1st to 30th June 2005

STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Wednesday 1st June 2005 - Day 98 - Yeppoon

Did the washing and then took the courtesy car into Yeppoon to reprovision. We went overboard at BiLo and spent over $250. What did we buy? Am now trying to find a home for it all and it is definitely a challenge. Geoff has fitted the mended water bladder back in and we will keep our fingers crossed when we fill it. I also winched Geoff up the mast to fix one of the navigation lights.  Vac packed all the meat.  Bought some maps for my dad and marked on them where we had been. Now need to find a post office so he gets them in a reasonable time.

S23º 09.440   E150 º 50.662

Thursday 2nd June 2005 - Day 99 - Yeppoon

Nice and sunny. Listened to the weather report and it is still a little blowy (on the cusp) so we decided to go tomorrow. We need to fill up on fuel today – which we have now done – 146 litres @ $170.53 and that’s with the Qld discount as 2AB is Qld registered.  Still, should last us a while. The fuel dock was tiny and the wind was blowing quite strongly so it was quite a feat berthing alongside. Getting back into our berth was FUN too! We then took the bus to Rockhampton for a look around. It

took 60 minutes and was $7.40 per person one way. Found a post office and sent off dad’s maps. Geoff bought some boat shoes from Rivers and we both had haircuts.  Geoff went to a barber and got a cut for $10 and I went into a 5 hairdressers who wanted anything from $29 to $42 for a hair cut. I was about to go back to the barbers and plead with him to be gentle when the last salon I went into gave me a price of $20 (A seniors price – oh dear – but who am I to complain). So my longish

wavy locks have been shorn. My first haircut since 10th February! Now I need to do something about the grey. Most people wouldn’t know how wavy my hair gets when it gets longer. On the bus back Geoff commented and said “You see some alternative people on buses”. He was trying to be polite, I think.

S23º 09.440   E150 º 50.662 

Friday 3rd June 2005 - Day 100 - Yeppoon to Great Keppel Island

Not feeling too well today. I think it may have been that lasagne I had for lunch yesterday at Rockhampton. Been to the loo 4 times already but we still decided to go and head for Great Keppel Island again and wait for the winds there. $37 a day soon eats into the sailing kitty when you stay in Marinas. Quite lumpy on the way over as 2AB was heading into the wind all the way, which she doesn’t like. The anchorage isn’t too rocky at the moment. The wind gusted at a max of 26knots true on route. At least we know what it feels like now – not too terrifying! There are 17 boats here. We will probably head north tomorrow as it looks like Saturday and Sunday will be the best for the next few days. Sue sent a SMS and said the complex where she owns a unit at Metung is going to build boat berths for the complex and they may buy one and suggested it may be a summer home for 2AB. Great.

S23º 09.425 E150 º 54.194

Saturday 4th June 2005 - Day 101 - Great Keppel Island to Pearl Bay

Up at 0530 and leave at 0630. There was a dolphin on the bow of the boat as we were getting ready to leave – A “Good Luck” omen. It is now 1014 hours and we sailed for the first 3 hours with both main and jib and were making 7 knots occasionally.  But, by having the jib up meant we had to sail off course and jibe. We have now taken the jib down most of the way and are making 5 – 6 knots.  Slower but  probably not overall as we can stay on course and not have to jibe back on course which eats up 30 minutes each time. I will see if there is much difference when I plot our next position on the chart. Winds are mostly around 15 knots with the occasional gust towards 20 knots. Seas are around 1.5 – 1.7 metres although we have the occasional ‘Big Bugga’ around 2> metres. All the sailing boats have passed us so they either have better sails, more experience, less windage (mono’s), they are motor sailing or a little bit of all the previous. Geoff keeps experimenting with the sails to see where/how she sails best. There are a few thuds under the boat occasionally as a large wave hits. It’s now 1220 hours and we have just been through a cloud burst/squall and Geoff even wore his beanie (yellow and black) that Denny’s mum (Glo) knitted for him to match his ski jacket those many years ago. Took a photo of him in it.  Did a bit of motor sailing towards the end of the passage to recharge our batteries. Got in around 1600 hours and had a bit of trouble getting the anchor to hold but it did eventually. AND, we forgot to pull in the trolling line which meant we lost an expensive lure AND the line wrapped itself around the starboard prop (again). Geoff managed to get it off using his snorkel and mask from the tender, but what a pain. We have a checklist for coming into an anchorage and bringing the lines in is on it. Now all we need to remember is to look at the checklist before we anchor! Unfortunately our minds go into overdrive anyway when we come into an anchorage as there is so much to think about. A tip we picked up from other cruising folk (who have all done the same thing at one time) is that whenever you have to remember to do something before anchoring is to put a clothes peg on the throttle or sail or whatever/wherever you need to be reminded. Anyway, we are

here and it is very beautiful even though it is drizzly at the moment. Got soaked putting the clears up but they certainly help with the rain. 2AB was the last yacht into the anchorage. We are certainly slower than everyone else but – hey we get there.  It’s very rocky at present.

S22º 26.696 E150 º 43.987

Sunday 5th June 2005 - Day 102  …  to South Percy Island

As often happens, it wasn’t so rocky overnight.  Decided to head for South Percy Island and are currently motor sailing to get some distance done as we have to cover 52 nm today. We left the anchorage at 0730 and it looks like a fine day. We had some swells of 2>metres coming out of the bay. It is now 1030 and there has been quite a swell all the way so far. Thank goodness for ‘Stugeron’ as I am sure I would have been sick without it. I only take half a tablet of 7mg and, for Geoff and myself, it’s brilliant. Before all you fishermen/sailors out there go rushing off to the chemist to buy some you can’t buy it over here. We get ours from a UK pharmacy website and they always get opened by customs on route to us, but they’re not banned so we always receive them. We have also been told of a good one you can buy in Oz called Bonine but haven’t tried them out yet. Well, it is now 1400 hours and we’ve spent the last 90 minutes trying to unravel the Spinnaker.  The wind had dropped so we decided to put up the Spinnaker but we stuffed up and a gust caught it and wrapped it around the top of headsail. Spinnakers work well in the right conditions, look very pretty but are terrible to handle. They are called the “Divorce Sail”.  Geoff tried to untangle it for about an hour whilst I tried to keep the wind right up 2AB’s bum but when the wind catches it there is no way you can hold it. He got it to where he had to unravel it one more turn so I managed to get 2AB to stay on autopilot and go up the front to help. Even with my considerable bulk it lifted me off my feet where I ended up sitting.  We managed to untangle that last turn and get the sock down over it and then get it down. I said to Geoff “Now, aren’t you glad you’re married to a large girl” I had visions of my friend Alli trying to hold it down. Those of you who know Alli will know what I mean as there is nothing to her! I called the coastguard to amend our ETA. We are now trying to get in before dark as the book/chart says there are fringing reefs to contend with. What a learning curve! Have I put everyone off coming for a visit?

We got to North West Bay on South Percy around 1630 and decided to stay there overnight as there are no reefs to contend with even though it is supposed to be swelly. Rocky Shelf Bay is another hour on which means it will be almost dark by the time we got there. We didn’t want another disaster to happen to us today. There is only one other boat here which is a Marine Parks boat so I have been busily checking the books to see what the zoning is.  Geoff says he is traumatized so he is having a rest and a sedative (whisky). He said if he was going to have a heart attack that is when it would have happened.  Then I went to cook tea and No gas! We think the new 3 month old gas solenoid  may have gone – under warranty, luckily. I have a portable gas stove so bacon and  egg sangers were the way to go.

S22º 44.321 E150 º 18.408

  Monday 6th June 2005 - Day 103 - South Percy Island (Rocky Shelf Bay)

Well, as we thought, a rocky night although there were times when it eased off. The Marine Parks guys were ferrying what looked like fuel to the beach. After half an hour a chopper flies in and circles real low over the Marine Parks boat and then lands on the beach so we now know it was Avgas they were ferrying. The 3 Parks guys then came over and said they were trying to eradicate the last few goats that were still on the island (it’s a National Park). They said the first 1,000 were easy and the last half dozen have been hard. They apologized about any noise in case we were looking for a quiet, pristine anchorage. Geoff has checked the gas and it looks like the gas control unit and the solenoid has gone. It cost over $300 only 3 months ago. There is no phone coverage here so Geoff can’t ring the manufacturer. Waited to just before low tide to move to Rocky Shelf Bay so we could see the fringing reef. We never saw the reef so maybe they just mean the rocks that are showing above water. We are sharing the anchorage with one other yacht, the “Lady Lonsdale”. Waited to make sure the anchor was holding and went for an excursion ashore. There was a lot of erosion (in some parts it looked like a quarry but I’m sure it had never been one) with a myriad of different rocks for me to investigate. Granite, quartz and sandstones of all colours – shiny green through to deep purple. A rock collectors dream.  BUT, I didn’t collect any as it was (a) A National Park and (b) and my rock cabinet back at Bright was full and Geoff won’t build me a new one! Geoff went off exploring

whilst I was rock fossicking and disappeared. When he hadn’t returned after, what I thought, was a suitable time, I went in search of him (visions of him laying there with a broken leg).   I met him half way up the track and he said I should carry on and look at the spectacular scenery. This turned out to be a cleft in the cliff face cut by the sea. Of course (as I suspected) he had already clambered down this cleft onto the beach. Whilst down there he had taken a photo of what he described as “The

Phenomenon”. The Phenomenon turned out to be a collection of thongs and a toothbrush. The story goes that wherever there is flotsam and jetsam there is always at least on of a pair of thongs. On my way back I turned my ankle on a loose stone and went down on my elbow and knee. Now I’m back on 2AB and my knee keeps seizing up and I think I will be sore tomorrow. Tonight we have been through all the short movie clips from the digital camera and edited them into a short 10 minute movie and titled it “2Abreast – The First 100 Days”.  I will send it to key people for sending on if need be.  Still a rocky anchorage but better than last night, I think! Yep it was – but – wind, wind, wind     

S21º 44.321 E150 º 18.408

Tuesday 7th June 2005 - Day 104 - South Percy Island (Rocky Shelf Bay)

Knee is sore but ok. Still blowy so may stay here or go to Blunt’s Anchorage on North East island which is still in the Percy Group. Geoff has just read a chapter of James Cook’s voyage through this area. Did some chores. It is now 1400 hours and I have just caught our first decent fish. A Red Emperor, 1.2 kgs and 40> cms. Rippa – fish for tea.  Must have been a fish day. Parrot fish were practically jumping on our lines and they all went back as we had been spoilt and wanted more Red Emperor. Since found out that the Parrot Fish are good eating – darn. When will this ‘B’ wind stop? The weather forecast

for the next 4 days is for 15- 20 knots with seas to 1.7 metres for the next 3 – 4 days.  We’ve had some fabulous weather but mostly strong winds but they are, after all, the trade winds which are always around at this time of the year. That’s why all the cruisers head north now. We ate the red emperor for tea and very sweet tasting it was. Yum!   2100 hours and, yawn, its bedtime. We don’t seem to be able to stay up much later than this. I expect it’s because we wake up so early (0530) and get up not much later. I can hear everyone gasp as they know I like my bed. There are exceptions, of course, when I get up at 0800 but not often.        S21º 44.321 E150 º 18.408

Wednesday 8th June 2005 - Day 105 - South Percy to Middle Percy Island

0900 and sailing on route to Middle Percy Island for a lunch stopover as there is interesting stuff to look at ashore. The anchorage is known to be very swell prone in strong winds so we will have a look to see how bad it is and make up our minds as to whether we stay the night or head on to Curlew Island in the Guardfish Cluster. Arrived at 0937 and there are 5 other boats here. 3 cats, 1 tri, 1 sloop and a converted trawler. No sooner had we anchored when Peter and Christine from Pure Magic (a 40’ Hitchiker cat) radio us and invited us to a BBQ at 1300 on the beach with the other yachties. Nice!

  Thursday 9th June 2005 - Day 106 - Middle Percy Island

What a night. I’ve not had such a bad one. The swell and rocking went on all night until about 0400. It was a bad sideways swell. Geoff slept through it. A couple of the multis have left this morning so we are going to go closer in to the beach. It may help, I hope so. Ron and Margaret from Roma came over in their tender to see what our plans were for the day. We said we were going to hike up to the homestead, 4 kms away and they said they wanted to go too so we arranged to meet them at 1100.  In the meantime, I gave Geoff one of my white bras and he put the boat’s name, our names and when we visited and went ashore to screw it up in the A Frame. He did it with a silver paint pen highlighted with a black paint pen and it looked rather good. He located it just below Baza and Helens shingle (the previous owners of 2AB). We will send them a photo. We then met up with Ron and Margaret and started our hike up to the homestead. I stress the word “UP” here as it was uphill most of the way. At the top I was able to receive and send my SMS’s. There are feral goats here and we saw quite a few. Goats were introduced to the islands in the late 1800’s as a food source for shipwrecked sailors. Good idea at the time but now they number over 800. There are also deer and cane toads here but we didn’t see any. The old homestead was originally built by a Colonel Armitage in 1887 (just think how hard that must have been) and then pulled down and rebuilt in 1922. It is now in some desperate need of restoration but still habitable and often is. The current caretakers, Mick and Lauren, (they're from Ballarat) have another residence nearby but are at the homestead every day to receive visitors and often do lunch for $10 per head. The homestead is also used as a museum and is very interesting. The White family (any relation?) lived there from 1921 to 1964 and then Andy Martin lived there from 1964 – 2001 when he died at the age of 76. You can buy an historical booklet on the White family for $8 and it is very interesting. Apparently Mick and Lauren are now in the process of collecting all the data to do one on Andy Martin. We then took the short track back to 2AB which was a bit of a scramble and got back around 1600 hours.  We then both went for a quick dip, wash and shampoo and now Geoff has gone off to look at the lagoon. You can take cats in at high tide and when the tide goes out it leaves you high and dry on the sand where you can clean the hulls or do the antifouling etc. With the caretakers permission, of course. Watched the movie “Perfect Strangers”.               S21º 39.118 E150 º 14.617

 

Friday 10th June 2005 - Day 107 - Middle Percy Island

A good night. Not so rocky. Man(person)handled the big, new, heaviest battery up to the bow to check out the anchor winch. It is getting slower and slower. (Maybe it’s getting old like us). Geoff is checking to see if it is the wiring coming through the boat that is faulty by attaching the battery directly to the winch motor. Wow! It works brilliantly. Good – This means that it will be a cheaper job than replacing the winch although it’s more work for Geoff. Another job for when we go into the marina.  The list on the whiteboard gets longer and longer.  At least they are not (fingers crossed) major jobs anymore.  Well, it’s 0830 and I suppose I ought to get showered and dressed – but no hurry! That’s my life now – no hurry – then other times rush, rush, rush. I’ve had a salt water shower and then a rinse off with fresh.  Invigorating (as in cold)!  Started up the Cobb cooker and have cooked a chocolate cake and iced it, a large loaf of bread and a beef curry for dinner tonight.  I’ve also sewn up my boat shoes which were coming unstitched. The boat shoes were from Rivers and I think the salt water may have been to blame.  I also patched one of the settee covers that have started to split AND done a good job. I will have new seats made up soon as these ones are getting very thin in places and I hate the material anyway.  So I have been a very busy beaver. Oh – Geoff came back from fishing with 3 nice Snapper for tea tomorrow! At last we seem to be supplementing our stores with fish meals. Some more inspiration has just arrived. A power cat (older version) has just anchored. The 2 people on board are both in wheelchairs. How’s that for inspiration!  Their boat is called “Legless Emu”. It’s  been a great day today with great weather so we may stay here again tomorrow.

 S21º 39.118   E150 º 14.617

 

Saturday 11th June 2005 - Day 108 - Middle Percy Island

Good night, not rocky. Having trouble keeping the voltage up to the batteries so switched the fridge off overnight and it seems to have kept frozen. It’s not eutectic but 12 volts which really uses up the amps. The problem is that when you have these perfect days at anchor (and I’m not complaining, mind you) there’s no wind so the wind generator just sits there idle. The 2 solar panels can just about keep up with the fridge (during the day) and lighting. This means if we need any other power you have to have the genny on and we don’t want to annoy any of our neighbours by breaking their solitude. It’s a very quiet genny and Geoff goes out in the tender and says you have to be very close to 2AB to hear it. I hope he’s right. The water is very clear here and we’ve been watching a shark swim about the boat for a while.  We threw in some scraps but he didn’t seem to know they were there or he wasn’t hungry.  We looked through the bathescope and it’s actually a large remora (sucker fish). He did eventually take my bait and then he stuck to the hull of 2AB. Once I let the line go slack he let go but then he broke the line. We have Snapper for tea tonight but then all we have left of meat is ham steaks. I’m going to have to be inventive to make the ham steaks be palatable for the next 4 nights. But we won’t starve.  Oh – I have just remembered that I have a cryvaced piece of roast beef to use still.  We went to the beach for a swim and then enjoyed sundowners on the balcony of the A Frame. On return to the tender Geoff went and sat on the same side as me.  It couldn’t take it so flipped us both into the drink. Luckily the camera was in the waterproof bag so was ok. We went back to 2AB to change then went to visit Mike  And Jen on “Legless Emu”. He was an electrician so we picked his brain. She has some very limited movement in her legs (some of the time) and he’s a paraplegic. They have been sailing for many years and have only just bought the motor cat as it

is more wheelchair friendly.  Sailing yachts/cats aren’t! They don’t really like the motor cat and are thinking of selling it and going back to a sailing vessel even though he has to get around on his bum. As I said before – what an inspiration! We swapped a couple of DVD’s with them then back to 2AB for a Snapper dinner. Geoff is very contented here and says it’s the best place he has been so far. S21º 39.118 E150 º 14.617

Sunday 13th June 2005 - Day 109 - Middle Percy Island

Got up quite late today about 0830.  Looks like another nice day.  Called on the radio to see if there was a sail maker in Mackay and there is so we will stay another day here as it is so nice. Geoff went in the water and cleaned the props and had a good look around underneath. He says it looks fine. Just lazing, reading, swimming, relaxing!  Of course Geoff can’t sit still so he has had a look at the anchor winch wiring to see what needs doing and has put in another PowerPoint. He also

tightened up the belt on the starboard engine because it was suggested that we may be losing power from the alternator with a loose belt. He also took the telltale U bend off to clean it. A motor cruiser has just come in and anchored between us and another cat really close. Closer to the other cat than us and then he wen t ashore within 5 minutes which is a real No No as he doesn’t know if his anchor is holding and how he swings. Cats have a different swinging circle than non cats. The people

on the other cat “Orpheous” (Lance and Trish) were ashore at the time so we kept an eye on him. When Lance and Trish returned they were quite worried and sat on their front deck watching all the time as his dinghy was almost touching them.  When he came back Lance and Trish started to move and that is when he said he wasn’t staying there for the night and was moving shortly. All that worry for nothing when he could have said so when he first anchored.  “How to make friends and influence people”.  Cooked roast beef and all the trimmings.  We borrowed “Keeping the Faith” from Orpheous and lent them “Frequency”. We have both really enjoyed the last few days “Pure contentment”. To find this situation and ambiance commercially would be difficult and expensive. It’s the idyllic location but also the ever changing yachting community. Geoff says it’s a very similar camaraderie to what he experienced in the flying community where there are very few big headed people but an awful lot of helpful and encouraging like minded souls. SALLY – you were right!

S21º 39.118 E150 º 14.617

Monday 13th June 2005 - Day 110 - Middle Percy to Curlew Island

Left at 0830. Men are from Mars. He tells me one thing but means another then yells!  I try to follow his instructions to the “T” but how can you when he does this Grrrrr!  As in all boating – Flash in the pan and forgotten.  Logged in with VMR Mackay and also congratulated one of the volunteers (Geoff) on receiving the “Order of Australia” for his contribution, over the years, to the volunteer rescue service.  They all do a brilliant job and mostly on a volunteer basis.  We are currently motor sailing as there is very little wind but it is a beautiful day.  Saw a sea snake go swimming by on the surface.  We have also sailed through some very large orange slicks which we believe may be coral spawn. I will ask the other cruisers when I get a chance. I have taken a sample to look at under Geoff’s microscope. Note: The B1 tablets I have been taking since Gladstone really seem to work as I have got mozi and sandfly bites but they are not really itching much at all. Arrived at Curlew Island and Nardu (cat) and Aphrodite (ketch) are also anchored and came from Middle Percy this morning. It’s quite hot today. Just over 32 ºC.  The salt water pump in the galley has decided to spit the dummy so Geoff is looking at it at the moment. There’s always something to fix on a boat.  I just keep out of the way as there is not much room down there.  It is too nice of a day for him to be sweltering down there.  He should be out there relaxing but he fixed it.  We went ashore and explored the length of the beach and went for a swim. I rowed ashore and we both tried to row back together but what a shemozzle.  Once back we had sundowners (Kalua and milk) on the back deck. Looked at the coral spawn? under the microscope and it was very weird looking.  Looked like ears of wheat or corn. They weren’t moving so can only think that they germinate once they have lodged somewhere. That’s if they are coral spawn (Charlie – help me out here). Left over roast beef for tea then ham steaks tomorrow and then it’s on to the canned stuff. Not bad really as we have been out for 12 days now. We will have to go into Mackay in the next few days but no hurry. S21º 35.708 E149 º 47.850

14th June 2005 - Day 111 - Curlew Island to Digby Island

The wind direction changed overnight which meant we were then on a lee shore. This means that if the anchor drags you can end up on the beach or worse, the rocks. Plus you get more wave action as your bow is poking offshore. The anchor held fine as there was very little wind. The weather forecast is for variable winds today so we are off to Digby Island which has an all wind type anchorage although it can get a little rocky in strong winds.  No strong winds forecast at  present though.  We are on our way and the wind is on the nose so it is very bouncy so we are having to motor. 2AB doesn’t like going into wind. I got a very iffy mobile signal but all my text messages came in and I was able to reply to a few before the window closed. 1300 hours and we are anchored at Digby Island.  The bay is quite small. You wouldn’t want heaps of boats crammed in here. We will probably stay here a couple of days until the SE trade winds blow again and we can, hopefully, get some sailing in. We have just tried the custard apples that the caretakers on Percy Island gave us. Yum – custard – definitely with a fruity flavour (maybe fruit salad taste). We have another that is in need of ripening. Geoff went off fishing and came back with a Honeycomb Cod and Parrot fish so fish for tea.  Still haven’t eaten those ham steaks!  All the cruisers met on the beach for drinks which was nice. The guy from “Southwind” the motor cruiser that anchored real close to us on Percy was there and turned out to be a really nice guy!  We are the only cat this time. I’ve been told that the orange slick is plankton (what do you think Charlie?) Charlie is my boss back at Parks Vic and I think he is a marine biologist so hopefully he might know. The mozi’s are really bad here and they drove all the cruisers back to their boats after a while. The cod was good but with a few too many bones for my liking. Bleh!   S21º 29.615 E149 º 54.745

Wednesday 15th June 2005 - Day 112 - Digby Island

All the boats have gone today – do they know something we don’t know? We will stay here for the day. 1100 hours and Aphrodite has arrived from Curlew so we are not all alone. It’s a little more rocky today.  Well, according to the book “100 Magic Miles” the orange slick is actually caused by phytoplankton (trichodesmium erythraem) at this time of the year. Coral spawn is around Oct to Dec. So there you have it (am I right Charlie?) Did a few chores around the boat then went ashore to explore (that rhymes).  Collected 4 flat round pebbles for the Cobb cooker, apparently you cook the bread on them and it cooks better bread – we shall see! Geoff then went off fishing in the tender and came back with a Stripey Sea Perch. I relaxed on 2AB and did some crosswords and went for a swim. It’s such an easy boat to swim from. Not much to report – just another lazy day. Oh, it’s so hard to take.     S21º 35.708 E149 º 47.850

Thursday 16th June 2005 - Day 113 - Digby Island to Mackay

Boy did it rain last night. What a deluge! At least we know where the leaks are now that need to be fixed. AND it was windy. Up at 0630 up anchor and leave by 0700 hours.  Missed the weather so now have to wait for the one at 0800 hours.  Grey, drizzly day and now NO wind!  Well, we have just caught our first mackerel on the trolling line but something else with big teeth got to him first.  We put him back in to tempt any more but he’s completely gone now. So once again we feed the fish. Wahoo! We have just caught our first good mackerel – a spotted mackerel 70cm>.  Couple of big fillets on him. At last! It will keep us going for a while. We caught him as we passed Prudhoe Island. Geoff is very chuffed! We are now 20nm out of Mackay and there are all these humongous ships parked waiting to go into the Hay Point Harbour. They are just parked in the middle of nowhere. Hay Point is the biggest coal export facility in the world. This “Parking Lot” is on the Garmin Chart and they are numbered and spaced about 1nm apart.  Very interesting and we are picking our way between them all by sail. I’ve counted at least 18 of them. We have been sailing for the past couple of hours as the wind has picked up. Some gusts have reached 19 knots. Got into the marina at 1620 and Kari and Michael from Rainbow Dreaming were there to catch our lines which was great as it was quite blowy. Read our many emails. Geoff cooked the mackerel in spicy Japanese breadcrumbs and it was delicious and no bones. We gave 2 serves to Kari and Michael and vac packed another 4 serves for later. We meant to watch the news as we have no idea what has been going on since 2nd June – but we forgot. These last 14 days have been just magic. Now that we are at the ‘gateway’ to The

Whitsunday’s, hopefully, there will be plenty more.

Friday 17th June 2005 - Day 114 - Mackay

Now let me think, what has happened today. We took the Spinnaker to the sail maker to be fixed and he actually fixed it in the one day so we are now another $100 poorer. I may have to go back to work in October at this rate. It was $100 well  spent as Geoff got a lot of useful tips from him on how to put it up and get it down with a lot less stress. I did a heap of laundry but I still have all the linen and towels to do. I rang Sue and had a long natter and Mich rang and we chatted for ages. We also put up the rain/sun shade/water catcher so Geoff could put proper tie downs on it as it was only gerry rigged when we got it and in bad repair. I also had a good dose on the internet as I was starting to have withdrawal symptoms. Sent off a PDF file of my journal. Went to the yacht club for tea and shared a table with a cruiser couple we had met that day.  Also noticed a couple of faces that were very familiar and we thought we had met them in Brisbane so we went over and asked them and, yes, they were docked opposite us. He was the one that gave Geoff a lot of advice on how to use both the engines and not the helm for docking.  He is a tugboat skipper and had only arrived the day before to take up a position here in Mackay. He would be moving those ships from the ship parking lot I

was talking about the other day. He starts work Saturday night.

 S21º 06.861 E149 º 16.178

Saturday 18th June 2005 - Day 115 - Mackay

Awoken early by the yacht next door leaving at 0530. They were very noisy and not making any effort to keep it down. We always try to be quiet. We then caught a taxi into Mackay to do our reprovisioning and get other things on the list. Spent too much –again! That’s the trouble with the mainland and marinas. Waited for the bus at 0845 then realised it was Saturday and the bus wouldn’t come until 1130 so hence the taxi. Then got a taxi back as we had so much shopping.  $31 return.  We bought a new adaptor for my laptop plus lots of little things that were not on the list. Before we knew it we had spent over $600.  Still, we haven’t spent anything for the last 14 days. Did more washing – the linen and towels etc.  We then went for a wander up the other fingers of the marina to see what cats were there.  We found a few cruisers that we have met over the last few months.  Neil and Wing from Koro, the couple from Sea Dancer, the couple from Brisbane and Jeff, Graham and Barbara from Dreamtime the converted trawler (the old couple in their 70’s). Had some more of the Mackerel for tea with shop bought chippies! Now we’re very full up. Made up the beds with clean sheets – Ah luvverly!

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Sunday 19th June 2005 - Day 116 - MacKay

Big clean up today. Winched Geoff up the mast to paint it and to fix the TV antenna that got knocked by the Spinnaker when it was out of control.  Whilst Geoff was up the mast a yacht backed out of its pen near us and hit another boat. Glad to see there are others that stuff up!  Cut a piece of carpet for the galley and cleaned the galley thoroughly.  Put the clean towels and linen away, which was a feat by itself. Geoff washed the boat and I’m about to start on the head area. It’s now 1530 and I’ve had enough so it’s time to relax. Lloyd, of Tsunami, (Seawind 1000 cat) came over to visit and we showed him how to get onto Marinanet and also how to operate the Garmin GPS and software.  Coffee and cake. Then Geoff, Kari, Michael, Lloyd and myself went to the Clarion Hotel for the Sunday Roast and all the trimmings for $13.95 per head. Good night, good company. On the way back we were invited to look at a large, modern cat worth about $1,000,000.

Very nice but scary. Still like my little 2AB!        S21º 06.861 E149 º 16.178

Monday 20th June 2005 - Day 117 - Mackay

NW Winds today changing to SW tomorrow so one more day here at least before we head

off.  Caught the bus into town at 0845 then we walked for miles trying to find various places.  Sent off the CD’s with the video clips.  Caught a taxi back to the marina as the next bus was in 2 hours time and we couldn’t bother waiting.  When we got back Geoff took out the Marine stereo unit we had bought in Brisbane for $305 as it kept jumping the last 2 or 3 tracks on CD’s.  We checked with Super Cheap Auto that they would replace it and they said they would.  I also rang the bus company to see if they would let Geoff take his folding bike on the bus and they said ok.  So off he went on his bike to exchange the unit and do a bit more shopping (fishing stuff).  He rode back all the way and it took him about 45 minutes.  He has put the stereo back in and it’s working a treat. I was also busy and rinsed out the non slip mats from the galley and head that I had soaking overnight (good old Napisan – all the cruisers use it).  Then I had to find room for the extra purchases we had bought. (Not easy). One of his small but important purchases was a couple of bells for the trolling line so we know when it goes off and we don’t lose our catch to something bigger with big teeth!  It is really blowy here in the marina.  I have looked on the web where it tells you the average and gusts of the wind and Mackay has had winds 19knts gusting to 27knots.  Not according to the weather forecast.  The boat is rocking back and fro quite badly and everyone is complaining. Geoff says it might be the first time we get seasick in a marina.  Mind you – they have humungous tides here of 9 metres - Never felt it like this in any other marinas.

WE WANT A REFUND!

Tuesday 21st June 2005 - Day 118 - MacKay to Brampton Island

People kept waking me up during the night and I worked out it was people fishing on the marina sea wall. They don’t realise how far their load voices carry. I was convinced they were standing on the dock beside 2AB.  Dull, overcast day but the winds are right so we may as well head off.  Left our berth (ok but not perfect – wind was strong) and motored to the fuel dock where we docked perfectly (no one was watching this time, of course). Topped up with 60 litres of fuel and some unleaded for the genny. Worked out that we are using approximately 1.8 litres per hour when we have the engines running. Not bad! Picked up some frozen vegies and we were off.  We sailed at 5 knots until 1430 with just the Genoa (headsail) up and motored the last hour to top up the batteries and anchored at Brampton Island at 1530.  It’s a little swelly here but we are at tide turn at present so it might ease up a bit later.  Had 2 attempts at anchoring as we found we were too close to “Pure Magic” (we met them at the Percy’s) when we went back on our anchor. Just winding down now as I always get an adrenalin rush when we anchor. Chicken Macadamia Roast, roast spuds and veggies cooked to perfection on the Cobb cooker – YUM!

No mobile reception here, which surprises me. Beat Geoff at Scrabble, yet again, but it was a very close game.

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Wednesday 22nd June 2005 - Day 119 - Brampton Island

Quite rocky last night and very noisy. There was a very loud party with speakers and the

whole hog on the jetty near us which started at 11pm (we are in bed most nights at 9.30) and went on till after 3am. YAWN! Apparently it is organised by the resort once a week for the young adults to keep them away from the resort and annoying the other guests. We’re not paying anything so I suppose we can’t whinge.   It is quite windy but no rain at the moment.  This wind looks like it is going to persist for a while. Everyone says it is very unusual – that would be right – wait till we take up cruising to get the weird weather! Peter from Pure Magic came over for coffee and biscuits and gave us some tips on anchoring and the length of chain required. He was then kind enough to take us to the jetty in his tender as we were on a nostalgia trip back to Brampton Island which we had visited over 25 years ago with my cousin John visiting from the UK. We checked with reception to ask if it was ok to wander around (they don’t actively encourage yachties). Only little tiny bits of Brampton rang a bell with us. The Carlisle Units where John stayed have been refurbished and modernised and the unit block we stayed in are now staff quarters. It has been really done up and looks very good. It was very down market when we were there those years ago but we still had a great time. Geoff bought a zip up windcheater (he got paint on his one and only other one – we thought it was going to be warm so didn’t bring heaps of warm clothes), a T shirt and a postcard to send to cousin John. We then walked along the tourist train tracks back to the jetty and Peter picked us up.  Dreamtime had anchored in the meantime and Jeff had gone ashore. We thought he might be a bit close and thought we may have to ask him to move on his return.  (The last one to anchor is the one that has to move if there are problems). Peter from Pure Magic is closer and has told Graham that they are too close but Graham is 76 years old and cannot do it on his own.  Peter then moved his cat and Jeff then moved Dreamtime when he returned so we then had lots of room. Brrrrrr!  It’s cold. It’s still 22º but the wind is biting.  I may have to put trackie pants on and a long sleeve shirt!  It got very blowy during the evening and we were seldom facing the same way as the wind and the swell were coming from different directions. Beat Geoff at Scrabble again although he’s getting better with his strategy and closing the gap fast. S20º 47.977 E149 º 15.816

Thursday 23rd June 2005 - Day 120 - Brampton to Goldsmith Island

Quite windy during the night and brrrrrrr very cold today! Come to sunny Queensland. It’s definitely the wind chill as the thermometer still says 21 º. Left Brampton at 1115 hours and sailed to Goldsmith under the Genoa.  Spent time motoring back and forth over a shoal, as Geoff wanted to see if he could catch any fish. Boring!  He got bites but no fish.  We are now anchored and sharing the bay with another white sloop. We think Ron and Margaret on Roma are in the next bay.  Went out in the tender to see where the reef starts and felt we were too close so moved.  We had to move out a fair way, as there was a deep gutter, which was too deep to anchor in so we are quite a way from the beach.  Still, better safe than sorry, as it would be terrible to swing onto the reef during the night at low tide. Geoff cooked the last of the Mackerel for tea (it was vac packed) and very nice it was too. Need to catch some more now.  Geoff DID CATCH a 4’ foot shark but, thank goodness, it got off.  I didn’t fancy all those teeth on the back of the boat. Very still here and what a sunset!

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Friday 24th June 2005 - Day 121 - Goldsmith Island

Spoke too soon! The wind came up at 0230 as did a beam swell so, for at least 3 hours, the boat was being knocked sideways and it was not at all comfortable. It’s a little better now at 0930 but we will move to the next bay as Ron and Margaret from Roma say there is only a slight swell there. Weather forecast was for 15 – 20 knots but we have had gust of 25>knots.  Pure Magic are on route here from Brampton and said, over the radio, that they have had gusts of over 30 knots. We had a bbq on the beach with Peter and Christine from Pure Magic, Jeff, Graham and Barbara from Dreamtime, Ron and Margaret from Roma and Neil and Sandra from Persephone (Perry cat). Played Bocce on the beach and had a great time.  They’re a great bunch. Back to 2AB and moved in a bit. The cat “Nardu” came in and beat us to the spot we fancied but such is life!  Weather has turned nicer after all although if you look to open water you can see that the seas are quite big.  Geoff had a big bite, which he played for about 20 minutes but whatever it was got off when it went under the propeller

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Saturday 25th June 2005 - Day 122 - Goldsmith Island

It was a much better night. A little swell now and then, but nothing nasty. Nice day but still a cold wind at present but it is only 0800 hours. Well, Geoff had a big bite again and it was a good fight but it turned out to be a large stingray so we let him go. I cleaned all the brass items and they look really good.  Just heard a boat on the radio that is called “Passing Wind”.  We’ve also heard one called “Wanker” and one called “Buck Naked”.  Wouldn’t get me calling a boat a name like those – 2Abreast is bad enough but I’ve got used to it.  Did a bit of fishing and caught a suckerfish, which went back.  Cooked a sultana cake in the Cobb cooker but the bread was a disaster. It rose so much but the Cobb cooker, for some reason, wasn’t hot enough this time even though we did everything exactly the same. Weird.  Finished cooking the bread in the bbq – doughy but edible. Well, well, well - Geoff has just caught a 2.5>kg, 70>cm Golden Trevally – Yum. 4 nice fillets off of him.  We put the bits we didn’t need in the crab pot but no crabs. Trounced Geoff at Scrabble.  He had shocking tiles. It’s now 2100 hours and he has been hit with the fishing bug. The fish seem to be literally jumping on the hook but they are all undersize (we think) so they went back.  Mainly Moses Perch and Spangled Emperors, we think. We take a digital photo before putting them back so we can try to identify them. I am now going to bed to read. We have an early start in the morning to catch the tide to aid us in our passage north to Shaw Island. We need to leave by 0630.

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Sunday 26th June 2005 - Day 123 - Goldsmith to Shaw Island

Up at 0545 to get ready to leave.  Weather Mackay on the radio at 0615.  Forecast today SE winds 15 knots, seas to 1.2 metres in open waters.  It’s been downgraded from the forecast yesterday, as has the rest of the week.  It is now 0930 and we’re safely anchored at Shaw Island.  It’s snug but blowing quite strong.  Well, it feels strong but the instruments only say 12 – 15 knots as per the forecast.  The wind is cold and the sun is trying to come out and it is still early.  Just received a text message from Sally so tried to give her a quick ring.  Quick being the operative word as the call dropped out as the reception is very iffy here. Anyway, they are in Vila and having a ball. The sun has lost its battle. We were going to go ashore but it is too miserable so we went and had a cuppa on Roma instead and swapped over some books. Spent about 90 minutes there and  learned some more info on boating and systems.  Pure Magic has now arrived. Fed the fish again and I have decided that messy squid is better than prawns for bait as it stays on the hook longer.  Shaw Island is opposite Lindeman Island and in the evening we can look out and see it lit up like a Christmas tree and it looks very pretty. We (as in Geoff) have been catching quite a few fish here but they are smallish so we have been putting them back.

S20º 30.189 E149 º 03.113

Monday 27th June 2005 - Day 124 - Shaw Island

Good night and not at all bouncy. Geoff’s water tank is nearly empty today so that has

lasted 7 days and is 150 litres. Mine holds 100 litres and the other two hold 300 litres combined.  Geoff’s still has about 30 – 50 litres in it, which we could siphon out if we needed it.  We have worked out that the usage is approximately 17 – 20 litres a day between us. Not bad! Could we do it at home? Rain is forecast later so we will try out the rain catching canvas and tarp. We have been invited over to Pure Magic for an Australian afternoon tea of pumpkin scones and tea/coffee. I may take Salada crackers with cheese and vegemite as it’s the only thing I can think of at present that I have that’s Aussie. Well, I made pikelets as I think they are typically Aussie as I had never heard of them until I came over here. They went over well. We went over at 1500 hours with Tim and Shirley from Gecko and we stayed nattering until 1930 hours as we were having a good time. By this time it was dark and we had not left any lights on at 2AB. All we had was the solar garden light on top of the solar panels, which was dim due to the lack of sunlight. So we came back in the dark, gusting wind and torrential rain. Peter shone a big torch onto 2AB until we got on as she was very hard to see and then we did the same for Tim and Shirley until they reached Gecko further past us. Geoff rigged up the tarp to see if we could catch any of the rain to fill up our tanks but the tarp is bigger than he thought so we don’t think it will be any good. We think it is too windy to put up the sun shade/rain catcher. We had nibbles for tea as we were still too full after the pumpkin scones and pikelets. Then when Geoff went to bed he found his window had leaked again and his bed was wet. He pulled the bed linen off and stood the mattress on its side and put plastic down and then snuggled in with me. We will have to fix it somehow before Chris and Wade come this Friday.             S20º 30.189 E149 º 03.113

Tuesday 28th June 2005 - Day 125 - Shaw Island

When Geoff got up this morning there was only a little bit of water on the plastic so it seems it is only a problem (but a big problem) when we have torrential rain. Still, it’s got to be fixed. It’s a dull, rainy, overcast, misty day today. More rain is forecast for Wed and Thursday clearing Friday so we have booked a berth in Hamilton Island on Thursday to try to dry out and fix the window.  If we have shore power we can use our heat gun to dry everything out.  Peter from Pure Magic has offered us some tape that will fix it temporarily and we will get it if/when this downpour stops. I cooked a couple of the Trevally fillets today and made 2 meals of fish cakes (my favourite really as fish goes). Whilst I was doing this a charter cat came in and anchored sooooooooooo close to us – maybe no more than 20 metres. We had 35 metres of chain out and knew how much all the yachts had been swinging so Geoff told them they were too close but they didn’t move.  About 30 minutes later, as they had made no move, I called out and told them they were much too close (more diplomatically than Geoff, of course) and that they really should move. He gave me the thumbs up, which indicated to me that he would. After about another hour I tried calling on the radio but got no response.  Meanwhile, Peter from Pure Magic had called on the radio and suggested that if they were too ignorant to move it would be in our best interest of safety to move ourselves. So when it was obvious that they didn’t care a fig, we up anchored in the torrential rain and moved.  Geoff got soaked and his fingers went blue. I was as mad as hell and those of you who know me really well know it takes a lot for me to lose my cool.  So I waited for the charter ra dio skeds to come on and found out the yacht was with “Whitsunday Escape” (one of the charter companies we have used, last time in 2003). After the skeds I radioed “Whitsunday Escape” and introduced myself and asked the charter company to inform their cat “Blue Lagoon” that when they are asked to move there is always a good reason for it and to get them to read page 79 of “100 Magic Miles” on anchoring Etiquette. I was very polite but firm. Not the normal thing I would do! Once we were safely anchored again I went back to my cooking as I wanted to use up the vac packed chicken fillets and make a chicken curry, which I did.  I then vac packed the fish cakes, the remaining Trevally fillets and the Chicken Curry.  Booked in to Hamilton Island for Thursday night to fill up with water and try to get the leak fixed. Geoff has tightened the screws again (they were loose again), put silicone on and taped it for the time being. So we will share again.  Late to bed, for us, at 2210.   S20º 30.189 E149 º 03.113

Wednesday 29th June 2005 - Day 126 - Shaw Island

Geoff snored last night and he said I did too! It also stopped raining during the night. Geoff actually slept in the port single berth to try it out. Went ashore and explored. The area is very shoal and you have to wade in pulling the tender for quite a way. We anchored the tender just before low tide so that when we returned 1.5 hours later the tide had receded and started to come back in and the tender was just at the waters edge so we didn’t have to carry it very far. Good planning on our part. Each beach we have explored, believe it or not, is so different with completely different eco systems. There were lots of tiny fish living in sand holes in pools left by the drying tide. Apart from the tiny fish there were Hermit crabs, Blue Soldier crabs, oysters (depleted by yachties, of course) and lots of flotsam and jetsam on the high tide mark. Note: no thongs! A sponge had been washed ashore that I found quite interesting. There were also a couple of coconut trees so we now have 4 more coconuts on board. Bleh! Got back to 2AB about lunchtime and Geoff put new silicone on the bedroom window as the sun had come out. Peter and Christine from Pure Magic came over for a game of Scrabble which Peter won and I was 2nd. Coffee and bikkies.  We borrowed “Message in a Bottle” which we will watch tonight.  We lent them 3 of our DVD’s.  Peter then set up the Seaphone on our radio for us and we rang Sue and Arno.  $101 per year with $79 worth of free calls then calls at $1.30 per minute.  Not bad and at least we can now call out when the mobile reception is non existent. If people want to call us there is a $6.05 booking fee and then $1.30 per minute.  But you have to remember that anyone with a VHF radio within distance can hear everything that is being said. If you book a call and we refuse to take it you are not charged the booking fee. It’s kind of like a reverse call system as Telstra books your call, you hang up, they ask if we accept, then ring you back.  If any of you rich people out there ever want to contact us the number to call is 1800 253 271 and then you have to quote out boat registration number which is IU257Q (India November 257 Quebec). Peter then had a look at our chain for us and advised us that it would be okay until our return to Bundaberg where we should probably get it regalvanised. Geoff had been concerned as it was rusty and starting to flake. He can also get us a very efficient marine battery charger for $850 (they retail at $1100) which would solve all our power needs. Car battery chargers (which we and a lot of boaties have) are really not man enough for the job. This would mean that we could then top up the batteries to their capacity and also install a small 95 ltr freezer where the old eutectic fridge used to be. This means that we can buy more meat, frozen veggies and even ice cream when we go ashore leaving more fridge space for fruit and things. This means we can stay out of marinas longer, therefore cutting down on our costs. So when you take into consideration that we have already spent $1600 in marina fees since February we should be able to make some good savings.

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Thursday 30th June 2005 - Day 127 Shaw Island

Decided to stay here another day so rang Hamilton Marina and they have said we can go in and pick Chris and Wade up on a temporary berth at $10 per hour. Peter came over and organized our order for us through Glascraft, Brisbane at a discounted price. He gets a boat builders discount. They will post the goods to the post office at Airlie Beach. Peter also told us that as we use our diesels to generate our power we can apply for the statewide diesel rebate of 38 cents per litre.  We will certainly give this a go and will download the forms next time we have internet access. We then cleaned the boat thoroughly and I put some washing in soak which I will wash out tomorrow on route to Hamilton. Geoff also installed a little shelf under the table to hold my current chart, log book, radio book and tide table book. As it was also the last day of the month and my mobile plan allows me $300 worth of calls on my fixed plan I gave Sally a quick ring in Vila. Had a quick but good natter.  Promised Peter a bottle of Rhumba for all of his troubles. Whilst I was ringing Sally on the bow of 2AB I heard a load exhalation and looked up to see a humungous Green Back Turtle just surfacing close by. So big, so close and so WOW!  Geoff then went over to Pure Magic to do some computer work for him. He went at 1600 and returned at 2000 so, of course, I had eaten so he had to make do with a tinned meal.

S20º 30.189 E149 º 03.113