29th Sep Abel Point Marina

Today was a sad day as Oliver and Tamara were flying back to Sydney.

All good things come to an end and we had a great time.

I have new crew coming tomorrow to assist me to sail Billabong back to Sydney.

Maureen and Eric my PNG friends will accompany me to Bundaberg.

At 9am Tamara and Oliver were all packed up and I had the Marina Courtesy car so I took them into Airlie for breakfast before dropping them off at the ferry terminal

For their trip across to Hamilton Island to catch their flight to Sydney.

Oliver had a great time and it was sad that it had come to an end.

I spent the rest of the day provisioning Billabong for the journey south.

I had drinks on Isabella and we joined Unruffled at La Tabella for a pleasant meal.

28th Sep Abel Point Marina

I had a fair bit of maintenance things to do on the yacht while Tamara completed all the washing.

We took Oliver for breakfast and then a swim in the town lagoon before returning for lunch where I completed most of the chores while looking after Oliver.

Oliver loves the swimming.

We met Ngak Ngak and Isabella for dinner at Sorrento’s

27th Sep Nara Inlet to Abell Point Marina 16nm

Oliver was up early and excited that we were going to visit the Aboriginal Cave that was at the end of Nara Inlet.

After breakfast, we took the dinghy ashore so he could see how the aborigines lived many years ago.

It is not the greatest tourist attraction and Oliver was a bit disappointed. He expected more. At least it gave him a taste of what the aborigines did many years ago.

We returned to the yacht at 10am and weighed anchor and headed for Abel Point Marina.

On the way, we saw a mother whale with her calf. This made Oliver very excited and the whale breached which made him even more excited.

Lunch was on board and then I took Oliver to the town swimming lagoon where we had some fun before returning to Billabong for 5 o’clock drinks and then off to a restaurant for pasta.

26th Sep Chance Bay to Katies Cove to Saba Bay to Nara Inlet. 28nm

We had an early morning rise as we wanted to get away early and collect some more shells at the beach off Haselwood Island called Katies Cove.

We motored out to get telephone reception to ring Marina and let her know that all was good with Oliver.

We arrived at Katies Cove AT 8.30 am right on low tide. I anchored in 3 meters of water and we took the dinghy into the beach.

We collected some shells and had a really great swim and lots of fun with Oliver.

After collecting a bucket of shells, we headed for Saba Bay for lunch where Isabella and Ngak Ngak were anchored. After lunch, I had a quick fish and managed only 2 Stripey Perch.

At 4pm we headed for Nara Inlet.

Drinks were on Billabong and we had a pleasant evening

That was a really special day.

25th Sep Chance Bay

Today we stayed at Chance Bay all day just to have a rest. We have been on the move for many days and it was just pleasant not to have to weigh anchor and re anchor.

After breakfast I took Oliver to the beach and we swam until lunch time.

We cooked the last of the Tuna for lunch as Oliver loves tuna.

At 2.30 just after high tide I went fishing for an hour and caught 2 Stripey Perch. They will do for lunch or dinner tomorrow.

Unruffled, Isabella and Ngak Ngak are also anchored in Chance Bay with us.

A quick scout around the 4 RPAYC yachts and a decision was made to have drinks on the beach at 4.30pm.

Another unofficial Rendezvous for the Coral Coast Cruisers. Hamish organised beach rocks and we played a form of beach Bocci.

Michelle organised Oliver and Tamara and they made a car out of the beach sand for Oliver to play in.

We also took the little BBQ into the beach and we had sausages for dinner.

The weather was post card perfect today and it was a really pleasant day.

24th Sep Chance Bay to Hamilton Island to Chance Bay 16nm

Ollie woke us all again and came and jumped into bed with me again. He drew a few pictures and we then headed into the beach for a swim and some fun on the beach before Marina had to return to Hamilton Island to catch a flight home.

We had lunch while we motored to the Hamilton Island marina to drop Marina off.

We arrived at 1.30pm and were escorted to our designated berth. Marina was able to book the shuttle bus and was taken straight to the airport. We washed the yacht and filled the tanks with water and headed back to Chance Bay where Ollie and I had a swim at the beach and then we had drinks on Isabella. Unruffled was also anchored in the bay.

We had dinner and Ollie was soon fast asleep and we could hardly keep our eyes open.

9pm and we were all asleep.

23rd Sep Chance Bay to Whitehaven to Chalkies Beach to Chance Bay. 12nm

Ollie woke at 4am and of course woke the rest of us. He managed to go back to sleep but woke at 6am and jumped into bed with me. Its always nice to have a cuddle with him and then he makes sure you get up and play with him.

Today he did some drawing and made a birthday card for Hamish off Ngak Ngak as it is his birthday coming up.

We had breakfast and I took Ollie to the beach for a play and a swim.

While on the beach I met a man who had a good looking powercat close by. He invited me on board and we had a look and spoke with him about it. It was a 35 foot Argus Power Cat. Was exactly what I am looking for. May have to investigate on my return to Sydney. Certainly was nice.

We weighed anchor and headed off to Whitehaven Beach. It was a brilliant sunny day and a light north easterly was blowing and made perfect conditions for a swim and lunch at Whitehaven.

I cooked the Coral Trout I caught 2 days earlier for Marina on the BBQ so she could taste the delicate flesh of a coral trout. We had that with some reef fish and kit was a delightful lunch.

We then motored across to Chalkies Beach and picked up a mooring. We then took the dinghy around the north-west corner of Haselwood Island and onto a beach where we had collected shells previously.

Of course with 4 people collecting there were a lot of shells found and brought back to the yacht including a massive clam shell which Marina wants me to take home on the yacht. I have no idea where I am going to store it.

A bucket of shells

I managed to Catch 2 Stripey perch on the way back from the beach. So, they became dinner along with some mackerel I had thawed out.

We motored back to Chance Bay and anchored for the evening and had dinner and we all fell asleep very early after a big day.

Isabella and Merritulli were anchored in the bay with us.

22nd Sep Chance Bay to Hamilton Island to Chance Bay 16nm

The morning was spent tidying up Billabong and getting beds changed for the arrival of Oliver and Marina at 3pm at Hamilton.

We left Chance Bay at 12.30 and arrived at Hamilton Island at 2pm but were unable to get in as all the concierge craft were busy. We went around in circles at the front of the yacht club until they eventually came and escorted us to our pen. We only just got there and Marina and Ollie arrived.

It was great to see them.

Tamara quickly went to the new IGA store on Hamilton and purchased some fresh groceries and top up supplies.

After washing the decks and filling up the water tanks we were on our way back to Chance Bay.

As soon as we arrived Ollie and I had a swim which he loved.

We had dinner and it was not long before Ollie fell asleep and the rest of us went to bed.

21st Sept Stonehaven to Windy Bay to Chance Bay 28nm

We woke to extremely calm conditions. No wind at all. The burgees on the mast did not offer a flutter.

We quickly had coffee and I took Tamara for a look at the coral. Water clarity was good and the fish life plentiful.

Judy and Martin came over to say farewell as they were headed into the marina to get the cooling system checked and hopefully pick up their freezer.

I saw some fish splashing so had to go and investigate that with the fishing rod.

I caught a trevally and 2 stripeys. Not the big coral trout that I thought was making the splash.

At least we have sashimi for lunch and fish for dinner.

As I was coming back to Billabong Tamara was at the back of the yacht with “George” the friendly turtle.

I quickly tied the dinghy to the side of the yacht and grabbed the camera to take photos and another video. It stayed for about 5 minutes.

This is an amazing video of Gangster T

Tamara really enjoyed this experience as she was in the water touching it and it just kept staying around as if it wanted more.

I wanted to get in the water and take some more underwater shots but I think “George” had enough and went into a deep dive and disappeared.

A catamaran picked up the other mooring so I let them know about the friendly turtle. They seemed to know about it already and said that it is a she and her name is “Gangster T”. No idea how it came by that name.

The fellow on the catamaran said that it has been around for years and is resident in the lagoon and that he feeds it jelly fish which apparently turtles eat along with sea grass.

That explains the mystery somewhat about how a turtle became friendly.

I cleaned the fish and we left the mooring and headed off around the northern side of Hook Island to Windy Bay. The wind was less than 5 knots so again we motored all the way. Had lunch along the way. We arrived at Windy Bay and it was flat calm.

I took the dinghy for a quick fish and landed a coral trout that is earmarked for tomorrow night’s dinner with Marina and Oliver. They arrive at Hamilton Island at 3 and we will pick them up so it could be a nice treat for Marina. I have fish for Oliver and he likes it crumbed.

I cleaned the fish and we left for Chance Bay for our overnight anchor. On the way I put a lure out and to my surprise we landed a mackerel. Rarely with all the yachts and motor boats around do you ever get a strike. Now we have plenty of fresh fish for our visitors.

We had a quiet night after our big day and lights were out early.

20th Sept Stonehaven

We were intending to leave Stonehaven but Isabella wanted to stay another day and head into Airlie tomorrow to have the water cooling system checked for impeller bits. It was also an opportunity to collect their freezer that had been put in for repairs if it were ready.

After breakfast, I took Judy for a fish. We caught heaps of little ones but no keepers which was in steep contrast to the day before.

We weighed anchor and moved into the lagoon on one of the moorings that became free hoping to see our friendly Turtle “George” again.

I had a big snorkel around the reef but the clarity of the water was very poor so not worth it apart from the exercise.

We were invited to a lamb roast dinner on Isabella which was duly accepted. I cooked a potato bake to compliment the roast.

Another fine dinner on the water.

No wonder we are all putting on weight. Is it the drinks or is it the food or both!!

19th Sept Stonehaven

Nirvana’s Kitchen departed at 7am and headed for Shaw Island. They will have some great weather with northerly winds forecast for next 7 days at least.

Looks like the northerlies have arrived early.

I went for a quick fish at 8am while Tamara slept. It was a productive morning with 6 fish including a coral trout.

We had an amazing visit of nature with a friendly turtle coming right up to the back of the yacht. We had heard about this Turtle in the Stonehaven lagoon but never witnessed it previously and thought that you had to be on one of the moorings in the lagoon at the southern end of Stonehaven.

We were anchored about 100 meters from the lagoon on the outside of the fringing reef so never expected the Turtle to come out there.

I was able to jump in the water and take pictures and a video with it and it did not mind me touching it.

An incredible experience.

We named it “George” as we have no idea if it is female or male.

An amazing Turtle experience

The rest of the day was spent catching up on boat chores.

It was a light rain and overcast for most of the day which made doing boat chores easier in the cool.

Judy and Martin braved the rain and came for sunset drinks which we could not see because of the clouds.

This was only the 4^th day of the entire trip that we actually have had precipitation.

It really has been lighter winds than normal along with warmer temperatures and very little rain.