Cruising to Cairns – the final leg for 2020

Orpheus Island is only about 125 nautical miles below Cairns, a distance that we could, if we wanted, cover in a single overnight sail. However, there’s quite a few interesting stops along the way, so as long as the weather held, we planned to cruise up the coast aiming for a December 1st arrival into Cairns.

Our first stop, the Hinchinbrook Channel, is not far from Orpheus, and we were up early so that we would be arriving into Lucinda, the town at the southern end of the channel, on high tide. There are some very shallow parts in this approach, and friends of ours had recently touched the bottom here, so we were on alert.

But it was all good. The depth sounder showed plenty of water under the keel as we motored along past the Lucinda Jetty. At 5.76 kilometres long, and one of the longest jetties in the world, the jetty is quite a sight, stretching out into the distance. It is used to transport materials to and from the sugar mill in the little town.

Once Cool Change was safely anchored, we took the tender over to the old molasses wharf, climbing up the rusty ladder to the top. Then it was a matter of finding the footbridge over the sugar conveyor belt and into the town. A tiny little town, we wandered the streets of Lucinda, discovering the caravan park and the Pub. I was hoping there might be a general store so we could get some fresh greens, but it had closed the previous year. There was a lovely beer garden in the Lucinda Point Hotel, with absolutely huge ceiling fans that were calling our name, so we had the $15 lunch special, enjoying the cool breeze.

The following morning we motored the tinny around the point to the town of Dungeness, where we tied up to a pontoon and filled up our diesel and petrol jerry cans. Matt bought some bait and we chatted to locals about fishing and crocodiles. Hinchinbrook is a very popular fishing destination so we were pretty hopeful that we might have a bit of luck here. We were also hoping that this might be where we would see our first wild crocodile. From the safe distance of the yacht, of course!! The locals assured us that there were both plenty of fish and plenty of crocodiles. We were pumped!

It was hot and sunny as we motored into the channel, the wind picking up and the water choppy. The huge mountains on Hinchinbrook Island loomed beside us, impressive and imposing. It was quite a spectacular place.

We spent four nights in the channel, and although it was windy and choppy in the main channel, once we got up into the smaller creeks, it was incredibly calm and still. The creeks were heavily lined with mangroves and I imagined that we would see crocs everywhere. Several times we took the tinny out for an explore through some smaller arms of water, but no matter where we went, we still didn’t spot a crocodile.

We also had no luck with the fishing, not even a single nibble. There didn’t seem to be much wildlife around at all. Except for a bull shark that we spotted in the shallows near some mangroves, the area seemed bereft of life. Oh, except for the ever present midgies. We’d been well and truly warned about these, and had purchased mozzie coils in preparation along with lots of insect repellent.

They were definitely around and with our precautions we didn’t get eaten too badly. That is until on one of our jaunts in the tinny, we saw a crab pot float stuck up in a tree. Matt decided to go and rescue it, so we edged the tender into the thick mud under the mangroves and I stood on croc watch, while Matt tried to untangle the float. And then I started getting eaten!! I was completely swarmed by the little critters, and could feel them biting me, all over.

Slapping them away did nothing and I was soon covered in itchy, itchy bites. We abandoned the float and sped back to the yacht. Madly scratching at all parts of my body, I begged Matt to go faster to get them off me. I was almost crying with the intense irritation on my skin. Back on the boat, we looked at my body with amazement as huge welts emerged pretty much everywhere. I looked like I had chicken pox or the measles. Matt had been bitten too, but not as badly. We took some anti-histamines and covered my welts in calamine lotion. This was to be a procedure repeated several times over the next few days, even a couple of times in the middle of the night.

Hinchinbrook was definitely a strange place; a bit of a conundrum. Although incredibly beautiful and peaceful, there just wasn’t all that much to do. You couldn’t swim as the water was full of bull sharks and crocodiles (supposedly!) and you couldn’t go for a walk as the mangroves came right up to the water and there were no banks to get off on. So, sitting on the boat with a fishing rod and taking in the beauty of the area was about it. But I’m not complaining because that’s still pretty special. The bright stars in the night sky were particularly impressive.

It was also a strange time for us in another way. We’d just spent ten months living and travelling on our boat, cruising along slowly, lingering in places, being in no rush, just enjoying experiencing all that we could in each new place that we found ourselves in.

But in Hinchinbrook, a strange new feeling emerged; a sort of impatience and a restlessness. We both felt it. I think it was a kind of white line fever. You know how at the end of a long hike or bike ride, or even a road trip, you sometimes get that feeling where you just want to finish? Desperately want to be at the end. You’ve enjoyed the journey immensely, but still, there is that drive just to get to the finish line.

Well, it was sort of like that. With our final destination (for the year) coming into sight, we both got a bit antsy and it was hard to be in such a slow state. Strange, huh? I never expected that to happen. Although the Hinchinbrook Channel was an incredibly picturesque place, what with this feeling and the uncomfortableness of all those midgie bites, I wasn’t sad to farewell Hinchinbrook behind and head off.

We sailed all the way to Dunk Island. With the winds gusting anywhere from 12 to 25 knots, we had two reefs in and our speed fluctuated from four to seven knots. We spent three nights here, grabbing a mooring in Brammo Bay when it became available on the first morning. We explored the island, checking out Muggy Muggy Beach but water visibility was too poor for snorkelling. We hiked to the top of Mt Kataloo, a lovely walk through very tropical rainforest, even spotting a couple of little snakes on the track. And best of all, we discovered free hot showers in the campground!!

Not far from Dunk Island was Beaver Reef, and as some very light winds were predicted, we decided to head out for another reef experience. Beaver Reef is a tiny sand island surrounded by fringing reef. With Matt steering and me standing on the bow looking out for bommies, we approached the reef. Closer and closer we edged, but the water was still ten metres deep. I could see bommies in front of us, but it was very hard to figure out exactly how far below the surface they were. I lost my nerve, and we dropped anchor in ten metres, safe from the reef.

We donned our stinger suits and went for a snorkel. It was the best visibility we’d had so far. There were huge schools of fish swimming about with lots of brightly coloured fish, and some that were an electric blue colour. We wore our shark shields, but discovered that only one was working, so made sure to stick close together. For some reason, I felt more vulnerable out here. Perhaps because we were the only boat out there it felt quite remote.

With no wind to speak of, it was hot, hot, hot out there and we sweated up a storm on the boat during the afternoon. The next morning, after another great snorkel we hoisted the tender to prepare to head back to the mainland. Matt took the bung out of the tinny so that it would drain while it was being lifted. Great idea. Except that the bung fell out through the hole. Down to the bottom of the ocean. Oops!

I figured that was the end of the bung, and the tinny for the time being, as without a bung it is effectively useless. But Matt jumped into the water with his mask and flippers and spotted the bung lying on the sand below the boat. Ten metres below! Not a chance, I thought, as he took a deep breath and dived down. I anxiously watched out for sharks, trying to spot him below the water. Then, lo and behold, he emerged triumphant, holding the bung up. What a dive! I was very impressed! And very relieved!

Underwater at Beaver Reef:

We motored to Mourilyan Harbour dragging some lures. The lures got lots of bites and Matt even reeled one fish in, only to have it flip while it was on the duckboard, cutting the line and taking the lure with it. Bugger! Then we looked behind and saw the lure floating on the surface of the ocean. The fish must have spat it out. We turned the yacht around and went back to retrieve the lure. Only minutes later, however, we heard a Ping! and the line went taut, then snapped, taking the newly recovered lure with it. It was definitely gone this time!!

At Mourilyan Harbour we weaved our way through the other boats on anchor or on moorings. It’s a very shallow harbour, although incredibly well protected, and there is just a small area with enough depth for yachts. But we found a spot and settled in to enjoy the super still water, with not even a ripple disturbing the surface.

We spent a day here, and although we decided it was too shallow to risk taking Cool Change up into the Moresby River, we did take the tender up one of the little mangrove lined creeks. Our mission? Yep, you guessed it, to spot a croc. But the creatures remained as elusive as ever and we were unsuccessful once again. I’m sure they were out there, and I’m sure they probably spotted us!

From Mourilyan Harbour we planned just one more stop before we headed into Cairns. Fitzroy Island was only 40 nautical miles north, an easy day sail, however I’d so been enjoying the little half day sails that we’d been doing recently that we decided to break this trip up too. There were several little islands with public moorings along the way, and we chose Russell Island as our stopover destination.

With some good winds, we sailed all the way to Russell Island, and thinking that the anchorage looked ok, we picked up a mooring. Well, didn’t that turn out to be a bad decision! The swell picked up in the afternoon and ran right under us, making the boat rock and roll. It was a super uncomfortable afternoon and evening and we were both in bed by 8.30 pm without bothering to eat dinner. Not much sleep was had, and we emerged blurry eyed at first light to get out of there.

We had a great sail up to Fitzroy Island and flew up in just a couple of hours. As we approached the bay, we watched another yacht drop its mooring, so we swooped in and grabbed it. Perfect timing! Thank you very much! It was much calmer here in Welcome Bay and we stayed for three days, enjoying all that the island has to offer. We hiked the steep track up to the lighthouse and the summit. It was very hot, but the views from the top were great.

There is a Turtle Rehabilitation Centre on the island which runs daily tours, so we booked in, hoping to get a good look at the elusive creatures. It was very interesting and informative and we both learnt a lot. We learnt that the green sea turtle is a herbivore, eating mainly sea grasses. We learnt that male sea turtles never come onto land, and that females only come onto shore to lay their eggs.

We learnt that sea turtles are solitary creatures who can live up to 100 years of age and only reach sexual maturity around 30 years of age. We learnt that you can tell the sex of a turtle by the length of its tail, but not until they are mature. We learnt that due to sea and sand temperatures getting warmer, there are more female than male turtles being born (as sex determination is temperature dependent).

We learnt that most turtles come to the rehabilitation centre due to malnourishment or plastic consumption. We learnt how to identify a sick turtle that has ingested plastic; if it is floating on the surface of the water then it is very very sick, as turtles do not naturally rest on the surface. And we learnt that only a minor number of turtles come to the centre because of injury due to boat propellers.

Unfortunately, we still didn’t get a great look at a turtle, as they had only one on display, a young turtle called Tilly who was quite shy. The guide did assure us however, that in the bay just here, there were plenty of turtles. We resolved to go and find one.

And the next day, we did just that. We swam out from the shore at the north end of Welcome Bay, not far from where Cool Change hung on her mooring. The water visibility was fantastic and we swam around in the warm water taking in the beautiful coral and exotic, colourful fish. Then I looked up to see Matt waving madly at me and pointing down to the water in front of him. Could it be?

With high hopes, and heart pumping, I swam over as fast as I could. There, swimming casually along the bottom, was a beautiful green sea turtle. And he didn’t seem in the slightest bit concerned about our presence. He continued to move through the water, gliding gracefully around. It was incredible!

We swam with him for ages, and at times he was only an arm’s length away. We watched him come to the surface and pop his head up for a quick breath before diving back down. It was absolutely one of the most amazing wildlife encounters I’ve ever had. I felt so incredibly privileged to be there swimming with this turtle.

Heading back to the boat, I was still so pumped! We’d met Leonie and Terry from Sens de la Vie, at the Turtle Rehabilitation Centre, so we called in to tell them about our experience. They’d also swam with a turtle that afternoon and could understand exactly how I felt. We invited them to drinks on the island, which turned in to dinner, which turned in to more drinks back on their boat. Heading home at midnight, we had made some great new friends. They were also planning on heading north and over to the Kimberley next year so we knew we’d catch up with them again.

My friend Liv and her boys, Freddy and Ralphie, who were living in Cairns, caught the ferry out to Fitzroy Island and joined us on the yacht for our last night. The boys had a wonderful time; jumping off the boat, learning how to fish from Captain Matt and going for a hoon in the ‘tin boat’ as they called it. Freddy also came out snorkelling with us and we found another turtle to swim with again. Another magical encounter!

And then they came with us for our final sail into Yorkey’s Knob. Well, it was a motor sail really, as winds were very light. It was quite emotional for both Matt and myself, as we reflected on how far we have come over the past ten and a half months.

Sure, it hasn’t all been smooth sailing (no pun intended!), but I am so proud of both of us, and I know Matt is too. Sailing this far has been an incredible journey and an incredible adventure. We’ve learnt so many new skills, experienced so many different things, and been to so many new places. We’ve definitely had ups and downs, good times and bad times. We’ve had challenges and frustrations and arguments, but we’ve also had triumphs and achievements and magical moments.

While 2020 has been a pretty horrendous year for most people, for us it has been truly special. We have been living our dream. Many people never get to do that, and every day we feel grateful for the opportunities we have. The difficulties everyone else was facing, particularly our family and friends in Victoria, made us appreciate our good fortune even more.

And so, on 1st December, we tied up to our new ‘home,’ a berth at Half Moon Bay Marina, Yorkey’s Knob, Cairns. We had been sailing for ten and a half months. 318 nights. 133 of those nights were spent at anchor, 89 on a public mooring, 34 on a free berth, 57 in a marina and 5 nights were spent at sea on overnight passages. And now we were to spend the next four or five months on land. It was a strange feeling!

As I write this we have been living in Cairns, at the marina, for almost two weeks. It has been a whirlwind of a time. We bought a car. I got a job. We have been doing boat jobs and playing tourist. We have been catching up with old friends and making new ones.

It is very, very hot and very, very humid here. The weather has been getting warmer and warmer over the past few months as we travelled further and further north. I have forgotten the last time I wore a jumper and most nights we don’t even need a sheet covering us. That’s pretty perfect, if you ask me! I love the heat. But the first few days in Cairns shook Matt about a bit. Without the sea breeze out on the ocean, the heat is stifling, especially in the marina. And the humidity means that you are just constantly covered in sweat. It took him a good few days to adjust, but he seems to be acclimatising now.

We are looking forward to our new life on the land for the next few months, to experiencing a ‘wet season’ up here and to exploring as much of Far North Queensland as we can. I’m sure our adventures are only just beginning………

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade wind in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

Mark Twain