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GPS: 20 51.786s 149 35.599e

Monday the weather packed in and so we were confined to the boat, watching movies. Tuesday and Wednesday were the same. So it was quick dashes between Dalitu (Kirsty and David’s boat) and Imagine as rain stopped. We swapped DVD movies and tails of the sea and travels.

On Thursday we made a run for it. Four hours north and we were at Brampton Island. The resort on the island had been closed down, with only the caretaker left. The weather was still scattered showers, so we didn’t do any exploring. We discovered that we could get some internet reception on the tablet by taking the cell phone up the mast and using the hotspot function.

This morning we continued north and are now anchored at Goldsmith Island. It seems quite sheltered with lots of little bays and beaches. We were greeted by a large turtle that seemed to be interested in our anchor. Maybe we stirred something up. Again the phone went up the mast so we could send this blog.

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GPS: 20 51.786s 149 35.599e

Run: 29.3nm (53km)

Sue survived her shark attack! We left Mackay on Saturday with the wind off our beam. With only the head sail up we were doing about 7 knots all the way to Scawfell Island. It was a really nice sail with not much swell until a couple of hours out from the island. Saturday afternoon we just chilled out. During the night the wind got up and was tunneling down the valley. By morning there were white caps forming down the side of the bay we and three other boats were anchored in so we hauled anchor and moved to the western side of the bay.

Later that day we explored one of the beaches. Today after Andrew took a very short swim off the back of the boat (water a bit cool) we explored another beach.

That’s where it happened! Sue bravely ventured into the water at the beach for a quick swim. Knowing that there have been 3 shark attacks in Queensland waters (1200km of coast) in the past 12 months.

And sure enough she returned to the beach without a mark on her. Maybe sharks don’t attack everyone, or maybe they’re not as prevalent as Sue thought they were.

We met a couple (Kirsty and David) from one of the boats anchored near us who were walking along the beach. They invited us back to their boat for a coffee. After lunch we went to their boat and talked for hours about boats and boating. They then came to Imagine for Sundowners (drinks) as we talked more about boats and travelling. It’s always interesting to meet fellow boaties and share tips and stories.

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GPS: 21 06.795s 149 13.591eRun: 84nm (152km)
Avg: 3.3knts
24hr: 80nm

Image Thursday 2nd July No not Thursday, Sadday. Today we bid farewell to Robyn and Karl.

After a gentle all night sail we arrived to Mackay. There were lots of cargo boats anchored outside the harbour. We phoned the marina and were told which berth we had been assigned. Luckily it was at the end of the pier, so all we had to do was turn Imagine around in the alleyway and glide up to the pier. Sorry. no mishaps. no over shooting the pier. No one fell overboard. Just a perfect docking.

Sue & Andrew booked in and checked out facilities at the marina, while Karl & Robyn went and hired a car. We then all went in to town to get groceries to restock the boat. When we got back to the marina it was Sundowner time so we had drinkies in the hotel room Robyn and Karl had booked for the night.

We said our goodbyes and bought burger and chips on the walk back to Imagine.

We have decided to stay in the marina Friday as well. Get the laundry done and a few bits and pieces.

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GPS: 21 43.734s 150 21.141e

After an uncomfortable night we decided that we would head for Mackay. Over breakfast we calculated how long it would take to get there. Then what time we needed to set off, to arrive during daylight. So we needed to set off at 4:00pm and sail overnight.

This meant we could explore more of the island. Arriving on the beach without a spill this time we headed inland. We came across a very rare tree.

Over the years I’ve only come across two other examples of this species of tree , I’m sure they must be on the endangered list. The shoetree is easily mistaken for the European sandalwood, see photo.

We also discovered what looked to be erosion in a gully. The slip had uncovered a red soil and colourful rocks. We walked across the hill to the other side of the island where we could see how sheltered our bay was from the South Easterlies. Returning to Imagine we stowed everything away for our voyage to Mackay.

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GPS: 21 43.734s 150 21.141eRun: 105.9nm (191.7km)

We arrived at South Percy Ilse last night, anchoring in the bay with 7 other boats. Although we were sheltered from the wind and swell, we had a small amount of rocking.

Karl and Robyn had said previously that they wanted to experience everything about boating life. This morning after breakfast we all piled in the dinghy and set off for shore. As we approached shore Andrew slowed the dinghy down to surf in on a wave. As everyone got ready to jump out upon reaching the beach, the balance of the dinghy altered and we slid down the wave side on.

Karl fell out of the high side, launching Andrew into the air and over the top of Sue and Robyn. With the girls on the lower side of the boat, sank even further into the water, which sent them backwards into the water. Being a RIB the dinghy didn’t tip over but did take on a large amount of water.

We picked ourselves up and dragged the boat ashore. Luckily the cameras and things were in waterproof bags. Still soaking wet we headed off to explore the island. We walked the beaches and came across another ship wreck in the sand. Back on board Imagine we all showered and relaxed the rest of the day. By evening the swell had started coming around the point which made it an uncomfortable night.

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GPS: 23 09.246S 150 57.744E

Friday 26th June Yesterday we all piled into the dinghy and headed around the west side of Great Keppel island. We found the large bay (ship wreck bay) we had sailed past on the way to our anchorage. A beautiful bay but not as sheltered as our anchorage. In the sand at high water mark we found parts of a ship wreck including the pins used to hold the timber boat together.

Returning to Imagine Sue decided to fish off the boat. She surprised us all by catching two Shark Sucker Fish about 450mm long. Not good eating but good bait for later.

Today we explored the eastern bays. One of which had a small river inlet with two boats tied up in the mangroves, as if they were there ready for a cyclone. We also took a look at where the resort was.

After lunch we were met by Eileen, Mark, Alby and Helen from Black Diamond.

They had had a problem with a gearbox on one motor. Luckily we had some parts to help fix the problem. After the repair we all enjoyed drinks and nibblies on their back deck as the sun went down.

Unfortunately when it came to head back to Imagine, Sue, Andrew, Karl and Robyn piled into the dinghy, but the outboard motor wouldn’t start. So out came the oars. Karl and Robyn rowed us back to Imagine.

Tomorrow both boats will head off to Pearl Bay.

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GPS: 23 09.246S 150 57.744ERun: 105.1nm (190.2km)

On Tuesday morning, we awoke to 20 to 25 knot winds and a choppy sea. We intended to stay another day at Lady Musgrave, but with the high winds we decided to go. By 10am we had set off back through the narrow channel and off to Great Keppel Island. Just as we had cleared the atoll, we spied a set of sails. We called on the radio and yes it was Black Diamond ( Eileen & Mark’s Cat). so we missed catching up with them there. We will try to meet them at Great Keppel or some other point in their journey up north.

The day’s sail started with nice high winds behind us but after lunch slowly died to only 3 knots so we had to motor for a while. During the night the wind came back and we were able to continue sailing. A first for Sue, she got seasick so the evening shifts were divided between Andrew, Robyn and Karl. During the night we had to cross a shipping channel and as luck would have it we had to negotiate around three cargo boats, one of which passed only 100 metres from us and we could easily see the windows on the bridge! We arrived at Great Keppel at dawn and found an anchorage on the north side.

Whilst Sue was still recovering, Andrew, Robyn and Karl went ashore to do a little exploring. The rest of the day we relaxed on board.

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GPS: 23 54.079S 152 24.381E

We woke to a breezy morning. After breakfast we went to explore the island. Had a nice walk around, saw several noddie birds.

We also came across some campers, a dad and two sons that had come all this way in their tinnie to camp for a week who had packed all their gear including gas cartridges but had forgot the gas cooker. The dad asked if we would happen to have one on board. We weren’t sure as we have thinned out a lot of stuff on Imagine but after exploring the island some more we came back to Imagine and Andrew found we did still have it onboard (a bit of rust on it but it should work ok).

We had come back via some of the reef but by that time wind had picked up again so we decided to leave the snorkeling today. The dad and his sons were coming out fishing and stopped to see if we had found the cooker, which we happily passed across in exchange for a fishing lure (they wanted to give us something). Later in the afternoon after they’d been fishing they came back and gave us a couple of fish which Andrew filleted and Robyn cooked up for tea tonight. Yum!

Andrew went up the mast to fix the light at the top that was working intermittently. Unfortunately the lovely neighbours despite seeing him there decided it would be a lot of fun to take their speedboat and a jet ski past at high speed creating much wake! After seeing Andrew having so much fun, Robyn decided she’d go up the mast too! I do have to put in the blog today that Karl and Andrew worked really hard on cleaning the boat ….. read that as they spent a small amount of time cleaning the windows and Robyn and I are still hearing about it !!! 

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GPS: 23 54.079S 152 24.381ERun: 250.3nm (453km)

Sailed overnight with variable wind to the point we had to bring the sails in and motor. Fred (auto helm) decided he’d had enough so packed it in early this morning. Whilst we could still steer manually, Andrew quickly did a temp fix and has done a more permanent fix today when he had some light.

This morning we had blue sky and a bit of cloud, wind was quite light still so although we sailed some we also motored some. We arrived at the entrance to Lady Musgrave early this morning, it is a very narrow entrance only about 100 feet wide (about 30 metres) and a squall passed through at the same time which made things even more interesting! Andrew went up the mast to guide us in and Robyn and Karl were also lookouts, letting Andrew know what they saw so he could feed instructions back to Sue on the helm.

Having navigated the narrow entrance, we then had to weave our way through the numerous bommies within the atoll. We found our way to a patch where we could anchor for the night. Andrew, Karl and Robyn took a dip in the clear aqua water and we all relaxed for the rest of the day. Tomorrow we will go exploring the small island and do a bit of snorkelling. 

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On Thursday Robyn and Karl joined us and we left Brisbane for Moreton Island where we overnighted. Quite rolly! Met up briefly with Eileen (cousin), Mark, Helen and Albie. Eileen and Mark recently purchased a cat (Black Diamond) but have been unable to pick it up and sail it back to Weipa due to the covid19 travel restrictions. They are now sailing up from the Gold Coast and we hope to catch up with with them along the way.

Yesterday we set off early and headed up the coast. Weather was overcast and we ran into several squalls. As we were coming out of one of the squalls we were very surprised by a couple of large humpback whales as they breached either side of the boat. Sue almost shit herself because they were so close, but it was an amazing sight and we are all just happy that they came up either side of Imagine and not underneath! Shortly after that when the hearts had all settled down we were delighted by a small pod of dolphins frolicking around the bow of the boat.

On and off squalls all night gave us a wind range from 4 knots to 29 knots so we were constantly changing sails and 2am we gave up and motored for about 3 hours. Daybreak had brought catches of blue skies and no more squalls so far, though winds are still variable. Currently sailing along at average of 6 knots.

Another overnight sail tonight then hopefully to somewhere sheltered to anchor tomorrow.