2/6/11
Lazy day today at Lady Musgrave
Feeling a bit better today
Beautiful day warm and sunny
Bruce caught a beautiful schnapper that we plan to have for dinner tonight Probably need to catch a couple more to make a meal of it Went in dingy to the island and walked around and through Very pleasant Light lunch Michael and Hugh have ventured out to the reef in the dingy Unfortunately did not manage to catch any edible fish Shared the one fish for entree- magnificent followed by chicken casserole and rice Early night had by all as planned to leave early for 1770 Quite windy overnight but pleasant sleeping conditions
3/6/11
Left Lady Musgrave for 1770 at 8am with the main sail (1 reef) and the jib up We arrived at 1pm having had an exhilarating and superb sail all the way over - couldn't ask for better Reaching in 15 - 22 knots of wind averaging a speed of 9-10 knots consistently Practiced a couple of manoeuvres toward the end of the trip 1770 is a beautiful spot with idyllic conditions Relaxing afternoon Michael and Pat ventured into town and bought some refreshments and checked out the local hotel/restaurant with a view to eating there tomorrow night Friends of Greg and Janene called in to see us with a bottle of wine and Michaels long lost sunglasses Enjoyed a drink or 2 or 3 on the deck BBQ for dinner Booked dinner at the hotel for tomorrow night - George and Dave are going to join us
4/6/11
Extremely good conditions over night with no breeze and calm waters After a cooked breakfast we all ventured into town and walked up to the James Cook lookout - beautiful spot and nice walk Garnets aplenty fishing off the point - quite amazing to watch - it's like spear fishing from a great height. It's a wonder they don't get a headache!
Stopped off at the hotel on the way home for refreshments!!!!!
Light lunch on the boat (the sad state of affairs sees us with no wine and about 6 stubbies of beer- good thing we are going out for dinner I say Everybody else is sleeping (nana naps will never be lost with this lot) We head back to Bundaberg tomorrow as the others leave us on Monday and Noela and Geoff arrive All six of us climbed into the rubber ducky and managed not to get wet so it can be done but doubt that you fit anymore unless they were wafer thin!!
Had a very enjoyable night at The Tree Hotel with George and Dave Good food, good company, good wine
5/6/11
4am battery light on instrument panel 57 percent charged
Michael fired up the generator and instantly woke everyone but it had to be done
Left on for about an hour- 45 mins according to Michael but 47 minutes according to Hugh
Early start this morning 7am as we set off back to Bundaberg
No discernible wind this morning which makes it ideal for this passage - that is iron sailing on flat waters
At the beginning of the journey it appeared that the Man overboard alarm was falsely activated yet again - the noise is ear piercing to say the least
Problem was that we could not turn it off to the point of sheer frustration especially Michael who was the skipper at the time
Michael was sure it was in fact not the man overboard that had been activated but something else
Nevertheless we all pressed and prodded our arm bands in a vain attempt to shut the bloody thing up
After some time Michael (yes he was RIGHT) located the problem - a smoke alarm
Haven't yet worked out what activated it and never will
8.30am Man Overboard exercise initiated by Hugh in the middle of our cup of tea!
Retrieval process was extremely well done
We didn't use real people but a life jacket instead
Arrived at Bundaberg at 2pm having motor sailed all the way in very pleasant conditions
Decided to eat at the Marina restaurant for our last evening together as a group - once again an enjoyable time was had over a couple of bottles of wine and good food
6/6/11
Up early to prepare for the departure of our sailing companions over the past week
Michael and I took Leigh and Hugh to the airport in our $40 a day bomb - a Toyota
Leigh and Hugh set off in their little noddy car back to Coomera
We did our provisioning to cover our needs for the next 2 weeks with Geoff and Noela
The wine arrived at the Marina
Returned for light lunch on board with Bruce and Debra before leaving for the airport at 2.45pm
Picked the Simpsons up from the airport at 7.45pm
Noela feeling ordinary with a heavy head cold
Dinner on board at 9pm making it a very late night for us thus far
Noela and Geoff very impressed with our ship
7/6/11
Set sail (iron type) at 7am bound for 1770
No discernible wind again today but blue skies and plenty of sunshine
Relaxing reading writing and resting
Dolphin sited by Noela
Arrived at 1770 at 2pm with plenty of water underneath
I love this place
Atlantic Salmon and veg for dinner - pretty good if I do say so myself
Great music
Started second lot of antibiotics yesterday and I think I am finally on the mend
8/6/11
Awake at 6.30 and the view out our bedroom window is beautiful overlooking 1770
Michael is snoring on one side of the boat in unison with Geoff on the other side - not sure which orchestra they would get a job with though
Plan is to spend the morning here and then head off to Pancake Bay
Cooked breakfast
9.30am went for walk on to Point Cook lookout again but walked all the way back along the beach on a rising tide
25 degrees and sunny a far cry from the weather in Melbourne
Lunch at Tree hotel - locally caught yellow fin tuna- absolutely beautiful
Set off for Pancake Creek at 1pm in very light winds - main sail, jib and one engine to enable us to motor sail at 6 knots
Appears to be a serious fire at Pancake Creek - burning off only
Geoff, Noela and Pat fished off the back of the boat nibbles but no success
No fish for our supper so we had chicken stir fry instead
Great anchorage - pretty much had the place to ourselves
9/6/11
Left Pancake Creek at 6.30am bound for Cape Capricorn
No wind but expecting 15 knots - never really happened so motor sailed virtually all the way
Arrived at 1.30pm
Again a great spot which we had ourselves except for 5 small fishing boats
We fished and they fished we were unsuccessful whilst they were somewhat more successful. Very frustrating when you see them catch a beautiful big fish in front of your very eyes. We are still determined and confident that our luck will change
But alas how the weather has changed! It is bloody freezing to put it mildly!!
The coldest snap of weather in North QLD since 1916
Mixed grill and veg indoors out of the cold
10/6/11
Left Cape Capricorn at 9.20am with the intention of sailing to great Keppel Island
Geoff and I watched a DVD on the way to stay out of the cold
Cold and threatening rain. So cold in fact that Noela and I concocted a pumpkin and carrot soup for lunch which proved to be very nice accompanied by toasted sandwiches. Warmed the cockles of the heart.
Topped up the water supplies. Played scrabble
Steak, salad and potatoes for dinner
11/6/11
Rained steadily overnight
Departed at 7.30am bound for Island Head Creek
20knot winds with a choppy 2 metre swell
Sailing with 1 reef in the main and less than half the Genoa
Sailing well but it is ridiculously cold, absolutely unbelievable really
Experienced 20 knot winds with gusts up to 35-40 knots reaching a boat speed of 16 knots. To add to this concoction we had 3-4 metre swell
A boisterous sail to say the least!!
Of course by this stage we had reduced the main to 2 reefs and pulled in the Genoa
Given the weather we (the girls) made it quite clear that we would like to take the first reasonable anchorage available so here we are at Port Clinton arriving at 3pm
The weather is abysmal - wet and windy
It's now 5.15 and we are rocking and rolling. The weather forecast suggests that it is improving but to me it is looking worse
Depends on the weather conditions as to what our plans are tomorrow
Overnight weather conditions abated a little making it reasonably comfortable for sleeping
12/6/11
Weather still cold and overcast - WARNING to oneself is to make sure that you have clothes for all weather conditions even in North Queensland . The last 3 days has been flipping freezing!
Cooked breakfast
Left at 10.30 bound for Island Head Creek
Arrived at about 2pm having motor sailed with only the screecher up. Much lighter winds but sea still relatively lumpy. However, it was a far cry from yesterday's escapade.
Idyllic spot tucked away behind the hills/mountains - calm and beautiful moonlit night. Had a squiz at Pearl Bay
Pork fillets,salad and potatoes for dinner
Settled down and watched DVD Invictus and devoured a box of chocolates between the 4 of us and guess what the movie stopped before it had finished - don't you just that but that's cheap Bali DVDs for you. You get what you pay for!
13/6/11
Hooray the sun is shining and the skies are blue - back to short sleeves (for some anyway)
It is beautiful
Left at 7.30 bound for Hexham Island Main and screecher up with assistance of motor for the most part
Passed another yacht but we were cheating a little
Arrived at Hexham Island
Sighted nesting sea eagles - mum, dad and the kids
Thought we had the place to ourselves but ended up with 4 boats in our midst
Invited the first two boats over for drinks at five on our way into shore for a walk. The fourth boat came in too late so he missed out.
Geoff and I both went for a swim - beautiful
We had a very pleasant evening with Anthony and Sara - Easy Catamaran - Gecko and Bruno and Katherine - Cole 33 - Ruff n Tumble
Lamb chops and Pork spare ribs with veg for dinner followed up with music and a little pole dancing!
A little rolling overnight but not unpleasant
14/6/11
A starry night and a beautiful sunny morning
Left at 8am bound for Curlew Island
Noela and Pat responsible for the boat today (under supervision) of course
We are sailing beautifully on a reach at 10 knots with 15 knots of wind. It can't get much better than this!
11.2Knots Broad reach
We have a slight problem in that our water supply is probably down to a third overall but a bigger problem is our wine supply - it will have to be rationed out today and tomorrow.
Continued to have a great sail all the way to Curlew Island
This place is heaven on a stick and rivals Thomas Island
Went on shore for a walk along the beach and then went across to the massive sandbar for another walk
Sun setting and the water like a mill pond. An idyllic anchorage. I agree with Noel Patrick's assessment that it is the jewel of the area
Fishing off the back of the boat. Geoff caught a big one that got away with hook, line and sinker. Caught two other fish - a reef shark and a whiting but sent them back home. The fish were very active all around us as if the small fry were being chased by the big fry.
Teriyaki chicken and fried rice for dinner followed by ice-cream and mixed berries. Finished all our left over wine
Became a little lumpy in the middle of the night with wind against incoming tide but settled again.
15/6/11
Wind 10-15 knots. Main sail and Genoa
All able bodied seamen have both life jackets and man overboard alarms on
MOB tabs worn each day but had not previously worn life jackets
Wind dropped out - Genoa
Wind came up so motors off and we started to whip along
Screecher down in more ways than one and continued with main sail only until the wind dropped out again as we approached Mackay
We were surrounded by numerous huge coal carriers
Arrived at Mackay marina at 2.15pm and fed and watered the boat
Dinner at Mackay yacht club where we all had QLDs version of rib eye (porterhouse) which was very nice but we did all over indulge a little with the beverages!
16/6/11
The four of us had a very enjoyable time on the boat over the past 10 days but unfortunately Noela and Geoff had to go back to Melbourne
Michael and I are basking in the beautiful sunshine attending to bits and pieces
Soft start for desalination unit is being installed on Monday
Spent the afternoon reading and relaxing
Steak, onions and salad for dinner
17/6/11
Another beautiful sunny day after a cool start
Cleaned the boat inside and out and from top to bottom - looking extra spiffy
Several people coming by and admiring our boat with the logo being a major attraction
Light lunch at the yacht club - whiting. (We also shared a banana fritter- sensational)
Relaxing afternoon intermingled with more domestic chores
Dinner at the yacht club again - crumbed barramundi which was extremely nice
18/6/11
Beautiful sunny day again
Greg and Janene arrived at about 12md and we went to yes the yacht club for lunch again but it is good value for money and very nice
Welcome drinks on the boat at 5pm including handover information and then had an enjoyable dinner at the Thai restaurant - Georgia
19/6/11
Beautiful one day better the next here in sunny QLD
Preparing for departure and final handover to Greg and Janene
Owners of Muscat 2 (lightwave 45 sport) visited this morning and looked over the boat and were very impressed and of course they should because it is the best looking boat in this huge marina
We say our goodbyes as this our inaugural sail on Blue Spirit draws to a close but we very much look forward to the next one in August
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