Tropical North Queensland
Dunk Island
16.10.2007
The wind is 25 knots, but at least it is SE and will get us
a good ride to our next stop- Dunk Island.
Dunk is about 3/4 national park with dense rainforest and
some good walking tracks, there is a large resort here as well. We took a dinghy
to briefly explore the island, but didn’t have the time to do walks.
Snorkelling around the island wasn’t good as the water was
murky. We
visited nearby Thorpe Island quickly – its beach made of shells and dead coral
pieces. Snorkelling there wasn’t good either.
Fitzroy Island
18.10.2007
We left Mourilynn’s Bay where we spent the night on anchor
and headed to Fitzroy Island. The wind has picked up to nearly 30 knots, however
anchorage in Fitzroy was protected. We were amazed how nice and colourful the
reef was there compared to the other islands north of Whitsundays, even though
the visibility wasn’t fantastic due to the weather.
The Island, similar to Whitsundays, is a drowned monntain;
it was once connected to the mainland by a grassy plain. Then some 6000 years
ago it was submerged and Fitzroy became an island.
In early days aboriginal people used the island for hunting
fishing and gathering. In 1770 Captain Cook named the island Fitzroy after the
family name of Duke of Grafton, Prime Minister of England at the time. In late
1800s the island became a centre of a beche-de-mer (sea cucumber) industry. Sea
cucumbers were collected and prepared for Asian food market (now collecting sea
cucumbers is banned of course). Later in 1877 it became a quarantine station for
Chinese immigrants bound for the Queensland goldfields.
In recent time it has been a tourist resort.
Currently The island is undergoing a major re-development.
There are no tourists currently staying (only day visitors) and most of the
facilities are closed. Soon a luxury resort, holiday apartments and even a
cinema will be built here.
Cairn highlands and waterfalls
19.10.2007
In the morning wind got stronger, but Cairns is not too
far. We hoisted No 2 Jib and were making 6 knots heading towards Yorkey’s Knob
yacht club (north of Cairns).
As the weather will be bad for visiting the reefs for the
next couple of days we rented out a car and drove around the mainland exploring
the wet tropics world of waterfalls and rainforest.
This area receives more rainfall than any other part of
Australia. High mountains intercept moisture-bearing winds from the ocean
causing them to drop the moisture in the form of rain. In addition, tropical
monsoons bring additional downpours in summer.
20.10.2007
We drove south and visited Babinda Boulders, then Josephine
Falls (they are nice and you can swim in them), Milla-Milla fals and some other
falls in Wooroonooran national park.
It feels strange to be in a car: it is too small, too fast
and seems too dangerous compared to the boat. You can’t just put it on autopilot
and make a cup of tea or read a book.
Babinda Boulders is a few kilometres south of Cairns, it is
a fast creek running among the large granite boulders. It is quite deep in
certain places and local school kids swim jump it the creek from the boulders,
but we didn’t feel like getting wet yet.
Josephine Creek starts as a trickle on Queensland highest
peak, Mt. Bartle Frere (1657 m). By the time it reaches Josephine Falls it
becomes a substantial creek that falls into a pool of clear water surrounded by
trees and boulders. The water coming straight from the mountains is quite cool.
This is a popular swimming area as you can’t swim in the ocean around the coast
— there are crocs and box jelly fishes. There are also natural slopes created by
the falling water and you can climb them and slide into the natural freshwater
pool.
Later on we visited Milla-Milla and other amazing
falls.
Initially we were thinking of camping overnight, but it
started to rain heavily in the afternoon and we returned to sleep on the boat.
Daintree and Cape Tribulation
21.10.2007
Initially we were planning to reach Cape Tribulation by
boat but then realised that we don’t have time to go there with my exam
scheduled in certain places and also we were tired of just going north and
wanted to rather spend more time on the reefs around Cairns.
So we drove a car to Cape Tribulation. In the morning
visited a nice village Kuranda and Baron Falls, then crossed croc-infested
Daintree River and took a scenic drive to Cape Tribulation.
The Cape wasn’t as exciting as it is described: just some
average beach where rainforest happen to meet the reef. Maybe it’s prettier in
fine weather, and I think, it would have been more interesting to visit this
place by boat.
We spent around 10 minutes walking along the beach, when a
pouring rain started and we ran back to the car soaking in the rain water.
Unlike NSW coast where the property prices are
sky-rocketing, it seems like North Queenslanders don’t like to live near the
beaches, they rather prefer rainforest. It kind of makes sense: the water is of
murky brown-green colour near the coast, there are crocs and deadly jelly fishes
and the beaches are deserted, on the plus side the reefs are just stunning. If
you lived near the coast it would help to have a very fast power boat, the
closest (nice) reef is about 16 miles from Cairns.
Double Island
22.10.2007
In the morning we left the marina thinking that the weather
had improved, only to find that it was still blowing 25 knots outside of the
shelter of the breakwater and anchored next to Double Island. One source of
information says there is a private house on the island where some family had
been living for more than 100 years, the other source says this is the most
expensive island resort and the whole island could be rented out for a day. The
island definitely didn’t look like an expensive resort, but there was a long
pier and a buggy (similar to golf cart) arrived from inside the island, someone
got out, boarded a small boat and left for the mainland. There was also a single
boat moored near the island and it also didn’t look like it belonged to an
expensive resort.
Oyster Reef and Green Island
23.10.2007
My exam is on 25th in Cairns and the weather seems to have settled. We didn’t
want to loose time and decided to visit the nearby reefs.
We anchored at Oyster Reef where spearfishing was allowed
and Gonzie shot a coral trout. The reef wasn’t a protected anchorage in this
weather and we went to anchor next to Green Island.
As there was internet reception, I checked my e-mail to get
the good news: my friend Eleanora in Russia had a baby-girl.
Vlasoff Reef and the picnic on the coral cay
24.10.2007
Today we decided to visit Vlasoff Reef. It is a beautiful
place with a sandy cay sticking out even in the middle of high tide.
Around the cay is the beautiful turquoise water that you
see in holiday commercials. The water was so clear you could see the bottom
without a mask!
The cay is a popular helicopter landing spot and one yellow
chopper was there, it possibly belongs to some rich person as it didn’t look
like a tourist one regularly flying from Cairns.
We snorkelled around the bommies trying to shoot a coral
trout, but didn’t have any luck. There are not many trouts around and a couple
that we saw were very quick to hide.
However we still had some fish left from yesterday. We
liked an idea of deep-frying fish on coral cay in the middle of the ocean and
this was a good opportunity. In fact this idea was a bit stupid as there was no
protection from the sand blown by the wind and it was getting in the food. The
fish was still delicious though.
25.10.2007
The weather is good for staying on the reef but I have to
sit a CPA exam in Cairns and we went to Cairns marina. We underestimated the
current and were running late, so I arrived to the exam when the supervisor
already started reading the instructions. (Gonzalo adds: Tania was late on her
own accord, nothing to do with the current!)
At night we went out for dinner to an Asian café as we
missed Chinese food.
Sailing back south
26.10.2007
Today is our turnaround point, but not the end of the trip
yet. We said goodbye to Cairns and went to Fitzroy Island.
Sudbury Reef, Feather Reef and a quick run to Magnetic
Island
29.10.2007
We decided to go back to Townsville (where we have to pick
up our fridge from warranty repairs) not through the islands when we sailed up
north, but through the reefs as the weather was good now. We spent a day on
Sudbury Reef (which looked a bit like Vlasoff Reef with a sandy cay in the
middle), and the next day on Feather Reef. This one didn’t have an island or
even a drying at low tide sandy cay. We were anchored in the middle of the
ocean! All the spear-fishing attempts were not successful – we only got
sunburned (when applying the sunscreen you sometimes miss some spots).
Today the wind is NE around 10-15 knots and perfect for us
to go south.
We put up Genoa and main and were making 5-6 knots on beam reach, 90
degrees to the wind. The seas were calm and we decided to keep going the whole
night – didn’t want to miss this opportunity.
Having entrusted the steering to an autopilot we went
inside, I cooked dinner and we watched a movie like we normally do at the
anchorage.
I actually haven’t mentioned yet how we cook on the boat.
We have a 3-burner kerosene gimballed stove with an oven. You need to prime the
burners with mentholated spirit before lighting and if you don’t do enough the
stove doesn’t light, and the burner burst into flames instead. Also burners need
to be cleaned regularly and the pressure maintained, or the flame won’t be
strong enough to cook. A few days ago 2 burners broke (we didn’t
know that the burners can only be cleaned when cold and the needles got stuck).
and now only one is working. Kerosene stoves aren’t popular any more and
we couldn’t find the replacements in Cairns (but we know one shop in NSW though
that services them). In Cairns we bought a small portable gas stove which uses
butane cartridges.
It’s great on still anchorages however unsuitable for the sea.
If the wind continues like that we will arrive at Magnetic
Island by 4 am.
There is no moon and it is very dark outside. We rolled out
a double bed in the saloon and take turns on watches. A commercial work boat
contacted a “southbound yacht” on channel 16 and we realised it was for us. We
called back to tell them our intentions to pass them on port side and altered
the course slightly to starboard. This was the only boat we saw all night.
At 4 am Horseshoe Bay lights appeared in the horizon and by
5 am we were already anchored. We had covered 120 miles in 20 hours, our best
run yet.
