Sun 20 -25 knt wind, overcast occasional rain showers

Instead of our usual walk up the street we decided on Sun morning up at the yacht club as they only serve breaky on Sundays. It was very relaxing enjoying breakfast overlooking the water.

After breakfast we checked the emails, receiving a couple from our solicitor regarding the business that required attending to, so we spent the morning replying to them.

Drove to the servo and refilled the dinghy fuel tank , grabbed groceries then back to O’vive in time to watch the Rugby League grand final. What a nail biting match with a well earned win by the cowboys.

Mon – Same winds blowing a gale and whipping up the ocean

More tackling of the emails then we took a break and drove to Brinsmead to visit Ben Curtayne ( former employee), Pam and daughter Sophie who now live in Cairns. We haven’t seen Ben since 2005, it was great to see him again and to see how he’s getting on in life and meet his family.

On the way home we stopped at Andys for a beer then grabbed takeaway Chinese and Vietnamese from the local restaurant at Yorkeys. The meals were very average and the prices more than average.

Tues  Occasional showers more wind 20 – 25 knts

The whole day was spent dealing with emails and talking to our accountant and solicitor  except for lunchtime when we walked round to the cafe bordering Yorkeys beach. The heavens opened and we sheltered under a copse of trees while waiting for the rain to pass.  We ordered burgers  which were the best we had eaten for years. My fish burger was excellent, the fellow had defrosted coral trout by mistake so he put it in my burger. Said he couldnt afford to do that all the time, I just got lucky.

Mick and Ros flew over at 8:50 pm and we waved to them, dont think they saw us. The marina is right under the approach path for Cairns airport.

 

We completed our morning ritual of a walk to get the paper, no need to buy bread as there was still a little left from yesterday.

A couple of jobs completed and it was time for John to head off with Andy to watch the AFL grand final at Steve Fords house. Hawthorn flogged West Coast, apparently the game was very one sided.

While they were watching the game I drove down to the botanical gardens not far from the airport and about 10 kms from Yorkeys. The Cairns Botanical Gardens are the best I have seen so far, I guess because they have been established for almost 140 years , some of the trees are very well established.

The gardens cover several botanic spaces and include a rainforest boardwalk, centenary freshwater and saltwater lakes, Gondwanan Heritage garden and Flecker Garden which  was the highlight.

These tropical gardens meander along a creek bed with a dense canopy above and epitomise the variety of flora that can be found across the worlds tropical regions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The huge Raintree a native of Central and South America was rather spectacular, although several of its limbs had broken off, I am assuming in high winds.

The orchid, bromeliad and fern enclosure was delightful especially as it housed some large dazzling butterflies that flitted amongst the greenery.

The brilliant neon blue Ulysses butterfly was hard to capture in pictures as the  iridescent  blue is only on the upperside of the wings. The underside was a subdued black and brown.  The Ulysses typically has a wing span of about 14 cm, not as large as the Cairns Birdwing which I spied alighting on some ferns. The Birdwing is Australia’s largest butterfly with a wingspan of 150cm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the Flecker Gardens I walked the rainforest boardwalk which was quiet and cool. The Pandanus Swamp area made you feel you were in the Everglades, ( sort of).

 

By this time the football had finished so I drove to Trinity Beach to pick up John from Steve’s very large house.

Apricot chicken and rice for dinner and once again I fell asleep in front of the telly.

 

15 – 20 – 25 knts

 

Strolled to the shops again for more paper and you guessed it more delicious bread. This time we bought banana and had fresh bread and banana sandwiches for breaky.

We completed a few chores on the boat including a good wash as she was encrusted with salt from the wild windy weather on Wednesday.

A trip to Dan Murphy’s at Smithfield saw us replenishing John’s red wine and beer supplies although I don’t think we have enough for his brother who likes to indulge a little.

Dinner at the boat club with Andy was very enjoyable. The view from the bar and restaurant overlooks the marina and across the Coral Sea. They often have live music under a huge shade cloth on weekend afternoons.

 

I ordered the lobster mornay special for $35 dollars with a glass of white wine was very reasonably priced.

 

15 – 20 – 25 knts Sunny

This morning the wind has become fairly strong  as we took Morgan for a walk up to the local shops to buy a paper. We treated ourselves (or should I say our waistlines) to a half loaf of freshly baked bread from the bakery which we carried back to Ovive and promptly made bacon sandwiches.

Later we caught the bus to Smithfield shopping centre to get a new phone for me as it stopped working in Cooktown. It turned out the battery was dead so we ended up in getting John a new phone as his brick of a Nokia is very hard to read and ancient. My phone is still playing up  but it will do for a while.

Andy Hallinan met us at the shops and gave us a lift to Steve Ford’s Geo depot where they lent us a ute to use while we are here. Now we can get the gas bottle filled and the outboard fuel topped up easily.

15 – 20 knts  48 nautical  miles sunny

We had a lovely peaceful night up the river with no sign of crocodiles. Now its time to leave the Daintree and get further south towards Cairns before the strong winds set in.

 

We pulled the anchor up two hours before high tide to get out the river mouth before the tide turned. We did not want to have the same problems

getting over the shallow part as yesterday. With the sun in the right direction we could see the shallow areas much more easily. John kept to the channel and the depth only got down to 1.2 metres which was much preferable  to yesterday’s depths.

With the wind coming from the southeast we couldn’t sail towards our destination so we headed east  past the Low Isles then through the channel between Batt and Tongue Reefs. We were managing an average of 6.5 knots with the main and jib and the engines on  some of the times. The direction wasn’t ideal but if we tacked a few times we were able to get through the channel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

John had both lures out and was keeping an eye on them most of the time. We had both just checked the rods when we heard a noise, and turned round to see the last of the line being peeled off then snapped from one of the rods. It had been a very large fish to peel it off that fast and snap it. John was not happy, his vocab was very colourful for some time after. The worse thing is you never find out what it was. I just kept saying it was a large shark.

Not long after we had something that fought well on the other rod. When John got it in we were disappointed to see it was a Turrum, not unsimilar to a Giant Trevally. No good to eat though so we let him go.( That should keep Paul from Moor R & R happy)

Once we reached the end of the channel between the two reefs we turned on a course of 190 degrees and headed for the coast. O’vive romped along between 8 and 10 knots with the wind getting up to 25 knots at times. By the time we reached Yorkeys Knob marina the wind was becoming quite strong and the ocean very choppy. It was good to reach the relatively calm waters of the marina.

After tying up in an 18 metre pen( what a luxury) we made a few phone calls and attended to emails, then paid our fees and collected the gate keys.

The marina is very reasonably priced at $62 per night or $360 per week. We have decide to stay here for the week while we wait for Mick and Ros.

 

Wind Se 10 – 15 knts

After a lazy morning we let go of the mooring bouy and headed for the entrance to the Daintree River.

The tide was 2 hours past high so we figured we had enough water to get over the shallow part at the entrance. A red and green buoy marked the channel but we cut a bit close to the green marker and not close enough to the red. The depth got to .2, .1 then 00 then we ran aground almost getting stuck but John gave the motors a rev and we bumped along the sand for about 50 metres until we finally reached deeper waters. We had been very lucky as the tide was ebbing and we would have been stuck there for 8 hours before we could have floated off.  After motoring upstream we anchored past the first bend in the middle of the river in 3 metres of water . A good breeze was blowing across the river so we figured it would serve a double purpose of keeping us cool, and the mozzies at bay.

We lowered the dinghy and motored upstream to the ferry crossing about 5 kms away. The vehicular ferry is the only coastal access to the Cape Tribulation area and further north and operates all year round except in heavy rain and  flood conditions.

The Daintree is wide with many islands and shallow shoals in several parts. At high tide it would be navigable for O’vive as far up as the power lines after the ferry crossing.

Huge tall mangroves line the banks giving way to thick rainforest behind. We kept a sharp eye out for crocodiles but didn’t see any.

 

 

We were hoping to get a coffee or an icecream at the cafe at the crossing but were told by the ferryman that it was demolished two years ago.

Instead we pulled up to the other side and let Morgan out for a walk. A guide waiting for his group of tourists told us there is a 4 metre croc hanging round this landing so we were very careful getting back in the boat.

cant see the 4 metre croc but hes in there somewhere

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The rest of the afternoon passed with reading eating and replacing the VHF aerial into its bracket. The aerial fell down onto the deck late yesterday, hope its not damaged. John hauled me up the mast and we cable tied it back in place hoping it is still working.

The last of the sweetlip was devoured for dinner with chips.

 

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.

 

wind 15 – 20

Woke up to another windy morning, seems like it was blowing more than the forecast 15  to 20. Sue and David have been waiting here for a week to be able to go anywhere. Does it ever stop blowing in Cooktown?

We dinghied ashore to have breaky  in town and met up with Sue, David and Sarah at the french bakery. The display case was full of freshly baked  pastries of which we chose a few and ate them on the verandah overlooking the Endeavour river.

John and I continued on to explore the town but as it was Sunday a lot of places were closed.

The town seemed dry and  deserted other than a few people outside the local fish and chip shop and the pub.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This weekend is the annual Cooktown Hog hunt with the weigh at the Cooktown Hotel, supposedly the roughest pub in town. Categories included biggest boar, most pigs and ugliest dog. Morgan looked somewhat out of place ( in fact the girl organising the weigh in suggested we might be careful of Morgan with pig dogs around. The hunters 4wds were loaded up with dead hogs and caged pig dogs with multiple breast plates hanging of the back of the cages.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We continued up the road to the James Cook museum a stunning 19th century convent building, considered one of Queensland’s best museums, showcasing the fascinating history of this remote town and the best we have seen so far.

The museum follows the story of Captain James Cook’s enforced seven week stay at the Endeavour River, during which the first meaningful contact between Europeans and Indigenous people took place. Then on to the days of the Palmer River gold rush, as well as personal stories and items from Cooktown’s early residents. 

While sailing along the Eastern Australian coast on the 10th of June 1770, Cooks ship the Endeavour struck an outcrop of the Great Barrier Reef and stuck fast.  Nowadays the reef is named Endeavour reef and is just south of the Hope isles.

The ship was severely damaged and it took the crew 23 hours before they could haul her off at high tide. Everything that was heavy was thrown overboard – the six guns and their carriages, iron and stone ballast, casks, decayed stores and a general miscellaneous items of 50 tons or more. 

It would be another week before the Endeavour could find a safe haven to be repaired. After offloading most of the stores and ballast, she was beached on the shore further up the Endeavour River, near Bicentennial Park. The repairs of the ship were quickly completed but the wind and tides made it difficult to refloat her, delaying her departure further.

She finally departed on the 4^th August finding a passage through the reef north east of Lizard island through what is now called Cooks passage.

The anchor and cannons have since been found on out on the reef and have been restored and housed in the museum.

 

All that information made us hungry so we sat at the local fish and chip shop and enjoyed an excellent lunch of very well cooked fish and chips. Not the usual overcooked, dried out fish you get most other places.

Back to Ovive we prepared her for tomorrows trip of heading south into 20 knot south easterlies. Something we weren’t looking forward to. The weather for the next week is the same and we need to be in Cairns to pick up John’s brother Mick and his wife Ros for a couple of days.

Happy hour on Karinya then back to Ovive for steak and vegies.

wind 15 – 20 knts  22nm

The last leg of our journey northwards. We were going to head further north to Lizard Island but due to the current weather patterns and commitments with visitors further south we have decided to make Cooktown  our most northerly destination on this trip. Cooktown is the last town on the Qld coast before Thursday Island at the cape.

The lovely sunny morning started with a tasty breakfast of fish cooked in white sauce. We took our time enjoying the picturesque surroundings  so we didn’t leave until 10:30.

The wind was not very strong , once again not the forecast 15 – 20 more like 10 – 15 . We pulled out the screecher and the jib and goose winged them sailing  along averaging 6 knts. We put one lure out but didn’t really need any fish as we still had plenty. John had something big take the lure for 5 minutes but he got off. Probably just as well as we would  have to slow down to get the big bloke in.

At one stage a large bulk carrier heading south came within .3 of a nautical mile of us, we radioed him to make sure he could see us and he altered course slightly to avoid us. Its a  fairly scary feeling when they are bearing down on you and you don’t know if they have seen you.

A squall overtook us as we neared Cooktown and visibility went to very poor. The yacht that had been travelling behind us disappeared in the rain and the mainland all but vanished. The boat received a good wash and we scooted along on just the jib getting up to 10 knots at times.

 

Close on 2:00 we followed the channel markers and  entered the dredged channel up the Endeavour River to Cooktown . The inlet was fairly crowded with anchored boats and very shallow with   exposed sandbars at low tide. It was a struggle to find a spot to anchor as two other boats were also trying to anchor. We touched bottom once but finally anchored out the back towards the north bank of the river, not far from Karinya .

We dingied ashore and caught up with Sue and David and their daughter Sarah who was visiting her parents for the weekend. (Sarah was Megan’s best mate in high school). John, Morgan and I explored the area around the wharf and caught up with Mick and Lauren from Cosmos.

The Karinya  and O’vive crew  and enjoyed a meal at the Cooktown bowling club before retiring for a well earned sleep.

Wind 15 – 20 SE . Sunny   12 nm

The alarm woke us up at six, as we wanted to make sure we caught the bar on the high tide, which according to the Qld tide booklet was at 6:45. By the time we crossed through the river entrance we could see the tide chart was out as the tide had already been ebbing for at least half an hour. We stayed on the same track as yesterday but there appeared to be more breaking waves on either side of us. Some of it probably wind against tide. The depth below the keel got down to .2 again for quite a while but then it gradually got deeper again. If we go up the river in the future we need to go when the tide is higher than a 2.3 high tide. If we had run aground this time we would have to wait 12 hours until the top of the next tide.

A celebration was called for so we splurged with a cup of tea and an apple as we sailed towards the Hope isles . With the jib up we averaged six knots. not bad , arriving at East Hope island at 9:30.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The reef around the islands was difficult to see as the sun had not risen far enough in the sky so we took it very steady with me standing on the pullpit scanning the changes in water colour. As we arrived a boat was departing one of the two mooring buoys so we hooked up to the buoy rather than drop anchor on an unknown bottom.

Breakfast was better late than never, we cooked up a feast of bacon, sausages, fried potato and baked beans ( a real pommie breaky), followed by a short nap before exploring the island.

The crew from Cosmos, a Lagoon 380 ( Mick and Lauren) told us there was a  three metre crocodile spotted on the island yesterday so we stayed away from the vegetation and kept a wary eye on the beach. Morgan was disappointed as she wanted to chase fish in the shallows but her mum wouldn’t let her get too far ahead.

East Hope island is a small island covering about 2 acres so it didn’t take long to circumnavigate it. John took the gaff with him, just in case we met up with the big lizard. Of course every log, set of rocks or dark shape in the water put the wind up us for a while but luckily we didn’t see it. I’m not sure how he hoped to fend off a croc with a gaff.

As the tide was low the coral was exposed so we walked among the various coral formations looking at clams, shells and all manner of unidentifiable living organisms.

Back on O’vive we prepared for a fishing expedition with bait and lures. We unsuccessfully towed a lure right round the edges of the closest reef hoping for a coral trout. Time to bait fish. We chose a spot on the edge of the drop off and after a period of waiting, a school of sweetlip arrived and then we had a very frantic hour.

As soon as the bait got to the bottom a fish took it. We pulled in fish after fish, mostly sweetlip but the odd grass sweetlip, tusk fish, small cod, red emporer and spanish flag. We kept eight good size sweetlip and returned to O’vive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

John filleted the fish on the port transom throwing the skeletons overboard. About ten reef sharks arrived competing aggressively for the scraps, one even head butting the transom trying to get a feed. Morgan was fascinated, though we couldn’t let her close to the water in case she fell in.

Needless to say we had sweetlip  for dinner cooked in a ginger, shallot sauce with baby potatoes and salad. The flesh of the grass sweetlip was firm and white and they say its comparable to coral trout. It was very delicious.