Brisbane To Mackay - September 1974
We head off from Brisbane to Mackay in North Queensland. This part of the Queensland coast north of Bundaberg is loosely called the Coral Coast, extensive coral reefs start from about Lady Musgrave Island just to the NE of Bundaberg. The Coral Coast was a yacht cruising ground made popular by a cruising guide written by Alan Lucas way back in the very early 1970s and called (obviously) Cruising the Coral Coast. I believe I still have an early copy which became a "bible" on navigating the many anchorages up the coast for me and many other cruising people. From about April through the tropical winter to about mid October the coast has mainly SE trade winds blowing making for pleasant anchorages about every 30Nm apart (say 60k) Then after that, NE sea breezes and variables come in making the journey back south relatively easy. I hope you enjoy my limited media coverage of this trip. Unlike todays digital cameras and virtually unlimited photos and videos, in 1974, 35mm photo film and 8mm super 8 film were expensive and used a bit more sparingly. Remember that all photos and movie content are digitised from 50 year old 35mm slide film and 8mm Super 8 movie film.