Well we had only been off the boat for a few days before we were now crewing on another!... delivering Naomi's parents' boat back from Bunderberg to Yeppoon. Delivery sounds a bit business like, it was really a nice cruise along some of the lower Great Barrier Reef islands over a few days. Drove down to Bundy on the Friday and slept on the boat in the marina. Early next morning (21st December) we were joined by another crew member, Wayne, who is Naomi's mum's cousin's husband...if anyone knows what relative that makes him to Naomi please let us know. Cheryl (Naomi's mum) cast us off and headed back to Yeppoon alone in the car, while we headed down the river and out to sea. It was a clear day, with a light easterly breeze and ... read more

Well I did manage to stick a pic of me in front of Keswick Island as we passed it early Thursday morning, on what became a very long day. We set out with the already challenging distance of 70 miles to the Percy Isles before 5 am and motored the first couple of hours at a good speed as winds were light. Naomi went back to sleep soon after we left and joined me at about 8 am. It was a bright sunny day and the water was a curious mix. The northerly waves would bob up catching the light as they approached the back of the boat riding up on the southeasterly swell. When the wind increased we sailed for a couple of hours but rarely went more than 3.5 knots. With our big distance ... read more

My laptop seems to have died so this will be brief as I am using the iphone and thick fingers struggle with the keyboard. We have has some delightful easy sailing these last few days. We left Cape Grafton under sail with plans to get to Mourilyan Harbour but the winds were light so decided to moor up at Russell Island (part of the Frankland Island group). Despite a big rain storm one night we had a lovely time there exploring its beaches, coral and small steep bits of rainforest. Hung out with a couple who were camping there and stayed 2 nights as winds remained calm. From there got to dreary Mourilyan Harbour, bypassing grumbling storms on the coastnext day to Dunk Island. After a walk past the derelict resort to Muggy Muggy beach and ... read more

Just a quickie to say we are back from a lovely few days at lizard island.... more on that later. Just passing cooktown, nice sailing conditions, and about to clock up some miles overnight as winds are good. We have almost a full moon to light the way and just some reefs and tankers to avoid. Luke... read more

Thursday 31st October we left the inlet and headed out to sea, a little nervous as the tide was low and the water is shallow around the entrance to Port Douglas. There was a light breeze from the east which was fine as we wanted give the engine a run. One to test the recent repairs and also to charge the batteries which was now sorely needed. The engine temperature was running a few degrees higher than usual which had me a little concerned but it stayed stable and we arrived with no problems and picked up the outer mooring at the Low Isles. It wasn't long before we were being circled by sharks again. The day-trip tourists were just leaving and so we went to the deserted beach for a swim. There were sharks around ... read more