Gypsy Cruising

22 August

Dunk Island to Hinchinbrook Channel

A new day.  Today we begin heading south.

We’re reconciled to the fact that our fleet that has broadly held together for many weeks (or months for some) will begin breaking up as everyone makes their own plans for heading back down the coast.  We’re all being guided by our own timetables for returning home and by considerations of the wind and weather, which will no longer be reliably at our backs.  On that point, it’s remarkable that in the almost three months since I’ve left Sydney the wind has been in the south every day except for a few days while I was in Southport.  It has made for gentlemanly downwind cruising and required little in the way of thought.  Those trade winds are due to begin giving way to intermittent northerlies during September and into October, but the best we can hope for up here are lighter south easterly trade winds.

Leaving after an all too brief stay at Dunk Island

We got those light winds today.  We headed for the reasonably narrow Hinchinbrook Channel, between Hinchinbrook Island and the mainland, rather than the outside track as we did on the way north.  This is an area of rugged wilderness, ringed by mangroves and populated by crocodiles and every other type of wildlife.

Our track down the Hinchinbrook Channel, and then into Gayundah Creek

Four of the other boats have headed for the southern end of the channel, while I’m determined to spend the night at Gayundah Creek, about halfway down.  Well over a year ago we chose a Club Member’s photo of this creek to be the backdrop to the Alfreds Cruising promotional activities, and the image has captivated me ever since.  Real life proved to be just as stunning as I’d imagined.

Anchored in Gayundah Creek - Leon has previously described it as being like Jurassic Park

The view from our deck, in changing light as the sun sets

Looking back down the creek as the sun sets into smoke from a bush fire

We saw no crocodiles, to my own disappointment, but from well before sunset we were inundated with midgies, tiny blood sucking flies that are small enough to get through the mesh in our flyscreens.  I didn’t seem to be a target but James was attacked pretty badly.  We had to seal every hatch and vent and endured the night without ventilation.  Our dinner had to be BBQ’d (we’d known about the midgies, but assumed they wouldn’t attack until sunset, so allowing us to get the BBQ done in time).  So I ventured out in long sleeves and dripping with Bushmans insect repellent to cook the food.  I survived intact.

I might as well admit here to having put the boat up onto the river bank today.  No big deal – I was staking out the anchorage and moving very slowly.  The banks are soft mud and shallow very quickly.  The impact was barely noticeable and I simply reversed off.  I don’t think James realised what had happened until we were back in deep water.