Australia Archives - Page 6 of 8 - The Captain & The Cook

Darwin

We arrived in Darwin on the 18th of October, around 1500, after a perfect 17 hour sail. We had been hoping to get to Darwin in time to catch up with our boy Kye who was going to be there for his footy trip. As it happened we beat him there by about five hours. We anchored just out from Stokes Hill Wharf, put the dinghy in and headed to shore to check out some of our old haunts… and some new ones. We headed in to the new waterfront precinct and had a look at the new wave pool. We then stopped at an Irish pub for a cider before heading to Stocks Hill Wharf for dinner. We both had steaks for dinner at Crustaceans on the Wharf. We could hardly eat any of the steak; we filled up too quickly, our bodies are not use to red meat anymore. I ate all the veggies and took the steak home in a doggy bag!

Sailing – Seisia to Darwin

After visiting the Tip of Australia we sailed around to Seisia and anchored in the bay. Seisia is a lovely spot, well worth stopping for a look around. We took the dinghy down to Loyalty Beach Campground where they have a beach bar. It is a great spot on the beach shaded by a huge tree. We sat there and enjoyed a drink while we chatted on the phone to our boys. The next day we hitched a ride into Bamaga. Dwayne was wondering why nobody would stop for him….. he looked like a bloody yobbo! Anyway we finally got a lift with a young lad, Calum, who works at the servo…

Sailing – The Great Barrier Reef

…Hope Island we sailed on and spent a night anchored off the mainland at Cape Bedford. We had an afternoon of relaxation before moving on the next day to Lizard Island. Fantastic sail in 25 knots and we arrived at lunch time. After a yummy lunch of teriyaki marlin sushi (check it out on ‘cooking our catch’!) we went for a snorkel in the bay. Fantastic! Saw clown fish, titan trigger fish (Dwayne has a strong bond with these fish lol), huge bat fish, trevally, parrot fish, coral trout….. too many to name them all…

Cairns

We chose to stay at the Marlin Marina in Cairns, as it was central to everything and, once again, we needed to get a heap of work done. Cairns is our last stop in a large town until we get to Darwin so we needed to do our final chores to become self-sufficient .i.e. get the water-maker installed.We stayed for nine nights and our first job was to find someone to patch the dinghy and fix the outboard motor…

Sailing – Cape Gloucester to Cairns

We left Cape Gloucester after Rendezvous 2014, with several other boats all going north. Our first stop was Cape Upstart where we all 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 we were over powered and it was getting a bit uncomfortable.

Montes Resort SICYC, Queensland Australia

Shag Islet Cruising Yacht Club Rendezvous 2014

The rendezvous is a four day party better expressed with photos. Shag Islet Cruising Yacht Club was a concept created as a “network for cruising yachties and individuals who enjoy boating”. Their yearly rendezvous raises money for prostate cancer. Over $80,000 was raised this year! To learn more visit the the SICYC website.

Sailing – Hunter Island to Airlie Beach

We had a good sail to Hunter Island. Once there, we went for a walk and discovered deer when we accidently frightened them from where they were sleeping in the long grass. I’m not sure who got more of a fright me or the deer! That night we had a few drinks around a fire on the beach with John and Mara from SV Chikita and also Irwin and George from SV Walt-zee.

Sailing – Fraser Island to Island Head Creek

We left Mooloolaba early and had a horrible rolly sail to Wide Bay Bar. It was a disgusting sail, Thorfinn was being tossed from side to side as the three metre swell hit us broadside. However, we had no problems crossing the bar and were soon sailing in the flat protected waters of Fraser Island, aahh bliss. After stopping the first night at an anchorage called Garry’s we went on to Kingfisher Bay. We took the dinghy ashore and went for a walk. After having a good look around we found ourselves back at the jetty just in time to see a couple of humpback whales put on a show for the arriving on the barge.

Tangalooma_Wreck_Morton_Island_Queensland_Australia

Sailing – Gold Coast To the Sunshine Coast

After an overnight sail from the Clarence River we arrived at the Seaway Spit. This is another bar crossing and Dwayne told me to take the helm on this crossing. I’d like to tell you that the swell was huge and the waves were crashing all around us, and that I held my nerve and navigated through the wild seas with courage and skill….. however, it was fairly flat, little to no waves breaking, and although I crossed the bar unaided I don’t think there was anytime I needed an extraordinary amount of skill or courage. I just followed my GPS! BUT Dwayne says a bar crossing is a bar crossing and I can now say I have helmed over one.

Darwin

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Sailing – Seisia to Darwin

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Sailing – The Great Barrier Reef

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Cairns

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Sailing – Cape Gloucester to Cairns

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Shag Islet Cruising Yacht Club Rendezvous 2014

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Sailing – Hunter Island to Airlie Beach

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Sailing – Fraser Island to Island Head Creek

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Sailing – Gold Coast To the Sunshine Coast

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