Finally back Home (2nd December)

Well we did make it to Eden in time to buy a few provisions, have a shower and also make it to the Fisho's club for dinner.  We had a bit of company for dinner which was nice.  We met Gus from Holland who is sailing around the world but in all the wrong latitudes and the wrong way.  In his travels to Australia from Europe he has been down as far south as the Kerguelen Islands  which we found out is also known as the Desolation Islands - Hmmmmm  sounds inviting..... NOT.  They are a group of islands in the southern Indian Ocean and are among the most isolated places on earth  as they are more than 3,300km away from the nearest populated location and to make it even more appealing they are down at around 50S.... every cruisers dream location.  His travels have not been totally without incident as he recanted tales of washing ashore at Kerguelen Island during a severe storm and then rolling the boat in a Southern Ocean Storm before making it into Perth for some much needed boat repairs.  Gus is a very intrepid sailor and his enthusiasm not easily blunted so after his few issues too date and not ruled out rounding Cape Horn and a quick trip down to visit Antarctica as he continues his travels around the globe.



Arriving at Refuge - Not Happy!

After our excellent evening at Eden we are up and on our way at 4am for the Paddock Crossing to Refuge Cove.  We had a great trip across and as usual enjoyed sailing our way through the oil rigs although it was duly noted that the conditions are getting much colder on board which is not very popular amongst the crew.  All was going well until we got to about 10NM from Refuge Cove.  The weather forecast is quite volatile at the moment and there had been SOME mention from time to time that a trough MAY pass through Bass Strait at some stage late on Thursday - well we found the trough which meant our arrival into the prom wasn't quite as we had hoped as we had to battle in around 30-40knt head winds for the last couple of hours however, it did make our arrival and anchor down beers (an old Dilligaf tradition) even more enjoyable.

We had hoped to spend maybe a day or two at the prom however, as mentioned earlier, the volatile weather forecasts meant that the weather windows on offer are just a little too short for our comfort levels as meeting a front in Bass Strait is just not on so we figured why not hang out and enjoy some quality time at Refuge Cove which was not that hard a decision as it is a pretty neat place to spend a few days. 

We filled in our days doing lots of walks including hikes to both Sealers Cove and Waterloo Bay.  We also updated our Mustang Sally board which is proudly mounted with the many others in the Yachties section at Refuge.  We even managed to go for a very quick swim on one of the warmer days which was very brave as the water really is quite cold especially when you are used to swimming in water that is normally over 24C.  There was also plenty of excitement with the Ambulance Helicopter dropping in one morning to evacuate a sick walker.  There were also a few other boats hanging out in Refuge so we had plenty of company.

View of Waterloo Bay

Our afternoon guest!



Wilson's Prom Light

Eventually a weather window did present itself and all the boats heading West departed on Thursday morning (27th November).  Again we had a lovely crossing back to the heads and managed to sail most of the way with 10-15knt Southerly Winds which was very comfy.  We were closely followed by a Seawind 1250 called Lauren Maree which was quite keen to follow us in through the Heads as this was to be there first night time entry.    We were amazed at the amount of shipping heading up the bay.  There were two ships that crossed through the heads as we were entering and we then had another 3 to 4 ships pass us on our way up the South Channel....  Busy Busy Busy!

We made it back into the pond of Port Phillip Bay at around 2.30 on Friday morning and were tied up in our berth at Martha Cove by 5.30am where will be for a while before heading off our on next adventure - hopefully Fiji!

Now most people think that we spend most of the time with just the two of us on board however, we do have a small crew that help us out.  They are a pretty quiet bunch that we have collected on our travels to date and if nothing else give us a laugh from time to time.  We have included a photo of them below and the members from left to right are: Brian (crayfish), Colleen (gecko), Squirt (turtle) Juddy (no explanation required), Stephen (prawn), Nemo (nemo).

The Crew

Some information from our travels up the coast. 
Time on board:  33weeks
Distance travelled:  Approx. 3,700NM
Visitors on board:  Barry & Ros (Mackay - Hamilton Island)
                               Amanda (Hamilton Island - Townsville)
                               Leapy Lynda (Cairns to Lizard Island)
                               Wayne & Helen (Lizard Island)
                                Brian & Kathy (Southport to Sydney)



                          

Almost Home - Port Stephens to Eden (5tth to 19th November)

Well we managed to catch up with Rob (Morelli) while we were at Port Stephens.  He dropped over to the boat the evening of our arrival and then we dropped over to see his house (in work) the following morning which was great.  Was also nice to get off the boat and go for a wander to stretch the legs.

We were planning to head up to Nelson Bay for the evening but ended up dropping our anchor off the Anchorage Marina and went ashore for a lovely meal in the resort which we all enjoyed.

On the morning of the 8th we departed from Port Stephens and headed into Newcastle.  We caught up with a Kath and Peter which spent time with Kath and Brian up at the snow this year.  Thanks to Kath we got a full tour of Newcastle and had the best ribs ever and the local surf club.  We didn't have a long stop at Newcastle and we headed down to America Bay in Broken Bay on the 9th.  On the  way down we were lucky enough to sail through the race fleet heading up to Cabbage Tree Island which is the qualifying race for Sydney to Hobart.   As well as following the progress of Primitive Cool which has Mark's nephew, Matt, on board we also happened to come across Adrian and his team on Geomatic Allegro which looked far too comfortable to be on an ocean race.

Allegro Geomatic

Yes it is the weekend and a nice one at that but we were all amazed at the number of boats moored up in America Bay - it was pretty much standing room only and luckily there are plenty of moorings there to choose from.   On the Sunday we went up and dropped the anchor off Brooklyn and dinghied over to Dangar Island for lunch.  It is a really pretty little spot and one of those many treasures that you find in this part of the world.  One thing we weren't expecting was that our visit coincided with the annual Bridge to Bridge Race so the whole place was full of petrol guzzling rev heads. 

For the evening we headed over to the very sheltered and much quieter waters of Jerusalem Bay for the evening.  On Monday morning we meandered our way over to Cottage Point for a spot of coffee before heading up to Coasters Retreat in the Pittwater for the night.  The next morning it is off to the big smoke of Sydney. Luckily we managed to get a spot in at the CYCA thanks to Michael that we know from our time at RMYS.  Due to the weather we only got to spend a couple of nights in Sydney and a lot of the time was getting ourselves and the boat sorted for the final push home.  We also had to farewell Brian and Kathy from the crew.

On Thursday 13th we departed the CYCA and had a lovely sail down to Woolongong.   The Gong is a bit of a strange place.  The harbour is rather small and dominated by commercial fishing craft which are not all that helpful  when it comes to yachties however we did find a suitable boat to raft up to and were hoping to have a quiet night on board until the local youth decided that the harbour car park was a great place to do burn outs.  Deciding that The Gong is not quite the place for us we sailed down to Jervis Bay on Friday.  Again we had a great sail with northerlies and were lucky enough to time our entrance to the anchorage at Hole in the Wall, which is at the southern end of the bay, so that the southerly change was not far away.  



The changing moods of Jervis Bay!

We dropped down the dinghy on the Saturday and went ashore to do the walk along the cliff tops above Murray's Beach.  The rest of the time at Jervis was pretty much doing laps as the weather and wind was constantly changing during our stay however, for our last night we ended up back at Hole in the Wall.

As the weather is looking like we may have a window to get across The Paddock on Wednesday we figure we better start making tracks down to Eden.  We departed early as we were not sure exactly how far we would get but decided to continue on and head down to Bermagui which was a big day of around 95NM so we didn't end up tying up until around 11pm so it was anchor down drinks and straight to bed for us.   One thing we have noticed since leaving Sydney was the change in bird and sea life which to be honest is rather disturbing.  So far we have spotted Albatross, then Penguins and this morning we even got to see Seals - these species are all common in higher and colder latitudes which is really not our normal habitat these days - something about this is horribly wrong!  I have even had to take the very sad option of wearing long pants and socks - not happy

Today (which I think is the 19th) we were up at 5am to get down to Eden by the early arvo so that we can stock up on some milk and bread, have a shower and might even get to go out for dinner at the Fisho's club.   If the weather continues to behave itself it will be up very early tomorrow for the trip across the paddock and will hopefully make it into Refuge Cove in a timely fashion as there is a front on its way Thursday evening although the weather modelling seems a bit confused and is changing on a fairly regular basis at the moment.  We do have plan B which is to go to Lakes Entrance but hopefully we wont have to resort to that as we are very much focused on getting home now.  Again if the weather behaves we might actually make it back to Martha Cove on Sunday.

Will right a final note once we get home once I figured out some stats and stuff like that.

Fraser Island to Port Stephens (19th October - 6th November)

It was up at 5.00am at Sheridan Flats to meet the tide to safely navigate THE SHALLOWS in the Great Sandy Strait and luckily we made it through yet again with no issues.  We travelled the 25NM down to Inskip Point before breakfast and had a leisurely day on board.  Next morning it was up early again to meet to flood tide to cross the WIDE BAY BAR along with the other 10boats that were anchored up with us at Inskip Point - the annual migration south is well under way.

As forecast we had light winds and motor sailed our way down to Mooloolaba.   We caught up with Steve Richo on Tardis again who is waiting for crew to arrive before continuing his  way south - all be it at a much faster pace than us!

After a few busy days in Mooloolaba we departed from the marina at 3:30H bound for Southport.  We had a great sail down which was assisted by some very helpful current - it is not often that Sally sits on speeds of 8's and 9's.  We had a bit of a bumpy entry into the Southport Seaway but made a safe arrival and dropped the pick in the very infamous Bums Bay anchorage before heading into the Southport YC marina on Monday morning.    We found getting a berth on the Sunday a little tough as our arrival just happened to coincide with the V8 Supercars!. 

Surfers Paradise

Brian and Kathy, our new crew, arrived on Tuesday arvo and will be on-board with us till we get to Sydney in a couple of weeks which is great.  During our stop over we did the obligatory trip to Seaworld which happened to be a first for our visitors.  As always it is a great day and we thoroughly enjoyed the Seal and Dolphin shows as well as the other sea life on show.  Kathy and I were even brave enough to tackle a couple of the rides including the new Storm ride which is based on rescuing people in a cyclone - maybe a little too close to home for comfort - but it was a lot of fun. 



SeaWorld

Dolphin Show

30th October and we are on the move again. We departed the Seaway at 8.30 on our way down to Coffs Harbour which is a 158NM passage.  Luckily we had a bit of current assist for most of the trip which is always appreciated.  During the passage we saw a heap of trawlers which we figured must be out  catching lots of prawns and bugs for all those Cup Day functions.  We also had a ship which seemed to find Sally very attractive  to the point where we had to take evasive action to keep out of its way (despite that we are broadcasting our position to the world on AIS)


Not what you want to see at night!


















Coffs Harbour Marina

We arrived at Coffs just in time to have showers and head up to the Yacht Club for a long lunch and not long after that we were all tucked up and sleeping soundly.  We had a lovely couple of days at Coffs and did the obligatory walk up Mutton Bird Island - which is aptly named as it is covered in Mutton Bird Nests.  On the 4th November (Cup Day) and it is on the move again which seems to be the way at the moment as we are hoping to get Sally home by the end of November.




We did the 175NM overnight passage down  to Port Stephens which ended up being a lovely down hill sail although we did have to push current for a fair bit of the passage which did slow us down a bit.  There was plenty of things to keep us entertained on the passage!  We listened to the Melbourne Cup en-route and between the four of us we picked all three spots on the podium!  We also got to see a whale show which was very exciting as our sightings of whales have been few and far between this trip.  We also had a plethora of ships traversing up and down the coast - luckily most of them kept their distance however, we seemed to have at least one that we were monitoring closely to make sure they kept their distance.


We arrived in Port Stephens just after lunch and headed up to a mooring in North Arm Cove where we were lucky enough to catch up with an old friend Rob (Morelli) from RMYS who dropped in on his dinghy for dinner. 

Today we are going up to Nelson Bay for the evening and then we are down to Newcastle tomorrow as this trip south progresses.

Heading South - Townsville to Fraser Island (4th - 16th October)

We have had a busy couple of weeks and covered around 590NM.

Coles Online Delivery

After a week in at the Breakwater Marina we escaped on Saturday the 4th of October and headed over to Magnetic Island to wait until a good weather window turns up to allow us to continue our progress south.   One thing we have very much embraced during the later stages of our trip is provisioning the boat using Coles online which is fantastic idea especially when one does not have a car.  So once again we arrange to get the man down for the door to door delivery to the boat with the trolley load of food to stock up for the next few weeks!

Horseshoe Bay Slipway!

Horseshoe Bay is a popular spot for boaties to hang out and we had plenty of company with around 45 boats in the anchorage.  Being the end of the school holidays and also a long weekend in Queensland meant that there were plenty of people on the island.  We spent a bit of quality time at the Marlin Bar to watch the F1 race followed by the final of the NRL  - great to see the Bunnies win!  We also got to catch up again with Zenitude and low and behold the Dilligaf's who have caught up with us again after being trapped in Cairns for a few weeks getting their water maker fixed. 




Horseshoe Bay

Magnetic Island is well known for its walking tracks and we have done our fair share however, we thought we would try a new one which takes you from The Forts down to Nelly Bay.  The walk takes you around the hills that look over Horseshoe Bay and then down into the flats at the back of Nelly Bay where we stopped for a coffee before taking the bus back up to Horseshoe Bay.  We also found time during our stopover to catch the bus down to Picnic Bay to the pub for lunch before heading off on Wednesday.






Lunch at Picnic Bay



Sassy at Bait Reef

We left Horseshoe Bay early on Wednesday (8th October) with the plan to head down to Bait Reef, which is a coral reef at the top of the Whitsunday's.  A snorkel or two at Bait Reef is always a nice way to treat yourself after an overnighter.  The trip was uneventful and we pretty much motored all the way with Dilligaf in sight for most of the trip.  Luckily the plan all came together and we arrived at Bait Reef around 8 in the morning. 






As it has been calm weather there are plenty of boats in the anchorage however, luckily a few decide to depart upon our arrival leaving a couple of mooring's free!  We were also joined during the day by Sassy out for a day cruise from Hayman Island - which was our very close neighbour!



Bait Reef Local

After a couple of great snorkels and plenty of fish feeding off the back of the boat we headed into the Stonehaven anchorage off the western side of Hook island to pick up a mooring for the night.  As usual after an overnight passage we were pretty stuffed so after sundowners and a quick bite to eat it is into the sack for some well needed shut eye. 







Fish Feeding at Bait Reef



 

 

 

View of St Bees from Keswick

 Thursday we continue our progress south and head off from Stonehaven down to Shaw Island for the night with a quick pit stop in at Hamilton Island to pick up some fuel and water.  Friday and we are on the move again for the short hop down to St Bees Island which is around 15NM North East rom Mackay.  As the weather is looking good for travel for the next few days we figure we may as well stop here for the day and have a bit of an explore so it is dinghy down and we are off to Keswick Island for a look around.  Keswick Island has a residential development that was started around 20years ago and hasn't really progressed that much.  All the infrastructure is there which is great and will hopefully mean that better things will come however at this stage there are not that many homes built and there are around 15 permanent residence.  It does also cater for holiday makers if you are looking for a spot of quiet time!.  Despite the lack of development there are some lovely views including one from the local shop which has manages to open from 12 - 1.30 on Saturday and Sunday. 

Café View at Keswick

The islands of St Bees and Keswick are also well known as they became home to a Blue Heeler dog named Sophie that fell off the back of a boat that was out on a day trip from Mackay.  The story goes that Sophie managed to swim some amazing distance to the shores of St Bees and even more amazing was that she apparently made several trips between the two islands across the Egremont Pass which has a bad reputation of fast running currents (up to 4knots) and a good supply of sharks.  Although very little is known of her time running free on the islands it is reported that she now has quite a taste for ferrel goat which is one of the main residence on St Bees



Tardis  at St Bees

Over the last few days we have been in touch with Steve Richo and the crew on Tardis who are picking up their boat from Long Island for the delivery trip from the Whitsunday's back to Martha Cove after competing in Hammo Race week in August..  After some discussions they have decided to join us in the anchorage at St Bees for the night which was great as we were able to catch up on some news from home.






On the morning of Monday the 13th October we are up anchor at 5.30am for the 165NM passage down to Rosslyn Bay at Yeppoon.  It was a very pleasant trip and we were able to sail for a number of hours although we motor sailed for the majority of the trip.  We arrived at the marina at around 8am Tuesday and before we stopped for lunch Mark had already serviced the main motor and the laundry was done which gave us the afternoon off *YAY* 

The Gang at Capricorn Cruising YC - Rosslyn Bay

Before long we were joined in the marina by Tardis and would you believe it - Dilligaf.   Just when we thought that we must finally be ahead of them, as they were planning on spending a week in the Whitsunday's, the good weather window was just too tempting so once we meet up with them again.  Until we get to Brisbane, which is their final destination south, we not making any predictions about getting ahead of them again!.







When we first arrived in Rosslyn Bay we were expecting to head out again on Thursday morn but like the Dilligaf's the weather window on Wednesday is just too tempting so after a stock up in the morning we departed from the marina at 13:00H for the 185NM trip down to Fraser Island.  Once again it was an uneventful trip with a little sailing and mainly motor sailing.  We hardly even saw another soul during the passage although we did sail past the 25 coal boats that were anchored off Gladstone which provided some entertainment for a few hours.   Due to the late start on Wednesday it meant for a late arrival into the anchorage in Kingfisher Bay however, after a bit of navigating through the northern sections of the Great Sandy Strait we made it safely into Kingfisher at 21:00H.  Not long after the anchor went splash the beers where open and we enjoyed a much needed feed of lasagne before hitting the sack.

The plan from here is to hang out at Kingfisher for the next couple of days which means we MUST have lunch at the resort tomorrow before heading down to Sheridan Flats for the night, which is a much closer anchorage to the dreaded shallows, which we have to tackle early on Sunday morning.  We then have to face the Wide Bay Bar early on Monday morning for the trip down to Mooloolaba - lets hope the weather remains as forecast so that the plan can come together.

Lizard Island to Townsville (19th September - 1st October)

Research Centre at Lizard Island

Getting south from Lizard Island is never easy!  According to the statistics the wind blows from the SE for 91% of the time in September so the chances to get south can be slim.  We had a small window of opportunity in the weather to head south on the 19th so figure we better take it as you are never sure what you are going to get.  The forecast is for around 15-20knts from the SE for the next three days and our course to Low Isles is around 160^o so it is going to be 'on the nose' all the way.

Crown of Thorns

It is up early on the 19^th and we are off and aiming to make it to Cape Bedford for the night.  As the course for today is a little kinder (180^o) we were able to make it quite comfortably in to the anchorage at 13:00H although it was a pretty bumpy sail.  The next day wasn’t quite as kind as the wind swung more to the SSE which meant it was a true beat all the way to Hope Islands in around 20-25knots of wind.  We ended up with 2 reefs in the main and our very lovely #4 headsail up which gave us the best angle to the wind possible however, it was still a very long day as we didn’t arrive at Hope until 16:30H and we covered 55NM but only made 30NM in a forward direction – not much fun at all.    We are kind of figuring that unless something improves in the weather overnight we will be spending a few days in at East Hope Island until the next weather window presents itself.

The BOM is very good at forecasting the weather these days and true to form there is no let-up in the weather on Sunday so it looks like it is Hope Island for the next few days.  We have plenty of company for our stay as a bunch of fisho’s are camping on the island for a few days and there is a regular procession of people stopping in on their way north - strangely there don't seem to be many people arriving that are also heading south!

Over the last few weeks our house batteries have being showing signs of ageing and we have been having to charge twice per day just to avoid going under volt.  This was even more noticeable during our sailing days when we have been using plenty of electrons on all the nav. gear and auto helm.  Luckily we have enough internet and mobile coverage to do some research and during our stop have arranged for a couple of batteries to be delivered to the marina once we arrive in Townsville. 

Hope Island - Not TOO tough!

We didn’t waste our time in Hope Island – it is a very pretty spot so we went for plenty of walks around the island (both clockwise and anti-clockwise) and also went for a snorkel most days and were pleasantly surprised with the diversity and good condition of the coral even though the water is not as clear as what we have become accustomed to. 

On Thursday (25^th September) the weather has started to settle down and we have a more comfortable 10-15knt SE wind blowing so we figure it is time to get moving again.  We left the anchorage early and had a go at motor sailing and did much better than expected for the day.  The original plan was to make it in to Low Isles for the night however progress was so good that we were able to make it into Port Douglas in time to meet the fuel truck which was a bonus as we were keen to top up the tanks before we do the overnight trip to Townsville.  It was a real treat to be in marina world again where we could have long showers and even enjoyed a meal off the boat. 

Friday and again we were up early for the trip down to Townsville which is around 190NM.  The winds were very light and we motored, with and without some sail, all day and night which was very comfortable.  At dawn on Saturday we did the math and figured that we still had a chance to make it into the Breakwater Marina by 14:00H when we still had enough water under the keel (there is only 0.5mts at LAT tide in the entrance channel which can make it a bit tricky).  So it is back up with the main so that we can achieve the 6.2Knot average that we have to maintain to make it.  Luckily the winds played fair and we had a light NE wind start to make its presence felt and before we knew it we were roaring along with time to spare.  

The first job at Townsville was to replenish our hydrocarbons so we are now full to the brim with diesel and LPG.  As usual there are 'boat jobs' to be done.  Mark serviced the gen-set which didn't go quite as well as expected.  Before he started work the impeller went which was a bit annoying and then after changing the oil and fuel filter found that the motor wouldn't run for more than 60seconds which was very annoying.  We have had a bit of a feeling that there has been a small air leak in the fuel system for some time as the gen-set hasn't been running quite as well as it used to and after much fiddling and tightening of hose clamps etc. it looks like it is all running at 100% again which was at least a good outcome.  While this was going on I was keeping myself busy on deck polishing the stainless steel.  If you haven't noticed there is a lot of SS on Sally!

Late on Monday the new batteries turned up.  They are even bigger and heavier than the ones that we have which is all well and good but installing something that weighs around 75kgs under the floor of the boat was always going to be a bit of a challenge.  Ryan from Alco Batteries was great and delivered the batteries down to the boat and even helped to bring them on board.  Tuesday was battery day so we managed to lift out the current batteries and slowly but surely get them onto the wharf.  With some careful planning Mark installed some fixtures to secure the new batteries and we managed to get them into position without wrecking our backs so all good.  So far they seem to be working great.   As a bit of a treat we went and did a few laps at the Tobruk Pool and then went out for dinner at the Yacht Club with Graciella and Oscar from Zenitude who we first met in Lord Howe in 2013. 

Their are a number of boats in here that we know including Windana and Osiris so sure there will be plenty of catch up sundowner's during our stay.  At this point it is looking like we will be here until Saturday when we will head over to Horseshoe Bay on Magnetic Island to wait for a weather window to get down to the Whitsunday's which we are hoping will turn up sometime early next week.

 

 

 

Lizard Island (8th - 19th September)

Lizard Island is a pretty amazing place to spend a couple of weeks and we can now understand why it is such a popular spot to visit for us boaties!  While Leapy was here we went for at least 2 snorkels per days in beautifully clear water and every time managed to see something new.  The diversity of coral and fish is amazing and the back of the boat is more like an aquarium most of the time with plenty of Bat Fish, GT’s, Reef Sharks and numerous other fish hanging around that we are not able to identify.  We also saw plenty of big fish on the reef – just wish we could work out what they all are – note to self to get a better fish ID chart when we get back home.



Resort - Post 'Ita'

As Ann and Col (Annacol), also fellow Hunter owners, had been waiting on our arrival for some time they had a couple of very nice bottles of bubbly waiting on ice for us so after we had settled into life on LI they had us over for sundowner's one night which was a lot of fun as they are always great to catch up with although I think we were all a little worse for wear the next morning!

During the last few days while Lynda was on board we also got to go for a lovely walk and had a swim at the Blue Lagoon on the SW corner of the island.



Blue Lagoon

A very sad looking Lynda had to fly out on the afternoon of the 11^th but was rewarded with a very scenic flight back to Cairns and managed to identify most of our stops on the trip north.  It was a bit like a tag team in the 11^th as Wayne and Helen flew in on the same plane that Lynda caught out.

As is normal the first order of business, after dropping their bags at the boat, was to head to the beach for sundowner's with ‘The Mob’ at the so called ‘Table of Knowledge’.  Wayne and Helen were very kind and brought a good supply of fresh food which we very much appreciated as we were just about depleted on any fresh rations.

Local Lizard at LI

On the 12^th we headed off to the reef near the boat for their first snorkel which was closely followed by the walk up to Chinaman’s Lookout which was closely followed by a snorkel on the Clam Garden so that night we all slept very well!.  On the Friday we headed off early to do the walk to Cook’s Look.  This is the highest peak on the island at around 350mts and was the place where Cook went in order to try to find a suitable passage out of the reef and luckily he did and it is now aptly named Cooks Passage!   The start of the climb is a bit challenging however, the views from the top where definitely worth the effort.  The afternoon on board was rather quiet with plenty of Nanna naps all around. 



View of Watson's Bay

 

 

South & Palfrey Islands

Cairn at Cook's Look

 

 



Helen & Wayne - Cook's Look

Again we did plenty of underwater exploring whilst Wayne and Helen were aboard.  Mark also decided it was time to give the bottom of the boat a bit of a tickle before we start heading south and was closely monitored by the usual mob of Bat Fish plus a couple of Black Tip Sharks. 

Wayne and Helen flew out on the afternoon (18^th September) after what seemed like a very brief stop at LI.  They had a great time and certainly made the most of their stay spending plenty of time in and under the water as well as exploring the island.  They also had the daily job of filling our water containers from the local well as we are not using any of the ships water at the moment to make sure we have plenty on board for the start of our trip south.  

Cairns to Lizard Island (27th August to 8th September)

Our new crew, Leapy Lynda (aka Vanuatu Survivor if you have read the BLOG on our Cora Sea Cruz from 2013), joined the boat.  After the obligatory tour around the main centre of Cairns and a swim in the Esplanade Pool we did the final stock up of diesel, gas, unleaded and fresh produce before departing for the final push north to Lizard Island.

We left Cairns Marina on the 29^th August and headed to yet another marina in the very beautiful town of Port Douglas.  We had a lovely sail up to PD and after a bit of confusion finally found our berth in Marina Mirage.  We found John and Jo from Kirra Kirra at the local pub – they are spending quite a bit of time in PD as they have a wedding to attend – not too shabby a spot for a wedding!   On Saturday (30^th), after some yoga and some more exploring, we headed to the ‘Tin Shed’ to watch the last game of the AFL home & away season between Carlton and Essendon.  Lynda and I are both quite rabid Blues supporters and the skipper just happens to be Essendon.  We normally have a bet on the game – the team that wins shouts the loser dinner and drinks.  This lead too much confusion as the game ended up in a draw so we were neither happy or sad and not sure who was buying what but think we ended up shouting each other!  After the big game we went to see the local Queensland Giant Grouper feeding which was a bit disappointing as George the Grouper failed to show however, the bar at the feeding station was doing a wonderful trade as most of the spectators were partaking in a beverage or two while enjoying the views over the inlet.

On Sunday (31^st August) we left PD and marina world.  We are very much looking forward to spending some time on the anchor.  The first stop is to Low Isles which is only about 10NM from Port Douglas and is a beautiful spot to hang out for a few days.  It is also a popular spot for the tour boats from PD so we had plenty of company during the day.  Thanks to Parks we were able to pick up a mooring which was rather nice.  We did the quick island tour – it is a very small island so it doesn’t take a long time to complete however, there is plenty of infrastructure present which includes a light house, two lighthouse keeper homes and another residence which is where we figure the caretaker resides.  There is plenty of great snorkelling around the island so we spent plenty of time in the water and Lynda got to try out her new snorkelling attire!  One of the highlights of the snorkelling was the very friendly turtles that didn’t seem to be too worried about us swimmers.  We found one that was very intent on foraging in the coral – were not quite sure what he was looking for but he didn’t seem to find it while we were watching. 

Low Isles

After a couple of nights at Low Isles we headed out to Tongue Reef for a snorkel on our way to Cape Tribulation, which was our stop for the night.  Tongue Reef was another great snorkelling spot so we spent plenty of time exploring underwater – we even pulled out the Go Pro for some more practice at underwater photography which turned out not too shabby even if I do say so myself.  We arrived at Cape Tribulation late in the afternoon but had enough time for a quick shore party.  It is definitely the spot where the jungle meets the sea as the rain forest comes right down to the beach.  Luckily we are in a patch of calm weather so the night at Cape Trib. was pleasant – it is not a common anchorage in these parts due to the prevailing strong trade winds that persist in this region.

Enjoying East Hope Island

On the morning of the 3^rd September we departed from Cape Trib. to Hope Islands which is to be our home for the next couple of nights.  The entry from the south into East Hope is a bit interesting as there are a few bommies to avoid however, once into the anchorage we were lucky enough to have our choice of two moorings to pick up.  There is plenty of bird life on East Hope and also plenty to see under the water so we had plenty to keep us entertained for our stay.  We were also joined in the anchorage by the MY Lauriana who were very kind to share some of their excellent homemade brew!



Cairn Reef

As we have some good weather forecast, and as we are not ones not to miss an opportunity, we decide to head over to Cairns Reef on the morning of the 5^th September for the next two nights.  Not many people go to Cairns Reef as it is in the shape of a big U and it is around 8NM from the entrance upwind to the head of the reef where the best anchorage is located.  We were glad we made the effort as we again enjoyed some excellent snorkelling and were lucky enough to have several Manta Rays lingering around the boat for much of our stay.  We also went for a shore party during low tide and saw a plethora of wild life in the shallows including huge fish (have no idea as to what type), plenty of turtles and quite a number of small Black Tipped Reef Sharks that seemed very interested in my feet while I was towing the dinghy along behind. 

After our excellent adventures at Cairns Reef we are up early on the morning of the7th as we have a long day ahead to reach Cape Flattery which is around 52NM.  It is a great day for a sail with around 20knts blowing from behind as is standard in these latitudes.  We made good time and arrived at Cape Flattery at 17:00H.  Cape Flattery is apparently the site for the largest Silica Mine in the world so there is plenty going on ashore and it made a good anchorage for the night before the last leg of our trip north to Lizard Island.

As the weather is still being kind to us we decide rather than heading straight to Lizard we might take a detour out to the outer reef.  We were hoping to stop in at the Cod Hole however, when we arrived we found that the public moorings were not there anymore - we think as a result of cyclone Ita that went through earlier this year, and there was already a large dive boat in the anchorage so we didn’t feel all that comfortable so decided to head over to the nearby Cormorant Reef for an explore.   As we were not familiar with the reef we decided to anchor in the deep water on the western side of the reef rather than going in to the shallower water however, we had a couple of fantastic snorkels on the nearby bommies.  Mark reckons we had around 40mts visibility underwater and the diversity of fish and coral was amazing.  The fish are also huge which was great to see and they certainly showed no signs of any fear sharing their waters with us humans.

The Table of Knowledge with Bill and Sue

It was a bit hard to leave the outer reef but as we wanted to arrive at Lizard Island by dark we up anchored at 3pm and headed to LI.  Getting the anchor up wasn’t quite as easy as it should have been as we kind of hooked the chain on a bit of coral but after a bit of mucking around we finally freed ourselves and headed off.  We arrived at Lizard Island around 17:00h and were pleased to hear the dulcet tones of Bill from Dilligaf on VHF welcoming us into the anchorage and also inviting us into the beach for sundowners so it was quickly down with the anchor, drop the dinghy and on our way to the beach before you know it.  It was great to catch up with the Dilligaf’s again especially as they are heading south tomorrow!  We also met up with our old friends Ann and Col from Annacol who have been here for around 7weeks – obviously they really like it here! 

Sunset at LI

Our position at LI is 14^o 39’.607S 145^o 27’.114E which is as far north as our travels will take us this season – it is all south from here on in with the main land on the starboard side!

Will report on our time at LI in the next BLOG



LI Resort - Post 'Ita'