Passage: Gladstone to Burnett Heads

14th to 24th October, 2021

This was our first visit to Gladstone. It’s a bit of a conflicting place – the signs of heavy industry and mining are everywhere however if you look out to sea the scenery is so beautiful and it’s so close to the reef. Even though John had been born in Gladstone I did not expect to like the place.

We left Graham Creek at a leisurely pace as it was only a two-hour motor to the marina. The marina is quite large with quite a few empty berths. Some of the guys helped us tie up which is always good for me as I don’t have great confidence at jumping onto moving jetties or lassoing cleats.

Gladstone: The staff at the marina were exceptionally friendly, the prices amazing, the adjoining park land beautiful and the showers were immaculate

with piped classical music. The marina is owned by the port authority and it is obvious they must run at a loss (charges versus services available). It’s great public relations even though it’s not possible for us to un-see the piles of coal and bauxite lining the harbour.

We spent the next four days checking out what we could see of the town. The marina has a daily minibus drop off to a few of the shopping centres. On our first trip we got them to drop us off at the old TAFE building for our second Pfizer shot. The second time we used their bus we reprovisioned for our ongoing trip – over three weeks since we last bought food. Strangely, the bus driver took us on a town tour on the way back to the marina. The driver was a born and bred “Gladstonite” – he loved his town, his employer (the port authority), he understood the nature of boom and bust and he was very open to changing to green power. Quite interesting.

Tallis loved Gladstone too. He got lots of walks! The parklands around the marina are really beautiful and quite extensive so he got lots of walks. There are barbeque and eating areas, coffee shops and cafes, walking paths, playgrounds and an amphitheatre.

We didn’t find a lot that interested us in the town. Maybe we need to return to check it out. Gladstone is very hilly as you enter the CBD area. We had drinks at the Reef Hotel – what a view! Back down on the waterfront near Auckland Point there is a little brewery – the Auckland Brewery that does the paddle thing with their range of beers and has nice pub grub. The sailing club also serves fairly good food and is very popular with the locals. We ate in the park a few times.

Before we departed, we experienced our first hailstorm. It came up really quickly and we struggled to get the sides down in the really heavy rain. The following day the wind turned to the north and the boat was covered in coal dust.

As John and I left the marina we were still very indecisive about our

feelings for Gladstone. It’s so horribly industrial and it is just a spill or leak away from destroying the reef however the people in the town are really nice, very friendly and optimistic.

We managed to sail for most of the few hours to Pancake Creek anchoring by mid-afternoon.

Pancake Creek: We love this place and will spend up to a week here regardless of the weather. Tallis loved this place too as he gets many walks. There is a massive sandbank in the middle of the creek that comes out at half-tide. It is great to meander across and watch the pelicans and other birds and the huge army of soldier crabs. It can be a trap for unwary sailors who trying to avoid the coral on one side and hit the sandbank when it’s submerged.

On our first night in the creek there were ominous clouds in the distance. This time we got prepared – plastic sides down around the back deck and navigation, phones and computers in the oven. If there is lightening you need to protect as many of your electrics as possible. We put the items in a metal box (the oven) - this is called a faraday box and is supposed to work if the boat is hit. Too bad about the other electrics.

By 11 pm there was a huge lightening storm heading towards us. It missed and we went to bed only to be woken at 3ish with more really close lightening, followed by a hail storm and heavy rain, followed by strong winds that swung the boat around in circles. I was glad we were in a protected creek and the waves weren’t up too. Very scary for me. John was much too calm for my liking. Tallis slept through it all.

The following day we me met up with Annie and Geoff from Skedaddle who we know from the Manly marina. They, too, said it was a pretty bloody amazing storm.

Of course, we had the traditional breakfast of pancakes for breakfast in Pancake Creek. We, met up with Deb and Warren from Phase 2. We had met this couple and asked advice regarding Seawinds two years before we bought our boat. Another day we met up with everyone in the creek for afternoon sundowners on the sandbank. Nice crowd.

We were hoping to get to Brisbane by Christmas so time to move on.

Next: Burnett Heads – A Surprise Purchase