Splendid isolation

Craggy peaks and still water in Gayundah Creek.

The slogan of the former Hinchinbrook Island resort was `Splendid Isolation'. While the resort has ceased to operate, its sales line is an apt description of the Hinchinbrook area. We've seen one fisherman today and a yacht passing by in the distance. Other than that, we've seen a crocodile, a Ulysses butterfly and a few birds.

... and looking the other way.

Back in bloggerspace

After our few weeks in Rochy we hit the ground running on our arrival back in Cairns.
There were some essential jobs to do on Sea Piper involving a rigger and a welder so we were very pleased when the welder offered to do his part on a Saturday so the rigger could re-rig two of the stays at his earliest opportunity - which was the Tuesday following.
With that out of the way we had two days to put the saloon back in order (that's where the stays were replaced) if we wanted to take advantage of two days of light northerly winds on the Friday and Saturday - plus there was the shopping and general departure preparations to be done.
By Thursday night we were both wrecked - but it's amazing what a shower and a drink with friends will do!
Some final frantic work took place on Friday morning and by 10am we had cast off the ropes and were away, stopping briefly at Yorkeys Knob to get some fuel.
The weather was idyllic. The sea was smooth as glass with just the faintest gust of northerly breeze now and again.

Mission Bay just off Cairns and heading to Cape Grafton.

We put the main sail and the Code Zero out around Cape Grafton and were able to maintain around six knots with one motor on low revs plus the sails.
It was a lovely time to reminisce about the places we had visited with the friends and family who had been with us at the time.
We passed Fitzroy Island and headed south towards the Frankland Islands where we planned to anchor overnight at Russell Island. We'd stopped there for a morning break on the way north earlier in the year and were keen to walk up the one hill to the lighthouse.
It was a really relaxing sail. We led a small flotilla - three yachts, all south bound for varying reasons. We soon lost the lead to a small single hull but took note of the lay of their sails and adjusted ours accordingly - and with success.

The flotilla and coral spawn

The coral spawning was at its peak for the past two days. Instead of the usual murky brown colour, it was tinged with yellows and greens. It was difficult to capture on camera however.
On arrival at Russell Island we were lucky to secure the one mooring available to boats over 10 metres. The moorings on the island are currently being serviced so ours sported a nice new mooring line instead of the thickly weeded, messy thing we picked up six months ago.
The beach and surrounding rocky tors were magnificent.

Sea Piper moored off Russell Island.

The other side of the sandspit in the previous photo.

Royden soon sussed out the overgrown track to the lighthouse and up we went through the rainforest. It wasn’t a very big climb but the lighthouse was a bit disappointing. It’s simply a steel trestle structure with the light on top – and a `no access’ board over the bottom of the ladder. From the bottom the view is of the thick rainforest around you. For those able to get to the top, the views are far more spectacular.

Looking north to Fitzroy Island (far right) from the top of the lighthouse structure on Russell Island.

Who? Me?

Beautiful patterns on the beached coral.

After a restful night, we opted for a 6am start to again make the most of the northerly conditions which were predicted to change to south-easterlies late Saturday.
Again we were able to make good knots with the main and Code Zero and one motor.
An added bonus was a double hit on the mackerel lines - and we managed to land (? land or deck?) both fish. After filleting and vaccuum sealing we've ended up with eight meal packs.  

All in a day's work.

We had anticipated anchoring for the night at Dunk Island but we arrived there at around 1.30pm and decided to push on to the Hinchinbrook Channel.
By then the wind was picking up so it was too good an opportunity to miss.  We whizzed across then made our way up to Gayundah Creek, about 10 nautical miles up the channel, dropping anchor in this beautiful spot around 6pm. A long day but by no means an exhausting one.
Besides, we had earmarked today as a definite `rest’ day and we’ve kept to the plan, having done nothing much more than eat, read and enjoy the view.
We plan to spend about a week around Hinchinbrook and will make the journey down to Magnetic Island off Townsville at the next weather break after that.

Looking from Gayundah Creek towards the Hinchinbrook Channel and the mainland.

Ugh - weeds

I see weeds of green, spreading burr plants too
My, how they've grown, out the back and front too
And I think to myself what a different world
(Apologies to Louis Armstrong)
First impressions of the garden on our return to Rochy was the beaut spring colours - trees flowering, the ground cover daisies blooming purple and white. Glorious.

Growing pile outside the garden bed instead of in it.

The odd weed or two.
 

But that extra green tinge was a thousand weeds, some a metre tall.
While we had the two youngest grandkids staying, I blissfully ignored the extra growth but once they had returned home it was time to address the burrs, thistles and other weedy objects to give the real plants room to spread and hopefully choke the weeds out in the future.
A downpour on Saturday and another yesterday softened the ground and I have dedicated this week to weed removal, crawling progressively through the jungle to pull them out. The result is very muddy hands and knees, some reclaimed garden beds and huge piles of the unwanted stuff waiting to go to the tip.
I guess it could be likened to cleaning the hulls, maybe.
Maybe not!

One last snorkel on the reef

Looking back  across the Great Barrieer Reef towards the mainland.

With confirmation from the rigger that he wouldn't be arriving yesterday we quickly closed hatches and untied ropes to get out of marina and the Moon River on the dropping tide - usually a no-no for us with its associated risk of getting stuck on the sandbar for eight or more hours.
The Vlasoff Cay, and our last opportunity to snorkel the reef before stinger season, was too tempting so out we went with just a metre of water under us at the bar. Phew!
We had a magnificent day.
There was a light 7 knot breeze so we put the head sail out and kept a motor going to make the three-hour crossing.
With school holidays and this run of great weather we expected see a lot of boats at the reef but there were only half a dozen others apart from the regular commercial cats heading to Green Island and Michaelmas Cay.
The previous day, Sunday, over 70 boat trailers were parked at the boat ramp adjacent the marina so we guessed it had been a bit busier at the reef then.
Vlasoff was just as beautiful as last week but, as we arrived just after low tide (0.8m) there was a lot more of the sand cay out of the water - and some tricky reef heads to negotiate into a sandy anchoring patch. As the water is so clear, it is almost impossible to determine how far under the water the reef patches are but we knew we had over a metre less water than our last visit so couldn't necessarily take the same route as before.
Once safely anchored we dropped the ladder and hit the water.
Beautiful! And we had four hours to lap it up.

Vlasoff Cay with a bit more sand and reef showing.

The camera did a rare change of hands to prove that I was there too.

If you're not sick of seeing reef photos, here's some more.

 We returned to the marina on the high tide last night. The rigger is due today (maybe) to check the rigging he installed two years ago.
Today and tomorrow we'll tidy the boat for our month away, eat all the food or give it away. When we return at the end of October, it will be stinger season and so I doubt we'll be snorkelling anywhere as we make our way south to Townsville where Sea Piper will spend the Wet season.

Switched on

A project that has been several months in the making has been a new engine starting panel and our return to the marina marked the final stage - the installation.
Pulling out the old panel with its myriad of wires snaking every which way looked like a nightmare, but based on previous experience, I knew Royden had it sussed.

Out with the old ...

Some serious labelling took place at this point.

After two days, half of one spent racing to the bus to town to buy some parts following a change in the plan, the new panel is up and running - and looks great.

Neat as - and with circuit breakers.

With perfect weather conditions prevailing, we're itching to head out to the reef for another snorkel or two before our trip to Victoria next Thursday.

Wow: whales, then more whales

Vlasoff Cay - popular with the locals on a beautiful day like this.

All tiredness left us as we cast off the mooring at Upolu and headed to Vlasoff Cay to the east. We'd no sooner hit the deeper channel between the reefs when we sighted our first whales of the day - a mother and calf playing in the deep leads that mark the way out of this reef complex and through to Green Island.
They were quite a way off so we watched for a bit before continuing towards Vlasoff, mindful of the tide.
We'd planned to approach this cay about an hour before high tide, spend a couple of hours there and head off again while the water was still high. It's way less stressful picking your way through the reef when you know you've got maximum water under you. When it's calm, the water is so clear it's impossible to tell the depth until the depth sounder is over the patch - bit late then though.

Sea Piper at Vlasoff from snorkel level.

Vlasoff was magnificent. We anchored in a clear white sand patch in five meters as we couldn't find the one public mooring listed on the Parks website. (We did locate it later through the binoculars. It's way off the cay, probably in a position where you can get to it on a low tide I guess.)
The tiny sand cay just had its peak out of the water and within the hour a number of small boats from the mainland had anchored on its verge, families had spilled out onto the beach and an aquamarine beach umbrella had gone up. It looked gorgeous.

A tiny part of Vlasoff Reef

We dropped our ladder and snorkelled straight off the boat, as usual, and within minutes were gasping out garbelled `Wows!' through the snorkel. There were thousands of tiny bright coloured fish amongst the coral gardens and again Merman dived down amongst them but they were barely disturbed by his presence. 

Merman

So many fish in this beautiful coral garden.

We stayed in the water till we both started to cramp up. It was hard to leave such a beautiful experience but our pruned (more than usual) skin was another indication we needed to stop.
We gingerly steered Sea Piper back into deeper water and headed back towards Upolu and the gap out of the reef complex. The mother whale and baby (assuming it was the same ones we'd seen before) had made their way further into the reef channel and came up almost directly in front of us. We had to move off to one side as the calf leapt and played around its mother. We just stopped and watched. It was awesome.

I know this is off-centre, but this shows how close the whales came - even the little camera could get a shot.

We had decided to quit while we were ahead with the weather and head back to the marina for the night. Crossing the passage between the reef and the mainland, three whales erupted from the water. They were well off in the distance but their size and the display they put on was awesome. It continued for at least 40 minutes until the sea haze and distance made them fade from our view. It must have been a perfect whale play day.
Bet they all slept well last night - same as us!

Norman Reef

Note to self: Despite beautifully calm weather and an available mooring, it is not a good idea to spend the night on the Great Barrier Reef with no protection from the swell.
We're a bit weary this morning after a lumpy night but it's another glorious day and we're making the most of it.
We left Low Isles yesterday morning and headed out on the high tide to the passage between Batt and Tongue Reefs.It was very peaceful but quite eerie out there. We were the only boat and because the tide was over two metres, the reef either side of us was not apparent - so no land marks and only the haziest outline of the mainland. As the tide starred to drop the waves started to roll over the reef edges giving some definition to our surrounds.
We were spat out on the other side of the reef into the Coral Sea. Again a different experience for us with a widely spaced rolling swell at the mouth of Trinity Passage, one of several shipping passages through the Barrier Reef.

Norman Reef - again my little camera doesn't do the colours justice, plus there's a water blob in the middle of the lens I've just noticed. Not surprising cos it's just come out of the water!

Our destination was Norman Reef which, we realised as we neared, was the end point of one of the big day-trip companies so there was a huge lunch platform and a helipad as well as two big boats. 
Fortunately the one public mooring was a long way from the commercial operation - and the mooring was unoccupied.
After a quick lunch we hit the water. It was stunning. Sea Piper was in 13 meters of water and it was crystal clear right to the bottom. The bommies and reef were full of fish and turtles - and my accomplished `Merman' had a ball diving down and rustling up some action.

The Merman of Norman Reef

Bommie - Norman Reef



Pick the little shape that is a turtle.

We reluctantly climbed back on Sea Piper when we could swim no more.
It was tempting to stay out at Norman Reef for the night but we decided to head for a little more protection at Michaelmas Cay which has a couple of moorings adjacent a sandspit.
There were so many coral heads and bommies it was like picking our way through a minefield to reach the mooring at Michaelmas only to find it was tagged for a smaller boat than ours and that we would swing out over some very big coral heads if we stayed put. One large mooring was already taken and the second large one, listed on the Marine Parks website, was nowhere to be found.
So we picked our way out of there again and headed to Upolu to rock and roll the night away with the turn of the tide sending the swell right through us and the slight breeze turning us side on to it. Blah.