And finally to Darwin

27 July

We’re off on the last leg of the trip, although still another 350nm to go. The day started quietly enough, time to observe the cloud of nitrogen and sulphur gases which drifted north from the bauxite processing plant all the way up the peninsula and probably eventually to Indonesia. 




Great sailing for a while, just the Genoa and foresail, a strengthening wind and little swell, but then just to the East of Cape Wilberforce, when we were goosewinging downwind, a bang and the Genoa was in the water, a bolt at the top of the furler having sheared. Gavin gathered up the sail and we stowed it on deck and continued just on the foresail. Went through the passage and despite the now unusable Genoa we still managed to be impressed by the rock formations of the cliff, framing a desolate landscape.

We had put out a fishing line and suddenly a shoal of fish seemed to be trying to break it, looked very strange. There was a Trevally on the line and it was a bit disconcerting to think that the rest of the shoal might be trying to break it free. Anyway the fish was well and truly caught and will provide us with several meals.

We were on the way to the Hole in the Wall at the Gulgari Rip, a short cut West but with a very fast current through a narrow passage, ok if you get the tides right. The swell was causing a lot of sideways movement, and the wind was rising. However once at the rip the water went nearly flat and the ride through the rip was fantastic, scenery, speed, the force of the rip causing the water to boil and eddy. Not as daunting as I had thought and an experience to remember. Queenstown may be the self styled adventure capital of the World but it doesn’t have a Gulgari Rip!

The anchorage for the night was just on the West side of the rip, the wind was still fast if not furious but we were sheltered by the low landscape round the bay.

28/29 July

An overnight sail in moderate to strong winds and a choppy swell. My body felt as if it had been put through a wringer washing machine. We were crossing the Arafura Sea and it felt a little lonely. We went past New Year Island which Bill Gibston, who my Mum knew from her time working in PNG, managed to hit and sink a boat. A small Island in a big sea but he found it. Most of the sail from Lizard Island has been quite technical and seemed to get more so as we approached Darwin with shoals, sand-banks and stronger currents. Anchored in Somerville Bay on Carter Island and  slept, well!

30 July

Continued on with variable winds, sometimes requiring motor assistance. Anchored in Blue Mud Bay just as the sun was going down and slept until 1.00

31 July

The alarm went off and we were up and moving on, trying to work the tides and currents. However the GPS map and the paper charts didn’t agree and we anchored in the afternoon at Cape Hallam, intending to do another night run through to Darwin. However we were too tired and slept through, feeling much better for having done so.

1 August

Darwin is very close but still the distances are so much more than I have figured. The military have a significant presence in this area, one jet reaching Mach 1 was impressive. The other thing I noticed was the haze caused by spear-grass burning along much of the coast. Not so environmentally friendly but does produce great sunsets.

Very exciting to be getting close to Darwin, amazing that Gavin has brought the boat nearly 3888nm from Opua since mid-May. 

He has lost 2 hats, one spinnaker head ring, one Genoa headbolt, part of ground tackle equipment and one winch handle; had 162 hours on the engine (often to assist sails) and of course mysteriously lost those 5 kilos. Even I have covered 1000nm (2000)km since Cairns 4 weeks ago but not lost 5 kilos. I think we both would have preferred to have taken more time but we will have to do that another trip. 

We hear that we must have a biosecurity inspection and be “disinfected”. The diving squad was waiting for us as we arrive at the jetty and very efficiently and pleasantly did their work and issued us with a certificate.

Gavin’s son Zac arrives with Gavin’s youngest grandson Joe and eldest Jack. 

It’s been over a year since Gavin was last in Darwin. Michelle, Zac’s wife joined us and we enjoyed an evening of waterfront lifestyle, café’s restaurants and people, 

wonderful. Oh and the obligatory crocodile.

2 July

We went in the early morning from the biosecurity dock, capturing a glimpse of the speargrass burning in the distance, a common sight at this time of year.

Back into the harbour and to Tipperary Marina, with a lock entrance to cope with the up to 7 metro tides that Darwin has. Settled into a berth and then the search 

for internet connectivity was on. Our attempts to have internet or cellphone connections while away have generally been thwarted but we were collected by Gavin’s friend Alan James and taken to the Roma Bar, for coffee, lunch, a catch up with Alan and the chance to do some necessary things, like looking for flights for me to get back to NZ and to work on Monday and less necessary things, like sifting through the barrage of emails.

My first impression of Darwin is that it is a beautiful city, very green and attractive. Of course the weather is superb at this time of the year, 30 degrees and relatively dry. I leave for NZ early on Sunday morning and Gavin starts his work teaching kids at the Essington College how to fly. The next couple of days are mainly spent with family, Zac and his four boys,

and a few of Gavin’s long-time friends; we went to Dinah Beach Yacht Club for dinner and visited the highly acclaimed Darwin markets. Much more to see and as this was Cup weekend and the Darwin Festival was about to start the place was very lively.

But I’ll sign off for now, will start another blog this time next year when we intend to join the rally out of Darwin for Indonesia.

From Lizard Island to Gove

18 July

Great conditions for an 8.00 am start, Connor and Marion having had an hours lead. Heading back toward the mainland and then north north west to Cape York. Beautiful sail, saw dolphins and a whale and perfect for an overnight trip, except for the reefs, currents and falling wind, all of which meant that Gavin didn’t get the sleep he should had as my watches were short and disturbed. Still, my first overnight sail and I enjoyed it, the stars were amazing as there was absolutely no light from the virtually uninhabited Australian Coast and just a few prawn boats and the occasional beacon to break the dark, with no moon that night.

I slept for a few hours and woke at 5.30, dawn just beginning to peak through. I found when out at sea that the dusk and dawn shots were the photo highlights of the day

Gavin had been on watch over 3 hours so I took over for a while until the sun was up. We had motored through most of the night as the wind had dropped off and the usual trade winds form the south east had been replaced by a light westerly off the coast. Fortunate Anyway is very light on fuel and we are 3/4s full this morning. A shower with all the hot water the engine running had produced and breakfast, really good.

19 July

Wended our way North through the reefs and using Allan Lucas’s book “Cruising the Coral Coast” as one guide. Mainly though, especially at night the GPS system is essential for guidance and peace of mind. Not that Gavin had those luxuries the last couple of times he has done this trip so it is good to know that he can manage with charts and compass if the GPS systems fail,

About 4.30 we got to Night Island and dropped anchor. It was a beautiful day and we slept extremely well.

20 July

Away early continuing the trip North through the reefs and crossing the shipping lane every so often. Very comfortable sailing. The coast guards seemed interested in us circling us a few times but then headed away.

As soon as night fell the winds increased and Anyway was listing from side to side, a lot I thought. Cooking dinner wasn’t much fun, although the view from the galley was stunning, and it didn’t help when my dinner plate whooshed across the bench top and much of my dinner had to be retrieved from the bench.

The night was long and frankly hard although again Gavin did most of the work. Even though I got a few hours sleep I felt shattered during the next day. I think it is a combination of tiredness, anxiousness and trying to stay upright in the boat. In other words feeling completely out of my natural environment.

During the night a large cargo ship passed us as we crossed the general shipping route. A very polite European voice on the radio, reminded me of my friend Yasenko, announced that they were about to overtake us on our starboard side. We hadn’t seen them, they came out from behind a headland and we were glad they were so vigilant.

21 July

Dawn came, as it always has done so far, and after daybreak, a cruise liner, the type that is really a mini city, passed us going the other way. We also made contact with Connor and Marian who had continued to stay an hour or two ahead of us, also having had one night’s stop en route.

Then there was a race against time to get to the Albany Pass at the top of Australia before the tide and current turned against us. We reduced sail and turned on the engine to increase our speed as the wind was quite light and almost behind us, the seas sloppy, a combination that is not Anyway’s best sail.

Made contact with a catamaran which was near by, asked where they were headed. A drawl Australian voice said “Going for a sail mate, up to Indonesia”.

Then we were at the Passage, there were many predictions about the tides, currents etc but we cruised through followed by the Cat. Beautiful spot with a few dwellings and briefly, very good cellphone reception.

At the end of the passage is Cape York, northernmost point of Australia’s mainland and a tourist mecca, not exactly crowds but apparently a steady stream of people.

Rounded the Cape and anchored. The Cat followed. Lovely bay but windy. The crocodile word was mentioned again. No swimming. The cat left after a few hours, on a mission to get to Darwin to join the rally leaving for Indonesia on 28 July.

22 July

The beginning of the first real off-shore part of the journey from Cairns, across the top of the Gulf of Carpentaria to Gove, about 370nms, it doesn’t look a long way on a map of Australia, very deceptive. It will be three days and whether we reach Gove before the third night remains to be seen. Sunrise, spectacular, the first tourists up on the hills to catch it as well.

The first day passed with Anyway averaging 6.5knots, the sea going green as land disappeared behind us. The Gulf remains quite shallow all the way across, c. 60 metres. A Spanish Mackerel jumped high in the air. A couple of boobies circled overhead at sunset, looking for a resting place. The last time a bird did that did it interfered with the radar and windvane so we tried to make them leave, not sure that “shoo” had much effect. Then setting the sails for the night, the top batten on the mainsail got stuck behind the shroud as Gavin was putting a reef in it. A bit tricky to remedy but that was the only problem that day. A swell came up during the evening and made for a very difficult night, for me at least, trying to sleep while my body was rolling from side to side. Not much decent sleep for either of us.

23 July

Found a tern huddled on the boat to rest the next morning. It really did look as if it had a hard night; I sympathised or is it empathized.

My first attack of sea-sickness, not bad but enough to make me feel like crawling into a little ball and waiting for the motion to stop. Couldn’t do much other than listen to tales of Horatio Hornblower, very appropriate given our setting. Otherwise was occasionally serenaded by Gavin, who by now is doing a good impersonation of Robinson Crusoe. Note change of appearance from serious english musician to tropical muso.

The swell continued until the afternoon, then, as it decreased the wind did too. By nightfall we needed to use the engine to keep us on track, it ran until the early hours.

24 July

A much better night and a good sail although falling behind a bit which meant arriving at Gove late evening. Another bird took refuge on the boat, don’t know why they are so far out at sea. A pod of small dolphins accompanied us as we reached land. Only a couple of feet long, dashing back and forth in front of the bow, appeared to having a great time.

Gove approached, or rather we approached Gove. It is a bauxite mining town and the processing plant formed an eerie light as we edged our way into the harbour to find a place to anchor, preferably near the yacht club which is about 10 km out of town. 

After midnight when we finally dropped anchor and a couple of hours required to wind down after the journey, 370 nms across the Gulf. Had a couple of drinks to wind down and slept well.

25 July

It’s the dry season and its raining, a bit grey as we take the dinghy to the boat club and note we have missed the bus into town, Nhullanbuy, but soon hitched a lift. The local bird population seemed keen to join us for lunch.

Hearty lunch and taxied home.

26 July

Beautiful weather today and also my daughter’s birthday. I manage eventually to contact her, a little sad I wasn’t with her. However today was about getting organized for the last part of the trip through to Darwin, shopping, washing getting more water on board. Gavin had just said how much he was enjoying fetching water in 25 litre containers when we were told that we could have got it directly from the careening poles. 

Dinner a the yacht club, a beautiful spot and trying to re-establish itself as a venue for the wider community.

About 4K people live in Nhulunbuy, it is all about mining, Rio Tinto provides direct or indirect employment to most of the people there. There is talk about the mine reducing its operations, even closing, that would mean the end of the town inmost respects.

Its very reliant on importing produce, the food is barged from Darwin once a week for Woolworths and Darwin is 700 km away.

Met some other yachties there and also a couple who worked in Nhulunbuy and who may call by Wanaka next year. I enjoyed the stay, very friendly people and great to have a couple of days to relax in a lovely place.

However the Bauxite processing plant still looked foreboding on the way out.

From Cooktown to Lizard Island

9 July

Set off before 7.00 at first light. The forecast has been a bit gloomy for both wave size and wind, we hadn’t looked at whether it would rain or not but today it did, mainly in the afternoon as we approached our destination. Otherwise both the winds and waves were moderate, Anyway averaging about 6.5 knots so we arrived mid afternoon and navigated our way through a reef to the smaller of the two cays which make up Hope Islands. The reef surrounding the cay is extensive. Water temperature is 21 degrees, the water is flat in this anchorage, sheltered by the reef.

10 July

Sunshine breaking through this morning, we set off for the beach with snorkeling gear at the ready. This is the Eastern Hope Island, the Cay probably built up from sand that has piled up on the reef and vegetation has managed to take hold. Frigates gliding overhead, stationary against the wind. Somewhat evil looking birds with disgusting eating habits I’m told. Basically frighten other birds and make them regurgitate their food which the frigates then pick up. A strange evolutionary niche.

Walked around the Island, large reef heading South and around most of it, would have been good snorkeling but a conservation sign, warning us of crocodiles put me off a bit and decided to wait for Lizard Island instead. 




I did see a croc as we headed back to Anyway in our dinghy. Head and back just out of the water for a few seconds.

So decided to head back to the mainland and to Cooktown, 20 nms to the North and slightly West and the last sizable town before Cape York. 



 


Only used the Genoa most of the way and reached 6.5 knots with a following wind of 12 to15 knots. Cooktown was “discovered” by James Cook in 1770 and was another thriving gold rush town at that time in the second half of the 19 Century when gold mining was exploding in many parts of the World. The entrance to the harbour is tricky because the channel is shallow but we got in easily on a low tide. Anchored close to a jetty and set off to see the town at about 5.00. Many references to James Cook in the street, plaques, statues etc. Had a drink in one pub and then headed to another for dinner. The cook turned out to be Oscar, somebody Gavin knew from Darwin many years ago so a bit of catching up was had.

The real surprise that evening was that during the evening he winds built and the rain lashed down. We got a lift from Oscar back to the dinghy and back to the boat fairly dry. About 1.00 we woke to howling winds and the boat being tossed and turned on anchor. Spent the rest of the night barely sleeping, Gavin up on deck much of the time to check the boat and make sure the anchor was holding as we were close to another boat called “Jono’s”. Winds whipped over the hills and gusted to 45 knots.

11 July

Not much better at daybreak but at least you could see how close/far you were from hazards. So we may or may not get on shore today, the winds are supposed to be easing but not a lot yet. If we do get ashore the main attractions are the museum, post office and shop.

About 10am a mighty crash and Gavin went to see what was happening, returned a while later to say that the anchor system was broken and one of the rollers in the water. The forecastle, with a lovely wooden lattice over the bowsprit, had been broken by the constant gusting across the bow and pulling the anchor sideways. A bit of a predicament and thoughts of maybe needing to get back to Cairns for repairs. More immediate was how were we going to get the anchor in with no pulley system, one of two rollers lost and a very bent stainless steel rod, and meantime easing closer to “Jono’s” all the time, the anchor probably slowly slipping. We had learnt the hard way that although close to shore which was handy, we were probably right on target to get the strongest wind gusts funneling through the hills and with the added wind against tide, the boat was very unhappy where it was anchored.

Spent an hour getting up the anchor with the help of the engine, and a tie to a buoy and then were thankfully allowed to go alongside the fuel dock for the night outside a very lovely restaurant.

Things weren’t as bad as first thought; so after a siesta




Gavin improvised so that the second anchor was operable as we have managed to get a new rod for the remaining roller so we can rig one anchor to get us the rest of the way to Darwin and then Gavin will probably make a new forecastle. 



I think Greg had cleaned up the old one ready for varnishing, so sorry about that Greg.

12 July

The harbour is like a millpond, we should have been heading out at dawn but need to do the repair and will then go to the museum, shops and pub, probably in that order.

The museum is well worth the visit. 

Much of the history is of the time in 1770 when Cook’s boat The Endeavour, was nearly wrecked on a nearby reef. Came close to sinking but repaired it enough to limp into what is now the estuary of the Endeavour River and Cooktown. Stayed long enough to repair the boat and then headed home, arriving back in the UK nearly 2 years later. Then there was the gold rush in the 1880s and dreams of glory that account for the very wide streets, long main road through town and some impressive large buildings. They thought the town was to be the territories capital but population peaked at 5000 and then decreased rapidly. So it looks a bit odd, but an interesting place to visit.

The next day to Lizard Island has to make the most of all the light, the distance being about 60nm.

13 July

So 6.00am and we were up and away by 7.00. Noticed it was Friday 13^th but chose to ignore it, except that water started to come into the bilges, water siphoning up the outflow pipe and the bilge ump started screaming at having to work hard to remove it. Some exploration and Gavin managed to break the siphon but lost a small rubber valve in the process, later retrieved from the cavernous depths of the lazarette. “Such things cause ships to sink”, he announced victoriously as he replaced the valve.

Then it turned out to be a great sail, mainly 12 to 15 knot winds, Anyway averaging 6.4 knots but peaked at 8.4. All sails out for a while and were anchored at Lizard Island by 4.00. Caught a fish, a Wahoo, which is providing meals for about 3 days.

Lizard Island is a tourist spot, there is a resort for up to 80 guests, with 65 staff, which indicates what the price of accommodation may be. There is a well-maintained airstrip and anchorage for tourist dives and pleasure boats as well as itinerant yachties. The Island is close to the outer reef but has its own reefs which are teeming with life. In the early seventies a research station was set up here, well there was a rudimentary station before that but then some serious money was put into it. Just a core group to manage the station but lots of visiting researchers from all over.

14 July

Our first snorkeling experience, just off the boat and over 50meters to the reef. A realization that I am indeed in the tropics with beautiful abundant aquatic life, seemingly quite unperturbed by our presence; a shoal of fish even keeping us company as we went along the reef. Wished that I had an underwater camera but my I-phone would object to that. So the only fish photo is of some angel fish (I think), taken from the boat that we shared our paw paw breakfast with.

Ventured ashore later and walked through the mangrove swamp to the airstrip and then down to the Blue Lagoon across the Island. Met Alan who invited us to 5.00 drinks on the beach, a regular if not daily occurrence, for the boat people in the bay. He and his wife Dot were on one of a number of boats that cruise up and done the coast, staying at Lizard Island for months at a time, they had been living on board since the late 1990s.

15 July

The wind is rising but the day is clearer. The reefs very obvious in the sunshine just below the water. I’m engrossed in the book E=mc²  my second time of reading. Fascinating book, the title capturing the theme but the detail being more of the people, their thinking, personality clashes and what drove them to great discoveries and how society has used or misused them. Gavin has been cleaning the boat and is making me feel guilty so I need to put the book down, he needs to stop fettling and we should get on with being on a tropical island.

(Gavin)…Guilt? Whats that? I’m the one being neurotic, in fact cleaning the deck with a toothbrush! When Koel and Greg and I were in New Caledonia and had to shelter from the bad weather I chose to amend the anchor systems. Good job that I did, as we now have an anchor system despite the fact that half of the forecastle is now missing. The boat is still beautiful but she does look as if she has a tooth missing. Part of the anchor amendment that Koel and I did involved sawing through a chain link. Despite all the care we took it seems that about 1000 tiny shards of steel flew all over the deck and we have been looking increasingly speckled ever since. Nothing that 500mils of phosphoric acid cannot fix (plus six hours with a toothbrush!!). 

Spent some time with Paul and Barbara looking at the potential anchorages as we go North. Good to get recent first hand experience.

Sunday evening is open house at the staff bar, the Marlin Bar, on the Island. Met up with Gerry and Susanne at dinner time. Food wasn’t fanastic but good to get shore and not eat Wahoo even if I did have fsh and chips, note the newly acquired Aussie accent!

16 July

Coffee and cake on Suzanne and Gerry’s Cat. They have an automatic washing machine, dishwasher, desalinator, couple of flat screen TV’s, a vegetable garden; yes it is a boat but very much their home. Got a 10 day weather forecast from them.

Decided to walk up to “Cook’s Lookout”, the highest point on the Island, about 1000 ft above boat level. Great walk and fantastic views although the mist came in as we had lunch. Cook was looking for a passage through the outer Great Barrier Reef when he climbed that hill.

Passed a camp site just back from the beach with an old barrel with emergency provisions and an old ledger front eh 1920s, bound in a hide cover, now being used as an Island guest book, nice idea.

Managed to get sufficient signal 1000ft up to ring each of my children and my Mum; had to leave a message for Katrine but otherwise all good. Gavin continued to seek retribution with the youth in New Zealand who had sold him a smart phone that seems to receive no signal now.

Decided to try the beach water supply for a shower but not very successful!

The weather closed in so happy hour on the beach was not entirely happy. Gerry was kept busy helping people whose dinghys were misbehaving, us included. Marion and Connor joined us, having set sail from the UK a couple of years ago and also heading up to Darwin.

17 July

Waiting another day to allow the weather to settle down. Visited the Island Marine Research Station. 




Mainly a place for people to come and collect, sort and send back specimens to labs on the mainland. A really nice establishment and probably a good training ground for young scientists. There wasn’t a lot of activity when we were there and the one experiment we were told about seemed a bit simplistic but a couple of good videos on the reef were interesting. A 7 km round trip so our main exercise for the day. A last drink with new found friends, a DVD and turned in for a good nights sleep.

From Cairns to Cooktown

30 June 2012

I arrived in Cairns and there was “Anyway”. Transposed, a sort of Higgs Boson effect, where she was dematerilised in Opua and rematerised in Cairns. The best thing was that Gavin was also there, he had lost some mass in the transposition process, probably about 5 Kilos, but otherwise none the worst for his travels. He has provided a log of that period (see below) which included some much enjoyed time with daughter Koel.

So Cairns, a lively holiday spot with the usual bars, markets, restaurants and people having fun, I think. 

Nice waterfront, different from Opua, more energy but not necessarily easier to prepare for a longish sea passage, for example the nearest supermarket is a way off so bringing back the wine supplies for the journey North meant several trips.

Classic car race starting by the marina, I expect Mike would have liked to be here.





1 July 2012

Tried out my new super long free diving flippers in the local waterfront pool; so the kids thought I was Jaws, what do I care. Interesting that Gavin tried not to be seen with me and decided not to get in the water. Definitely a knack to the long fins, slow and steady I suppose, well, like so many things. Won't show a demonstration photo quite yet

The pool was a necessary attribute to Cairns given its situation on an otherwise muddy estuary.

2 July 2012

Today is Gavin's birthday; he had a good day including his first climb up the mast. He wanted to mend the windvane, bent by a bird that had tried to land on it out at sea and also see whether there were obvious reasons why the radar wasn’t working The radar still isn’t working but the windvane is better.

I brought one of our foldaway bikes with me from Auckland, definitely won’t be dubbing with Gavin who did however send me on a “mission”, to locate insulating tape for the fridge. Rode through some very industrial parts of the outer city to reach my destination. No helmet, passed a policeman, just smiled.

Nice dinner, a good day and some things, such as a better insulated fridge, accomplished.

3 July 2012

Well, we haven't left port yet but at least we will be allowed to leave. Got clearance from customs yesterday, after they impounded the boat when Gavin arrived here. We seem to have convinced them that we don't want to keep the boat in Australia and therefore he doesn't have to pay $30K (import duty and gst) or leave the boat behind. Problem was that with Gavin, being an Australian national, it was assumed that he wanted to import the boat. However, the customs people we dealt with in Cairns were very helpful and even allowed him an extra months stay, that is 13 months in Australia so that we want we can join a rally going up to Indonesia from Darwin in July next year if we want.

Today we went to Kuranda via a sky rail and back on a train. Definitely worth doing if in Cairns and a good day out. The tropical forests looked very like the Waitakeres I thought, but the terrain was more rugged. The Kuranda train was an absolutely amazing feat of engineering built over 100 years ago.

4 July

The wind is very strong, well maybe not very strong but not a good start to our journey. 25 to 33 knots and gusting higher so better to let is subside a little before we go. Problem is that it doesn’t look like that will be for a few days. We might however make a run for it on Friday. Louise has sent most of Gavin’s charts of the region on to Cairns so we have an interesting array of slightly old and out of date charts to guide us. How much has the Earth moved anyway in the last 20 years?

Went to see some of the “State of Origin” game on the TV in the local. Yes Queensland won, people here happy, but I missed the ABs.

5 July

Several trips to shops and stocked up enough for a while but can get those things we have no doubt forgotten while in Port Douglas.

Watched Spider Man in 3D, it was OK, special effects pretty amazing.

We have both had computer and phone problems; it’s the inconsistency and intermittent nature of the problems that is most frustrating. Mine seemed to be connected to the recent Taranaki earthquake that fortunately didn’t hurt anybody, Gavin’s is more of a mystery. 

I’ve finally bought and paid for the section that we will build on in Wanaka, since I have been away from NZ.

6 July

Set off just before 10.00, maybe not a crack of dawn start, having studied the forecast for several days. It wasn’t far off but the 2.5 metre swell and the gusting 35 knots winds (never looks as much in photos I find) could have waited for another day when I was better aclimatised. However took a sea sickness tablet before we left and was fine for which I was very grateful.

Two reefs in the main and the foresail up but not the Genoa. We had a following wind all the way that Gavin reckons isn’t Anyway’s best sailing position but it seemed to go well with us surfing, as much as a fat 13 tonne boat can surf, much of the way. Arrived at the Port Douglas Marina about 4.30, right on low tide and at one point had to work the engine hard to get us off the mud. Literally slid into the marina berth, again in the mud but close enough to tie off, have a drink or two at the bar and then tie up properly once the tide started to come in.

The weather is cool, given that this is the Tropics, not cold of course but if it was sun and surf you were after, this would not be the place to come to right now. I am sure that over the next free weeks it will improve.

7 July

Port Douglas has a nice slightly laid back appeal, strange as it was billed as up-market but I wouldn’t call it that. 

A bit like Coromandel township but bigger. Interesting shops and cafes.

Like Cairns it was originally a gold mining town, founded in 1877. The population grew quickly but dwindled again once the Railway from Kuranda was built in 1891. A cyclone destroyed the town in 1911 and it stayed very quiet until the 1980's when Christopher Skase financed the Sheraton Mirage and Marina Mirage. Now it is often a day trip from Cairns or a domestic holiday destination. As an additional point of interest in 2006 Steve Irwin died of the sting ray injury at the Batt Reef, out from Port Douglas in 2006.

Stocked up on prawns from a boat, a popular retail outlet on a Saturday morning.

8 July

Sunday morning market here, a big affair with a tropical feel. Managed to dispense of a few more dollars.

Headed out to the fuel dock at 4.00pm and stayed there for the night and then off to the Hope Islands in the morning a long sail which requires all the daylight we have.