Cairns

There were only 2 stops from Hinchinbrook Island to Cairns: Kent Island, which is part of the North Barnard Group, and Fitzroy Island. As we approached Fitzroy Island we heard a VHF message from an Australian warship to "All Ships": "Live weapons practice will begin at 12oo hours..." It wasn't long before we saw the ships. We noticed a ship guarding the entrance channel to Fitzroy and another one guarding the exit channel, so we thought it best to anchor immediately. That night 6 warships anchored behind us.


The next morning at 6.00am, 5 of the ships were on the move. We decided to escape to Cairns. An amazing coincidence occurred next. We heard the British yacht, Gryphon II, call the marina. We had left NZ on the same day but had taken different routes to Oz. Gryphon had been to Fiji and Vanuatu, and here we were arriving at Cairns within half an hour of each other! Incredible! It was good to catch up with Chris and Lorraine again. We also met a number of yachts taking part in the Sail Indonesia Rally at a Pot Luck supper the next evening. Cairns is busy and bustling with many tourists arriving to take boat trips out to the Great Barrier Reef. We are waiting for a parcel to arrive from England but two nights in the most expensive marina so far in Oz, was enough. We motored down the creeks and anchored for 2 nights in Garrison Creek, only 2.5 miles upstream from Cairns, but it might have been in another country, so quiet was it in comparison. No crocodiles were seen but we didn't swim - just in case.

Hinchinbrook Island

After Cape Bowling Green, we went to the marina at Townsville. Our daughter, Emily, spent some time at the university here when she was researching her thesis. We found ourselves tied to the fuel berth, next to a seaplane! We had to be careful not to touch its wings as we berthed. I walked to the local Bilo supermarket for some supplies, while Jeremy filled up with diesel, water and cooking gas. We spoke to the crew on a yacht called "The Road" that was anchored nearby. The last time we saw them was in Panama. That night we anchored in Horseshoe Bay, Magnetic Island. Our next daysail took us to Orpheus Island where we snorkelled over the coral bommies in Little Pioneer Bay. The "stinger" season is meant to be over in May but we were wary anyway and looked out for each other in case there were any crocodiles or sharks.

The next day we arrived at the very beautiful Hinchinbrook Island. This had been the subject for Emily's thesis, for which she received a First. It really is a special place with magnificent mountains fringed by extensive mangrove forests. We passed a 3 mile long bulk sugar loading conveyor wharf as we approached Hinchinbrook Channel. Later we motored along some of the creeks and spent a calm, quiet night in Gayundah Creek, which you can see in the photo. No swimming for us in this crocodile habitat. We didn't see any but we did have to put our insect nets on early to escape the mosquitos and sandflies. We're now anchored off Kent Island in the North Barnard Isles about 70 miles south of Cairns.

Gladstone to Kent Island

After more than a week in Gladstone, either in the marina or hauled out in Mipec Boatyard, a new cutlass bearing was fitted and we were on our way again. We tried to make up for lost time by sailing non-stop for two nights. Our destination was Scawfell Island in the Cumberland Isles. We motored in with all electronics on at 4.00am and anchored. Two day sails later we were in the Whitsunday Islands. The photo shows the beautiful Cid Harbour anchorage close to Whitsunday Island. We had great sailing weather and continued north up the coast of Queensland, stopping overnight at Bowen Boat Harbour and Cape Upstart.

Here you can see the smoky sunset caused by the massive sugar cane industry near Ayr, just south of Townsville. There was not a cloud in the sky until chimneys started belching out smoke resembling a volcanic eruption. The Australian Government is keen to introduce a carbon tax but opposition to this is strong. Our next anchorage was at the well named Cape Bowling Green. Captain Cook chose well when he named this long, low strip of sand and shrub. We had to anchor twice. We'd put down 2 anchors to keep us heading into the choppy tide waves but one dragged. All was well the second time and we were more comfortable further inshore.

Australia!

Sorry to keep you all in suspense, but it was a while before we could set up a reliable internet connection. We are safe in Gladstone Marina, Queensland. Leaving NZ, it was our intention to sail to Brisbane but the winds had a different idea. After 11 days of sailing on every point of sail with too much wind and no wind, we arrived in Bundaberg on Sat 30th April. Customs and Quarantine met us and we were charged double the usual rate ($618AU) because it was the weekend. It was also a holiday weekend so we could do nothing until the following Tuesday. Straight away we set ourselves up with an Oz mobile phone SIM and a mobile broadband. The latter did not work. We booked our trip to Sydney and travelled there by Tilt train and plane - a 12 hour journey. We had 2 nights in a hotel and 2 nights with Jeremy's uncle and aunt, Peter and Judy. Here I am at Sydney Harbour with the famous bridge in the background.

We boarded an open top bus and toured the sights taking in the Opera House and Bondi Beach. We had lunch sitting in the sunshine, the Opera House behind us and the Bridge in front of us. Wow!
The next day we spent the morning in the Sydney Museum and learnt that one of the first fleet of ships carrying convicts was built in Sunderland, Jeremy's home town. Soon it was time to take the ferry across the harbour to Manly to meet Peter and Judy. Fellow sailors, Jonny and Kate sailed from the UK to Oz over a year ago. We tried to meet up with them as they also live in Manly, but sadly it was not to be. Our schedule was tight and we needed to spend time with Peter and Judy as we had not seen them for 30 years.

Here they are sitting on "The Whale" on the headland near their home. They were excellent hosts and made us feel very welcome. We were introduced to Jeremy's cousin, Louise, her husband Charles and son, Andrew. Andrew was attacked by a shark a couple of years ago, while he was out surfing with his father. He still bears the scars, but has not been put off surfing.

Once we were back in Bundaberg, we provisioned Sal Darago and set off north, day sailing along the coast. On our second day the propellor started vibrating. This had happened while we were crossing the Tasman Sea. We anchored and Jeremy braved the possibility of salt water crocodiles lurking in the water, to go over the side and check the prop. He quickly confirmed that the cutlass bearing was working loose. We decided to turn around and go back 35 miles to Gladstone Marina. We are to be lifted out on Tuesday 17th May to replace the cutlass bearing on the prop shaft. The last one was engineered in Panama. The weather has been brilliant recently, but Oz is much busier and more expensive than NZ.

Goodbye NZ

Today is our last day in New Zealand. We have had a brilliant time here and thoroughly recommend the people and country to other travellers. We are waiting in Opua Marina to see Customs on Tuesday 19 April. Today we saw our new wind speed indicator hit 50 knots!! But everyone says it will be much quieter tomorrow. We hope so as we have a 1299 nautical mile journey to the coast of Australia (we intend to make landfall between Brisbane and Gladstone, but the wind will decide where. And then we need to learn a whole new language - Oz! The picture is the sun setting from our anchorage in the beautiful Cavalli Islands. Thank you NZ for being so welcoming.

Bay of Islands Revisited

The trip to the Bay of Islands was harder than it ought to have been. We stopped at Tutukaka Harbour to let ex-Cyclone Bune pass. Unfortunately, Bune left a 4.5m swell, which entered the "swell free" harbour and gave us 2.5m waves on anchor. Just after midnight when we had 2 feet of water under the keels, we had to re-anchor - THREE times! No damage was done and a couple of days later we were enjoying a beautiful walk to Cape Brett, just behind Jeremy's left shoulder. On our way out of Whangamumu Harbour, just south of Cape Brett, Jeremy caught a kahawai fish, possibly the biggest fish he'd ever caught. We shared it for 2 lovely meals.

We sheltered from 40knot winds in Opua Marina for a couple of days. Here we met with old friends. I needed to have my eyes examined as I'd been having some trouble for about 6 weeks. The only opthalamists this far north was in Kerikeri. We negotiated 3 or 4 miles of river, the echo sounder giving us 1.6 metres to a huge 6.0 metres all at high tide. (We need 1.0metre to float). We arrived in the pool below the Kerikeri Stone Store (built in 1836 and the oldest stone building in NZ). My eye test was successful and it appears that I now have "floaters" which will remain with me, but not affect my eyesight - the joys of getting older.

Sailing again

Here is Sal Darago all ready to be launched. For the past month Jeremy has been hard at work repairing and renewing the equipment on board. At times this has been quite frustrating as some suppliers have not met their promised dates. SD now has new rudder bearings, a new log, a new wind sender unit, new antifoul, a new solar panel attached to the backstays(can you see it?) and her new sails which were put away in La Palma are now up. Kathy meantime was at home visiting family. She saw Emily and Ben, Simon and Erin, Gavin and Eileen and, of course, Ellen, Sara and Pat, as well as most of the IOM Denham gang. It was a whistle stop tour which included a brief visit to Lancashire where she saw Ruth and Frank and stayed with Pat C. On her return she was allowed two days to adjust to NZ time. On Thursday 24 March, Sal Darago was launched from Norsand Boat Yard. She leaked a little from the toilet cock, but considering the number of through hull fittings which had been removed, repaired or replaced, that was not bad. It then rained for about four days. That was when the leak through the stern rails' feet was noticed. We dodged into Marsden Cove Marina and replaced the sealant on the offending feet. Today is our 36th Wedding Anniversary. We celebrated by going out to sea - well Pacific Ocean really. It was a lovely day, but the seas were confused and lumpy, 2.5 metres lumpy! Sal Darago safely took us to Tutukaka Harbour where we will stay for a couple of days to let Tropical Storm Bune pass by - apparently quite close. Here's to an enjoyable season's sailing to everyone.