wind SE 15 – 20 knots,  52 nautical miles

Up at 6:00 ready for a departure at 6:30. The crew from Karinya were going to follow us but weren’t feeling all that well so  decided to stay.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We headed out of the shelter of the river into some uncomfortable conditions and by the time we rounded the headland were heading directly into the wind and swell.  Waves broke over the bows and threw spray over the decks coating everything in a layer of salt.

Both engines were at 2000 rmp as we headed due east with the main up and the jib reefed hoping to get a better angle. We alternately tacked east then sailed south west for most of the day, at times only managing 3.8 knots.  The further south we went the lighter the wind became and we were able to sail on an average of 6 knots. Eventually we only had about 13 knots of wind against us and a fairly flat sea.

We arrived at Snapper Island off the mouth of the Daintree at 5:30 and picked up a mooring bouy. It was only for 9 metre cats but as it wasn’t windy we figured it would be okay for us to spend the night.

Morgan was looking longingly at the island so we dingied across for a quick leg stretch. The coral beach was comprised entirely of coral rubble and broken shells and was steep and easy to land on.  A picnic table set up the back of the beach lead to a track round the headland however I was a bit worried to go further as a sign depicted a crocodile warning.

The sandflies were attacking so we hurried back to the sanctuary of Ovive and its mossie screens, lamb shank casserole prepared the night before and bed.