Islands - Brampton and Shaw

Yippee!  The Sun Is Out.  It's a Glorious Day - Sunday, June 3, 2012

Saturday, June 2, 2012 to Brampton Island

By the time we fueled up on Saturday morning, it was 10:00 a.m. before we left Mackay Marina.  Earlier we said our goodbyes to Vija, and waved off Boree, all heading out today.  After a week of wind and rain, this was the most promising day for departure.  It was still overcast and drippy, but the winds were down and the seas were beginning to calm.

Coming into Brampton Island

We motor sailed for just over three hours and arrived at Brampton Island.  We were the first boat in the anchorage.  By 3:30 the tide had reached its low and we sat in about 15 feet of water.    The rain persisted off and on through the afternoon and evening.

Rain, rain, go away!

Jetty at Low Tide on a Rainy Afternoon

We heard our friends on Vija trying to make contact with Mackay VMR, but their radio was not strong enough.  We were positioned between them and Mackay so we relayed a position report for them.  They were about 15 miles farther north than we were by night fall.  While the wind was quite pleasant for us, it was slow going for Vija who only has a small outboard attached for extra push.

They hope to be in Bowman by 4:30 tomorrow afternoon.  I think the wind is going to have to blow a lot harder for them to make that time frame.  They are sailing non-stop.   By nightfall, we had four other boats anchored in the bay with us.  I fixed a shrimp and green pear curry in coconut milk for dinner.   As the evening progressed the clouds began to thin and we could see that hiding somewhere behind them was a bright moon.

Sunday, June 3, 2012 - Yippee!  The Sun is Out!

Jetty at High Tide on a Glorious Sunny Morning

We have decided that even though the sun is out and it would be beautiful hiking today on Brampton Island, we want to get to our destination and do some scouting about before Garyn and Jessica arrive on Saturday.  By 9:30 the tide had reached it's high.  We wanted to wait a little so that we would benefit from a northern ebb tide push.  We pulled anchor about 10:00 and set our course for Shaw Island, about 25 miles north.

Heading Out for Shaw Island

Wispy Clouds Crown the Mountain

 The wind was less than five knots, so we motored the entire way.  The sun was out, the seas were flat, and it was absolutely glorious.  Since we were getting a good push from the current and moving along at trolling speed, we decided it was a good day to throw out the hand line to catch fish.  I started off with a 6 inch pink thingy with a hook (technical term for something or other - you can tell what great fisher people we are).  No bites.  After lunch, I changed the 6 inch pink thingy that skittered on top of the water, to a heavier 9" green and yellow thingy with a hook.  This hook had enough weight instead of skimming, it traveled about 1 foot under the water and did a constant zig zag.  Pretty cool, but still no bites.

As we approached Shaw Island, I reeled in the line.  It was a great day for us to be fishing, but apparently the fish weren't interested.  Any fishing advice out there?

Anchored at Shaw Island Next to Another Nauticat

We are in a lovely bay off of Shaw island, anchored in 20 feet of water at low tide.  There are two other boats in the bay with us, one of which is a Natuicat 521, Salamander.  It is the no wood, wish we had style.   Not sure, but I think this may be the first time we have seen another Nauticat since we left Mexico.  We may contact them later and invite them over for a sundowner.

Tomorrow we will be in the vicinity of Hamilton Island where we will pick up G and J.  The wind is picking up a little and there is a gentle lapping as the water ripples past the boat.  We're BBQing hamburgers tonight (had hoped for fish...oh well), and looking forward to the full moon as there isn't a cloud in the sky.

All is Well With the 2 Sail R's on SV Worrall Wind