Hi
About to spend a week with the wife and 3 year old up on Moreton Bay. Boat draws 2.1m. New to the area having sailed up from Melbourne and have the boat in the Gold Coast. Looking for any tips and advice.
Someone in the Marina recommended we take the Canaipan Passage due to the scenery and recommended overnighting near Canaipan. Jeepers it all looks very shallow to me.
When it comes to the the route up do I take the red line or blue line in the image? Red line going through McKenzies Channel.
Yeah - you gotta go the blue route with kids. If you anchor for the night at Jumpin Pin and go for a wlk the kids can see the wallabies that eat seagrass washed up at high tide. Then a little further on along the blue route is the Slipping Sands, stop and get the boogie boards out, climb up the sand dunes and whis down the slopes. It is better if you make a ramp at the bottom otherwise the angle of the beach ansd slope can cause an accident. This section is really shallow so make sure you do this at high tide - once you get to Russell and Canaipa it is all good. NIce spot to anchor at the top of Russell/Canaipa.
cheers
Phil
Back in 2021, I anchored in a deep hole between pandanus and tipplers, I could sneak in there at high tide, it was great for getting out of the traffic but then the jet skis and powerboats started running aground seeing a sailboat in there and assuming it was all deep water, the water police even had to rescue some people on a jet ski, I promise I didn't find it amusing lol
Some jet skis had problems when they choked their jets with weed as well, surely it wasn't my fault!
The popular spots for anchoring around there are per the black lines on attached maps . On some weekends its hard to get a spot. Tipplers Passage is very popular ,especially around Tipplers cafe. On a weekend its not unusual to have 30 plus jetskis pulled up on the beach . The food is great albiet a bit pricey. . I have circled Slipping Sands. From Couran Cove onward do NOT stray out of the channels. If in doubt follow someone.
www.tipplers.au
My first boat was 26ft with a swing keel, I kept it at Horizon shores as I lived at Jacobs Well. Used to sail all around those channels, no sounder and only a beacon to beacon for navigation. Often the swing keel would touch bottom on the edge of a channel, that's when I new it was time to tack.