In January of this year I sold my business, having owned and run it for the past ten years. I saw this as a great opportunity to take some time out from our normally hectic pace of life and to slow down for a while and to “smell the roses.” This idea saw us embarking on a wonderful adventure with our family aboard our new Magnum, “Amourette.” We had bid a fond farewell to “Magnanimous,” now owned by the Cresswell family.
Our plan was to tow “Amourette” as far as Airlie Beach in the Whitsundays, and from there sail north for Cairns. Following this we intended to return to the Whitsundays for a few more weeks - once the weather had warmed. Then we planned to tow “Amourette” down to Rockhampton and sail out to the Kepple Islands then along the interesting coast here and on through the Percy Islands to Mackay. Unfortunately, the later part of the plan had to be abandoned, after a prolonged spat of bad weather and high winds. However, this in itself opened up another unplanned opportunity, and saw us four wheel driving on the wonderful Fraser Island, visiting friends and family holidaying at Noosa in addition to sailing around the Broadwater, south of Brisbane. We wanted to do more than the familiar, we wanted a real adventure and that is what we had.
We reached our launching place, Airlie Beach, after a long car trip, which had its own highlights, the Dubbo Plains Zoo, and trials, such as many creative ways of keeping our 5 and 2 1/2 year old entertained and frequent heart in the mouth encounters with passing semis on the bumpy and occasionally wet roads in inland NSW and Queensland. After an initial shakedown in the Whitsundays, discovering what we did and didn’t need on board, and discovering various leaks that seemed resistant to being fixed, we headed north for Cairns. We weren’t too worried about the leaks; after all, it doesn’t rain much in winter up north, does it?
Leaving Woodwork Bay on a gloriously sunny, still Whitsunday morning , we motored north to Gloucester Island passing by Grassy Isl., Older and Saddleback Isl., the later being aptley named. The scenery was wonderful and after passing through Gloucester passage we anchored for the afternoon and night in Bona Bay, a good anchorage. Here we received our first reminder of how rapidly the tides move. Whilst having a lovely relaxing afternoon on the beach, I looked up to see our dingy floating away with Bob in hot pursuit clambering over rocks. The following day with great weather, interesting scenery and light winds, we enjoyed a spinnaker run up to Cape Upstart. This day marked the start of some real sailing and we were pleased to be able to comfortably keep up with a 35-foot keelboat from Metung.
As we left Cape Upstart en route to Townsville, life harnesses were added to life jackets as we left sight of land and 2 metre swells and 20 to 25 knot winds joined us. Having come to the realisation that we had charts for everywhere that we were sailing except this leg of the journey, we were very pleased to have two keelboats sailing the same route with us. After a tiring morning sailing we neared Cape Bowling Green, a good anchorage according to Alan Lucas’s book, ”Cruising the Coral Coast.” We had intended to stop on the leeward side for lunch and maybe the night. That idea was rapidly abandoned, as we came around the point to find a sea nearly as wild and as unprotected as the one on which we had been sailing. Thanks Alan, and we were later advised by a couple on a 40 footer, ”don’t stop there we were washed onto the beach.” There was no choice but to push on which we did, as I made lunch standing on my head and came to the realisation that I would never make the grade as a cook in the Sydney to Hobart Race - but then who would want to?
Nine hours and some 60 Nautical miles after leaving Cape Upstart that morning, we rounded Cape Cleveland to see Townsville acBob the Bay. It had been a very long day with no auto helm, two young children and strong winds and large waves but we had made it. We were particularly proud of how our two girls settled in to the demands of the day with out any complaints. They actually had quite a bit of fun, and were never at any stage frightened. Georgia, our five year old became interested in map reading and looking out for the corresponding hazards.Her interest she claimed, was from the fact that she would need to know how to read maps when she grew up and bought her own yacht. Which, she informed us would be much bigger than “Amourette”. Move over Kaye Cottee.
In Townsville we took a berth at the Cruising Motor Yacht Club for $23 per night. This is situated in the Bob Creek and is within walking distance of the main shopping mall, restaurants and the wonderful Aquarium; the later was greatly enjoyed by the girls. The weather had turned bleak as we entered Townsville and this continued intermittently as we sailed out from the city, along the southern side of Magnetic Island. We rounded the southeast end of Magnetic Isl. to enter the calm waters of Hoseshoe Bay, appropriately named. Magnetic Island is a ruggedly beautiful place and Horseshoe Bay very calm and protected in the southeasterly tradewinds typical of that time of the year. We were finding the Magnum’s ability to get close in to shore often kept us out of otherwise unpleasant swells, not that this was a problem in Horseshoe Bay. Doing this often confounded nearby keel boats who weren’t sure what we were and more importantly what our draft was, often wondering whether they might also have come in closer. We had two and a half sunny days, lazing about, swimming off the back of the boat, fishing,and walking. It was the first time since setting out from Melbourne that we had really stopped and relaxed. Beautiful sunsets, plenty of sunshine and of course, plenty of good wine.(We had so much of the later on board that I had been convinced that Amourette would sink when she was launched at Airlie Beach.)
Leaving Magnetic Island, we headed north to Orpheus Isl. past the Palm Islands. Again this leg of the journey was very picturesque and easy going with only 4-5 knots of wind to begin with in which we motor sailed to keep our average speed up over the considerable distances we needed to sail sometimes. We anchored in Little Pioneer Bay as the weather started to deteriorate into rain over night. Orpheus is a lovely spot. We enjoyed hiking up onto the ridge of the Island, which gave great views and I understand that there is some terrific snorkelling to be done, however we had to forfeit this due to the poor weather. Our assumption that good weather would be the norm was severely challenged at times.
I would have to say that one of the favourite places we visited would have to be Hinchinbrook Island, our next stop after Orpheus. The Island is a National Park covered in rainforest mountains and fringed by beautiful beaches and of course the not to be forgotten crocodile or two!! The highlight of this picturesque spot was a rainforest walk in from the southern end of Zoe Bay (Zoe Bay is situated on the south east end of the island), which led us to a freshwater rock pool fed by a waterfall. It was crystal clear and there was no one else there. We thought we had found paradise.
The Magnum, with every thing pulled up snuck into the protected north creek at Zoe at low tide without a problem. When it got too shallow we just towed it the rest of the way with the dinghy. This is a great anchorage for trailables as the Bay itself gets very swelly. Mind you we were pleased not to meet the large croc that resides here, as we were later informed.
Hinchinbrook was also memorable as the place where we caught our first big fish. It was an unusual creature, quite hairy with two legs and two arms. We had been motor sailing on a very hot day at the northern end of Hinchenbrook, watching garfish jumping out of the water and skimming for up to 50 metres acBob the top, when Alice knocked Georgia’s hat overboard. As I rounded up to retrieve it, Bob, having reeled in a rather large lure he had been trawling with, stumbled slightly and impaled the side of his thigh with the large triple hook of the lure. Great one Bob, action stations jib down, anchor down, bolt cutters out, kids inside with chips and mueslie bars, local anaesthetic prepared. Bob administers own local as Mary is overcome with an attack of the vapours and just has to lie down for a moment. Mary recovers and gets up to help, lies down again, gets up, lies down. Bob gives up waiting for his brave wife and with a lot of sweat, and the aid of the multi-grips gets the hook through and out the other side, with much cheering from the children and confusion as to why their mother needs a cold drink and flannel as the wounded father bounds outside to pull the anchor up. There goes my theory that women are the stronger sex. I will never live this one down.
Would loved to have stayed longer at Hinchinbrook but there was much yet to see and do, so off we headed to Dunk Island. Dunk is another one of those tropical rainforest islands. The anchorage to the northwest side is good only in calm seas, as we were to find out during our first night there as the wind and seas picked up and we were tossed back and forth in our beds all night. The Island has day facilities for yachties, including hot showers and an outside restaurant that serves drinks, icecreams and fairly average food. If you put your order in the day before, you can purchase bread and milk. The Island itself has many beautiful rainforest walks and a very pleasant resort that is unobtrusively tucked into the surrounding environment. The worsening anchorage conditions combined with a weather forecast for 25-30 knots predicted for the next 3 to 4 days, had us wey anchor, don lifejackets and life harnesses and set sail for the protected waters of the Johnston River and the township of Innisfail.
The winds rapidly whipped up to 20-25 knots and the seas grew accordingly. It was hard going although the children in there characteristic manner, either fell asleep or enjoyed the ride, competing to see who could spot the biggest wave. Our G.P.S., yet again came into its own as we neared the Johnston River bar and the leading bouy, which we were unable to see as we were facing into the afternoon sun. With our hearts in our mouths, the motor down and gunned, the sails pulling and all crew sitting nervously on the leeward side we surfed acBob the bar doing 7 1\2 knots with only a few feet of water under the keel, into the calm waters of the Johnston river. It was one of those experiences that left us feeling as if we should get out and kiss the ground.
Unfortunately, our intention to sail the rest of the way to Cairns came to a halt here, as indeed the winds continued to build and stay that way for the next four days. Hence, Bob caught an over night bus back to Airlie beach (a 10 hour trip) and brought the car and trailer up to Innisfail where we pulled the boat out. The River and Innisfail provides a very good calm anchorage and great supermarket in walking distance for reprovisioning. Our girls remember it for one of the best playgrounds they had seen with an amazing variety of monkey bars, that kept our monkey, Georgia, occupied for ages.
It was to be another three days before “Amourette” was to go back in the water. During this time we enjoyed the luxuries of the Cairns Palm Resort Caravan Park, as our yacht became once again a more than adequate caravan. The girls loved it there as they got to play with other children and run off some steam. We found throughout our trip, we rarely met up with other families with young children on the water and even rarer still, other trailables. For us we came to the conclusion that living on a yacht, for young children was potentially very isolated and long term they would miss out on a lot of socialisation and gBob motor development. Children love to be with other children.
With our car now with us we explored some of the land-based sights. These included Kuranda, a township in the rainforest hills above Cairns, with a fun if touristy market, Mosman Gorge, The Atherton Tablelands, with its spectacular waterfalls, lakes and patches of rainforest with strangler fig trees.and of course the Daintree forest and river. It was interesting to see how much of these areas had obviously once been covered in rainforest and the devastation that man reeks as we alter the environment to suit our agricultural needs. One gets a very small glimpse of the damage being done to the Amazon.And still we do not learn.
The drive along the coast from Cairns to Port Douglas and the Daintree is very picturesque with many sweeping beaches. We would like to have got right into the forest on foot but the children, particularly Alice, were not up to decent walks.
We relaunched at Yorkey’s Knob Marina, a gem of a place, costing only $14 per night with hot showers, a laundry and use of the club, which included a very reasonably priced restaurant.
From here we were able to explore the reef visiting Upolo and Sudbury Cays. Thanks here goes to John O’Grady, for his information on these gems, including G.P.S. points and I should also say a number of invaluable charts. Upolo Cay, 14 nautical miles west of Yorkey’s Knob, provided Georgia with her first experience of real snorkeling. After an initial shaky start, as she realized what was actually under all of that water she had been so happily swimming in, she absolutely loved the experience and snorkelled on and off for two hours that day. Bob had converted a bucket with perspex into a viewing scope for Alice. Although she enjoyed this, she often preferred to swim along with us and when tired would climb onto Bob or my back for a ride.
The water at the reef off Cairns was so clear that at Sudbury Cay, we could see the bottom in 70 foot of water as if looking into a swimming pool on a sunny day. On our way out to this Cay, which is southwest of Fitzroy Island, itself south of Cairns, we encountered a humpback whale and her calf breaching and tail slapping in the distance. By the time we got close to them they were calmly lying in the water surrounded by a school of dolphins, unperturbed by our presence. What a day.
From Sudbury Cay, we had a wonderful sail back to Fitzroy Island, to finish the day with one of those glorious northern sunsets over the mainland ranges Fitzroy provides good anchorages and day facilities with a pool. There are also some nice walks to do, again through rainforest. We had an interesting evening there hooking three large mackerel that were in a feeding frenzy. Having lost our large lure (Bob’s leg lure) the day before on a cunning shark our inadequate gear saw all three mackerel get away. Talk about the big fish story. Bob still stands as the biggest fish that we landed on our trip.
As the wind picked up we headed back to Yorkey’s Knob (pronounced Norkey’s Yob after a few champagnes) and pulled “Amourette” out in readiness for our journey back to the Whitsundays and to rendezvous with my sister and her husband.
This leg of our journey had often had us on the move more than we would have liked, but that was often due to weather and strong winds. The leaks kept leaking, the metho stove refused to allow the right burner to operate, and the rudder box developed cracks, which were later to prove fatal to its health. Despite this, we can honestly say that we had a ball. We developed enormous confidence in our and the yachts abilities, whilst still respecting the limitations of all. We have had the remarkable opportunity to step outside of our normal lives and get in perspective what truly is important in life and how little we need to be really happy. Bob had the idea that we could move into our bathroom and rent out the rest of the house, given the great teamwork we had going on board. We have had an amazing amount of one on one time with our child, which although at times was tiring, overall had positive affects on us all.
We have returned to our lives calmer and with time and energy to take each day and enjoy it to the fullest. We are already planning our next coastal sailing adventure to complete that part of the trip from Rockhampton to the Whitsundays We have got the bug.
The Whitsundays and further south was an adventure in itself, but that’s another story.
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