We awoke with a small rain squall which did not last long
enough to wash the salt off the boat. Soon after the sun came out and it was a
very pleasant morning. The long range weather forecast is not looking so good
for us and a decision was made that we needed to get to our turn around point a
bit quicker. With that in mind we needed to go to Cardwell today and get some
fresh provisions. We needed to retrieve the crab traps and get going but the
tide was too low to retrieve them. I waited until 10.30 and went with Graham as
safety in numbers is paramount with crocodiles around. Graham pulled his pots
and managed 3 muddies. I pulled my first trap and I had none. My second trap
was a little more difficult to get to but when I finally dragged it out there
were 3 crabs also. We quickly got back to the boat and got under way to Cardwell.
Rugged mountain beauty with Mount Bowen the 3rd highest peak in QLD.
We motored along the Hinchinbrook Channel with its
mountainous back bone in full view. It is quite stunning. No other Island can
match the magnitude and wilderness beauty of Hinchinbrook. It is the largest
Island National Park in the world. Hinchinbrook’s mangrove forests are second
to intensity to those found in the Amazon Delta. There are over 30 species of
mangrove plants and research has revealed that some species are over 20 million
years old. There must be millions of mud crabs in the mangroves!!!
We arrived at Cardwell at 2.30pm so we had to get a wriggle
on to get ashore and buy groceries and retrieve some water to top up the tanks.
The sea was sloppy and the only way you can get ashore is by dinghy to the
beach. The waves on the shore did not make it easy for us. After loading the
dinghy with the supplies and the water and the washing that was done in a
bucket under the tap, I tried to get the dinghy off the shore but was immediately
swamped by a wave. With all the groceries on the floor rolling around in 4
inches of water it was not a lot of fun. Back at the yacht we drained all the
water from the shopping bags and dried everything we could. The only damage was
the lettuce and the bok choy. Both these did not take kindly to salt water but
we saved a bit of them.
Cardwell is not the easiest place to restock. The conditions
have to be perfect- calm water, no wind and a high tide. Today was a tough day
at the office. We were exhausted after we finally raised the anchor to find a
calm anchorage for the night.
We finally dropped anchor at Scraggy point in the
Hinchinbrook Channel just as the sun was going down. We went to Echo Bach for
sundowners and took our 3 crabs and a salad. We ate 6 mud crabs between 4 people - what a crab feast.
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