Sailing – Cape Gloucester to Cairns

We continued sailing north along with several other boats, all of which had enjoyed the Shag Islet Rendezvous, at Cape Gloucester. Our first stop was Cape Upstart, where we anchored and went ashore and cooked dinner over the fire with the crews from The Tardis and Irish Mist.

We moved on the next day to Cape Bowling Green, where we had dinner aboard The Tardis with Helen and Graham. From there, we went to Townsville. We got a good sail, catching and overtaking all the boats that left the bay before us! We eventually had to put a reef in the main sail as it was getting a bit uncomfortable.

Townsville

We went into Breakwater Marina at Townsville, and while we were docking at the fuel berth, our motor stopped. We managed to secure our lines, and then we discovered the problem was a headsail sheet that had gone overboard and wrapped around our prop. We thought Dwayne would have to dive in to free it and were assured by the staff there “that there were no crocs around… because all the sharks had eaten them!” Ha ha ha… the only one not laughing was Dwayne. We cut the rope to take the pressure off, and then we could get the sheet free without anyone having to swim.

We stayed two nights in Townsville. We did the shopping and washing, put the repaired head sail on, packed away the spare sail and had a schnitty at the pub with Helen and Graham.

The Breakwater Marina had a welcome barbecue for SICYC members heading north from the Rendezvous. We met some new people, and many regulars were there also… Helen, Graham, Irwin and George. We left the following day after a glorious walk along The Strand at 0530.

We were very impressed with The Strand. It encompassed a hardwood boardwalk, local artwork, fitness stations, an old fort, plus an Aboriginal Trail with heaps of interpretive signage. There was so much information regarding the military and Aboriginal history of Townsville that it would have taken me all day to read it. It was fantastic. We have since visited Townsville again on different sailboats in 2018 and 2020. There is much to see and do… read 17 Free Things to do in Townsville and Townsville’s Vibrant Street Art

Magnetic Island & Orpheus Island

We anchored at Magnetic Island and went ashore to look around and have a drink at the pub. Great little place. Instead of going directly back to Thorfinn, we took the dinghy around to the other side of the island and found a lovely beach for a swim. Dwayne once again gorged himself on oysters, and I discovered it was a nudist beach! Lol

It was a short motor sail from Magnetic Island to Orpheus Island, where we put the dinghy in and had a snorkel.

Not always smooth sailing!

Dwayne decided he wanted to keep moving to get to Hinchinbrook so he could drop the crab pots. There was no wind, so we decided to tow the dinghy. We ran aground at the beginning of the Hinchinbrook Channel, and Dwayne threw the boat into reverse, forgetting that we were towing the dinghy.

BANG! That is what we heard. We discovered the dinghy floating off with a big hole in one pontoon. Grabbing the boat hook, Dwayne managed to get a hold of the dinghy while I went for a halyard. We tried to connect the halyard to the motor to stop it from sinking. However, it was impossible to get the halyard attached, with the tide flowing at two knots and the boat hard aground (going up and slamming back down), so Dwayne had to jump in.

The dinghy overturned, and the motor sunk. We managed to get a couple of halyards on the dinghy. We winched it aboard with only the loss of the motor cover. But the drama was not over yet. When we ran aground, the rope tethering the dinghy got wrapped around the prop. We had to get under the boat to free the rope from the prop shaft. Dwayne had to jump into the crocodile infested waters to cut the painter free from around the prop shaft. The water was murky, with a two-knot current, and the boat was aground, slamming up and down. It took Dwayne about 20mins of diving down and cutting, diving down and cutting; finally, the prop was clear.

Damaged dinghy and drowned motor aboard and the prop free, we pulled out the headsail and waited for the tide to rise enough to float us off the sandbar. It didn’t take long, and we were on our way again. We anchored about halfway up the channel. Surrounded by mountains on Hinchinbrook Island and the mainland, it was peaceful and gorgeous.

Dunk Island

We tried to get into Cardwell the following day, hoping to get a repair kit to patch up the dinghy. Entering the channel, we soon ran out of water and just managed to turn around and get out. The area is still silted up from the last cyclone. We were disappointed that we would not be able to go ashore at our next stop – Dunk Island.

We arrived at Dunk Island; it was a picture perfect Sunday. We could see many people ashore at the beach bar enjoying themselves.

Dwayne and I poured ourselves rum and contemplated how we would get ashore. We could swim to shore. “Ok, it’s not that far”, I thought, “I’ll just get my snorkel gear on and swim”. So we got in our bathers and readied our dry bag with some clothes and our money.

Just as we were going to take the plunge, we saw someone returning to their boat in a tender. Dwayne hailed them, and they generously dropped us to shore. Yay, party time!

The resort had not reopened after the last cyclone, and The Sunset Bar was a bar on the beach under a marquee and a food van serving good food. After a drink, we had a walk and a look around. The resort still displayed the damage that had rendered it useless.

We then headed back to the bar for the excellent prawns (they were the size of small crayfish!) and a couple of drinks. While I waited for our order, Dwayne set off to befriend some yachties with the hope of catching a ride back to our boat. He met Ross and Narelle off the catamaran ‘Alexis’. We enjoyed a few drinks with them, each of them being the “last one” until the bar closed, and they dropped us back at Thorfinn.

We decided to keep heading to Cairns because there was little we could do without the dinghy. It was another beautiful windless day (we had to motor), so we stopped at Sudbury Cay.

We anchored there and went for a snorkel. It was beautiful. After a snorkel, we upped anchor and went to spend the night anchored off Fitzroy Island. We were disappointed we could not go ashore for a walk and a look.

Finally, we were in Cairns. Thorfinn’s homeport. She was built in Cairns and launched in 1977. It is only the second time Thorfinn has been home since she left sometime in the early 80s.

Next up – Cairns

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