Start Loc: Port Douglas (16o 29.61'S, 145o 27.54'E)
Narrative: Unfortunately we didn't find a crocodile, which the kids were very disappointed about. I told them we would have to pull out the crocodile photos from when we did a Daintree River cruise a few years ago, but they don't remember it so apparently it doesn't cut it. We did achieve everything else we needed to though, including 100m of 60lb line and a new lure. Once we finish the spanish mackerel we will start trolling again.
We raised the anchor this morning at 8:03am and moved the short distance to the fuel wharf. We topped up the diesel tank, got 20L of ULP and filled up the forward water tank.
Refuelled: 34.70L @ 149.9c/L = $52.02
Economy since 13 Nov: 34.70L for 19 hr 54 min = 1.74L/hr
Economy overall: 424.97L for 224 hr 39 min = 1.89L/hr
We departed the fuel wharf at 8:40am and motored out of Port Douglas. The forecast was for winds E/SE at 15-20kts. We were hoping for more E than SE, and around 15kts. As we rounded Island Point, what we got was SE winds at 10kts; perfectly what we didn't want for our SE course. We motored SE for a bit to down near Wentworth Reef, then raised the sails and sailed close hauled ENE to take us out to sea. That then allowed us to tack and sail SSW for a while back in to the coast. The winds for this few hours stayed SE at 10kts, and we maintained 5kts over ground.
I decided it was then time to lower the sails, start the engine and power in the right direction to keep the miles ticking over, so we didn't get into Cairns as late as we got to Port Douglas. Once down near Double Island, the wind had swung more E, so we sailed NE for a bit to take us away from the coast. We then sailed south to the channel into Cairns. The wind picked up to 20kts during this leg, so we put a reef in the main and reduced head sail. We were secure in our berth t the marina by 5:00pm.
Port Douglas to Cairns by the rhumb line is about 37nm, but we had to cover 47nm. We averaged 5kts over ground.
The last thing we did was take the main sail off so we can take it in and get a sailmaker to do some preventative maintenance for us. It took us nearly an hour to do as we had to unthread the reefing lines and take the boom bag off to get the main off.
End Loc: Cairns (16o 55.15'S, 145o 46.87'E)
Distance run: 47nm (cumulative: 2016nm)
Engine hours: 4 hr, 03 min (cumulative: 33 hr, 15 min)
Wednesday 30 November 2011
Sunday 27 November 2011
27th November, 2011
Start Loc: Hope Islands (15o 43.84'S, 145o 27.37'E)
Narrative: What a long and slow day. We raised the anchor at 8:45am, picked our way through the coral and motored down the passage between the two islands. Once clear of all obstacles we had a look at raising sails. The winds were SE at around 15kts, whipping up seas of 2m. Unfortunately our course was SSE. We tried motor sailing to assist us so close to the wind, but the head sail was just flapping. We ended up dropping all sail, accepting that we would chew some fuel today, and motoring with the wind and waves virtually right on the nose. The 2m waves were also close together and the frequency meant even at 3kts we were coming down hard too often. Heather normally hates sailing close hauled, but in this case suggested it. We came off the wind to the east, winched on both sails nice and tight, and started our zigzag south.
We slowly beat our way south, sometimes with the motor to assist, always close hauled, and generally making about 5kts over ground. It was not much fun. Fortunately from about 3:00pm the wind started to switch more ESE, still at 10-15kts, and seas settled to 1-1.5m. Relatively it was much better and at least we were able to sail unassisted by the motor and make 6kts or so over ground.
We sailed through Penguin Channel between Cape Kimberley ans Snapper Island. As we passed the east end of the island we noticed a vacant public mooring buoy. We were tempted to take it up and spend the night there, but decided it was too exposed and that we would continue the 11nm or so into Port Douglas. It was actually a pleasant sail across the bay, as the sun went down and the day cooled off. We did this final stretch sailing between close hauled and a close reach, making about 6kts over ground. Seas were now only about 1m and I started to relax.
We entered the channel at 8:13pm, motored upstream, and anchored in the east-west stretch of Dickson Inlet at 8:25pm. We completed our post-sailing routine, mozzie proofed the boat, had a quick dinner (the kids had cereal, Heather had crackers, but I had mackerel mi goreng noodles) and packed the kids off to bed.
Hope Islands to Port Douglas by the rhumb line is about 48nm. We covered 60nm to get there, and took longer than planned(8-9 hours became almost 12 hours!).
We will relax here tomorrow; get some essential groceries to tide us over until Cairns (milk, bread, etc), get some more fishing line and lures, and search for a crocodile.
End Loc: Port Douglas (16o 29.61'S, 145o 27.54'E)
Distance run: 60nm (cumulative: 1969nm)
Engine hours: 3 hr, 15 min (cumulative: 29 hr, 12 min)
Narrative: What a long and slow day. We raised the anchor at 8:45am, picked our way through the coral and motored down the passage between the two islands. Once clear of all obstacles we had a look at raising sails. The winds were SE at around 15kts, whipping up seas of 2m. Unfortunately our course was SSE. We tried motor sailing to assist us so close to the wind, but the head sail was just flapping. We ended up dropping all sail, accepting that we would chew some fuel today, and motoring with the wind and waves virtually right on the nose. The 2m waves were also close together and the frequency meant even at 3kts we were coming down hard too often. Heather normally hates sailing close hauled, but in this case suggested it. We came off the wind to the east, winched on both sails nice and tight, and started our zigzag south.
We slowly beat our way south, sometimes with the motor to assist, always close hauled, and generally making about 5kts over ground. It was not much fun. Fortunately from about 3:00pm the wind started to switch more ESE, still at 10-15kts, and seas settled to 1-1.5m. Relatively it was much better and at least we were able to sail unassisted by the motor and make 6kts or so over ground.
We sailed through Penguin Channel between Cape Kimberley ans Snapper Island. As we passed the east end of the island we noticed a vacant public mooring buoy. We were tempted to take it up and spend the night there, but decided it was too exposed and that we would continue the 11nm or so into Port Douglas. It was actually a pleasant sail across the bay, as the sun went down and the day cooled off. We did this final stretch sailing between close hauled and a close reach, making about 6kts over ground. Seas were now only about 1m and I started to relax.
We entered the channel at 8:13pm, motored upstream, and anchored in the east-west stretch of Dickson Inlet at 8:25pm. We completed our post-sailing routine, mozzie proofed the boat, had a quick dinner (the kids had cereal, Heather had crackers, but I had mackerel mi goreng noodles) and packed the kids off to bed.
Hope Islands to Port Douglas by the rhumb line is about 48nm. We covered 60nm to get there, and took longer than planned(8-9 hours became almost 12 hours!).
We will relax here tomorrow; get some essential groceries to tide us over until Cairns (milk, bread, etc), get some more fishing line and lures, and search for a crocodile.
End Loc: Port Douglas (16o 29.61'S, 145o 27.54'E)
Distance run: 60nm (cumulative: 1969nm)
Engine hours: 3 hr, 15 min (cumulative: 29 hr, 12 min)
Saturday 26 November 2011
26th November, 2011
Start Loc: Cape Bedford (15o 13.90'S, 145o 19.48'E)
Narrative: We dragged anchor yesterday evening. It was blowing a gale and a bit rainy, so we were all downstairs. Haydee went into the cockpit to set the table for dinner and said, "Ummm ... I think we might be dragging anchor." I went up to have a look and sure enough, we were 1.7nm further from the cape than when we anchored! In a little over three hours! We did 34 minutes on the engine just to move back in and make sure the anchor was set. One of the problems we had was that there were no handy visual references to see if we were dragging when we dropped the anchor. I used the GPS the second time, keeping an eye on speed over ground. We ended up leaving central navigation turned on all night so that we could have the anchor alarm set, as well as a bearing to a light we could see on a reef about 8nm away. We didn't move overnight, but I was up plenty of times to check.
I was wide awake well before the rest of the family, so after losing two lots of tackle yesterday I made up a new single strand steel wire trace and rigged my heavy rod for trolling.
We raised the anchor at 8:38am and motor sailed around Cape Bedford. The wind was ESE at around 15kts. We motor sailed SE to clear South Cape Bedford, and then came off the wind a bit sailing SSE close hauled with one reef in the main and 110% head sail. The wind varied between 10-15kts, so we made 5.5-7kts over ground, averaging around 5.6kts over ground. This was not too bad given we were close hauled and on the boat's least preferred port tack (we would have an extra knot of speed in the same conditions close hauled on a starboard tack).
We put a lure out the back once we cleared South Cape Bedford and at around 10:30am we had a strike and hook up. This time we landed a good spanish mackerel; 105cm long and 6.5kg.
We were overtaken by HMAS Melville (never heard of it, but googled it and found out is a hydrographic vessel, so I am a fan) as we came level with Cooktown. We passed Bee Reef and dropped sail 1.5nm north of Hope Islands. There were three boats near Hope Island East for only two public moorings, so as we motored in Heather prepared an anchor buoy to allow us to pull the anchor up head first if it got snagged. As we weaved our way through the reef Heather noticed the public mooring buoy we were on last time we were here was vacant (two of the boats were anchored), so we took that up at 3:10pm.
Tomorrow we will head into Port Douglas. One of the aims is to head up the creek in the dinghy and find a croc for the kids; another is to set up a few things (sail maker, freezer, etc) for when we head to Cairns on Tuesday.
End Loc: Hope Islands (15o 43.84'S, 145o 27.37'E)
Distance run: 35nm (cumulative: 1909nm)
Engine hours: 3 hr, 03 min (cumulative: 25 hr, 57 min)
Narrative: We dragged anchor yesterday evening. It was blowing a gale and a bit rainy, so we were all downstairs. Haydee went into the cockpit to set the table for dinner and said, "Ummm ... I think we might be dragging anchor." I went up to have a look and sure enough, we were 1.7nm further from the cape than when we anchored! In a little over three hours! We did 34 minutes on the engine just to move back in and make sure the anchor was set. One of the problems we had was that there were no handy visual references to see if we were dragging when we dropped the anchor. I used the GPS the second time, keeping an eye on speed over ground. We ended up leaving central navigation turned on all night so that we could have the anchor alarm set, as well as a bearing to a light we could see on a reef about 8nm away. We didn't move overnight, but I was up plenty of times to check.
I was wide awake well before the rest of the family, so after losing two lots of tackle yesterday I made up a new single strand steel wire trace and rigged my heavy rod for trolling.
We raised the anchor at 8:38am and motor sailed around Cape Bedford. The wind was ESE at around 15kts. We motor sailed SE to clear South Cape Bedford, and then came off the wind a bit sailing SSE close hauled with one reef in the main and 110% head sail. The wind varied between 10-15kts, so we made 5.5-7kts over ground, averaging around 5.6kts over ground. This was not too bad given we were close hauled and on the boat's least preferred port tack (we would have an extra knot of speed in the same conditions close hauled on a starboard tack).
We put a lure out the back once we cleared South Cape Bedford and at around 10:30am we had a strike and hook up. This time we landed a good spanish mackerel; 105cm long and 6.5kg.
We were overtaken by HMAS Melville (never heard of it, but googled it and found out is a hydrographic vessel, so I am a fan) as we came level with Cooktown. We passed Bee Reef and dropped sail 1.5nm north of Hope Islands. There were three boats near Hope Island East for only two public moorings, so as we motored in Heather prepared an anchor buoy to allow us to pull the anchor up head first if it got snagged. As we weaved our way through the reef Heather noticed the public mooring buoy we were on last time we were here was vacant (two of the boats were anchored), so we took that up at 3:10pm.
Tomorrow we will head into Port Douglas. One of the aims is to head up the creek in the dinghy and find a croc for the kids; another is to set up a few things (sail maker, freezer, etc) for when we head to Cairns on Tuesday.
End Loc: Hope Islands (15o 43.84'S, 145o 27.37'E)
Distance run: 35nm (cumulative: 1909nm)
Engine hours: 3 hr, 03 min (cumulative: 25 hr, 57 min)
Friday 25 November 2011
25th November, 2011
Start Loc: Lizard Island (14o 39.79'S, 145o 27.08'E)
Narrative: Our time at Lizard Island over the last few days was magnificent. The place is amazing. On Tuesday Haydee, Cameron and I walked to Cook's Look. Heather dropped us at the beach and we headed off at 8:50am. It took us 70 minutes to walk up, including stopping at the signs and outlooks on the way, plus a couple of rest stops (it was already 30 degrees when we stepped off). We signed the visitors book at the top, took a photo of the kids in front of the cairn, and snapped a few photos of the view. After 20 minutes at the top it took us 45 minutes to walk back down. The track was well marked and easy in most places, and the kids agreed the two and a quarter hours was worth the experience.
The rest of Tuesday was spent with the kids doing their schoolwork, some lazy reading, swimming and snorkeling. Late afternoon we took the dinghy around to have a look at Turtle Beach and Mermaid Cove, and decided we would come back to Turtle Beach for a swim. We then joined a smaller group than yesterday on the beach for sundowners. We chatted with Colin and Ally from Indigo who told us their day trip to the outer ribbon reefs was not very enjoyable as they hit the reef and took 90 minutes to float off. They put some decent scratches on one skeg (Indigo is a Seawind 1000) and some pretty bad damage to one rudder, which also knocked the steering cables off that quadrant, so sailed back with one rudder. The quadrant is in a small area that Colin can't get to properly, so Cameron and Haydee offered their assistance. We ran the engine for 1 hour on Tuesday.
On Wednesday we took the dinghy around to the Australian Museum's Lizard Island Research Station (LIRS). It is staffed permanently by four people; two directors (both academics) and a maintenance couple. (The maintenance job is six months on, six months off and the couple that do the summer months October to March are retiring in March 2012. They will advertise for for replacements around March next year. Hmmmmm...) We watched a DVD in the library that told us all about what happens at the station, and then had a look around. One of the researchers grabbed us and asked if we would like to see some baby coral. We went into a lab and he told us a bit about his research. It was all very interesting. After LIRS we took the dinghy a bit further around the island and had a quick look at Blue Lagoon before heading back to the boat for lunch.
After lunch we went and helped Colin. Cam couldn't quite get the cables back on the steering quadrant, so I squeezed in and finished it off. That done, the kids and I went ashore. I showed them the treasure chest and visitors book, we had a look at the bore water pump, and then walked around to have a look at some ruins referred to as Mrs Watson's House but some evidence suggests it is not. The kids then showed me the cubby house they inherited from the kids that left on Tuesday on Footprints. After a quick snorkel, we headed back to the boat and got ready to go to the Marlin Bar near the resort for a drink. We finished a long day with dinner back on the boat. We also turned the freezer off on Wednesday. It had been running more and more to maintain -10 degrees, and in the last couple of days was not able to maintain that temperature. Rather than waste power we turned it off and will get it looked at in Cairns. I suspect it is a gas issue, but it is only six months old so there shouldn't be a problem.
Thursday was my birthday. The kids went ashore and hid some presents, then took me ashore and gave me a treasure map to find them. Indigo beached herself on the ebb tide and Colin put two screws through the rudder to help hold it together until he gets back to Port Douglas and can have her hauled out and repaired. After lunch we took the dinghy and had a swim and a snorkel at Turtle Beach and Mermaid Cove. We ran the engine for 34 minutes to warm up water for showers (and to put some charge in the batteries). We again finished the day swapping stories with other yachties at the Marlin Bar.
After a bit of a sleep in for most this morning, we had breakfast and prepared the boat to depart Lizard Island and commence our trip south. We raised the anchor at 9:04am, motored out of Watson's Bay and down the east side of the island. At the south east corner of the island we raised sail and set a course for Cape Bedford.
The wind was mainly ESE at around 15kts. Our southerly heading had us sailing mainly on a close reach. We started with two reefs in the main and 110% head sail, but I soon shook one reef out of the main, and later went to full head sail. Once we were abeam Cape Flattery and clear of the green zone around Lizard Island, we put a lure out the back. Within 15 minutes we had a hook up but it resulted in a snap off soon after, losing fish, lure, and trace. I rigged the line again and put another lure out. It soon had two strikes, but no hook up. It went quiet for a bit until we were south of Low Wooded Island and then we got another hook up. The line was rapidly running off the reel, so I didn't finish heaving to before I gave the helm to Heather and went for the reel. I got to it just before it ran out of line; there was a half second pause and then the line snapped with a twang. This time I lost the fish, lure, trace and all my line. The way it ran suggests something big, but we will never know...
We generally made 4.5-6kts through the water, and 5.5-7kts over ground, averaging 6.2kts over ground for the trip. Cape Bedford is normally visible "in average conditions" from 25nm. There was a heavy haze today and we could not make out the cape until we were 5nm away. We kept a constant watch for ships to make sure one could not sneak up on us from out of the haze. We anchored in the lee of Cape Bedford in 2.8m of water at 3:25pm. Overall, it was not a bad sail for our first day heading south.
End Loc: Cape Bedford (15o 13.90'S, 145o 19.48'E)
Distance run: 39nm (cumulative: 1874nm)
Engine hours: 1 hr, 22 min (cumulative: 22 hr, 54 min)
Narrative: Our time at Lizard Island over the last few days was magnificent. The place is amazing. On Tuesday Haydee, Cameron and I walked to Cook's Look. Heather dropped us at the beach and we headed off at 8:50am. It took us 70 minutes to walk up, including stopping at the signs and outlooks on the way, plus a couple of rest stops (it was already 30 degrees when we stepped off). We signed the visitors book at the top, took a photo of the kids in front of the cairn, and snapped a few photos of the view. After 20 minutes at the top it took us 45 minutes to walk back down. The track was well marked and easy in most places, and the kids agreed the two and a quarter hours was worth the experience.
The rest of Tuesday was spent with the kids doing their schoolwork, some lazy reading, swimming and snorkeling. Late afternoon we took the dinghy around to have a look at Turtle Beach and Mermaid Cove, and decided we would come back to Turtle Beach for a swim. We then joined a smaller group than yesterday on the beach for sundowners. We chatted with Colin and Ally from Indigo who told us their day trip to the outer ribbon reefs was not very enjoyable as they hit the reef and took 90 minutes to float off. They put some decent scratches on one skeg (Indigo is a Seawind 1000) and some pretty bad damage to one rudder, which also knocked the steering cables off that quadrant, so sailed back with one rudder. The quadrant is in a small area that Colin can't get to properly, so Cameron and Haydee offered their assistance. We ran the engine for 1 hour on Tuesday.
On Wednesday we took the dinghy around to the Australian Museum's Lizard Island Research Station (LIRS). It is staffed permanently by four people; two directors (both academics) and a maintenance couple. (The maintenance job is six months on, six months off and the couple that do the summer months October to March are retiring in March 2012. They will advertise for for replacements around March next year. Hmmmmm...) We watched a DVD in the library that told us all about what happens at the station, and then had a look around. One of the researchers grabbed us and asked if we would like to see some baby coral. We went into a lab and he told us a bit about his research. It was all very interesting. After LIRS we took the dinghy a bit further around the island and had a quick look at Blue Lagoon before heading back to the boat for lunch.
After lunch we went and helped Colin. Cam couldn't quite get the cables back on the steering quadrant, so I squeezed in and finished it off. That done, the kids and I went ashore. I showed them the treasure chest and visitors book, we had a look at the bore water pump, and then walked around to have a look at some ruins referred to as Mrs Watson's House but some evidence suggests it is not. The kids then showed me the cubby house they inherited from the kids that left on Tuesday on Footprints. After a quick snorkel, we headed back to the boat and got ready to go to the Marlin Bar near the resort for a drink. We finished a long day with dinner back on the boat. We also turned the freezer off on Wednesday. It had been running more and more to maintain -10 degrees, and in the last couple of days was not able to maintain that temperature. Rather than waste power we turned it off and will get it looked at in Cairns. I suspect it is a gas issue, but it is only six months old so there shouldn't be a problem.
Thursday was my birthday. The kids went ashore and hid some presents, then took me ashore and gave me a treasure map to find them. Indigo beached herself on the ebb tide and Colin put two screws through the rudder to help hold it together until he gets back to Port Douglas and can have her hauled out and repaired. After lunch we took the dinghy and had a swim and a snorkel at Turtle Beach and Mermaid Cove. We ran the engine for 34 minutes to warm up water for showers (and to put some charge in the batteries). We again finished the day swapping stories with other yachties at the Marlin Bar.
After a bit of a sleep in for most this morning, we had breakfast and prepared the boat to depart Lizard Island and commence our trip south. We raised the anchor at 9:04am, motored out of Watson's Bay and down the east side of the island. At the south east corner of the island we raised sail and set a course for Cape Bedford.
The wind was mainly ESE at around 15kts. Our southerly heading had us sailing mainly on a close reach. We started with two reefs in the main and 110% head sail, but I soon shook one reef out of the main, and later went to full head sail. Once we were abeam Cape Flattery and clear of the green zone around Lizard Island, we put a lure out the back. Within 15 minutes we had a hook up but it resulted in a snap off soon after, losing fish, lure, and trace. I rigged the line again and put another lure out. It soon had two strikes, but no hook up. It went quiet for a bit until we were south of Low Wooded Island and then we got another hook up. The line was rapidly running off the reel, so I didn't finish heaving to before I gave the helm to Heather and went for the reel. I got to it just before it ran out of line; there was a half second pause and then the line snapped with a twang. This time I lost the fish, lure, trace and all my line. The way it ran suggests something big, but we will never know...
We generally made 4.5-6kts through the water, and 5.5-7kts over ground, averaging 6.2kts over ground for the trip. Cape Bedford is normally visible "in average conditions" from 25nm. There was a heavy haze today and we could not make out the cape until we were 5nm away. We kept a constant watch for ships to make sure one could not sneak up on us from out of the haze. We anchored in the lee of Cape Bedford in 2.8m of water at 3:25pm. Overall, it was not a bad sail for our first day heading south.
End Loc: Cape Bedford (15o 13.90'S, 145o 19.48'E)
Distance run: 39nm (cumulative: 1874nm)
Engine hours: 1 hr, 22 min (cumulative: 22 hr, 54 min)
21st November, 2011
Start Loc: Cape Flattery (14o 57.17'S, 145o 19.87'E)
Narrative: The swell started to come around the cape at about 6 o'clock this morning, and of course it was right on our beam. By 7 o'clock we had had enough of rolling and decided we would head off and have breakfast on the move. We raised the anchor at 7:45am and motored NNE until clear of the shoals running north off the cape, which also put us in clean air.
The wind was E at around 15kts and seas were about 1m. Our NNE heading had us sailing on a close reach, and under full sail we were generally making 5.5-6.5kts through the water and 7-8kts over ground. It was great sailing.
As Lizard Island grew larger, its satellite islands of South and Palfrey became distinguishable. These islands and surrounding coral form the lagoon anchorage on the south side of Lizard, which is where the Australian Museum research station is located. We sailed past them and the resort, dropped sail, and motored into Watson's Bay on the NW side of Lizard Island at 10:35am. We motored around the bay for a few minutes to select our anchorage amongst the 20 or so other boats in the bay, before dropping anchor at 10:43am in 3.5m of water. We were secure first time in good holding sand.
In a word, "spectacular". We all immediately agreed that the mix of reef, white sand and clear water make this an absolutely stunning place to stop. We swam and snorkeled the reef off the back of the boat, had lunch, then went ashore to have a quick look around. I found the start of the walks we want to do, and also found the "treasure chest" which has a visitors book and made an entry. We headed back to the boat to grab some snacks and drinks, then joined about 30 other people on the beach for sundowners.
Tomorrow we will do the walk up to Cook's Look (from where he confirmed his safe passage through the reef), and probably on Wednesday we will walk past the remains of Mrs Watson's house, past the airstrip and on to Blue Lagoon.
End Loc: Lizard Island (14o 39.79'S, 145o 27.08'E)
Distance run: 20nm (cumulative: 1835nm)
Engine hours: 1 hr, 23 min (cumulative: 19 hr, 58 min)
Narrative: The swell started to come around the cape at about 6 o'clock this morning, and of course it was right on our beam. By 7 o'clock we had had enough of rolling and decided we would head off and have breakfast on the move. We raised the anchor at 7:45am and motored NNE until clear of the shoals running north off the cape, which also put us in clean air.
The wind was E at around 15kts and seas were about 1m. Our NNE heading had us sailing on a close reach, and under full sail we were generally making 5.5-6.5kts through the water and 7-8kts over ground. It was great sailing.
As Lizard Island grew larger, its satellite islands of South and Palfrey became distinguishable. These islands and surrounding coral form the lagoon anchorage on the south side of Lizard, which is where the Australian Museum research station is located. We sailed past them and the resort, dropped sail, and motored into Watson's Bay on the NW side of Lizard Island at 10:35am. We motored around the bay for a few minutes to select our anchorage amongst the 20 or so other boats in the bay, before dropping anchor at 10:43am in 3.5m of water. We were secure first time in good holding sand.
In a word, "spectacular". We all immediately agreed that the mix of reef, white sand and clear water make this an absolutely stunning place to stop. We swam and snorkeled the reef off the back of the boat, had lunch, then went ashore to have a quick look around. I found the start of the walks we want to do, and also found the "treasure chest" which has a visitors book and made an entry. We headed back to the boat to grab some snacks and drinks, then joined about 30 other people on the beach for sundowners.
Tomorrow we will do the walk up to Cook's Look (from where he confirmed his safe passage through the reef), and probably on Wednesday we will walk past the remains of Mrs Watson's house, past the airstrip and on to Blue Lagoon.
End Loc: Lizard Island (14o 39.79'S, 145o 27.08'E)
Distance run: 20nm (cumulative: 1835nm)
Engine hours: 1 hr, 23 min (cumulative: 19 hr, 58 min)
Monday 21 November 2011
20th November, 2011
Start Loc: Cooktown (15o 27.68'S, 145o 14.78'E)
Narrative: We spent yesterday at Cooktown. We went ashore late morning and started by arranging with the owner of Cooks (sic) Landing Kiosk to come alongside his jetty in the morning and fill up our water tank. We then wandered down and had a look at the History Centre, had lunch at the Sovereign Hotel, went to the James Cook Museum, and finished the day by grabbing a few grocery items before heading back to the boat. We ran the engine twice for a total of 1 hr 40 mins.
We needed tide this morning to get across the small bar and into the channel of the Endeavour River. I worked out that 10:00am was the absolute latest we could leave the outgoing tide to still get across, otherwise it would be a little after 2:00pm before there was enough water again. As it turned out, we raised the anchor at 8:30am and crossed into the channel before tying up at the jetty. We filled the forward water tank, paid the $10 fee (which we were not made aware of until after the fact!) and cast off again at 9:28am to motor out of Cooktown.
Once clear of the channel, I continued motoring NE until we reached the 10m depth contour, and then set sail. Throughout the day the wind was E (and a little south of it), mainly 15-18kts, but occasionally dropping to around 10kts. Seas were 1-1.5m. When we raised sail we had around 17kts true wind. Our NNE course was to have us on a close reach and I expected apparent wind to be around 20kts. So we set the main with one reef and unfurled the head sail to 110%. This point of sail had us making 7-7.5kts over ground.
After about 2 hours we were clear enough of Cape Bedford, and we altered course to a more northerly heading, bringing us on to a beam reach. The wind dropped slightly and we had already gone to the full 130% head sail, so we shook the reef out of the main. We maintained this point of sail for almost 2 hours, our course bringing us between Low Wooded Island and Three Islands. Speed over ground was 7-8kts, and there was one half hour period when we covered 4nm.
Once we had the top of Low Wooded Island abeam us we altered course slightly west again, to a more NNW heading, to bring us in to Cape Flattery. This heading had us on a broad reach. The wind had dropped slightly and, being on a broad reach, apparent was now less than true wind speed. Our speed also reduced, making 4.5-5kts through the water and 5.5-6kts over ground. We rounded Cape Flattery, crossed the shoal running north off the cape, and anchored in the first bay on the north side of the cape at 2:50pm. We anchored in 3.5m of calm water in good holding sand.
We covered the 37nm in 5hr 20 mins, averaging 6.9kts over ground. It was a great sail, maintaining good speed. Even better is that if the wind remains easterly, we will still have good sailing once we turn and head back south in a few days.
We have had interrupted sleep over the last few nights as we have had to get up several times throughout each night to shut hatches as it starts to rain. Once the shower passes we open them again as we need the circulation. And then it rains again! It has been mostly showers, but we had a good downpour at one stage last night. I think the wet season may be breaking and we will be in for more rain.
Tomorrow we will make the short hop to Lizard Island, which we can see about 16nm to our NNE, and spend a couple of nights there.
End Loc: Cape Flattery (14o 57.17'S, 145o 19.87'E)
Distance run: 37nm (cumulative: 1815nm)
Engine hours: 1 hr, 43 min (cumulative: 18 hr, 35 min)
Narrative: We spent yesterday at Cooktown. We went ashore late morning and started by arranging with the owner of Cooks (sic) Landing Kiosk to come alongside his jetty in the morning and fill up our water tank. We then wandered down and had a look at the History Centre, had lunch at the Sovereign Hotel, went to the James Cook Museum, and finished the day by grabbing a few grocery items before heading back to the boat. We ran the engine twice for a total of 1 hr 40 mins.
We needed tide this morning to get across the small bar and into the channel of the Endeavour River. I worked out that 10:00am was the absolute latest we could leave the outgoing tide to still get across, otherwise it would be a little after 2:00pm before there was enough water again. As it turned out, we raised the anchor at 8:30am and crossed into the channel before tying up at the jetty. We filled the forward water tank, paid the $10 fee (which we were not made aware of until after the fact!) and cast off again at 9:28am to motor out of Cooktown.
Once clear of the channel, I continued motoring NE until we reached the 10m depth contour, and then set sail. Throughout the day the wind was E (and a little south of it), mainly 15-18kts, but occasionally dropping to around 10kts. Seas were 1-1.5m. When we raised sail we had around 17kts true wind. Our NNE course was to have us on a close reach and I expected apparent wind to be around 20kts. So we set the main with one reef and unfurled the head sail to 110%. This point of sail had us making 7-7.5kts over ground.
After about 2 hours we were clear enough of Cape Bedford, and we altered course to a more northerly heading, bringing us on to a beam reach. The wind dropped slightly and we had already gone to the full 130% head sail, so we shook the reef out of the main. We maintained this point of sail for almost 2 hours, our course bringing us between Low Wooded Island and Three Islands. Speed over ground was 7-8kts, and there was one half hour period when we covered 4nm.
Once we had the top of Low Wooded Island abeam us we altered course slightly west again, to a more NNW heading, to bring us in to Cape Flattery. This heading had us on a broad reach. The wind had dropped slightly and, being on a broad reach, apparent was now less than true wind speed. Our speed also reduced, making 4.5-5kts through the water and 5.5-6kts over ground. We rounded Cape Flattery, crossed the shoal running north off the cape, and anchored in the first bay on the north side of the cape at 2:50pm. We anchored in 3.5m of calm water in good holding sand.
We covered the 37nm in 5hr 20 mins, averaging 6.9kts over ground. It was a great sail, maintaining good speed. Even better is that if the wind remains easterly, we will still have good sailing once we turn and head back south in a few days.
We have had interrupted sleep over the last few nights as we have had to get up several times throughout each night to shut hatches as it starts to rain. Once the shower passes we open them again as we need the circulation. And then it rains again! It has been mostly showers, but we had a good downpour at one stage last night. I think the wet season may be breaking and we will be in for more rain.
Tomorrow we will make the short hop to Lizard Island, which we can see about 16nm to our NNE, and spend a couple of nights there.
End Loc: Cape Flattery (14o 57.17'S, 145o 19.87'E)
Distance run: 37nm (cumulative: 1815nm)
Engine hours: 1 hr, 43 min (cumulative: 18 hr, 35 min)
Friday 18 November 2011
18th November, 2011
Start Loc: Hope Islands (15o 43.85'S, 145o 27.37'E)
Narrative: We dropped the mooring buoy at 9:29am and motored through the reef away from Hope Island East. We decided we would head north to Cairns Reef and do a bit of fishing, before heading in to Cooktown. I motored the 5nm or so to the reef even though we had a SE breeze of 10kts, simply to put some charge in the batteries. The fridge and freezer are both working harder now the ambient temperature is a little higher; they are running longer and using more power. Coupled with the fact that we have had on and off cloud cover and rain over the last few days and the solar panels can't keep up, it means we need to run the engine more to charge the batteries. Well over half the engine time yesterday was not spent getting from A to B.
We were trolling two lures behind us, and as we came up to the passage between Bee Reef and Cairns Reef I decided to move closer to Bee Reef and troll along the face. Almost straight away we had a strike on one of the lures and reeled in a small, but nice, 55cm shark mackerel. It will give us a good feed. We ended up anchoring just after 10:30am at the north end of the east face of Bee Reef, in 18m of water. We put some lines in the water but there was no action, so we had lunch and moved on again at 12:18pm.
The winds were still SE but had strengthened to 15-20kts. Seas were about 1.5m. We set full head sail and ran NW, passing to the east of Cowlishaw and Dawson Reefs, making around 6.5kts over ground. The following sea rolled us around a bit, but it was not unpleasant sailing.
As we rounded the headland and Cooktown came into view, we furled the head sail. The working sheet was let a bit loose and the sail started flapping as Heather furled. The lazy sheet ended up whipping around and getting Heather under the chin, leaving a somewhat nasty rope burn; nothing too serious, but painful. We could not see the leads as there were several boats anchored in front of them, so we just stayed between the channel markers. We anchored in Endeavour River at 2:55pm just past the first lead in good holding sand. The 3.4m of water we anchored in means that on tomorrow night's low tide we will have about 30cm under the keel.
After anchoring, we took the dinghy ashore. Heather and the kids went to the park while I walked down the road to "The Lure Shop" and picked up a new remote speaker for the VHF. The old one died a week or so ago. We confirmed the model number we were after on the internet and emailed GME, who put us onto The Lure Shop as a supplier in Cooktown. We rang them so they could get one in before we arrived, but it turned out they had what we wanted on the shelf. I installed it when we got back to the boat, and we can again hear the VHF while we are in the cockpit.
We will spend tomorrow here as well. We will do the tourist thing and have a look at the Cook Museum and a better general look around, as well as pick up a few items such as fresh bread and milk. On Sunday we will top up water at the public jetty before heading off on our final northerly stage to Lizard Island.
End Loc: Cooktown (15o 27.68'S, 145o 14.78'E)
Distance run: 23nm (cumulative: 1778nm)
Engine hours: 1 hr, 37 min (cumulative: 15 hr, 12 min)
Narrative: We dropped the mooring buoy at 9:29am and motored through the reef away from Hope Island East. We decided we would head north to Cairns Reef and do a bit of fishing, before heading in to Cooktown. I motored the 5nm or so to the reef even though we had a SE breeze of 10kts, simply to put some charge in the batteries. The fridge and freezer are both working harder now the ambient temperature is a little higher; they are running longer and using more power. Coupled with the fact that we have had on and off cloud cover and rain over the last few days and the solar panels can't keep up, it means we need to run the engine more to charge the batteries. Well over half the engine time yesterday was not spent getting from A to B.
We were trolling two lures behind us, and as we came up to the passage between Bee Reef and Cairns Reef I decided to move closer to Bee Reef and troll along the face. Almost straight away we had a strike on one of the lures and reeled in a small, but nice, 55cm shark mackerel. It will give us a good feed. We ended up anchoring just after 10:30am at the north end of the east face of Bee Reef, in 18m of water. We put some lines in the water but there was no action, so we had lunch and moved on again at 12:18pm.
The winds were still SE but had strengthened to 15-20kts. Seas were about 1.5m. We set full head sail and ran NW, passing to the east of Cowlishaw and Dawson Reefs, making around 6.5kts over ground. The following sea rolled us around a bit, but it was not unpleasant sailing.
As we rounded the headland and Cooktown came into view, we furled the head sail. The working sheet was let a bit loose and the sail started flapping as Heather furled. The lazy sheet ended up whipping around and getting Heather under the chin, leaving a somewhat nasty rope burn; nothing too serious, but painful. We could not see the leads as there were several boats anchored in front of them, so we just stayed between the channel markers. We anchored in Endeavour River at 2:55pm just past the first lead in good holding sand. The 3.4m of water we anchored in means that on tomorrow night's low tide we will have about 30cm under the keel.
After anchoring, we took the dinghy ashore. Heather and the kids went to the park while I walked down the road to "The Lure Shop" and picked up a new remote speaker for the VHF. The old one died a week or so ago. We confirmed the model number we were after on the internet and emailed GME, who put us onto The Lure Shop as a supplier in Cooktown. We rang them so they could get one in before we arrived, but it turned out they had what we wanted on the shelf. I installed it when we got back to the boat, and we can again hear the VHF while we are in the cockpit.
We will spend tomorrow here as well. We will do the tourist thing and have a look at the Cook Museum and a better general look around, as well as pick up a few items such as fresh bread and milk. On Sunday we will top up water at the public jetty before heading off on our final northerly stage to Lizard Island.
End Loc: Cooktown (15o 27.68'S, 145o 14.78'E)
Distance run: 23nm (cumulative: 1778nm)
Engine hours: 1 hr, 37 min (cumulative: 15 hr, 12 min)
Thursday 17 November 2011
17th November, 2011
Start Loc: Low Island (16o 22.86'S, 145o 33.83'E)
Narrative: We got an early start this morning. After doing the preparation to go, I hoisted the main sail with one reef, Cameron dropped the mooring buoy, and we sailed off the mooring at 6:33am.
Throughout the sail the winds varied from E to SSE, but were generally at 15-20kts. Our NNW course had us sailing from a beam reach through to a run as the wind swung further south. We had several sail combinations; we started with one reef in the main and full head sail on a beam reach, switched to full main and reduced head sail as the wind came more and more astern, and finished with just full main on a run. Our boat speed was mostly 4.0-7.5kts, and there was generally another 1-1.5kts of tidal assistance.
We put the sails away and motored between Hope Islands East and West. Heather went to the bow as lookout as we came through the reef to a protected coral lagoon off Hope Island East. We had read that the bottom can be foul and anchors can get snagged, so we were happy to see a public mooring buoy which we picked up at 1:16pm. We covered the 41nm in 6 hr 43 min, averaging a little over 6kts over ground.
After a late lunch we got the dinghy ready and went ashore. The kids flew their kites and we went for a swim to cool off. All in all, a good day.
End Loc: Hope Islands (15o 43.85'S, 145o 27.37'E)
Distance run: 41nm (cumulative: 1755nm)
Engine hours: 2 hr, 27 min (cumulative: 13 hr, 35 min)
Narrative: We got an early start this morning. After doing the preparation to go, I hoisted the main sail with one reef, Cameron dropped the mooring buoy, and we sailed off the mooring at 6:33am.
Throughout the sail the winds varied from E to SSE, but were generally at 15-20kts. Our NNW course had us sailing from a beam reach through to a run as the wind swung further south. We had several sail combinations; we started with one reef in the main and full head sail on a beam reach, switched to full main and reduced head sail as the wind came more and more astern, and finished with just full main on a run. Our boat speed was mostly 4.0-7.5kts, and there was generally another 1-1.5kts of tidal assistance.
We put the sails away and motored between Hope Islands East and West. Heather went to the bow as lookout as we came through the reef to a protected coral lagoon off Hope Island East. We had read that the bottom can be foul and anchors can get snagged, so we were happy to see a public mooring buoy which we picked up at 1:16pm. We covered the 41nm in 6 hr 43 min, averaging a little over 6kts over ground.
After a late lunch we got the dinghy ready and went ashore. The kids flew their kites and we went for a swim to cool off. All in all, a good day.
End Loc: Hope Islands (15o 43.85'S, 145o 27.37'E)
Distance run: 41nm (cumulative: 1755nm)
Engine hours: 2 hr, 27 min (cumulative: 13 hr, 35 min)
Wednesday 16 November 2011
16th November, 2011
Start Loc: Low Island (16o 22.90'S, 145o 33.82'E)
Narrative: A couple of the crew had a bit of a sleep in this morning. After breakfast we went for another snorkel, despite the light drizzle, and again swam with a turtle. When we got back to the boat, I tried to see past all the bat fish, ramoras etc off the back of the boat, as I wanted to get some footage of the black tip reef sharks that have been swimming around.
At 11:06am we dropped the mooring buoy and set sail for the safe water mark near the mouth of the Daintree River. The winds were ESE at 15-20kts with seas and swell of 1.5-2m. We ran on a WNW heading of 300 degrees magnetic under full main, making 4.5-5kts through the water and 5.5-6kts over ground. As we neared the safe water mark we dropped sail and motored in.
We approached the bar right on high tide (12:50pm, 2.17m). We had no dramas motoring from the safe water mark to the starboard lateral, and once we rounded it we made direct for the port lateral. After a few hundred metres the depth dropped from 3m pretty quickly and we bumped the bottom. We probed around a bit but couldn't find deep water leading to the port lateral. As we motored around looking for deep water, the wind and waves pushed us further in and we bumped the bottom fairly violently as we came into the troughs between waves. That was enough and we decided to abort. We had some trouble getting out and came down harder on the keel than I would have liked several times more than I would have liked, but we made it back to deep water.
At 1:15pm, having decided against crossing the bar into the Daintree River, we decided the only real option was to head back to Low Isles for the night and come up with a new plan from there. We started motoring straight into wind and waves, but at 1:30pm decided we would rather take 2 hours to sail than 1.5 hours to motor, so we tacked our way close hauled back to Low Isles. We dropped sail and started the motor as we got close, and Heather helmed us up to the mooring buoy while Haydee and I did the business at the bow. By 3:32pm we were secured to a public mooring buoy just north of the one we had last night.
As a priority we checked the keel bolts and surrounds for any signs of stress cracks, but there was nothing to alarm us. I then donned fins and goggles, took a torch and inspected all around the keel and hull join, but again there was nothing alarming. We emptied the bilge and will monitor it just in case.
The sand bar around the entrance to the Daintree River may have moved since the buoys were last repositioned, so we will see if we can get any updated advice on the best way in to the river. Spring tides on 25th and 26th November will give us 2.86m of tide at 9:00am and 9:50am respectively. We may be back this way by then, and if the weather is a bit calmer and the waves are less than 2m, we may give it another crack. In the meantime, with 15-20kts SE forecast for the next few days, we will do a 40nm run tomorrow up to Hope Islands which is the next spot to provide good SE protection. We will have to leave early to get in around mid-afternoon so we can still see the coral as we come to anchor.
End Loc: Low Island (16o 22.86'S, 145o 33.83'E)
Distance run: 22nm (cumulative: 1714nm)
Engine hours: 1 hr, 16 min (cumulative: 11 hr, 08 min)
Narrative: A couple of the crew had a bit of a sleep in this morning. After breakfast we went for another snorkel, despite the light drizzle, and again swam with a turtle. When we got back to the boat, I tried to see past all the bat fish, ramoras etc off the back of the boat, as I wanted to get some footage of the black tip reef sharks that have been swimming around.
At 11:06am we dropped the mooring buoy and set sail for the safe water mark near the mouth of the Daintree River. The winds were ESE at 15-20kts with seas and swell of 1.5-2m. We ran on a WNW heading of 300 degrees magnetic under full main, making 4.5-5kts through the water and 5.5-6kts over ground. As we neared the safe water mark we dropped sail and motored in.
We approached the bar right on high tide (12:50pm, 2.17m). We had no dramas motoring from the safe water mark to the starboard lateral, and once we rounded it we made direct for the port lateral. After a few hundred metres the depth dropped from 3m pretty quickly and we bumped the bottom. We probed around a bit but couldn't find deep water leading to the port lateral. As we motored around looking for deep water, the wind and waves pushed us further in and we bumped the bottom fairly violently as we came into the troughs between waves. That was enough and we decided to abort. We had some trouble getting out and came down harder on the keel than I would have liked several times more than I would have liked, but we made it back to deep water.
At 1:15pm, having decided against crossing the bar into the Daintree River, we decided the only real option was to head back to Low Isles for the night and come up with a new plan from there. We started motoring straight into wind and waves, but at 1:30pm decided we would rather take 2 hours to sail than 1.5 hours to motor, so we tacked our way close hauled back to Low Isles. We dropped sail and started the motor as we got close, and Heather helmed us up to the mooring buoy while Haydee and I did the business at the bow. By 3:32pm we were secured to a public mooring buoy just north of the one we had last night.
As a priority we checked the keel bolts and surrounds for any signs of stress cracks, but there was nothing to alarm us. I then donned fins and goggles, took a torch and inspected all around the keel and hull join, but again there was nothing alarming. We emptied the bilge and will monitor it just in case.
The sand bar around the entrance to the Daintree River may have moved since the buoys were last repositioned, so we will see if we can get any updated advice on the best way in to the river. Spring tides on 25th and 26th November will give us 2.86m of tide at 9:00am and 9:50am respectively. We may be back this way by then, and if the weather is a bit calmer and the waves are less than 2m, we may give it another crack. In the meantime, with 15-20kts SE forecast for the next few days, we will do a 40nm run tomorrow up to Hope Islands which is the next spot to provide good SE protection. We will have to leave early to get in around mid-afternoon so we can still see the coral as we come to anchor.
End Loc: Low Island (16o 22.86'S, 145o 33.83'E)
Distance run: 22nm (cumulative: 1714nm)
Engine hours: 1 hr, 16 min (cumulative: 11 hr, 08 min)
Tuesday 15 November 2011
15th November, 2011
Start Loc: Meridian Marina, Port Douglas (16o 29.15'S, 145o 27.62'E)
Narrative: We spent yesterday in Port Douglas and knocked over the shopping and some minor maintenance. We were in no great hurry this morning, and left the marina 10:58am. After motoring out of the channel we hoisted sail and set a course for the Low Isles.
The winds were ESE at around 15kts. Our NW course had us on a close reach giving a few knots extra on the apparent wind strength, so we set sail with one reef in the main and the head sail reduced to 105%. We sailed along nicely averaging 6-6.5kts through the water and an extra knot over ground. The seas were 1.5-2m and almost beam on to us, which made it a bit lumpy but otherwise it was a great sail.
We lowered sail as we came up the west side of Low Island, then motored in and took up a mooring buoy in the lagoon type feature formed by Low Island and Woody Island (the Low Isles) and the coral in between. It gives good protection from SE weather, so it should not be too bad a night.
Low Island is a picturesque coral cay with a lighthouse and houses for the keepers, which are now occupied by a caretaker and researchers. We walked around the island and then went snorkeling. It was not the prettiest coral we have seen, but we did swim up close with a turtle. We also had a few black tip reef sharks off the back of the boat.
The plan for tomorrow remains to head up the Daintree River and to find a crocodile or two.
End Loc: Low Isles (16o 22.90'S, 145o 33.82'E)
Distance run: 10nm (cumulative: 1692nm)
Engine hours: 0 hr, 34 min (cumulative: 9 hr, 52 min)
Narrative: We spent yesterday in Port Douglas and knocked over the shopping and some minor maintenance. We were in no great hurry this morning, and left the marina 10:58am. After motoring out of the channel we hoisted sail and set a course for the Low Isles.
The winds were ESE at around 15kts. Our NW course had us on a close reach giving a few knots extra on the apparent wind strength, so we set sail with one reef in the main and the head sail reduced to 105%. We sailed along nicely averaging 6-6.5kts through the water and an extra knot over ground. The seas were 1.5-2m and almost beam on to us, which made it a bit lumpy but otherwise it was a great sail.
We lowered sail as we came up the west side of Low Island, then motored in and took up a mooring buoy in the lagoon type feature formed by Low Island and Woody Island (the Low Isles) and the coral in between. It gives good protection from SE weather, so it should not be too bad a night.
Low Island is a picturesque coral cay with a lighthouse and houses for the keepers, which are now occupied by a caretaker and researchers. We walked around the island and then went snorkeling. It was not the prettiest coral we have seen, but we did swim up close with a turtle. We also had a few black tip reef sharks off the back of the boat.
The plan for tomorrow remains to head up the Daintree River and to find a crocodile or two.
End Loc: Low Isles (16o 22.90'S, 145o 33.82'E)
Distance run: 10nm (cumulative: 1692nm)
Engine hours: 0 hr, 34 min (cumulative: 9 hr, 52 min)
Sunday 13 November 2011
13th November, 2011
Start Loc: Dickson Inlet, Port Douglas (16o 29.63'S, 145o 27.47'E)
Narrative: The kids and I took the dinghy up the creek a bit this morning, and saw a total of four sunken boats. They were all in various states of salvage, but one still had both masts, anchor and chain, etc. I assume a couple at least are victims of Cyclone Yasi, but we are amazed the hulls are allowed to remain where they are.
We raised the anchor at 9:45am and moved down stream to the marina. On the way, we filled up fuel just south of the marina where the trawlers berth and refuel. Given we refuelled in Cairns five days ago and have not used the engine that much since then we did not need fuel, but as we are getting more remote I will top up when I get the chance. Keeping the tank as full as possible will also help keep moisture out as the weather gets more and more humid.
Refuelled: 15.02L @ 143.8c/L = $21.60
Economy since 08 Nov: 15.02L for 9 hr 18 min = 1.62L/hr
Economy overall: 390.27L for 204 hr 45 min = 1.91L/hr
We came into the marina just before 11:30am and found our allocated berth (A22) no dramas, but the boat in A21 had his dinghy in our berth. A19 and A20 were free, so we tied up in A20 as we were set up for a starboard tie up. Heather went to check in and the bloke in the marina office said he thought the boat from A20 had just gone out for the day, and asked us to move to A18. Heather came back, and we noted there was a boat in A18 as well. Heather went back to the marina office but it was locked up; still business hours but he must have gone out and about. We decided he didn't know what was where in his marina and that we weren't going to wait for him to reappear, so we headed out.
We went to the Sunday markets and had a look around before getting some lunch. After lunch we headed back to near the marina and went for a ride on the historic Ballyhooly steam railway, which the kids loved. We finally found the marina bloke and he told us to stay where we were, which was good as we had no intention of moving.
We rounded off the afternoon with milkshakes for the kids, a couple of beers for me and cocktails for Heather, accompanied by some tapas, at a bar overlooking the marina. Another hard day ...
End Loc: Meridian Marina, Port Douglas (16o 29.15'S, 145o 27.62'E)
Distance run: 1nm (cumulative: 1682nm)
Engine hours: 0 hr, 33 min (cumulative: 9 hr, 18 min)
Narrative: The kids and I took the dinghy up the creek a bit this morning, and saw a total of four sunken boats. They were all in various states of salvage, but one still had both masts, anchor and chain, etc. I assume a couple at least are victims of Cyclone Yasi, but we are amazed the hulls are allowed to remain where they are.
We raised the anchor at 9:45am and moved down stream to the marina. On the way, we filled up fuel just south of the marina where the trawlers berth and refuel. Given we refuelled in Cairns five days ago and have not used the engine that much since then we did not need fuel, but as we are getting more remote I will top up when I get the chance. Keeping the tank as full as possible will also help keep moisture out as the weather gets more and more humid.
Refuelled: 15.02L @ 143.8c/L = $21.60
Economy since 08 Nov: 15.02L for 9 hr 18 min = 1.62L/hr
Economy overall: 390.27L for 204 hr 45 min = 1.91L/hr
We came into the marina just before 11:30am and found our allocated berth (A22) no dramas, but the boat in A21 had his dinghy in our berth. A19 and A20 were free, so we tied up in A20 as we were set up for a starboard tie up. Heather went to check in and the bloke in the marina office said he thought the boat from A20 had just gone out for the day, and asked us to move to A18. Heather came back, and we noted there was a boat in A18 as well. Heather went back to the marina office but it was locked up; still business hours but he must have gone out and about. We decided he didn't know what was where in his marina and that we weren't going to wait for him to reappear, so we headed out.
We went to the Sunday markets and had a look around before getting some lunch. After lunch we headed back to near the marina and went for a ride on the historic Ballyhooly steam railway, which the kids loved. We finally found the marina bloke and he told us to stay where we were, which was good as we had no intention of moving.
We rounded off the afternoon with milkshakes for the kids, a couple of beers for me and cocktails for Heather, accompanied by some tapas, at a bar overlooking the marina. Another hard day ...
End Loc: Meridian Marina, Port Douglas (16o 29.15'S, 145o 27.62'E)
Distance run: 1nm (cumulative: 1682nm)
Engine hours: 0 hr, 33 min (cumulative: 9 hr, 18 min)
12 November, 2011
Start Loc: Michaelmas Cay (16o 36.28'S, 145o 58.40'E)
Narrative: The anchorage at Michaelmas Cay was a lot more comfortable than at Vlassoff Cay, and we all got a reasonable sleep. At 9:30am we all went ashore. People are only allowed to land on a small part of the beach, and only between 9:30am and 3:00pm. The first tourist boat arrived at 9:30am as well, so we only had about 15 minutes before they all came ashore; but that was long enough.
After putting the outboard on its bracket, raising the dinghy on the davits and completing the other preparation, we dropped the mooring buoy at 10:08am and set sail for Port Douglas. The forecast was for SE winds at 15-20kts, but we had S at about 15kts. That suited my heading of 280 degrees just fine, so with one reef in the main and full head sail we sailed on a beam reach, making 5.5-6kts through the water and 6.5-7kts over ground. Seas and swell were 1.5-2m, and it was good, comfortable sailing.
Unfortunately, it didn't last. By midday the winds had swung SSE and eased slightly to 10-15kts, so I had shaken the reef out of the main to maintain similar speeds. By 1:00pm the winds were more SE and weakened further to around 10kts, and the apparent wind was still a few knots less. The broad reach under full sail only had us making 3.2kts through the and 3.8kts over ground. At this rate it was going to take us a while to get to Port Douglas!
We decided that we really need to spend Monday in Port Douglas as well, as we want a sail maker to take a look at our main which will need some repairs shortly, particularly at the head of the sail. Hence, Heather rang the marina and changed our booking from Sat/Sun nights to Sun/Mon nights. We decided we would anchor up the river overnight tonight and then move back downstream to the marina in the morning. To help us get there, we dropped main and head sail and raised the spinnaker. From 2:00pm we sailed in SE to E winds of 6-8kts, making 3-4kts through the water and 3.5-4.5kts over ground. It was slow but comfortable sailing, and we were no longer in a hurry to get in.
At around 4:00pm we snuffed the spinnaker and motored into Dickson Inlet at Port Douglas. By 4:30pm we were anchored in the east-west stretch, just before the bend where Dickson Inlet becomes Packers Creek. The creek is lined with mangroves, but has deep water close to the banks and good holding mud. After mozzie proofing the boat, we took the dinghy downstream to the yacht club and had a cold drink. It was not a bad day.
End Loc: Dickson Inlet, Port Douglas (16o 29.63'S, 145o 27.47'E)
Distance run: 33nm (cumulative: 1681nm)
Engine hours: 1 hr, 10 min (cumulative: 8 hr, 45 min)
Narrative: The anchorage at Michaelmas Cay was a lot more comfortable than at Vlassoff Cay, and we all got a reasonable sleep. At 9:30am we all went ashore. People are only allowed to land on a small part of the beach, and only between 9:30am and 3:00pm. The first tourist boat arrived at 9:30am as well, so we only had about 15 minutes before they all came ashore; but that was long enough.
After putting the outboard on its bracket, raising the dinghy on the davits and completing the other preparation, we dropped the mooring buoy at 10:08am and set sail for Port Douglas. The forecast was for SE winds at 15-20kts, but we had S at about 15kts. That suited my heading of 280 degrees just fine, so with one reef in the main and full head sail we sailed on a beam reach, making 5.5-6kts through the water and 6.5-7kts over ground. Seas and swell were 1.5-2m, and it was good, comfortable sailing.
Unfortunately, it didn't last. By midday the winds had swung SSE and eased slightly to 10-15kts, so I had shaken the reef out of the main to maintain similar speeds. By 1:00pm the winds were more SE and weakened further to around 10kts, and the apparent wind was still a few knots less. The broad reach under full sail only had us making 3.2kts through the and 3.8kts over ground. At this rate it was going to take us a while to get to Port Douglas!
We decided that we really need to spend Monday in Port Douglas as well, as we want a sail maker to take a look at our main which will need some repairs shortly, particularly at the head of the sail. Hence, Heather rang the marina and changed our booking from Sat/Sun nights to Sun/Mon nights. We decided we would anchor up the river overnight tonight and then move back downstream to the marina in the morning. To help us get there, we dropped main and head sail and raised the spinnaker. From 2:00pm we sailed in SE to E winds of 6-8kts, making 3-4kts through the water and 3.5-4.5kts over ground. It was slow but comfortable sailing, and we were no longer in a hurry to get in.
At around 4:00pm we snuffed the spinnaker and motored into Dickson Inlet at Port Douglas. By 4:30pm we were anchored in the east-west stretch, just before the bend where Dickson Inlet becomes Packers Creek. The creek is lined with mangroves, but has deep water close to the banks and good holding mud. After mozzie proofing the boat, we took the dinghy downstream to the yacht club and had a cold drink. It was not a bad day.
End Loc: Dickson Inlet, Port Douglas (16o 29.63'S, 145o 27.47'E)
Distance run: 33nm (cumulative: 1681nm)
Engine hours: 1 hr, 10 min (cumulative: 8 hr, 45 min)
Friday 11 November 2011
11th November, 2011
Start Loc: Vlassoff Cay (16o 39.00'S, 145o 59.35'E)
Narrative: We got a surprising amount of swell come around the reef last night, so we rolled around a fair bit. Heather doesn't sleep well in conditions like that, so as soon as I was awake she said, "Let's move". While the kids slept we did the prep to go, including the daily engine checks that Cameron normally does and closing hatches and seacocks which is normally Haydee's job.
We raised the anchor at 6:20am and set full head sail. The wind was ESE at 10-15kts, so our NNW course had us sailing on a broad reach making 4-4.5kts through the water and 5-5.5kts over ground. The trip was only a few miles and we were anchored off Michaelmas Cay in 17m of water by 7:15am. We had breakfast and a snorkel while we waited for the sun to get high enough in the sky for us to be able to see the coral and move in closer to the cay. We also had a moment's silence in remembrance, whilst snorkeling. Just after 11:30am we raised anchor and motored closer to the cay, anchoring over sand in 6.5m of water.
The water is again spectacularly clear, so we all went for a swim and then had lunch. We had to force the kids to do their school work and they were very slow, so they didn't get to go ashore. After moving and taking up a public mooring buoy for the night, I went ashore and had a quick look at the tens of thousands of terns that nest on the cay. The cacophony of sounds was something that would wear thin pretty quickly, but fortunately the smell was not as bad as I thought it might be. Having finally finished their schoolwork, the kids got to fly their kites off the back of the boat.
Tomorrow we will head into Port Douglas. We don't need a resupply, but we want to have a look and will take the opportunity to restock a few provisions, as well as fuel and water, before heading north again. The plan from Port Douglas is Low Islets, Daintree River, Cape Tribulation, maybe Endeavour Reef, Hope Islands, and into Cooktown.
End Loc: Michaelmas Cay (16o 36.28'S, 145o 58.40'E)
Distance run: 4nm (cumulative: 1648nm)
Engine hours: 2 hr, 07 min (cumulative: 7 hr, 35 min)
Narrative: We got a surprising amount of swell come around the reef last night, so we rolled around a fair bit. Heather doesn't sleep well in conditions like that, so as soon as I was awake she said, "Let's move". While the kids slept we did the prep to go, including the daily engine checks that Cameron normally does and closing hatches and seacocks which is normally Haydee's job.
We raised the anchor at 6:20am and set full head sail. The wind was ESE at 10-15kts, so our NNW course had us sailing on a broad reach making 4-4.5kts through the water and 5-5.5kts over ground. The trip was only a few miles and we were anchored off Michaelmas Cay in 17m of water by 7:15am. We had breakfast and a snorkel while we waited for the sun to get high enough in the sky for us to be able to see the coral and move in closer to the cay. We also had a moment's silence in remembrance, whilst snorkeling. Just after 11:30am we raised anchor and motored closer to the cay, anchoring over sand in 6.5m of water.
The water is again spectacularly clear, so we all went for a swim and then had lunch. We had to force the kids to do their school work and they were very slow, so they didn't get to go ashore. After moving and taking up a public mooring buoy for the night, I went ashore and had a quick look at the tens of thousands of terns that nest on the cay. The cacophony of sounds was something that would wear thin pretty quickly, but fortunately the smell was not as bad as I thought it might be. Having finally finished their schoolwork, the kids got to fly their kites off the back of the boat.
Tomorrow we will head into Port Douglas. We don't need a resupply, but we want to have a look and will take the opportunity to restock a few provisions, as well as fuel and water, before heading north again. The plan from Port Douglas is Low Islets, Daintree River, Cape Tribulation, maybe Endeavour Reef, Hope Islands, and into Cooktown.
End Loc: Michaelmas Cay (16o 36.28'S, 145o 58.40'E)
Distance run: 4nm (cumulative: 1648nm)
Engine hours: 2 hr, 07 min (cumulative: 7 hr, 35 min)
Thursday 10 November 2011
10th November, 2011
Start Loc: Arlington Reef (16o 41.25'S, 146o 05.32'E)
Narrative: We had a lazy start to the day, including croissants for breakfast, and eventually raised the anchor at 10:45am. After motoring our way out of the coral we set full head sail in a 12kt ESE breeze, and motor sailed west on a training run at 5kts boat speed. We had both deep swimming lures out the back, and just after 11:00am we got a strike on one (not the one we found yesterday). We managed to land this one, and we were quite happy with our 72cm, 4.1kg tuna. The remaining fusilier is now officially bait. We continued sailing (without the lures) under full sail on a broad reach with Heather on the helm while I filleted the tuna.
At about 12:15pm, we put the sails away and under motor picked our way through the coral at Vlassoff Cay. We anchored over sand in 5m of water at 12:40pm, with coral all around us. The water is spectacularly clear, so after lunch we took the dinghy ashore to the cay and had a swim, followed by snorkeling the reef off the back of the boat.
At 15:38pm, before the sun got too low to see the coral, we raised the anchor and moved 500m or so to a public mooring buoy for the night. We decided we will go to Michaelmas Cay tomorrow and spend the day and night there.
End Loc: Vlassoff Cay (16o 39.00'S, 145o 59.35'E)
Distance run: 7nm (cumulative: 1644nm)
Engine hours: 1 hr, 44 min (cumulative: 5 hr, 28 min)
Narrative: We had a lazy start to the day, including croissants for breakfast, and eventually raised the anchor at 10:45am. After motoring our way out of the coral we set full head sail in a 12kt ESE breeze, and motor sailed west on a training run at 5kts boat speed. We had both deep swimming lures out the back, and just after 11:00am we got a strike on one (not the one we found yesterday). We managed to land this one, and we were quite happy with our 72cm, 4.1kg tuna. The remaining fusilier is now officially bait. We continued sailing (without the lures) under full sail on a broad reach with Heather on the helm while I filleted the tuna.
At about 12:15pm, we put the sails away and under motor picked our way through the coral at Vlassoff Cay. We anchored over sand in 5m of water at 12:40pm, with coral all around us. The water is spectacularly clear, so after lunch we took the dinghy ashore to the cay and had a swim, followed by snorkeling the reef off the back of the boat.
At 15:38pm, before the sun got too low to see the coral, we raised the anchor and moved 500m or so to a public mooring buoy for the night. We decided we will go to Michaelmas Cay tomorrow and spend the day and night there.
End Loc: Vlassoff Cay (16o 39.00'S, 145o 59.35'E)
Distance run: 7nm (cumulative: 1644nm)
Engine hours: 1 hr, 44 min (cumulative: 5 hr, 28 min)
9th November, 2011
Start Loc: Green Island (16o 45.31'S, 145o 57.97'E)
Narrative: We dropped the mooring buoy at 9:16am and set off from Green Island. With ESE winds at 10-15kts we sailed NE on a close reach under full head sail at 5-6kts through the water and 6-7kts over ground. We didn't have far to go and at 9:55am we anchored off the south wall of Arlington Reef to do some fishing. We caught a dozen odd fish all up and released several, including a small spangled emperor and a couple of stripeys, but ended up keeping six of the biggest fusiliers. The red emperors, nannygais and coral trout we want managed to evade us though. One of the stripeys we released had fully swallowed the hook and was not doing too well when we released him. He would try to swim down every now and again, but stayed on the surface. We were only in 10m of water so I don't think it was a swim bladder issue. Anyway, after about ten minutes we spotted a shark that was getting inquisitive, and watched as the black tipped reef shark easily got itself a feed.
Having caught a couple of feeds, we raised the anchor at 11:55am and sailed west along the face of the reef trolling two lures behind us. The wind was still ESE at 10-15kts, so we sailed under full head sail on a training run at 4.2 and 5kts. I bought a deep swimming (4m+) saltwater palaegic lure in Townsville, and another in Cairns. The Townsville one had been hit three times but only bore the teeth mark battle scars and had somehow not resulted in a hook up. That changed when it got hit and the line just kept running. We couldn't reduce sail to slow down and we were already running, so all I could do was increase the drag on the reel. As I came close to running out of line I stopped the reel running and soon after the 40lb line snapped, so I lost the fish and the lure.
We dropped sail and weaved our way through the coral between Arlington and Upolu Reefs, with Heather at the bow as lookout. Upolu Reef is suppose to have an exposed sand cay but we couldn't see it, so we decided to head east on the north side of Arlington Reef to our night anchorage. We were into wind so we had to motor the 5nm or so to the south east corner of the reef. This time we towed just the one lure. It too got hit but didn't result in a hook up; just the teeth marks. That meant it was definitely fusilier for dinner. If we had caught a better eating fish the fusilier would have become bait.
We anchored ay 3:05pm inside the protection of Arlington Reef. We could see the breakers rolling over the reef a few hundred metres away, but where we were was calm enough. We anchored in sand amongst the coral in 6m of water. I filleted the fish but put the carcasses into a plastic bag in the fridge until after we had snorkeled. The kids and I snorkeled the reef just off the side of the boat. One of the many things we saw was a lure tangled around some coral. After a few dives I got the lure and all the line. When we got back to the boat I untangled all the line from the lure and cleaned it up. It had been in the water for a while, but we found one to replace the one we lost.
We then had a rather comical period where I ended up in the water three times; once to get one of Haydee's flippers that went overboard, and once to get Haydee's rod as it sank when it somehow went overboard. The third time was when we caught a fish on my boat rod. Cameron was passing it to me from the side, around the bimini poles to the back deck. As I rushed onto the back deck, I slipped and went straight over board. The fish ended up snapping off my 12lb line and got away. Heather did catch a shark on my heavy rod though.
All in all, a good day. The plan for tomorrow is to have a look at Vlassoff Cay before anchoring at Michaelmas Cay for the night.
End Loc: Arlington Reef (16o 41.25'S, 146o 05.32'E)
Distance run: 18nm (cumulative: 1637nm)
Engine hours: 2 hr, 46 min (cumulative: 3 hr, 44 min)
Narrative: We dropped the mooring buoy at 9:16am and set off from Green Island. With ESE winds at 10-15kts we sailed NE on a close reach under full head sail at 5-6kts through the water and 6-7kts over ground. We didn't have far to go and at 9:55am we anchored off the south wall of Arlington Reef to do some fishing. We caught a dozen odd fish all up and released several, including a small spangled emperor and a couple of stripeys, but ended up keeping six of the biggest fusiliers. The red emperors, nannygais and coral trout we want managed to evade us though. One of the stripeys we released had fully swallowed the hook and was not doing too well when we released him. He would try to swim down every now and again, but stayed on the surface. We were only in 10m of water so I don't think it was a swim bladder issue. Anyway, after about ten minutes we spotted a shark that was getting inquisitive, and watched as the black tipped reef shark easily got itself a feed.
Having caught a couple of feeds, we raised the anchor at 11:55am and sailed west along the face of the reef trolling two lures behind us. The wind was still ESE at 10-15kts, so we sailed under full head sail on a training run at 4.2 and 5kts. I bought a deep swimming (4m+) saltwater palaegic lure in Townsville, and another in Cairns. The Townsville one had been hit three times but only bore the teeth mark battle scars and had somehow not resulted in a hook up. That changed when it got hit and the line just kept running. We couldn't reduce sail to slow down and we were already running, so all I could do was increase the drag on the reel. As I came close to running out of line I stopped the reel running and soon after the 40lb line snapped, so I lost the fish and the lure.
We dropped sail and weaved our way through the coral between Arlington and Upolu Reefs, with Heather at the bow as lookout. Upolu Reef is suppose to have an exposed sand cay but we couldn't see it, so we decided to head east on the north side of Arlington Reef to our night anchorage. We were into wind so we had to motor the 5nm or so to the south east corner of the reef. This time we towed just the one lure. It too got hit but didn't result in a hook up; just the teeth marks. That meant it was definitely fusilier for dinner. If we had caught a better eating fish the fusilier would have become bait.
We anchored ay 3:05pm inside the protection of Arlington Reef. We could see the breakers rolling over the reef a few hundred metres away, but where we were was calm enough. We anchored in sand amongst the coral in 6m of water. I filleted the fish but put the carcasses into a plastic bag in the fridge until after we had snorkeled. The kids and I snorkeled the reef just off the side of the boat. One of the many things we saw was a lure tangled around some coral. After a few dives I got the lure and all the line. When we got back to the boat I untangled all the line from the lure and cleaned it up. It had been in the water for a while, but we found one to replace the one we lost.
We then had a rather comical period where I ended up in the water three times; once to get one of Haydee's flippers that went overboard, and once to get Haydee's rod as it sank when it somehow went overboard. The third time was when we caught a fish on my boat rod. Cameron was passing it to me from the side, around the bimini poles to the back deck. As I rushed onto the back deck, I slipped and went straight over board. The fish ended up snapping off my 12lb line and got away. Heather did catch a shark on my heavy rod though.
All in all, a good day. The plan for tomorrow is to have a look at Vlassoff Cay before anchoring at Michaelmas Cay for the night.
End Loc: Arlington Reef (16o 41.25'S, 146o 05.32'E)
Distance run: 18nm (cumulative: 1637nm)
Engine hours: 2 hr, 46 min (cumulative: 3 hr, 44 min)
Tuesday 8 November 2011
8th November, 2011
Start Loc: Cairns (16o 55.21'S, 145o 46.90'E)
Narrative: We achieved a lot whilst in Cairns. On Saturday we caught a bus and went to Whitworths where we got a sump pump oil extractor, some engine oil, and a few other items. We then caught the bus back to the city and did the groceries. By the time we got everything packed away, the day was over. It poured down rain that evening and our shore power cable shorted out, so it was back to batteries.
Sunday was washing day, and importantly we did the 200 hour log book service on the engine. We ran the engine to put some charge in the batteries (no shore power and overcast weather) and to warm the engine oil up. All up we ran the engine for 50 minutes through the day, so we logged the 200 hour service as being done at 195 hours and 27 minutes.
Monday was our first opportunity to get the power cable fixed, but of course at a rip off price. We paid $75 for an hour's labour when the job took less than 20 minutes, and $25 for a 15A plug end that would retail for maybe $10. I should have charged him $75 an hour for the three hours I waited around after the time he said he would be there! Bugger getting a qualified electrician in; I should have done it myself. I say it again - North Queensland tradesmen... Almost as important as the engine service is the fact that we also stripped, cleaned and serviced all four deck winches on Monday. This was the only reason I wasn't really annoyed at waiting for the electrician.
We were booked in to refuel at 9:30am this morning, so while Cameron and I did a quick trip to the supermarket to top up a few items and got some bait, Heather and Haydee got us ready to push off. We cast off right on 9:30am and tied up at the fuel dock a couple of minutes later.
Refuelled: 95.00L @ 147.38c/L = $140.01 (plus $5.68 "berthing" and $0.72 c/c surcharge)
Economy since 20 Oct: 95.00L for 37 hr 43 min = 2.52L/hr
Economy overall: 375.25L for 195 hr 27 min = 1.92L/hr
After refuelling, we cast off again at 9:51am and motored out of the marina and up the channel. Once clear of the shallows, and away from the land and in some clean air, we set sail on a NE heading to Green Island. The winds were generally ESE at 10-15kts, with the apparent wind strength a couple of knots stronger again. We sailed on basically a close reach under full sail, making 5.5-6.5kts through the water and 6.5-7.5kts over the ground. We maintained a good speed and completed the 15nm in a little over two hours, taking up a public mooring buoy at 12:15pm.
Once the kids finished their school work and we had lunch, we packed up some stuff and took the dinghy ashore. We had a quick look around the island before settling beside the pool. While the kids swam, Heather and I read. We then went to the beach for a quick snorkel before heading back to the boat for showers and dinner.
End Loc: Green Island (16o 45.31'S, 145o 57.97'E)
Distance run: 15nm (cumulative: 1619nm)
Engine hours: 0 hr, 58 min (cumulative: 0 hr 58 min)
Narrative: We achieved a lot whilst in Cairns. On Saturday we caught a bus and went to Whitworths where we got a sump pump oil extractor, some engine oil, and a few other items. We then caught the bus back to the city and did the groceries. By the time we got everything packed away, the day was over. It poured down rain that evening and our shore power cable shorted out, so it was back to batteries.
Sunday was washing day, and importantly we did the 200 hour log book service on the engine. We ran the engine to put some charge in the batteries (no shore power and overcast weather) and to warm the engine oil up. All up we ran the engine for 50 minutes through the day, so we logged the 200 hour service as being done at 195 hours and 27 minutes.
Monday was our first opportunity to get the power cable fixed, but of course at a rip off price. We paid $75 for an hour's labour when the job took less than 20 minutes, and $25 for a 15A plug end that would retail for maybe $10. I should have charged him $75 an hour for the three hours I waited around after the time he said he would be there! Bugger getting a qualified electrician in; I should have done it myself. I say it again - North Queensland tradesmen... Almost as important as the engine service is the fact that we also stripped, cleaned and serviced all four deck winches on Monday. This was the only reason I wasn't really annoyed at waiting for the electrician.
We were booked in to refuel at 9:30am this morning, so while Cameron and I did a quick trip to the supermarket to top up a few items and got some bait, Heather and Haydee got us ready to push off. We cast off right on 9:30am and tied up at the fuel dock a couple of minutes later.
Refuelled: 95.00L @ 147.38c/L = $140.01 (plus $5.68 "berthing" and $0.72 c/c surcharge)
Economy since 20 Oct: 95.00L for 37 hr 43 min = 2.52L/hr
Economy overall: 375.25L for 195 hr 27 min = 1.92L/hr
After refuelling, we cast off again at 9:51am and motored out of the marina and up the channel. Once clear of the shallows, and away from the land and in some clean air, we set sail on a NE heading to Green Island. The winds were generally ESE at 10-15kts, with the apparent wind strength a couple of knots stronger again. We sailed on basically a close reach under full sail, making 5.5-6.5kts through the water and 6.5-7.5kts over the ground. We maintained a good speed and completed the 15nm in a little over two hours, taking up a public mooring buoy at 12:15pm.
Once the kids finished their school work and we had lunch, we packed up some stuff and took the dinghy ashore. We had a quick look around the island before settling beside the pool. While the kids swam, Heather and I read. We then went to the beach for a quick snorkel before heading back to the boat for showers and dinner.
End Loc: Green Island (16o 45.31'S, 145o 57.97'E)
Distance run: 15nm (cumulative: 1619nm)
Engine hours: 0 hr, 58 min (cumulative: 0 hr 58 min)
Sunday 6 November 2011
4th November, 2011
Start Loc: Fitzroy Island (16o 55.95'S, 145o 59.12'E)
Narrative: We spent yesterday at Fitzroy Island. While the kids did their school work I put on my fins and goggles and scrubbed the keel, the rudder and the prop clean. The kids joined me in the water and scrubbed the hull either side of the rudder for me. I will finish scrubbing the hull in a few installments over the next couple of weeks. The kids played on the floating trampoline, and then we went ashore, had lunch, and did two of the walks on the island; to "The Hidden Garden" and to "Nudey Beach". All in all, not a bad day.
We decided to see if we could get in to Cairns and get groceries done today, as there is a fair bit we would like to achieve while we are there. We lifted the anchor at 8:25am and sailed NW towards Cape Grafton. The winds were SE at 10kts, so it was one of those frustrating sails where the faster we went the less the apparent wind strength became and the more the sails flapped. 10kts of true wind on a run will give us about 3kts through the water. That would take us over 5 hours to get to Cairns instead of 3; too long. So we helped the sails by motoring. Motor sailing at 5kts reduced the apparent wind strength to 5kts, which is not enough to fill the sails. I ended up putting all sail away and motoring figuring it would be better once we got around Cape Grafton and were on a broad to beam reach sailing west across Mission Bay.
Fortunately it did get better. The lay of the land brought the wind from the south, still at about 10kts, so we sailed across Mission Bay and past False Cape to the channel on a mostly beam reach at about 5kts. We dropped sail before the shipping channel, motored down to the marina, and were tied up in our berth by 11:45am. After finally finding the marina office and checking in, we had lunch on the waterfront and then followed a recommendation to go to "Rusty's Market" to get fruit and veg. It was certainly cheaper than the supermarkets.
Tomorrow we will do groceries and get some other things we need, including at least 1L of oil so we have enough to do the 200 hour service on the engine. Doing the service will be Sunday's job.
End Loc: Cairns (16o 55.21'S, 145o 46.90'E)
Distance run: 17nm (cumulative: 1604nm)
Engine hours: 2 hr, 10 min (cumulative: 194 hr 37 min)
Narrative: We spent yesterday at Fitzroy Island. While the kids did their school work I put on my fins and goggles and scrubbed the keel, the rudder and the prop clean. The kids joined me in the water and scrubbed the hull either side of the rudder for me. I will finish scrubbing the hull in a few installments over the next couple of weeks. The kids played on the floating trampoline, and then we went ashore, had lunch, and did two of the walks on the island; to "The Hidden Garden" and to "Nudey Beach". All in all, not a bad day.
We decided to see if we could get in to Cairns and get groceries done today, as there is a fair bit we would like to achieve while we are there. We lifted the anchor at 8:25am and sailed NW towards Cape Grafton. The winds were SE at 10kts, so it was one of those frustrating sails where the faster we went the less the apparent wind strength became and the more the sails flapped. 10kts of true wind on a run will give us about 3kts through the water. That would take us over 5 hours to get to Cairns instead of 3; too long. So we helped the sails by motoring. Motor sailing at 5kts reduced the apparent wind strength to 5kts, which is not enough to fill the sails. I ended up putting all sail away and motoring figuring it would be better once we got around Cape Grafton and were on a broad to beam reach sailing west across Mission Bay.
Fortunately it did get better. The lay of the land brought the wind from the south, still at about 10kts, so we sailed across Mission Bay and past False Cape to the channel on a mostly beam reach at about 5kts. We dropped sail before the shipping channel, motored down to the marina, and were tied up in our berth by 11:45am. After finally finding the marina office and checking in, we had lunch on the waterfront and then followed a recommendation to go to "Rusty's Market" to get fruit and veg. It was certainly cheaper than the supermarkets.
Tomorrow we will do groceries and get some other things we need, including at least 1L of oil so we have enough to do the 200 hour service on the engine. Doing the service will be Sunday's job.
End Loc: Cairns (16o 55.21'S, 145o 46.90'E)
Distance run: 17nm (cumulative: 1604nm)
Engine hours: 2 hr, 10 min (cumulative: 194 hr 37 min)
Wednesday 2 November 2011
2nd November, 2011
Start Loc: Mourilyan Harbour (17o 36.18'S, 146o 07.36'E)
Narrative: The forecast for today was for E/SE winds at 15-20kts. It looked a bit rough outside the harbour so Heather suggested staying there for the day. I agreed it looked a bit rough, but there was nothing to stay for, so we moved on. I was thinking of going out to the reef for a couple of days on the way up to Cairns, but it would probably be unpleasant, so we made the late decision to do the 40nm or so to Fitzroy Island.
We raised the anchor at 9:35am and motored past the sugar loading wharf. Once outside the harbour, the wind was E at around 15kts and seas were about 1.5m. I took the cautious option based on the forecast and set sail with two reefs in the main and head sail reduced to 110%. With the wind off the starboard beam we sailed quite nicely making 5-5.5kts through the water and 6.5-7kts over ground. It turned out to be quite a pleasant sail.
I subscribe to the principal "if you think it might be time to reef, it's time to reef; and if you think it might be time to let out a reef, put the kettle on and wait 10 minutes". Having had a brew I shook reef two out of the main at 11:38am, and at 11:45am unfurled the head sail to the full 130%. The wind had swung and dropped a bit, and was now ESE at 10-15kts. By late morning, the wind was SE at around 10kts. With our course now being NNW, the main was robbing the head sail of wind. I ended up furling the head sail and motor sailing for a bit over an hour so we could put some charge back in the batteries (it was overcast yesterday afternoon and this morning so the solar panels did not produce much).
We motor sailed past Russell Island (which has a very nice looking sand spit running off its NE corner) and the rest of the Frankland Islands. Once I shut down the engine, we hoisted the spinnaker and spent the last couple of hours up to Fitzroy Island making around 4.5kts through the water in an apparent wind of about 8kts.
We snuffed the spinnaker as we came up the west side of Fitzroy Island, and were surprised to see the LCH (Landing Craft Heavy) HMAS Wewak doing it tough anchored off the resort. We had a look around the anchorage before we ended up taking a public mooring buoy on the west side of the jetty at 5:22pm.
We have decided we will most likely spend tomorrow here and then on Friday drop in to Turtle Bay on our way in to Cairns for resupply.
End Loc: Fitzroy Island (16o 55.95'S, 145o 59.12'E)
Distance run: 44nm (cumulative: 1587nm)
Engine hours: 2 hr, 33 min (cumulative: 192 hr 27 min)
Narrative: The forecast for today was for E/SE winds at 15-20kts. It looked a bit rough outside the harbour so Heather suggested staying there for the day. I agreed it looked a bit rough, but there was nothing to stay for, so we moved on. I was thinking of going out to the reef for a couple of days on the way up to Cairns, but it would probably be unpleasant, so we made the late decision to do the 40nm or so to Fitzroy Island.
We raised the anchor at 9:35am and motored past the sugar loading wharf. Once outside the harbour, the wind was E at around 15kts and seas were about 1.5m. I took the cautious option based on the forecast and set sail with two reefs in the main and head sail reduced to 110%. With the wind off the starboard beam we sailed quite nicely making 5-5.5kts through the water and 6.5-7kts over ground. It turned out to be quite a pleasant sail.
I subscribe to the principal "if you think it might be time to reef, it's time to reef; and if you think it might be time to let out a reef, put the kettle on and wait 10 minutes". Having had a brew I shook reef two out of the main at 11:38am, and at 11:45am unfurled the head sail to the full 130%. The wind had swung and dropped a bit, and was now ESE at 10-15kts. By late morning, the wind was SE at around 10kts. With our course now being NNW, the main was robbing the head sail of wind. I ended up furling the head sail and motor sailing for a bit over an hour so we could put some charge back in the batteries (it was overcast yesterday afternoon and this morning so the solar panels did not produce much).
We motor sailed past Russell Island (which has a very nice looking sand spit running off its NE corner) and the rest of the Frankland Islands. Once I shut down the engine, we hoisted the spinnaker and spent the last couple of hours up to Fitzroy Island making around 4.5kts through the water in an apparent wind of about 8kts.
We snuffed the spinnaker as we came up the west side of Fitzroy Island, and were surprised to see the LCH (Landing Craft Heavy) HMAS Wewak doing it tough anchored off the resort. We had a look around the anchorage before we ended up taking a public mooring buoy on the west side of the jetty at 5:22pm.
We have decided we will most likely spend tomorrow here and then on Friday drop in to Turtle Bay on our way in to Cairns for resupply.
End Loc: Fitzroy Island (16o 55.95'S, 145o 59.12'E)
Distance run: 44nm (cumulative: 1587nm)
Engine hours: 2 hr, 33 min (cumulative: 192 hr 27 min)
Tuesday 1 November 2011
1st November, 2011
Start Loc: Brammo Bay, Dunk Island (17o 56.03'S, 146o 08.20'E)
Narrative: I had another heavy something snap my fishing line this morning. Whatever it was took a prawn I had on my light rod (12lb line) and ran. It went out one side of the boat and then switched back before heading around the bow. Before I was able to get up there it snapped me off on the anchor chain. We have certainly lost more than we have caught!
We left Dunk Island at 10:12am in a good E wind at 10-15kts. Our northerly course had us on generally a beam reach, and with one reef in the main and head sail furled to 110% we made 5-6kts through the water and 6-7kts over ground. Seas were about a metre and it was very pleasant sailing.
At 12:50pm we anchored between Kent and Jessie Islands (North Barnard Islands). We had lunch and then while the kids sorted out their swimming gear I jumped in and gave the boat a scrub around the waterline to clean off some of the muck that has accumulated over the last six weeks or so. I scrubbed the rudder and prop clean not long ago and plan to do the rest of the hull and the keel, probably in four goes, over the next couple of weeks.
We were anchored in 4m of beautiful clear water (26 degrees water temp), and I could easily see the anchor chain was not wrapped around any rocks. When the kids joined me we swam to Jessie Island and had a quick look at the beach and a cave we saw, before heading back to the boat.
This is a day anchorage only, or dead calm weather, so it was too rough to stay the night. We raised the anchor 3:00pm and headed for Mourilyan Harbour. The wind had changed to SE and dropped to less than 10kts. We tried just head sail but the apparent wind strength was too low, so we motored up to Mourilyan, anchoring at 4:10pm. It is a no frills anchorage being mainly a commercial harbour (sugar loading facilities), but it is calm.
End Loc: Mourilyan Harbour (17o 36.18'S, 146o 07.36'E)
Distance run: 23nm (cumulative: 1543nm)
Engine hours: 1 hr, 28 min (cumulative: 189 hr 54 min)
Narrative: I had another heavy something snap my fishing line this morning. Whatever it was took a prawn I had on my light rod (12lb line) and ran. It went out one side of the boat and then switched back before heading around the bow. Before I was able to get up there it snapped me off on the anchor chain. We have certainly lost more than we have caught!
We left Dunk Island at 10:12am in a good E wind at 10-15kts. Our northerly course had us on generally a beam reach, and with one reef in the main and head sail furled to 110% we made 5-6kts through the water and 6-7kts over ground. Seas were about a metre and it was very pleasant sailing.
At 12:50pm we anchored between Kent and Jessie Islands (North Barnard Islands). We had lunch and then while the kids sorted out their swimming gear I jumped in and gave the boat a scrub around the waterline to clean off some of the muck that has accumulated over the last six weeks or so. I scrubbed the rudder and prop clean not long ago and plan to do the rest of the hull and the keel, probably in four goes, over the next couple of weeks.
We were anchored in 4m of beautiful clear water (26 degrees water temp), and I could easily see the anchor chain was not wrapped around any rocks. When the kids joined me we swam to Jessie Island and had a quick look at the beach and a cave we saw, before heading back to the boat.
This is a day anchorage only, or dead calm weather, so it was too rough to stay the night. We raised the anchor 3:00pm and headed for Mourilyan Harbour. The wind had changed to SE and dropped to less than 10kts. We tried just head sail but the apparent wind strength was too low, so we motored up to Mourilyan, anchoring at 4:10pm. It is a no frills anchorage being mainly a commercial harbour (sugar loading facilities), but it is calm.
End Loc: Mourilyan Harbour (17o 36.18'S, 146o 07.36'E)
Distance run: 23nm (cumulative: 1543nm)
Engine hours: 1 hr, 28 min (cumulative: 189 hr 54 min)
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