Year 2 – 13 March 2025 -Noosa Heads to Double Island Point -just off Frazer Island

If anyone reading this and is free from late June to mid July 2025 to come to Australia then do contact me as I am short of crew during this period at present.

It was a bad night due to the roll of the waves coming into the bay and I could not sleep. I got up at least three  times in the night to check our situation and we were fine and the anchor alarm had not gone off. I could clearly see the shore lights and we were the only boat anchored here. There had been no alternative unless we had carried on all night. I was lying in bed about 5.30am and heard a sort of bleep/whistle and thought it was an instrument. I got up and looked outside and there were about 25 Kayaks zooming past us and the whistle was to give them instructions. They start early here but I guess it gets dark early at about 6.00pm.  

Noosa Heads looked a nice place and quite tropical and I think it is the start to the tropical part of Australia. There were palm trees and bush with buildings peeking out from behind the trees. There was a long beach in front of the buildings and at first light  05.40am there were people swimming, walking, running, surfing, kayaking and paddle boarding. It was a nice morning to do all that and it was a shame we were not going to go ashore. We decided we would head on to Double Island Point which would only mean we had 10nm to the entrance to the West Bay Bar – to go inside Frazer Island. We could not stand spending a lot of the day in the roll and another night. It would also be difficult to get the dinghy down and put the engine on in the swell.

We had a nice breakfast and coffee and wanted to contact the Tin Can Coastguard who oversee the West Bay Bar as we had some clarification questions. As we were waiting a man came up on his paddleboard to say hello. He had an ambition to buy a boat like Stormbird and sail around the world so I said hello and we had a chat. He has a 16-foot sailing boat at present. We said goodbye and he kindly emailed me later to say watch the depths in Double Island Point as Alfred has shifted the sands a bit.

We spoke to Tin Can and clarified matters and we could try to cross the bar at about 8.00am on the 14th weather permitting. This would mean getting to Double Island point and anchoring for the night and leaving about 6.00am the following morning. We therefore prepared ourselves to go and upped anchor and a pod of dolphins waved us off. It was a shame we could not go ashore.

There is one long beach from Noosa Heads to Double Island Point which is 28 nm long and the beach curves left to right in a great arc. We put the sails up and had a good course leaving at 9.15am and we were soon doing 8.5 kts on a beam reach. We kept a mile or so offshore and hoped the curve of the beach would curve the wind which it did over a number of hours. It was a lovely warm day with a good breeze at 14 kts and white fluffy clouds and we sat quite contented with our lot compared to what is going on in the world. I felt I could not be more isolated from all of that stress so enjoy it while you can.

I charged the batteries with the generator and realised that what we were seeing on the coast was a huge sand dune rising up 100-150 feet sloping down to the beach. Whilst it had some green foliage on it you could see the sand dune poking out and in one area high up it was like a huge field of sand. En route we saw a procession of 4x4 cars driving along the edge of the beach and they drove the 28 nm to the end being Double Island. We also had a pod of about 12 dolphins follow us, surround us and play on the bow of the boat which they love to ride. They are such magical creatures and always lift your spirits and enjoy life jumping out of the water. We felt in good company and they were escorting us.

We sailed on well and the wind died a little but our course did curl round the bay and we had to adjust course a little from time to time. We came to our Waypoint off the island by 1.15pm meaning we had covered the 28.5nm in 4 hours. This was four hours of good sailing in the sun and whilst there was a swell with the sails up we just rode over it. As we approached the headland we could see the lighthouse and the famous Woolf Rock where the breakers announced its presence with the waves and white water. We saw a number of 4x4’s at the end of the beach. We came round the point and headed into this large bay where we saw no sail boats but 8 large fishing trawlers at anchor. The skies darkened and we had rain which was annoying and turned the lovely beach colour and sand dunes into a black and white scene.

We motored around for a bit to try and find a good spot and there was still some swell which I hoped we could avoid. We went in as shallow as we could bear and anchored and although there is bad swell from time to time there is often periods of flatness for some reason. We have no real alterative and hopefully by tomorrow lunchtime we will be in the calm inner waters of Fraser Island. We will just have to bear the uncomfortable conditions for another night.

We made some lunch and then had a rest to try and catch up on some sleep. I then had quite a bit of crew admin to deal with but things are gradually falling into place. The grey skies continued but our weather reports suggest there is nothing nasty coming. 

In the early we had a rum daiquiri cocktail to cheer us up and the trawlers gradually upped their anchors and went to work.

Double Island Point - The Kabi Kabi people have lived, hunted and fished in this area for tens of thousands of years. The site had obvious cultural significance and was used as a burial site by local indigenous people. The point was named by Lieutenant James Cook when his vessel passed it on 18 May 1770, "on account of its figure" (i.e. shape). He had originally written Fiddle Head in his journal  but crossed that out and became Double Island Point. Despite the name, there is no double island, but rather a sandspit. It is the southern point of Wide Bay. Wolf Rock is a set of four volcanic pinnacles off Double Island Point.

There is no road access to the point, but four-wheel drive vehicles can go along the beach, either south from the township of Rainbow Beach in Wide Bay, or the longer way north from Noosa Heads (after taking a ferry across the Noosa River). The northern side of the point is a surfing location. When there is a good swell, a right-hander breaks over sand, and for perhaps as much as 300 metres in ideal conditions.

We had a good supper of pork, rice, carrots and peas. We could not due to the swell drink from wine glasses so we used tumblers in the mug holders so we did not spill a drop!!.

We will up early tomorrow to head to the difficult West Bay Bar. We are now 108 nm North of Brisbane and it is good to be getting on to ensure we can meet future crew etc and see more of this coast.

The picture of the day is rounding Double Island Point with its lighthouse on the top.

 Need/Opportunity Year Two

I am in need of more crew from late June to Mid-July so if of interest do email me at  hine.nick9@gmail.com  

In year two I will be going from New Zealand to Sydney and hen up the Eastern Australian Coast, Indonesia and then through Bali, Singapore and on to Thailand to end year two about the end of November 2025.

The blog will continue as we continue the journey. If you have any comments or suggestions about the blog then do email me on hine.nick9@gmail.com