Re Energised!!

Well the sail back to Cairns offered nothing but strong winds, 25 to 30 knots on the nose, rain and squalls and seas like a corrugated road! Poor old Dreamweaver slammed into these for 4 days but managed the ordeal without breakage taking us eventually into the refuge of Marlin Marina. We had been crippled by our ongoing battery problems which were showing serious signs of imminent death on our arrival. We had not used the auto helm and were anxious that we would have no instrumentation on our trip back without running the engine. It wasn't quite as bad as we thought but with little solar input on cloudy days we were struggling at times. The marina offered us copious amounts of power! No more sharing of head torches whilst reading at night! Every light on, music playing and television what luxury!

We made contact with Leo Wolf. He had been recommended as an electrician by some fellow yachties in Lizard Island and a more helpful person you couldn't hope to meet. As a German Australian he examined the batteries, arranged to have them tested and pronounced in a dry and laconic accent that they were kaput or terminally stuffed! All it would take was $1600 and we would be back in business free to sail the coast again! Needless to say the deal was done! (one of lifes no choice choices!) Dreamweaver was given a resuscitating set of new batteries and true to Leo's word all seems to have been fixed and our equipment now runs smoothly. Even the anchor lifts without alarming!

We also had the pleasure of meeting John a local sail maker who equally went out of his way to be helpful. He repaired our main sail bag which had certainly seen too many strong winds and also fixed a batten pocket which had popped on a brand new sail battling down from Lizard. So all jobs accounted for we were back, re energised, buzzing electrified and ready to head out again confident in our power situation!

Whilst in Cairns waiting for an improvement in the weather Roger and I celebrated our silver wedding anniversary! We can't believe we've been together for so many years but I guess 4 months on a boat to date hasn't seen us throwing one another off! We had a lovely meal on the anniversary but two nights later discovered a little Greek restaurant. We went to Paxos in Greece on our honeymoon, sailing and windsurfing! Has anything changed apart from us getting older! Suffice to say we ordered the same food which we had enjoyed 25 years previously. Rogers idea!

Our first night was spent at Fitzroy Island the inevitable first stop from Cairns. On our arrival we spotted another Brighton boat Instant Karma with Paul and Kathleen Wise on board. They proceeded to follow us down to Mourilyan Harbour. At times it appeared we were racing but as the wind dropped off both boats opted to use their motors to complete the journey. The competitive spirit of sailors was halted by the nature of the wind and a need for a cool beer at the end of a long day. Instant Karma kindly picked us up in their tender and post sailing drinks were enjoyed by all.

Anyhow as you see we have now left Cairns! One week later all repairs done and are heading south. Somehow it already seems cooler! It was my birthday yesterday and the day was perfect. Calm seas, blue skies, breakfast at a beautiful little island hardly visited and then onto Dunk to watch the day close over the sea for another perfect sunset! The perfect present was watching hump backed whales frolic in the calm protected waters, breaking through the waves from the decks of Dreamweaver.

Lizard Island The Jewel of The Barrier Reef

Our time at Lizard Island has been memorable in many ways. It is often described in books and articles as the Jewel of The The Barrier Reef and certainly this is truly appropriate. The colours and clarity of the waters around the island are quite extraordinary, the sea the colour of magnificent blue sapphires or the blue of opals shimmering their reflective sparkle in the sun or equally the blues of aquamarines or turquoise. It's hard to chose between these gems as all are seen in the waters of Lizard Island. The coral reefs break through the surface twice a day but otherwise the colours of the corals and fish are equally as beautiful as the sea that creates this pristine environment. We have been truly fortunate to experience the beauty of lizard Island. The beaches are soft white sand, the sea warm and there are some fantastic walks offering superb views from the hills to the Ribbon Reefs and the drop off into the Coral Sea at the edge of the continental shelf. The magnificent Blue Lagoon on the islands southern side shimmers under the sun and the blues over white coral sand are hard to describe. A wonderful place.

Lizard Islands Watson Bay is home to visiting yachts and several of these are “Live Aboard Yachties' who spend the winter months enjoying this peaceful place. These people were incredibly welcoming and friendly and quite a community feel exists amongst the bays residents. Several nights were spent enjoying pot luck dinners where all contribute a dish and the feast shared by all. Otherwise drinks on the beach watching the sun set over the turquoise sea was the norm. A very sociable time was had and a big thank you must go to all, David and Alison, Annie (from England !) and Ronnie and not forgetting Dianne and Kerry on their cat 'Nemo'.

Towards the end of our stay a white cruising cat called A Whiter Shade of Pale, arrived in Watson's Bay. It was Roger, Allison, Barry and Faye from Royal Brighton. They had seen our pennant and off to drinks we went. We must thank them as our beers were running low and they kindly donated some to our empty fridge and also helped us change a head sail in blustery conditions the following day.

Lizard Island marks the turn around point of our sailing adventure up the East Coast of Australia. We have traveled over 2500 nautical miles from Melbourne always heading north with the wind blowing us from behind most of the way. We now have to retrace our course but stopping at different locations that we previously sailed passed on the way north, this time into the wind!

Leaving Lizard is one to remember with several people taking the trouble to farewell us from their yachts at 7am on a Sunday morning. Roger and Barry followed us down the coast to Hope Island. Two days of hard beating into blustery wet 20-30 knot winds. Not much fun! They ploughed on to Port Douglas whilst we opted for a lay day before another 2 days into similar winds to Cairns.

Well we finally arrived in Marlin Marina, Cairns last Friday.Time to relax after beating into 20-30 knots for 5 days. We have the usual long list of things to do, including repairing sails and fixing our battery problems! Cairns certainly seems to be a happening place, especially at the bar by our marina finger. - more to follow