Days 60 - 7th June 2017 - shopping, resting and James arrives

After a good sleep in, I decided to walk into the local town, Burnett Heads for some groceries. It is about a 4km easy walk and once I had shopped, the IGA has a curtesy bus which was able to bring me and the groceries back to the yacht.

I enjoyed a lunch and dinner in the local café. The rest of the time I read a book and tried to get the washing dry.

Late in the afternoon, I decided to check the engine and once again I identified we had used a small amount of oil, which I topped up. I also noticed the radiator overflow tank was empty, which I filled but I gave my friend Mark a call for some advice and he said he would come over. While Mark was there, we took the opportunity to replace the first (course) and second stage fuel filters. As I had suspected, the first course fuel filter was totally clogged with dead diesel bug (black sludge). We found no water in the fuel filter, which was good, but drained the glass bowl as a precaution. Although I had previously changed the fuel filters before, it was when I had purchased the yacht more than 3 years previously, and Mark was a great source of advice and support. THANK YOU Mark!

It gave me peace of mind to know the fuel was good and the filters were changed. The most common problem by far with marine engines is bad fuel and clogged filters.

I was in having a late dinner having cleaned up after the late engine work when James Brown, my brother arrived. After a quick drink in the café, we headed off to bed for a relatively early night. The alarm was set for 6am.

Day 59 - 6 June 2017 Tuesday - D Day, arrival in Bundaberg YAY!

I travelled through the night doing the short watches and then going below to rest and keep warm and dry. Either I would wake myself (which was more often the case) or the alarm on the phone would, and I would then jump out of bed and go on deck to check headings, any lights for other vessels etc. I made it a habit not to try and doze when the alarm went off, the last thing I needed was to accidently fall asleep and not wake up. Alarm goes, I jump up.

Before the sun rose, I could see the lights of Bundaberg in the distance; it was such a relief as from this point, I wouldn't have to do the trip alone. As the crow flys, I had travelled over 280nm, but as I have to round headlands, round islands, had a detour to South Percy Island and another detour for fuel, I had actually travelled closer to 320nm alone and in rough seas for more than half.

The waves were less than half a metre and the wind was less than 10knots, it was dawn and the sun was rising as I approached Bundaberg. The large motor cat was leaving on its way to Lady Musgrave Island with tourists, we had seen this vessel at Lady Musgrave Island and Bundaberg Marina previously on our passage north. About 8 cruising sailing cats left Bundaberg port and were heading south, obviously heading up for the "season". The weather was perfect for a cruise and here I was heading into port. I entered the channel at about 8am and after arranging for a berth, was tied up alongside, with help from marina staff, by 9am.

I then grabbed all my dirty clothes, wet sheets, my soap and towel and headed to the marina office, paid for the berth, showered and got the washing underway.

Back on the yacht, I had a late breakfast.

As I had passed in to berth, I had noticed "Lisa Kay" tied up in the exact same berth as we had used on our way north. Lisa Kay was owned by a couple we had made friends with on the Gold Coast on our way north, Mark and Signa. I took the opportunity to walk over, get some company and swap stories. They told me of a similar terrible passage they had had from the Gold Coast to Bundaberg.

Apart from a lovely lunch at the Bundaberg Port Café, I spent the rest of the day speaking to the family, doing washing, filling the water tanks, chatting to Mark and Signa, watching a couple of movies and headed off to bed early.

Days 57 and 58 - 4 and 5 June 2017 Sunday and Monday - South Percy Island to Great Keppel Island then on to Bundaberg

I awoke early and prepared the yacht for the next leg of the trip. I was covered in bruises and very stiff and sore. After a light breakfast of a few crackers, I upped anchor and headed off. Sometime during the night the fishing boats had left, although the yacht was still at anchor in the distance. I was running out of time and need to make sure I was in Bundaberg in time to meet my brother James. I needed to solder on.

Rounding the Western headland of South Percy it was clear the seas were better than the initial start of the trip. They were still on the nose, and they were 2.5-3m consistently with now waves coming from the East and South East causing an uncomfortable rocking, the biggest difference was the wind remained in the 30's(not hitting the 40's) so not quite as much spray was over the yacht, also the waves were about 6 to 7 seconds apart. It was this difference between the waves that made a huge difference. 6 to 7 seconds is still close, but when compared to 4 seconds, the yacht often (not always) had a chance to roll over the waves and up the next. It was now only every large set that the yacht would crash down off the wave rather then every wave. It was not pleasant, but it was better than the shocker on the first day.

Speed was still not ideal, but it was better. The initial stretch had the speed ranging between 4-5 knots, but as the tide changed, this picked up to 5-6knots.

As I passed the entrance to Port Clinton, with fuel back to 1/4 full, I was able to drop the speed to hold the bow into the wind and waves, and rather than lose time anchoring in Port Clinton (which was a backup) I filled the fuel tanks from the soft pack on deck using a hose while underway. 20min later, with a full fuel tank and almost empty soft pack, I was underway again.

With the seas slightly better than the first day, I was not in quite as bad a position as the first day, but I was cold and tired. I decided I needed to keep warm, and resting in the cockpit was not working. I went down below and placed 3 towels on my bunk bed to keep the bed dry. I set my alarm for 10-15min intervals, once I was comfortable there was nothing on the horizon, once the sun set and the navigation lights were on, I would rest below for short intervals until the alarm would wake me.

At 2.30am in the morning I arrived off the northern side of Great Keppel Island to anchor. Once again the bay was full of vessels at anchor and it was dark. I crept as close as I could to the shore and protection and anchored with 6m under the keel. I had a quick shower to was off the salt spray, left my wet clothes in the cockpit and rolled into bed at 3am. I'd had 4 dry biscuits and a banana all day.

I set the alarm for 8am. I no longer had the fuel to make it to Bundaberg, I would have to take a small detour to Roslyn bay Marina, 8 nm away to the West on the mainland in the morning to top off all my fuel tanks.

At 7am I woke and had breakfast. There was no trouble raising the anchor, although I did have to raise and lower it several times as it was so well embedded in the sand and mud.

I headed over to Roslyn Bay Marina, arrived at 10am but had to wait until another vessel had finished refueling. After topping off the tanks, and getting a pine lime ice-cream as a treat, I left the Marina at 11am and headed south east to the Cape of Capricon, back past Great Keppel Island and Hummocky Island (approx. 31nm away from the Marina). As the sun was setting, I rounded Cape Capricon and out of the tropics. Now was an almost straight line from the Cape to Bundaberg Port (approx. 104nm away). This would be another day night trip alone.

The weather had improved significantly. The wind was under 30knots and the seas approx. 1.5-2m. My speed increased once I rounded the point, possibly because of the currents, and slowly climbed from approx. 5-6knots to 6-7knots. I kept the habit of going to bed and resting for 15min stints (except when I was passing Gladstone when I either remained on watch or reduced the time to 7-10min depending on the level of risk). It helped to keep me refreshed, as I was cold and tired, but also time seemed to pass more quickly.

I continued to do this through the night... (to be continued).

Days 55 and 56 - 2nd and 3rd June 2017 Friday and Saturday - Shocker: off into rough weather alone

We all awoke early to the alarm at 5.30am. Mummy, Nicholas and Jasmine had breakfast and grabbed their bags to the trip back to Sydney. After preparing the ship, locking all the hatches, stowing any remaining loose items etc, Daddy was ready to go. Mummy, Nicholas and Jasmine helped by casting off the lines, waved good bye and Morning Light headed off and Mummy, Nicholas and Jasmine raced for their cab into Mackay to the bus that would take them to the airport.

The weather forecast was not good. It was for 2.5-3.5m seas, wind 30 knots with a stong wind warning. This weather forecast was expected to be the same for Friday and Saturday with a slight drop in the waves to 2 - 2.5m expected on Sunday.

I put on my wet weather gear, attached my harness for safety and headed to the entrance to the Marina at Mackay. As I left the entrance to the marina I passed a loan dolphin and then hit the strong winds that were in the mid 30's and gusts hitting in the low 40's. There were steep 3 - 4m waves in the entrance to the Marina, but once past this (about 100m stretch) the waves reduced to about 2.5-3m.

The going was extremely slow and the waves were extremely close together, 5-6 seconds apart and all on the nose. The wind was howling and the yacht would rise on each wave and pound back into and through the next, the bow would dive into the front of the next wave, the wave would roll over the top of the desk and water would hit the spray dodger and bimni, before the yacht would rise and repeat the sequence within 5 seconds. It was impossible to put any sail up in such strong winds and given the direction of the wind so I was motoring (which was not unexpected). What was unexpected was how slow the going was into the rough weather. Instead of making the hoped 6 or at worse 5 knots, the yacht was averaging 2-3 knots and for some periods the speed was not even 1 knot. 

Outside of Mackay is a parking lot of containerships all awaiting their turn to fill up with coal, the yacht was slowly passing through these and at one stage came abrest one of them. The wind, waves and current was so strong, it took over 20min to travel the length of the ship. It started to lead me to despair! 

The original plan was to try and get as far as possible to a safe and comfortable anchorage "Port Clinton" which at 6 knots was a full day and night away (126nm). That would get the yacht into a good position for subsequent days and reduce the risk of further bad weather.

At that planned speed, there was enough fuel on board (3x20L jerry cans, 1 x 110L soft pack and 150L in the internal tank) to get all the way to Bundaberg motoring.

The trip on the way north from South Percy Island, which I planned to bypass (as it was 15nm further East from a more direct route), had taken us approx. 10 hours in relatively clear weather. By noon on the first day, having left Mackay at approx. 6.30am through the entrance to the Marina, I had travelled only 15nm (an average of slightly less than 3nm) and this was while having to increase my engine revs to the maximum cruising which used more fuel than expected. I was totally drenched. Having the covers up between the bimni and the spray dodger, created a low pressure that sucked in the engine fumes to the cockpit, and made me sick and have throbbing headaches. As a result, they were off, and the waves had drenched the cockpit. It now started to rain heavily and with the waves and rain, I was forced to shut the hatches to the cockpit. Larger waves, even with the spray dodger, would find their way down the companion way, and the deck the navigations table, dining table, chairs and stairs below were drenched. I threw a towel over them and tried my best to keep things relatively dry and shut up the hatches. The salt spray and waves were drying on my face and I had salt crystals in my hair and face. I was being thrown around and being bruised, but there was nothing I could do. The waves were so large, I was concerned about even heading back to Mackay as I didn't want to go side on if that could be avoided as some of them had breaking foam on top and if one of those hit, there was a risk of a knock down, breaking something, throwing me overboard or even a roll. I pounded on with the wind screaming in the rigging, water throwing itself over the yacht and the waves growing. By 2pm it was clear to me that I wouldn't be able to make Port Clinton, in fact, it would be doubtful I would have the fuel at this speed to make Port Clinton. I would have to try and run for South Percy Island.

It was clear to me that I would not have the fuel to reach South Percy Island with my tank which was by then down to less than 1/4 full. The speed was still barely 3 knots and I would be forced to use the spare fuel which was on deck. I had to make a decision before all the light was gone. It was too rough and too much risk to go all the way forward to connect up the fuel hose to the fuel bladder, I decided to grab 2 of the fuel cans tied to the starboard railing. I connected myself to the staboard safety jackstay with my safety harness, and also connected a second back-up to a strong point in the cockpit. The fuel cans were only 3m outside the cockpit, but with the massive movement of the yacht and waves breaking over the deck, there was a risk of going overboard. Keeping low I was able to untie and bring two of the jerry cans back into the cockpit without misshap. Now the challenge of pouring them into the fuel tank in such rough weather, pooring rain, now 40knot winds. It was tough and my hands and sleeves were coated in diesel fuel but I managed to get 40L into the tank which now read half full. I threw the empty jerry cans into the inflatable tender (a mistake I would regret later).

It was at this time I saw a strange sight, a sea snake all alone in this maelstrom. It was swimming down a wave with its head held high and I saw it turn its head and stare at me. It passed the starbord side of the yacht by less than 4m. If I had not been holding on with both hands, and had not been so surprised, perhaps I would have given it a wave and ... perhaps even a thumbs up?

By 5pm it was almost dark and I managed to duck below and turn on the navigation lights and grab a handful of dry crackers (the first opportunity to eat anything) and run back on deck.

By now the waves were hitting in many cases as short as 4 seconds apart, the yacht in some cases passed up a wave and was still on its way down when it would hit a second wave going up rather than the trough in between. The anchor would slam into the steel safety bar and the anchor chain would crash as it got airborne on every wave and send a shudder and enormous crash reverberating through the hull (like someone was hitting the yacht with a massive sledge hammer). I just hoped nothing would break. The waves now were all over 3m and when only 4-5 seconds apart, they look like walls of water towering over the yacht. They were higher than the deck, higher than the bimni, higher than the arch and some sets were above the boom by another half a metre. That is at least 4m.

It was impossible to sleep, rest, sit or lie down as you were thrown out of the seat each time the yacht went off a wave. I stood at the helm holding on and tried to thing of how good it would be to be anchored behind South Percey Island.  I tried to adjust the angle of attack on the waves to reduce the time airborne, but it was impossible to stop entirely.

It was totally pitch black, there were absolutely no reference lights of any kind on the horizon and only through the glow of the navigation lights could I see any reflection or indication of the oncoming waves. Often I was trying to wipe the spray and salt from my very sore eyes in anycase.

It was one of these large sets of waves I suspect caused the damage.

We went up an extremely large wave and had an especially hard landing. Despite holding on, I was thrown into the wheel and receive (as I noticed later) a good size bruise. There was a massive crash and bang from the anchor and chain, as was the usual case, but also a loud bang like a gunshot directly behind. Something was wrong.

I picked myself up and pulled the throttle of the engine back to provide enough speed to keep the yacht into the wind and waves and looked behind be. One of the shackles holding up the tender had snapped and the tender was now holding on with the other shackle and a tye down rope I have fitted for safety and to stop the tender moving around. With great care I used a spare docking line and tied it temporarily around the davits on the arch and to the tender fitting. I then put the yacht back on course. 30min later I was staring at the tender thinking it looked different but couldn't put my finger on it and then it came to me. One of the two empty jerry cans was gone and had been thrown out of the tender. As had our bag containing everyone's snorkeling gear (fins, masks, snorkels).

This passage continued during the night and into the early hours of the morning towards South Percy Island with no let up in the wind, waves or rain. I was totally freezing, shivering, soaked through and there was little I could do. Anything I put on would be wet almost immediately.

At approx. 1.30am in the morning of Saturday 3rd of June, I sighted a faint light off the port bow through the rain and spray. It was the first sign, apart from my navigation instruments, that I was on course. I was on a small rock on the way to South Percy Island. 1hr later, I saw another light just off the port bow, which was a marker light I was expecting on North Percy Island.

At approx. 3.30am I pulled in behind South Percy Island and anchored with 6m under the keel at approx. 4am, and as close as I could dare to the beach and the island for protection. Small swells were rolling around both the East and West headlands, but it was heaven compared to what I had been through. 200m away were anchored 2 fishing vessels who were clearly riding out the storm and at the far Eastern end, near to where we had anchored on our way north, was another yacht.

I went below and tried as best as I could with a couple of towels to dry up the deck, steps, dining and navigation table. Water had leaked through the hatch and my bed was also wet. Luckily it was only the top sheets and the sheet protector. I was able to change it use some clean dry sheets. I was totally saturated even though I was in wet weather clothes and my face, hair and clothes had salt crystals over them. I threw all the clothes up onto the cockpit and had a shower before rolling into bed at approx. 4.30am.

I woke up the next morning at about 8am with the small rollers and bullets of wind gusting over the island at 30+ knots. The rain had stopped and there was only the occasional light shower. I hung up my clothes, giving them a quick rinse in fresh water as I would need to use them again. The fishing boats and the yacht were still at anchor seeking shelter from the storm raging around the island and I decided to do the same for the remainder of Saturday and head off on Sunday.

After breakfast, I checked the yacht for any further damage and tied up the tender tightly. I found no other damage or problems with the yacht. I topped off the fuel tank with the remaining jerry can which now showed just under 3/4 full.

I spent the rest of the day reading and watching a few movies before heading to bed early. I set the alarm for 6am. Fingers crossed the weather is a bit better tomorrow.

Day 54 - 1 June 2017 Thursday - Movie, grocery shopping and journey preparation in Mackay

We all had a sleep in and a late breakfast. Apart from washing, grocery shopping we decided today we would all go to the movie cinema to see Guardians of the Galaxy 2 together before parting company: Mummy, Nicholas and Jasmine to catch a bus tomorrow morning to Proserpine and then to fly home to Sydney and Daddy to start the journey home to Sydney. We caught a cab into the city and to the cinema and after the movie walked across the road for lunch and grocery shopping for Daddy; fresh fruit, vegetables etc. and a cab back to the yacht.

At this stage, both stern cabins had half, or slightly more than have of their cabin space taken up with equipment and food storage which enabled Nicholas and Jasmine to just squeeze in to the remaining gap to sleep. This would not work for Uncle James and Mark, so we took the opportunity to move all the gear from Jasmine's cabin into Nicholas' cabin, thus having one cabin full and the other free of gear.

Daddy topped off the water in the evening, we all had showers and enjoyed an early meal on the yacht and the final episode for season 2 of the "Flash" for an early night to bed.

Day 53 - 31 May 2017 Wed - Off to Mackay

Woke up this morning to overcast sky and light rain. We have tried unsuccessfully to get the outboard engine to start. Daddy can smell fuel, so it is probably flooded. Although up until now we have used the choke to the start the engine, the choke is clearly flooding the engine, it doesn't need it (lesson learned).

We had wanted to have a quick visit to the beach that is only 150m away, Mummy and Nicholas have not set foot on the island, but we now don't have time. Wind squalls (bullets) are rolling over the island and hitting the boat at over 30knots and the conditions are expected to get worse. Three other boats are in the anchorage and it is clear they have all decided to seek shelter. We can't risk getting caught and have had to abandoned our visit to the island. Perhaps one day in the future we can come back.

We traveled down the Western edge of Goldsmith Island, past Farrier Island and round the Southern point of Goldsmith Island straight into 2.5m seas and over 30knot winds. The Easterly waves from yesterday seem to have died slightly to <1m but the waves from the South East are larger.

We pounded into the wind and seas for 6.5hrs for the 26nm trip to Mackay. It was mostly on the nose (bow) and there wasn't too much rolling, but it was extremely rough, wet and uncomfortable. The wind, as usual when over 30knots, howled through the rigging.

We arrived in Mackay in the early afternoon and entered through 3m seas across the entrance to the Marina. A number of individuals were on the breakwall and probably enjoyed the show, ... they didn't take they eyes off our yacht. Daddy gave them a wave.

After filling the fuel tanks, we tied up on our berth and quickly rushed to the local shop to get a well disserved lunch before they closed. They have the best thickshakes!

We made it! Mummy, Nicholas and Jasmine have now completed their sailing journey, ... what an adventure!

Weather tomorrow is forecast to be 3-4m seas with winds over 30knots. We made it early and will spend tomorrow resting, washing, do some shopping for fresh food for Daddy and perhaps go and see a movie (Guardians of the Galaxy 2).

Day 52 - 30 June 2017 Tuesday - Whitehaven Beach and the start of the trip home

After filling up our water and fuel, we left the marina for Whitehaven Beach. The weather forecasts are predicting winds in the 20-25knot range and seas of 2m for the next couple of days.

We headed out of the marina, north to the end of Hamilton Island and then East through the rough Fitzalan Passage Past Fitzalan Island (which is a small tiny island) in the strait between Whitsunday Island and Hamilton Island. It was a choppy trip to Whitehaven and the wind was in the 20's.

We anchored off Whitehaven beach for the last time. We had difficulty, first so far in the voyage, getting the engine on the tender to start. It stopped half way to the beach (which was only 150m away from the boat), however it was by now quite windy and there was a slight current. Daddy was rowing to the beach when the plastic rowlock for the owe snapped. Luckly we were then able to get the engine to start. We then managed to anchor in the shallows.

We enjoyed our play on the beach. Nicholas had brought his nurf ball to throw, and Daddy, Mummy and Nicholas all joined in while Jasmine built a sand castle. Nicholas then helped Jasmine with the sand castle while Daddy swum and Mummy relaxed.

We couldn't stay long however as we needed to get south to Goldsmith Island by the night. We loaded up the boat, and after some trouble, got the engine started and back to the Yacht.

We upped anchor with no trouble and left Whitehaven beach for the narrow and rough passage between Whitsunday Island and Haslewood Island (to the East). There were strong tidal currents passing through. On the way north on the way to Whitehaven Beach there was little tidal flow, on this occasion the tide provided us with a boost south through the passage. We watched another yacht heading north past us struggling slowly against the current.

Once we left the relative shelter provided by Haslewood Island and Whitsunday Island we hit winds in the high 20's that then grew during the afternoon into the 30's. Waves were once again from two directions, South East (wind) and East. We headed south on our 26nm path towards the Lindeman Group to pass through the gap between Lindeman Island and Shaw Island (Shaw would provide some shelter for a small part of the trip as we headed along its Western edge) on our way to Goldsmith.

It was again rough and everyone was feeling sick as we approach Lindeman Island, although once behind Shaw Island, as predicted it was extremely pleasant, protected and extremely pretty. Unfortunately we had not had the time to explore Shaw Island, but it is definitely something to consider if there was the opportunity again.

We rounded the southern tip of Shaw for the 12nm direct trip to the Western side of Goldsmith into rough seas, 30 knot winds with gusts into the high 30's. The seas were now over 2m, the tide had turned and we were making slow going at only 5 knots. It was slow going and uncomfortable.

We arrived as darkness fell at the back of Goldsmith Island after a 5hour journey from Whitehaven Beach.

A quick shower, dinner and bed.

The latest forecasts from the bureau are for even worse conditions tomorrow and for them to deteriate even further in the following days.

The plan had been to spend one day at Goldsmith, however we will leave tomorrow morning as soon as we can. We can't risk being caught and missing the flights back to Sydney.

Days 49 to 51 - 27th (Sat) to 29th (Monday) May 2017 - Relaxing on Hamilton Island

Seas and wind are predicted to be reasonably high over the next few days however we are protected and enjoying our time relaxing here on Hamilton Island. Plan was to depart on Sunday, but we extended twice with the Marina office and now plan to depart on Tuesday. We can't leave it any later if we are to ensure we make Mackay in time for Mummy, Nicholas and Jasmine to catch the bus back to Proserpine for the connecting flight back to Sydney. Daddy will travel then to Bundaberg alone where he will meet with his brother James to assist getting it back to Yamba/Iluka in NSW and then swap with Daddy's younger brother Mark to get it the rest of the way to Sydney.

We enjoyed our time on Hamilton Island, relaxing by the main pool, having dinner at the resturants one other night and having some take away fish, chips and burgers on another night by the harbour. Daddy, Nicholas and Jasmine also did some go-cart driving on the go-cart circuit. Daddy and Jasmine in a tandem go-cart and Nicholas by himself. Nicholas was extremely pleased that his fastest time was better than Daddy's. Daddy did point out that they had the same engines, Daddy was heavier, his cart was twice as heavy and his cart also held Jasmine... but to no avail. It was a lot of fun, so we did that twice.   :)

By coincidence, one of Mummy's friends from when she worked at FAI and HIH in audit was visiting the island (for their first time) at exactly the same time and we were able to have a quick catch-up and share stories.

We also enjoyed a nice meal at the restaurant in the main office and sitting next to us were two of the trainers from the TV show "Biggest Loser".

The main building next to the main pool, also has a large chess board and table tennis tables. On the weekend, our friends from Airlie Beach were visiting, and Nicholas and Jasmine were able to catch-up, play chess, table tennis and swim.

Everynight we also enjoyed watching the remaining episodes of the "Flash" season 2 TV series.

Day 48 - 26 May 2017 Friday - Off to Hamilton Island

So far on the trip we had not visited Hamilton Island, with one water tank almost empty, we decided to take the opportunity to do so.

Cid Harbour is relatively close to most of the key points in the Whitsunday Islands, Hamilton Island is slightly over 1hr (approx. 7nm) from where we were anchored.

We upped anchor early after breakfast, the wind was in the mid 20's as we left Cid Harbour out of Hunt Channel (between Cid Island and Whitsunday Island), seas approx. 1.5m. It was a relatively comfortable motor and sail up to Hamilton Island where we then waited for our turn to enter (with the harbor guide). You have to call or radio the port and not only book the berth but they require you to wait until the harbor guide shows you the way in.

We were experts now and had no real trouble tying up at the wharf berth. Once again, a marina is a chance for showers, washing and resupply, and we took advantage of all of these.

After a walk to the marina office to pay, we then caught a bus over the hill to the main complex and hired a golf buggy (Nicholas and Jasmine were thrilled). We went back to the Marina to have lunch and then a quick tour around part of the island.

We had taken our towels and then went to the Lagoon Pool to swim and relax.

Mummy ducked off in the afternoon for an explore of the shops while Daddy, Nicholas and Jasmine continued swimming.

At the end of the day, after showers at the marina, we all enjoyed dinner at the old Yacht Club.

Back to the yacht and an episode of the "Flash" which everyone was enjoying.

Day 47 - 25 May 2017 Thursday - Lovely sailing to Butterfly Bay Hook Island, scuba diving and some more fishing

We upped anchor early after breakfast with no trouble and headed out of Cid Harbour (with some slight apprehension) North North West to head up the Western Side of Hook Island to Butterfly Bay for lunch. Again if the weather is good, we might stay the night, otherwise, we plan to return to Cid Harbour, where we know it is safe and protected, for the night.

It was an absolutely beautiful day and relatively calm. Seas were less than 1m as we rounded the point in the Whitsunday Passage for the short trip up the side of Hook Island. No-one was sea sick thank goodness. Wind was 15knots with the occasional gust to 20knots. It was quite pleasant and a comfortable trip (approx. 15n) to Butterfly Bay past Stonehaven Anchorage and through the small gap between Hayman Island and the North Western tip of Hook Island. The roughest part was that passage, and it was not too bad or too rough.

There was good protection from the wind and waves when entered deep into Butterflybay (which we had surprisingly all to ourselves initially) and picked up one of the moorings. This was the first mooring we had picked up since leaving Sydney.

The mooring was less than 50m from the edge of the coral, so we all put our snorkeling gear on and swam over to the edge of the reef. We brought along the old foam boogie board that Jasmine had found at Molloolabar and kept so far to provide a point for everyone to rest on.

The coral was again covered in quite a bit of silt as a result of the Cyclone, but there was plenty to see. There were many schools of fish of all different types and the rocks had heaps of small clams. The Nicholas and Jasmine by this time were quite proficient snorkelers and they dived down looking into all the nooks and crannies at the fish and other aquatic life. The water temp was only 22 degrees and was not as high, surprisingly, as the 25 degree water off Lady Musgrave. We all soon were cold and headed back to the Yacht.

Daddy unstrapped the scuba tanks from the deck, put on his wetsuit and set up his gear for a scuba dive. While everyone else had some lunch, Daddy snorkeled over to the coral reef and started a dive heading deeper into the bay following the edge of the reef. The water was quite shallow, only 9m under the keel.

Daddy saw lots of fish. The bottom was sand but covered in a fine silt from the storms. Under a large outcrop of rock, was a large crayfish. There were hard and soft corals and many schools of fish. The corals and fish were wonderful, however were not as plentiful as those on Lady Musgrave.

After approx. 45min, and feeling a bit cold, Daddy finished off his dive, snorkeled back to the yacht and after putting all the gear away, enjoyed lunch with the rest of the family.

While we were in the bay, three other vessels arrived. A large sailing yacht, filled with tourists, a 42 foot hire cat and a scuba diving boat, who also dropped divers down to explore the reef.

Daddy and Mummy decided to head back to the central protected Cid Harbour while the weather was good, as higher winds were predicted for the next few days. In Butterfly Bay you are only permitted to stay for a short period on the moorings.

It was again a beautiful trip back, wind was in the low 20's with an occasional gust in the higher 20's, waves were under 1m. It allowed everyone to enjoy and relax as we made our way back into Cid Harbour.

On the way, we took a small detour to the East along the Southern edge of Hook Island up to the passage between Hook and Whitsunday Island and arrived just as it fell dark and anchored near a couple of "party" boats full of tourists all obviously anchored for the night with their loud rock and roll music clearly heard across the water. It must be admitted, Daddy and Mummy did not recognize any of the songs, but the passengers all seemed to enjoy it based on the yelling and laughing.

We pulled out the last of our fishing bait and once again settled down for a fish; Jasmine again wanting to do the baiting with Daddy and Nicholas fishing. We pulled in the same three types of fish we had caught in Cid Harbour but we also caught a long "gar" style fish and a good size pink brim (edible). We let them all live another day. It was now getting late and we had to do approx. 8nm to get back to the anchorage for the night in Cid Harbour (away from the party boats). Young people and their loud music!  Chortle chortle.

Once again we arrived in the dark, and we anchored as close as we could to the shore and the other vessels.

A shower, dinner and quick show before bed.

Day 46 - 24 May 2017 Wed - Relaxing in Cid Harbour again

Today was another beautiful day relaxing in Cid Harbour. We had left the paddleboards tied up at the stern so we all had goes on the paddleboard, did laps around the yacht swimming, did reading and school work and watched a few shows.

In the evening, Daddy pulled out the fishing gear again, and again Jasmine took on the job of assisting with the baiting of hooks as Daddy and Nicholas did some fishing. We pulled up 8 small fish of the same 3 types as the previous evening, although most were toad fish.

Dinner, an episode of the "Flash" and off to bed.

Tomorrow we might try exploring Butterfly Bay on the north side of Hook Island (past Stonehaven Anchorage). Hopefully the weather is not as bad as the last shocking trip. Forecast was for seas less than 1m and wind 10-15knots. We have started to realise, the weather forecasts are appalingly inaccurate and unreliable, but hopefully the relativity is more accurate (i.e. it should be smaller and less windy than it was on the last trip.

Day 45 - 23 May 2017 - relaxing in Cid Harbour, paddle boarding, fishing and swimming

After the previous days shocking weather, we decided to have a more relaxing time in Cid Harbour.

We unloaded the paddleboard and Nicholas and Jasmine paddled, and swam, to the beach by themselves which was approx. 200m away. They took with them one of the smaller portable short range UHF radios (to provide us updates on the exciting finds on the beach) and we kept the other UHF radio. After about 1.5hrs they returned... "starving"!

Swimming off the stern of the yacht, reading books, doings diaries and school work filled the rest of the day.

As the sun began to fall, Daddy got out the fishing gear and sat down to do some fishing. Within 3 min he had pulled up a small fish (which he let go) and... then both Nicholas and Jasmine wanted to get into the action. Everyone had huge fun fishing and we managed to pull in 9 small fish of three types.

Jasmine helped pull up one fish and then decided she would be the one to bait the hooks. Nicholas pulled up 4 and Daddy 5. One of the types was a type of large toad fish with a large hard beak for a mouth. One of those toad fish barked like a dog, "Errgg" "Ergg", very loudly, which suprised us all. With care, and some protective gloves, Daddy pulled these off the hooks and we let them all go back into the water.

A good dinner, a show and off to bed.

Day 44 - 22 May 2017 - Swimming, strong wind and large seas... again

We left Airlie Beach for the last time early in the morning, slightly overcast with a forecast of 10-15 knots, slight chance of rain and seas of 1-1.5m, on our way, North East, to Stonehaven Anchorage on the Western side of Hook Island.

Hook Island is the second largest island in the main Whitsunday Island group and is north of Whitsunday Island. Between Hook and Whitsunday Islands is a small passage of only approx. 100m wide known as Hook Passage which has strong currents on the changing tides. On the southern side of Hook Island are two long deep channels / anchorages known as Nara (the more Western) and Macona Inlets (the Eastern one). Both inlets offer good anchorages in most winds and are actually recommended as potential hides in a Cyclone. On the Western side is a beautiful and protected (from South East, East and North East winds/seas) bay with anchoring and some moorings known as Stonehaven Anchorage with Hayman Island and it's resort directly to the north only 1.3nm away. This anchorage was our goal, eta just over 2 hrs (15nm). We planned to swim and snorkel, and if the weather is nice, stay the night. If the weather or bay is uncomfortable, we can head to another anchorage for the night, such as Cid Harbour off the Western side of Whitsunday Island or Butterfly Bay which on the Northern side of Hook Island.

The trip to Stonehaven was pleasant enough for the first hour, with the sails up and everyone relaxed. Several other boats also headed out of Airlie Beach at the same time, however they all appeared to be heading to Hamilton Island, except one, which appeared to be heading to Cid Harbour.

To get to Hook Island we had to cross Whitsunday Passage. Whitsunday Passage is between the mainland, North and South Molle Islands and the main Whitsunday Group, is in reasonably open water, is relatively deep water (down to 49m in parts), can have strong currents and higher waves as you leave the protection of the mainland and immediate islands and today turned out to be no exception.

The wind picked up quickly from the south east, and increased... and increased and when we were still 1 hour to go, we had 2.5m waves from two directions (south east and swell from the south), crashing over the side and bow all very close together (4-5 seconds apart) and wind gusting into the mid 30's. It was extremely uncomfortable and there was a definite current ripping up the channel dragging us north. This current increased, and Daddy had to adjust the direction as we were swept north to the point we were at least 3nm north of our ideal heading and were heading in and Easterly direction in our attempt to seek shelter and get to our destination Stonehaven. The current and wind dropped our speed significantly, and over the last half an hour, we were only doing 3knots towards our destination (having our normal speed).

After 3.5hours, rather than the planned 2.5hrs, we arrived safely in Stonehaven Anchorage. All the moorings were taken, so we anchored deep in the bay with approx. 6m of water under the keel at high tide.

Jasmine decided to relax on the boat and keep her cut dry, so Mummy, Daddy and Nicholas went snorkeling and swimming along the edge of the reef that was only 100m away. The water was quite cool, so after 20min, Nicholas jumped back into the tender to warm up.

The snorkeling was reasonably good, lots of fish however there was a layer of fine silt over most of the coral and rocks. This much have been as a result of the Cyclone that had passed through the Whitsundays prior to our arrival. After about 1.5hrs, we headed back to the yacht to enjoy lunch.

All around us there were other yachts, and motor boats, approx. 20 in all, 2/3rds of which appeared to be hire cats. Nearby (only 40m away) was a commercial yacht that was fitted out for tours and they had people learning to scuba dive and snorkel on board.

The swell was passing up the Whitsunday Passage, rolling around the headland and into Stonehaven Anchorage, causing a large amount of rocking and rolling for all the boats (except the cats). Wind bullets were also now passing over the island and into the anchorage from the south east. Whitecaps were visable rolling up the Passage. Mummy and Daddy decided to head down south 10nm back to the Western side of Whitsunday Island to Cid Harbour for more protection for the night. A large number of vessels all seemed to have the same idea, and over the afternoon, most of the Anchorage was emptied of vessels.

After a rest, we headed off. Hatches were locked shut and everyone prepared for the strong winds and waves that were expected up Whitsunday Passage.

Morning Light was hit hard as we passed up the passage which was extremely rough. Unfortunately it was not long before Nicholas, Jasmine and Mummy were feeling sea sick. Mummy was very sick. As we approached the South Western tip of Hook Island the yacht was flying off the top of waves and crashing down into the next with seas breaking over the front of the yacht. The anchor was tied down, but even so, both it and the 60m of heavy anchor chain (approx. 200kg) were making a horrible crashing sound as they got airborne and smashed back into the anchor locker of the yacht and the anchor hit the top of the stainless steel protector installed (thankfully) by Daddy prior to the trip to stop the anchor and chain coming out of the bowsprit. Wave sets were only 2.5m but were hitting the yacht so quickly (gaps between waves) the yacht was plowing into every second wave and it was also extremely choppy. The wind continued to grow, and gusts hitting the low 40's and gusts in the high 40's and spray covered the decks and covers.

It was with much relief we were able to round the point outside Nara Inlet on the South Western tip of Hook Island closer to Cid Harbour and get some relief from the waves with the protection from Whitsunday Island...as the sun began to set on the horizon with a beautiful red hue.

Once we were around the point on the South Western end of Hook Island, the waves dropped off reasonably quickly, the wind however was still growing as we approached Cid Harbour only 4.7nm away. Darkness fell and the wind grew and grew with wind staying in the 40's and a gust hitting50.1 knots, before dropping to less than 20knots as we entered Cid Harbour and it's protection under Whitsunday Island and it's higher peaks.

It was pitch black and almost impossible to see or judge distance of the moored yachts in Cid Harbour. Using the lights and our radar it was clear to seek it was packed with other boats all also seeking the shelter from Cid Harbour. On the radar Daddy could see at least 30 vessels, although only 20 lights could be seen. Mooring lights should be on for all anchored vessels, but clearly some bareboat vessels didn't know or had forgotten, so we had to keep our eyes open and our torch sweeping the waters are we slowly entered the anchorage. We anchored as close as we could to the beach and other yachts with 6m under the keel, approx. 3hrs after leaving Stonehaven Anchorage.

Dinner and some more of the tv series "Flash" and off to bed early for a well earned rest.

Day 43 - 21 May 2017 - Refueled and ready to leave

Kids continued playing today on their games and Daddy, Nicholas, Cooper and Eddie also had a game of soccer on the local beach. Sally and Jasmine went for a walk with our neighbor Cass and their dog (Yindi).

Daddy also caught a cab to the local shops to purchase some water-proofing spray to waterproof one of the older canvas covers which was leaking in the heavy rain and also to purchase a protective cover for his phone.

We filled up the diesel tank and charged the fridge and batteries. With a final top off of the water tomorrow morning we can head off.

Dinner for the kids together tonight and a friendly drink with our neighbor.

Wow, we head out from Airlie Beach for our last time on this holiday (touch wood no other issues and we have good weather) tomorrow. Jasmine's cut seems well healed, and although we kept it dry tonight, she should be able to have a swim tomorrow with the rest of the family.

Plan is to head over to the Western side of Hook Island, do some swimming, snorkeling and fishing. Then on to the north of Hook Island to Butterfly Bay for more of the same (although we can't fish there as it is a sanctuary). Daddy might have a scuba dive as well.

Then we might head over to Cateran Bay which is a small protected bay on the north side of a small island off the Eastern side of Hook Island, then on to Whitehaven beach again. From there we might either have a night at Hamilton, or back to Cid Harbour for a night and then slowly head south to places like Lindeman Island, Shaw Island (which is opposite Lindeman Island) then Goldsmith and finally to Mackay.