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.

For some reason everyone stayed in bed this morning. Andrew was the first to rise at 8.30am. Slowly the others dragged themselves out of bed. With 4m swell and 45kt winds predicted, we weren’t going anywhere today. Even with the protection of the island we were getting up to 37knts pushing us around.
This meant a slow day. Movies, cards and more snoozing.

Yesterday evening the wind and the waves started building as the storm approached. We decided to leave the dinghy tied off the back of Imagine as we usually do in high winds.
We all went to bed to the rocking of the boat and the howling of the wind. Even though in this bay we are sheltered from most of the waves and wind, we still clocked 28 to 30kts of wind coming over the hill of the island. The waves were creeping around the island giving us a 1m swell at times.
Every now and then something would start banging and clanging as the wind hammered the boat. Which meant Andrew would go topside to tie a halyard or relash something down. With a scraping sound Andrew rushed up to find the beach chair, a jumper and a book about to be blown out of the cockpit. All night there was the groan of the anchor chain and snubber as they strained.
It happened at 2am. The wind against tide was making Imagine rock from bow to stern. Then there was a large bang and rubbing noise from the stern. Andrew raced up top but couldn’t see anything loose on deck. Then realised looking out into the darkness he could not see the dinghy.
Edging his way to the rear of the deck he could see the dinghy floating upside down across the back of the boat. Imagine had rocked forward lifting the back out of the water which sucked the dinghy under. When the back of Imagine came back down on the dinghy it flipped the dinghy over.
Andrew raced downstairs and called Sue and Jack for help and returned topside. He retrieved a rope from the bow and returned to the rear deck. By then Jack arrived wearing just shorts and lifejacket followed by Sue in a shirt and Andrew in just a lifejacket.
They started the retrieval process with Andrew on the bottom rung of the boarding ladder. Sometimes out of the water, next minute waist deep in water. Jack was hanging off the wind generator post. Andrew passed the rope through one handle of the dinghy and back to Jack. Andrew was able to reach the second handle. It took several attempts, but finally righted the dinghy. The oars were still attached but Jack noticed the petrol can floating away. It was too rough to try to retrieve it.
By this time Liz appeared on deck all rugged up, but still half asleep, to see what the ruckus was about. Toni meanwhile stayed snug in bed just listening to the banging around on deck (ready to step in if required).
With the dinghy the right way up we pulled it alongside and using a halyard pulled the motor onboard. Then we pulled the dinghy up onto the foredeck, turned it upside down and lashed it to the deck.
Crisis over everone headed back to bed. We will look at the motor in the daylight.

Three days and nights after leaving Brisbane we arrived at our first island. Due to the storm coming we bypassed Lady Musgrave and came straight to Hummocky, where we have better shelter.
We arrived at 10pm. Not having been here before we cautiously entered the bay. There was another yacht anchored in the bay, leaving us plenty of space to maneuvor. Fifteen minutes after anchoring everyone was in bed for a well deserved sleep.
Daybreak and the other yacht left the island and bay to us. Liz was the first in the water for a quick swim. After breakfast Toni, Liz and Andrew jumped off the back of Imagine for a dip. Toni and Liz headed off swimming to shore while Andrew and Jack put the dinghy in the water and Andrew headed to shore where the girls were already exploring the beach.
They all returned to Imagine in the dinghy and got dressed to return to the beach and explore the inland. Jack joined the intrepid explorers making their way through the bush to the top of the hill. There was a great view of Imagine in the bay.
Returning to Imagine Sue had lunch ready. The afternoon was spent just chilling and watching a movie.

Wednesday 18th May.
Motorsailing has been the name of the game, day broke and with it finally some favourable wind!
Stay sail out and the main up we’re doing 6kts as the ever reliable volvo takes a well deserved rest. Winds build throughout the morning peaking at 18 kts, raising our cruising speed to 7.5 kts at times. Midday drew and the winds waned, falling down to 8 kts – our cruise speed half that. After the taste of the high life boosting along at 7.5kts, 4 kts feel like a crawl… a mid afternoon tea and biscuit helps pass the time!
The volvo sits patiently, waiting to see if it’s needed to get us through our last stretch before laying anchor for the first time this trip!
Toni & Jack

Tuesday 17th May
Well the smooth water was glossy with the shine of the full moon for my first ever night passage.
Towards the end of my two hour shift the previously mild wind shook the mainsail hard and we heard a creak and then a thump as bits of metal hit the dark deck.
Andrew was up in a flash. “Where did the noise come from?”
“Starboard I think”
Luckily the three bits of the car (from the mid section of the sail) that had failed had all fallen and stayed on the deck. Andrew scooped them up and half lowered the sail. The car was repaired and back on the slider by mid morning.
Later this morning on Andrew’s shift a large and gentle force lifted the back end of this big boat and put it down again 90 degrees sideways. Andrew had to grab the wheel and put it back 90 degrees. Was it a stray wave or a whale?
Liz.

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After a week of rain and high winds we finally get a break. They are predicting more bad weather in four days so we will not stop at Lady Musgrave. We will just head straight to Great Keppel where there is more shelter.
Liz is happy she doesnt have to bail the dinghy out in the rain.
We are all glad we are out of the river and on our way.