Wednesday 1st June
We left Keppel early in the morning heading to Percy. The weather was forecast for 15knt to 20knt winds. After leaving the bay we did have 10knts for about ten minutes, before it dropped to 5knts. So we put up the Gennaker. That lasted three minutes when the wind got back up so we dropped that sail and went back to the headsail. After about 20 minutes it died again.
Ok, time to try again. This time it lasted most of the day. Eventually the wind went down to 2knts, so it was motor time.
Just then the steering went. Imagine did a 180 degree turn, the gennaker back filled and we needed to do something quick. Andrew raced downstairs into the back cabin and pulled the mattress off the bed and dropped the emergency tiller into position. To steer you need to stand on the bed boards, one foot on the tiller and poke up through the hatch like a meerkat so you can see where you’re going! Back on course Jack took over on the tiller while Andrew, Toni and Liz tried to pull the gennaker down. The gennaker jammed and Andrew had to go up the mast and free it.
Once that was sorted, it was time to look at what went wrong with the steering. Andrew and Liz started on ripping the floor up in the back cabin to get to the steering shaft. That part of the floor had been screwed, glued and fibreglassed. A couple of minutes with the angle grinder and the floor was up, revealing the shaft was a pipe that has rusted though.
Jack and Liz swapped jobs. Jack and Andrew found some hardwood and bolted it through the pipe to hold it together. An hour later we had steering. We have been lucky that the swell and wind were low and in the right direction that made fixing the problems a lot easier than it could have been.
Just to be on the safe side we headed to Pearl Bay for the night, and will recommence our sail to Percy in the morning.

Tuesday 31st May
The last three days on Great Keppel the weather has been good. Sunday we went around to Monkey beach for a snorkel. Monday Liz caught the ferry from Keppel to Yepoon (the mainland) for more supplies. She returned in the afternoon with a backpack full of only the essentials (booze), oh and broccoli and capsicum.
Tuesday we moved around to Wreck Bay to get out of the swell.

Friday 27th May
Another busy day with blue sky. After breakfast Andrew, Liz, Toni and Jack went ashore to meet up with Drew who they had met last night. Drew had been around Great Keppel Island for about 20 years, so he knew all the trails and tales.
He took us on a seven kilometer walk around the north eastern side of the island. He showed us all the bays along tracks we would not have found on our own. Some of the tracks were more like goat tracks.
Before returning to Imagine for lunch, Drew showed us around his catamaran that he had built himself.
The afternoon consisted of swimming off the boat chilling under Imagine’s sunshade and Drew joined us for sundowners on deck.

Saturday 28th May
As the wind has dropped and the sun had come out to play, we decided to move around to the other side of the island. We hauled anchor and left over thirty boats in the northern bay and motored around to Long Beach on the south side.
We had the bay to ourselves when we anchored but it didn’t take long before we were joined by a handful of boats and jet skis day tripping from the mainland.
Another day of chilling out and swimming in the glassy water. Liz ventured all the way to shore and Andrew got out the inflatable kayak. When Liz returned she wanted to catch bait fish with the casting net. She had seen bait fish along the shoreline and had seen someone using a net earlier. So Andrew and Liz headed to shore but returned empty handed this time.
The sun is beginning to set and there are a few more boats making their way into the bay. We are expecting more tomorrow, some from the mainland for the day and other yachts from the other bays.

Thursday 26th May
Today was a very busy day. It started with Toni and Liz swimming to shore escorted by Sue and Andrew in the dinghy. Once ashore Toni and Liz met Drew walking along the beach, while Sue and Andrew were swiming. Drew told them about a bbq happening tonight on the beach two bays away from where we were anchored.
Toni and Liz wandered up the beach exploring the next bay, returning a couple of hours later to where Sue and Andrew had just been chilling on the beach. They returned to Imagine where Jack had lunch ready.
It was 4pm before anyone moved again. Then it was time to head around to the bbq. We only took nibblies and wine, as Liz was making dinner when we got back. We spent a couple of hours at the bbq (fire on the beach) talking to other boaties that had come ashore. Drinking, eating and talking as the sun sank over the horizon.

Wednesday 25th May
The swell is dying and the rain has stopped and blue sky above. The water is still cloudy with low visibility so we did a few jobs onboard. We had discovered a small hairline crack in the fuel header tank leaking fuel. So with amazing metal putty it was soon repaired.
Next was the wind generator that has stopped generating power. Liz, Jack and Andrew carefully removed the generator from its mast while Imagine was still rocking. Once down Andrew checked it over and detected one of the windings are high resistance.
While this was going on Sue was armed with rain water and vinegar washing port holes and hatches, Andrew attempted to help dry one of the port holes and pulled on a lifeline and ended up overboard along with the drying cloth!
That was enough work for the day. A swim around the boat was in order before lunch. Again this afternoon was for just chilling.

Tuesday 24th May
The rain eased and the clouds parted as Jack, Toni, Liz and Andrew sped to shore in the dinghy this morning. Timing the landing on the beach wasn’t easy with the swell still rushing up the beach. It almost went to plan, with only a small wave crashing over the stern of the dinghy just as everyone had got out.
After walking the length of the beach we headed inland following one of the tracks to what is now a derelict resort. Water tanks leaking water from splits in the side. Overgrown staff accomodation blocks. The main resort building with tourist accommodation littered with broken windows. Goats wandering around the resort and its overgrown runway. It was quite surreal.
The path opened up to what would have been a crowded white sand beach. We walked along the beach and came across a smaller cabin style resort. This had a few patrons, but more importantly it had a bar and bistro. We had to partake in a drink (only to support the island economy). A few chips didn’t go astray either.
Arriving back at the dinghy we all headed into the sea for a quick swim before making our way back to Imagine for an afternoon rest.

Monday 23rd May
It got windy last night along with the swell creeping around the point making it a bit uncomfortable from the early hours of the morning. Daylight came and we were still getting rocked around. After breakfast it was all hands on deck. Tie the dinghy down, unzip the main sail, lash everything down and haul anchor.
With Sue at the helm trying to hold Imagine into the wind, Andrew and Jack raised the sails and we were off. Great Keppel here we come. Liz helmed most of the way to Keppel, with the 2.5m swell and 28kt winds pushing us along at 7kts.
Once at Keppel it was Toni and Jack lowering the main while Liz held Imagine into the wind. Liz maneuvered Imagine to the anchorage where Toni and Jack dropped anchor.
The afternoon was movie time as it was still raining lightly limiting what we can do.

Sunday 22nd May
Boat is still rocking around a bit and the wind is still managing to sneak over the island and serve up some gusts but noone’s too worried about that anymore because we have blue skies and sunshine!! Andrew, Jack, and Liz got to work getting the outboard running again, after it had been under water when the dinghy flipped, which was a success!
To celebrate, Andrew, Liz, and Toni jumped off the boat for a well overdue swim. Andrew and Liz braved the slight swell and did a couple laps around the boat but after what happened to the dinghy a couple nights earlier, Toni kept her distance.. The rest of the day was spent relaxing, broken up by lunch, laundry, and Jack spotting what we think is a very light coloured dolphin or potentially a dugong?
By the afternoon the swell and current had picked up slightly, but that didn’t deter Liz from getting one more swim in for the day. Although, this time when she went to swim around the boat the current was putting up a bit more of a fight. Toni threw her a rope so she could relax off the back of the boat without drifting away.
On to Great Keppel tomorrow, where we are hoping the waters calm and clear up enough for us to get in for a snorkel!

The morning produced shades of grey across the sky with dark greys forming the sea. We are sheltering from the high winds and swell hammering Australia’s east coast. We are tucked in to the western end of the bay at Hummocky Island and the large swell can be seen curving around the western point and smashing into the rocks on the eastern side of the bay. The swell so powerful it was being reflected back across the bay bouncing Imagine around like a cork.
The wind trying to compete was racing over the hill in excess of 30kts producing white capped waves rushing away from the shore. At times it was hard to tell the difference between the rain and the sea spray being blown off the top of the waves.
After lunch everything calmed down. A gentle swell rocked Imagine while a slight breeze blew a misty rain across the bay. We thought things were starting to ease. Then at 3pm it came back with a vengeance. Just to let us know mother nature is boss.
Hopefully it will start settling down a bit from tomorrow afternoon. Apparently Tropical Cyclone Gina off New Caledonia may have some impact on some larger swells here.