite the setback it was good to be on the move. We passed close to Stone Island to have a look at the discarded resort which had an "Indian" aura to it.

old resort on Stone Island

The forecast wind was correct - 5-10 kts from the north (of course since that was our destination) so we motored up to Queens Beach in very choppy seas which the forecast said were easing after some recent heavy weather. After anchoring at the beach and admiring the amazing rock formations we agreed that the short, sharp chop wouldn't allow a peaceful night so back we went to Stone Island!

resort at Queens Beach

At least we had a great sleep!