The Reef

---

Blog 10



Cairns – Great Barrier Reef - March 20, 2018 – Weather forecast: mostly sunny - daytime temperature of 30°C; overnight temperature of 24°C



Another early morning wakeup call for us today as we board a catamaran and sail out to the Low Isles, which are considered to be part of the Inner Reef area. Some of our group have signed up for the Outer Reef Experience at the Agincourt Reef. Our journey took us first to Port Douglas, 67.5 km north of Cairns.



The catamaran we boarded, named Wavedancer, was duel powered with both sails and diesel engines. The main and the spinnaker were used on both legs of our voyage out to the Low Isles, which lie 15 km north-east of Port Douglas.



In 1770 Captain James Cook first described these islands as “small low island” and the name was made official in 1819. The Aboriginal people refer to the islands as Wungkun.



Low Island, where the tour company has a permanent buoy anchored just off the reef, is a 4-acre (2.7 hectares) coral cay that has been overlaid with coral sand over the last 5,000 years. Surrounding the cay is 55 acres of reef. Nearby is another island, Woody Island, which is covered with mangroves and is uninhabited except for a large bird population. The island is off limits to humans as it serves as a nursery for a large number of fish species. As both islands lie within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park there is a lengthy list of restrictions on what you can and cannot do on the islands, and our marine biologist reminded us several times about the rules.



For 140 years the smaller island has been home to the current lighthouse, which until it was automated and solar powered in 1993, was maintained by a lighthouse keeper, assistant lighthouse keeper and their families. Now the only people who stay on the island are a Government appointed caretaker and visiting marine biologists. The lighthouse is still a very important part of the maritime navigation system as the channel nearest the islands is currently used by vessels of many sizes and cargo types.



The activities at the island included: snorkeling, viewing the coral and marine life from a glass bottom boat, lunch, taking part in an informative beach walk with the marine biologist, or just plain relaxing on board the catamaran.



I had to pass on the snorkeling part as my mask would not seal properly against my mustache. Everyone who did venture in had to wear Lycra suits for protection against jelly fish. Some of our group felt like tela-tubbies! They also reported that while it was a neat experience it was also a very tiring one as they had to combat a fairly heavy current sweeping around the island. There was a second opportunity after lunch to venture in again and I noticed that very few did.



As I noted already the catamaran used its sails to aid in propelling the craft back to port and our return trip was through stronger winds and rougher seas than we had in the morning; quite the experience. Back to Cairns after another eventful day of exploration. On the way to find a restaurant for dinner we took the opportunity to explore Cairns’ Night Market. Tomorrow we actually have a day to ourselves.

---

Photos

1
Sailing catamaran

2
Our destination for the day

3
Lighthouse above the trees

4
We need a rest

5
Waiting to become sand

6
Coral damaged in a storm.

7
Rescue boat in action!

8
Someone to see us off.