Tuesday 7th September 
Its been a busy two days. Sue has been pre making meals for the trip. We have done the shopping for some fresh fruit and veggies. We have to be careful that we don’t get too much as we can’t take fresh food into NZ. 
We sent off four pre entry forms to NZ yesterday. We received an email this morning requesting we fill in another form asking the same again. Each department wants the same info in different orders.
Anyway we are off tomorrow. Tony arrived this evening and we are all set. For anyone interested, the map on the right side of the website updates every hour our position so you can track our progress.

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Tuesday 16th August
As night fell the winds increased turned easterly (in our favour). Which pushed us along at 7.5kts as we navigated through the small recreational boats out fishing at night. Being small they often didn’t show on the radar till they were very close.
Once past the fishermen (fisherpersons) along the sunshine coast, there was the cargo boats queued up to enter the Brisbane shipping channel. We reached the entrance to the channel and there seemed to be a gap in the queue, so we went in.
Two hours into the channel and no cargo boats followed us. That’s when we discovered two things. One our AIS works and Two the reason there were no boats behind us was there was a tugboat towing another boat coming our way.
That’s when it was confirmed that our AIS was transmitting. We had seen the tugboat on AIS and no problem we could both fit in the channel and we would meet at the intersection of a bypass channel. We couldn’t see on AIS that he was towing a boat and needed all the channel to maneuver.
We got a call on the radio from the tugboat “Imagine, Imagine this is tugboat we are towing a vessal in the main channel. What are your intentions?”. For a second, I thought he was proposing. Then I realised he wanted to make sure we were going to take the bypass, which we had already started to turn into.
We arrived at Tangalooma on Moreton Island (just out of Brisbane) at 5.30am cold and tired (overnight temperature was 4°). We dropped anchor and went to bed under 4 layers of blankets.
By lunchtime Andrew had got out the dive gear and headed over the side to unblock a saltwater inlet and check the hull was still clear enough for the NZ biosecurity. At a cool 15.5° water temperature he wasn’t in too long. The water is normally fairly clear but currently it isn’t and lots of rubbish floating in the water. The helicopter base is just along from where we are anchored so we have a lot of sightseers having a gander at Imagine as they take off and land.

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Monday 15th August
Last night after dark the wind increased and turned in our favour, so out came the sails. By the time we reached the point at the top of Fraser Island we were doing 8.50kts. But that wasn’t going to last. As we rounded the top of Fraser the wind began to die. By 1am the wind had dropped to 2.5knts and we were back using the motor. The only thing in our favour now was the tide was running south.
The sea at the top half of Fraser Island is always choppy with a big swell. This is caused by the sea coming up from 4000m to 50m in the space of a few nautical miles.
As we came down the coast of the island we came across several whales and dolphins. The whales were flapping their tails in the air then slapping the water with their tails. A few minutes later they were calmly swimming on the surface. We have seen this behaviour before just before giving birth then swimming along side their calf.
Andrew was photographing the dolphins that were bow riding and jumping out of the water. Suddenly there was a loud deep groan (that drowned out Sue’s “Oh shit”), as a whale surfaced about 10m off the side of Imagine heading the opposite direction to us.
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Sunday 14th August
This morning there was no wind. We have to get back to Brisbane and find crew to join us sailing back to NZ. We have had to motor all the way across to Fraser Island. A few hours after setting off we were greeted by a pod of dolphins which stayed with us for about half an hour. Then they all flicked their tails as if to say goodbye as they left to do some fishing.
It’s now after dark and Fraser is still a way off.
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Saturday 13th August
Thursday was a bit windy and choppy in the bay so we stayed onboard Imagine and lazed around.
Friday brought light winds from the east so we decided to make a run for it. The light winds stayed with us most of the way south to Rodd’s Harbour, arriving 3am. On the way we had to navigate the cargo boats going into Gladstone. As usual, as we got in amongst them some decided to move just as a rain squall came up behind us.
Today after Andrew doing some boat maintenance we just chilled out and caught up on sleep as there was no wind at all.
We are up 7 mile creek, no swimming here, one because water temperature is still 16.9° and also because there are crocs and sharks here.
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Monday 8th August
Yesterday we set off heading south again. We tacked all day and night and continuing again today. We are doing shifts of 2 hours on the helm and 8 hours resting and eating. Because the wind is coming from the direction we want to travel, it is a slow journey.
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Saturday 6th August This morning we moved around the corner to Rescue Bay. Safia, Bram and Sandra went ashore and took the track back to the homestead to find Bram’s sunglasses that he left there. In the afternoon Bram tried spearfishing for the first time. Unfortunately all the big fish must have seen him coming and they left, so it was spaghetti bolognese for dinner.
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Friday 5th August
The day started with blue sky and hot sun. As the morning progressed fog rolled in. It started in the hills of the island and then it’s started rolling in across the sea. At times you could not see across the bay, then it would clear again.
One time as it cleared we saw two whales breaching in the distance. As we watched they came closer. They stopped breaching and one lay still in the water and drifted closer. Andrew put the drone in the air to get a closer look. It was a mother and her newly born calf. The whale was teaching it’s baby to swim as they came within a few hundred metres of Imagine. The other adult whale followed behind some distance away. It took about half an hour for the whales to come past and swim off in the distance.
Another BBQ at the A frame and it was Safia and Bram’s turn to cook. More Boaties and more tales.
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Thursday 4th August
Yesterday was another day of exploring the island followed by sundowners and a BBQ ashore on Middle Percy. A lot of the boats left yesterday morning and were replaced in the afternoon by another lot of boats. This meant different stories to be told over a glass or two of wine.
During the evening we all volunteered to help out fixing the leakey water pipeline and working in the veggie garden. Andrew was nominiated to drive everyone up the hill in the 4×4 in the morning. This time we were one of the last to leave, so we put out the fire and headed back to Imagine in the dark.
In the morning we were on the beach by 8:30am. A lot of the boats had left by this time. Greg and Vicki from Ocean Piper and Kate the owner of the island lease met us on the beach. That’s when we noticed all four tyres on the 4×4 were flat. On close inspection , some ass hole had removed the valves from the tyres overnight. It was obviously one of the boats that had left had done it. So Andrew and Sue went back to Imagine while Kate and the new manager (Carey) went back to the homestead to work out what they were going to do. Safia, Bram and Sandra joined Greg and Vicki walking up the hill following the pipeline to see if they could find the water leak.
Sandra was back early, but we didn’t hear from Safia and Bram till 3:30pm. They had spent all day helping out with the waterleaks and then the hives and honey.
Andrew got dinner prepped and we headed ashore and back to the A frame. Although there were 17 boats in the bay, only one other joined us at the BBQ.
We had finished dinner by dusk and in the dimming light we spotted several dolphins swimming between the boats. We put out the fire and headed back to Imagine. As we were all in the dinghy not far from Imagine the dolphins started jumping out of the water in front of us. What a great end to the day.
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Four pm and everyone piled into the dinghy to head to shore. Someone had already started the BBQ and was cooking their dinner, so all we could do was pour a wine. It wasn’t long before Andrew was able to cook the sausages, potatoes and onions.
Several boat crews had made their way to the A frame to swap tales of their travels over food and drinks. There were only a couple of people left by the time we ventured into the dark to find our way back to Imagine.
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