April 6 – 7, 2012 – Onward to Tangalooma and Mooloolaba One Last Time

Wind, weather and tides looked good for heading over to Tangalooma, which we weren't keen on going to but needed to break up the trip to Mooloolaba. We had a sneaking feeling that, being Good Friday, we would not be the only people heading for beautiful Moreton Island.  On approach we noted the already filling anchorage with dismay. Water skiers, jet-boaters, jet-skiers, and the parachute boats we being heavily employed. Before sunset we'd made the decision to break away from here after breakfast.

Saturday morning we hurried away from Moreton Island, enjoying a nice sail up to Mooloolaba. As we neared the river entrance, Frank radioed the coast guard for instructions crossing the bar. We noted the entrance had been moved over significantly from the former coordinates, and in fact had us overshooting the former, then running back parallel to the beach and threading narrowly through the jetty. We were told that due to recent floods, the dredger was working 24/7 to keep the entrance passable but that we would not be able to enter until mid flood tide. So this must be why so many yachts are bobbing at anchor out here. We dropped the hook and waited the requisite 2 hours before attempting approach. We watched a few others navigate ahead of us and realized as one nearly buried rails in the water, he had not timed the waves of the incoming tide that were breaking over the bar. He got slammed not once but twice throwing the poor yacht into a painful to watch 45° roll.  Yikes! Frank and I continued to observe and to count until finally we found the sweet spot and revved our way through. Easy as.

Getting into the marina was yet another story. We'd been assigned a berth that appeared easy enough to get into, but with this incoming tide pushing at us perpendicular to our objective and a cardinal post marking a sandbar not 100 feet behind the berth we cut too short and ended up sitting on the sand bar. Thankfully the tide was so strong it helped us maneuver off quickly before we got thrown into the rock jetty on shore just adjacent to the berth. At about this time a man and woman motored up in their dinghy offering to give us a hand. Angels they were. Locals who knew the drill, they expertly helped us tie up and then jumped back into their dinghy and sped away wishing us a Happy Easter.

It's good to be back. We love this little beach town and all that it has to offer. We cleaned ourselves up and set off to the Mooloolaba Surf Club for dinner.