George next to a “rather small” ant hill at Port Essington.
After two months of sailing mostly in a northwesterly direction up the Queensland coast, we had reached “the Tip” or Cape York, the northernmost point on the continent of Australia. We gybed onto port, and started heading in a westerly direction, “over the top” of [...]
Merima with cockatoo, Hamilton Island
I realize that I haven’t tapped out a “Sailor’s Log” for quite some time now, about six months to be exact, but for good reason. I’ve enjoyed the Queensland coast of Australia so much that, in my usual fashion, I got caught in the drift and decided to slow down and [...]
Continue reading about Queensland, Australia: The Whitsundays to Cape York
New kite.
The travel brochures describe the weather in Queensland as “beautiful one day, perfect the next.” The thing is, it’s really true. In the three months I’ve been here, I can count the less-than-perfect days on one hand. This is probably the reason that hundreds of yachties come to the Whitsunday Islands each spring [...]
Continue reading about The “Hams and Hogs” Regattas: Spring Break for Adults
Arriving in Australia from Noumea, Scarborough Marina (just north of Brisbane) was a convenient place to check in. In an otherwise nice marina, we ended up parked next to the very ripe-smelling local fishing boats that attracted flocks of birds looking for leftovers. Within two days, a combination of fallout from cane burning, dust from [...]
Continue reading about Queensland: Brisbane to the Whitsunday Islands
June 30
My sailing mates Ellen McArthur and Neil Spencer flew up from Auckland to Noumea Sunday to join me on the 800-mile trip across the Coral Sea to Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
A nasty tropical disturbance delayed the start of our passage by a day. The low that passed over Noumea Sunday night brought gale force winds [...]
Well off the beaten “Coconut Milk Run” track, I think that Lord Howe Island could be one of the best-kept secrets in the South Pacific. Located 225 nm northeast of Sydney and 675 nm southwest of Noumea, New Caledonia, this ruggedly beautiful island sees relatively few foreign cruisers.
On our second morning out of Sydney, I [...]
April 28, 2001
It was crisp and clear this morning as we motorsailed out of the Sydney Heads, destined for Lord Howe Island, about 420 miles northeast. A ferry penguin noisily chased us as if to say a final goodbye to Moonshadow after her summer in Sydney.
One of the few bad things about cruising is moving on [...]
Continue reading about Passage Logs: Sydney to Lord Howe Island
Wineglass Bay in Freycinet National Park, Tasmania
It’s Autumn in Sydney and just about time to head north for the winter. We are savouring our last few days in the “big city” while attending to the all the last minute details, provisioning and yacht preparation necessary before an ocean passage.
We have immensely enjoyed the time [...]
Last week didn’t rate too high on the fun meter for us, but as any yachtie knows, hauling out is part of any boat’s regular maintenance program. Unless you want the bottom of your boat to look like a miniature underwater wildlife preserve, it needs some regular attention.
Fortunately, we didn’t need any major work, just [...]
A fresh water shower in Refuge Bay’s waterfall.
The Australian dock talk we’ve heard is that there are only two areas in New South Wales that are worth cruising, Broken Bay and Jervis Bay. Cate arranged a couple of weeks off work and I finished most of my boat projects for the season, so we took [...]
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