We left early again this morning from our anchorage just inside the Wide Bay entrance. We had a brief problem starting the engine, it seems the starter gear had jammed against the flywheel. I just turned the engine a bit with a wrench and the starter worked fine. By 6am we were entering the entrance on our way out. The fairway is about 3nm long and leads to a leading line to the NE with breakers close to Starboard, it was like a washing machine. A sectioned light on the point to the North then gives the second leading line to the East which we followed exactly with only 20ft of water below us and huge rollers forming in front of us. It was a roller coaster but not as bad as the washing machine on the first lead.

Once over the bar (the Wide Bay Bar sits just outside the entrance to Wide Bay which is really a delta for a number of rivers and the passage North behind Fraser Island from where we came 2 days ago) we headed SE for a bit to round Double Island Point then a turn to Starboard on our course of 175M for the next 40 miles or so to Mooloolaba.

It is now 9:30am and we have 36nm to go before we reach Mooloolaba. The wind is light to non-existent, perhaps 5k from the North which puts it from dead astern, in other words, no use to us. We are motoring at about 7-7.2k with a South setting current helping us along. The seas are calm but with a nice gentle swell 4 or 5ft from the ENE which is unfortunately making it a bit roly. If we can keep up this pace we will arrive at Mooloolaba in about 5hrs 15mins (about 2:45-3pm). Of course, the sun is shining brightly and we have tried to rig some shade in the cockpit. Its not even 10am yet.

At about 10:45 the wind came up to 10-15k from the North and we unrolled the genoa and gained about ¾ of a knot in speed. By 11am it was 15-20k from dead astern and we shut down the motor and sailed at about 6-6.2k over ground with the genoa alone.

It is now 12:20pm and we have about 17 miles to go to reach Mooloolaba. We have about 16-18k from the NNE and are making about 6k under genoa alone. We considered poling out the genoa and going wing-and-wing with the mainsail but its just too much work in this heat with such a short way to go. On any decent length ocean passage we would be going wing-and-wing now with the main preventer holding the main to lee and the whisker pole holding the jib to port as we rock back and forth downwind. We could perhaps be making 7.2k with this setup in these conditions.

It is now 1:30pm and we are exactly 10nm from the entrance marker to Mooloolaba. The wind has remained steady between 16-20k and we have been making 6.2-6.5k over the ground. We expect to arrive at about 3pm.

At 3:20pm we are tied up at the Mooloolaba Yacht Club. The approach to the harbor was lovely with a beautiful beach stretching away along the shore and the twin rock jetties beckoning. The actual entrance through the twin jetties was another roller coaster ride and was enjoyed by all. Apparently we are not well known in these parts as we have been assigned a berth in the cheap section of the marina just opposite the fishing vessels. Big, giant, ugly steel monsters. The other piers look pleasant, have nice views of other yachts and look more cheerful. We are going to work on getting them to find us a space somewhere better. Or perhaps leave - there are two other marinas in Mooloolaba.