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Because of the low winds on Thursday we had to force ourselves to endure another day at Lady Musgrave. Friday morning and the winds were still light but we had to make a move, so back through the narrow passage into the deep blue sea we went. The light winds meant light seas which ment Gennaker time (The Gennaker is a large light weight sail). A few hours later the wind increased and we were sailing with the head sail and main sail.
During the night we crossed another shipping channel. This time with minimal stress. Saturday brought more of the same as we sailed passed Fraser Island heading for Brisbane. Late in the afternoon and into the night the wind increased to 25knots and changed to the wrong direction and the skies were not looking good. We weren’t far from Brisbane shipping channel entrance so we dropped all sails and turned on the motor.
We were now close enough to get internet reception. We downloaded the Brisbane weather to find a group of storm cells terrorising the coast and coming our way. The first two passed by putting on spectacular lightning displays.
But the the third one rained its fury on us. The rain was bouncing off the deck so heavy you could only just make out the bow. The lightning was lighting up the cabin and the concerns on Guido’s, Nivi’s and Sue’s faces, as they recalled the shipwreck movies they have been watching lately. The sound of the thunder and howling wind was incredible. A waterfall came through the partly open hatch soaking everyone. Even with the brake on, the wind generator spun out of control as we clocked 100km wind for a few minutes. The winds ferocity lifted lids on the deck lockers and released a halyard that had not been secured properly, which promptly flew into the wind generator. Even under bare poles (no sails) Imagine heeled over as she sailed across the waves at 7knots. Andrew struggled but could not bring Imagine to face into the wind and waves. He just had to sail knowing there was a container ship anchored nearby but could not be seen through the avalanche of water.
Half an hour later we were laughing about how we were taking photos and saying how beautiful the first two were, without knowing what was descending on us.
Surviving the storm we continued to the entrance of the Brisbane shipping channel. We had heard that two cargo boats were about to head into the channel so we followed them. Daybreak found us at the entrance to the Brisbane river and the Port of Brisbane. We passed though with no dramas and stopped at Rivergate to fill the diesel tanks. We meandered up the river to find there was no one anchored in “our spot”. So we are now back in New Farm, close to transport.
Time to get some sleep.

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It has been a rough couple of days. Plenty of snorkeling, diving, walking through the island and of course, chilling in the sun. This place has proved to be beautiful in many ways.
We finally got the chance to use the diving gear! It’s a mix between snorkel and scuba, mostly known as hookah. Nivi and Guido tried it, and loved it. Although we did not go deeper than six or seven meters, It was really interesting to use it here, as the visibility is really good. The outer part of the atoll has an incredible combination of corals and life, healthier than many places we’ve seen before. This is the season where the turtles start to go up the beach to lay their eggs. During the night, they crawl up through the sand to where they think it’s suitable, dig a hole and deposit their future younglings, that will hatch in about a month or so. We had the chance to see the prints of said act in the morning.
Also, we had a thunderstorm last night. A delightful display of thunder and lights on the horizon that we enjoyed while tasting Sue’s spaghetti bolognese, something to remember, both for the food and the scenery. It didn’t really hit here, but there is another one coming today. So, we secured the things on deck just in case.
Guido’s side note: after giving it a lot of thought, I have to say that both Andrew and Sue’s pasta is equally exquisite and heart warming.
Tomorrow is our last day here, and we will try to make the most out of it!

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After the night sail adventure, we arrived to Lady Musgrave, our last stop before Brisbane. This is an amazing atoll (it’s basically a crater shaped formation covered by a reef).
To enter this reef, we had to go through a man made entrance, not much wider than the boat itself. Have you ever seen one of those “cat videos”, where they squeeze under a door or into a jar? Well… it’s pretty much like that. Sue and Nivi were at the helm while Andrew and Guido watched for corals while trying to find a place to anchor.
The place is what anyone might think of when the word “paradise” comes to mind. Turtles, birds, turquoise water. We went for a walk around the island, packed with shearwater birds nesting, a perfect time for the visit.
Tomorrow we’ll go on a snorkeling endeavor, always in the search for more surprises.

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We left Great Keppel Saturday morning with a calm sea and the wind off our back quarter. We had a great sail and by evening we were ahead of time. So we reefed the sails to slow us down. Although we were reefed Nivi still managed to reach 6.8knots. With half a moon lighting up the sea making it a nice night time sail.
During Andrew’s shift he noticed a faint red light on what looked to be the horizon. Suddenly the red light changed to green. Andrew checked the AIS. Nothing. Checking the radar and nothing on the horizon, just intermittent wave reflections.The green light was moving fast across the horizon. Thirty seconds later the light wasn’t on the horizon. The moonlight lit up the the sails. It was a yacht going past us only 200m away, with very dim navigation lights on the bow. No Tri-light, no stern light, and obviously no radar reflector. Hopefully they had seen our lights or on radar otherwise the outcome could have been very different.
Later in the night the wind dropped and we had to motor the last hour. The sail was so good we arrived outside of Lady Musgrave atoll at 3am, so we have hoved too and are bobbing around till daylight

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Paradise beaches? Clear water? This island has it all. We spent a few days at Great Keppel, were we could enjoy nice weather and Nivi and Guido even had beer at the local bar. As the wind and swell have been shifting quite often these days, we had to move to different corners of the island to get cover from the conditions.
One of the nights we watched the movie “all is lost”, where the character has a terrible time on a sailboat, with storms, lightning and eventually having to escape in the life raft. Nothing impressive really about the movie. Now, let’s say the timing was perfect, because later that night when we decided to go to sleep, we started to hear thunder rumbling and yes, lightning flashing in the night sky. Let’s just say that nobody got a lot of sleep that night…
Also, Andrew cooked his famous Pasta Bolognese, which was an absolute success, just writing this makes me hungry. Oh and now it’s Sue’s turn, as we heard there is competition with this particular dish.
It has been a beautiful couple of days here, and now it’s time to set sail again, chasing new adventures because as someone once said “you never know what the tide will bring tomorrow”.
Lady Musgrave, here we go!

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We have renamed this southern bay Idiots bay.

When we arrived Nivi and Guido found a place and anchored without our assistance. It was near high tide and we were in just under 10m of water. They put out almost 30m of chain 3 to 1 ratio, because winds of 18knots gusting 24 were predicted for this evening. The bay gives protection from the swell but not the wind.

So what happens? A small gin palace (a launch that has 3 levels where they sit on the back deck and drink gin) came and anchored a boat length off our bow. Sue and Andrew stood on the bow explaining very loudly to Guido and Nivi how the boats would swing around at the change of tide and collide and that his anchor may have hooked our anchor. The gin palace must have heard us calling him an idiot and he hauled anchor and moved away a respectable distance.

Two minutes later a medium size gin palace comes in and tries to anchor in the same place. He had a little more sense and realised he was too close and moved about 30m further ahead of us.

A half hour later a large gin palace pulls in along side of us about 25m away and drops anchor. We have 30m of chain plus 17m of boat swinging around. He has 20m of boat at least 20m to 30m of chain and we are 25m apart. So Andrew jumped in the dinghy and went across to ask if their insurance was up to date and to explain where our anchor was. He has moved to the other side of the bay where there was plenty of space.

Another half hour goes by when Andrew looked out the porthole to see a dinghy floating out to sea. No it wasn’t ours. Nivi, Guido and Andrew jumped into our dinghy and headed off to rescue the drifting dinghy. Half way there and it was apparent whose dinghy it was. A motorsailer had hauled anchor and was heading towards the dinghy. Our trio caught the dinghy and towed it to the motorsailer and the three men onboard.

What’s next?

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We did the second night sail of this trip on the way from Middle Percy to Great Keppel. This time however, the wind, waves and tide were smoother than the last overnight voyage. Avoiding main shipping channels and big, scary tankers, we could even get some sleep.
‘The guiding light of the stars led the way, as we cruised through the deep but gentle waters of the Coral Sea. As a mantel of millions of pearls painted on a ceiling canvas, they sneaked, timidly between the passing clouds’.
Taking two hour shifts again, we did 130 nautical miles, arriving just after breakfast. Dolphins greeted us on our entry to one of the bays of Keppel, another one of the many delights of this adventure.
As this was our second time sailing at night, we (Guido and Nivi) knew what to expect and what to be aware of. And even though we were just as eager to try out the trials of the night, as the fist time, the much better conditions made it a more relaxed experience.

We anchored in the bay on the northern side of the island as the wind and swell were easterly. This morning we went ashore and explored the beach and lagoon. The wind for this afternoon was predicted to be northerly so we hauled anchor around 10am and motored around to a bay on the southern side.

We have had lunch but we are still worn out from all the mornings activity, so exploring this bay will have to wait till tomorrow.