Year One
Date: 20/10/2008 09:30
Weather: Perfect
Location: Deep Creek Fraser Island 25'30 52S, 152'59 14E
Author: Peter

Thanks to the wonderful people over in America and the great things they have done to the world economy we are now having to head home to find some work. Because of this I have been looking forward to Fraser Island and its world heritage list status as a great way to finish off cruising this year. One last hoorah I suppose.

When we first came to the bay I was hoping the male whales would still be around so we could have an up close and personal experience, as tends to happen in this area as the males come to you to investigate. A man (hippy) we met further back up north on the island who comes here every season says "the whales purpose in life is to fix peoples hearts". I was really hoping for this experience and can only hope we can get it the next time we are here. I was however greatful that there were still whales here and we still had a great time watching them.

Finally the other day after entering the great sandy straits we started to find walking tracks and 4WD tracks leading inland. Great I thought, this is exactly what I wanted. While anchored at McKenzie Jetty Ruins (25'24 53S, 153'00 55E) and walking some of the shorter tracks around to an old WWII commando training base and disused logging camps around the foreshore we discovered a path leading up to one of the lakes 10km inland. So the next morning we packed lunches and the bikes and headed to shore to finally see what I came here for, the Lakes and rain forest. Upon opening the bike bag I was shocked to discover my rear wheel was missing 7 spokes and the rim was now distorted. The bike was un-ridable and I was now stuck unable to do what I wanted the most. 10km on foot each way was to long to leave Jura so we headed back to the boat and upstream to Deep Creek the site of a disused log loading site.

Deep Creek is a very pretty little anchorage with 2 old wrecks rusting away hidden in the mangroves. One a steam powered vessel and the other a sexy old barque over 100ft in length (they don't draw lines like that anymore). Ashore more tracks, but again no bike to explore them. I feel gutted and I don't even know what happened to the spokes that caused the problem. Not quite the way I wanted it all to end.

Oh well I hope Tangalooma is good and I suppose there is always next time. I just feel sad that I'm so close yet I can't do anything about it.

Still beats being at work, especially on a Monday.

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com

Year One
Date: 17/10/2008 16:00
Weather: Clearing. Windy
Location: Mooan Point Fraser Island 25'14 00S, 152'59 39E
Author: Peter

We have been taking short little hops along Fraser's western shore over the last few days with very little to report. The sand island is beautiful but it is difficult for us to get inland as the bush is so dense. There are 4WD tracks heading inland every now and then from off the bay but these are also of little use to us without a vehicle as any sites are well inland and it would not be safe to leave the boat for extended periods. The weather also has not been kind this week being mainly overcast with occasional showers. This does not mean we have not had a good time however as we have done plenty of whale watching (stay tuned for the photo's I took from up the mast) and some walking ashore.

How amazing are these!!!!








So this one isn't a spectacular photo but it is the proof that I(Kylie) went up the mast to view the whales too!


John and I swam in the stunningly clear water, which is a perfect 24 degrees. The other day we drifted along in little breeze and you could still easily see the bottom 14m down. At the arch cliffs (named for their shape resemblance to the Sydney Harbour Bridge)I found the remains of a young whale. Even a young whales skull is as long as my old Mazda 323. Back on the mainland Kylie and I had a very educational explore ashore at Pialba where we got to learn about, and check out a huge flying fox (bat) colony. Off the beach at Pialba looks like a great place to come and sailboard or kite surf.

John was meant to stay with us through to Brisbane however his wife Jenny has found a house they are both interested in so our plans changed a little and we spent last night in a marina at Urangan so that John could catch a flight this morning. I feel a little sorry for John as the weather during his stay was not great and we could not even provide him with a perfect sunset. Although his week was not as activity pact as we would normally have it we think John still had a great time and the whale experiences probably made up for the bad weather.

Urangan Pier

For those of you who don't know, yesterday was my birthday and to those of you who sent messages, thank you. Tegan I'm not sure where you sent the email but we did not receive it. Well not much to share about the day as we were up early to get into the marina before a front came through. We then caught a bus that wound its way into town before doing a little shopping. John picked up a book bargain and we had to walk fast past McDonalds to resist the temptation of yummy hot chip smell. After checking out the movie theater as it was now black, windy and raining (my show was not on till late and there was no way of getting back home) we hopped back onto a bus and followed the forshore back to the marina for coffee and smoothie's. John and I then went exploring the marina fingers checking out ideas for bow sprit's while Kylie baked a cake. We finished the day off well with a perfect meal at the local cafe (my steak was local, perfect and three times the size of what I would normally eat. I tried, I failed) The rain still poured down so after some tv and cake we all went to bed. Kylie did really well given the weather and change of plans. Thank you Kylie and John for a entertaining day.

Back on our own we are now preparing to make our way through the Great Sandy Straits before we head back out to sea and then down onto Morton Bay.

Our friends Pete and Jess have arrived back home in Eden and Ron and Suzie are now somewhere near Sydney. See ya all again next time.

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com

Year One
Date: 13/10/2008 20:45
Weather: Clearing
Location: Triangle Cliffs Fraser Island 25'01 49S, 153'12 04E
Author: Peter

Cruising is all about those special moments and its amazing how many of these moments there are and how varied they can be. It is impossible for my poor literary skills to effectively describe my surroundings to their best, but they sure leave me with a great feeling inside. The feeling I get anchored off the Triangles at Fraser Island just after the sun has set, the full moon already risen and above the horizon and the first star blooming in a still blue sky is one of tranquility and calmness. Ashore the light is mystical where pristine teal waters meet the pure white crystalline sands at the shore before abruptly changing pitch and steeply rising in the clotted cream sands of the sand blow that forms the cliff. Astern I can still hear the splashing of a baby whale as it leaps into the air and falls back to the water in a large crash sending a curtain of white spray into the air. Its mother calmly watching as she floats on the surface nearby.

What a perfect way to end the day. A kookaburra laughs somewhere in the distance to bring it all together. Then from away down the beach two bright lights rocket northward, some noise follows as a 4WD rushes back to its campsite for their evening meal. And true to 'The Castle' I think to myself "hows the serenity".

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com

Year One
Date: 10/10/2008 15:45
Weather: Rain and wind
Location: Burnett River 24'47 04S, 152'23 01E
Author: Peter

After a certain amount of time away from the mainland and food suppliers it really is funny the things you start to crave and miss. As we have said before, things you normally would not crave like hot chips, or ice cream, or fresh juice. On the morning of the 6th after breakfast we made a snap decision and took advantage of good winds to sail for Bundaberg. After a perfect sail half of which was under big bird we arrived late in the afternoon and anchored near the entrance to the Burnett River. The next morning we motored the 5nm up the sugar cane banked narrow winding river, past the Bundy Rum factory all the way to Midtown Marina (25'51 78S, 152'21 08E)in the centre of Bundaberg. We arrived to a very balmy 29 degrees celsius and allot of humidity as a change was expected and the cloud was building up. The rest of the morning was spent doing some boat cleaning and a months worth of laundry before we headed into town for lunch and an air conditioner. It sure is much cooler on the water.

Bundy surprised us with its size and traffic. It really is a large town with plenty of history and historical buildings. It also has the most churches I have ever seen in such a small space. They are just everywhere and if Adelaide considers itself the city of churches it needs to take a close look at this town. That evening we made chicken burger's for dinner with fresh lettuce. Yep that's another one of those things we crave. When we left Airlie lettuce was $5 dollars a head so we left without it but now they were back down to a respectable $1.29. Yum.

Tuesday morning saw us awake to a much cooler (25 degrees celsius) overcast day, and the we set about the business of re provisioning as our next guest John Cronan was arriving later that day. After a few hours we had a very full shopping trolley including fresh fruit and vegetables, so we pushed it the 2km back to the boat and were grateful for the cooler temperatures before we stowed it and ate a lunch of Vienna Sausages on fresh knot rolls washed down with local Bundy Juice. Kylie then took off back into town, while I finished up some boat jobs and waited for John to arrive, before we all sat down to some fresh local pineapple for afternoon tea followed by a very short walk before the rain set in. We finished the day off with a meal at the local RSL club directly behind the marina.

The next morning saw us picking up some more fruit and our meat order before making our way back upstream to where we are now awaiting the wind to abate so we can head out to Fraser Island. We feel a little sorry for John as it can get a little boring when the weather is not nice and you are stuck in such a small space.

Last week back out at Lady Musgrave we continued spending time snorkeling and walking the Cay. We did not get to dive as Kylie still had some slight symptoms of a cold and could not pop her ears properly. The snorkeling however is still so good that we were not disappointed and I even experimented with some movie footage on the under water camera so you can all see what the sea life is like. Although I did it on the worst water quality day we had during our entire stay and in the area where all the tourist boats go so the coral was not as good as some of the other spots. Kylie and I both even got to swim with a large group of green sea turtles which had both of us grinning from ear to ear. They swam beside us, less than a metre away. On the last day we also got to see them up close on shore as some of the females spent the day resting before heading back out into the water. It is truly a magic place at this time of year and we can't wait until the next time when we can come back.

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com

Year One
Date: 3/10/2008 07:30
Weather: Lovely
Location: Lady Musgrave 23'54 17S, 152'24 17E
Author: Peter

When you picture a tropical lagoon what do you envisage? More on that later.

We left Cape Capricorn on Sunday with a perfect 12knot northerly but as we had forecasts again of southerlies over 25knots for the next few days we headed for Pancake Creek (24'00 63S, 151"44 24E) another 35nm further south. We arrived early in the afternoon but were surprised to find another 15 boats already at anchor and another 5 still on their way. It felt like school holidays back in the Whitsundays although this anchorage was much smaller. As we arrived at low tide and Pancake Creek is a shallow narrow river we stayed in the outer anchorage for the night. We had a little bit of a rolly time for about one and a half hours either side of high tide when the water gets high enough to cross the sand spit at the entrance. The following morning as predicted the southerlies returned and while all the other boats now used the high tide to get further up the river to the other more protected anchorage, we remained as the swell now rotated to the south giving us a calm anchorage and we wanted to get away as soon as the weather permitted. (and no, no pancakes were harmed in the making of this story)

We remained here until Wednesday morning when we planned to take advantage of the last of the south easterlies to reach the 35nm out to Lady Musgrave. Pity the weather forecast was a little wrong as the trip ended up being a 48 nm work with current assistance. We still arrived as planned with the sun high in the sky and entered our first coral cay. The lagoons entrance seems tiny near low tide, especially with a cross wind and once inside you wind your way through the coral bommies to the anchorage. The entrance was a little nervracking but once inside with the sun high the bommies were easily spotted against the pure white sands of the bottom.

Although we have only been here now for a day and a half it has been fantastic. If you ever get the chance to come here either on your own boat or via the high speed cat, you must do it. Although I have been a little disappointed with some of our cruising up here I am most definitely not with Lady Musgrave. When I pictured tropical paradise this was pretty much it. We are currently anchored inside a tropical lagoon situated 35nm off shore at the southern end of the great barrier reef and it is picture postcard perfect (just wait for the photo's). the lagoon is surrounded by a coral reef in the shape of a capital D and is approximately 1nm in length. In its south western corner is a little 10 square kilometre island. The water is so clear that although we are anchored in 8m of water the bottom looks like it is just there even with wind blowing on the surface.

Yesterday morning we went exploring the island which at this time of year is covered with sleek grey terns (sheer waters). Entering the tree line is like something out of the movie "the birds" with terns everywhere. They seem to fill trees and they cover the ground in big groups, including the pathways. When we first got there Kylie spent the first 10 mins huddled in close to me and walking slightly slouched for fear of being swooped (I think she must have had a bad magpie experience somewhere) but although they sometimes flew around us no swooping occurred and she eventually calmed down, to a degree. We made our way across the island to its far shore where there were plenty of school holiday campers before walking around the sun bleached white shores of the island back around to the duck. Whilst on our walk there were turtles everywhere in the shallows just off the beach. At any one time it was easy to see at least 9 turtles no matter which way you looked. On the most part they seemed ok with our presence although I think some of them were a little pre occupied with each others company.

On our arrival back at the duck we discovered the tourist boat had arrived so we decided to avoid the crowd and head back to Jura, where Kylie decided she would like to spend the afternoon reading while I went back for a snorkel. As I entered the water off the beach I was surrounded by full grown adult loggerhead and green sea turtles. The design in our saloon table is based on green sea turtles. At first they were a little skittish but as I just floated there they soon became accustomed to my presence and they just floated along with me although a little too close for the camera to get them fully in shot.





I spent the next half an hour with them before swimming out a little to the coral and clearer water not stirred up by the waves at the shore. Once out it was like swimming in someone's pool, you could just see so far, and the fish life is just amazing. I have never seen so many different fish in my life. It is so much better than any aquarium, and this is how I imagined the GBR to be. To see fish I have never seen before is just great, including a gorgeous Moorish Idol (Scar from finding nemo), orange socket surgeon fish, smooth flutemouth, and many more along with one very large ugly and spiky octopus.

I can't wait to get back in today.

To be continued.

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com