Since arriving in Oz we’ve sailed around the most southerly and northerly points of the mainland; roughly 2100nm/3800km, equivalent to an Atlantic crossing, but with a few reefs to dodge. We were lucky enough to do the southern bit twice. Anyhoo, now we’re in Queensland. Far North Queensland in fact.
Sailing in Queensland has been wonderful. From pretty, laidback Brisbane in the south to the stark croc country of Cape York and the Torres Strait in the north; the variety has been breathtaking.
We started at Iluka (in NSW) then up to Manly in Brisbane, around Moreton Bay, to Scarborough; Great Keppel Island via Rodds Bay, The Percy Islands, Whitsunday Islands, and on to Townsville to anti foul. Next Magnetic Island, Palm Islands, and Cairns. Then Lizard Island, Stanley Island, a pit stop at Escape River, then the Torres Strait Islands. It is there we finished our time in Australia. A bit of a whirlwind east coast cruise, but the cyclone season waits for no one.
NEW EXPERIENCES:
- Catching crabs. (coach Gary)
- Catching bait. (coach Fletch)
- Seeing a croc!
- Gutting and filleting my first fish!
- Seeing a hammerhead shark in a river mouth at night. He was mesmerising in the torch light from the bow of the boat; a rusty olive colour, about 2 long, with a distinct hammerhead. (or cephaofoil if you like) Unmistakable. It was hard to take my eyes off him.
- NOT swimming from the boat, or at all once we were north of the Palm Islands. Crocs and sharks are outside our current area of expertise, so we are staying well clear. But it’s so hot! 😢
- Eating a bit of bush food: Kapok flowers and a long leaved pig face were introduced to us by our knowledgeable boat neighbors on “On the Level.”(These guys were a wealth of information on all things fishing, cooking and growing edibles aboard, and FNQ flora and fauna, very generous with their equipment and knowledge, as well as great people to hang around with.)
- Prising oysters directly off the rocks.
- Taking the laundry to the laundromat IN A CAR! So much faster, and no lingering shoulder trenches from the weight of the bulging IKEA bags! Another nice boat neighbor. 😊 Aussie laundromats have been uniformly clean and cheap, but now it’s back to hand washing. I’m encouraging the Captain to pass up the nice (thick!)! polo shirts in favour of some easier to wash and dry options. But he loves them…
- Visiting FNQ and the Torres Strait Islands. The familiarity of the islands to the ear contributed to the buzz of visiting them. The furthest from Australia is Boigu Island, only 6km from Papua New Guinea! We anchored at Horn Island, and ferried across to Thursday Island. A visiting teacher we met over dinner enhanced our insight into island life, and was a very interesting woman to spend time with. And she helped with one last load of laundry!
BEST:
- Having family aboard. I just adored having my daughters, partners, and grandsons aboard.❤️ It made for a busy boat, and two broken toilets dulled the mood for a short time, but we’re all good sports and made the best of things. The little boys really loved the beach when we got there, and kept themselves busy on the boat. Do you know how many things you can make with pegs? More than you think!😂Just ask a 3 yo.🥰 They got used to all the dos and don’ts on the boat, and it was very nice to have a boat full of joy and energy. The sound of eager little footsteps in the morning always brings a smile.
- Seeing a whale surface at dusk next to our anchored boat at Tangalooma wrecks, Moreton Island. We’ve seen many whales, but this one surfacing so close, against a pink orange sunset shared with family was magical!
- Seeing my tough girls enjoy snorkeling when it was too cold for most, while I took the little boys up a VERY STEEP sandhill on Moreton Island. We had to use hands and feet, and made approximately 10cm progress for every 40cm attempted. It was tough for little legs, but Nate was like a steam train! In the end I had to stop him, because there was a real risk that he would topple right to the bottom, several hundred metres down. What a champ!😍
- Cruising the absolutely stunning Queensland coast and visiting many incredible islands along the way. The Great Barrier Reef generally provides protection from big swell, and the many reefs and island groups make for varied cruising and many protected anchorages along the way.
- Snorkelling over a giant clam garden at Orpheus Island. The clams were “planted” there in the 1970s as part of a research project and are now middle aged, measuring between half and one metre across. According to the research station on the island, they are killing each other because they are overcrowded and cannot all survive in the circumstances. Snorkelling over them in shallowish water invoked some involuntary breathing in, lest any low lying body parts got too close. It was fascinating to observe the huge velvety lips in muted shades of blue, green, yellow and brown clamping quietly shut as we approached.
- The Cairns festival. An incredible line up of events, including spectacular light displays and laser theatre on the leafy Esplanade. It was our first visit to Cairns and we loved the tropical vibe; the festival being a bonus. And, the number of ice cream shops per square kilometre is surely at a peak in Cairns!
- While in Cairns we met the Swedish sailors from “MajorTom” who make great videos on YouTube. They’ve sailed from Torshälla; a town quite close to where Magnus lives. We’ve loved their videos, and after watching so many had started to feel we “know them” a bit. Obviously this is not true, but we were able to meet them over a sundowner and spent a very pleasant evening talking cruising, partly in “Swinglish!”
- A fantastic fishing day with Fletch. First we tried to get the hang of throwing a cast net to catch bait in the shallows under his tutelage, and Magnus was quite good at it after a couple of trys. He caught little mullet and some butter fish; the latter thrown back in because they’re too spiky to bother with. Next we went out in his hard dinghy, a safer option than our inflatable when fishing, considering the sharks that are attracted to the hooked fish. We could see quite clearly on the sounder the two sharks hanging around under the boat. Fletch managed to pull up 2 nice emperor fish, but 4 more were snatched by the sharks before either he or Magnus could get them into the boat. One of the sharks was a whopper according to Fletch who saw him . He described him as being the girth of a 44 gallon drum, 2 feet between the eyes, and longer than the dinghy. 🥹 This monster shot out from under the boat and snatched a nice fish that Fletch was just about to land. It put the wind up all of us, even the tough Queenslander! After a few more shark snatches we moved on. Our fishing had just become shark feeding in the end! Not to be deterred, Magnus went out with Fletch another day and caught a beautiful coral trout.
- Visiting Magnetic Island with friends aboard. Horseshoe Bay is a picturesque anchorage and the little rolliness just reminded us that we were on a boat. It was however, nausea inducing for kind guests who stay downstairs making breakfast whilst already feeling a little green! Thanks Wendy 😊 (and Per, who had to take over proceedings part way through!)
- Another “best” is that it is now warm enough to really enjoy the cruising life again. ☀️
WORST:
- A stealth sandfly attack in a boat yard in Townsville. We were minding our own business, finishing off a coat of antifoul in the afternoon, and didn’t realise we were being partially devoured by these little b@*tards! Bonnie was helping us, and the three of us had itchy welts for weeks, which significantly affected sleep for the first few nights. I still have obvious remnants 6 weeks later. 😠Lesson learned.
- This is not really a “worst”, rather an anomaly. Our only stop in the renowned Whitsunday Islands was a complete non event in terms of expectations one might have. You know, white sand beaches, cyan water, swaying palm trees…. However, as it transpired, we anchored in howling wind, slept, and woke to blinding rain. This kept up for the whole day, and we did not leave the boat. We could barely see the nearby island! The next day we left early, having had a short experience of the Whitsundays quite contrary to the one that tourist brochures espouse! 😂
FUNNIEST:
- Pleading with Bonnie to jump out of the dinghy as we approached a (much) muddier than expected shore. I don’t blame her for her reticence; she ended up almost knee deep in silky mud, but there was nothing else for it. Lara had the boys, and I was driving so…. she was a good sport, and we managed to get the dinghy up far enough to get the littlies to the sand. We owe her one.
- Chuckling at myself delightedly wearing a pair of “beach shoes” as daywear, boat shoes, walking shoes, anything really, and considering them quite a useful addition to my (extensive 🫢) shoe wardrobe. This is only funny because I used to buy them for the kids, but couldn’t bring myself to wear them personally. Little did I know that one day I would be exuberantly prancing around in a striking royal blue pair from Mitre 10, a complete convert!😂 (Very handy things for avoiding injuries from sharp things on the sea floor too!)
FOOD AND BEVVY HIGHLIGHTS:
Most of our highlights were fruit of the sea;
- Oysters eaten straight from the rock on Stanley Island in FNQ.
- Barbecued lobster on the beach with other boats.
- Painted lobster donated by our neighbors. A beautiful creature.
- Coral trout provided by the Captain. The subsequent sashimi was divine.
- Kapok flowers and pig face. The pig face leaves are super salty, and often used in place of capers, and the kapok flowers have pretty yellow petals with a mild, hard to describe botanical flavour.
- A shared feast aboard “On The Level.” Shay and Fletch hosted us and another boat and we shared a wonderful array of dishes and conversational topics. There is so much to learn from others! Our meal included oysters, fish, chicken, tacos, and dumplings…. and cake.
- Crabs! First caught and prepared by the talented Restaurant Affinity, and then by Bon and Craig on Almazul. Delish.
- A fabulous lunch at the home of Shaggers Ian and Carolyn in Iluka – all home grown. Their garden was astonishing, a cornucopia of fruit, veggies and nuts. We ate like kings straight from the garden, then at the table; creamy scallops and the best lemon meringue pie I’ve had in ages. We left full, happy, and in possession of gifted avocados and macadamias.
- Fun lunch at Little Ship Club on North Stradbroke Island with our buddies on Affinity, the fam, and another boat. The laid back island vibe, chill music, rolling lawns and playground for the littlies meant that everyone had a good time. It’s important to pick the tide though!
- Elegant cocktails at Ardo Rooftop in Townsville with B and C and W and P. Beautifully presented, with complex flavours, they were a perfect sunset tipple. Mine was elderflower/lemongrassy, and Magnus tried a more citrus summery sup. I think the infrequency of treats like this adds to the pleasure one derives from them. Cruising life!
- Dinner at Wild Rice in Townsville. Between our group we ate widely of the Thai Laos cuisine. The chicken massaman, pineapple fried rice (served in a pineapple) and red iced tea were particular highlights.
BOAT WORK:
- Boat lifted, cleaned and antifouled. This was done with Bonnie’s help, and the comfort of staying with Bon and Craig instead of in the boat yard was wonderful! Not to mention their company and hospitality. 😍
- Cutlass bearing changed.
- Zinc anode replaced.
- Water pump replaced.
- Plugged the leaking hot water tank, to repair/replace at a later date.
- Found and fixed a freshwater leak from a deck drain.
- SEVERAL toilet repairs!
- Purchased second new gas bottle to replace European camping gas bottles.
THE SWEDISH STUDENT:
Jag hade en del intressant lyssningsträning nyligen när vi träffade major Tom. Naturligtvis talades mycket engelska också, och Swinglish! De kommer från Torshälla och har seglat till många av samma platser som vi har. De planerar också att segla till Indonesien härnäst. Vi hoppas få träffa dem där också.
