Planet Skipr

It’s difficult to express the experience of living on a boat for an extended period and taking it to wherever the mood takes you. A deserted island one day, a convenient marina the next. Which is to say that we’re enjoying ourselves.

Occasionally something doesn’t quite go the way you expect it to (Joy’s phone went bloop in the plonk), but if it doesn’t can any worse than having to buy a new phone, we’re not complaining.

Another aspect of this cruise is that it has also been fun to meet up with other skipr users (and encouraging a few more to join). That’s been clearly worth the effort.

We might even be able to catch up with Mervyn, Joy’s cousin who is just ahead of us on Cool Change , anchored at Goldsmith Island.

Entering Gladstone makes you feel like a big boat. You’re expected to notify Harbour Control of your entry on VHF channel 13. There are a 10 or so bulk carriers waiting outside for a berth and another 10 or so being loaded inside. Not exactly Rotterdam, but lively and industrial looking nevertheless. For us it’s a novelty, we’re here just to stay overnight and as a logical stop.

 

We’re waiting for the right time and tide to navigate The Narrows behind Curtis Island on our way North. This passage can only be attempted at high tide, as the middle section at Cattle Crossing falls dry at low tide.

We’re really enjoying our inshore travels this trip and the Narrows didn’t disappoint. Water like a mirror and sun to burn off the early morning mist. 

While the Narrows has a bit of a reputation among keel boat sailors, it is well documented an well marked. I’ve also been pleased with C-Map on our chart plotter. It’s generally been up to date and accurate for inland waterways, even where the standard Hydro Office maps don’t provide coverage.

And than to emerge at the other end into the Coral Sea. Bliss.

We sailed from Sydney to Newcastle on Friday the 13th of August. The winds were forecast SW at 20-30 but we experienced pure southerly of this strength. The main feature of the day was the extremely large seaway generated by a low in the Tasman. We had sets of swell all day of 5-6 metres. This was confirmed on the Sydney Waverider buoy, which also recorded an 11 metre wave at 10 that morning! I thought some of them looked rather large. Of course we had 2-3 m seas on top of this. The Tuggerah reef near Norah Head was breaking enormously. Avoid. We left Kirribilli at 7am and were in Newcastle at 4pm. Diomedea was fantastic.  (View Post...)

OK, so the marina is a bit daggy and the town is a little run-down, but the sunrises are spectacular. We enjoy going inland wherever we can. We travelled up the Burnett river only an hour after low tide and at no time saw less than a meter under our (1.2m) keel.

The marina population here consists mainly of live-aboards who are friendly and very helpful. And of course the shops are within easy walking distance.  On our way back North, we hope to visit Maryborough by going up the Mary river.

Yeeeee Haaaaa!!! The sailors are in the USA. Just to be clear...We took a plane, we didn't sail here! Maybe one day though.

We left Cairns and flew to Sydney and then had a 13 hour flight to San Fransisco. Noah was AMAZING! The Qantas Hostesses gave us a bottle of champagne for having the best baby they had seen on a flight for a very long time. Noah was a gem the whole way over. How lucky are we?

We spent a fun filled 4 days in San Fransisco enjoying the city sights - taking a scenic bus tour, visited Alcatraz and enjoyed time down at the delightful Fisherman's Wharf. The weather was a little cooler than we were used to - but we have since arrived in Florida where the temperature has been above 100 degrees F all week. That is above 38 degrees C. Phew! It has been great catching up with Lana's Aunty Tracey, cousin Aaron and great friends Dixie, Gray and Dorry here in Orlando. Noah has been a big hit and has loved all the attention from everyone. He still hasn't stopped smiling.

On Wednesday we drove down to Fort Lauderdale for a night to check out some lovely yachts and beaches. Lots of fun.
Tomorrow we are taking Noah on a road trip up to Auburn Alabama to visit Lana's cousin Josh and his wife Kristy and see Dixie's family. We will continue on through Georgia to visit Lana's cousin Chelsea in Atlanta and then onto to explore North and South Carolina before returning to Florida. We will celebrate our 2nd wedding anniversary on September 3. A great time to be over here, as we were married in the Florida Keys (Key West) 2 years ago. Life for us at the moment is just MAGIC!

We had a slick trip from Townsville to Cairns with our first leg taking us via Palm and Orphieus Islands, into a very shallow Hinchinbrook Passage for an overnight stay in a mangrove lined inlet. The following day was one out of 'Gorillas in the Mist' being unable to see either shoreline as we passed inside Hinchinbrook and anchored at a very "lumpy" yet clear-skied Dunk Island overnight. Mourilyan Harbour was only a hop up the coast and a great anchorage where we witnessed a huge sugar pulp ship being loaded overnight to leave with us on the high tide the following morning. Our plan was to push north but as we approached the mouth of the Johnson River with a high tide on our side we made, what turned out to be, a great decision to sail inland to Innisfail where we arrived with most of the day to explore where Lana's mum spent some time as a teenager. Leaving early the next day to catch the tide we had one of our fastest passages to Fitzroy Island arriving for a late lunch and then deciding to continue on to Cairns and into Marlin Marina. This Marina is right in the heart of the city within waking distance to all that you need.

Cairns turned the weather on for us with the first break from rain experienced by the locals in almost 6 weeks. With the esplanade, cafes, parks and people aplenty we had a relaxing time walking and exploring with Noah continually being entertained as new life experiences unfolded before him. With many and varied (both in types and talent) street theatre acts the fire twirler had Noah mesmerised and one particular busker turned him off bongo drums forever!!

Rob and Wendy, the crew from "ScallyWag", were in Cairns to welcome us, drink coffee and beer and eat "ribs". We first met Rob and Wendy in Pancake Creek in the early part of the year and after seeing them in Gladstone and the Whitsundays they continued on to Cairns and ALL in their 25 ft Holland mono-hull!!! Noah's Nan and Pop Robbo from Tas came to visit and brought much joy and loads of smiles from Noah and we had a great relaxing time together. Continuing on the social side of things we caught up with some landlubber friends in Lindsay and Margaret Benson, their son and family Benno and Yvonne (Lucy and Ollie), and friends Nadine, Dot and Rhonda, Kaye and Laura with whom we both knew from our work in the Torres Straits. (Photos from this part of the trip will have to be updated when we return to Australia).

A quick trip to Yorkies Knob (Bluewater Marina), we locked up the boat and headed back into town for a couple of nights at the casino before our trip to the USA. It was amazing sleeping in a king sized bed and chilling in the spa after 6 months of a very comfortable yet restricted time on Maripi. Obama, here we come!

We've really been enjoying the inland waterways on our way North this year. First Moreton Bay and now the Great Sandy Strait. Of course, Te Moana has an advantage here with its shallow draft. Nevertheless, with a bit of care most yachts can (and do) enjoy this area.

And with a chart plotter, even a dog can find its way.

We enjoyed traveling North from Southport "behind" Stradbroke Island.

After receiving encouraging reports from others on the "Beyond Barrenjoey" mailing list, we decided to take the Canaipa Passage rather than the Main Passage. We were very pleased with the well marked track, only dropping a touch below 2.0 meters on a couple of occasions. We also received some excellent local advice from VMR Jacobs Well and bypassed the Jumpinpin area by using Whalleys Gutter and Mackenzie Channel. Beacon to Beacon is definitely a must-have here. A screendump from our chart plotter is reproduced below.

 

Yesterday we had a long but easy motor-sailing day from Mooloolaba, leaving at 0400. We crossed Wide Bay bar, which was looking flat and un-threatening (not as much fun as last time) and arrived at Garrys Anchorage behind Fraser Island in late afternoon.

This morning we awoke to a glorious morning. We briefly turned on the radio and breakfast television, but decided that the world was a better place when undisturbed by politics and argy bargy.

We left Southport today and Joy says we’ve really left now :-)

We’re taking our time going “on the inside” of Stradbroke and Moreton Islands and are currently anchored at Short Island, our first stop and expect to get to Mooloolaba on Sunday.

That is six days later than originally planned, but this was never going to be a “planned cruise” in the sense of needing to be anywhere on a certain date.

If you would like to keep up with where we are and what we’re doing, here are a bunch of ways to do so:

 

• Skipr.net – We’ll post our position daily and more often on interesting/important passages.
• Te Moana blog – that’s where we post pictures and stories
• The Planet Skipr mailing list – Te Moana is one of the boats featured on the list (effectively, blog posts are emailed at most once a day).
• Twitter – Hey, we’re 21st century dudes.
• Te Moana SailPlan – an online spreadsheet which we use to plan our cruise – usually not more than a few days ahead (typically no further ahead than the weather forecast)

Links to these items also appear on the front page of the Te Moana blog (centre column)

We've been snug on the Southport marina on the Gold Coast since Monday, so the poor weather this week hasn't bothered us. We now expect to take the "back road" behind Stradbroke Island, across Moreton Bay to Mooloolaba - departing Friday and getting there on Sunday.

We've been spending our time here doing all the little jobs on the boat which by rights we should have done before we left and taking a breather from the inevitable anxiety over whether “we turned off the gas”. As you can see on the photo above, Te Moana is ready to sail again.

Craig (who ‘delivered’ Joy and Jake to the boat) left today on his way home (via Broken Hill or somewhere). Bon Voyage Craig.

[Updated] David McKay, responding to a previous post commented: "What happened with the boom? Your viewers back home want warts and all you know"?

To the best of my knowledge, here is the sequence of events:

We had a rough night and the rope I was using as a preventer wore through, causing some unintentional gybes until we restored the preventer(Dark night, running South with 35-40 Knots gusts, 4 m seas).

Part of the gooseneck, attaching the boom to the mast, failed the next day in very mild conditions when Leon was "shaking out" the number one reef. It could be that the part had failed earlier and that our single line reefing system had prevented any drama - the boom was being supported by the reefing lines.

Was it longer term metal fatigue - the fracture showed a brittle quality rather than a clean break. When did the part actually break after being weakened?

What we do know:

• The line I was using as a preventer was not up to the task and wore through  where I had attached it to the end of the boom.
• We should have reefed to #2 before conditions deteriorated, putting less strain on the gear.
• The boat handled the conditions really well and we were not aware of any breakage during the night.
• When the part really failed, it was not at all dramatic. The boat kept sailing on its downwind course and we had plenty of time to do a controlled drop of the sail.

We found someone in Southport this morning who is willing to build a replacement part at short notice.

[Update 11 August] Here is the result:

The repaired part fitted in quite easily. However, it took a fair bit of effort to tidy up the sail and lazy bag. And we found that the second batt from the top had disintegrated. Evolution Sails made up a new batt for us today and the boat is ready to continue on its way.

Mind you the weather is not looking that flash for the next 24 hours, so we might claim another lay day tomorrow (Thursday).

The start of a new day at sea. We’re just 10 NM South East of Yamba. The wind is still from the South at around 12-15 Knots. We just put up the screecher and let the wind carry us again.

It was a bit of a rough night last night, particularly around Port Stephens and Seal Rocks with gusty winds up to 30 knots and rain squalls. While we were well equipped to handle it between the four of us, I was pretty tired this morning and took a nap at 0900. I was about to get up, when Leon called out: “Marius, the boom has come down”. Chris was quickly up on deck inspecting the damage.

The gooseneck fitting had broken through metal fatigue and had snapped. As we were sailing with the wind in our back, the boom simply dropped on the deck and the boat kept sailing.

We hoisted the boom off the deck with the reefing lines and secured it before dropping the sail and securing it and the boom to  “resting place” on the cabin roof.

 

We decided to keep going (motoring using the headsail where practical) to The Gold Coast where we’ll look for someone to make a replacement for us. All in all, I’m very pleased that we managed the situation well and feel lucky that it didn’t happen last night…

Joy and I are going North for a couple of months. To give us head start, a few friends are helping take the boat half way – to Mooloolaba, just North of Brisbane. We just left and are currently motoring up Pittwater. We’re hoping to catch a Southerly and speed past Newcastle. Keep an eye on our track at Skipr.net.

Leon, MIchael, Chris and Marius just before departure (photo: Studio WIndsong)

We had a quick trip up to Pittwater on a rare sunny day.  (View Post...)

The blog has gone quiet but we have not been idle. David has had a few articles published in Cruising Helmsman and finally has made the cover. See it here. (Continued...)

This weekend we launched a re-design of the skipr.net website.  We’ve overhauled its user interface and laid the foundations for a range of new features to help cruising sailors and everyone else  interested in the tracking the movement of recreational vessels. This post describes a few of the new features.

Navigation the site

While it has a different look and feel, navigating the site should be straightforward for existing as well as new users. As a boat owner, when  logged in, you’ll find the essential features under the “My Boat” menu item.

This blog and other useful information are accessible from the “Goodies” menu. We made a start to create a concise list of items of interest to the cruising sailing community there. Feel free to suggest  additions or critique inclusions!

Where is that boat?

You can now find the location of a boat:

• From the front page listing of the 30 boats which most recently reported their position.
• Through  searching for a boat by name
• Through the “Currently Cruising” map display

When a boat’s details are displayed, by default the map now only includes most recent 30 days of reports. However, users can also specify the displayed dates below the map. As well, boat owners can override the default “start date” in their control panel.

Keeping in Touch

You’ll find a list of boats which use blogs to document their travels on the Links and Lists page. You can automatically receive emailed posts to those blogs  by subscribing to the PlanetSkipr list there.

And of course you can subscribe to the Beyond Barrenjoey mailing list here if you’d like to join the conversation with other sailors who have an interest in coastal cruising.

And finally, we welcome your comments, compliments and criticisms here, or by emailing skipper@skipr.net

(Airlie Beach, Hamilton Island, Townsville)

Over the past few weeks we have enjoyed spending time with family and friends both on and off the boat. Pete and Dee (Noah’s Queensland Grandparents) met us in Airlie Beach, where we spent three nights ashore in an apartment overlooking the ocean – a different perspective for us. This time also gave the opportunity to catch up with our mate Lawrence who drove down to visit us from Townsville where he was holidaying. Pete and Dee joined us for a couple of nights on the boat after we left Airlie Beach, visiting Nara Inlet, Whitsunday Island and Hamilton Island. Dee caught the first fish of the night and Pete tried to claim it as his – see photo. Not to be outdone, Pete actually caught a few of his own as well. We waved goodbye from Maripi as they left on the ferry back to Airlie Beach, after a fun filled week - a special time for Noah. Thanks Pete and Dee for coming up to visit us!

The following day Noah’s Aunty Lauren flew in to join us on Hamilton Island with Aunty Nay (Lana’s cousin) also joining us the next day. The girls spent four days with us enjoying Noah, the pool, bar, golf buggy drives, shopping, a Maripi boat cruise to Whitehaven Beach and did we mention the bar! We stayed in the Hamilton Island Marina for a week, enjoying all the island had to offer. The berth we were allocated was only vacated the night before by James Packer’s 80ft motor yacht. Maripi took up 1/3 of the space of the berth and was flanked by multi-million dollar motor yachts. Lucky us! Ian our neighbour generously offered us the use of his golf cart which we zipped around in to see the sights and coincidentally Warren on the next boat over was an old friend of Ro’s Dad’s. We really enjoyed our week on Hamilton with everyone.

We set sail for Townsville via Cape Gloucester and Cape Bowling Green, which we have now renamed Cape Rolling Green, after a very uncomfortable overnight anchorage. Our passage from Cape Gloucester to Cape Rolling Green of 80 nautical miles was completed in daylight hours, with the assistance of our spinnaker and 20-25knot winds - a great effort by Maripi. Arriving in Townsville in record time, our lines were taken by our great friends Craig and Robyn from Unhinged. Totally spoilt, Robyn cooked us a beautiful 3 course meal that night, which we shared together aboard Maripi. We celebrated Ro’s birthday on Monday 19th. Noah took Ro to visit the Maritime Museum and it was there we gained more information about the tragic shipwreck of the Yongala, lost without a trace during a cyclone in 1911. 120 lives were lost that night and her position and fate remained a mystery until soon after World War 2. There were no survivors. We had read about it in an old book years ago called Famous Australian Ship Wrecks. That night we went out for a special dinner returning to Maripi to find Craig and Robyn waiting with a birthday cake. Continuing the birthday theme we celebrated Craig’s birthday on the 25th with breakfast at the Casino.

Ro took Noah for his first swimming lesson at the Tobruk Memorial Baths (the local pool) where Dawn Fraser once trained. The instructor said that Noah was a natural in the water. Must be all the practice he has had so far in the ocean. The best part was watching Noah laugh while Ro (the only father in the pool) and all mother’s splashed around singing “If you’re happy and you know make a splash!”
We are now sailing north – with our next major destination being Cairns. Our route is planned via Orphieus Island, Hinchinbrook Channel, Dunk and Fitzroy Islands.
Fish count A=48 R=37

We’re doing a major revision of the skipr website and expect to bring it online later this week. At this stage, we’re expecting the site (including this blog) to be off the air for a few hours on Friday morning (23 July), while we bring the new site online.

We probably don’t spend enough time questioning the accuracy of our charts.

“How accurate are nautical charts? How much faith can be placed in them? Unfortunately, the answer is quite complex – far more complex than simply saying one chart is accurate whilst another is not. However, having the necessary skills should be essential for any mariner venturing into unfamiliar waters.”

That’s the beginning of a very useful paper by Mike Prince, the Director of charting at the Australian Hydrographic Service. Download it from the Hydrographic Office site.

(Whitsunday Island - Hill Inlet – Whitehaven Beach - Tongue Bay)

Following a couple of nights at Windy Bay, 'Maripi', 'Aquavista' and 'Swanning Around' cruised in company back across the bay to Hill Inlet on the northern end of Whitehaven Beach. Not able to be navigated at low tide, the 3 cats “nosed” our way into the inlet on the incoming tide on a “snake-like” course until we found a couple of deep holes about a mile or so inland surrounded by mangroves, rocky outcrops, sandbanks and (the namesake) hills. With one on the wheel and the other on the bow searching for the darker, deep water the depth became very 'skinny' at times with unsuspecting sting-rays darting left, right and centre! We, in fact, were able to dry “Maripi” out for the first time since we slipped her in Hobart in Nov last year. It was a great opportunity to inspect the anti-foul which has held up well!
Sharing meals, fishing, walks on Whitehaven, more stories and laughs, fantastic weather and celebrating Brett and Deb’s 15th wedding anniversary all led to an unforgettable time spent with great friends. Noah has continued to be a drawcard to “trump” anything else! Now sitting up and continuing his smiley way everyone comments on his happy and playful nature, so he is winning hearts everywhere. As we left Hill Inlet with 'Swanning Around', leaving Pat and Phil behind to head south in a couple of days, we look forward to the time we all find ourselves in the same bay together once again.
Now to the update on the fish count! With the major fish being Lana’s Nara Inlet Salmon and a Javelin Fish caught by Ro in Hill Inlet and a few other less significant hauls, the fish count now stands at 43 – 34 in 'You know who’s' favour!!! We would love to have added Lana’s shark and Ro’s big trevally but, alas, they both got away!
Tomorrow we plan to spend the night at anchor in Cid Harbour before heading into Airlie Beach to meet up with Noah’s Gold Coast Nanny and Pop for a few days.

We have a star in our midst! Noah at the ripe old age of 5 months had made his first appearance on national television with a full screen picture on the Today Show where the male presenter Carl said “What a beautiful baby”. No wonder he gets paid the big bucks with intuition like that. Lana emailed a photo in just the day before and someone with great taste at the other end chose it for the morning photo.
Now back to our travels. From Brampton we arrived at Shaw Island, opposite Lindeman Island, where we sheltered from some strong winds for a couple of days in a beautifully protected anchorage. Shaw is a national park which offered great fishing, black lip oysters shucked off the rocks, exciting beachcombing on the 'weather' side and constant company around the boat from the local turtles. Passing Hamilton on the way to Dent Island, we arrived on the north eastern tip of Dent where Ro’s Grandmother’s cousin Leenie and her husband Bill first established a Coral Art business after World War II. Ro last visited this place at the age of 12, but sadly Leenie and Bill have both passed on and the leasehold sold and business has closed down. We thank the caretakers, John and Liz for allowing Ro to revisit a fond childhood memory. From Dent we journeyed across the passage to South Mole which is still glowing after 52 years since Ro’s parents spent their honeymoon there. After leaving South Mole through the confidence diminishing 'Unsafe Passage', we anchored on a milky sea for the night off Daydream Island in Sun-lovers Cove.
From Daydream we anchored for a couple of nights in Funnel Bay on the mainland before heading to Airlie Beach to restock supplies, refuel, fill water tanks, fix a minor electrical problem, and more importantly ditch Noah’s nappies.
With the gap in the fish count increasing in Lana’s favour (40-31), Ro hopped in the kayak after anchoring in Airlie Beach in a desperate search for help returning from the tackle shop with some fancy plastic lures! Let’s see how they go!
Not to be outdone on pulling stuff out of the sea, Ro found a tool box of stainless steel fittings followed be a sunken 25ft yacht both probably resultant of the latest cyclone. 5 deck winches and one anchor later – Ro is winning the salvage count although Lana reminds him that you can’t eat winches!
Now entering our 3rd week in the Whitsundays we spent this morning with our friends Phil and Pat from Aqua Vista at the local markets here in Airlie Beach and are now heading out for 10 days to further explore Hook, Hayman and Whitsunday Islands as well as other lesser known but beautiful islands, reefs and bays.

At Blue Pearl Bay Hayman Island, we rendezvoused with our friends Robyn and Craig on ‘Unhinged’ with whom we had spent quality time with in Mooloolaba earlier in the year. They were making a quick trip through the Whitsundays on route to Townsville due to work commitments. From there we sailed in company around Hayman and into Butterfly Bay on the north side of Hook Island where we had a great night catching up in a pristine anchorage surrounded by coral bombies.
The following morning after we shared fresh scones with Robyn and Craig, they continued north and we sailed around the western side of Hook Island and into Nara Inlet. This inlet offers great protection from the south east winds with encroaching forest down to the waterline. We were able to tuck ‘Maripi' right up into the inlet. Soon after we anchored we took the dinghy ashore and walked up through a rainforest to explore aboriginal caves and their paintings. Noah always enjoys our walks as it seems he already has a beautiful fascination for nature.
It was here Lana caught another fish! A fighting 8kg salmon almost caused the handline to cut through her fingers but she ended up wrapping the line around one of the boat winches to pull the monster in.

Passing through Hook Passage which separates Hook Island from Whitsunday Island, we anchored for another walk at Tongue Bay. From the lookout we captured expansive views of Whitehaven Beach, Hill Inlet and across Whitehaven Bay to Haselwood Island. This is a really popular tourist anchorage with some 350 visitors going ashore and up to the lookout each day. Ro was in his element surrounded by some famous past Sydney to Hobart racing yachts such as Condor, Freight Train and Ragamuffin who now ply the “back-packer” trade route. Weighing anchor we sailed past Esk Island to Windy Bay on the north west tip of Haselwood Island, where we were excited to be joined by friends Pat and Phil on Aqua Vista as well as new friends, Deb and Brett, on ‘Swanning Around’ - a beautiful sailing catamaran that they spent 2 and a half years building themselves.
Dinner that night was a real affair on ‘Swanning Around” – great food, company and lots of laughs. While on the subject of food... Noah has cracked into the solids and is not looking back. Early the following morning we all went ashore for a few hours of bush-bashing, reef walking, beachcombing and shucking big black lip oysters off the rocks. Over the course of the next few days the 7 of us experienced a most memorable time sharing stories, food, ideas, philosophies and many many laughs.

I Must Be Dreaming

Birthday surprise.

Crystal Blues is anchored on the very peaceful Sungai Tulai, and the sun is just peeping through the open hatches.  I'm still sleeping when I hear a choir of sweet young voices singing (very quietly) "Happy Birthday."  Of course I think I'm dreaming, so I lay in bed, sleeping, drifting off.  Then the choir starts up again, a little louder, and through the fog I realise - this is for real ! The singing is coming from the cockpit !  I stumble out of bed and through sleepy eyes I see nine children, a stack of gifts and a beautiful cake with candles burning.  After blowing out the candles, and opening the gifts, the children paddle home in their canoes.  What a fantastic way to start our birthday !

Then I turn on the computer.  As soon as Skype loads birthday messages and calls come flooding in.  Gary and Sue on SV Yaringa made a quick video call from Japan, just before they depart on passage to Alaska.  Our Seirra Wireless modem and the Celcom data card is provividng excellent service up here in the jungle. I quickly emailed some of the birthday images to Neil, who is still in Singapore.  Our birthdays will be spent apart, as Neil flew back to India and Singapore for a week of work.

Kikki and Betty preparing the middin fern

Jabu and Chanda suggested a barbecue in the jungle one afternoon and invited all the cruisers.  A children's committee was formed, menu and costings were calculated.  Coconut rice in bamboo, hot dogs, marinated chicken wings, fish bits, sausages and midden fern were on the menu.  I added an Aussie touch with potatoes in foil, cooked in the coals.  Next morning we speed off in the dinghy to purchase the supplies and others prepared the barbecue area and cut down the bamboo for the rice.
  

New reading glasses and big smiles!

Jampie collecting the latex

Although this was our fifth visit to the longhouse, we had never visited a rubber plantation.  This year our good friend Jampie asked us if we would like to go and watch him tap and collect the white, silky latex.  Robert and Elaine (SV Sunrise) joined Ley and the kids early one morning to watch Jampie.  We saw the simple tool that is used to just skim open the the bark each morning.  He carefully poured the collected latex into a bottle and then turned over each cup so that the mosquitoes could not breed in them.     

Jentang and Asat rolling out the rubber.

The latex is then taken back to the long house and mixed with a coagulating chemical (an acid), left to firm up and then pressed out into rubber slabs.  These are then dried and sold off to the traders in town. Even after four years of visiting Rumah Lidam, we are still amazed by their culture and life skills.

Crackerjack sailing conditions saw us arrive at Hexham Island in good time as the anchorage glassed over for the late afternoon and evening. Ro ventured ashore to take some terrific pictures of Maripi from the top of the hillside overlooking the bay. On the shoreline Ro discovered what looked to be the remains of a small keel boat which may have met its fate during the cyclone that passed through the Whitsundays to the north earlier this year. With one cast of the bait net Ro caught over 100 ‘hardy heads’ his best cast yet. Note – this did not add to his fish count!
Middle Percy Island is typically the last anchorage before moving on to the Whitsundays and in an A Frame shed on the beach in West Bay the names of many a yacht passing this way over the past 50 years has left a record of her visit. Maripi has now been added to the shrine (see photos). You could spend all day looking through the shed if you wanted to, reading about the history of the island and the many cruising vessels that have called at this Mecca.
We headed to Scawfell Island, 60 nautical miles North West of Middle Percy in a steady 10 knot breeze averaging 6.5 knots. Scawfell Island is basically the most southern of all the Whitsunday islands. The weather forecast was for winds no greater than 15 knots, but within half an hour of our departure from Scawfell the winds far exceeded the forecast, gusting the strongest at over 30knots with a constant 20-25 knots on our beam. The combination of wind, tide and relatively shallow water saw the seas grow at times to 3.0m. Although it was a fairly quick trip of only 3 hours, this was by far our most unpleasant passage yet. With our trusty boat and Captain Ro at the helm we were well in control of the situation and arrived safely to Brampton Island where we anchored last night. We plan to spend the next 6 weeks exploring as many of the islands as we can through the upcoming “100 magic miles”.
Noah has decided to continue cruising with us as he is about to enter an adventure all of his own – SOLIDS! He will be 5 months old next week. All he wants to do is stand-up; he may even bypass the crawling stage. Greeting us every morning with a big smile on his face, his day consists of lots of playful times, laughing attacks and more goos and gars. Forever active, he loves kicking his legs and bouncing in his jolly jumper which Ro cleverly attached for him in the cockpit. With vision to his future, Lana has replaced his favourite toy (cookie monster) with a Wilson US OPEN tennis ball. Already his hand eye co-ordination looks promising for court side seats at Wimbledon in 2026. Ha!

With some local knowledge passed on by our friend Ginny, our next anchorage at Pine Trees Point rates highly amongst our favourite anchorages thus far. We were aware that we only had two days to enjoy all that this pretty, remote place had to offer before potentially being blown out of the water with live firing exercises set to commence on Monday June 7th.
Lana set off in the kayak and discovered the most beautiful little inlet full of bream, bait fish, sting rays and one big, black, ugly, wild bush pig, with which Ro later had a stand off. Further in the inlet, under an amazing rock (see photos) there lived a year’s supply of bream. A few of which ended up in our frying pan for lunch.
This was probably our most peaceful and isolated time so far. No other boats, no distant lights or sign of human existence, just surrounded by gorgeous wildlife and landscape with plenty of fish to eat. We felt like the only 3 people on earth.
Under a clear sky and a waning moon, we lay in awe on the deck and marvelled at the blanket of bright stars above us and contemplated our significance and existence.
Fish Count – 28 ALL

After a delayed departure on Wed 2nd June from Roslyn Bay (where Ro had to install a new fuel pump), we set off on a 42 nm passage to Pearl Bay. Starting in glassy conditions with the wind increasing to no more than 10 knots throughout the day, we enjoyed hugging the picturesque coastline with the highlight being joined by a pod of beautiful dolphins. They played on the bow waves and stayed with us for 10 special minutes. We also spotted a tail flick from a whale in the distance.
Entering Pearl Bay was like entering the Fjords in Northern Europe, with pine tree covered islands and rocky coastline extending to the water line with great depths and protected anchorage.
Timing is everything. Not only did we strike amazing weather but this vast area is part of the Shoal Water Military Training Area and is often closed to the public. In fact, civilians are not permitted to venture beyond the shoreline at any time. In times of military exercise involving air, navy and army the exclusion zone extends some 6 nautical miles off the coast.
We spent two days in Pearl Bay exploring the beach and sea caves in the cliffs on the kayak.

Our Caribe "car" with a load of Iban visitors

We always think of our inflatable dinghy as our "car".  Here in Borneo, on the river Sungai Tulai, it is the quickest way for us to get to town, and really the only way to move around - visiting the long houses or bringing visitors to our boat.  Built by Caribe in Venezuela, it's now ten years old and still going strong.  On our last visit here the Caribe carried a mother in labour to hospital - and that child was named after Ley.  Last week it carried a badly injured young man to the same hospital, after he was involved in an accident in the longhouse.  Bleeding badly, he was carried from the longhouse in a woven sling under a stout pole and loaded onto the floor.  We hear that he survived, but may not have use of his fingers.


There are three yachts now visiting the longhouses here on Sungai Tulai for the Gawai festival.  Yesterday afternoon the three cruising women decided to add a bit of glamour for the local girls.  They gathered up nail files, polish, polish remover and a splash of perfume, and headed into the long house.                                                                        
Ley gave a quick talk on  manicure and nail polishing techniques.  Nails were cleaned and filed, cuticles pushed down and then the painting began. One coat of clear base, two coats of colour and then two top protective coats - all in fairly rapid succession.  Extreme speed nail painting followed, but we all had a great time and many beautifully manicured hands were seen in the long house that evening. Many thanks to Kikki from SV Endelig and Christina from SV Roxy for helping hands and the perfume.

(Roslyn Bay & Yeppoon)

Noah and I have spent the last 10 days here at Roslyn Bay Marina eagerly awaiting our Captain’s return. Ro left for Tassie on Friday 21st and arrives back home to us tomorrow Monday 31st! His loving crew are very excited – we have missed him so much!

Lucky for us the first 4 days were spent with Nanny Dee, who flew up to visit us on the boat. We enjoyed our time together with her as we explored the surrounding areas of Emu Park, Zilzie and Yeppoon by car, as well as daily walks to the beach and lots of cuddles with Noah. Thanks for coming up to visit Mum, it was fun.

For the past week, the little first mate and I have been flying solo here on the boat. We caught up with Alison and Ric (AKA Crabman) who we spent time with at Yellow Patch earlier this month. Alison surprised us by giving Noah a beautiful little blue jumper and matching beanie, that she so kindly hand knitted for him. Thanks Alison, Noah will enjoy wearing his new outfit over the next couple of months on those fresh mornings. We also caught up with Anna and Garth (The Honeymooner’s) who we met on Great Keppel Island. We were invited to their house in Cooee Bay for two delicious dinners during the week. Very spoilt! We think Noah and Bonnie might get married one day. Ha! Bonnie should be so lucky - Get in line baby!

Noah is growing quickly – He is 4 and a half months old this week. How time flies. His latest trick is blowing lots of bubbles and trying to talk. There are many goos and gars and he is still full of wide smiles and chuckles. It’s fun watching him discover everything for the first time. Like pumpkin puree....see photos. For now Noah is still only having breast milk, but we experimented with the pumpkin just to see his reaction. There will be plenty of time to get onto solids, as he certainly isn’t fading away. Ha!

With some time to myself, I have managed to start a special book for Noah about his first year of life at sea. Unfortunately, the fact that I have no artistic ability won’t help my presentation of the book. Oh well, if nothing else I hope Noah will enjoy looking at the photos and reading the stories about how he spent his first year of life on a boat called Maripi, sailing the East Coast of Australia. I hope this may this inspire him to live his life a little on the tilt, full of adventure and endless possibilities. My most favourite book of all time is Dr Seuss’s classic “Oh the places you’ll go”. It is profound in its simplicity and I have had the pleasure of reading it to many of my school students over the years. Now I look forward to reading it to Noah over and over again. If you haven’t ever read it, I encourage you to as well – You will love it! Here is the first paragraph.

"Congratulations, Today is your day. You're off to Great Places! You're off and away!You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own.And you know what you know. And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go."

So with our Captain back tomorrow, and the crew complete, we will be en route to the Whitsundays. No doubt it will be a highlight of our year.

Fish count A=23 R=22.
The weather here at GKI has been absolutely PERFECT! Sunshine, blues skies and glass outs. How lucky we are! We up anchor everyday to explore a new bay, coral reef, walk on the beach, dive, fish and spear. We have eaten fresh fish every night since we have been here. Noah met his namesake (Noah’s Arkie Sharkie) washed up on the beach a couple of days ago. A bull shark whose very presence, although dead as a door nail, put a little wind up us in regards to our snorkelling explorations and hunting. But nevertheless the water is too beautiful to be deterred.
We continue to catch up with yachty friends that we’ve made along the way. The network of e-mails, radio scheds and information from other boats ensures an up to date communiqué between boats. For example Maripi’s big sister’ Omazey’ whom we met up the Mary River anchored close by us here for two nights with some tools borrowed from us to effect repair on their yacht. At times you feel like you are the only boat on the ocean and then you round up into a bay and see familiar hull shapes and faces. Some valuable and memorable times have been spent here with new friends Mark and Deb and their 10 year old son Fraser, spear fishing and chewing the fat.
Great Keppel Island is currently embroiled in a political dispute. The once vibrant and colourful island resort has been closed for the past few years, whilst the developer continues to fight the government for what some would say is a ridiculous redevelopment plan, including a marina and golf course (Hamilton Island style). So instead of maintaining the resort as is throughout the dispute process, the owner has pulled up stumps, taken his bat and ball and left the field, leaving behind a fenced off, boarded up multi-million dollar resort to succumb to the encroaching effects of Mother Nature. A swimming pool that Ro can remember doing back flips into only 5 years ago (whilst on a school trip from Tassie) is now unrecognisable. A sad and strange energy was present as we walked through there. Fortunately, the owners of the camp ground, bar and restaurant have regained control from the developer and were able to re-open with only 2 years absence and even then the task was huge to restore the facilities.
Celebrating their honeymoon on Great Keppel Island, we met Anna and Garth and their 4 month old gorgeous little girl Bonnie. Garth, originally from Tassie is a GP at Yeppoon. They married last weekend and escaped to the island for a little getaway following a week of celebrations with family and friends. We invited them out on the boat for what we refer to as ‘The honeymoon cruise’. They enjoyed snorkelling off the boat, while we kept both Bonnie and Noah entertained. Got a glimpse of what it would be like having twins!! We shared a fantastic day with them and Noah enjoyed his first date.
We have been following Jessica Watson’s blog over the past few months, especially after meeting and spending time with members of her team at the Mooloolaba marina. Yesterday afternoon we sailed into a beautiful bay (with tv reception) and were able to witness Jessica’s home coming from such an epic voyage. We are in awe and very proud of her achievements. What a AMAZING young lady.

(Gladstone – Cape Capricorn-Yellow Patch)

We have spent the last 4 days tucked away in a pristine inlet on the north east coast of Curtis Island – called Yellow Patch; named for its distinctive pumpkin coloured sand dune. Again we have struck it lucky meeting Rick and Alison on their 42 ft luxurious Sea Ray Cruiser ‘Lady Diane’ – To us yachties we refer to these as “stink boats" but quietly very much admire them as well. Rick AKA “Crab Man”, loves mud crabs and ‘everything’ to do with fishing. We have feasted for the last two nights on his abundance of delicious mud crabs, to the point that we might be starting to grow claws and walk sideways ourselves! We have both taken turns in heading inland with Crab Man to pull the pots deep into mangrove territory, amazed at the beauty of the surroundings and wildlife.

To clarify the fishing competition rules, we can only add to our score when both of us are fishing at the same time. Therefore our score is a lot less that the actual amount of fish we are bagging. To this point we are 16 all. Here in Yellow Patch we have managed to catch an array of species including flathead, trevally, bream, flounder, stripey, whiting and a big fat ugly toad fish. Ro is mastering the art of cast netting, half filling the bucket with bait fish with just a few casts.

Yesterday, we went on a morning adventure which included a run in the dinghy, a climb up the sand dune with a height of at least 20m and a walk across the sand drift onto of the dune, where we felt like Lawrence of Arabia. If we walked a little further we would have reached the ocean on the other side, but having not prepared for such a long walk with little, but ever growing, Noah we decided to enjoy the view and soak in the “serenity “-a bit like Darryl from the movie “The Castle”. Check out the photos, they are great!

Earlier in the week back in Gladstone, we observed that when one wakes up the only decision needed is, “Which high visibility shirt will I wear today – the fluorescent green or fluoro orange?” This reflects a culture surrounding a town built around industry and mining. We were pleasantly surprised at what Gladstone has to offer with an excellent marina and harbour full of islands and bays to explore. We had a great time catching up with Ro’s sister Cherene and family.
After leaving Gladstone we decided to take the North Channel rather than up the Narrows as conditions were favourable for a fast 30 nm sail to Cape Capricorn where we spent a night awaiting high tide to successfully negotiate the tricky passage into beautiful Yellow Patch just a few miles away.

It’s Mother’s Day today, my very first and one I will always remember fondly thanks to the two gorgeous boys in my life. At 7:30am after feeding Noah, I jumped in the dinghy with Crab Man Rick and headed up the creek for a morning cruise to pull the crab pots. Upon my return Ro had cooked me pancakes with strawberry jam and cream....not good for the waistline – but a special treat. Ro had also stuck a note on Noah with some special words for Mother’s Day and an arrow saying Look under me.....I discovered a box complete with a big bow under the couch – It was a brand new hair dryer. So wonderful, as mine broke a little while ago. Although Ro said “It’s a pity I can’t use it on the boat as our inverter won’t accommodate the spark required. Ha! Oh Well, I shall just have to wait and doll up when we reach our next port. From here at Yellow Patch we will head to Great Keppel Island and surrounds before heading into Yeppoon.

1770 was all that we thought it might be- an idyllic, small, romantic, undeveloped coastal chill haven with a one hour walk to a more upbeat, modern beachside town of Agnes Waters with PUB. Beer and coffee at “The Tree Cafe’”, stand-up paddle boarding, morning dinghy rides for coffee from the marina and some special sunsets watched from the back deck with Noah. We were at anchor for six glorious days before heading for a 40 miles voyage to Fitzroy Reef.

Talk about MAGIC .......Fitzroy Reef Lagoon was like a millpond the day we entered (Anzac Day) after a perfect passage under sail timed to hit the tight entrance into the lagoon at low tide. With reef either side and Alana on the bow guiding us in, we entered mirror like waters, able to view fish at 8 metres deep feeding from the coral making our way to anchor in 10 metres where the bottom could be clearly seen and coral bombies avoided. The sky literally met the sea in a whole 360 deg. view that words could not describe as the reef is just that - with no land visible. At high tide it looks like you are just anchored in the middle of the ocean. We spent the day swimming, snorkelling, fishing and lazing about as you do in such a perfect setting.
As the sun started to set nearly a dozen recreational fishing boats joined us in the lagoon for the night for protection with an increase in wind up to nearly 30 knots creating quite a rough night for the smaller trailer able boats. The following morning all of these boats left for a dash for the mainland as it was the end of their long weekend and they had to be home for tea! As the radio traffic reflected throughout the day with increasing wave height outside the lagoon in open waters it reinforced the importance that you should not have a timetable when boating. One 6 metre boat nearly sank with a split hull and others had a terrible ride back to safe harbour. As for us, we had a lovely day at anchor and headed off to Pancake Creek the following day with a smaller sea and less wind.

It was Alana’s idea to head into Pancake as she read some great reviews that held so true to our experience: a safe anchorage, beautiful scenery, great company and more amazing sunsets. We were invited for morning tea which became lunch with Phil and Pat on their 40 ft Cat – Aquavista – which later turned into a boys afternoon of fishing, telling lies and yabbying. Phil and Pat not only are a great couple living their dream and have been for the past few years but also are brilliant mud crabbers in which their generosity proved a bonus for us!! On our last night of 3 in Pancake Creek with 8 boats at anchor we all met on a drying sandbank as the tide exposed it at 4 pm for a party which ended with a sunset to die for and ankle deep water as the sandbar was enveloped by the incoming tide just on dark.

The following morning we set off at sunrise for Gladstone with motor, sail and tide all working for us we made the 30 nm trip in less than 3 and a half hours to be along-side at Gladstone Marina to visit Ro’s sister and family and provision for an extended 2 weeks in the Keppels.
MOST IMPORTANTLY - Alana is now 10 – 8 up on the fish count. She even allowed Ro to count a grotty old catfish to his tally! – Now that is love!

Sailing south from Newcastle with 15-20 kt NW breeze. No swell or waves. Fantastic conditions. We sat on 8-9kts. Sadly the wind built to 25 knots after Norah Head and we ripped the spinnaker getting it down.  (View Post...)

Twilight (View Post...)

We needed to have some touch up work done, and also we needed an excuse to go sailing offshore. So Friday evening saw Diomedea slide out of the harbour before setting the big sexy assy for the passage north to Pittwater. We arrived in Coasters after dark, having to motor the last few miles in the last dregs of breeze. A leisurely Saturday brekky then north again. The forecast was for southerly swinging east so we again had the assy up and soon found ourselves miles out to sea. Rather than gybe we ran wing in wing. By 3pm the breeze had faltered so it was back to the diesel for the last little bit. The easterly change came at about 4.30pm, far too late and too little.  (Continued...)

It was the 11th hour of our 15 hour night passage from Fraser Island to the Town of Seventeen Seventy (1770) that we were thinking when is this boy going to wake up?? Surfing down 2.5m swells at 4am in 25knots of wind, Noah awoke having slept right through for 11 hours straight! What a little legend! If there was ever a night you would hope he would sleep through, this was it! 
1770 bar-way can only be safely crossed heading towards a high tide. In our case this was 8am this morning and therefore necessary to do a night passage. As for Lady Elliott Island the sea conditions would have only dictated an uncomfortable anchorage so we changed plans and headed for 1770.
Beneath a clear and starry night we enjoyed beautiful sailing conditions in 10 - 15 knots for the first half of the 90 nautical mile journey. At this point we fell out of the lee of Fraser Island and experienced the full height of the south-east swell and more squally conditions reaching wind speed of over 25 knots. We were having a ball and Maripi behaved beautifully but with such precious cargo onboard we reduced sail making a more conservative approach to the mainland.
Sitting at anchor in 1770, the first landing for Captain Cook in Queensland in the year (you guessed it) 1770, we are looking forward to a couple of peaceful days discovering this sweet little coastal town and catching more fish.

Had a real ride down the Mary River with the tide pushing our girl along at 10 knots SOG (Speed over ground) at some stages with only one engine going. Plenty of boats upriver including “Maripi’s” big sister – a Prout 45 “Omazey” (Mal and June). Prout is a world famous British design for offshore cats with the record of nil loss at sea and the first catamaran to round Cape Horn. Their masts are well aft creating a highly manageable rig with the drive coming from the large headsail. As for “Maripi” – her design has been well proven having completed 16 Brisbane to Gladstone races with no forced retirements.
It is not always beer and skittles as ours is definitely an adventure and contrasts of experiences are all important if not guaranteed. You start to get used to the smell of roses when they are always in the room! So, after leaving the relative shelter of Mary River we entered once again into the Great Sandy Straits only to experience less than pleasant conditions with rain squalls reducing visibility and calling for a change of plans for our anchorage for the night. It took 3 shots at securing a good footing in steeply shoaling water rising from 15 metres deep to nothing in no time, with a ripping tidal flow making life difficult. Now combine this with whinging pom who takes it upon himself to try to tell me where to anchor and exactly how to go about it with cries from his boat as I was just doing same!!!! Arhhhh – give me 45 knots on the nose in the middle of Bass Strait any day instead of that!!!! So here we are in Kingfisher Bay, Fraser Island in a sloppy anchorage with Captain Pugwash as our neighbour and 10 other boats seeking what shelter can be gained.
On the “beer and skittles” side, Alana cooked a great stir fry washed down with bourbon and coke. She and Noah are sound asleep and I am about to watch an Austin Powers movie. God is good (but he continues to test us with the bloody Poms)!!!

We had a fast flat-water sail along the west coast of Fraser in clear waters, one very bloody long white beach and landmark features including the Arched and Triangle Cliffs (couldn’t see the circle or square nor Big Ted!!). We anchored in Lagoon Anchorage where our fishing competition began. Any of you who know Alana will know that this means serious business!
At 5 fish each (Bream) I was offered a lucky break from my little mate Noah whose cries for hunger gave me the chance to say to Lana, “Step away from the rod”. She was visibly shaken and torn between the competition and her motherly responsibilities. In this ‘no rules” competition I seized the opportunity and baited up once more much to Lana’s disgust and death stares. A few minutes later I had gotten onto what eventuated as a 1m shark. Game on!!! Fish tally Ro 6 –Lana 5 !!!!

Let’s talk a little about Maryborough – after all we travelled 20 nautical miles pushing a 2 knt tide up a muddy, winding, mudflats infested, big logs floating by river to get here. We arrived after a surprisingly picturesque voyage passing poaching fishermen with staked out nets and redneck “what are you lookin’ at” glares, sugarcane crops and farms to be finally greeted by Des – self appointed harbour master who was glad to take our lines. Apparently we are the first southerners to arrive this season heading north for winter. Consequently the chandlery opened its doors and the cafe turned on the espresso machine – but no pipe band!!!!!
Famous for many things, not in the least the birth place of P.L. Travers, the author of the Mary Poppins books and the place of Australia's only outbreak of pneumonic plague in 1905, Maryborough was the place where over 22,000 immigrants took their first step on Australian soil arriving from all parts of the world. It is a place of massive history in agriculture, railway engineering and boat building. A large number of Naval boats were launched here the size and number of which amazed us as we looked at photos in the museum. For what is in reality an inland country town to in-fact be the birth place of so many fine ocean going vessels is indeed out of place. I note, Maryborough was touted as being a real option for the capital of this fine state. There is no nightlife in the city and the pace is pretty slow only coming to life every ‘Market Thursday’ when all forms of life as we know it (and not) come out to play. Sounds very much like Brisbane really!!!
Maryborough is steeped in history with one photo taking our interest in one of the old pubs. (We have taken a photo of the photo if that makes sense!) The caption read “Patriotic Procession 1918” and it struck a real chord in us as to how early on in our great country’s history people actively acknowledge the importance of nation and being towards the end of WW1 patriotism was heading to great heights. I do think we have witnessed a revival over the past decade in regards passion for county which is evident on Australia Day but let’s keep that on the down-low because Alana thinks everyone is just celebrating her birthday on Jan 26!
We met a lovely old couple whom have lived in the area all their lives. Following the war the husband’s father was forced to sell their dairy farm and move the family to town. It broke the poor bloke’s heart so in 1956 he bought 15 acres near town and started growing sugarcane all by hand. He expanded over time to 135 acres and still grows cane and some potatoes (“not like those big bastards you grow in Tassie” he remarked). If the lines across his face were words it would be a best seller we are sure. They go to the pub every Monday night for the mixed grill special without failure.
“Maryborough – a beautiful place that doesn’t seem to be going far but has come a long way”

A 40 knot sou’ east wind, 6 metre swell and waves crashing on either side of the entrance made crossing the Wide Bay Bar extremely treacherous with a couple of boats coming to grief with the total loss of one vessel...........but that was last week.
Our experience was much less stressful.  We left Mooloolaba at 5am to reach Wide Bay Bar at 2pm. The crossing was smooth as Captain Robbo kept his crew safe and sound as his navigation was spot on. We sailed in and spent the next couple of nights in Pelican Bay near Tin Can Bay. Ro took the kayak for a paddle and found treasure in an abandoned sinking vessel close to shore. We are sure there will be lots of interesting treasures to find along our way.
Hit by a thunderstorm on the second night in Pelican Bay creating an amazing light and sound show that kept Noah entertained until he got tired of it and fell into a deep sleep with lightning and thunder crashing around as his lullaby.
Sunshine blessed us as we sailed north through the passage between Fraser Island and the mainland and navigated up the Mary River to Maryborough. It is unlikely that we will do any other upriver expeditions so we thought we would take this chance and spend a couple of days here as a less desirable weather pattern passes. The meals at the Post Office Hotel were worth crossing the oceans for!!!!
Weather permitting we plan to spend a couple of days on the Fraser Is west coast before making passage for Lady Elliott Island and then on to Lady Musgrave Island, Fitzroy Reef and ......???

Well, the Easter Bunny found us as we spent Easter with family and friends on the Gold Coast. Noah was happy to see his Nanny Dee, Pop Pete, Aunty Lauren and Uncle Troy again, along with his Great Grandparents Norm and Shirley, Great Aunty Andy and second cousins Ali and Rhys (and Elisse) at an Easter BBQ. It was good to touch base before we head north again. Jemima and Jock flew up from Tassie to visit their new little brother and spend some quality time with us. Noah has grown a lot since they saw him at his baptism. It was so nice having the 3 kids together sharing Noah’s very first Easter. Noah also enjoyed a beautiful brunch with his mum’s girlfriends (Steph, Celina, Caroline, Amy and Maria at Caroline’s place. Thanks Caz! Noah thinks his mum’s friends are all so special. Also a big thanks to Janene for his special pair of blue crocs –Noah is looking forward to being able to fit into them.  It was also great to catch up with Rizza and Sheila and the girls who were visiting the Gold Coast from Tassie.
We made some great new friends in Mooloolaba – Robyn and Craig (Unhinged) from Newcastle, Ginny and Greg (Spirited – Silver Edition) from Yeppoon and Glen and Marilyn (Tin Soldier) from Canada who we hope to catch up with as we cruise north. Some readers may recognise Ginny and Greg’s yacht as it set the record for the first solo around the world Tasmanian, Australian Grandfather and maybe others with Ken Gourley at the helm. Ginny and Greg are now the very proud owners of ‘Spirited – Silver Edition’

I’ve been busy with some other projects, so part 4 of the AIS series (about full AIS transponders) is on hold – hopefully we’ll get back into it next week.

We had planned to go to Port Hacking with Alfreds Cruising. Unfortunately, the weather looked uninviting and the cruise was cancelled. As the weekend rolled by, the weather wasn't as bad as forecast originally which left us with that "if only" feeling.

 

So we decided to motor "up the creek" towards Bobbin Head on Saturday with an ambition to anchor at Houseboat Bay, close to Bobbin Head. Along the way, it became clear that the rest of the world had the same idea and all the beautiful little bays along Cowan Creek all had their quota of moored and anchored boats.

Much to our surprise however, when we got as far as Bobbin Head, we spotted an unoccupied public mooring! When the permanent moorings were removed there recently, National Parks put in a couple of public moorings (as well as a two in Houseboat Bay). We'll keep them a secret, I think. And as a bonus, we enjoyed a beautiful sunrise on that extra long (25hr) Sunday.

Been chilling out in Mooloolaba waiting to see what Cyclone Ilui was doing and for the seas to settle down before heading north to tackle the well respected Wide Bay Bar - the entrance to Tin Can Bay and the sheltered waters leading inside Fraser Island and into the Sandy Straits. It has been a great opportunity to catch up with a few things on the boat and enjoy all that Mooloolaba has to offer.
The swell has been amazing with surf breaking across the entrance. A boat attempted to leave yesterday whilst Ro was out surfing and lost a passenger overboard (over the bow) when it was hit by a rouge wave. Luckily a wave jumping jet skier got to him in time.

Noah has been treated to daily walks either in his pram or strapped to his Mum or Dad in his "Snuggli" front pack and his life has been pretty much eat, sleep, smile, cry, eat some more and sleep again and ALWAYS filling nappies. We are getting lots of sleep as Noah only wakes up once during the night for a feed. He is an absolute gem. His personality is really showing now and he wants to be part of everything but is restricted being stuck in his little 7 week old body. He is on the move a bit this week and keeping Lana on her toes as his strength and movement increases. This kid will be running in no time!!

We met some great like-minded people on both water and land. At the marina the yatchies are either waiting out the weather as well or still "waiting it out" having arrived in port 10 years ago!! Plenty of "live-a-boards" planning to continue their journey "soon". They have a pretty laid back lifestyle and the general concensus is "It's always 5 o'clock somewhere!!!"
We checked the long range weather today and for the time being it looks like there will be more Mooloolaba-ing, coffee-ing, tag-team swimming, kayaking and surfing, walking, reading, route planning and loving little Noah. We are in no hurry.

We had some parenting guidance given to us at Coles Supermarket from a lovely Indonesian lady who asked "How old dis baby" and upon our reply she said "He should not be outside for 40 days back in my country". We know Noah is pretty special but to be put in excile like the bloke who spent 40 days and nights in the desert could be a bit much for the little fella. Should have seen her face when we told her that he swam in the sea at just 5 weeks! He only swam - not quite walked on water!! :)

Anyway it has been fun catching up with family and friends in the area. We had our first Sunday roast on the boat last night....Beautifully cooked Ro! Next week we will drive down to the Gold Coast to spend Easter with family and hopefully when we return the weather will give us the window to venture north. :)

Set Sail Saturday morning from Sanctuary Cove to Slipping Sands where we were met by our good friends Scotty and Sal and their daughters Lily and Phoebe for a fun farewell Sunday lunch. We spent Sunday night at Myora with dugongs and turtles. Weather was beautiful Monday as we set off to Manly Brisbane for the night where we caught up with more friends. Dolphins were a plenty on our glassy and blue sky crossing to Tangalooma and a beautiful anchorage at Lucinda Bay.
Noah had his very first ocean swim, one of many to come. :)
A 2m swell met us as we left the protection of Moreton Bay and we were pleased to poke our nose into Mooloolaba on the Sunshine Coast before the southerly change. Weather will probably lock us in here for at least the week until it passes. Noah adjusting to boat life well, lots of smiles, nappies and no dummy....well at least not yet! :)

Ro and Lana are delighted to welcome aboard our beautiful son and little shipmate Noah. Now 5 weeks on - We are at sea and heading north! :)

We look forward to many adventures and discoveries on our journey this year as we sail the Queensland Coast onboard Maripi, our faithful catamaran.

We will endeavour to update this blog and post photos regularly. We look forward to hearing from you along the way. Our e-mail address is maripisailing@gmail.com

Keeping in touch with friends and loved ones.
Captain Ro, Lana and first mate little Noah
xx

We finally put up the new sail today, it fit perfectly. I must say that I still think that this sailing stuff is for the birds. One more thing for George to lose his temper with me again. I keep telling him that the Captain is suppose to tell the crew what to do before they start. Crank this, pull that, watch the other. AGH! Cut it all down and get it out of the way for my fishing! (Continued...)

This week we’ll continue our discussion of Class B AIS systems, by looking at the clear trend to incorporate AIS receivers into other items of Marine Electronics.

As we saw last week, one way of simplifying the installation of an AIS receiver is to use an antenna splitter (aka multiplexer) to share the boat’s VHF radio antenna. Taking that concept further, VHF radio manufacturers are now starting to incorporate AIS receiver into the radio itself. An early example was the iCom IC-M505.

 

Recently the Standard Horizon GX2100 (pictured) VHF radio raised the bar with a comprehensive set of features including AIS and even the option of having an AIS display on the microphone.

Inevitably, radios have only a limited display, although they do offer a standard NMEA output to interface with a chart plotter. So, rather than building AIS into a radio receiver to save on the antenna, why not build AIS into a chart plotter?

And yes, it’s been done. Pictured is the Digital Yacht chart plotter which includes a dual channel Class B AIS receiver – just connect a VHF antenna and off you go!

No doubt over the coming period, we’ll see even more options to put a Class B receiver on our boat. Meanwhile here are links to items mentioned this week:

Standard Horizon
iCom
Digital Yacht

Next week, we’ll look at the case for buying a Class B Transponder and be seen as well!

Check out my new blog! (Continued...)

You’re probably aware by now that the original (Class A) Automatic Identification System was designed for commercial shipping. Class B AIS was designed to be simpler (cheaper) to implement and to be suitable for recreational vessels. It is compatible with Class A systems and available either as “Receive Only” or as a “Transceiver”.

In this post we’ll described a range of options for “Receive Only” systems, typically the initial choice of most yachties.

AIS uses two VHF channels to provide redundancy (in case of a failure, one channel might be locked) and responsiveness (you can transmit twice the information). It is a very cleverly designed system which allows thousands of boats to (almost) simultaneously transmit their position without interfering with another (explanation).

While single channel AIS receivers are available, dual channel units are clearly superior and the price difference is relatively small. A popular unit is the Comar unit (pictured above). Of course to be able to use it you’ll need two additional items, a VHF antenna and a way of displaying the vessels picked up by the receiver. The usual way is to connect the receiver to the boat’s chart plotter via the unit’s NMEA connection.

To save on installation cost, you might consider a unit with a built-in antenna splitter, which allows an AIS unit to share an existing VHF radio antenna. Both Comar and Raymarine have such units in their range.

One interesting newcomer to the scene is the Digital Yacht ANT200, pictured in part one of this series. It is designed to mount on the rail just like a GPS receiver and includes a stubby VHF aerial. It will also combine the signal from the boat’s GPS receiver with the AIS NMEA connection so that only a single connection to a chart plotter is required.

Dual channel Class B receivers start around A$500.

Manufacturer’s web sites:

Comar
Raymarine
Digital Yacht

In our next episode, we’ll discuss the trend to build AIS receivers into radios and chart plotters.

Installing an Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) is becoming a mainstream option for yachts. Prices are dropping and AIS equipment is evolving, resulting in a greater variety of instruments on the market. That variety will no doubt increase further, but we can see distinct categories of AIS equipment emerge.

For those looking to invest in a system, we’re going examine those categories in a series of six posts. We will look at the full gamut of equipment, ranging from economical class B receive-only units through AIS integrated with Radio Receivers and Chart Plotters, right up to standalone class A systems.

There is already so much choice that we won’t be able to cover every available unit, but we will highlight representative equipment and discuss which features to look for.

This week, we’ll start off by asking some questions and providing some background reading. Next week, we’ll get stuck right into practical options, their pros and cons..

When considering the installation of an AIS system, you’ll need to ask yourself some pertinent questions:

Question : Do I want to install yet another antenna on my boat?

Question : Do I want to just be able to "see other boats" with AIS (Receiver), or for them to "see me" as well (Transponder)?

Question : Do I want a system with an independent display of vessels, or one that integrates with my existing chart plotter?

Question : Should I just consider class B units?

In the next five posts here, I hope we can supply enough information to help you make the right choice when selecting an AIS unit for your boat.

While you’re waiting for our next installment, here are some interesting links with information about the history and operation of AIS.

Wikipedia’s comprehensive entry on AIS – Link
The US Coast Guard’s Navigation Center – Link
SOLAS regulation for the carriage of AIS – Link

 

Next: AIS Part 2 – Class B Receivers, the choice is yours

I started a listing of magazines including their online companion sites which might be of interest to Australian Cruising Sailors.

Please have a look and comment on what you think and if you’d like to add any  other magazine to the list.

At last there are now some tangible signs that Coastal Patrol and Coast Guard organisations along the NSW coast are integrating their operations. 

Coast Guard Sydney	Marine Rescue South Head
Coast Guard Solander	Marine Rescue Solander
Coast Guard Cottage Point	Marine Rescue Cottage Point
Coast Guard Swansea	Marine Rescue Swansea
Coast Guard Tuggerah Lakes	Marine Rescue Toukley
Coast Guard Port Stephens	Marine Rescue Lemon Tree Passage
Coast Guard Kingscliff	Marine Rescue Kingscliff
Coast Guard Ballina	Marine Rescue Ballina
Coast Guard Iluka/Yamba	Marine Rescue Iluka/Yamba
Coast Guard Evans Head	Marine Rescue Evans Head
Coast Guard Wollongong	Marine Rescue Wollongong
Coast Guard Port Kembla	Marine Rescue Port Kembla
Coast Guard Shellharbour	Marine Rescue Shellharbour
Coast Guard Lake Illawarra	Marine Rescue Lake Illawarra

[Thanks to Michael Kalajzich for passing on the above information]

Well today was the day! I finally got to see some of the beautiful Australian Wildlife. What a great time. George decided that on his last day of his holidays, he wanted to get off the boat and not spend the time at a boat store (WOW!) He took me to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. This place is fantastic, so much better than Australia Zoo. We saw Lorikeets, Wombats, the Sheep Dogs at work, Crocodiles, Snakes (ugh), Lizards, Bush Turkeys, and loads of Koala's and Kangaroo's. I did not want to go home and cannot wait to go back. Please see the photo album of the animals and me (yes Michelle, ME!). Thank you to my wonderful husband, I had a great time.  (View Post...)

As we usually do (year after year), we celebrated the start of the New Year by getting up early and watching he sun come up on the New Year. Best wishes to all for 2010.

Yes, we set off for the Harbour but a few things got in the way. We had a minor issue with the headsail (too embarassing to detail). The wind was from the South. It was forecast to be from the North on New Years Day.  And the old saying goes, Gentlemen only sail downwind…

So we decided to head for Hardys Bay instead. It’s been quite wet, but we’re cozy and we had a very nice meal at Yum Yum last night, so all’s good!

We've been in Akuna Bay for a few days, waiting for the rain to clear (which it did quite successfully yesterday. Today, we're off to the Harbour today so we can be there for the New Year's fireworks.

Nick Jaffe just cleared customs in Coffs Harbour after a 2 year solo sail from Europe. Apart from being an accomplished sailor, Nick also worked out how to make the Internet work for him along the way.

And not just by getting regular weather reports via a Satellite…

Check out his Website, Blog, his Flickr photostream, his Video and his Tweets. And of course, there is a tracking page.Well done, Nick!

I guess it had to be a 27 year old to show us how it’s done…