Surprise, surprise, I pulled up the crab pot this morning and found a muddy crawling round in it. Well, he went immediately into the cold box to calm him down then after a while into the cooking pot for us to eat later.
John and I pedalled along the esplanade to look for a breaky spot but everywhere was crowded so we turned around and went back to Wharf One where we were able to secure a table for two.
Friends of ours, Deb and Brian who we sailed with in 2015 were arriving in town on a land-based holiday so we met up with them at Salt House and had a very tasty meal. We snuck Morgan in this time and she sat quietly under the table. Its was a great reunion evening.
Morning broke amongst squalls, with a walk for Morgan and I along the esplanade while John caught up on sleep. We strolled slowly (as that’s Morgans pace these days at age of 12 ½) past the lagoon, along shaded pathways and grassy areas.
Cairns esplanade is a recreational area for people from all walks of life — backpackers, visitors looking for beautiful views (although not so when the tide is out) joggers and fitness enthusiasts, family picnics. markets and areas where the City of Cairns can display musical, arts and cultural events throughout the year.
An intricate stingray statue
The flower and fruit of the cannonball tree. The fruit takes between a year and 18months to mature.
Back on O’vive, John had surfaced so we pedalled down to Wharf One Café for breakfast. Wharf One is right next to the cruise ship wharf overlooking Trinity inlet. The Carnival Splendour was docked disgorging its passengers, so negotiating the path on bikes was hazardous.
The Australian cruise ship was enroute to Port Douglas and Willis Island before returning to Sydney. It carries 3000 passengers and now that the channel has been dredged deeper, passenger ships of this size are able to tie up to the terminal. Previously they had to anchor off and unload their passengers on ferry boats to bring ashore.
The Cairns Port is one of Australia’s busiest cruising destinations with both major international and domestic cruise ships. It provides capacity for up to two cruise vessels at a time with a terminal that is fast and efficient in moving passengers through customs clearance. The biggest ship that has tied up there is the QE2 at 963ft long and 100ft wide.
Breakfast was delicious as per usual and John tells me the coffee there is excellent.
Looking over at the superyacht wharf from O’vive
Once we got back onboard, I tied a crab pot to the back of the transom with some mullet for bait that I’d had in the freezer hoping to catch either muddies or blue swimmers. I was aiming to check the pot every morning.
Later that day I rode the bike up to Cairns Central shopping Mall to do a little shopping.
Stormy weather
In the evening we dined at Piato restaurant at the Pier marina just above the pontoons. They served a variety of high-quality Mediterranean cuisine. We ordered char grilled steak with red wine jus served with steamed vegetables as a change from fish. The steaks were the tender and tasty, we will definitely come back here again. The location is so convenient, plus the staff were very friendly. We were able to tie Morgan up just outside the barriers which she enjoyed, especially the tid bit of steak she received when we had finished.
Our remote control for the anchor winch had stopped working some days prior to arriving in Cairns, it could only be operated using the foot switch. I rang round and found a lovely helpful fellow who agreed to come down to Ovive and take a look. He happened to be in the marina at the time and was just finishing another job for a mate. He informed me he was semi-retired and didn’t do a lot of work these days, so we really lucked it this time. He disconnected the remote and took it home with him to repair as the wires inside had corroded, I’m assuming from both salt and rainwater.
John had run out of decent shorts that fitted him so we strolled up to a shop named ‘A Fish named Fred’ in the marina complex where he purchased a couple of pairs of shorts. The price tags nearly knocked him over however they suit him.
At the end of our pontoon, we regularly walk past three prawn trawlers set up as eateries. The Prawn Stars are very popular day and night for tourists wanting fresh seafood. The visitors think the produce comes straight from the trawlers however it comes from the fish markets just like everyone else’s seafood. Still it’s a unique way to enjoy a meal. The Pawn stars are very popular with the Asian visitors, especially those on tours.
That afternoon I pedalled the bike 4 blocks to Rustys market. Tucked between Grafton and Sheridan Street in the heart of City, its home to one of Far North Queensland’s recognisable attractions.
Rusty’s Market is a fresh food lover’s delight. It’s been around since 1975 when it was made up of just 6 stalls. Since then, Rusty’s has grown considerably, these days it holds around 180 stalls.
You can find fruit and vegetable vendors, food stalls, juice bars, souvenirs, massage beds, bakers, pastries, cheese vendors and heaps more. I especially love looking and trying the tropical fruits we don’t get down south.
Meanwhile they are supporting an entire network of local farmers and businesses on the Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays they open.
For dinner that night we felt like Chinese so we pedalled several blocks away from the touristy area and found traditional Peking style cuisine in the Golden Boat restaurant with maroon damask curtains and velvet chair coverings. We could tell they served good food as several tables were filled wih Chinese locals and visitors. We were right, the meal of dumplings; curried king prawns and scallops with ginger and shallots were cooked to perfection.
Today was a real lazy day. We finished another couple of loads of washing, chatting with other sailors who were stuck in Cairns, some hoping to keep going north, others waiting to go south. The laundry is a real hub for information gathering.
The weather was slightly overcast with some rain nasty squalls annoying us throughout the day. Our bikes were unfolded ready for action once the rain disappeared.
Nyeki and Beach Bum arrived in the marina as they’d had a terrible night out in the inlet with boats swinging in close, anchors dragging and nasty winds.
Some Mulligan Geo work was the order of the day plus thorough reading of the Cairns Post by John.
We gathered at Salt for happy hour ( 5 – 6pm half price drinks) and nibbles with Deb and Wayne and Geoff and settled in for the evening. Morgan was tied up outside in the garden where we could see her as dogs weren’t allowed in the area we were.
We ordered a variety of nibbles including the Barra wings, crispy smoked and fried chicken wings and rosemary salted chat potatoes with lime mayonnaise. Everything was extremely tasty and filling. Anything that was left over went down to the end of the table for Wayne to finish off.
John and I had a leisurely breakfast of bacon and eggs before heading off to Cairns at about 11 am.
Deb and Wayne and Geoff had left Fitzroy about an hour before us so we were aiming to get to Cairns around the same time. As we came out of the bay we found the wind stronger than forecast so we unfurled the jib and sailed with one sail. We reached speeds of ten knots with the wind unexpectedly reaching over 35 knts resulting in a quick trip to the shipping channel that leads into Trinity inlet, the shipping hub of Cairns.
The Entrance Channel has a length of 5.3 nautical miles with a depth of 9 metres however, is subject to high siltation. Trade winds during the dry season and cyclones during the wet combine with ocean currents to deposit, stir up and resuspend sediment in the water making it constantly murky. Annual maintenance dredging remedies the siltation to create a safe passage for vessels into the port. I was surprised to find out that dredging has been undertaken since 1876 when the Port was first declared.
The Port of Cairns plays a vital role in Australia’s defence, border and security operations in the Indo-Pacific region as home for the Royal Australian Navy base of HMAS Cairns, the second largest naval base on the east coast of Australia. We were to explore the fascinating port in the weeks to follow.
Back to the drama.
As we turned into the channel close to marker C12 we lost our steering. The hydraulic steering system had run out of oil. There was no way we could negotiate the busy channel and into the marina without steering. When this has happened before we have been able to add oil to the system, bleed it and get going. Today it didn’t seem to want to work. On top of that the wind wasn’t helping, it was blowing us out of the channel into the shallow water on the western side. There is minimal depth outside the channel, in fact it dries for quite a way at low tide. After several attempts where John has to get down into the back hatch and I try pouring oil into the lines then turning the helm to allow it to move along the lines, in between trying to keep the boat in the channel with the motors, we decided we needed to get out of the busy channel ,anchor then concentrate on the task.
We dropped the anchor with about a metre under our keel on the eastern side of the channel. The anchor didn’t seem to hold well and kept dragging. The problem was we were heading back to the channel and an extremely large, barnacle encrusted channel marker.
I alternated between revving the motors to keep us away from the marker and filling the oil reservoir while John was in the back hatch bleeding it. On top of that the wind was howling and it was difficult to hear instructions.
The system didn’t want to bleed and we were getting closer to that dammed post, conditions were very nasty.
By this time, Nyeki and Beach Bum had caught up with us and anchored a way off us to offer support if needed. We were swinging around in the wind with the wind and tide and I could hear a horrible grating sound under the starboard keel.
We were frantically trying to bleed the system all the time keeping ourselves off the post which we had come within two metres of.
Deb and Wayne launched their dinghy, picked up Geoff and motored over to us. Launching the dinghy in these windy conditions was a feat in itself. As luck would have it , just as they arrived, the system started taking oil and the helm began to respond with some pressure in the lines. What a relief!
Now to get the anchor up. We seem to have ridden over the anchor as it was behind us due to wind and current. We were anchored in such shallow water we think the anchor chain had been catching on the keel. We were also on a falling tide which meant we would be aground if we didn’t get away soon.
I wish I’d got more photos , I didnt have time and the time we had was very stressful.
Finally we pulled the anchor up and were able to motor back into the channel. Steering seemed good and engines were working, we did wonder if the chain had caused any damage to the propellers as well. There was no water coming inside the boat around the keel or engine bay so that was a good sign.
Later underwater examination by Wayne revealed the mess the chain had made on the keel as it wrapped around the back of the keel and rasped and chewed into the fibreglass.
We followed Nyeki up the channel and motored into our marina berth where a lovely fellow from the marina met us, took our lines and tied us up. What service! It was such a relief to be out of the wind and tied up safe.
Nyeki and Beach Bum anchored in the inlet opposite the marina as they weren’t booked in until the next night.
We were berthed on E finger not far from the amenities and a plethora of restaurants. At $171 per night I thought it was quite reasonable, for the heart of Cairns.
John, Morgan and I took a load of garbage and the laundry up, and while the clothes washed in a laundramat of 6 machines we headed to Salt House for a well earned beer and Kaluha. Salt is Cairns most iconic waterfront venue with views over the marina with an open relaxed atmosphere and only 60 metres walk from Ovive.
You could have a main meal or just a light bite. The light bites were to become a regular item for us when we visited Salt (which was fairly often). This evening we ordered tempura fried barramundi wings with a spicy dipping suace for $18. They were huge and so tasty, with so much fish on them it was ample for us.
We retired early and slept the best night we’d had for a while not having to worry about winds, tides or anchor alarms.
John and I woke up to the same swelly and windy conditions as yesterday. Ovive was still twisting on her mooring bouy . The weather was a mix of rain, overcast skies then sun. We hadn’t decided what we were doing but by mid morning we’d had enough and pulled of the buoy to head for somewhere calmer.
Deb , Wayne and Geoff had gone ashore for a walk to the top of the island and had left their dinghy up the northern end of the beach. Unfortunately the tide was on its way down exposing the fringing coral. Arriving back from their rather strenuous walk they had no way to get into deeper water and return to their cats until the tide came back in. Oh well they went to the bar and waited for a few hours replenishing themselves with lemon sqaushes.
Departing Fitzroy,( thank goodness). Cape Grafton shrouded in cloud.
We sailed Ovive the short trip to Mission Bay and anchored as close to the shore as the tidal range would let us. We were still a long way out as its a very shallow bay. Still it was calmer than Fitzroy even though we couldnt see the bottom as the water was murky and stirred up.
We climbed into the dinghy and undertook a reconnaissance looking for a deeper sheltered spot to anchor in the event the others turned up.
We couldnt get to shore as it was too shallow for the dinghy and I didnt fancy walking with Morgan through murky waters in crocodile country.
The others decided to stay at Fitzroy as it was late by the time they got back to their boats. We had a much better night than the night before although the anchor alarm went off at 5:30 as we had swung round in the opposite direction, with the tide and wind and I must have set the alarm too short. I’ll set it for 150′ next time.
We were feeling a little foggy this morning after last nights anchor alarm saga. We had been waiting for the sugar tanker to head off at 7:30 as we didn’t want to get in its way in the tight swing basin. It didn’t appear to be moving so in the end I called up the port on the radio and we were informed the ship wasn’t departing until 6pm. Someone gave us a bum steerlast night. The 3 of us upped anchor and motor sailed to Fitzroy Island off Cape Grafton.
The morning was rainy and at times visibility very poor. The other two boats disappeared into the rain behind us and ahead there was an island somewhere. We had intended to stop at Russel Island but it didn’t look very inviting, mainly due to the weather We weren’t sure if there would be enough mooring buoys either as its quite deep all around the lee of the island. Continuing on to Fitzroy was rather unpleasant for John at the helm seat as he needed to have the clears down to see where he was going. Morgan and I were fine on the other side of the cockpit.
By afternoon the wind had picked up to 15 knts and the rain began to clear. We managed to switch the motors off and sail on the jib cruising along at 7.8 knts, arriving at Fitzroy at about 3:00.
Picking up a mooring buoy was difficult due to the winds gusting through the anchorage with an opposing current. After 2 attempts I finally picked up a buoy and we settled in however the wind kept swinging us around in different directions and to add to the discomfort there was a nasty swell.
We all dinghied ashore to head to the bar. Fitzroy has never been one of my favourite islands, the beach is coral rubble and very steep. Its difficult to pull the dinghy up the beach with crashing waves and loose coral rubble under your feet and to make matters worse the bar doesn’t sell chips. You have to walk to the general store to buy chips or peanuts to have with your beer. Plus, poor Morgan is not allowed onshore.
This photo doesnt give a true indication of wind and swell.
I felt sorry for the tourists who had paid to come across from Cairns to a dismal, windy and wet resort.
After a couple of drinks John and I dinghied back to Ovive leaving Beach Bum and Nyeki to have dinner ashore. We sat and ate chicken stir fry for dinner whilst rocking, rolling and swinging in the howling winds which continued throughout the evening, then headed to bed early. It was that rolly that Morgan became very distressed, so we let her sleep on our bed.
Going ashore for coffee was first on today’s agenda. The little pop-up van just back from the jetty was open as it’s a weekend and serving coffee and mexican snacks. We all sat round a low table and ordered coffee and fish tacos, the latter being very tasty morsels so much so that we ordered a second round.
Back on board the three crews pulled anchor. By the way our remote anchor control stopped working with all the rain in Hinchinbrook it must have a short. I am now using the foot controls; we will have to get it fixed in Cairns.
Wayne found a dead sea snake washed up on the shore, he left it in our dinghy hoping to give me a scare, well it worked.
On a heading of 0° we sailed on the jib out around the Barnard Island. We weren’t watching the rod as often as we should, and a large fish took all the line off the reel and Johns favourite lure with him. We saw the rod bend but by the time we got to it the line had spooled off. Man was there some colourful language from the skipper.
After putting new line on we were in business again, this time with 60lb line. No fish though. A large tanker was sitting off Moriliyan waiting come in and load up with sugar.
The hidden entrance to Moriliyan was shrouded by low cloud hanging over the rainforest bordering the marked channel, its always special going through here.
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Nyeki had anchored near the boat ramp just outside of the swing basin. A large freighter was tied up to and after completing its loading was due to leave that evening for foreign shores. We headed in to anchor just outside the swing basin but ran aground as the sand bar shallowed abruptly. Five minutes later Beach Bum did the same thing, he got off pretty easily however it took us about 30 minutes to get free with John revving the engines and the rising tide helping.
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With nowhere to anchor close to the swing basin we made our way between the pile moorings and dropped anchor at the end of them. The chosen spot wasn’t much good as we were swinging too close to the fleet of other boats. John deployed the dinghy and took his portable sounder and went to find a suitable place for us to anchor. He came back happy with a location in a good depth of water and plenty of swing room for Ovive. We motored Ovive up to the spot where there was plenty of room and dropped anchor in 3 metres of water.
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The anchor drag alarm went off at 3 am however on charging upstairs naked we checked our position, shone the spotlight around and decided we had just moved to the extent of of anchor chain on a changing tide. Back to bed.
The day began with drizzly rain, overcast skies and gusty wind. Not overly encouraging for the sail to Dunk so we delayed our departure in the hope the weather would improve.
We got a break at 9:30 and sailed on the jib with a nasty cross swell slapping against the starboard hull. Changing course halfway to Dunk eased the wave motion making the trip more pleasant. The islands ahead kept disappearing in rain squalls leaving us to rely heavily on the chart plotter.
The trip might have been more rewarding if we had caught a fish, but no luck today. Wayne and Deb caught a Mac Tuna which they kept for bait.
On arrival Dunk wasn’t looking very inviting as the rainforest covered island was shrouded in grey cloud and light rain. The army arrived in their landing barges and looked to be surrounding us.
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I am assuming as some part of Talisman Sabre exercises. The four barges rafted up and anchored for the night. I imagine they would be rather subdued by the news we all heard, of the helicopter crash last night in the Whitsundays and the loss of four of their personnel.
We waited for the rain to ease after Nyeki and Beach Bum arrived then dinghied ashore. Strolling along the sandy island paths through the lush growth was a welcome change from the constant noise of the ocean and wind. You don’t notice the noise until you go ashore into a forest and then you realise how quiet it is.
We wandered across the end of the grassy airstrip to the resort decimated by cyclone Yasi in 2011. Yasi was Australia’s largest and most devastating cyclone to hit QLD in memory. And what devastation, it was sad to see.
The accommodation area is still totally annailated.
In 2009 we had visited the island and it was a vibrant resort with an artist colony in the rainforest and a fully functioning resort with golf course, horse riding and all manner of activities, restaurants etc. We were here in 2015 and then it was a sad sight, however finally it looks like someone is staring to revive the place as both swimming pools had clean water and pumps in them. The main reception and dining area was clean, swept and devoid of broken bricks and mortor in contrast to the accommodation area.
Is this where Wayne belongs?
Bar , golf course , tennis court and airstrip are all starting to get rehabiliated.
When leaving the resort we were reprimanded by a resort employee that we were walking in an out of bounds area and with a dog and we should leave. Really! what dog?
Oh well back to the boat to grab some beers then we joined Nyeki and Beach Bum for happy hour at a table in the camp ground overlooking the beach and boats. Such a pleasant way to end the day other than chicken ceaser salad for dinner.
Today was a day for moving at last. The wind had abated slightly and we had decided to move on. We’d all had enough of Hinchinbrook.
The washing was hung out, toad in the hole for breaky and a few emails dealt with, and the anchor was up at 10 am. Nyeki and Beach Bum headed off before us as John was still struggling with Wordle while I was tidying up emails. Low cloud hung over Mt Bowen on Hinchinbrook as we motored along the channel however the further north up the channel, we went the more sun we saw.
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Around Paluma Ck we turned off the motors and hauled up the screecher cruising at 6.6 knts. I was scanning the muddy mangrove lined banks for crocodiles in the hope of seeing at least one, but it must have been too cold for them to come out of hiding. A white heron waded along the muddy shore looking for fish.
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We are heading for Cardwell, we cant be bothered to stay in another sandfly ridden creek and not catch anything. They say the barra tend to emerge once the weather heats up and the wind dies down. Who knows, we are not waiting around to see.
We glided up the Hinchinbrook channel towards Cardwell behind the other two boats.
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To anchor off Cardwell you need to stay out a fair way as its shallow for a long way to the shore. Ovive and Beach Bum anchored in 3 metres of silt laden waters. Deb and Wayne anchored closer to the beach however we didn’t want to get stuck on an outgoing tide and they had been there before and had a shallower draft. Not that the tidal range is very much at the moment.
The Ovive crew climbed in the dinghy and took a swelly ride to the concrete boat ramp where we beached our dinghy’s beside it. Black mud bordered the sandy beach so a tide any lower would make for a sticky landing.
The trip to the IGA was a short 5 min walk from the boat ramp. We bought a few items, bread, butter, chocolate and John grabbed a couple of bottles of red from the bottle shop across the road.
Debra borrowed a supermarket trolley to get her grocies and beer back to the dinghy.
John waiting on the bathtub seat outside the supermarket.
The dinghy trip back to Ovive was wet and uncomfortable as we slamed into the swell and wind, we were all soaked by the time we arrived back, Morgan was not impressed.
The South Passage , a tall ship that takes young people on a sailing adventure we they develop confidence boosting, sailing skills and meet others.
After stowing the supplies, we hoisted the main and the jib and sailed across to Gould Island where we anchored in the lee in 3 metres of water. The crossing was punctuated by schools of flying fish skipping across the water.
John Morgan and I sat on the transom and fished until dusk enjoying the sun that we hadn’t seen for a few days. Nothing hopped into the pan though.
