Tuesday 7th October - Lizard Island

Work and school.

Kriste had called up and organised a tour of the Lizard Island Research Station this afternoon.
We’d be heading over after lunch and then hang out there for a bit.

The girls helped me bake some brownies that we could take across with us.

Lunch.

We all got in the tender to head over to the Marlin Bar where we’d get a lift across.

Emily and Kaia (8yr old girl) turned up in their Troopie just after 1:30pm and gave us a lift to research station.
The girls loved sitting in the back of the troopie across the sandy bumpy track, and I’m glad we didn’t have to walk!

Emily and David are the current directors of the station, having taken over from the previous couple at the start of the year.

We got a tour from David. Watched a video in the aircon (we haven’t had that for a while!).

Walking around outside Kaia went to talk to Alan, one of the researchers based there at the moment.
He came over and talked us through what he’s doing: studying the effects on survivability of fish when releasing them back to the coral after a few days.
He’d collect the eggs, hatch them, and then inject the fish with a fluorescent dye before releasing them back to a little isolated bommie.
He could then go back later at night and easily identify / count.

After the tour, Kylie (she’s here as a Governess to Kaia) took us to the beach hut and the girls all made loom bands.
And we ate some brownies :)

With the crafting done it was time for some fun on the beach. The girls all did some handstands and cartwheels, and then a game of red-rover.

Emily dropped us back off at the Marlin Bar at 5pm, so we had a few drinks with the other yachties.

We waited for the research station crew to turn at 7pm before we had our dinner.

Tuesday night is Burger night. You can have whatever you want for dinner, as long as it was a burger.
They were tasty though.

But too spicy, for Emma, too big for Kristina to finish, and too gluten’y for Kristie to have the bun.
I enjoyed mine :)

Wednesday 8th

Work and School.

Lunch.

Kristie had organised another play date with Kaia (and Kylie).
It was a wet tender all the way around to research station.

We got to see “The House” on the point. You can stay here for a little over $20,000 per night.

I dropped Kristie and Emma at the end of the beach so they could have a dry walk the rest of the way there.
Kristina and I got there a bit quicker with the lighter load.

Kylie and Kaia were already in the water, so we got changed and jumped in for a nice swim with them.

We walked back to Kaia’s house via the dive shed, and we all enjoyed a warm shower in the open :)

The girls enjoyed some fresh orange ice blocks, and I had a lovely fresh brewed coffee.

The girls played in her bedroom while we chatted outside.

At 5pm we walked down to where the caretakers live, and watched him water the Sunbirds.

The trees are full of them, and they fly down to enjoy a good shower/sprinkle from the hose.

Back to the tender for the slow trip back to Lazuli.

Earlier in the day, one of the boats had come around to us and mentioned they were doing a movie night on the beach.

Quick dinner onboard, then left the girls behind and managed to get there just as the movie was starting.
They’d set up a air mattress against the shrubs, with a white sheet over it. They then had their Starlink, a projector and battery box to complete the setup.

They played “Don’t Look Up”. I hadn’t seen it, quite enjoyable.

There were probably only about 8 of us that stayed for the entire movie.

Kristina’s recount about the trip to the Research Station

We finally made it to Lizard Island which has been out destination all year.
Mum organised a trip to the research station where we met some new friends.
Emily and her daughter Kaia came to pick us up in their big troopie.
It was lots of fun sitting in the back because the sandy road had lots of small bumps and we didn’t have to wear seatbelts.
When we arrived Kaia’s dad (the CEO) showed us a quick video with information about the station and the scientific research that they do.
Our new friend Kaia had a toy alpaca named Alpe. So we enjoyed throwing him up in the air then trying to not let him hit the ground.
It was the funnest tour we have ever been to, as for once we had some friends doing it with us.
After the tour we walked to the beach hut and made necklaces/collars for Alpe, and some matching friendship bracelets out of loom bands.

Emma’s recount about the trip to the Research Station

We finally reached our destination Lizard Island, so of course we had to get off and do something!
Mum ad organised a tour at the research station. Emily had a kid so she thought it was a good idea to have a play.
She picked us up and let me and Kristina go for free!
We hopped in the troopie with Kaia and her alpaca plushie, Alpe! When we got to the station we let Alpe fly and walk on the ceiling.
They gave us a tour of the research station and showed us what they did.
After the tour we walked to the beach hut to do loom bands.
We spent almost 2 hours doing loom bands!
We all made friendship bracelets together!

Thursday 9th

Quick breakfast, no school today as we’re off to climb up to Cook’s Lookout.

Tender in and shoes on.

The first section is reasonably steep, and we stopped often for the great views back over Watsons Bay and all the yachts.

There are plenty of Kapok trees around, and many had seed pods.

Kristie and Kristina tried the flowers, apparently they are edible!

At one point during one of our rests (when Kristina and I were waiting for Kristie and Emma to catch up) Kristina spotted some interesting wildlife:

There was also plenty of Sunbirds flying around.

We got to the top and had no view at all as it was completely covered by clouds. Made for an interesting experience, but not what we’d walked up for!

Cook climbed the peak on Lizard Island to chart a course out to sea through the maze of reefs which confronted him and the island’s summit has since been called ‘Cook’s Look’

The girls both added a rock to the top.

Sadly not much of a view.

There’s a visitor book up there as well (in an old army ammo box). I wrote in the book, and then Emma decided she needed to document a different opinion of the walk to what I’d written.

We came across a yellow spotted monitor lizard on the way back down.

The walk ended up taking us 4hrs all up, though we did have quite a few stops. Ended up being close to 5km return by my watch.

We jumped straight in to swim in our clothes as it was so hot.

Back to Lazuli for a late lunch.

Work, and downtime for the girls.

Sunset drinks on the beach.

Emma’s recount about the walk to Cook’s Lookout

The walk up to Cook’s Look was hot, on a steep and rocky track.
We made it up with some help of skittles from dads backpack.
The view up top would have been great, if the grey clouds weren’t so thick.
It seemed so slow and we were right, it was the oposit of quick.
Along the way we saw some lizards, basking in the sun.
We at some flowers, collected plants, this walk so much fun (NOT!).

In 1770 Captain Cook climbed to the top of the highest hill to look for all the reefs so the H.M.S Endeavour could find a safe passage through.
The walk and the lookout became famous so mum and dad dragged me on the steep, 5km walk.
After about 500m we started to see a lot of kapok trees scattered around.
On the trees there was lots of seedpods full of a material like cotton.
The open seedpods had spongy cotton because they weren’t ripe, but the cream and brown ones were.
Mum searched and the kapok flowers are edible! Mum enjoyed them but I didn’t.
At the top me and Kristina looked for two rocks to put on the pile!
It was a great view.

Kristina’s recount about the walk to Cook’s Lookout

Last week, we did the steep walk up to Cook’s Look.
This walk is named that because in the year of 1770 when Captain Cook anchored at Lizard Island, he made his way up to the top of the mountain to see all of the reefs and plot a way out.
After about 500meters of walking we spotted some Kapok trees. They were covered in green seedpods full of sticky fluff.
Later on we saw some different coloured seedpods and Mum said it was because they were ripe!
So I got one then smashed it against a rock and out came a cotton like material.
Another thing on the trees were some yellow flowers.
We searched them up and found out they were edible!
Of course Mum, Dad, and I tried them right away after taking a photo.
Later on I was looking at the yellow orchids and spied two tiny yellow beetles that looked like they were mating.
As it turns out, they were!

Friday 10th

Work and School.

Kristie had a nap during school time, which didn’t bother the girls too much.

Lunch.

Afternoon client meeting for me, then Kristie and I jumped in to snorkel the Clam Garden.
In addition to all the usual suspects, we saw an eel, octopus, black tip reef shark, and epaulette shark.

Off to the Marlin Bar for Pizza night!

I filled up 3x jerry of water and took them straight back to Lazuli and emptied them before coming back to join the others at the Marlin Bar.

Enjoyed a good social time with the other yachties.

Pizza was delicious. Took some home for leftovers.

We did a 2nd water fill up before getting in the tender to come home.

Kristina’s wanted to write about Whale Sharks as part of her daily writing

Title: Save the Whale Sharks.

Whale Sharks are one of the coolest and most unique species that swim in our tropical oceans.
Imagine a world where these gentle giants didn’t exist.

If Whale Sharks went extinct it would have a big impact on the stability of the food chain.
Being filter feeders, they feed on small organisms, contributing to the balance of the marine ecosystem.
So with out Whale Sharks this balance would be destroyed.
Which means if you don’t help the whale sharks you can say goodbye to fish and chips.

Many travellers from all over the world (including my Mom) spend thousands of dollars to see these majestic fish.
This is important because it raises awareness for environmental conservation and creates jobs for local businesses.
By paying to go snorkeling with these amazing creatures, you get a once in a lifetime experience and help many people in need of some cash.

Over the years illegal hunting has happened causing whale sharks to become endangered (* this hunting is still happening in some places today).
We are on our last chance before whale sharks become extinct and are no longer alive for future generations to see.

Even though these giant fish are a great attraction and thousands of people every year are lucky enough to experience swimming with them, it is important to remember that these wonderful creatures are a treasure that must be valued and respected.
We need to act now so that they don’t become extinct!

Saturday 11th

We sewed/glued up the patch on the bimini. The starboard side had a decent rip in it where the infill joins the zip.
We need to get it replaced, but time has prevented that so far.

Lazy morning on devices.

Lunch.

Kristie geared up for a dive. We took the tender around to North Point and tied on to the yellow mooring there.

She got out to the end of the reef, and then turned around and came back quite quickly!
Got to the surface and was super keen to get out of the water ASAP after spotting a 3m+ tiger shark.
(The researchers later assured her it’d be there for ages, and as she wasn’t a turtle she’d be fine! Kristie didn’t feel like testing that theory)

Family snorkel back at the Clam Gardens. The girls loved the clams, and we saw a school of bump head parrot fish.

Sunset drinks on the beach. We hadn’t planned to go to the Marlin Bar, but then a bunch of others all went so we decided to join them.
We had to go back via Lazuli and get the girls first!

Kristie enjoyed her steak, the girls shared a seafood basket, and I enjoyed my schnitty.

Filled up water on the way back.

Sunday 12th

Pancakes for breakfast.

We got geared up for a little walk; up to Chinaman’s Ridge and the lookout there.

Good views back over the resort and Watsons Bay.

Emma found a survey mark at the top and took a photo for Uncle Scott.

It was hot, not much breeze on the walk.

Girls had a quick swim in their clothes when back on the beach.

Back to Lazuli for Lunch.

We ended up with a bit of a rainy afternoon. We didn’t go into the beach (only a few of the hard-core went in to the beach for drinks), just had sip’s and dips by ourselves on Lazuli.

A bit more rain during the night.

Monday 13th

We’ve been away from shops for over two weeks now, so I could reorganise the frozen food and put it all in our main freezer and turn off the 2nd freezer we have (a 40L Engel).

Work and School.

A bit more rain.

Lunch.

We all got togs on and took the swim mat into the beach.
Kristie had organised for Kylie and Kaia to join us on our beach for a swim.

We were all in the water for about 3 hours.

Said goodbye to Kylie and Kaia and went back to Lazuli for a very speedy change (the others were already heading into the beach for sunset drinks!)

Left the girls on board and went to have drinks on the beach.

Andrea offered around some free bars and cookies that they’d got from a friend staying at the resort. Thanks, they were yummy!

Back onto Lazuli, and tender up just as it started to rain.

Mackerel and chips for dinner. Also Yum. We now only have one bag left, and the Mackerel season doesn’t open until the 9th of Nov!

Tuesday 14th

Work and School. Very hot.

Kristie jumped off Lazuli and swam over to have a long snorkel along the wall. It was about 150m from Lazuli to the wall.

Lunch.

Time for a family walk to Blue Lagoon. We took togs so we could have a swim on the other side.
It was a hot walk. You end up walking down the side of the runway, and the breeze was very intermittent.

Once down on the beach there was a good breeze. The tide was down so it wasn’t too choppy.

The swim was lovely, but the sand wasn’t as nice as over at “our beach”.

Got changed and explored the beach.

Headed back up the track and timed the walk back so we were at the top of the runway when the plane took off.

It was burger night at the Marlin Bar, and as Emma wasn’t a fan I ended up cooking sausages and pasta on Lazuli and took them in with us for her to eat.

Enjoyed a few drinks with the yachties, then caught up with Research station people.
Got a bag of carrots and an apple from Kylie. Thanks!

Filled up our 3 water jerry cans and got back to Lazuli to have the girls in bed by 9:30pm!

We had a spot of heavy rain at midnight which woke us up (had the windows open to cools us down.)

Wednesday 15th

It’s been windy, but today was more windy; the wind generator has been working overtime.

Kristie decanted the water from the jerry cans into the boat tanks.

Work and School.

Kristina finally woke up at 9am (we’ve been having a few late nights).

I emptied and cleaned our composting toilet. Wanted to make sure that was done before we left and headed down the reefs.

Lunch.

Tender to Marlin Bar at 1:30pm. Kristie and the girls got a lift over to the research station to spend the afternoon hanging out with Kylie and Kaia.

While I did work, they all had a good time:

• They made kapok squish balloons - we had a few that had opened up and they stuffed the fluff into some balloons.
• Had a swim
• Enjoyed a bath in the dive tubs.
• Played lego in Kaia’s bedroom

The girls got a lift back to Marlin Bar and I picked them up. Took the opportunity to fill up more water.

Strong wind and a bit more rain overnight.

Thursday 16th

Work and School.

Kristie snorkeled along the wall again and saw 4 reef sharks cruising around. She also spotted a blue spotted ray hiding under some coral.
It started raining while she was snorkeling. But had cleared up by the time she got back to Lazuli.

Lunch

More work.

After work was finished, Kristie and I jumped in the tender and headed around the corner to turtle beach.
We anchored the tender on the beach and jumped in for a snorkel. There was better coral cover than our previous snorkel sites, a couple of white tip reef sharks, an octopus and plenty of fish.

Sunset drinks on the beach with the usual crowd.

Friday 17th

Work and school.

Lunch.

After lunch, I dropped Kristie off at the Clam Gardens for a quick snorkel and then headed back to Lazuli to jump on some work meetings.

I ran the girls and Kristie to the Marlin Bar at 3pm for one last play with Kylie and Kaia (Kaia and her parents were flying to Sydney on Sunday so we won’t see them again).

They set up on one of the tables and spent two hours crafting (necklaces) and having run on the lawn.

Took the opportunity to drop off more rubbish, filled up water and headed back to Lazuli to work a bit more.

I came back in at 5pm for drinks and pizza.

It was another fun night mixing with the yachties and research peeps.

The night concluded with a skipping show from the 3 girls; and then a few of us adults they roped into having a turn.
Lots of laughs.

We missed some action with a boat dragging out the front. One of the cats ended up having to drop anchor and move out the back as another boat was drifting on to it (and the owners were at the bar!).

In bed by 9:30

Saturday 18th

At some point during the night (about 3am) Emma got a bit scared and came to sleep in my room. She didn’t bring her pillow :(

Decanted water from the 3 jerrys we’d filled up last night.

I’d always said I’d do Cook’s Lookout again when the weather was good and we’d get a view.
Kristie and I set off (the girls we most adamant they would not do the walk again!) and we did Cook’s Look walk again.

We made better time, and ended up with good views out to the reefs.

We knew Vellamo were due into Lizard Island sometime today. We could see a yacht approaching and a quick check of AIS (Marine Traffic) confirmed it was Vellamo.
We snapped a quick photo to send through to Traci.

2:38hr and 4.6km for the walk up to the top and back.

We had taken togs, so had a quick swim to cool off before heading back to Lazuli.

Late Lunch.

Kristie and I jumped in to go snorkel along the wall. We saw a flat worm, a pair of octopus, and a stingray.

Back for 5pm Sunset drinks on the beach.

Sunday 19th

Time to go exploring, without the girls.

Tender into the beach, and saw a turtle swimming around (we haven’t seen many - and some have suggested the local tiger shark could be the reason ;)

We planned to get to Coconut Beach. Bowen had said the other night that he found a bunch of Nautilus shells on the beach when he was there a year or so ago.

We hiked down the runway, around Blue Lagoon. We saw a decent sized shark swimming around in the shallows.

The track up is quite overgrown, but well signed with thongs up the hill.

Got to the top and saw the steep walk down the other side.

There was a trail of thongs up and down.

There’s a rope that’s been set up to help get up and down the rock face.

It was a little dicy getting down.

Once we were down the was lots of rubbish on the beach. We walked the entire length and only found one Nautilus shell.

Getting back up was ok, my watch reckoned it was about 20m from the sand to the top of the rope.

Walked back down and checked out the other beach before Blue Lagoon.

Decided to take the sneaky/scenic/forbidden track back to the beach rather than walking down the runway. It’s a much nicer walk!
(We’d seen one of the resort staff walk it, but apparently it’s closed to the public!)

There is a freshwater bore pump at the end of the track.

All up the walk took us 3:43hr, and 9.7km.

Made it back to Lazuli for a very late lunch.

Hoot turned up.

We’d last seen Bride and Andrew in Gladstone, and after that they spent more time in Bundy with Andrews Mum.
They finally got their boat ready and came up, express!
They took about 7 or 8 weeks to get from Brisbane up to Lizard - top effort.
We didn’t think we’d see them, and they didn’t think they’d make it this far north after leaving so late.

They invited us over for quick ‘anchor drinks’ on their boat. So good to see them up here!
We didn’t stay too long, as Kristie wanted to snorkel the Clam Gardens again (I could have kept going with the anchor drinks ;)
They had also brought some supplies - fresh food for us - from Port Douglas. Much appreciated!

Back to Lazuli to get the snorkel gear on, and went to the Clam Gardens.

We were a bit late for Sundowners on the beach.
Probably the biggest gathering we’d had since we got here.

Jan had set up some night lights, music.

Lots of good chatting and drinks. One of the tenders floated off when the tide came in; there were plenty of helpful comments from everyone ;)

Made it back to Lazuli (and the girls) at 7:50pm to start cooking dinner.
The girls complained it was a bit late for them!

Monday 20th

Work and School.

Lunch.

Kristie filled the dive tanks now so we didn’t have to do it at the Cod Hole.

I did more work.

Kristie snorkeled the Clam Gardens again. Such an easy snorkel with something new to see each time. She saw a white tip reef shark, maori wrasse, moray eel (along with everything else that’s usually there).

5pm Sundowners on the beach.

Back to lazuli at 6:30 (which is still probably too late for the girls)

Kristina’s continued to write about Whale Sharks as part of her daily writing

Information Report: Whale Sharks

Appearance:

A Whale Shark is the worlds biggest species of fish. They can grow up to 14m long.
They have a broad, flat head with a mouth that can be 1.5m wide.
Like most species of sharks the females grow bigger than the males.
Each one is born with individual spots and strips making it easier for marine biologists to keep track of them.

Habitat:

Whale Sharks are most often found around the equator.
They live in warm tropical oceans and can be found in both deep and shallow waters.

Diet:

Despite having 4000 tiny teeth these creatures are filter feeders.
Their diet mainly relies on plankton, tiny crustaceans and small fish.

Threats:

Whale Sharks are an endangered species meaning they’re one step from becoming extinct.
Their main threats as adults are humans. Humans are destroying the Whale Sharks habitats by polluting the ocean with rubbish.
Illegal hunting is another problem edging this species closer to the extinct mark.

Breeding:

Whale Sharks can live up to 150 years of age. Their life begins as a small pup approximately 60cm long.
It takes 25-30 years for them to reach adulthood.
Female Whale Sharks then give birth to up to 300 live pups!
She will then leave them to fend for themselves and the cycle will start again.

Interesting facts:

One of the bonuses of being a Whale Shark is that their skin is 30cm thick, making it hard for foes to bite them.
They are also one of the 15 species of fish knowing to give live birth.

Emma also did an information report as part daily writing

Information Report: Dog face pufferfish

Appearance:

The dog face pufferfish are oval shaped and can grow up to 33cm.
They have two small dorsal fins and a small tail.
These pufferfish have four strong teeth that from a beak.
Their body’s are covered in small black blotches, and they have dark patches around their mouth and eyes.

Habitat:

Dog face pufferfish live in tropical waters at coral reefs.
They don’t live anywhere under twenty-five metres deep.

Diet:

The dog face pufferfish is an omnivore. Most of their food is on the sea floor. They eat plants such as alges and sponges.
They also eat animals like mollusks, invertebrates, coral and crustaceans.

Threats:

Dog face pufferfish are slow which means their predators can catch them easily.
Their predators are tiger sharks, octopuses and sea snakes.
Climate change can also hurt the pufferfish by destroying the coral reefs.

Life Cycle:

Dog face pufferfish start their life as an egg.
After four to five days they hatch and continue growing as a juvenile fish.
Adult dog face pufferfish grow up to thirty centimeters and can live to ten years of age.

Interesting Facts:

The dog face puffer can repel predators by inflating itself with air or water to look big and hard to chew.
Something else used to repel enemies is their TTX poison and if swallowed injects the deadly poison into the predators.
Dog face pufferfish are territorial and like to live by themselves.

Tuesday 21st

Work and School.

Lunch.

Time for a family snorkel at the Clam Gardens. The girls and I jumped off the front of Lazuli to cool off as soon as we had our wetsuits on.

Traci and Matt had just seen a Cuttlefish so they pointed us to where it was. We found it and had fun swimming down and watching it change colours.

The girls also enjoyed the numerous clown fish.

Eventually they both got a bit cold, so I dropped them back to Lazuli and then come back with Kristie to continue snorkeling.

Back to Lazuli to tidy up as we were expecting guests.

Kristie picked up Kylie and her husband Chris to come back for sip’s ‘n dips on Lazuli.
We gave them a tour, then enjoyed a good catch up over drinks and cheese.

Kristie dropped them off to the Marlin Bar then came and got the girls and I.

It wasn’t Burger Night tonight, there were wings :) Nice spicy wings that both Kristie and I ordered, and she couldn’t eat.
I was full by the time I’d had half of hers as well - Andrew got the other half.

A few more drinks, then filled water and headed home at 8pm.

Wednesday 22nd

Work and school.

Baked damper scones, went well with butter and jam.

Kristie decanted water.

Hoot had gone off exploring around the coner and came back via us to arrange the afternoon exploring with us.
On the way back they were flagged down by Gary and Fiona as they were rowing their tender back to their boat.
Andrew towed them back to their boat… He stripped the carby and then realised the breather had been shut! Doh.

Lunch.

Set off with Andrew and Bride to go snorkeling at Palfrey Island. Kristie and Kristina in their tender, Emma and I in Lapis with the swim mat.

Emma had a quick snorkel and then a long play on the mat. Kristina stayed dry on the tender. We enjoyed the snorkel.
Not amazing, but something different.

Over to the beach to climb the rocks and get warm.

The two girls got a quick lift home with Bride and Andrew. Quite a bit slower for Kristie and I!

Got back to Lazuli and unpacked. Took a while to realise the girls were still on Hoot (I just assumed they’d been dropped off on Lazuli!).
I went over to Hoot but couldn’t see them there either… turns out they were hiding from me!

Kristie cleaned the clears.

5pm Sundowners on the beach. Opened the coconut I’d carried back from Coconut Beach the other day.
It had a bit of milk in it that tasted ok. Bride and Andrew also opened one of theirs, and the flesh on theirs was better.

Back on Lazuli it was time to tidy up to get ready to leave for the Cod Hole tomorrow.

We have really enjoyed our time at Lizard Island. It’s such an amazing place, and we haven’t come across anything like it in our travels.

There is so much to explore, and you can understand why everyone (with a yacht/boat) tries to get up here.

• You could snorkel at the Clam Gardens every day and not get bored with it.
• The sand and water at Watsons Bay is better than anywhere else we’ve been!
• The water is warm ~ 27C
• There’s a lot of the island to explore and walk around.
• There are numerous beaches to explore.
• The Marlin Bar is fun and a good excuse to get off the boat and have someone else make your dinner.
• Even though it is pretty much windy all day and all night, the bay is supper protected and comfortable in 25kts!
• Even when it’s 25kts it is still lovely in at the beach (Watsons Bay).
• The sunset drinks every afternoon with the other yachties is a great tradition that must be kept!
• The research station is worth a visit (bonus play dates with Kaia 8yrs old)

Anchoring at Lizard:

• There’s lots of room - but the further out you go the more wind/chop you get!
• Good depth - we in the 2nd row of boats and never saw less than 3.2m at the lowest tide we had for the 2+ weeks there
• Hoot got in close (in front of the 1st row ;) when they turned up and had ~2.2m at low tide (too shallow for us)

Internet at Lizard:

• Starlink works perfectly out here.
• If you have an antenna at the top of your mast you’ll get a 4G, but you probably need to be out a bit and not tucked in close to the beach.
• Climb the hill and you’ll get 4G
• Go to the Marlin Bar and use their free Wi-Fi
• Use your boat friends Starlink (thanks for the drinks Traci :)

We enjoyed hanging out with all the other boats here.
We probably had 25+ boats in the bay one night while we were there.
Some had been there for 3 months, some got there after us.
Some had been coming here every year for 20+ years, and some like us were first-timers.

Thanks to all the yachties that made our time there memorable.

• Wyworrie - Glen - who was our closest boat neighbour and his flashing strobe guided us home from the bar at night!
• Samantha - Shawn and Andrea - they were there for 3 months! (thanks for the resort bars & cookies)
• Nohea - Jim and Jude
• Vellamo - Traci and Matt
• SeaRaz - Steph and Chris
• Kaimana - Linda and Nate - thanks for the medical review of Kristina’s foot!
• Loukia - Gary and Fiona
• Hoot - Bride and Andrew - thanks for brining us food and fuel!
• Amazing Grace - Lorraine and Brent
• Alexandra - Jan and Mark
• Joy and Anastasia (on a Ketch we can’t remember the name of)
• Bowen and his dad on a Lagoon - thanks for the tip about finding Nautilus Shells at Coconut Beach!

Tomorrow we (and also Hoot + Vellamo) are off to Ribbon Reef #10 and the Cod Hole.

Lizard Island - we will miss you.

Kristina’s Poem about Lizard Island

All year we have been coming
To this Island big and grand.
With clear and pretty water,
And warm and lovely sand.

We walked up to Cooks Look,
It was very steep and hot.
We went up for a view,
But clouds were all we got.

We’ve been for many snorkels,
With fish and clams galore.
Coral and a cuttlefish,
We hope there will be more.

Twice a week we went,
Over to the Marlin Bar.
They had great food and great drinks,
And it wasn’t very far.

We went to the research station,
And got a tour around.
We saw the research they had done,
And some of the things they found.

We met a new friend Kaia,
And played with her so much.
Such good friends is what we are now,
I hope to keep in touch.

Now down the Ribbon reefs we go,
We’re sailing happily.
It won’t be long till we get home,
And see our family.

Friday 26th September - Cairns Marlin Marina

We’re leaving Cairns today, for real! First stop will be the Low Isles which is about 35nm north of Cairns, or about 8nm NE of Port Douglas.

6am wake-up alarm, and by the time we got us and Lazuli ready we left the marina just after 7am.

Motored out of the channel until we could put the sails up.
With the sails up, Kristie took the helm while I worked.

I took over during break between meetings and kristie got in a quick nap

We were getting close to the islands, and with timing it looked like I would be in a meeting as we got there!
Decided to get the sails down a bit early and motor the rest of the way there.
I had to put myself on mute and turn off the video briefly as we had to pick up a mooring while I was still on the call.

The rain started just before we had finished getting ourselves settled.

I had one more work meeting, then it was my turn for an afternoon snooze.

As soon as we’d first picked up the mooring we’d had numerous bat fish swimming around, shortly followed by some reef sharks.

Kristina and I fed the bat fish some of our mouldy bread.
They had to compete with the Remora who’d turned up with the sharks; the reef sharks kept swimming around but obviously weren’t interested in bread!

Saturday 27th

Had breakfast, then headed in to walk around the island.

Checked out the lighthouse and museum. There’s the usual history and story of the island which was interesting.

You can’t get into nor up the lighthouse.

The only occupants these days is the pair Ospreys nesting on top of the lighthouse; they have their own custom build nesting platform that they’ve made good use of.

There are a couple of day boats that come out from Port Douglas, bringing loads of snorkelers out.
We put on our gear and swam out to where they all were.
Lots of dead coral :( Two years ago they had flooding and the freshwater line got out past these islands and as a result most of it died.

We did find a local turtle who needed a good scratch. It spent ages scratching up against the coral, but was also happy for us to give it a scratch; it’d come out and present it’s side and let us give its shell a good scratch.

Emma ended up getting a bit cold; Kristina (who’d been stubbornly refusing to get wet) finally put her togs on and came out for a snorkel.

There were still lots of other tourists out from Port Douglas.

We anchored the swimming mat out a bit and enjoyed some time playing on that.

Kristie and Kristina went for a walk to get a few more photos, and on the way back Kristina was swimming in the water and doing backflips and just splashing around.
One of the crew (lookouts / lifeguards?) from the commercial boats was worried Kristina was in trouble and went over to help her and herd her back to the main group of her passengers!
Kristie had to explain we weren’t with them. We’ve had this a few times, but good to know that they’re keeping a good lookout!

Back to Lazuli for a late lunch.

Lazy afternoon on devices; I enjoyed watching the AFL Grand Final, cracking game - GO THE LIONS!

However, 3/4 way through the game Starlink dropped out and we lost all 240V! The inverter was switching off as soon as I tried to enable the 240V circuit.
We still had enough reception to tether phone to watch the last quarter of the game!

Heavy rain just as the game was wrapping up, so put the sides up.

We were treated to a cool double rainbow when the rain cleared.

With the game over I could spend some time trying to see what was wrong.
Looking in the engine bay I discovered our coolant overflow bottle was empty, and its contents in the engine bay :(
Never a good sign :|

Without Starlink, the girls spent some time up top crafting some necklaces.

Too dark to do much more investigation - that’s a job for tomorrow.

Sunday 28th

We had planned to head off to the some of the local reefs today.
With no inverter/Starlink, and coolant in the engine bay we weren’t going anywhere.

Late last year our inverter had done the same thing, and we’d had an electrician out to fix it.
He had pulled out the 300AMP fuse from the inverter, cleaned it, and put it back end and it worked.
I figured I’d try the same.

I pulled the cover off the inverter and gave the fuse a bit of sand and tightened it back up.
Inverter now working! Starlink online: girls back to their happy place!

Now to sort out the engine. I topped the overflow up and had Kristie start the engine.
Wasn’t long before I could see the coolant coming out of the hose at the top of the engine.
I tried tightening the hose clamp, but after a few turns it became apparent that hose clamp was rusted and completely broken :|
Luckily I had a few spares so fitted one. Got it tight enough that it didn’t leak anymore.

Lunch, then fed the batfish some more.

We’d seen one of the commercial snorkeling boats take their passengers out to the western side for a snorkel, so we figured we’d go and check that out.
The coral there was in even worse condition than the main area on the eastern side

We gave up pretty quickly and went back to the main area for another snorkel.

There were new two private boats from Port Douglas with a bunch of kids playing in the water (the adults were up having a bbq/drinks).
Our girls enjoyed bringing out all the toys (mermaid tails, buckets/spades, beach ball) from the tender to play with them!
They had fun snorkeling and playing on their SUP.

I had a good chat with the adults (one of them happily dropping the F-bomb every 2nd word around the kids!).

Kristie was still out snorkeling and saw a few bigger reef sharks, whilst we had a few baby sharks swim in the shallows past the kids.

Kristie also found a few turtles out snorkeling, whilst we had a few swim past us in the shallows.

Back on Lazuli for Sip’s ‘n dips.

Monday 29th

Dropped the mooring line at 7am and motored to Opal Reef. One of our dive club members (Dave) now works for one of the dive boats operating out of Port Douglas, and had recommend visiting Opal Reef.

It would be about 25nm to get there. I got in some work while Kristie skippered.

Had the lure out, and hooked a Mackerel. I wasn’t prepared and took too long to get ready and it flicked itself off the gaff hook and lure :(

Anchored at Opal. Easy enough approach in the middle of the day in good conditions (less than 10knts wind).
Dropped anchor in about 7m on sand, and put out 50m of chain and ended up sitting in 11m.

Kristie had a nap while I did more work.

There are two commercial operators that come out here. One of them has a few mooring and their two boats rotate between them.
We waited until they had left, then Kristie and I geared up and took the tender over and went for a dive together.
I think they call the site “Rayban”. It was an easy dive, 5.5m max depth! Quite a lot to see and great coral.

Ended the dive hanging out with a massive cuttle fish. It swam away to the sand to start with, then came back and was happy to let us get closer while it was feeding.
It was pretty cool to see it stick its tentacles into the coral to grab its food.

With the dive done it was time for Kristie to fill tanks while I did a bit more work.

Sip’s ‘n dips.

A few game fishing boats had come in late in the afternoon to shelter for the night.

Tuesday 30th

Early start to get in the water before the commercial boats turn up.

Back to “Rayban”, and by 8am Kristie was in the water with Emma.

She had a good dive (about 13min). Previously Kristina has gone first, and Emma and I swim along with Emma diving down.
This usually means she gets cold pretty quickly when it’s her turn to dive. We switched it up so Kristina could stay warm on the tender while Emma was diving.

With Emma done, Kristina jumped in and had her turn.

Fantastic spot for them to dive: no current, shallow, great visibility, and lots to see!

They both loved the “Midgen Berry” (dog-faced puffer fish) and a also found a “clam family” (two big clams, and two littler clams all huddled together!)

No snorkeling, so back to the Lazuli. Kristie swapped to a new tank and I took her out to do a solo dive on a large bommie out the back.

She saw plenty of fish, some good structure; overall a good enjoyable easy dive.

Back to the boat just in time for a client meeting (swapped my rash shirt for work shirt!).

Traci and Matt off Vellamo turned up in their tender to say hi (they’d just dropped anchor near us and were off for a snorkel).
Kristie had been messaging Traci on FB, and we’d waved to them as we left the Low Isles as they’d only turned up late the afternoon before we left.

They invited us over to their boat (a Catalina 470) for Sundowners later this afternoon.

The girls and I got ready to go for a snorkel, and Kristie geared up for a dive.
Took the tender across to the “North of South Opal” spot where the commercial operators go. About the same distance north as “Rayban” is south of where were are anchored.
The girls and I enjoyed a 54min snorkel, while Kristie had a solo dive.
We followed along with her to start with, the girls enjoyed diving down to wave at her.

Turned around to swim back towards the tender. This is one of our favourite snorkeling spots.
There was a lot of good coral, and some cool structures that had some “swim-throughs” that both girls enjoyed.
Emma spotted a very cool anemone bowl at the start of our snorkel, but by that time Kristie had swum past it.
With Kristie on the way back, I sent Emma off to bring Kristie over to it (it was only in about 2m deep).

We all took turns swimming down to check them out and take photos.

Kristie enjoyed her dive; she saw a school or razor-fish, a few eels, and had a baby Remora stick with her the whole dive.

When we met back up it tried to attach itself to Emma (she didn’t enjoy that one little bit!) and then it liked the look of my black fins!

Back onboard and Kristie started filling tanks. We had another o-ring blow out - lucky we have a bag of spares.

Sip’s and dips on Vellamo, left the girls back onboard with their iPads. They have a lovely yacht, lots of room for just the two of them.

Even though we were out at the reef with no land, we had a few birds think they could roost on the front railings.
Kristie shooed them off before she went to bed, but they came back and made a bit of a mess on the front deck :|

Wednesday 1st

Quick breakfast, then a family snorkel back at “North of South Opal”. Saw two turtles, went back to the anemone bowl which had since flattened out. The clown fish were still there though.
Spent some time diving down to that and the giant clams nearby. Emma’s ears started to get sore, so wasn’t a long snorkel this time.

Back to Lazuli and got ready to leave.

Had a good sail up to Mackay Cay while I got in some work. Just about everyone we met who had sailed north before highly recommend this spot.

Lure out. Work meeting. 5minutes after the meeting finished we hooked (and successfully landed) a long-fin (Albacore) Tuna, probably 60cm or so.

Processed the tuna while underway.

Picked up one of the two moorings, and quickly got ready to go and get dinner; jumped in the tender with Kristie and my spear gun.
Kristie finally managed to spot a decent sized Coral Trout that I got.
It’s not really sporting; they just sit there looking at you.
Not long after getting the trout in the boat, a large reef shark encouraged Kristie to get out of the water.

Coral Trout and chips for dinner. Yum.

Thursday 2nd

Got in a bit of work early in the morning.

Took Kristie for a dive on the bommies (we’ll call them the ‘Stepping Stones’) just out the back of the mooring.
There was good coral up on top in the shallow sections, but not much below the 10m mark.
Easy dive with good visibility.

Once back on the boat, the girls and I cooked up some banana muffins.

With plenty of fresh tuna, it was time to make sushi.
Emma helped Kristie make the rolls, and had them and sashimi for lunch. So tasty.
(I had cooked up some honey soy chicken for Kristina as she isn’t a fan of tuna).

Kristie and Emma produced a delicious platter of sushi that we all enjoyed.

Went into the cay for a play. There were a few other boats with some kids, so they all enjoyed some time on the swim mat and playing with the ball.

Emma and I flew the kites briefly, it’s been a while since we had them up.

The four of us went for a snorkel. There was a nice warm layer of water on top coming across from the reef (at times the water was too warm!).

We saw numerous Clown Fish, plenty of clams, a nudi and lots of Christmas tree worms.
The girls love swimming down and making them collapse down. One rock had over a dozen Emma got in one go!

Got back to Lazuli and I grabbed a scrubbing brush to give her a bit of a clean at/below the waterline. Kristina enjoyed jumping off the boat and swimming around.
We were in about 12m of water and could clearly see the bottom!

Headed back to the cay at about 5:30 to have sip’s ‘n dips on the cay by ourselves.

Saw some crabs, and a few turtles and a ray in the shallows.

Just as we were finishing up the cheese and drinks, a fishing boat turned up with a young couple and their dog who were going to sleep the night on the cay.

We went back to Lazuli and had tuna steaks for dinner.

Friday 3rd

With strong wind coming on on the weekend, we needed somewhere sheltered. Mackay Reef wouldn’t be any good in 20+kts.
Our options were either Port Douglas (not keen as it’s pretty shallow), or Hope Island (or even further north to Cape Bedford).
Mel off Rhythm had mentioned to us how good Hope Islands had been for them when they had to find shelter in 30kts.

We left just after 8am, and sailed for a few hours. The wind was WSW so first part of the track was fine and made reasonable speed for the given wind.
We saw some dolphins but no interest in us (we miss the pods that we had in NSW that would come checkout your boat!).

Eventually wind dropped and swung to dead behind us, so had to motor the last 15nm up to Hope Island as we couldn’t do better than 4kts.

The previous evening we’d spent some time all talking about this region and the experience Captain Cook had up here.
They had hit Endeavour Reef just before midnight on 11 June 1770. The ship began filling with water, and they couldn’t pump it out quicker than it was coming in.

See: https://www.nma.gov.au/exhibitions/endeavour-voyage/endeavour-reef
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endeavour_Reef

We were headed to Hope Islands

The Hope islands were named by Lt James Cook on 13 June 1770, after his ship HMS Endeavour narrowly escaped sinking after running aground on the eastern part of Endeavour Reef at 11pm on 11 June.
Cook writes of taking a risk and sailing from the reef on the morning of 13 June in favourable conditions but the three operational bilge pumps could not keep up with the flow of water.
Cook wrote “we were always in hopes of being able to reach these Islands”.
Cook speaks of he and the crew thinking the situation so dire that the best scenario would be to ground the boat on the reef surrounding the islands if the mainland could not be reached.
They aimed to build a vessel from the wreck to make it back to the East Indies.
However, some crew members were able to “fother” the leak using a sail so that the water could be cleared easily using one bilge pump.
Endeavour was able to be sailed safely to what is now Cooktown so that repairs could be undertaken.

I had my morning standup. At one point the lure hooked onto something, but whatever it was didn’t stay attached.
No fish for dinner :(

Picked up a mooring. There are four here, and only one was free at the time.

Lunch, then Kristie and I went into the island for a walk.

It’s not big, about 500m circumference.

Checked out the camping area, which didn’t look that appealing!

Saw a bunch of birds: a pair of Osprey (I think), Pelicans, a Kingfisher, Pied imperial pigeons, Bridled terns, a little Sandpiper.
Will take my SLR and zoom lens back to the beach next time we’re in there!

One of the boats that was on the island must have dumped their bait before they left as there was a bunch of squid bait in the shallows, and a few reef sharks swimming around.

We walked 50m back up and sat in the water for an hour to cool off.

One of the cats was swapping moorings. Went back to Lazuli stopping off to have a chat with him.
Steve on “Sharkbite”, a Fusion 40. He was here by himself and going to do a bit of kite surfing over the reef.

Put the green light out, but nothing big and no squid.

Saturday 4th

Wind was up a bit today. Late start to the day. We had plans to go walk around the reef flats at low tide.

I wanted to have another go with the spear guns. Water was pretty murky due to the 20knts wind coming over the reef!

Ended up with a pair of sweetlips.

Back on Lazuli and got the fished cleaned up and in the fridge.

Super quick lunch to get into land while the tide was down.

Didn’t see too much; not as much to see as Musgrave Island.

Emma dropped half her banana muffin in the water on the way back to shore :(

Quick walk back around the island

Enjoyed another swim/sit in the water.

Baked Sweetlip for dinner.

Sunday 5th

Windy today. More than yesterday. Too windy to do anything on the island.

Watched the NRL Grand Final after dinner. Great game - GO the BRONCOS!!

Emma watch the last half with me.

Monday 6th

Woke up this morning and the wind was down a bit from yesterday.

Had breakfast and spent some time looking at the weather, and then we made the decision to sail to Lizard.
We’d have reasonable protection from the reef along the way, so even with the forecast 15-20 it should be ok.

Took a bit of time to get Lazuli ready to go.
The washing up still needed putting away, the generator was still on the front deck, and I wanted to take the engine off the tender and lift it up to the pushpit.

We got going just before 8:30am, and had over 60nm to go. Estimate was an arrival between 4 and 5pm.

Had the main up with #2 reef, and the small headsail out.

Most of the trip was pretty good, swell between 0.5m - 1m, or even less when behind the reefs.

The wind picked up the last 2hours, and we lost a bit of protection from the reef. Ended up surfing down waves at 10-11kts.

Furled the jib once we got behind the island, and then dropped the main once we got to Watson Bay.

Dropped anchor in about 4m or water, and put out 40m chain.

Around 20 other boats on this side of the island, mostly fishing or mega yachts.

Cheese and Whisky, and then bacon and eggs for dinner.

We finally made it!! Lizard Island has always been our end goal, our final destination.
This is as far north as we’ll take Lazuli. We’ll stay here until we get some reef days, then it’s time to turn around and head south.
Until then, we’ll enjoy island life on Lizard Island.

Thursday 18th September - Cairns Marlin Marina

The local fuel wharf is extremely busy with all the commercial vessels that need refueling.

I left the booking a bit late and the earliest booking I could get was 10:45am.

So with the boat ready, we had time to do school and a bit of work before we had to head off.

Got to the fuel dock and filled up: ~130L of diesel.

Our plan was to get to the reefs, but the forecast for today and tomorrow had swell and wind was a bit too much, so we planned to have two nights back at Fitzroy Island.
Motored all the way there, and grabbed a mooring.
Got one in close.

We were getting off the boat, and gave the girls a choice of snorkel or walk.

Emma chose to come for a snorkel, and Kristina stayed onboard.

Emma took charge of Kristie’s underwater camera for the entire snorkel. We enjoyed the snorkel, and amongst other things Emma saw a nudi.

It started raining so the three of us quickly jumped back into the tender and back to Lazuli to close hatches and put up the sides.

No walk this afternoon as it was raining.

Our new infill is nice and waterproof; the old one had so many patches and was so old that there were many drips!

With no walk, I had time to catch up on the last blog.

Friday 19th

A bit more rain during the night.

I worked downstairs, and the girls did school up top. Wasn’t long before the sides had to come off as it was getting too hot.

Kristie made the most of clear skies to clean the girls hatch windows; they were getting a bit mouldy after a week of rain.

Lunch.

Then more rain, so the sides went back on.

I did more work.

With the skies finally clear, we took the tender into island; Emma stayed behind and Kristina came with us.
The boat on the mooring next to us was trying to leave, but the skipper was getting in the water to untangle the mooring line from their prop.
Wasn’t anything we could do to help.

The three of us walked to the Secret Garden, it’s only a few hundred meters in.

With that done, we continued the walk to Nudy beach.

There was a rope swing set up on the beach.

Back on Lazuli, the mooring had been banging on the hull a lot, so I pulled the mooring line up onto deck so it wouldn’t bang down the side of the boat all night.

Saturday 20th

Up early to leave Fitzroy at 6:30am.

We motored to Vlasoff Reef, but too rolly to bother stopping. Continued motoring to Michaelmas Cay.

Michaelmas Cay is a bird nesting habitat, and I had read reports of bid poop over boats: I was a little concerned for the new infill and dodger!

There are two moorings there, and both were taken. I took a bit of time to find somewhere away from the bommies to anchor. We dropped anchor but then picked it back up and got closer behind the cay.

Another yacht dropped anchor in front of us and looked like they were over our anchor.

Dropped the tender to go have a chat with them about the anchor. He ended up diving on his and said he couldn’t see ours which was good.
I also had a chat to the yacht on the other mooring and found they were leaving in the afternoon and arranged to take their mooring when they left.

The four of us took the mat into the cay for a good swim. It was busy on the beach with a two big tourist boats.

We checked out the birds; very noisy!

Tender back to Lazuli as the other boat was about to leave. Quick anchor up and got the mooring.

Kristie and I went for a dive. We weren’t sure on the best spot (one of the DM’s from the boat had mentioned to Kristie on the marina that diving there wasn’t that great!)
Viz was ok ish on the outside of the reef, inside down less than 5m.

It wasn’t our best dive: Kristie did a bounce dive to 330m, and my new watch started (and continued) in free-diving mode :|

Kristina and I fed all the fish off the side of Lazuli, so many fish and lots of different types.

We had our Sips ‘n dips while chatting to Bride and Andrew on Hoot (who were out at Bait Reef) who were also enjoying sundowners.

Had the green squid light out; we saw a few bigger fish swim through using the light to hunt, but no squid. It was a green zone so didn’t matter anyway!

Sunday 21st

Kristie filled tanks after breakfast.

Time for a family snorkel: Kristina jumped off the front of the boat, and we went over to the coral where we’d seen others swim.

Kristina and Emma used all the battery in the dive camera, and it went flat.

The snorkel wasn’t too bad; lots of giant clams and numerous of turtles.

Back on Lazuli and we motored to Hastings Reef.

This is where Kristie did her very first ever dive on her Open Water course.
The plan was to take the girls for a dive here and then we might go for a dive.
However by the time we had done lunch and were ready we’d only have time for Kristie to take the girls for a dive then we’d need to head somewhere else as conditions weren’t good enough to spend the night here.

We had dropped anchor in a clear spot between two large bommimes.

Very quick tender ride into the reef and tied onto a mooring ball.

Kristina did a 20min dive while Emma and I followed along. Kristina was swimming around and pointing out everything. I took photos, and Emma kept diving down to check out them and other reef attractions.

Emma then donned the dive gear and did a 10min dive. She was getting a bit cold after her snorkle so kept still and Kristie more or less had to push/pull her through the water!

With the dive done it was then time to head back and get ready to move off.

We went towards Michaelmas Cay, but another boat was on the mooring. Our best option was to push on to Green Island and get a mooring there.

Sip’s ‘n dips then dinner. The mooring was ok, a little bumpy but could have been a lot worse!

Kristina and I enjoyed the clear sky and did a bit of stargazing on the front deck.

Monday 22nd

Kristie and I went for a cheeky snorkel before one of my work meetings.

Work for me, but the girls are now on school holidays!

Lunch.

Heading into the island, went over to say hi to Rhythm who were on one of the moorings. Kristie had been messaging them about the reefs/island further north.
They had 3 reef sharks circling their boat when we got there. It could have had something to do with them hosing fish remains off their boat!

In to the island. Kristie checked with the kiosk when they’d shut (3pm!) but was assured we could still get ice cream after.
The forest walk was very pleasant.

Got to the end then walked back along the beach. Had fun exploring the rock pools and playing with starfish.

Ice cream at 3:01pm, but not at the kiosk as that was closed - had to go to reception!

Had a swim in the pool. Girls had bought their mermaid tails. The water was much warmer than expected.

Sip’s ‘n dips back on Lazuli. We normally only do them on Sunday, but seemed to have slipped into holiday mode?!

Tuesday 23rd

We’re heading back into Cairns marina today, but we had time for a quick snorkel first.

We took the tender to the moorings to the north of where we were. Covered a bit of ground. Good snorkel.

The wind was perfect for a sail back to the channel. We hoisted the main up while still on the mooring.

I worked while Kristie sailed back to the channel.

Dropped sails in a break between meetings and then kept motoring down the channel.

They had given us a blow-on berth, and there was nobody else in the pen with us.

It started raining before we had finishing getting settled, so quickly got the infill and sides on.

Kristie went up to do a load of laundry, and I took the rubbish up.

I got in a bit more work.

Kristie took off to go shopping; new togs for Kristina and a few other items at the shopping centre.
Given her issues with the Shearwater going to 330m, she decided a backup dive computer would be good idea for when we go north.

I took the opportunity to wrap up all the presents ready for tomorrow.

Kristina and I had to do a quick trip out to buy some chocolates for Kristie that Kristina could put in the card/box she’d spent ages crafting.

The girls helped me bake cupcakes ready for tomorrow.

Wednesday 24th - Kristie’s Birthday!

Presents first thing in the morning, not much of a sleep-in for Kristie; Kristina was a bit excited and had been awake early and was moving around above our beds!

I cooked up some bacon, and served that with some French toast and maple syrup. Yum!

With breakfast done we got ready and went to the Cairns Aquarium that was only a few blocks away.

I think we enjoyed the Sydney Aquarium more, but this one had lots of displays that were more relevant to the reef and north Queensland.

Woolies on the way back for hot chook lunch back on Lazuli.

It ended up raining in the afternoon, so we stayed on the boat and had a chill afternoon.

Eventually the rain stopped and we could head off. We needed ice cream for Kristie’s birthday, so off to Cold Rock…

Followed by a cold swim at the lagoon!

We didn’t last too long. Hot showers were required, and then got ready for dinner (I gave the girls their Naan-Pizza on the boat).

We’d booked and arranged dinner at the Prawn Star (3 boats down from us!) and Stuart and Sanne were joining us.

The tiger prawns were tasty, and I enjoyed a few of the Oysters that Sanne shared.

Emma started to learn to peel her own prawns. Finally!

Kristina doesn’t like prawns, so she spent the time doing a few trips back to Lazuli: jelly fish costume hat, then her full costume, then another dress change, then back to get her notebook!
It was then time for the birthday cupcakes, so both girls went back to get them and the candles.

They grabbed their iPads so we could give them more time while we finished drinks.

Thursday 25th

The earliest I could have got Fuel on Friday was going to be 8:30am, and we were hoping to leave a lot earlier than that.
They open the fuel wharf up for filling jerry cans between 8-8:30 every morning.

Decanted the 20L diesel jerry I had, then took that and two others and the petrol cans to go get filled.

Came back and decanted one of the 20L fully to top up Lazuli, so rushed back to refill that one.
We could be away for sometime so trying to take a bit extra diesel with us this time.

I hadn’t ever removed the old fuel line and filter from the tender (since we got the new outboard in Airlie), so knocked off that job this morning as well.

Kristie filled up our water tanks.

I had ordered a new lifting strap for the outboard. The old one wouldn’t work for the heavier 4-stroke.
This had arrived a few days ago and was waiting at the marina office for us to collect; Kristie walked up to grab that for me.

I did some fiberglass jell patching on the tender, and glued some marine carpet on to the tender and onto the davits to stop them rubbing.

Kristie set off for another walk to Bunnings, the pharmacy and Kmart.

Once back she took up another load to the laundry.

We all enjoyed some expensive mangoes she’d managed to bring back from the markets.

With a bigger day planned tomorrow, I wanted to have the outboard off the tender and fixed on the back.
This would be the first time we’d tried with the new engine. The new strap works really well.

Kristie had booked a massage for 2pm, so left to do that while I was still getting jobs done.

Our Woolies delivery turned up, not a big one this time, just enough to replace what we’d gone through in the last week.

Our wind anemometer instrument hadn’t been working in ages. We get wind direction, but not speed.
(not a massive issue - with 30+ years of sailing experience it is easy enough to look at the water and get a good idea of wind speed!)

I figured I’d try and give it a spray and see if it worked.
Sanne came over to help with the halyards. I got up the top and gave it a good spray.

With a bit of pushing it’d start moving with the wind, but turns out it was all for naught as it didn’t keep spinning once I was down :(

Also took a few photos from the top :)

Eggs and leftovers for dinner.

With the weather forecast we were expecting a long sail; I cooked up sausages and banana muffins in preparation.

I needed to spend a bit more time tidying up ready to sail tomorrow.

Did dishes, then walked out to post the post cards and get some more from Woolies and more wine from bottle shop.

Spent a few more hours working.

Tomorrow we leave Cairns and head north… finally.