Karl & Kara Go Sailing

Cairns Before we knew it we realised we'd be arriving in Cairns the next morning. So time to frantically read about how to arrive in Cairns the next morning. It's a gorgeous city to approach from the sea, it was moody and showery but with beautiful shafts of sun on the very green, tropical hills. We may have slightly cursed the moody showers every time they wrecked the visibility as we were trying to pick out the next marker on the way up the channel but we did sail (without engine) an impressive distance up the channel before succumbing to power. And then actually came into a strange dock and tied up unharmed! A miracle on our first attempt. Well, there may have been a little assistance from the lovely marina staff member who came to welcome us in. Where is that next channel marker? And also note the snazzy new straps holding that rolled up clear over my head. And then feeling a bit weird at clearly being a tourist in a new (we've spent a half day here be...

Escape from scAwful Island. (Into a cyclone!) Scawfell's a lovely place, don't get me wrong. National park. Green and leafy and unspoiled. Karl took a surfboard paddle ashore (I don't have my surf paddling L plates yet) and tells me it was delightful.   Grainne is in this photo if you peer really really closely. And in all fairness it did provide reasonable shelter from sustained wind of 35-40 knots. As Karl (repeatedly) said “I don't think anchoring equipment is meant to withstand this for such a long time!”. But it was a bit of an enforced stay and once we had done all our reorganising and tidying and planning we were ready to go. But had to wait another couple of days for the winds to ease. We even had “Sewing Day” where we repaired all the bits and pieces Karl kept bringing to me saying “it ripped” (note his use of the saorbhriathar). And we completed a new project to allow us to roll up and secure some of our cockpit enclosure (sounds very ...

Northwest Island to Scawfell Island Some boisterous conditions made it challenging for the chef but I managed to produce a corned-beef bolognese and a Spam fried rice in response to Karl's growing animal protein craving. Apparently cheese and nuts just aren't enough for a growing boy. As we passed Mackay there were dozens and dozens of big cargo ships moored and anchored off the coast all waiting to get into Hay Point. I've no idea what's at Hay Point but it's now on my list of things to Google when I get reception.  Every little triangle is a huge cargo ship We've found the perfect distance from shore here, a little closer than we've been for a while, we're beautifully isolated from phone reception but can get ABC Classic FM for company on night watch. And just as I was mourning the loss of Sunshine FM (hits from the 50s to the 90s with its unmissable Saturday Night Party Time) we discovered 4CRM Mackay Community Radio which filled the vo...

First week out: Sunday we set the departure date, Sunday night couldn't sleep, Monday walked the line between panic and terror and by Tuesday I was back to being excited. Karl (in a pattern I seem to remember from the wedding) was completely calm until the morning of departure when he realised what was happening and had a little freakout. Leaving Mooloolaba really didn't feel any different than on our previous trips and we definitely didn't really get the fact that we weren't just popping down the bay for the weekend. Our neighbours were there to farewell us and help cast us off and then we were away, heading north, destination unknown.  Last lunch at our favourite sushi place (Sakana at the end of the spit, the best edamame and a great mixed sushi/sashimi platter to share). Goodbye Mooloolaba. This is us actually leaving. Copyright Michael & Cheryl on Gidgee. And just crossing the Mooloolaba bar. We settled into sailing and wa...

Saturday 11 th May, Refuge Bay, Scawfell Island. A glorious blue sky sunny morning and we're anchored here in Refuge Bay with the wind absolutely howling and spray flying.  Thanks to our trusty satellite weather forecast we knew this was coming a couple of days ago so had a chance to study the charts and find a suitable hidey-hole in which to cower while waiting for the winds to abate. Scawfell Island seemed to have an appropriately hugging shape and we may also have been slightly swayed by the name of the bay. It has certainly focused the mind on how much you absolutely do not want to be out there in strong winds, and this is only 35-40 knots. We'll be here for a few more days according to the forecast. Enforced relaxation. So this break is giving us a chance to pause and breathe and gather ourselves after a ridiculously busy few weeks. It's been nuts. Winding up work, packing up the house, cramming everything into storage, moving our necessary belo...