17 August

Orpheus Island to Hinchinbrook Island

I think most cruising sailors harbour some sort of secret South Seas fantasy, involving perfect, azure waters (not too far distant please) and anchorages in bays lorded over by imposing, rain forest clad jagged peaks.  I’ve never been to such places.  I guess not until today.  Surprisingly enough, off the east Australian coast.

We all set off together with the intention of stopping quickly at Zoe Bay, on the east coast of Hinchinbrook Island, before travelling further up Hinchinbrook and staying the night just around its north east corner.  Zoe Bay is fully east facing and is exposed to the prevailing wind and swell, making it uncomfortable and unsuitable for an overnight anchorage.

Nirvana's Kitchen leading the fleet out in the early morning sun

Coming up to Hinchinbrook Island under spinnaker

The Gypsy makes quite a sight under spinnaker - Galadriel is also seen in the above shot

Hinchinbrook is quite a large island, being around 19 miles long and with an area of about 400 square kilometres.  Its highest peak is 1100 metres above sea level.  It once supported a small "eco" resort, right on the northern end on Cape Richards.  That was destroyed in 2010 by storms and perhaps declining fortunes, so the island now is completely free of development and is a nature wonderland. 

Leon has an out of print guidebook to cruising the north Queensland coast, “Going Troppo”.  It describes Zoe Bay as one of the most beautiful places on Australia’s east coast.  I’m cautious about such claims because it’s all too easy to make them simply for the sake of dramatic effect.  In this case it might just have something.  No point describing further – just look at the photos.

Entering Zoe Bay

Surely a match for any south sea island paradise - below are James, Nirvana, Leon, Sonia and David

We tackled a short walk from the beach up to some fresh water pools and a waterfall.  This passed an occupied camp site just up from the beach, which we wondered about given the real risk of crocodiles around here.  In fact the idea of crocs got us all a little wary about our surroundings (except Leon, who thinks crocs are actually rather comical).  In the event, we didn’t see any.

The bush is really very rain foresty now, quite different to what we’re used to further south.  The track wasn’t long and we came to the waterfall easily enough.  I admit that it brought somewhat of a grin to my face, because it struck me that a Hollywood set designer couldn’t do a more perfect job of creating the perfect bush swimming hole.  There were even tame fish in the pool that James hand fed with pieces of muesli bar.

James leading the walk through the very lush forest

Our first view of the waterfall and fresh water pool 

This is what you can do with a very slow shutter speed

James feeding the fish

Just lovely!

Next the predictable group-behind-the-sign shot, although this time we got two signs.

Zoe Bay might be an OK overnight anchorage in some highly unusual calm or westerly conditions, but not so today with the prevailing sou-easters.  So we made Cape Richards by mid afternoon.  From here we could finally see Dunk Island.  That ultimate milestone will be reached tomorrow.

14 - 16 August

Pioneer Bay, Orpheus Island

Three days spent at anchor on Orpheus Island.

Most islands have some sort of hill that can be climbed, and Pioneer Bay provided the goods in that respect.  I don’t think we knew what we were going to see when the whole fleet started out on this walk.  The track we followed was very patchy in places, by which I mean we had to keep our own bearings when walking through long grass to ensure we could find our way back.

The whole gang on their way up the hill with Pioneer Bay in the background.  The Gypsy is the third anchored boat from the left

 

We found this echidna on the track part way up the hill

The view looking over the other side of the island

Me (and Leon) at the top of the hill

James Cook University operates a marine research station in the bay next to us.  A dozen or more years ago a student studying for his PhD introduced a whole lot of giant clams to the shallows off the beach (we know it was a "he” because Sonia and David met him on Magnetic Island last week).  The clams ended up thriving in the conditions, to the point where there are now apparently over 3,000 of them.  They’re so tightly packed in places that some are simply starving to death.  After coming down from the walk we all dinghied over and paddled around clam spotting for as long as the tide allowed.

One of the very many giant clams, seen from a dinghy simply drifting over the site.  Some of the clams' colours were extraordinary blues and greens.

All of us paddling over the giant clams

We’d been trying to contact the research station to arrange an impromptu tour, but without success.  In response, Leon organised us into a dinghy invasion force and we descended en mass and without any warning on the beach in front of the station.  The duty manager initially told us to come back tomorrow, but very shortly came back and led us around the station personally.  He proved to be a lovely guy who had once studied there but now enjoyed the location more for its diving opportunities.

The station hosts both serious research scientists and school groups, being able to cater for up to 60 guests.  It seems to provide a one stop shop for lots of different purposes.  Probably its most popular feature for us was the large aquarium pool that seems to be the final resting place for many of the fish and coral subject to studies.

The now obligatory group-photo-behind-a-sign shot.  Bad boy Leon is forced to stand downwind on his own.

A shot of the research station

Part of the research facilities available at the station

The display aquarium at the station.  Isn't it wonderful to have a ready supply of perfect water only a few feet away, rather than having to build complicated filtration and other water treatment systems.

That night I got to hear from James the words that I’d been dreading since before the cruise started: “Is the toilet switched on?” when I knew the toilet was switched on.  What he was really asking was “why isn’t the toilet working?” 

I have lots of spare parts on board for many of the boat’s systems.  However, I’d always figured that by having two toilets I already had built in resilience to any failure.  If one toilet now was not working then I was immediately in the position of having no further backup, a couple of weeks before I was due back in port.  So, a deep breath and then I was into toilet fixing mode.  I checked the other toilet, which worked, so confirming the circuit breaker was ok.  I had either an electrical problem (they’re electric toilets) or a mechanical problem.  I started thinking about what I’d pull apart first if it was the latter, but my first act was to check all the wiring.  Very happily for me, I found a corroded terminal fitting almost immediately and within 20 minutes everything was back in operation.  Wonderful.

Not a happy sailor - at this point I still hadn't identified the problem

Our third day at Orpheus proved to be overcast, windy and cool.  No-one wanted to be outside so we all met up on Galadriel for a shared BBQ lunch and an afternoon spent playing a tile game (think Scrabble tiles) called Rummy-O.  A very pleasant way to spend our time, resulting in no need for dinner tonight.

The weather looks good for a departure tomorrow.

13 August

Palm Island to Orpheus Island

Today saw us do a short hop from Casement Bay on Palm Island to Pioneer Bay on Orpheus Island.  The fleet has coalesced into a core group of five boats: led by Leon and Nirvana on Nirvana's Kitchen, with David and Sonia on Galadriel, Bill and Dianne on Seas the Moment, David and Jenny on Kailani and us on Gypsy Princess.  Also close by are Graham and Leanne on Echo Beach and Jim and Clem on Mix'd Nutz.

On the way to Orpheus we had a short stop at Fantome Island which once housed a leprosorium (ie, a leper colony) until its closure and destruction in 1973.  We looked around the few remains of the facility, which isn't much.  It’s now largely been reclaimed by low scrub.  Although we couldn't see any signs of a graveyard, I understand that over 200 people were buried there.  It’s a lovely place now, but must have been a horror island in those days, when it was a case of “out of sight, out of mind” for the rest of the population.

Orpheus is home to a small but exclusive resort, which doesn't welcome grotty or any other type of yachties.  It doesn’t have any good anchorage anyway, so we continued past and anchored in a very protected bay to the north.  Drinks were ashore on the beach.

Things are starting to really slow down within the fleet.  We have only a short distance to cover over the next week or two so we plan to spend several days at each of our key anchorages.  Leon has proposed a plan for our stay here which still leaves quite a lot of time for sitting around and enjoying the experience.  I personally don’t find the bay unusually pretty, but then my benchmark for “pretty” has been pushed to some extreme heights since I started this cruise.  No doubt I’ll get a few photos in before we head off.

Very much a cruise in company - here is Kailani and Galadriel just off our port side, with Nirvana's Kitchen a bit of a speck well ahead

12 August

Townsville to Palm Island

I met up with James yesterday, and of course our first duty was to head out to do the provisioning for the next two-plus weeks of the cruise.  Dinner last night was at a local tavern for an extremely enjoyable evening.  So on to today.

Another marina berth for the Gypsy - Townsville Breakwater marina is a very friendly place

The rest of the fleet is leaving Magnetic Island today for a 35 mile sail north to Palm Island (strictly speaking, its full name is Great Palm Island, being the largest of the Palm Isles).  We'll meet up with them along the way.  The conditions are really just perfect.  The cool weather and stronger winds we found further south have been replaced here with warmth and light south easterlies.  That doesn't make for fast or exciting sailing (we'll motor sail the whole way) but it's not a bad way to spend winter days.

James at the wheel, with a whole new set of islands beckoning north of Townsville

The first good whale sighting in weeks, just north of Townsville

Another boat's crew took this nice photo of us broad reaching

In all respects today's sail was uneventful.  It will take James a few days to get into a cruising rhythm, made worse by the fact that he's arrived with an extremely bad cold.  This is a part of the cruise I've been looking forward to.  I'm expecting it to be quite different to the previous legs.  We're getting quite a long way north now.  We'll see fewer people and boats and get a more "south seasy" feel to the area.  Hinchinbrook Island looks remarkable from photos I've seen of it and then there's Dunk Island, the northerly most point of this cruise.

Palm Island consists of a significant Aboriginal community.  Historically it was known for its violence but all indications are that it's a friendly and inviting place for visitors.  Unemployment is a serious problem for the community, and dollars spent ashore by visitors are important to the locals. Leon wants to go ashore in the morning, and we discussed the idea around drinks this afternoon.  We've been warned (by the local Police and by Townsville locals I talked to before I left) that, notwithstanding the friendly reception on the island, theft of dinghies and other property left ashore is a very real issue.  That was enough for most to veto the idea.  So, tomorrow morning will see us head straight on to Orpheus Island instead.  I'm in two minds about the idea.  This is probably a wasted opportunity, but I don't mind pushing on.

Gypsy Princess doing its bit to contribute to a sublime sunset shot at Palm Island

9 August

Townsville

Celeste and I will each be flying back to Sydney today, me for just a couple of days.  A good part of the laundry is already done and we've got the boat generally pretty clean.  Today's plan is to walk to the top of Castle Hill, a very imposing 286 metre tall pink granite monolith that dominates the Townsville skyline, then return to the boat before heading to the airport around midday.

The day started completely fogbound.  This is apparently quite a rare occurrence.  The fog lasted in some form for most of the morning and eventually extended right out to Magnetic Island.

The marina just before sunrise

As ever, the walk up to Castle Hill was a challenge but an enjoyable one.  It was a nice way to bring this cruise leg to a close.  One thing that struck us was the beauty of many of the homes we passed, many of which looked to hark back to Federation or earlier.  The shoreline is equally beautiful with a string of grand old buildings.  Townsville has obviously been a port of some wealth for many years.

The veil of fog hanging over the city

Looking north and over to Magnetic Island from Castle Hill

Townsville city

We covered 250 miles this leg, firstly doing a circuit around the Whitsundays and then breaking free to do four longer day sails up to Magnetic Island.  Some of the places we visited in the Whitsundays were firsts for me and provided me wonderful experiences.  Sailing to Gloucester Passage, then Cape Upstart, Cape Bowling Green and Maggie took me further north than I'd ever sailed and showed us parts of Australia that are both generally unknown and also beautiful in their isolation.

This was essentially Celeste's first experience of boating through these areas, and it's been a treasure to see them partially through her eyes as well.  I think she found the cruise as fulfilling as I did.  In return she introduced me to salads, tuna wraps, porridge and even some yoga, while my intake of cheese, biscuits and soft drink plunged dramatically.  I enjoyed that too.

8 August

Magnetic Island

Magnetic Island ("Maggie" in Aussie speak) is largely bush-covered and its bays are studded with many lovely beaches.  There's a great choice of walking tracks all over the island.  We decided that before breakfast we'd walk a track over to a neighbouring bay - Radical Bay - from where we could continue on to visit a series of World War 2 gun batteries known as The Fort.  That plan came unstuck fast when we found the track closed for a scheduled bush backburn.  We were lucky to catch what seemed to be an unscheduled bus instead, up to the beginning of the official Fort walk.  The walk itself was simple, a few kilometres along a well curated track with signage along the way describing the extent of the substantial infrastructure built there to defend the port of Townsville.

Some of the views from the Fort

It's clear from the above photos that the weather was just about perfect for the last full day of this leg of the cruise.  We walked the whole way (downhill) back to Horseshoe Bay and swam one last time off the beach before returning to the boat.

Part of the beach at Horseshoe Bay

Views of the boat at anchor in Horseshoe Bay, Magnetic Island

Magnetic Island sits right off from the shore of Townsville.  However Horseshoe Bay is on its far, northern side.  It's about a two hour motor around the island and down the dredged channel to get into the marina I'd booked for a few days.  We were in by mid afternoon, sadly another leg completed.

More of the smooth granite boulders of Magnetic Island, here lining the shore of Horseshoe Bay

Hard not to like the shoreline of Townsville - views over the channel to Magnetic Island

7 August

Bowling Green Bay to Magnetic Island

Today we'll catch the rest of the fleet up.  We had the anchor up before 7am to let us make the trip to Magnetic Island by around midday.  By way of one last unexpected gift the Bay gave us a beautiful sunrise, complete with red-lit clouds on our way out.

A red sunrise as we were leaving Bowling Green Bay

The wind started out at quite reasonable levels out of the south, and I had the spinnaker up for much of the distance.  As we approached the final turn on the approach to Magnetic Island, around Cape Cleveland, the wind died away to almost nothing and we were forced to essentially motor the last 14 miles of the trip.

Just inside our final anchorage of Horseshoe Bay, we found a group of dolphins playing quite happily.  We were able to watch for perhaps 15 minutes, reeling of a huge number of photos.  I've shown some of the better ones here.

A group of dolphins at play inside Horseshoe Bay

This will be the final night "in the wild" for this leg of the cruise.   Tomorrow we'll head into the marina at Townsville in readiness for Celeste's return to Sydney.  However, tonight will also be this leg's official cruise rendezvous dinner.  In line with cultural norms, we all got the bus into the small village of Arcadia and then headed to the local tavern for a bar dinner, followed by the regular Wednesday night cane toad racing.  We took part in the pre-race toad auctions (raising money for the local surf life saving club) but we couldn't pick ourselves a winner.  In any case, this proved to be a lot of fun, and a good way to end the cruise with the rest of the guys.

The island is covered with these amazing granite rock formations, caused by hot lava splitting the rock followed by years of erosion

Cane toad racing in action - the starting barrier and the winning toad