Cairns To Townsville

28th September    Yorkey's Knob to Fitzroy Island.  27nm

After 7 days in a marina I was itching to get back to sea. Our stay in Cairns was enjoyable as we hired a car and visited the Botanical Gardens, the Daintree and Cape Tribulation as well as Port Douglas. Unfortunately I lost my wallet in Port Douglas and no kind soul found it as they have not bothered to hand it in to the police station. Not a great feeling losing everything in it. We were hoping it would be handed in so I could at least get back the licences and membership cards. No such luck. Ironically the next day I found a policeman's wallet and got it back to him so I am hoping for good Karma.

Botanical Gardens

Daintree Rain Forest

Cape Tribulation "Where the rain forest meats the Reef"

Apart from that it was a great time and with the yacht fully provisioned we are ready to head south. Today we sailed out to Green Island and anchored on the outer reef for lunch and a snorkel. It was an OK snorkel. Lots of fish, coral trout and sweet lips. The highlight of the snorkel happenned on my return to the yacht. I was amongst the bait fish when a Giant Trevally came through menacing them and having a feed. He was not worried about me being there and continued to round up the bait fish and then charge through taking what he could on the way.

We sailed to Fitzroy Island where we anchored for the night. Our plan is to leave at 6am for Dunk Island and then onto Orpheus Island the next day. We should reach Hazard Bay on Friday night if the forecast is right. We plan to stay at least 5 days at Hazard Bay and get some relaxation after the hectic city life.
We are expecting NE winds tomorrow and Friday and that should assist us with a quick passage.

29th September  Fitzroy Island to Dunk Island   62nm

The alarm went off at 5.30am and the kettle went on for an early morning cuppa. We did not have the best sleep. Twice now we have anchored at Fitzroy Island and the swell just rolls the yacht from side to side. Not a great place to stay although I am sure there is lots to do on the Island. They tell me Saturday night is party night there. We will just have to find out another time.
There was no wind and we motored off to the SE with a full main hoisted in anticipation that there will be some wind later. Eventually the wind picked up enough to put the jib out and motor sail. We had to maintain our 6 knot average to get to Dunk.
There were fish breaking the surface every where and I often altered course to steer through them but no hook ups. They were not tempted by our lures.
Sailing like this is magnificent although we are burning the fuel and clocking up hours on the engine.
After lunch we had a big strike on the lure and after a 10 minute battle the fish won and we lost. Not sure what it was but it threw the lure out.
It looked like we would be fish less for the day and then bingo we hit the jackpot about 5 miles from Dunk.
A magnificent Yellow Fin Tuna!!!

Yellow Fin Tuna!!!

These are a prize fish to eat.

We arrived at Dunk Island and anchored in 3meters of water at the low tide. After filleting the Tuna I swam some fillets across to Splash so they could enjoy the delights courteous of King Neptune.  We do not put the dinghy in the water when we are staying at an Island for the night on passage. Peter and Christine yelled out how wonderful their sashimi was. We agreed when we had ours as the sun was setting on another beautiful day. The cane fires had been burning so made for a spectacular sunset.

Sashimi at sunset with a G & T

Sunsets can be spectacular when they burn the cane fields

For dinner we rolled a fillet in seasoning herbs and salt and grilled it rolling it over so it was cooked on the outside and rare in the middle. Just delightful.
That meal would have been very expensive in a top class restaurant, but I would prefer to eat at Restaurant Billabong any day.

30th September    Dunk to Orpheus  45nm

With only 40 odd miles to travel there was not the rush to set off too early. After a cup of tea and breakfast we set off at 7.30am in quite a good SW wind. We had full sails up and reached past Beddarra Island at 7 knots in flat seas. This is champagne sailing but it was too early to crack a bottle. We were at the northern tip of Hinchinbrook Island when the wind died for a few hours and we motored until the NE wind came. The sails were filled and we reached along at 6.5 knots in flat seas with little swell. Again this champagne sailing.
We arrived at Orpheus with out a fish, with the wind up to 20 knots form the NE. After we anchored the wind swung to the north and the anchorage was not so pleasant. The wind driven waves curled around the headland and left us side on to the waves. We did not drink the champagne we had in the fridge.
Splash caught a spotted mackerel and we were invited over for dinner. We put the dinghy in the water and rowed over as it was too rough to put the out board motor on. Poor Chris was not happy about the rolling while cooking and nor were we.
As soon as dinner was over we went back to Billabong for a very rocky night. It was hard to sleep.

1st October   Hazard Bay - Orpheus Island

Not one of our best nights sleep!!
At about 3am the wind died and the wind waves calmed so we at least had a sleep in until 8.30am to catch up on the lack of sleep during the night.
We woke to a gentle rocking and no wind. The water is clear and the sun is hot. It is bliss and we are back in paradise.
Hope it stays this way as we need to watch the Grand Final of the Greatest Game of all!!! We can pick up a television signal from Lucinda which is 10nm away and watch the AFL Grand Final between the Cats and the Pies.

This one had teeth like a crocodile 

After breakfast i went for a fish along the reef trawling slow lures hoping to get the elusive coral trout. Managed a small one which was about 5cm under legal size so had to let it go. Caught a crocodilian long tom which was well over a meter long and decided to fillet that for the green curry tonight. The flesh is similar to garfish. These fish can grow to 1.5 meters. It certainly was fun to catch on a light line. We certainly have caught a variety of fish.
After a swim and some lunch I went to Splash to watch the footy. It was a great game although I was surprised the way Collingwood faded in the last quarter. I thought it was going to be close to the end.

The Orpheus Island resort reopened today and it was beautifully lit up at night. A few guests arrived by helicopter and boat. Another exclusive resort that do not welcome yachties. At $1000 per day us PBO's cannot afford it anyway.
Chris and Peter came over for the long tom green curry. The flesh was firm and good tasting. Everyone was tired and it was not long before they left and the lights went out. Amazing what a few beers and watching the footy does to you. And all we did was sit and watch.

2nd October  Hazard bay Orpheus Island.

Not much happened today. The wind was quite strong from the SSE initially and then moved to NE and calmed at dusk.
We had a quiet day on the yacht reading, swimming and just chilling out. I spent most of the day untangling fishing lines that be came tangled while trawling a few days earlier.
Watched the NRL grand final and saw Manly hold on for a good win.
Caught a couple of reef fish for dinner and it was an alcohol free day!! First one in a long while.

3rd October  Hazard Bay Orpheus Island.

Checked the weather as I do first thing in the morning with a cup of tea. It is looking fantastic for us here. We will stay here at least 7 days before heading to Townsville when persistent northerly winds are forecast. Meanwhile we will have a good time relaxing and exploring and trying to catch that prized trout.

We went to Yanks Jetty just around the corner for the day. It was a lovely sunny day and just lazed on the beach and snorkelled.

Dauntless ( a Nordhaven 47) and their crew joined us on the beach for a lunch time BBQ. Unfortunately the Parks and Wildlife BBQ had ran out of gas so I went back to Billabong and got the spare gas bottle and soon we were eating well on the beach in the shade of tree.

Our picnic table

After a relaxing afternoon on the beach we returned to the boats for showers.

We went back to the jetty for 5pm drinks and gathered a number of green coconuts for the fresh milk to have with drinks. The coconuts are in plentiful supply and they are easy to get with the boat hook. Not sure how we will get them in the future when the trees get too big.  I am not going to attempt to climb them.

It was back to the yacht for another great feed of fresh reef fish caught that day.

4th October   Hazard Bay  Orpheus

I woke early and decided to fish early for that Coral Trout. Morning conditions were beautiful with a warm gentle NE wind. Still no luck but managed a smallish Spanish Mackerel that would be good enough for 2 meals.

Another lazy day around at the beach and after lunch we had an afternoon nap.

It does not get more relaxing than this. It is going to be hard to get motivated to head south to Townsville.

I went to Splash for a beer as Tamara did not feel like drinks. We watched a big thunder storm develop over the mainland and it blocked the sun completely. It was the first time in a long while we did not have a decent sunset. Drinks were still good all the same.


5th October    My Birthday!!!!   Hazard Bay   Orpheus

The anticipation was for a nice sunny day but we woke up to the rain falling on Billabong. I dont remember any forecast of rain in any of the forecasts!!! But here it was grey skies, moderate wind and RAIN!!
How could that be.
I fired up the computer and logged onto the Bureau of Meteorology and  checked out the radar. Can you believe it the only rain picked up on the radar for 256km was right on Orpheus Island.
And on my birthday.  What did I do to deserve that.
It was a good excuse to go back to bed and sleep in.
By the time we got up the rain had passed. It was welcome rain as it did wash a lot of the salt off.
The wind became weaker and weaker throughout the day but the clouds persisted and it was quite grey all day. Conditions were pleasant but there was no snorkelling because of a lack of sun.

I went fishing while Tamara cleaned the boat. (Just like it should be. Sharing the duties) I came back with 3 real nice fish. 2 Stripey Perch and a Red Throat Emperor.

We had lunch and I got my birthday present  -  A full body massage for one hour.

We had birthday drinks on Billabong at 4.30 and invited another yacht that had come into the bay called Meridian Passage. We have met them at Mackay and Cairns and they were to accompany us to Lizard Island but pulled out with the strong winds forecast.

After drinks Peter and Chris stayed on for a roast lamb dinner.

Birthday Cake by Special Delivery.

Chris cooked a beautiful carrot cake for desert.

A happy birthday boy!!

The night was very calm and can you believe it the stars came out after dark.
Tomorrow the weather will be better, although I cannot complain it was a great day and a great place to spend a birthday at Orpheus Island.

6th Oct   Hazard Bay   Orpheus Island

Not a lot happened today. It was a very relaxing warm sunny day. Meridian Passage stayed the day and joined Splash and us for a BBQ lunch on shore.I gathered some more young green coconuts for rum cocktails at sunset. Tried out some soft plastic lures and caught a nice Spangled Emperor which I let go as we have enough fish to eat.
After sunset we skipped the evening meal as we had enough at the late afternoon BBQ.
Tomorrow we will have to move to another destination as the forecast is for NW winds and Hazard bay will not be a comfortable anchorage in NW winds. We will most likely go to Onion Bay on the southern end of Great Palm Island. It is renown for its snorkelling and diving.

7th Oct  Hazard Bay to Onion Bay   Great Palm Island  12nm

The forecast of NW winds would make Hazard Bay an uncomfortable anchorage. The decision to move was made and our destination was Onion Bay off Great Palm Island. We weighed anchor with some difficulty. The anchor chain was severely wrapped around coral and it took a good half an hour of boat moving to get the anchor up. I suspected we were going to have issues as the chain was making coral crunching noises for the last few nights. It was obviously wrapped around a few coral bommies.

Leaving our favourite beach for the last time on this trip. Yanks Jetty Orpheus Island.

We motored SE to Great Palm Island with lines out. We had one strike but no hook up.
The wind was soft and the sun was glistening on the flat seas and we were surrounded by islands. It was a wonderful picture.
We had lunch on the way which Tamara prepared - fish wraps. Fish wraps consist of Stripey Perch fillets pan fried with pan fried egg, tomato and mayonnaise - all put into a rice wrap. Yum!!
We arrived at Onion Bay and dropped anchor in 14 meters of water. I took the dinghy and the fishing lines and went to explore the southern shores of Great Palm Island. The water clarity was superb and you could see great coral. Unfortunately I also saw a massive shark, far longer than my 2.6 meter dinghy, which has put me off snorkelling. I could not identify the shark but we have been told there are tiger sharks in the area.

I caught 7 good size Stripey Perch and many other fish type including a small Coral Trout on the lure. I kept the Stripey's and share them with Splash.
At 5 we went to the beach for drinks. There were obviously some form of previous settlement on this beach as we found a few tin humpy's completely demolished by the cyclone. Peter and I walked up the beach and found some beautifully preserved clam shells which Tamara took an immediate like to and they are destined for decoration of the house at Port Stephens. More cargo for the trip south. We have many pieces of coral and drift wood for decorations.

We will stay another day as the weather is perfect and we will make a serious assault on the Coral Trout tomorrow.

8th Oct  Onion Bay  Great Palm Island
What a fantastic anchorage. Water is crystal clear and it is flat calm. I was up early to go fishing and left Tamara in bed. I trawled along the outer reef which skirted the island. Caught a variety of fish including 10 Stripey Perch,  about 12 Coral Trout all under size  (bugger) , pike, long toms, rock cod and a shark mackerel about 5kgs. That was great fun on a light line and rod and reel.

I got back to the yacht at about 10.30am in time for chocolate cake that Tamara baked. Peter and Chris came over for morning tea.

It was very hot with not a lot of wind. Temp around 30 degrees. We swam a lot off the back of the yacht to keep cool. Peter took me for a snorkel along the fringing reef at low tide. It was truly magnificent and all the coral was pristine. Fish life was not as plentiful as I would have thought as the souther end of the island gets hammered by SE winds so I would have thought it would not be fished out. The population of Great Palm Island is 5000 people so I guess they do a lot of fishing. They all seem to have nice new aluminium boats with good motors.

After a bit of lunch Peter and I went for some bottom fishing but all we got was snag after snag on the coral. We do not have a reef anchor for the dinghy's and where the locals were fishing it is too deep. We gave up
as the wind was too strong and we were drifting too fast. We went trawling again and Peter and I caught 2 Stripey Perch each. That was enough. I gave mine to Peter as I could not be bothered filleting them.

It was time for drinks with the sun going down and I cooked spaghetti bolognese for the 4 of us.

9th Oct  Great Palm Island to Townsville  34nm

It was time to say goodbye to the Palm Island Group. It was sad as with the good weather we were having you could spend weeks here exploring the different beaches and reefs.

Time to move on. We upped the anchor and motored off in very light winds. We pulled the main sail up any way in anticipation of the NE wind forecast.

After 2 hours the wind came in and we had a very pleasant sail. alongside Magnetic Island and into the Breakwater Marina in Townsville.

It is very hoyt at about 32 degrees and the marina quite smelly with the algal bloom blowing into the marina. They say you get used to it but I am not so sure.

We will be here for a couple of days to re fuel and provision and collect new credit cards etc. It is not a smart thing to loose a wallet.

Cairns to Lizard Island and return

Fri 9th September    Yorkey's Knob Marina to Low Islets (28nm)

We had 8 days in the marina which we welcomed at the beginning but could not wait to get back to sea. The 8 days enabled us to re provision and do some much needed maintenance to Billabong. The rig was checked, the oil changed, the water impeller was changed and a number of other little jobs completed including the boom brake. We had a great time at the Yorkey's Knob Boat Club. The meals were great, the service was great, the people were great and the ambience was superb. Saturdays they have Oysters $10 a dozen. Tamara and I had 3 dozen for $30!! Mon and Tuesday the meals are 2 for the price of one. Two rib fillets with mushroom sauce for $29!! That's good value. They also had Coral Trout Crab Cakes. Trout and mud crab done in a fish cake. Yum.We will definitely stop here again on the way back.
We left the marina at 9-30am for a short 28 nm sail to Low Islets. Unfortunatley there was no wind so we had to motor. We are fully laden and this is the heaviest Billabong has ever been!! It will be a minimum of 21 days before we get back to the shops, so we have to have everything on board.
We are carrying 30 days food, 500 litres of water, 250 litres of diesel, 55 litres of petrol, 5 cartons of beer, 18 bottles of red, 18 bottles of white, a cask of white, 2 casks of red and a cask of port, 5 bottles of rum, a bottle of gin, a bottle of butterscotch snaps, and bottle of Frangelica. Not to mention all the other soft drinks and juices etc.
So the boat was a bit slow under motor today.

We have joined a yacht rally to Lizard Island. There are 13 yachts partaking and it is good to go in company with others. 4 yachts left today and more will go tomorrow. The good thing about a rally is that there are no time frames. You just get there when you get there.
We arrived at Low Islets only to be greeted by sharks swimming around the yacht. This area is a marine park and is only 9 nm's from Port Douglas. There are many tourist boats which come to the island and the fish get a good feed. The sharks hang around for an easy feed to!!.(not the tourists)  Lucky they are harmless black tipped reef sharks but we were still reluctant to swim off the back of the yacht, so we went into the shore for a swim.

The welcoming party at the Low Islets

It is a very pretty islet named by Capt Cook in 1770.  There is a caretaker on the island who lives in the light house keepers house built in the early 1900's and a research station house. The island is so small it only takes 30 minutes to walk around it.

Low Islet at Sunset. A perfect Island.

There was little wind and this could be the calm before the storm. A strong wind warning has been issued for tomorrow - 30 knots. We are sailing to Cape Bedford which is a 70nm run so we will be leaving at 6am so we make it by 4pm. We will spend tomorrow night at Cape Bedford and then sail to Lizard Island on Sunday.
Monday the wind will be stronger so we want to be secure in Watson's Bay at Lizard Island.

10th September   Low Islets to Cape Flattery  (92nm)

The wind woke us up at 3.30am. It was a bit earlier than expected but not as strong initially. About 15 knots and the sea state was still calm. It would have been easy to go back to sleep however a large power catamaran anchored near us was almost on top of us. It anchored late in the afternoon yesterday and I watched it put its anchor down. It was a very small anchor for a large vessel and while it was far enough away in the light NE breeze it was nearly on top of us when the wind went through to the SE. I think the anchor dragged on the wind change before it reset. So I made a cup of tea and sat in the cockpit until dawn. It ended up being OK and we were able to get the anchor up with out having to ask him to shift.
At 6am Splash and Billabong were on the way, breakfast on the run.
The waves outside of the anchorage were bigger than expected which indicates the Low Islets is a very good anchorage in SE winds.
As soon as we cleared the no fishing exclusion the lines went out and bingo - a nice spotted mackerel in about 5 mins. I quickly filleted it before the sea state became too difficult to manage and pulled the lines in as it was getting rougher and we were starting to surf waves at 8-9 knots with just the no 3 jib out. The waves were larger than I expected for inside the reef and the current was against the wind which made them stand up a bit bigger.
At 9am the current turned to the north and the seas flattened a little, but the wind increased to 30 knots. It was going to be a long day and Tamara voiced her discomfort on more than a few occasions, saying why was she not back in Sydney with her daughter Marina and grandson Oliver. I have to ignore those comments from time to time.
Billabong settled into the task at hand with "George" the auto pilot doing most of the steering and working well. We grabbed hand to mouth snacks and made cups of tea and coffee to extinguish the hunger pangs as it was too rough for some one to stay in the cabin to make a sandwich. We were surfing at 10-11 knots now. We were going to have a good dinner anyway with fresh fish.
We made great progress and had completed the 72nm to Cape Bedford by 3.30pm - a bit ahead of schedule.  Our reference book says Cape Bedford can be quite a roly anchorage in strong SE winds. I called Peter from Splash and asked how he felt going on to Cape Flattery- another 21nm's. My thoughts were that we would not have a good sleep at Cape Bedford with the seas state and the wind bullets coming over the rise.
A change of plans were quickly agreed and it was onto Cape Flattery. We expected to get there by 6pm just as the sun was going down.
Tamara was making noises about how nice it would be to have sashimi for dinner. We were going a bit fast for trolling, but anything to keep the girl happy. The lines went out and just before we reached  Low Wooded Island both lines hooked fish. I have an Alvey reel on the back of the stern rail and the fish on that line reeled out about 200 meters of line before I could put the breaks on. It was a big fish but sadly it let go after me trying to pull it in for 10 mins while Billabong was sailing at 8 plus knots. The other line had a good Mackerel Tuna which was brought aboard for processing.
Tamara was happy and I got a few kisses!! Her wish of sashimi was granted!!
We arrived at Cape Flattery in the setting sun. I asked Splash if they would like a couple of fillets of the Spotted Mackerel for dinner. Yes they would so we came a long side and threw a parcel of fish to them.
It was nice to tuck into a bay that was relatively flat calm after a long sail.
We covered 92 nm with the assistance of current in 12 hours. That is an average of 7.7knots.
The wind was still howling in the rigging above 25 knots but we were safe on anchor. The bottom is mud so we were not going anywhere.
After a hot shower, a cold beer, sashimi for entrée and mackerel for dinner we settled in for a good nights sleep.

11th September    Cape Flattery to Lizard Island. (18.47nm)
We are only a short sail to our turn around destination, Lizard Island. This is our goal to spend at least 10 days at Lizard Island before hoping for favourable winds to take us back south.
Lizard Island is a marine park and fishing is mostly excluded except for trolling on the NE side of the island which can only be achieved in light winds as the prevailing SE winds virtually put a stop to any attempts at trolling.
I looked at the forecast on the internet and it is not good for the next 5 days at least. Winds 25-30 knots until Tuesday and 20 -25 knot SE after that until Saturday.
We will take the time to explore the island and climb Cook's Look where Captain Cook climbed up to look for a way out of the reef in 1770.

"Land Ahoy" There's Lizard Island

We set sail at 9am and by 11-30am we were anchored in Watson's Bay at Lizard Island. A very fast reach in 20-25 knot Easterly.
Cook named Lizard Island after seeing lots of Lizards when he climbed to the top to look for a passage to exit the Great Barrier Reef.
There are 21 yachts anchored in Watson's Bay with more of the yachts in the rally still to come. Could be quite crowded when they all arrive.
It is a beautiful anchorage with turquoise water and coral reefs very near with giant clams to snorkel over.

Watson's Bay. Billabong anchored in the middle.

Tamara is ecstatic. The beach is very fine sand and there are trees to settle under for shade and afternoon naps. It would be a perfect place if you were allowed to fish!!
We are going to enjoy this Island anyway with lots to do.

Before long we were told drinks on the beach at 5pm!!
After lunch and a nap we headed to the beach for drinks. At least 25 people.
I met up with some sailing friends from the RMYC at Broken bay.
Stuart and Anette from Truest Passion. We first met them in Lake Macquarie and then I met them on the Indonesian Rally in 2008. It was great to catch up with them and to hear of their travels. They have covered over 30,000nm now. Billabong has clocked 6000nm in comparison.

After drinks it was back to Splash for Pad Thai Noodles and an early night.


12th September  Lizard Island

The wind still blows. No let up, just a constant howling in the rigging.
Today is Monday and the research station on the island conducts tours of their operations at 11am every Monday. All yachties in the bay are invited.
We had breakfast and tidied the yacht and left at 10am. There are two ways of getting there. One is by dinghy to a beach on the western side of the island except you will get wet getting there as you have to motor into a stiff  south easter. We were told that we could walk, so we chose that method. Only trouble was Peter from Splash received the instructions but they were not clear. We ended up at Blue lagoon beach and missed the tour. But we found a magnificent beach.

Blue Lagoon Beach

It is a beautiful white fine sandy beach and one we would like to explore more on a sunny day.

We also came across  various sized bamboos stuck in the exposed roots of a tree with various slits and holes cut in them. They are the whistling bamboos. They were playing a tune as the wind varied in strength and direction around them. Some body obviously created it and it was very beautiful to come across this surprise.

                                                                 Bamboo wind pipes

We fossiked on the beach in the high tide line and Tamara found some interesting pieced of drift wood to take home. No idea where we are going to store the shells, the coral and the drift wood collected on our travels for the trip home.

Crew of Splash and Billabong at Blue Lagoon

We walked back down the island airstrip and witnessed a plane land with resort tourists paying up to $2000 per day. Amazingly the resort is full and can take 80 guests.

We grotty yachties are not welcome at the resort of course, except they have a beach bar called the Marlin Bar and we are allowed to drink there from Wednesday to Sunday from 5pm. They also cook pizzas and burgers so if we run out of food we can drink and eat once a day at the Marlin bar!!!.

We went back to the yacht for a swim and lunch and an afternoon nap.

At 5pm it was drinks on the beach although the numbers were down because of the increase in wind.
It was our turn to cook for Splash and we had green curry of left over tuna and some prawns.

We were in bed early and went to sleep with the wind still roaring in the rigging.

13th September Lizard Island

Still the wind blows. I eagerly get out of bed and fire up the internet to get the 7 day forecast wind charts from the Bureau of Meteorology - hoping for a favourable forecast!! No. The next 7 days are still 20 knots plus today and tomorrow up around the 30 knots. The best days look like Sunday and Monday. I think many of the yachts here will take this opportunity to go South. I am undecided what to do as I would like to experience Lizard Island in all its sunny glory with a little less wind. Only trouble is we could be here for another 2 weeks if we do not get favourable winds.
I can only be patient and wait and see tomorrows 7 day wind forecast.

We did not do much for the day except go for a walk on the Island. We did the Pandanus Track which was only a short walk. The Pandanus area is the sacred site of the aboriginal tribe Dingaal who frequented the area. When Captain James Cook discovered Lizard Island they found traces of camp sites and middens of shells that indicated Aboriginals had been there, most likely from the mainland.

Valley of Pandanus Trees

The Pandanus thrive here amongst grasses as they have a permanent freshwater supply. I stepped off the track on to the grass only to drop into thick black mud and lose my thong. I had to find a stick and pull it out much to the laughter of the rest of the crew. The mud is very rich black and moist which shows why the Pandanus trees and the grass grow so well there.

One  black foot one white foot

We walked back along the track to find the fresh water well and pump so I could wash myself.
The well has been here for many years and is a primitive hand pump. The boaties have been quite ingenious over the years rigging up a funnel and a shower in the tree.

The well. Note shower in tree hanging behind me.

We found the Treasure Cove with Pandora's Chest in the barrel and signed the visitors book.

Pandora's box at treasure trove

Also we found the camp site with gas cooker, so we decided then and there we will have BBQ sausages on the beach tomorrow.

It was very windy and the sand on the beach was sand blasting our legs so we went back to the yacht for a swim and an afternoon nap and to continue reading the book "Batavia".

I took some Spanish Mackerel out of the freezer for dinner and we had a quiet night on our own. Except for the wind of course!!

14th September  Lizard Island.

It was not a great sleep with the yacht yawing across the wind. I had let out another 10 meters of chain to be safe as one yacht dragged its anchor during the day when the crew were not on it. The extra chain meant the yacht could sail from side to side further in the wind. That is what we have to put up with when you go cruising. At least the sun shone through on occasions.

I looked again at the 7 day wind maps. Still not much better news except that it will slowly drop to 20 knots from the South East. That is better than 30 knots!! Sunday, Monday and Tuesday looking better, perhaps 15 to 20 knots.

I dropped Tamara at the beach so she could have a swim and wash some things at the well and I went to the clam garden for a snorkel. The water was crystal clear and when the sun shone through the clouds it was brilliant. Huge giant clams grow on the reef and the fish life was abundant with many Perch, Parrot Fish, Coral Trout, Emperors, Sweet Lips, big Cod and Maori Wrasse. And a reef shark!! Not sure who scared who first.  It is a marine park and the fish and sharks are quite friendly and you can take a close up look at them.

At 12 noon I gathered up the sausages and condiments (Beer and Champagne) and joined the crew of Splash, Chalkies Chariot and Tropical Dream at the camp site for a BBQ.

Cooking facilities at the Camp Site

It was a pleasant get together and a friendly Lizard was looking for a free feed.

A Lizard on Lizard island

BBQ Lunch at Treasure Trove

In the afternoon it was book reading time but I don't think I managed to finish one page of Batavia before I was pushing out ZZZZ's

We had a very light dinner of Miso Soup and a salad of red kidney beans and onions and settled into reading Batavia with the wind still howling in the rigging.
I am hoping tomorrow will be less wind and more sunshine.

15th September  Lizard Island.

It is not a good day. The wind does not let up and the sun does not shine except for small breaks in the clouds and the showers which are not real rain, just spitting on occasions.
Not much to do except go ashore and walk in the wind. We walked across to Blue Lagoon but did not stay long as it was too windy.
A picnic lunch was taken ashore and we found a table out of the wind at the camp site to eat the lunch.
It felt like a day for reading and we went back to Billabong for the afternoon where I managed to consume a large part of Batavia.
Dinner was on board Splash and we made plans for Peter and I to climb to Cook's Look.in the morning.
We managed to return without getting wet from the spray off the waves as we had to go back up wind to get to our boat.

16th September Lizard Island
Again the wind blows. No respite.
We have breakfast and make our way to the beach where we leave the girls on the beach for a swim.
Rob from Chalkies Chariot joins Peter and I for the climb. It is a 3 hour return journey. It is a tough climb over rocks but the path is well marked and well worn. It is very hot once you get on the ridge and out of the wind. We sweat out the previous days alcohol consumption before we get to the top. But it is worth it. We stood in the same spot as Captain  Cook did on 12th August 1770 and we could see the exit he chose through the Great Barrier Reef now known as Cook's Passage. Simply a magnificent view all around.

Cooks Lookout

Blue Lagoon

Watson's Bay from the top.

We scale back down with care as the legs feel like jelly from the climb up and we are unsteady on our feet. Peter has a slide and cuts his leg in a couple of places.
We see another big Lizard and quite a fat one at that.

Big Fat Lizard

Watson's Bay with the Lizard Island Resort in the next bay.

We got back to the beach and bathed in the crystal cool waters of Watson's Bay before returning to the yacht for lunch and a rest. I managed to finish the book "Batavia" that afternoon. It is a gruesome account of what happened to the mighty Dutch ship and its survivors off the West Australian Coast. But well worth the read.

At 5pm we had drinks on the beach and then took the dinghy's to the Marlin Bar at Lizard Island Resort for a beer and a Pizza.

Sundowners on the beach.

17th September  Lizard Island

We woke again to the howling wind and the yacht sheering from side to side. This is starting to get to us. It would be so  nice to wake up to calm conditions. But such is life on Lizard Island. It looks like we got here at the wrong time of the month!!
But it is not that bad once you get started on the chores and decision what to do. It could be worse it could be raining!!
Peter from Splash comes over and we look up the 7 day weather forecast and have a discussion and make tentative plans. It looks like Monday will be our best opportunity to leave or we have to wait for the next one which could be weeks. It is sad as I would like to stay longer and experience the calmer conditions so we can get around to Mermaid Cove and do other things that the yachties say are good but not in windy conditions.

It is sunny and we decide on going to the beach for another sausage BBQ. We can get out of the wind in the camping area and it is pleasant.

The others had a swim on the beach while I went for another snorkel on the eastern side of the bay. Lots of fish and giant clams.
Then it was back to the yacht to read a book and then to the beach at 5 for sundowners and meet more yachties that came in to day.
Dinner, reading, sleep and that was another great day on Lizard Island, despite the wind.
Tomorrow the wind is predicted to fall below 26 knots!! Hope they are right.

18th September  Lizard Island

Yes the wind is still there and it is under 25 knots. It could be our last day on Lizard Island.
The forecast shows the wind easing Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday so we must take this opportunity to go South. People warn us you can get stuck here for 4 weeks.
I feel I have not had the opportunity to explore as much as I would like but that is the way it is.

We had breakfast and I took Tamara to the beach. I took the dinghy to the research station beach where there is a reef they say is the best snorkel reef on the island. I was there for an hour and they are right. Just magnificent fish life, soft and hard corals.

I got back to the beach in time for lunch. Peter and Christine from Splash took their smoker to shore. I had 3 frozen reef fish from Orpheus and some Spanish Mackerel. We smoked them and Christine made a delightful bok choy  in a soy,ginger and sesame mix. It was a delightful lunch with champagne.

The usual drinks at 5 on the beach were accompanied by 2 guitarists who sang songs while the sun set and we drank our beverages.
Most of the discussion was about who was leaving and was not.
We made our decision we would leave if the wind was under 20 knots but we were not going to leave at first light. We had to get the dinghy's on board in the morning once we made the decision to go.

19th September   Lizard Island to Cape Bedford   39 nm

We woke at 5.30am and I checked the weather on the internet. The 7 day wind forecast confirmed today was the day to leave even though the wind was still just above 20 knots. We had to take this opportunity to get to Cape Bedford and then Tuesday would be a long 70nm leg to Low Isles in hopefully less than 15 knot SE and then Wednesday into Cairns in same conditions.

After getting the dinghy stowed and the yacht ship shape for the sea we headed off at 9am. The seas were lumpy and the wind was above 20 knots from SSE. The wind had a lot of south in it so it made the trip difficult motor sailing with 2 reefs in the main. I put 2 fishing lines out to occupy myself to try and give some excitement for the boredom that was setting in. With in 10 minutes we landed a Frigate Mackerel and 2 Spanish Mackerel. I let one of the Spaniards go and pulled the lines back in. We had caught entree and dinner.
 A number of the other yachts that left Lizard at 6am were at Cape Bedford when we arrived sheltering from the wind and sea conditions including Chalkies Chariot. They were going to go non stop to Cairns but it was too tough and they took refuge.

The wind is expected to ease overnight and we will head off at 4am and try and make Low Islands by 6pm tomorrow.

We had an early dinner and into bed with the wind still blowing.


20th September  Cape Bedford to Low Isles    82nm

The alarm went off at 3.30am and we had a coffee and raised the anchor. The wind had eased a bi,but to be safe we had 2 reefs in the main. The seas had flattened a bit so it was more comfortable. We motor sailed with the main only until dawn and the wind was a bit further east so we rolled out the jib but continued to motor sail.
The distance between Cape Bedford and low Isles as the crow flies is 71nm. However with the wind against  us and the current against us and the waves against us we will have to travel a lot further.
We battled on through the day and the further south we went the wind eased but did not go further east as expected. We had to tack all the way inside the reef and the mainland.
By the afternoon the wind was down to 11 knots true so it was very comfortable. I was bored after lunch so when we past the no fishing zone I decided to experiment with lures as we did not need any more fish. The freezer is full of Spanish Mackerel.
I lost my best Spanish Mackerel lure on something very big. Possibly a marlin or bill fish of some sort. I did not get a chance to even get to the100kg line before it snapped.
Later I caught a good spotted mackerel which I kept to give to the crew of  Dauntless who lost their auto pilot before Cape Bedford and were hand steering so could not catch any fish.
Then on another of my favourite lures I caught a big dog tooth tuna. It was about 15kg. I let it go after great difficulty in getting the hooks out of its mouth with pliers. It had a good set of choppers a dentist would be proud of.
The experimental lures did not work. I have a lot of lures I have bought over the years. I now know which work and which don't so I can narrow down my purchases from now on.
They say that it costs $67 per kilo of fish caught by amateur fisherman in purchase of gear and bait. It is no wonder so many people just go to the fish market. I am definitely in front of that on this trip, but not sure on the lifetime. Spanish mackerel retails for $32 per kg in Cairns.

We arrived at Low Isles at 5.30pm after covering 82nm. It was a long day. We gave the Mackerel to Dauntless and we had drinks and fish and salad for dinner.
The lights were out at 9pm.


21st September  Low Isles to Yorkey's Knob      27nm

That was a great nights sleep. Woke at 8am and had a quick dip of the back of the yacht. Careful not to attract the attention of the sharks -  even though they are friendly. There is always apprehension when you are in the same water as a shark.
After a lazy breakfast we headed out into a light SE breeze. Not enough wind to get the sails out, we motored in absolute idyllic conditions.
We had lunch on the way and entered Yorkey's Knob at 3pm.
We had dinner of smoked mackerel and bok choy with Russian potatoes on Splash with the crew of Dauntless also joining us. What a magnificent meal.

We will be here at Yorkeys Knob for 7 days while we sight see, provision and do little maintenance chores.
We intend to hire a car and visit cape Tribulation and Port Douglas.