Cole Island Sailing Guide
Cole Island Sailing Guide. Cole Island is a small, steep‑sided island tucked just east of Shaw, sitting quietly on the edge of the southern Whitsunday chain. Its compact size, narrow shelves, and fringing reef give it a simple, self‑contained feel, and the island is used more as a calm‑weather anchoring pocket than a primary destination. The island’s shape blocks the trades better than you’d expect, and the sea state stays low even when the breeze freshens, making it a useful stop for skippers moving between the Lindeman Group and the broader Whitsunday passages.
The western side offers the only workable anchorage, a small indentation with sand and broken reef that settles nicely in moderate conditions. The eastern face is more exposed, with a sharper reef edge and little room for shelter. Cole is best treated as a quiet, short‑stay anchorage, a place to pause, rest, or wait for tide before continuing north or south. Its simplicity is part of its charm: one anchorage, one approach, and a peaceful, tucked‑away feel that contrasts with the busier islands nearby.
Cole Island Sailing
Guide - Approaches
Approaches to Cole Island are uncomplicated in good light. Offshore depths ease from 14–20 m into 8–12 m as you close the island, flattening into 4–7 m over sand inside the anchoring pocket. The fringing reef rises into 2–4 m, mostly around the northern and southern points, and the reef edge is easy to read. Approaches from the east are more exposed and shaped by a sharper reef shelf, with depths dropping quickly and little room to manoeuvre.
Cole Island Sailing
Guide - Western Anchorage (Primary)
The western indentation provides the only reliable anchorage, with sand in 4–7 m and good shelter in SE–E winds. The holding is firm, the swing room modest, and the sea state remains calm even when the trades freshen. The fringing reef sits tight to the points, rising into 2–4 m, and is easy to avoid in good light. A light roll can develop in W–SW winds, but the anchorage remains workable.
Cole Island Sailing
Guide - Eastern Side
The eastern face is exposed, steep, and shaped by fringing reef rising into 2–4 m. Depths outside the reef sit in the 10–14 m range, but the shelf is too narrow for anchoring. This side of the island is best treated as a transit zone.
Cole Island Sailing
Guide - Navigation
Navigation around Cole Island is simple, with a predictable depth gradient and easily read reef edges. The western approach offers clean sand and a gentle transition into the anchorage, while the eastern side has a sharper drop‑off and more abrupt reef shelves. The northern and southern points have narrow coral tongues that rise quickly and should be avoided in low light. Tidal streams are mild and rarely complicate anchoring.
Cole Island Sailing
Guide - Weather
Cole Island sits in the lee of Shaw and benefits from reduced fetch in the prevailing SE–E trade‑wind pattern. The western anchorage remains comfortable in moderate trades, with the island’s shape blocking much of the breeze. The eastern side is exposed in all trade‑wind conditions and is not suitable for anchoring. Swell intrusion is minimal, and the sea state stays low across most of the cycle. The anchorage performs best in settled to moderate conditions.
Cole Island Sailing
Guide - Fishing
Fishing around Cole Island has a quiet, inshore‑reef character shaped by its small size and the shelter provided by nearby Shaw Island. The western side holds trout, sweetlip, and tuskfish around the scattered bommies and rubble patches, with flathead and grunter working the sand tongues that run toward Shaw. The tide is gentler here than around the larger islands, and the best bites often come on the first of the flood when bait drifts off the reef edge and into the channel. The eastern face is more exposed and carries cleaner water, drawing trevally and queenfish on calm days, though the reef edge is too abrupt for comfortable anchoring. Water clarity varies with wind direction, improving quickly after a period of light easterlies. Most skippers fish from the dinghy, drifting the western apron or working the reef edge in settled conditions. Ciguatera risk is low this close inshore, with only larger reef predators warranting caution. Cole’s fishery is modest but reliable, a sheltered, structure‑focused pocket that rewards timing the tide and working the bommies when the water is clean.
Mechanical and Electrical Repairs
Resource
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Cole Island Sailing
Guide - Summary
Cole Island is a compact, sheltered waypoint with a single reliable anchorage on its western side and simple approaches in good light. Offshore depths ease predictably, the reef edges are easy to read, and the sea state stays low thanks to the island’s position in the lee of Shaw. The eastern side is too exposed for anchoring, while the western pocket offers a calm, dependable stop in moderate conditions. Fishing is modest but consistent, shaped by gentle tides, scattered bommies, and the influence of nearby Shaw. Cole is best enjoyed as a peaceful, short‑stay anchorage on passage through the southern Whitsundays. Cole Island Sailing Guide for all you need to know.