Today its hop onto the scooters again and off to the markets in Flinders street mall. I grabbed some vegetables as they look nice and fresh while the girls chose bracelets from the usual market jewellery stall.
After dropping off the vegies we headed for Reef HQ which used to be an aquarium and a turtle rescue centre. I say used to be as when we got there it was closed and a sign informed us the occupants had been relocated and the whole building demolished and to be rebuilt. Further research said it should be completed by the end of 2023 however there was no sign of new work so looks like a lot longer yet.
Instead, we went to the Museum of Tropical Queensland, had a bite to eat at the café then viewed the dinosaur display and the HMS Pandora gallery. The best part of the museum was the interactive sciencentre room.
Back on Ovive, John minded the kids while Megs and I headed off to Coles on the scooters to buy groceries. It was a tricky trip back balancing all the groceries on the scooters. I think John was relieved to see us back.
Riley befriended Evie off the boat opposite us and they spent the rest of the afternoon looking for fish on the pontoon.
Up early as usual this morning (for me), to get some washing done so we don’t have too many chores while Megs and the girls are here. Their flight was due in at 8.10 so we figured they would have to wait around for a bus or taxi and would arrive at about 9. Megan took the early flight out of Brisbane leaving at 6.10 meaning she left home at 1 am to get to Brisbane airport by 5 am. She thought the girls would sleep in the car but they were too excited so were awake from a very early time.
We were fairly excited too so we went up to the laundry early to put on another load of washing, as I passed the carpark I noticed a shuttle bus unloading baggage and thought to myself must tell Megan there looks to be a shuttle straight to the marina.
Turns out Megan had lucked it and walked straight out of the airport to this shuttle and was at the marina by 8:30 for $15 for the 3 of them. They had almost got to the boat before we saw our 3 animated visitors. Riley and Charli were so keen to get to the boat, they love their cabin with toys.
After unloading their small amount of luggage, we picked up scooters and headed for the C Bar for breakfast. We scooted past the water park with a promised later visit, then along the Strand for breakfast.
The café was crowded, and it took a while to get served however when we did the fare of chocolate pancakes, corn cakes and eggs benedict was delicious. Charli had had enough and fell asleep at the table, and totally missed out on breakfast.
After paying for the meal, we scooted back to the boat, put Charli in bed then Riley, Megs and I went in search of little fish with the childrens’ fish nets I had onboard. I think Megs and I got more enjoyment trying to trap a fish.
We wandered on down B finger and visited Sandra and Doug who were just departing to go visit Doug’s mum.
Roxy struggles to walk any distance these days she scores a tolley ride up the pontoon.
The weather was fairly windy so we waited until after lunch to take the girls to the water park . they loved it but got cold quick with the wind blowing strong and the temperature not overly hot.
We paid for a three-day pass for our scooters for $25 which allowed us 90 mins a day of hire. A good deal as I always had Riley on mine and Megs took Charli.
Back on Ovive, they played in their favourite cabin then all went quiet, upon checking they had both fallen asleep where they played.
We thought for dinner we would wing it and ride the scooters then wander down Flinders St restaurants and find a table for the 7 of us (Sandra and Doug included) but all were booked out. We ended up seated at outside tables at Armati which served very ordinary meals with minimal choice. I think most had pizza.
Sandra and Doug came back to our boat for a nightcap which turned into nightcaps while us girls put together a rather tricky jigsaw Riley had started earlier.
As per usual when we get into a marina we bludge a little, stroll somewhere for breakfast, lunch or dinner and partake in a little sightseeing.
We picked up electric scooters and rode along the strand, grabbed groceries from Coles, put some washing through the laundry and got ready for Megans visit. Then later on enjoyed Chinese takeaway, and on Fri night we ate dinner at the C bar where the steaks were delicious.
Spot Morgan in the garden, dogs arent allowed in the C Bar.
We departed Greys Bay at 6 am with the jib and both motors running averaging 8 knts. The motors were switched off at 11 when we changed course giving us a better angle to sail. The batteries were charged and water was hot and now we were averaging 7 knts. We are heading to Townsville to pick up Megan and the girls for a week who fly in on Saturday. We are excited to have them on board, I think they are too.
Briefly we thought about stopping at Bowling Green, however it was still early in the day and the wind was pushing us along nicely. I called up the marina at Townsville to see if we could get in a day early and the answer was yes. So we made a mile arriving at Breakwater marina Townsville at 4:00 and berthed in B3 on the closest finger to the Strand.
Off course I wasnt cooking dinner as we had arrived in port with a variety of restuarants so we headed off to Paddys Irish Pub, 400 metres from the marina. Sandra and Doug who had arrived in Townsville 3 days earlier to look after Dougs mum met us at the pub for dinner and beers.
Tonight is the first State of Origin, the guinness pies went down well while we watched the first half on the big screen. John was baracking for NSW and the other two for QLD, I didnt have a preference.
We walked back to the boat in half time and watched QLD defeat NSW while the boys sipped on scotch.
The fountain in the memorial gardens near the marina. Changes colour every few minutes.
The forecast weather of 15 – 20 knts seemed like it was going to eventuate as the anchorage was quite windy . However when we cleared Queens Bay it settled into a nice breeze of around 10 – 15.
The view out my galley window
Initially the jib was hauled out as the wind was directly behind us , however Captain John decided we would furl it and put out the screecher. We raced along at 9.3 knts overtaking a cat ahead of us enjoying the breeze. It was fantastic sailing except the wind increased to 16 knts so it was time to furl the screecher. That was not fun, the wind was getting stronger, too much for us to furl it, we tried going upwind but the screecher just developed a pocket in it high up as it was furling tight at the bottom and not evenly to the top. We tried for some time to furl it but it was not going to happen.
In the end the only way to get it down was was to lower the halyard and bring the whole sail down to the trampoline. I imediately laid on it to prevent it blowing overboard then after John turned the boat back north he came forward and between the two of us we wrestled it into the forward locker to be sorted out another day in calm conditions.
Sailing on the jib after that episode was much less stressful.
For the remainder of the day we sailed uneventfully to Cape Upstart arriving at 3 oclock, and anchored a reasonable way off the beach as we wern’t sure how close we could get in. The fishing rods went out but we didnt catch anything.
The morning passed peacefully anchored out in the bay. The wind was still blowing at 15 knts from the SE , at times sneaking across the bay. A few MG and boat chores were completed, Monday morning is always busy with phone calls to and from clients and crews.
John ran Morgan and I ashore for an afternoon walk, then went back to Ovive . We walked down to one of my favourite walks at Horseshoe Bay. Cape Edgecomb walking trail was magnificent with handmade steps and pathways carved between huge granite boulders.
Morgan dragged the chain and I had to wait for her several times as it was hot out of the wind and she is due a haircut when we get to Townsville.
We reached the very windy lookout with spectacular 360 ° views looking north to Abbot point and South to Cape Cloucester.
We could see Ovive anchored behind Coral Sea reort. Actually only I could see the view as Morgan’s eyes are not very good these days.
Heading down to Murray Bay we passed through some extremely dry vegetation then came across some greener gullies gathering a little moisture.
Murray Bay is a beautiful tropical beach complete with coconut trees and fringing reef. Today the bay was protected from the wind with crystal clear water, Morgan had a wonderful time searching for fish in the many sheltered spots amongst the rocks.
On the way back she had plenty of energy as she had cooled down.
Arriving back at the boat ramp, John had teed up with friends from Corryong Bill and Millie Blair who had just arrived in town to join us for happy hour at the Cove restaurant bar . The trip was their first caravan expedition with their two very excitable black labs who were nearly pulling Bill over to get to the beach.
The afternoon was a lovely catch up and a great way to end the day, once again watching the sun subside behind Queens Bay.
Deb and Wayne left about 9.30 am to catch the tide heading north to Port Clinton. As John and I were only travelling a short distance today we left later at 11.30. The boisterous wind was blowing 15knts from the SE allowing us to cruise along at a nice 7.5 knts arriving in Greys Bay about 1:30. The lure was out but nothing grabbed our line unfortunately.
Arriving at Greys Bay we dropped anchor in 3 mts water. We were probably 300 metres off the boat ramp and could have anchored in closer as it didnt really shelve much, next time we shall give it a try.
We called friends from Khancoban , Nick Barlee and Mandy who have an apartment at Whitsunday Sands Resort Horsehoe Bay. They looked to have a great view of the bay as we could see Nick standing on his verandah looking through his binoculars at us.
The beach below the Coral Sea resort was perfect for us to pull our dinghy up and keep an eye on it. Happy hour stretched on and was very enjoyable on Mandy and Nicks verandah watching the sun go down and discussing lifes adventures. I missed getting a photo of our reunion with Nick and Mandy.
Mandy and Nick had family arriving so we took ourselves downstairs to enjoy some extremely tasty chinese fare at the restaurant below.
The Cove is a no dog place however we were able to tie Morgan up in sight of us on the boundary at the end of the grass.
I gave fishing another go this morning but only managed a small Tusk fish and something that wrapped me around the coral taking my tackle with it.
After ham and cheese croisants for breakfast we pulled up the anchor and headed towards Gloucester passage on the bottom side of Gloucester Island not far from Bowen. Nyeki had left a couple of hours earlier to try and take advantage of the morning breeze. Crusing along at 5 knts with the screecher up was a very pleasnt way to travel. We deployed the lure but couldnt catch anything.
Arriving off Gloucester Eco resort at 2:00 we attempted to pick up a mooring buoy but the leading rope was very slimey and we didnt want to drag it up onto the foredeck. We opted for anchoring up the western end instead.
Gloucester Passage between mailand ( Hideawy bay) and Gloucester Island.
As soon as we were sure the anchor was set and we wern’t moving we went ashore for lunch and a leg stretch for Morgan. Lunch had finished however bar snacks were still on offer so two serves of Barramundi spring rolls were oredered and off course beer for John. We enjoyed lunch under the mango trees on the beach foreshore with Deb and Wayne joining us for an end of passage beer.
A stroll along the tranquil beach after lunch with Deb and Wayne brought us to Monties Reef resort. ( John went back to Ovive for an afternoon siesta) . Monties is a small resort with accommodation and beachfront dining. The other two opted for a beer which they enjoyed overlooking the azure water and listening to a talented fellow spontaneously play the piano for a couple of tunes. All in all an excellent afternoon.
Monties – very casual relaxed resort
Back on Ovive we dined on sweetlip in pepper lime sauce for dinner. followed by ,you guessed it , the cricket!
After filling up with fuel and water we finally left the marina, much to Johns relief. Too much walking along those long pontoons, I think.
Weve worked out we use approximately 2.6 litres per hour when motoring. Seems very economical for two motors.
Wind was less than forecast so we motored the distance to Woodwark Bay north of Airlie and anchored in the spot marked in 100 magic miles as the ideal anchorage. Soon as the anchor was set John tuned the tele to see if he was going to be able to watch the ashes Test 3 Eng vs Aus. Alas, this was not the ideal anchorage for John as reception was poor, so it was, pull the anchor move, re-anchor and try to get a direct line across a small saddle back to Airlie. Reception was not much better in the new spot, at least it was intermittent on Ch 9.
Nyeki arrived, and not long after I received a text message from Debra with photos of sweetlip and coral trout. That galvanised us into rigging up and dropping a line over. I caught a small coral trout almost immediately then another smaller.one John pulled in a small netting cod then a sweetlip which we kept.
We had a lot of bites, lost a few fish around coral then I had something big on. Whatever it was peeled the line off my reel even as I was gaining, he would have another go then take more line. I feel I was gaining on him slowly however I didn’t want to lose him so I handed the rod to the experienced fisherman who tried for quite some time to get him closer to the boat with no luck. By this time daylight was fading and we couldn’t get a chance to sight whatever it was then all of a sudden, the pressure was off and John said a shark must have got him. When we reeled in the line we had a red emperor slimy and scaled. He had been in the gullet of a huge cod that finally regurgitated him to us alive.
When John filleted him, he was bruised internally so he’d had a hard time inside. Wish we could have got a glimpse of the big fella.
A few hardy heads were swimming around the lights at the back of the boat and a little further out something big was chasing them and leaping out of the water. When I shone the spotlight, I could see a long shape with red eyes. Barra?
John attached a lure and flicked it around to no avail. They weren’t interested. He tried about 8 lures with no luck, they chased it a little way then gave up. I threw the cast net and caught a few hardy heads to use as live bait. These worked and John soon had one on. It lept out of the water then disappeared. Upon closer inspection of his line (with his glasses on) he could see the line was curly on the end. The knot he tied in haste in the dark without his glasses had come unravelled. Rookie error!
Johns lure selection, nothing worked.
Next was my turn, I hooked a Barra and played him for a while then he too was gone. I think they must have gill rakers that cut the line, great fun though.
I persevered, caught a few more hardy heads even getting one prawn in the net but couldn’t catch another barra. I feel they got a bit wary.
Dinner time came and went with all the excitement. We ended up with the sweetlip, cod and red emperor for John to fillet.
What a fantastic afternoon and evening and such variety even little crabs were swimming up to the boat. We eventually had dinner at 10:30 and retired rather late.
The days in Airlie were spent alternating between boat chores, Mulligan Geo work, repairs and stocking up on supplies.
On the Tuesday when the winds died down the other two boats came and anchored just around the southern end of the marina on the outside. They dinghied into the marina for a late pizza lunch then we joined them for happy hour.
The marina staff moved us to a pen way over on V finger, however it was closer to the amenities. We have exclusive access to the Ocean Club, a two level, 26 metre floating customer lounge with 12 private bathrooms, an expansive sundeck with BBQ facilities overlooking the marina with drink and snack options, free-to-air TV and a pool table. Its definitely the best marina we have stayed in so far with several cafes, restaurants, fuel dock, courtesy cars, chandlery, and an electrical supply shop. I guess as my dad used to say “you get what you pay for”.
Over the following days we managed to:
Put a new belt on the starboard motor.
Organise a fellow to fill and waterproof our gouges which he was able to do from the pontoon, nice job he did too. We will have to get it painted on the next haul out. (He couldn’t undertake the works for a couple of days as it was raining and too wet.)
Purchase a new start battery which we installed and now its easy to start the genset.
Purchase a crab pot to replace the one John lost in Pancake Creek.
Purchase a portable fish finder and depth sounder for the dinghy.
Take on food and grog supplies, eggs have been hard to get (all the supermarkets have none) I managed to track some down at a butchers in Cannonvale, next door to Airlie Beach.
We caught the bus out to the chandlery at Jubilee Pocket and John purchased some supplies to attach his transducer to the dinghy transom so he can check depths in the dinghy and supposedly find fish.
Dined at restaurant, restaurant and more restaurants enjoying lunches then dinner with the Nyeki and Eva Louise crew
