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mik01
25-01-2008, 08:40 AM
Hi All,

need some advice please - hope you can help...

last weekend Gazza and I hit the Brissy river, then out through the mouth to Mud. Usually we go out and come back via the mouth.
Now the time before that, on the way home, we nearly broke our backs coming in to the mouth as it was a washing machine! It can really chop up at the entrance to the river at Fishermans island.

So, this time we decided to try to come home via the alternate channel in the pic atached (not sure of the name of it?). Anyway, it was low tide and I was flying south, virtually right in the middle between st helena and fishermans, at a good clip when the sounder started showing very low depth.

usually I don't pay attention to the sounder at speed cos it never really works properly, however if anything it always reads over depth. so when it started reading 0.6m I stopped and lucky i did!!!!! thats exactly how shallow it was!!!

so we were only about halfway down st helena and decided to backtrack and go through the mouth again. as usual, it was choppy as and thanks to a steaming ship leaving the mouth, once again we were airborn before I could react!

anyway, can you give some advice as to how to navigate this route? can it only be done at high (ish) tide? I wasn't game to go any further south or even to go closer to st helena and hug that side as it was just too shallow.

advice appreciated.
cheers,
Mick

BaitThrower
25-01-2008, 09:14 AM
No GPS with charts?
That would make navigating it quite easy ;D

PWCDad
25-01-2008, 10:16 AM
That exit from River is called the Small Boat Passage and is a viable route for most tides except mean lows.

Keep to regulated speeds as the water police are located just at the fishermans island bridge ... you pass under it at start of the passage on way out from river side.

You swing to the port side of the waterway as you leave river ... follow laterals exactly and you will be fine ... keep an eye on sounder depth and maybe do it the first time slowly.

It can be a bit rough as you get back to open water towards green island (darcy light)... depends on wind (easterly) and its speed.

I often used it in a nor easter/south easter to sneek over to moreton .... up the inside of St helena and swing east in between mud and st helena and go across ...can still be a bad trip across in anything over 10/15knts with east in it.

Some big waves can be coming in at the Pinkenba ramp as you load the rig in the arvo .... be careful ....

The boat passage is a great short cut and is worth "an explore" .... fishing the flats at the darcy light area is good ground as well ....

The entrance to the boat passage from the bay is more south than where you were ... have a look at darcy light thats the entrance.

There is also a channel that follows close ST helena ... passes jetty area ...then on towards Green and swing in at darcy .... all the area to starboard as you travel down to darcy light is shallow banks.

Regards
PWCDad

seatime
25-01-2008, 10:26 AM
The deeper water is closer to St Helena over near the stbd lateral beacons. It does get shallow at low water on spring tides around the D'Arcy Lt and further up the Boat Passage.
Qld Transport chart "Lower Brisbane River and Approaches" or "Redland Bay to Cabbage Tree Creek" or Beacon 2 Beacon pgs 71 & 76 should help you out when planning the next trip.

regards

mik01
25-01-2008, 11:10 AM
thanks guys - so I should have hugged st helena.
next time I'll head out through there first and mark some gps points to come back.

really appreciate the advice.
Mick

Leighton
25-01-2008, 03:47 PM
I spent 6 hrs on the mud bank near the boat passage. Yep its no good in a low tide. Stick to the markers
Didnt I feel like a ########

mik01
25-01-2008, 07:47 PM
haha - i read that thread - so that was near that boat passage????

think I'll give it a wide berth near low tide :o

Camo
26-01-2008, 09:38 AM
I've had the same problem went out from Fisherman’s Island ramp at high tide. Went down the passage and it was all good. When I came back in at lowish tide the map on the GPS said there should be about 4-5 feet of water in the marked channel, only problem was there was only about 2 and a half feet of water. I had to tilt the motor up and slowly crawl across the shallows for about 600 meters dragging the bottom as a I went, until I got near the ramp. On the way in before I got to the shallows, I passed these guys in a small 3m tinny with a small motor, and I smirked and thought to myself good I'll beat these guys to the ramp. They passed me about 300 meters from the ramp laughing and pointing as they went past. They probably thought "serves you right, dickh##d." Needless to say haven't used that passage again.

Leighton
26-01-2008, 03:51 PM
Yeah Mik, thats the port in the back ground. 6 Hours in the middle of winter, the lads were diging worms around me. Returned back to the ramp at 10pm, not happy