Gypsy Cruising

16 July

Cid Harbour to Macona Inlet

A short hop today from Cid Harbour to Macona Inlet on Hook Island.  On the way out of the enchorage Anne spotted a pair of dugongs swimming under the boat.  Appropriate, since we’re leaving Dugong Bay.  I think if it was anyone else making the sighting I might have been a little sceptical, but Anne is a research biologist by training so I think the sighting is pretty reliable.

Boats lit up last night in Cid Harbour
Mix'd Nutz, Kailani and Galadriel closest

The prevailing wind is still a pretty strong 20+ knots with more south in it than normal, keeping a lid on the temperatures.  The rest of the fleet head south after breakfast, aiming for Hammo in two days’ time.  We go north, along with the wind and the current, and have a much happier time of the conditions.  

In all the trips I’ve made here I’ve never gone into Macona, always favouring its more popular next door neighbour, Nara Inlet.  Both are long, deep flooded valleys with high sides and narrow entrances.  Macona turns out to be lovely and shames me regarding my previous inattention.  It has an extensive fringing coral reef, with a significant indentation in the coral where anchoring is possible almost as if it were a lagoon, albeit open on one side. 

Anne spotted what appears to be a small family of dolphins in the bay, feeding and playing.  Being a biologist, she recognised that they’re not the bottlenose dolphins we normally see and identifies them from the internet as being humpback dolphins, listed by the Queensland government as being a vulnerable species.  Combined with the dugongs earlier on, that's enough to make her day.

A small beach just off our stern

Looking out through the entrance to Macona Inlet, and at dusk...

Moon rise