Wind 15 – 20 Knts

Another day of repairs.

I have discovered the reason everything broke when Molly and Des were sailing with us. Molly brought bananas on board and supposedly bananas on a boat are bad luck, but then so is whistling on the boat, changing its name (that’s already been done before we bought it),  suitcases on board and leaving port on a Friday. I don’t think we can really blame Molly.

There are many reasons that form the basis of the superstition surrounding bananas on board from deadly spiders to toxic fumes but the most popular is that at the height of the trading empire between Spain and the Caribbean in the 1700’s, most cases of disappearing ships happened to be carrying a cargo of bananas at the time.

When I tried to access my emails last night I couldn’t so I rode round to Cannonvale this morning to give the computer back to the repair man to retrieve my emails. On my return John was up at the cafe reading the paper, waiting for the fellow from  Steve Becker Welding and fabrication to bring the repaired prodder down to the marina. As he was going to be a while we grabbed a quick cheap breaky at Barcelona’s then trolleyed the prodder down to the boat.

John and I then rode to Marlin Marine at Jubilee Pocket out on the road to Shute Harbour to pick up the spliced prodder stays. The 8 kms was an interesting ride as I hadn’t been that way for many years, the footpath ran almost all the way out there so we were able to stay off the road.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We left Morgan on the boat as it was too far for her to run and she would have slowed us down. She is really good at staying on the boat these days she doesn’t get off at all, she just positions herself somewhere where she can see us arriving back.

 

On our return to O’vive we bolted the prodder back in place with some difficulty as we had to do it from the dinghy and tensioned the dyneema stays.

The Raymarine fellows came on dusk to see if they could sort out our autopilot problem, they have removed the gyro from the corse computer to see if that makes a difference. Not sure how we will know if it has helped as the problem with the auto pilot is not consistent.

Quiet night on the boat with reheated fish pie for dinner.

Wind 20  – 30 Knts

Up to the park with Morgan for a quick run before we pick up our courtesy car for our free 1.5 hours. Paul and Kath accompanied us, Kath and I shopping while John and Paul went to Marlin Marine on Shute Harbour Rd to see if they could sort out the stays for the prodder and get a new block for the mainsheet.

Dropped my computer off at the computer shop as the guy reckons the hard drive is failing according to the symptoms I have described to him.

Brunch at Barcelonas , well worth it for $10 then back to O’vive to install the thermostat into the cool box. Not an easy task as it as usual is tucked into a very small space.

The remainder on the afternoon was taken up with  a ride to the hairdressers in Airlie and a general boat tidy up.

Marcel with her lovely bubbly personality came for happy hour, it was great to see her and hear that she is thoroughly enjoying her trip around the country.

 

Walked round to Deb and Bryan’s boat, (not far from us) for lamb shanks for dinner and was introduced to Debs sister Di who is sailing with them for a week. Another excellent evening with lots of laughs. Paul and Kath joined us for a drink after dinner for more frivolity.

The weather is not yet typical north Queensland as it is quite cool at night especially with the wind and I am still wearing a light cardigan some of the day. Daytime temperature are in the mid to low twenties.

Wind SE 15 – 20

We pulled the prodder off the boat and as usual the job took a lot longer than usual  partly because we had to get the dinghy under the boat to stand in it.

John hitched a lift with Paul who had hired the courtesy car and took the prodder to the welder who hopefully will cut and weld the bent part tomorrow. Paul and Kath’s cat Coco who is 23 years old is not well and had to go to the vet.

In the afternoon Jenny rode to Multivolt at Cannovale to pick up the thermostat, grab some meat for Morgan and buy some fresh herbs. She bumped into Marcel Saxon  originally from Corryong who is touring Australia for 12 months on her own in her caravan.

Deb and Bryan had arrived in the marina so called in for a beer.

Just another day in Paradise.

Wind SE 15 – 25 knts

Picked up the courtesy car from the marina at 8:30 and drove down to Cannonvale Home Hardware to buy 50 metres of anchor chain as ours is almost rusted through. Took a while to load it into the ute and get it back to the boat as it weighed about 100kgs.

 

 

Took the old anchor chain off and replaced it with the new gal chain which ran much more freely over the gypsy. One job done, 4 to go!

 

 

 

 

• Pull out the prodder and get it welded
• Get a new stripper arm made or sort one out while waiting for the one to arrive from New Zealand
• Replace the standing block on the mainsheet
• Pick up frig thermostat and replace old one

Cycled to Sorrentos to have lunch with Molly and Des as they are heading south tomorrow. We enjoyed a very delicious lunch overlooking the islands and the marina. I ordered the chilli mussels and clams and Molly the soft shell crab with a tomatoe concasse.

Farewelled Molly and Des and ambled down the marina to visit Paul and Kath who had arrived back from the outer reef.

Sundowners at Sorrentos with the rest of the Shaggers in the Airlie Beach area turned into a jolly evening ending up with pizzas for dinner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wind SE 15 – 20 knts

Should be here for a few days until we sort out the problems and get our cool box fixed, the part has not arrived yet.

Quite a strong cool wind early but not as bad as the rest of the country which has severe low temperatures and snow in Qld.

Rode to the markets down near the sailing club which are held every Saturday morning.  They were very busy with a variety of stalls from hand made jewelry, clothes ,vegies food and books. Airlie Beach has a great market as there are no tacky junk stalls and interesting entertainers on the stage. We met several people we had met in  ports along the way as well as Des and Molly.

After a coffee and  iced chocolate at Barcelona’s

we spent time sorting out the stripper arm , prodder and anchor chain. We can’t really do much until the businesses open on Monday and we still haven’t received our fridge part either.

Irish stew for dinner and more cricket.

 

Wind  S -SE  15 – 25 knts  26 nautical miles

Slept intermittently through a bumpy night as the wind picked up before dawn  and rattled everything that was loose. I was hoping the anchor held as the chain is fairly rusty and weak in spots however the anchor alarm didn’t go off so we could rest easy. I think the various noises of halyards wriggling, waves slapping, doors rattling and the wind howling would have been quite alien to Des and Molly. Not sure how much sleep they got.

Pulled the anchor but as the chain came over the gypsy it bent the stripper arm and broke it off so the chain wouldn’t come of the gypsy , John had to manually help the chain off the gypsy so it took a fair while to get it in.

The main was hauled up and we headed towards Hamilton in choppy white capped water and a very fresh breeze, it was quite a change from yesterday.

Arrived in Dent Passage after a brisk sail of 8 knts and pulled up a mooring buoy. The buoy was difficult to pick up as the mooring loop attached is very heavy and the wind kept swinging the boat around.

The four of us hopped in the dinghy and left Morgan to mind the boat as she isn’t permitted on Hamo. We motored slowly over to the marina so as to avoid waves soaking us and tied up in the designated area for $18 per hour.

It was strange to be in civilisation again as we strolled along the crowded waterfront. Tourists and golf carts dominated the scenery with the ever present sounds of helicopters, planes, boats , golf carts and squawking birds.

We lunched at Popeye’s fish and chip shop on the boardwalk overlooking the marina. The resident cockatoos were like seagulls waiting for scraps, but much larger with very foreboding beaks. At one stage a kookaburra swooped down from somewhere and took a large chunk of Des’s fish just as he was about to take a bite.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After sharing lunch with our feathered friends we wandered through the Foot Gallery which has magnificent pieces  of marine sculptures  carved in marble, stone and a marble compound.

We then dinghied back out to O’vive and unhooked the mooring buoy in preparation for a sail to Airlie Beach.

 

We hauled the main and screecher up as the predicted wind had died somewhat and we needed to be in the marina ideally at 3 for the correct tide but it was looking more like 4:30.

Somewhere around Henning Island while we were tracking the mainsail a very loud bang alerted us to a broken standing block on the deck that the mainsheet runs through causing the sheet to jam. With a lot of swearing on John’s part and pulling and levering by both men, they managed to free the sheet and pull the razzed line through to a safer spot.

 

We were sailing  well in lighter winds catching the fleet ahead of us that were returning home to port for the day. Bang! Not again, this time the screecher was flapping in the breeze unsecured. The stay for the prodder had snapped forcing the prodder to fling upwards bending its pin and lugs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

John pulled the foot of the screecher back down and held it manually for a while until we got into the lee of the mainland to try and furl it.

Eventually after several attempts to furl the screecher we loosened the halyard and dropped the sail onto the trampoline then stuffed it into the sail locker for future repairs.

Well that was the three things that had broken today so we breathed a sigh of relief until Morgan came up on deck with her stuffed cow and promptly dropped it overboard. It was goodbye to the cow as we had the main and jib up and John definitely wasn’t dropping sails for a stuffed cow.

We finally arrived in the marina right up the southern end in pen number X 1 & 2  at 4:45 and enjoyed a well earned beer ( well the other three did).

It was a shame to see Des and Molly go as we had thoroughly enjoyed their company and they were an excellent novice crew.

John, Morgan and I cycled up to Sorrento’s for a drink with Rob and Lesley then came back to Barcelona’s for a quick dinner before we headed back to O’vive in time for John to watch the cricket until late into the night.

Wind  SE Variable 10 knts  18 nautical miles

Woke up to a beautiful calm sunny morning with turtles popping their heads out beneath the majestic rock formations of Peter Head. It was lovely to be the only boat in the anchorage.

After very tasty fish breakfast, cooked by our resident seafood chef, Des, Molly , Morgan and I went ashore in the dinghy.

We motored slowly over interesting coral bommies which homed colourful fish and turtles. It was fascinating to be looking down on turtles swimming along, instead of just seeing their heads on the surface. It was easy to dinghy into the beach as the coral gave way to sand with water so clear you could see the bottom from a long way out.

Morgan found plenty of fish to chase and  and there were no oysters which was a plus as her paws are just starting to heal.

At the back of the beach the sand gave way to a lovely stand of palms interspersed with large rainforest trees.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When you walked into the trees everything went silent , it has been likened to walking through a cathedral. It was quite a change from the noises on the water.

 

 

Along the high tide mark we could see tracks in the sand of Unadorned wallabies and Sand goannas.

The wallabies are apparently found in small pockets in Queensland and the Whitsunday Island.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We departed Peter Bay and motored south to Whitehaven Beach, one of Australia’s iconic beaches. What a change since we were last here. Tongue Bay the next bay north had 20 boats and a large charter vessel anchored in it. The lookout platforms on the saddle overlooking Hill Inlet were full of people. It reminded me of the lookouts on the Great Ocean Road.

The sandbar extending into Hill Inlet was covered in people soaking up the sun and swimming. We dropped anchor not far from Lagoon Rock close to the shore in about 3 metres of clear water.

Whitehaven is an incredible expanse of pure white silica sand that stretches for five kilometres. It is very popular with tourists and yachties. Charter, bareboat and private yachts were anchored all the way along as well as a seaplane and three helicopters.

We walked along the beach to look at the palm trees which have been recently inserted into the sand at the base of the beach for the upcoming Pirates of the Caribbean Movie (no 4).

The production company have organised with maritime Qld to set up an exclusion zone for 4 days from this Saturday to next Wednesday in a 1 nautical mile square into the ocean including the beach. Only authorised boats are allowed into the site.

The set was partly set up with live coconut palms adorned with plastic coconuts. I wonder if Jack Sparrow has fake nuts too.

There was a row of portable dunnies, presumably for the production crew and cast that Molly felt she had to christen in the hope that it was Jack sparrows .

Back to O’vive for a swim then chilli, garlic calamari pasta and off to Shaw Island for the nightly anchoring.

We motored on down through Solway Passage where the tide can race through at 5 knots. The whirlpools and overfalls were interesting to watch and although it looked good for fish we didn’t catch any on either lure.

We hauled up the main and unfurled the jib and motored sailed down to the same anchorage at Shaw Island where John and Des rushed off in the dinghy for an unsuccessful fishing expedition.

Back on O’vive after dark John caught a small reef shark which he filleted for breakfast.

The cricket is back on so we watched the second Ashes test after dinner.

Wind  SE Variable 10 knts  25 nautical miles

Got organised for Molly and Des to arrive and sail out to the islands for two days. John and I rode along the boardwalk for a look at Airlie. We left Morgs on the boat as her paws are still sore.

Had breakfast up town, grabbed a paper and rode back to O’vive in time for Des and Molly’s arrival.

We departed at 11:00 and headed out to the top of Hook Is for a very pleasant sail with the main and screecher up in hardly any wind only doing 4 knts.

We stopped at Langford Island and picked up a mooring buoy so we could enjoy  a lunch of prawns , ham and salad. A very large turtle kept popping his head up not far from the boat.

After lunch we motored round the top of Hook Is then down the eastern side of Whitsunday Is to Peter Bay.

 

There were quite a few charter boats anchored in various bays along the top but there was no one at Peter.

The book said good fishing and as Des and John wanted to fish we decided on that anchorage especially as it wasn’t in a green zone.

Dropped anchor in 9.5 metres of water on the southern side of the bay about 400 mts from the little beach. The lines went in straight away but there didn’t appear to be any fish so the boys hopped into the dinghy and went for a fish along the islands fringing reef. Still no luck! Never mind us girls enjoyed happy hour on board and watched the hills turned pinkish as the sun disappeared behind them.

When the boys got back they set up their lines and left them in while we ate steak and salad for dinner with strawberries and cream for dessert. After dinner the fish began biting in earnest.

Des caught three beautiful large grass sweetlip , John two and several grinners which were very handy for bait as Morgan ate the rest of the old smelly stuff while we were eating dinner.

There were a lot of squid swimming under the boat so Jenny put a squid jig on her line and caught about five squid to add to Des’s two he caught on bait.

The squid attracted by the light were swimming in schools of half a dozen or more and were quite large in size but rather evasive. It was great fun and lots of laughter as squid and fish were alternatively hauled onto the back deck. Des’s first squid came straight on board and it squirted balck ink everywhere so we had to scrub the decks immediately as the ink stains terribly. He learnt after that to let them squirt all their ink out before he hauled them on board.

John spent a lot of time filleting fish and cleaning squid ready for breakfast.

Late night for us with all the excitement, we turned in at 10:30.

 

SE Variable 10 knts

Morgan and I walked a short way along the boardwalk and through the park for her early morning constitution.

We lubricated the cars on the mast then went up for brunch at Barcelonas. There was a huge crowd as a P & O cruise ship had anchored about a nautical mile off  and 3000 people had descended on Airlie Beach. They reckon they will get 38 cruise ships this season which will definitely boost the local economy.

John and I cycled along the boardwalk about 5 kms to Cannonvale to source a part for the cool box.

Nobody seemed to have a 12volt timer which was going to be our temporary solution. We ordered a replacement thermostat which should be here by Thursday. When we get that in the lettuce will stop freezing, although the beer is cold when we remember to turn the frig on. On the way back we stopped at the butchers that used to sell their own smoked thick bacon but it had changed hands so we bought lamb chops and pork sausages instead. They advertise as the best sausage in QLD so we shall see.

Morgan hasn’t been able to go very far as her paws are cut up from running on oysters when she was chasing fish at Cid Harbour so she stayed on the boat all day. Such a shame as there are plenty of dog walking places in Airlie.

We dropped all the anchor chain into the water and untwisted it as we winched it back in, hopefully the anchor wont give us too much grief when next we anchor.

We had left it too late to go to town for dinner again so we ate at Barcelona up the top of the marina. The churos and chocolate sauce were delicious for dessert.

Wind 15 – 20 knots, Sunny  13 nm  Low tide 2:51

Departed Cid Harbour at 10:00, the wind had developed during the night and become rather strong. We pulled the main up in Cid Harbour as it was slightly sheltered and just as we hauled it up two dugongs surfaced. It’s a shame we were busy as I could have got a decent photo.

Sailed across to Airlie in excellent winds, at times we were romping along at 9 knts. The main gave us grief when we tried to drop it, the cars wouldn’t slide down very well. Eventually with some persuasion is obliged and we motored into the marina and tied up in a cat berth on O/P finger.

We are in the longest finger about half way along

Met up with Paul and Kath on Moor R & R for lunch at Barcelona’s tapas bar just below the marina office. Excellent food and excellent company, great to see them again. An hour later  Bryan and Deb arrived and more beers were drunk. Marina fees were very reasonable, with the Shaggers discount our berth came down from $150 per night to $90, not bad.

Des and Molly Plunket golfing friends of John’s from Maclean came and had a drink, they are travelling up the coast in their caravan. I managed to offload the rubbish and get the washing done before dark just in time for John and I to wander up to Sorrento’s for dinner.

Sorrento’s is a lovely bar come restaurant at the ocean end of the marina on the edge of the boardwalk. We shared a marinated lamb pizza between us as we weren’t very hungry and looked out over the fairy lights of the moored boats.