An excerpt from the log of Kapalua II’s recent BE AWARE Cruise ... by Julie Hartwig
September 2005
Day 5: Rooney Point
Date: Thursday 10 September 2009
Forecast: Hervey Bay waters - SW 5-10 knots, shifting 10-15 knots early. Seas to 1 metre.
I wake at 0145 to a serenade by the “Whales Coral Society”. I lay in my bunk and listen to the whales singing through the hull for a long time and can identify that they are gradually coming closer. Their singing is made up of an amazing array clicks, squeaks, moans, whistles, growls, cries and whoops. Some of the sounds are almost like violin noises and squeaky doors. Then not too far away I hear blowing and splashing and suddenly the boat shudders and something scrapes against the anchor chain and hull.
I go up on deck and find Pam and Len already there. The sea is oily calm, like a mirror, and the night is so still that stars reflect in the sea. It is a steely-blue colour in the half-moon light. The island is clearly visible and the Sandy Cape light flashes intermittently over the land to the NE, but the sea to the south and west is shrouded in sea mist. It is a beautiful night by the light of a silvery moon….
Kapalua is lying parallel to the shore, bows pointing to the east and in the moonlit darkness, much blowing and splashing is heard around the boat. There is a pod of whales behind us – probably the ones who swam under the boat and nudged the anchor chain just before I came on deck – another out on the starboard beam and
another approaching the bow, but inshore.
Away off in the distance there is a bang like a gunshot, then the sound of a huge splash – a whale breaching. On such a still night, every little sound carries an amazing distance and I wonder how far away that breaching whale actually is. The pods behind and out to starboard gradually move away around Rooney Point, heading out of the bay, but the pod off the bow hangs around, blowing and splashing for some time.
The night air is quite cool and the decks are wet with dew and after half an hour we all go back to bed. It is hard to go back to sleep, knowing whales are so close to the boat, but the whale song heard through the hull is magic and it is an amazing experience just to lie in bed and listen to it – far better than a recorded CD. While we have not got “up close and personal” with the whales as you do on a commercial whale watch boat, sleeping with the whales and having them around at night like this is an equally amazing experience.
The whale song can still be heard through the hull in the morning. Up on deck, the sea is still millpond calm, with only a gentle southerly swell rolling in. The amount of sea life is amazing. There are schools of whiting and attendant sea birds hoping to catch their breakfast around the boat, as well as pods of dolphins, dugong and turtles. There is a lot of swirling water off the port bow (Kapalua is now pointing south) but there are no whale sightings.
Around 0800, a 10 knot southerly breeze arrives and with a cloudless blue sky, we are set for a beautiful day. We set the dinghy up for a trip to shore later in the day. In the midst of this activity, a pod of two whales – mother and calf - arrives and passes inshore of Kapalua. They swim and play, blowing, waving and slapping their pectoral fins, rolling onto their backs and lying belly-up and generally milling around between Kapalua and Firenza. They swim close in shore in what appears to be quite shallow water, but eventually dive under Firenza and head off around the point to the open sea.
Around 1100, we head ashore for a walk. A lot of sea grass has been washed up and there are large accumulations along the beach, in some places, completely covering the sand. It is quite deep and very soft and spongy to walk on and surprisingly doesn’t smell. There are lots of flotsam and jetsam along the beach – buckets, odd shoes, pieces of wood, hatch covers, pieces of boat, tyres, lengths of rope, bits of fishing net and even a fridge. It is Steptoe’s Nautical Paradise! I collect some cuttlebones, of which there are many, and shells, including beautiful Mother of Pearl and purple shells that are very fragile.
It is very hot and still out of the breeze on the southern side of Rooney Point. We follow tracks into the dunes and emerge on the surf beach on the NW side of the point. A deep ledge has been gouged along the beach just beyond the high waterline by big seas whipped up by the recent NW winds. There are flocks of terns and seagulls on the beach and we find a tern’s nest on the beach with an egg in it.
Back at the dinghy, we have a swim in the shallows. The water is an amazing turquoise colour and quite cool, but very refreshing. Back aboard Kapalua, we all have deck showers and a late lunch that is frequently interrupted with sightings of whales, dolphins and schools of whiting. There are thousands of whiting in each school and several surround the boat, turning the water into a frothing mass as if something much larger is underneath intent upon a feeding frenzy and chasing them to the surface.
This activity – whale and dolphin sightings and frenzied fish – continues throughout the afternoon and the interest is heightened when a Sea Eagle, a Brahminy Kite, and flocks of tern and seagulls discover that the schools of whiting are easy pickings for dinner – we observe the Sea Eagle swoop down with its claws extended, pluck a luckless whiting from the boiling sea with the ease of picking up a piece of paper and fly off with its snack.
Another beautiful sunset accompanies Beer O'clock while the BBQ is fired up to cook rissoles for dinner. We talk to Sequel Too at Lady Musgrave who report that conditions up there are idyllic and enquire when are we coming up to join them; they will be staying there until Sunday or Monday.
We consult today’s forecast for Friday – 10-15 knots SW-SE with seas less than a metre - perfect conditions for sailing up there. However, a check of the chart reveals that it is 78nm. Travelling at around 5 knots gives us a travelling time of around 16 hours and a 0600 departure will give us an ETA of around 2200 the following night – not a sensible time to enter a coral-fringed lagoon. After some discussion and a check of the night’s weather forecast – 5 knots SW with seas to 1m – we decide to do an over-nighter, which should get us to Lady Musgrave around midday tomorrow.
No entertainment and games tonight and after stowing the boat for sea, we up anchor at 2000. A watch system is organised – Pam with Len and myself with Jon, 2 hours on, 2 hours off, with position plots done every hour. I have never been offshore at night and wonder what the night will hold…
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