OUR DUTY FREE ORDER

Aahhhh---thank heavens it arrived!!! At 3.00pm this afternoon, the duty free guys in Darwin arrived with our alcohol orders so after paying out $410, our half share in the order, we had onboard, 6 litre bottles of rum, vodka & gin! Then of course we have our home brew beer & ginger-beer, 60 litres of red & white wine & a mere 6 bottles of champagne, just for those special occasions! Will we have enough grog? That is the burning question! However, we've bought plenty of beer & ginger-beer brews so if we run out of everything else, we've always got that as a standby. Meanwhile, I think I'm going to enjoy a G&T on those hot, sticky afternoons in Indo, so I'll be thinking of you & of course, wishing you were here!

COUNTDOWN FOR THE RALLY DEPARTURE

At this stage, we now only have 2 more sleeps before leaving Darwin for Indonesia but we've been extremely busy catching up on all the last minute shopping. On Tuesday, we had a compulsory briefing at the Holiday Inn, Darwin, where guest speakers from Australia, Indonesia & Malaysia spoke of expectations of the rally. The room was filled to capacity & although we got the general gist of things, the Indonesians were very hard to understand so it gave us a bit of an insight as to what to expect with the language barrier.

Malaysia sounded wonderful, unlike Indonesia, where there are so many rules & regulations for yachties with clearing customs etc , so we'll really look forward to November when we'll arrive in Malaysia. It also sounds like a good option for leaving the boat in storage when we fly back to Australia at the end of the year, with one new marina offering free berths up until 2010, just to get yachts in there!!! Now that sounds like a bargain!

These trolleys have been at our disposal through the sailing club, ever since we've been here & I can tell you that we would've been well & truly stuck without them. The tides are quite large over here, so if you're out for the day, normally by the time you get back to your tender in the afternoon, the water is miles away. A lot of yachties have put little wheels on their actual tender, which normally works well, but unfortunately, we'd left ours in storage on the Gold Coast, so they weren't of any use to us at all! However, these trolleys have made easy work of manouvering the tender around & although at times there can be up to 50 or 60 tenders sitting on the beach at any one time, there never seems to be waiting time for the trolleys, which has been great.

The days have been busy since being here, & at last, with the pick-up of our duty free grog this afternoon, everything is finally DONE. Kay & Jim, off "Bach & Byte", had the use of a relation's ute for a few days so we were invited to pile in with them yesterday to go & do our shopping. I'd been dreading the thought of that task as my cupboards were just about empty & I knew it was going to cost me a fortune to restock. I also knew that we'd be able to buy food over there, but it was a matter of deciding which foods & stores we just couldn't do without. Anyway, after spending nearly $900.00 at the check-out, it was obvious that I couldn't do without quite a bit of stuff but the good thing is, that we won't have to spend any more money on groceries for ages---maybe even years!

There hasn't been too much socializing going on this week as everyone frantically goes about their last minute business. Radio scheds of a morning have had people still looking for information as to where they can buy spare parts for this, that & the other & surprisingly, people have even left buying their fuel until the last minute, only to find that they can't be fitted in until next week, after the rally departs! Bugger! But I guess that's just the way some people are & although they'll never change, they mostly seem to get by.

Saturday morning at 11.00am is when the fleet departs Darwin. We're really looking forward to it after nearly 3 weeks here, preparing for it, although we're not really looking forward to the initial congestion that will inevitably go with the START. Maybe we'll just hang back for awhile, then gun the motors to overtake everyone in the black of night!!

This will probably be my last blogspot for some time as I believe that internet connection will be very difficult to find, especially around the more isolated islands that we'll be visiting during the first stages. We've had our mobile phones unlocked so that when we have the opportunity, we can use a local sim card in them, but until then, we'll just have to rely on our HF radio, sailmail ,for our contact with family & friends.

FRIENDS COME & GO FROM DARWIN

Brian & Maxine from "Kinetic Energy", had travelled with us since leaving Airlie Beach in early May, so after nearly 8 weeks of enjoying their company, it was hard to say goodbye when they departed for the Kimberlies last week. But we each had something else to look forward to at this stage & with email, I know that we'll always stay in touch.

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Since being in Darwin, along with another 100 or so yachts in Fanny Bay, we've enjoyed some spectacular sunsets, so unlike the sunsets on the East Coast of Australia where the sun disappears behind mountains & bushland instead of sinking below the horizon of the ocean. With the local Indigenous people burning off the land on a daily basis, the smoke has helped produce the most amazing & colourful sunsets that I have ever seen & hardly a day goes by when I don't have the camera out to try & capture these special moments.

Our time in Darwin has kept us very busy with organization for our upcoming trip to Indonesia but we've still found plenty of time for socializing but barely a day has gone by when we haven't been on a bus trip into the CBD of Darwin to see Customs, organize visas, shop for charts, duty free goods & food etc so at this stage, where we have a week before departure, we are finally starting to relax & feel that most things have now been covered. It's always awkward without a car when you're sailing from A to B & although the bus fares up here are very reasonable at $2.00 per return ticket to where ever you need to go, the burden of having to carry huge amounts of groceries, & wine etc, becomes a pain. However, things were made a little easier for us there, when our friends, Pam & Harry, from Coffs Harbour , arrived a few days ago & hired a small car to do the touristy thing in Darwin, so we've been able to get our gas cylinders refilled & most importantly, been able to collect our wine order from the local bottle shop!

With leaving the country, we've been able to order some spirits through the duty free shop & have really taken advantage of that by going halves with another yacht in a case of gin, vodka & rum. It seems a bit excessive, especially when we don't normally drink spirits, but with wine being nearly impossible to buy over there, we thought we'd better have something to keep us going! Not to mention the 6x 10 litre casks of wine on order, along with the home brew ginger beer & home brew beer! We don't drink much----really!!!!!

Pam & Harry, being very thoughtful, decided not to stay with us for their 10 days in Darwin & without talking about it, took accommodation nearby. We were really disappointed because how can you party when you have to drive at the end of the night?! Anyway, that was overcome by having a sleepover & boy, did we party! The champagne flowed as we watched another glorious sunset ondeck & then we made up for lack of exercise, by dancing the night away until nearly midnight. Rock N Roll in the cockpit was cozy, to say the least, but we sure had fun & it was great catching up with our old friends again.

THE WESSEL ISLANDS

After crossing the Gulf of Carpentaria, in company with two other catamarans, 'Kinetic Energy' & 'Kularoo', it was time to finally relax & put that leg of the journey behind us. It'd taken us 54 hours to cover 372 miles & although we were all really tired from lack of sleep, we still felt that we needed to celebrate so an afternoon beach party was soon underway. The Wessel Islands are north of Gove & because it was such a beautiful area where we felt totally isolated, we decided to stay for a week. There was so much exploring to be done so we were kept very busy each day, walking the long, white, sandy beaches, the low scrubby inland & the vast waterways where there were heaps of fish to be caught. Of course there wasn't any diving to be done, especially with the crocodile sightings but the tidal lagoons offered plenty of fishing so we generally ate fish every day & usually had the choice of mangrove jack, barrumundi, trevallie or mackerel.

The weather, once we'd crossed the Gulf, was quite hot & the doona was finally stored so that we only used a sheet each night. The daytime temperatures usually sat around 32-34 degrees C with the humidity at 70-80%, making it rather sticky & uncomfortable. The aqua water of the bays looked soooooo inviting but with croc tracks on every beach, there was no way that we were going swimming, unless there was fresh water lagoons to be found.

We still had quite a long way to get Darwin & although we hated leaving the Wessels, after a week, we felt as though we were ready to go. Although our original intention was to explore all the little nooks & crannies along the way, we seemed to get caught up in the moment & tended to follow "Kinetic Energy", who unfortunately, had already covered these areas in previous years. So, even though we realize that we've missed a lot of great river systems etc, there'll be other times, I'm sure!

Coast Watch was on patrol every day before our arrival in Darwin & we were contacted from passing helicopters, planes or boats on a very regular basis, asking details of where our home port was, our last port of call & our next port of call. We certainly didn't mind passing on those details day after day, but I know that a lot of the yachties were over it & became quite rude over the radio. Totally unnecessary, in my opinion, but I guess that everyone is different!

Trepang Bay, which is in the Coberg Peninsula, was another favourite stop for us as far as fishing went. I actually ended up with RSI in my wrists from hauling in one fish after the other, but it was great fun & a great challenge as the mangrove jack, in particular, proved to be rather tricky when you caught them. They'd drag the line under the nearest mangrove or fallen log when they were hooked, so whether or not you actually got them in, was another thing!

We saw a few crocs at Trepang Bay & one set of tracks led right past a massive yellow buoy that had been washed up onto the beach there. It was HUGE & although it was made of a thick, plastic, it would've been a real shock to have run into something like that out in the waters, especially at night!

WE FINALLY MADE IT TO CAPE YORK

After having made our way from Lizard Island over the past 6 days, we finally arrived at the most northerly tip of Australia---Cape York! We'd left Portland Roads at 3.00am, sailed all day under spinnaker & rounded the tip of Australia at 3.00pm, having covered just over 90 miles throughout the day. It was such a feeling of achievement to be at this point in our trip & we couldn't wait to celebrate!

Adding to the excitement of our arrival was the fact that Rees & I had led the flotilla of 7 yachts, all day & were anchored for 3/4 of an hour before "Kinetic Energy" finally rounded the "Tip" to join us. Our destination for the day had been the Escape River, 14 miles south of Cape York, but when we were abeam of there with plenty of daylight hours ahead of us, we'd radioed to say that we were heading on. We had everything going for us with a 15-20 knot SE breeze, time on our side as well as a favourable tide. The tide was important too, because it raced through Albany Pass at 5 knots & thankfully it flooded north just as we approached the passage.

All the other yachts decided to follow, so throughout the afternoon, with them arriving in staggered times, we waited to see who wanted to help us celebrate as both Maxine & I had champagne on ice just for the occasion. Needless to say, not everyone was interested in celebrating because it had been a very long day & after such an early start, most people were just too tired.

As I write this, another day has passed but with a walk to the "Tip" this morning for the photo shoot & a brief trip ashore at Seisia for supplies, we are ready once again for some long legs of sailing. We are leaving here tomorrow morning for a two day, non stop trip across the Gulf of Carpentaria to the Wessle Islands & although I'm not really looking forward to it, it'll be good to know that we will have mowed down another 350 miles of our trip to Darwin, leaving a mere 1,000 miles to go!!!!

LIZARD ISLAND

Well, we finally made it to Lizard Island where we had a great time, socialising with up to 30 other yachts who were all enjoying a leisurely time before setting off toward Cape York, then across the Gulf to Darwin. It was nearly compulsory to do "Happy Hour" on the beach every day at 5.00pm, because if you didn't, you felt as though you were missing out on something!

We spent a week there & although we were well & truely ready to leave, we had enjoyed everything that Lizard Island normally has to offer. There were numerous walks including the beautiful Blue Lagoon, which was on the other side of the island, Cook's Look, which is an extremely arduous walk to the top of the island, overlooking Watson's Bay where the yachts anchor, & yet another that takes you to the Marine Research Station. Besides walking, we swam in warm turquoise waters & snorkelled over clam gardens & protected reef that was absolutely teeming with fish.

"Happy Hour" was spent talking & getting to know fellow yachties who we would eventually be sailing to Indonesia with, & of course, everyone had something to contribute. The international yachties who have been sailing the seas for many years, were very interesting with their stories of beautiful anchorages around the world although most of them were envious of us Aussies who they say have such great cruising grounds here in our own back yard.

Of course there wasn't any diving for Rees whilst at Lizard because the weather was just too windy to get to the reef & out of the protected zones, but he found other ways to occupy himself which included minor repairs around the boat & on the tender. The tender had been a problem for a long time with a large crack in the floor that constantly leaked, but after taking the time to up-end it on the beach one day where he was able to glass a patch on it, the tender has been dry ever since! Yahoo!

When we left Lizard, where we'd been waiting out a strong wind warning, there was a mass exodus as everyone had itchy feet & were ready for the next leg. So since then, with many different islands, reefs & anchorages along the way, we've run into a few of the people we'd met, but not a lot of them as we've become spread out over a vast area. We're still in company with Brian & Maxine off "Kinetic Energy" & will probably follow them through to Darwin as they hope to be there around the same time as us before heading to the Kimberly. It's been great sailing with them as both Brian & Rees are very competitive & with having exactly the same designed boat, the "Race" is on every day that we're on the move! It makes it fun & so much more interesting!

REES & SOME OF THE SPEARED FISH

Rees is always in his element when he's diving & will stay in the water for hours, regardless of whether or not he's spearing something or not. Thankfully, Brian loves to snorkel around with him so if I'm not there, Rees always has company which is great.
When we first began diving on Cairns Reef, the first thing I saw when I jumped into the water, was a reef shark & although it initially didn't bother me, I didn't like the fact that it circled us a few times before disappearing from our outer vision. I think he wanted an easy feed with what Rees had just speared but because we always tow the tender along behind us, the coral trout was quickly thrown into that so it was out of the water.

After 4 wonderful days at the reef & with a forecasted change in the weather, we are now at Cooktown. We hadn't really planned for a stopover in Cooktown, but after days of motoring we decided that it'd be a good idea to top up the fuel tanks before getting into more isolated areas. From here, we're heading to Cape Bedford, a hop, step & jump along the mainland to where we know we can gather black-lipped oysters, another favourite of Rees's. Then we'll head to Lizard Island, where we've heard that many of the rally's yachts are at anchor, resting up before the big trip across the top to Darwin. Lizard, here we come!

"WINDY SPIRIT AT CAIRNS REEF

After having been at Batt Reef, then St Crispins Reef, we motored, through lack of wind, to Cairns Reef, only 20 miles from Cooktown. Fortunately, the weather forecast had rung true with variable winds for the 3 days at the reef, so we lapped it up while we could as the opportunity doesn't present itself very often. The sky was cloudless, it was warm at 30 degrees & the water was like a lake! What more could you ask for?! Well, I guess we could've been greedy & asked for crays because that was the only thing missing. Rees had speared enough fish for us all, which was shared & eaten at every meal but he'd only spotted one cray, which was missed.

At high tide, the water was better for snorkelling as it was clearer, so during the mornings we did our diving & at low tide, with the reef exposed, we did our walking. There was so much to see with shells, hermit crabs, starfish & sea creatures of every description, hiding under coral & weed in the shallows. It was just fascinating, as well as being a welcome relief from being either IN the water or ON the boat.

REES DIVING

The sights were amazing & as we snorkelled through coral crevices & underwater caves, it felt as though we were in an aquarium with fish of brilliant colours, flashing by us as we disturbed their territory. Of course, Rees was suited up in his usual dive gear to "hunt" & was able to stay in the water for many hours while I was out after 1 & 1/2 hours to thaw out. Although I'd been shivering & shaking with the cold for more than an hour, I was enjoying myself far too much to leave the water in case I missed out on something special. The water was like a mill pond & although it could've been clearer, I could still watch Rees from the tender as he dived the depths in search of coral trout & crayfish.

Although there were many varieties of fish that could've been speared, coral trout is one of our favourites & was targeted on the day. However, they must've been wise to the fact & became harder & harder to find so that after a few hours in the water, Rees was only able to spear 4 of them which were shared, then promptly cooked & eaten. Ohhh, it was just delicious, especially after not having eaten fish for over 6 weeks or so but it seemed that the crayfish would have to wait as there were none to be seen. Oh well, maybe at the next reef!

LINDA THE DIVER

After leaving Cairns, we had an amazing weather window of 3 days of variable winds, so we finally had the opportunity to get to the reef. Low Isles was our first stop over & with it being a mere 25 mile trip from Cairns, it was an easy day of sailing. "Kinetic Energy" & "Bach n Byte" left a couple of hours before us so we weren't involved in their "race" but I believe that "Bach n Byte" was the winner of the day under spinnaker conditions. We'd arrived by late afternoon & joined the many other yachts at anchor who all enjoyed the calm conditions as we watched a magical sunset over the mountainous terrain of the mainland.

Batt Reef was only two hours away, so the following morning, we followed each other to the reef hoping for pristine waters but it wasn't to be. Unfortunately, we were still too close to the mainland & were influenced by the tidal flow from the many river systems along the coast. However, although the water was milky, it was extremely calm so I tagged along with Rees & Brian to have a snorkel. Rees had bought me a stinger suit at Airlie Beach to protect me from all the sea lice & biting things that always seem to attack me, so suited up, I felt safe & comfortable.

VIEW OF CAIRNS FROM THE DECK

With "Kinetic Energy" arriving in Cairns the day after us, we were in company again with Brian & Maxine but were still awaiting the arrival of "Bach & Byte", a Fastback 43, with Jim & his two crew members onboard. Apparently, after making a very quick dash up the coast to catch up with us, they were only 24 hours behind us when we left Townsville, so we expected them within no time.

We'd had a few problems of our own along the way, but Jim had many & needed time in Cairns to get everything ship shape again. He'd torn his spinnaker along the way but after having that repaired at Airlie Beach, he was still left with a GPS that didn't work properly, an anchor winch that had given up & electrical problems with his whole system. Luckily for Jim, with Brian being an electrician, most of his problems were sorted out the day after his arrival. It was great catching up with Jim, Fiona the doctor, & Malcom the carpenter, as we all plan to sail to Darwin together. Now we'll have 3 boats going in the same direction so I can imagine that we'll have lots of fun races along the way & many hours socializing together.

We've had amazingly beautiful weather since being in Cairns & with the next two days being forecast at 5-10 knots, we're all heading out toward the reef. Actually, as I write this, we're underway with the spinnaker flying & a lure dragging behind us, although with our luck of fishing lately, I won't hold my breath about snagging a mackerel on the lure! We've dragged two lures from Airlie Beach to Cairns & haven't got a touch so we'll have to rely on Rees to spear us some nice coral trout once we arrive at the reef. None of us have had fish to eat for weeks so we're really looking forward to that, as well as a few crays if that can be arranged! I'll have to report back on that one!

At this stage, we're not planning to go into Port Douglas or Cooktown, so this will be the last opportunity to update the blog for quite some time. Besides stopping at islands & reefs along the way, our next major destination will be Lizard Island where we'll probably stop for at least a week before heading up to "The Top" & over to Seisa. This is where our journey becomes really exciting as we'll be sailing into unknown territory, having never been further north than Lizard Island before. Crocodiles & isolation will be focal points of my stories from there on, I guess, so stay tuned.

CAIRNS

We have now been in Cairns for four days & once again, have been able to catch up on all the little things that need attention once you have the mainland at your disposal. Cairns is a beautiful, layed back city attracting throngs of tourists & backpackers from around the world so every convenience is at hand & very accessible , especially for the visiting yachtie. Although we've had our push bikes to get around on, most of the shops we've needed have been within easy walking distance & with the densely vegetated gardens, the walking, as well as being much needed exercise, has been very pleasant.

We've been anchored outside the break wall of the Marlin Marina, an extremely busy place where all the tour boats depart for their various reef trips. However, even if you don't take a berth at the marina, they've made it user friendly by providing half a finger just for dinghy tie-up, so that when we do go ashore, we have easy access without the worries of where we're going to safely store the tender.

We had a fantastic sail from Mourilyn Harbour to Cairns but unfortunately, with "Kinetic Energy" taking a detour into Innisfail, we didn't have anyone to race. However, once we'd left the harbour & spotted a yacht in the far distance with another about 20 minutes behind us, it gave us the incentive to get "Windy Spirit" up & sailing to the best of her ability. We had light SE winds of 10-15 knots apparent, ideal conditions for the spinnaker, so it didn't take us long to have that huge sail billowing in front of us where we were then able to virtually do wind speed. With the sun shining we sat back & relaxed, letting the autopilot & wind do all the work, mowing down the miles very quickly with constant boat speeds of 9-11 knots. It wasn't until we hit 13.5 knots that we realised that the wind had increased & that we should probably get the spinnaker down while we still could, but by that time, we'd passed that distant yacht & the one behind us was nothing more than a pimple on the horizon! Yes!!! What a great sail it'd been!!!

PETER & JOAN'S BEAUTIFUL QUEENSLANDER

PETER & JOAN IN TOWNSVILLE

Today is Sunday 10th May & it's Mother's Day, so after having had phone calls from our three children & talked with our mothers, it was time to visit Peter & Joan, who had invited us to their home for lunch. We've stayed in touch with Peter & Joan since we bought our first yacht, " Liahona" from them in 2002 & every time we're in Townsville, we make a point of catching up. Since selling "Liahona" to us, they've been without a yacht but they own a beautiful Queenslander home & Joan is the perfect entertainer, so we've had a fantastic time with them, catching up on news of our travels & our families.

Since being here in Townsville the weather has been overcast & cool & although we'd much prefer to see sunshine, the cooler days have been a reprieve with temperatures of around the 25 degree mark instead of 30 degrees. We know that we'll have our fair share of hot weather as we go across the Top toward Darwin so we'll take the cooler days when we can get them!

We are still sailing with Brian & Maxine on "Kinetic Energy" & intend sailing from Townsville tomorrow for Orpheus Island, off Hinchenbrook, where we'll do a tour of the research station before heading further north. Unforunately the weather forecast doesn't look favourable for the reef, where Rees & Brian were hoping to dive, so we'll play that by ear & will probably just keep heading north with our next major destination being Cairns.

LOOMING WEATHER

The sky was very heavy & threatening all day with our last leg to Townsville. Fortunately there weren't too many squalls & surprisingly, not much rain although when we had the tide against us, it made for quite a rough trip.

"KINETIC ENERGY"

This is "Kinetic Energy", Brian & Maxine's beautiful Chincogan 40. We've proved over the past couple of days that our two boats perform as well as each other, except for the fact that Brian & Maxine have the edge because of their past racing backgrounds. Fortunately though, Brian has shared some of his knowledge, so before too long, Rees might gain the upper hand.

ARRIVED IN TOWNSVILLE

At the moment, as I write, we're sitting in the "duck pond", just outside the marina in Townsville. We left Airlie Beach finally, on Tuesday 5th May, after having spent nearly 3 weeks sitting around there getting small jobs done, but most importantly, letting Rees recouperate from his bike accident.

Brian & Maxine, on "Kinetic Energy", were keen to leave as well, so after a few last minute jobs around Airlie, we were all ready by 11.00am. Our intention was to sail to George's Point, 14 miles further north, so the guys could do some diving. The weather wasn't the best with squally showers & strong winds forecast but there was no stopping us as we all looked forward to a change of scenery.

With two boats heading the same direction, it's always a RACE but with two boats of the same length & design, it was definately a RACE although neither of us was prepared to put too much sail out because of the strong winds. So with Rees hobbling around the cockpit on his crook knee, the headsail was set & besides a bit of tweeking here & there, nothing else was done. We were finally
on the way & it sure felt good.
Our boats were neck & neck the whole way & because we had the tide & wind with us, as well as calm waters, it was a very pleasant sail. We virtually dropped anchor at the same time but with the water being very milky & no visibility, the guys forgot about the diving & elected to stay onboard for the afternoon. We had a big day the following day to get to Cape Upstart, 50 miles further north, so we chose to have an early night with a day break departure.

The wind had howled all night & the rain had bucketed down so we didn't know what the sea conditions would be like the following day, but we were soon to find out. We left the anchorage at 6.00am & once out into the open waters, we soon realised that we'd have a long & trying day ahead of us. The seas weren't huge at 2 metres, but with the tide against us, we had washing machine conditions which weren't very pleasant & had me racing for the Travacalm before it was too late. The sky was grey & heavy, threatening rain at any moment & with squalls on the way, we decided to only run with our headsails once again. That was enough sail with 25-30 knot S.E winds!

After 7 & 1/2 hours & having covered 55 miles, we eventually dropped anchor at Cape Upstart, within minutes of each other, but with "Kinetic Energy" having the advantage. Then it was time to go ashore to give our weary sea legs some time on solid ground for awhile. Although Rees's knee had been holding up OK, it still proved too tender to be walking around on it, so while he sat, Maxine, Brian & I explored a little of the area, before heading back to "Windy Spirit" for happy hour.

We intended covering 73 miles to reach Townsville the following day so it was agreed that we have an early night & a very early morning with a 4.00am departure, ready for a big day. We'd had a reasonably calm anchorage at Cape upstart & on waking, the wind strength didn't feel too bad but with it still being so dark, we elected to only run with the headsail once again until daylight. But with daylight, came the realisation that we had heavy, grey skies again & with the possibility of strong squalls throughout the day, the headsail remained our choice of sail. Brian, on the other hand, tried the main with the headsail, then the spinnaker before dropping all that in favour of just the headsail to be on the safe side.

It wasn't a very nice day to be at sea really as the wind was fickle & the weather was threatening so we were all pleased when we finally rounded Cape Cleveland, where the waters calmed, giving us a couple of hours of easy sailing across the bay toward the "duckpond". I'd slept on & off due to my sea-sickness medication but Rees was really tired by the time we'd dropped anchor at 4.00PM. It'd taken us exactly 12 hours to do the 75 miles & once again, there was nothing between the two boats, so mini keels versus dagger boards proved to be much the same.

REES'S ACCIDENT

Today, as I write this, Rees is recovering after a fall from his pushbike yesterday! While I was off walking, Rees & his friend, Brian, were out riding our fold-up pushbikes, checking out the local chandeliers, when on their return, Rees hit a trench in the footpath & went head over turkey, straight over the handlebars of the bike & onto the road! It was a good thing that there wasn't too much traffic around or he might've ended up worse off than he is. He already had a doctor's appointment to have the stitches removed from his head today, after having a sun cancer cut off, so the doctor was more than surprised when Rees limped into his office, covered in plasters & bandages. After an X-ray on his left knee to make sure there weren't any broken bones, the rest of his scratches & abrasions were cleaned & re-dressed. Then he was sent home to rest & elevate the knee in the hope that the swelling will go down over the next few days. Meanwhile, our plans for leaving Airlie Beach have been put on hold until Rees becomes more agile & capable of moving without pain.
Below is a photo of the dreaded "pushie" that has caused so much grief.

MUM & DAD'S DEPARTURE DAY

Well, I guess the day had to finally come, so it was very sad to see my Mum & Dad leave us at Airlie Beach last Thursday, 23rd April. After nearly 6 weeks of having them onboard, a hole was left the following morning when Mum & Dad were nowhere to be found. Dad wasn't in his usual spot in the cockpit eating his weet-bix & Mum wasn't sitting on the transom, soaking up the sun with her morning cup of coffee. We'd had a great time together during their holiday but it was certainly hard to say farewell & a few tears were shed for a couple of days.

When Mum & Dad first boarded in Tingalpa Creek, we all weighed in on my rusty set of scales, determined that none of us would gain weight during their time with us. With "happy hour" every afternoon at 4.00pm, it's always very tempting to have the usual nibblies that accompany the beer & wine, so an effort was made to avoid those extras most of the time, although I must admit that temptation got the better of us on a few occasions. Anyway, with weekly weigh -ins it kept us conscience of what was happening so we were all quite happy with our results when we weighed in for the last time before Mum & Dad'd departure. We'd all remained the same weight, with the exception of Dad who had actually lost a couple of kilos.

We have had amazing weather since being here at Airlie Beach & ordinarily we would've been at the reef with glass out conditions. However, after visiting the local doctor the other day to have our second Hep B shot & pointing out a worrying looking mole on the side of Rees's head, the doctor suggested cutting the mole out & having it tested. Therefore, Rees now has stitches & can't go into the water for the next week, which is killing him considering the weather conditions at the moment. Of course he'd prefer to be diving over anything else, but we've taken the opportunity to get some cleaning jobs done around the boat.

Over the past few days we've met up with friends who have just purchased a 40ft CHINCOGAN catamaran, the same as ours, so we've spent time with them & will continue to do so as we sail north together. They live in Albany, WA, & plan on taking the boat back there, spending a season in the Kimberly as they as they go, so we'll probably see quite a bit of Brian & Maxine over the following weeks. It'll be great sailing along side another yacht of the same make to compare sailing abilities, especially when their yacht has mini keels & we have dagger boards!

At this stage it looks as though we'll be leaving Airlie Beach next Wednesday after Rees has been back to the doctor, so next stop will be Townsville, where we will again have internet & mobile range.

MUM & DAD AT THE RESORT

Mum & Dad really enjoyed a day off our boat for a change & were happy socialising with our new found friends. They'd met David & Jane at Seven Mile Creek last year while they'd been onboard "Windy Spirit" for her maiden voyage & really looked forward to catching up with them again this year. Mum, being the keen knitter that she is, presented them with colourful bedsocks as she'd done last year, so now the Solis family will all have nice warm feet during the coming winter months!