The Last Days of This Year's Sailing Adventures

Two long days of sailing from Pancake Creek, first stop Bundaberg, then Turkey Island (off Fraser Island).  Seas were lumpy out of Pancake, but improved closer to Bundaberg, where we anchored, after 12 long hours in the first available spot in the Burnett River.  Our friends from yacht Marilyn, John and Sue came over to say hello, but we were all too tired for sundowners.

Leaving Bundaberg is usually lumpy until you turn south and even at 4 am we had a big cross swell to add to the excitement.  By the time we were near Hervey Bay it was a good downwind run through the channel to Turkey Island, where 7 boats had gathered to avoid the building northerly winds.  The night settled to calm seas and we enjoyed a good long sleep.

Our last day of sailing for this year began with drizzle and light gusty winds.  The tides and currents in Sandy Straits determine the departure time and we were able to take advantage of 2 extra knots of progress.  The winds built again to 20 knots down the strait, as the rain turned everything dull grey.  Even the dolphins, turtles and shorebirds were grey.  It was an easy way to wash the boat. 

At last, near Snapper Creek, the sun broke through but we had to reef the genoa as the wind picked up to 28 knots.  Then a family of dugongs popped up near us - 2 adults and a calf - how special is Tin Can Bay!

Cobia Recipe

With plenty of cobia fillets on board and lots of solar power to spare, I tried a new recipe in the Multi-Cooker ... Yum!

Cobia in Yoghurt Sauce – Toni’s Version of Madhur Jaffrey’s Indian Recipe.

1 onion, peeled and finely sliced

1 kg cobia fillets, sliced 2 cm thick

400 mL plain yoghurt

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 tablespoons ground coriander

¼ teaspoon garam masala

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

3 tablespoons vegetable oil (I use rice bran oil)

40 g (or 2 tablespoons) butter, cut into pats

Method:

Lay onion slices in Tefal pan, then lay fish slices over the onion.

Beat the yoghurt in a bowl, add lemon, sugar, salt, spices and ginger.  Mix well.

Add oil and mix again.

Pour sauce over fish and cook on White Rice setting for 20 minutes.

Remove the fish and onion to a covered serving bowl.

Change to Dessert setting and boil the sauce to reduce to half the volume. 

Stir in butter pieces and continue stirring until butter has melted.

Pour sauce over fish and serve with rice and vegetables.

[can be served cold with salad after refrigerating overnight]

Turtle Lookout

Our morning walk over to Bluff Point walking track was overrun with the local running/walking club – about 100 people of all ages doing stretches, yoga, carrying sandbags and jogging over the headland.  As we climbed the track to Turtle Lookout it became obvious we wouldn’t see any turtles, the sea was so churned up by the southerlies and no turtle in his right mind would be swimming there.  Great views back to Rosslyn Bay.

Keppel Bay Marina

Planning a route around the war games at Shoalwater Military Area, we had a long sail to Perforated Point at Port Clinton, a beautiful anchorage in northerly winds.  

To beat the big southerly change and to restock the fridge we headed in to Rosslyn Bay, arriving in a 26 knot blow.  Skipper Pete did well to berth the boat while blowing sideways towards the jetty.

By next morning boats were streaming in to avoid the strong winds and soon we were surrounded by boats that we had met along the way.  Oh well, a few more lunches and happy hours...

Signs at the Percy Hilton

Since the '70s visiting yachties have been leaving their hand-made signs in the A-frame at West Bay and now there are thousands!  Among them we found several yachtie friends whom we have had the pleasure of meeting and sailing with over the past two years... and hope to meet and sail with again.

Middle Percy Island

 Our morning walk up the dry creek bed, lined with giant melaleucas and strangler figs, was very still and quiet, only a goat and a few roos hopping by.  The waterfall was also dry with just a few puddles for some tadpoles.  Back at the beach we kayaked around to Dolphin Bay, where a lone red-capped plover foraged with a pair of pied oystercatchers.

As the morning wind turned easterly we joined the flotilla of yachts that began to motor around to the shelter of West Bay.  Around the “Percy Hilton” fireplace some blokes from the Percy Yacht Club were preparing the famous Goat Stew for the incoming crowd.  A donation of veggies would score you a big serve of stew for dinner.

Ernst preparing Goat Stew for 35 yachties

The crowd enjoying Goat Stew

A very sociable week in West Bay, with several yacht families and a tribe of kids exploring and playing treasure hunts on the beach, along with some creative carving of signs to be installed in the gallery.  A game or two of Finska in the shade of the coconut palms and tales of travels over a few sundowners completes our busy days.

Rusty iron "rocks"

Just when you thought you had found the most beautiful beach, you find Rescue Bay.  The barefoot walk over a few sand dunes winds through forest of red gums, kurrajongs, tea tree and casuarinas then opens out to white sand with the most interesting rocks: at first they look like old rusty pieces of iron, but on close inspection they are sandstone eroded by wind and water to become those unusual shapes.

White's Bay, Middle Percy Island

Keswick to Middle Percy was a great sail with Charm.  We opted to tack out past the tankers at Hay Point, which gave us a good downwind run all the way to The Percys, while Charm cut through the anchorage still under screecher, also with a good run. 

There were already a few yachts anchored in White’s Bay and a few more followed us in.  Spring tides are big here so we kayaked in for our walk up the ridge because we could pull the kayaks up past the high tide mark.  It was very hot for walking so we didn’t continue to the Homestead but walked back to the Dolphin Bay headland, with great views of North East and South Percy Islands.

Goldsmith to St Bees Island

After a couple of balmy days of kayaking and beach walks, waiting for more northerly winds, we set sail with Charm at 4 am towards the moonset to St Bees and Keswick Islands, off Mackay.  The wind forgot to arrive so it was a noisy motoring job all the way. 

moonset

first light 

The planned anchorage on St Bees was very deep on the spring tides so we back-tracked to nearby Basil Bay on Keswick.  The plan for the next few days will need discussion over a few cold drinks at sundowners again.

Charm at Shaw Island on a windier day

Vlasoff Reef and Michaelmas Cay

The outer reef at high tide is mostly under water, so at anchor here you feel like you are floating way out in the Coral Sea.  When we arrived, on low tide, on the last day of the school holidays, the tiny sand islet was covered with people, umbrellas, gazebos and surrounded by boats.  Then a jetski started hooning around the snorkelers, through the coral and destroying the serenity.  And it was a bloke with two children!!

Sunday crowds on Vlasoff Reef

After the crowds retreated back to Cairns we could enjoy our sundowners on the foredeck, watching the tide slowly cover the reef again.  The coral looks good here and so many fish!

Next morning we sailed up to Michaelmas Cay and kayaked into the beach to see the nesting birds.  

Tight groups of Sooty Terns were sitting on eggs next to groups of Black Noddies, interspersed with Brown Boobies, one with a fluffy white chick, more than half the size of the parent.  Nest is a term to use loosely here as they are really just scrapes in the sand and coral, with the odd stick thrown in.

Brown Booby and chick

Nesting Noddies with one egg

Real estate is at a premium!

A pair of Masked Boobies landed on the northern end of the beach, while a lone Ruddy Turnstone flew back and forth from the shoreline to the chaos of the noisy nesting area.   Meanwhile a few menacing Greater Frigate-birds circled up high then returned to land on the few remaining sticks and branches on the sand island.

Snorkelling around the reef we saw colourful corals and even more colourful fish, although the biggest fish seemed to be enjoying the shadow of our hulls: batfish, trevally, maori wrasse and black-tipped reef sharks.

There’s Hope Again!

After a slow moonlit start from Lizard Island we eventually had a great sail on main and screecher to Hope Isles, arriving 12 hours later at 4:30 pm.  

As we eased Heatwave through the reef into the anchorage, to the ghostly calls of the thousands of pied imperial pigeons, arriving in small flocks to their breeding sites, a pair of Sea-eagles were flying laps of the island, stirring up the pigeons as they tried to land.

A flotilla of pelicans cruising along the sandpit looked menacing too, perhaps waiting for some prey, while bridled terns casually dived for their dinner.  Turtles popped up beside the boat as we watched the sunset fade into the smoky mountains. 

Sunrise was more dramatic as orange, red and gold developed through a gap in the clouds and the pelicans began to muster on the beach.  The sea-eagle was the early bird, calling as she set off to find some brekky on the reef (Female sea-eagles are larger than the males.)  Smoke, smog and drizzle set in as we attempted to sail on to Low Isles, making visibility quite a challenge until the sun was high.

Birds of Lizard Island: September 16th - 30th

It’s quite easy to spend a few weeks at Lizard Island, with walks and mountains to climb and shorebirds returning from breeding in Siberia.  A couple of Little Curlews, which mostly rest and feed up in the grassy fields of northern Australia, Pacific Golden Plovers, which travel on as far as Tasmania, olive-backed sunbirds and rainbow bee-eaters everywhere, and a pleasant change for us, no pesky welcome swallows!

Great Egret on the creek

Pacific Golden Plover in moult

A juvenile black noddy landed on our deck, didn’t seem to be injured, but sat for ten minutes, preened himself, then flew off to join his mates and the black-naped terns.  The terns follow the bait fish, who in turn are followed by bigger fish and the water regularly explodes with a fishing frenzy.  “Noddy” enjoyed himself so much on our boat that he returns every day now to preen his feathers.  I guess he has replaced the welcome swallows for now.

Black-naped terns following the bait fish

Our friendly noddy

Bird list so far: 

Rose-crowned fruit-dove, Pied Imperial-Pigeon, Bar-shouldered Dove

Little Curlew, Pacific Golden Plover

Wedge-tailed Shearwater

Eastern Great Egret, White-faced Heron, Little Egret, Eastern Reef Egret (white morph)

Eastern Osprey, White-bellied Sea-Eagle, Whistling Kite, Nankeen Kestrel

Brown Booby, Black Noddy, Black-naped Tern, Common Tern, Crested Tern, Silver Gull

Pheasant Coucal, Rainbow Bee-eater, Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike, White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike

Silvereyes, White-breasted Woodswallow, Olive-backed Sunbird

Finska on the beach

Finska or Mölkky is a fun game from Finland that anyone can play, on the beach or in the park.  Fallen pins are put upright at the place where they fell, so as the game progresses tactics come into play...

www.finska.com.au/

How to play?

Beginning the game:
First player throws at the grouping and tries to knock over pins. Mölkky is always thrown underhand.

Fallen pin:
A pin is not considered fallen if it is leaning on another pin or on the Mölkky throwing skittle. After a throw, fallen pins are put upright at the place where they fell.

Scoring: 
If one pin falls, the score = the number on the pin. When more than one fall, the score = the number of fallen pins.

Ending the game: 
If a player misses (has no score) three times in a row, he/she is out of game and acts as the scorekeeper. The game ends when the first player reaches exactly 50 points. If one scores over 50, that players score is lowered to 25.

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Blue Lagoon and the Clam Gardens

The walk to Blue Lagoon is easy and flat: over the mangrove boardwalk, along the airstrip and down the dunes to the beach.  

On a calm day it would be magic, but with winds up to 30 knots there were white caps all over, even though the water in the eastern lagoon is still as clear as Watson’s Bay in the west. 

It looks like we will be here for another week or two as the winds are still gusting over 30 knots SE and forecast to continue.  (One yacht recorded 34 knots!)  It could be worse!  Lizard Island is so beautiful and Peter has seen the best corals here while snorkelling among the giant clams, schools of coral trout, golden trevally and friendly turtles.   

It’s still too windy for the kayaks, but the water is so clear that from the dinghy we can see all the fish and corals.  A couple of remoras and reef sharks have taken up residence under our boat and any crumb that lands in the water brings them zooming out to investigate. 

Our Northern Turn-Around: Lizard Island

Lizard Island is the place where Cook discovered a gap in the reef to allow the Endeavour out to the Coral Sea, only to end up buffeted against the reef again. The climb to Cook’s Look is not for the faint-hearted, scrambling over steep granite to reach the saddle, where wedge-tailed shearwaters have dug their nest holes in the gravel, the only slightly soft soil, then a further climb to the top with views all around the reef.  

Part of the climb to Cook's Look

Here you can see why it’s called the Great Barrier Reef.  With such clear water you can see the reef stretch out to the horizon.

View over Watson's Bay

As we arrived a couple of reef sharks came to greet us, then remoras which were bigger than the sharks!  The fish certainly know it’s a Green Zone because they don’t hide at all, big schools cruising all around Watson’s Bay.

A tour of the Australian Museum Research Station involved a climb up Chinaman’s Ridge, then a 3 km walk (each way) through a soft sandy track, but was definitely worth the trek.  Scientists and students from all over the world come to do a wide variety of studies on marine, coral, animals and plants.  The laboratories, aquaria and library are first class, in an amazing location.  Our photos will not show the real beauty here, it is hard to capture.

Cooktown to Lizard

After a week of strong southerlies, the wind finally eased enough to continue our journey north again.   Carefully avoiding all the sandbars in the Endeavour River, the first leg out was quite rough going, with waves a-beam and up to 22 knots SE.  We opted to rest in Cape Bedford anchorage with Ken and Bev on Charm. 

At first light we sailed out on calmer seas and as soon as our lines were out we caught two spotted mackerel, one on each line.  That’s enough fishing for the day!

Pied Imperial Pigeons continue their migration to their nesting sites, with thousands of flocks passing by, flying low to the water.  Crested terns, brown boobies and a few black noddies were the only other birds around.

We’ve decided to go straight to Lizard Island rather than stop at Cape Flattery as the winds should pick up again by tonight.  There won’t be much phone service there but with our large collection of aerials we should cope.

Low Islets

After a morning cycle around Port Douglas, a brekky stop at the Artisan Bakery, then back to wash the boat, fill the tanks and do a last load of washing, we were on our way for the gruelling one hour sail to The Low Islets.  They are so small they don’t even get to be “islands”.  As we moored a black-tipped reef shark, with a remora almost as big, and several huge batfish came up to our stern to greet us.

A family of ospreys are nesting in the mangrove on Woody Island and we could hear the three chicks begging before we saw the parents arrive to feed them.  They may be newly fledged as they flew from the nest with the parents shortly after their feed.

We paddled over to the Low Islet and found there is a (very short) walk, but with plenty of interpretive signs about the lighthouse history, built in 1878, the reef and the wildlife.  Another family of ospreys have taken advantage of the lighthouse and built their nest on the eastern side of the dome, giving them an afternoon shady spot with great views.  One juvenile emerged from the nest to join the parents on the railing as we passed by below.

Varied honeyeaters were dashing about the trees, calling to each other, and as we watched them a collared kingfisher landed.  Hundreds of pied imperial pigeons are starting to nest in the trees, calling their haunting “wooo-wooo” and bar-shouldered doves seemed to be flying back and forth between the islets, unable to decide.

Along the beach ruddy turnstones were playing with the waves: strolling to the water’s edge then scurrying back as the waves break.  They are hilarious! 

Double Island

Double Island is a good anchorage in light winds, especially if you like sleeping under the Cairns flight path ... "How's the Serenity?"

Russell Island - the Frankland Group

A popular spot for boat camping; campers told us they had to book 12 months ahead for the two sites.  An easy kayak in from the anchorage with only a few passing fishing boats.  White-gaped honeyeaters were calling and flitting through the melaleuca and casuarina forest and beach stone-curlews were trotting along the beach, as they do.

The most Beche de Mer (sea cucumbers) that we have ever seen were in a huge rockpool created by tonnes of coral on the eastern shore.