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'



 

 

  
 
 

 

Cairns with a Hobart Interlude! (26th August)

After picking up the car we drove down to Mourilyan (south of Innisfail) to catch up with Margy and Joseph who have a cane property on the Moresby River.  I have know Margy since the early 60's so as you can imagine it is always great to catch up.  Margy has been running the café at the Sugar Museum but is about to give that away on the 30th August and don't think the days can come quick enough.




On the Thursday (14th August) we say our farewells and head back up to Cairns via Atherton, Mareeba and Kuranda which was a lovely drive apart from the rainy conditions.  The next few days we spend pottering around Cairns and were lucky enough to spend a few lazy afternoons sunning ourselves by the Esplanade Pool which was rather nice.  We also arranged another delivery of Coles Online and now the boat is full to the brim for our trip up to Lizard Island.

As strange as this may seem we have to take what we are now referring to as a 'reverse holiday' and head down south for 1 week.  The main reason is to attend Jonathan (my nephew) and Carmel's, wedding in Hobart.  On Tuesday the 19th we flew down to Melbourne and spent a couple of nights down at sunny Safety Beach before flying down to Hobart on the Friday for the wedding on Saturday.

Salamanca Market

On the morning of the wedding we went for a wander down to Salamanca Place and the market which was fantastic especially as a number of the stalls were selling local Tassie made produce or items.  It was then back to the hotel to get ready for the wedding which was quite an experience as we have not worn proper shoes or fancy clothes for a number of years now so we definitely were not in our natural habitat!.






The wedding was held at St Mary's Cathedral with the reception at MONA.  What a great day and to make it even better it is also a bit of a Hollamby family reunion which only happens about every 8-10 years as my brother and his wife live O/S. 

On the Sunday we went down to one of the local cafe's for the post wedding rehabilitation party which was a really nice way to spend the afternoon as we got to spend a bit more time with the family and also some of Jon and Carmel's friends which was a lot of fun..








After our goodbyes we are back to Melbourne for the night at Miss Amanda's who put us up for the night which was fantastic and also arranged for a bit of a dinner at the Wick with Miss Leapy and Al and Jude which was great.  Tuesday and we are up early to catch the flight back to Cairns - we were very happy to arrive to a warm sunny day and back to our normal attire of shorts and thongs!

Miss Lynda arrived on Wednesday and quickly settled in to the conditions!  Today we are off to do the last of the shopping and tomorrow we are on our way to Port Douglas before heading north to Lizard Island *yay*

As there is not a lot of internet access at LI we may not be able to do any blogging until we are on our way back south so if you don't see any new posts for a while you will know why.

Hinchenbrook to Cairns (12th August)

After spending some time at Orpheus Island in the Palm Group we departed from the anchorage at Little Pioneer Bay early on the morning of the 27th July in order to meet the high tide at Lucinda.  As with a lot of the east coast of Queensland the water is shallow and the entrance at Lucinda is even shallower than most so it is prudent to make your entrance at the end of the flooding tide.  The sugar wharf at Lucinda would have to be one of the longest in the world being 5.6kms in length and dipping 1.2mts over its length as it follows the curvature of the earth!

As per our earlier posts this trip we had plenty of calm weather so were very lucky to be able to explore the eastern side of the Hinchinbrook and now we are heading up into the Hinchinbrook Channel.  Our first stop is as Haycock Island which is very pretty.  The Hinchinbrook Channel has a bit of a reputation for having a good supply of crocs in the mangrove creeks however this didn't seem to deter some locals who spent most of the afternoon wake boarding around our yacht.

On the 28th (which I believe was a Monday) we motored up to the township of Cardwell and went ashore for a few supplies.  Again this whole area is shallow so we had to anchor Big Sally around 1.5NM off the pier and take the trip in on Little Sal - glad that we now have a 15HP motor on the back which meant the trip was a breeze.  Back in 2011 Cardwell, as with most of this area, was hit badly when Cyclone Yasi went through and it was great to see that the town is going through a bit of a re-build and looking really good again and thriving with plenty of the grey nomads passing through as the town is on the Bruce Highway.

 After the shop we head back south to anchor up in one of those croc infested mangrove creeks - the one we picked doesn't seem to have a name but provided a very calm anchorage and no crocs to be seen.

Muggy Muggy beach

On Tuesday it is up early as we are off to one of our favourite spots - Dunk Island.   Dunk was also badly damaged with Yasi and it was great to see that it is also recovering well 3 years later.  The resort has now been bought by a miner who has started doing some work round the place although to what level it will be developed to is still a bit unknown however, we were thrilled to see that the Beach Bar is back and open on weekends & public holidays and the walking tracks are all cleared again.

View from Mt Kootaloo

We stopped at Dunk for about four nights which included a Friday so that we could enjoy lunch at the Beach Bar - the best prawns ever!!! We also did the walk around the island including the trek to the lookout at Mt. Kootaloo, which has some great views, and lunch at Muggy Muggy Beach .

The Best Prawns!

Unfortunately the calm weather is about to end after around 4weeks (we can't really complain) so we figure it is time to start heading towards Cairns.  We dropped in at Mourilyan Harbour for the night which is always an interesting stop although there is not a lot there apart from the sugar loading wharf.   On the 3rd of August we headed into Cairns which will be Sally's home until the end of August when we continue the trek north to Lizard Island.

We are stopping at Cairns for a while as we are heading back south for a week (all the way to Hobart - Brrrrr) to attend my nephews wedding on the 23rd. 

There is plenty to do in Cairns and the place is really going off with plenty of tourists in town.  There are also plenty of international yachts in the marina including a number of yachts participating in the ARC Around the World Rally. Our stop in Cairns has also allowed us to get a few jobs done - one of the messy ones

was cleaning the BBQ - never a fun job although there were plenty of yacht owners that were very keen to employ my BBQ cleaning skills!   The other main job was to sort out the anchor winch which has been on suicide watch for the last few weeks.  We arranged a new solenoid switch however, this didn't seem to do much at all and after finding out that a new motor would be around 10weeks in the making we decided to remove the offending motor and take it up to the local auto electricians to see if he would fix the beast. Luckily it looks like we only had dirty brushes which were easily cleaned - unfortunately the re-installation of the offending unit was not quite so easy and Mark spent many hours stuck up in our anchor locker - not fun!


We are currently on board waiting for our Coles On Line delivery which is the big stock up before our trip to LI.  Tomorrow we are hiring a car for a few days and heading down to Mourilyan to catch up with some old cane cocky friends and also do a bit of sight seeing on the way.  We are flying out on Tuesday and will be back on board on the 26th.  Leapy Lynda is then joining us on the 27th and we will be heading off shortly after that for our first stop which will be either Yorkey's Knob or Port Douglas.