Sunday 8th June - Pearl Bay

After a bit of a rolly night it was time to head to the beach for a walk. The girls opted to stay inside, so just Kristie and I for a walk.

There had been maybe 8 or so other boats in Pearl Bay for the night, but by the time our walk was done only us and one other remained.

Back to Lazuli and then up anchor to motor up to Island Head Creek (about 6nm or so north of us).

The wind forecast for today/tonight was to swing around to the north, then north-west, then south-west, with a south-east swell!
There aren’t many places that can provide reasonable protection from that range of wind!
Island Head Creek had been closed for the last week due to some live firing action in the Shoal Water Bay area, but from 8am today it was open.
The guide book we have shows several places to stop, but down the creek at #4 has protection from ALL wind directions - perfect!

There were maybe 5 or so other boats (mostly cats) tucked in close to the norther end not far inside the entrance.
We passed them and kept going.

We had a few attempts at setting the anchor. At one point we dragged up a lump of rock/oysters, and I had to use the boat hook to leaver it off the anchor and back to where it belongs.

Tried our luck at fishing, but as usual nothing happened.

Sushi/sashimi (our Mac Tuna) for dinner. Except for Kristina who won’t eat raw fish ;)

We had a calm night in with the mozzies.

Monday 9th

No School today as we have a big’ish sailing day.

With the winds currently (and still forecast for the rest of the day/night) from the SW, we were looking for options.
Originally we wanted to stay at Hexham Island, but that wouldn’t be too good with SW winds and W swell.

The Duke Islands (Bamborough) were the next option - good anchorage there for the SW.

Before we’d left I got a message from Pete on Nauti Kitty asking where we were heading next and that they were still in the Percys.
Same distance to South Percy as to Bamborough, so off to the Percy’s we go.

I had a morning of meetings, so Kristie kept watch while the autopilot did its thing.

We had good wind and made pretty good time to the island. We came around the Eastern side of South Percy and dropped sails in the calmer waters.

The SW side (other end of the island from us) looked to offer the best protection from the SW winds, so motored across the bay.
Dropped anchor then jumped straight onto another work call. I had to cut it short as our anchor was dragging a little.
Got it reset, and it was then fine for the next two nights.

Nauti Kitty had been over at Middle Percy but were now on the way over to where we were.

As soon as they arrived it was time to head into the beach for a catch-up.

It was great to see Pete and Jess and the two boys again.
We’d last seen them nearly a month ago during our first stop in Gladstone.
They’d been a few steps/stops ahead of us the whole time (yes we’d been stalking them on AIS).

We stayed on the beach for quite a while, and didn’t get back to Lazuli until quite late.
Then had to cook up dinner - Mac Tuna for us (except Kristina).

Tuesday 10th

School and Work.

After a late lunch we got a call from the others that they were going to head for a snorkle/swim/play at the beach.

Geared up and off we went. The snorkeling was ok, nothing compared to Musgrave/Heron. Didn’t last too long.

Pete then offered to take me fishing, so back to the boats to get ready.

We dropped the girls over to Nauti Kitty to play with Sniffy, and we went off. Got a few bites but nothing substantial to keep.

We got the call over the VHF asking how late we’d be, and that Jess was hungry and so were the kids.
By the time we got back she’d cooked fish and rice for them and herself. They then invited Kristie and I over for dinner.
We supplied potatoes (they were out) and they supplied some red throat they’d caught earlier. Delicious fish, and salty fried potatoes were also smashed quickly.

With the wind going more SE, we made a plan to head over to Middle Percy tomorrow.

Wednesday 11th

We figured a bunch of other boats would also have the same idea, so we left reasonably early to move around.

I just had time for a very quick work call before we dropped anchor. There were already quite a few boats there, so we had to stand out a bit (as usual).

Got some more work done, and the girls did school.

Early lunch and then into the beach to check out the A-Frame that Middle Percy is famous for.

The A-Frame has a collection of boating bits and memorabilia left by cruisers over the last 50 or so years.
Contributions range from stubby coolers to t-shirts, blocks of wood with names chiseled out, to intricately carved and polished boards.
Lots of history.

There’s two levels, and every bit is full of memorabilia:

The Nauti Kitty crew were in, and Pete had his coconut pole-saw working overtime to relieve the trees of their goods.
He also chopped them up and offered them around. These were proper nice coconuts - the milk was tasty and the flesh inside was next level.
On their recommendation we tried it with other accompaniments such as honey, pineapple, and soy sauce (in various combinations of each).

We also met a few other boat crews that were in at the beach/hut as well, and invited them all back in for bbq/dinner tonight.

The kids enjoyed a swim/wrestle on the mat, and the water was really quite lovely to swim in.

Pete was off for another fish, so I jumped in with them for a quick trip out. I managed to land a fish, but nothing of note to brag about.

Back to the beach to get the girls and get ready for the night.

Pete and Jess were going to cook some Lamb in their camp oven. We had a bag of frozen carrots, a sweet potato, and some damper to offer (also sausages for the kids).

We had the usual nibbles and drinks, and also got chatting to Marty (current care taker), and Wayne (one of the board members and out there dropping off supplies and helping Marty out).

We also bought some honey. The caretaker sells it there - happy to support them. It’s good bush honey, but the girls don’t like the taste that much (it’s quite different from the processed honey you buy in the supermarkets).

The damper was great, lamb delicious, and the carrots a bit cold (they needed just a bit longer in the fire!).

Also had a chat with some lads up from Port Stephens on their annual reef fishing trip (they’d just spent a few nights out at the Swains on their 5-6m fishing boat).
One of them offered around some fish they’d just caught and cooked. Fresh reef fish is so good.

The girls were also having a sleepover on Nauti Kitty. The other night when we’d been there they’d seen that the boys had a swag on the front and had slept in that.
Emma ended up just sleeping down in one of the cabins, but the Kristina and the two boys slept the night in the swag.

Thursday 12th

We could hear a bit of commotion on NC in the morning, and the kids were up on deck fishing.
One of the boys caught a squid, then Kristina had a go and pulled one in. No ink on any boats.

Pete dropped the girls (and a fresh coffee for me!) over. These boat friends are next level!

Nauti Kitty then left to head over to Curlew Island for the night.

Emma had missed out on a squid over there, so she had a quick go with her rod, but there weren’t any about.

The rest of the morning was school and work.

Bit of rain/drizzle.

I jumped in the tender with my fishing gear to try my luck, but didn’t even get a nibble; I also managed to break my rod after I caught a rock :(

George, from one of the other cats came over and offered a Queenfish he’d caught and couldn’t offload. We happily accepted it (was at least 60cm or so!).
Quick fillet and into the fridge.

Fish for dinner. Not as tasty as the reef fish, but still nice.

Rolly night :(

Friday 13th

No school this morning - we needed to get off the boat.

Kristie had devised a plan of what we could craft to leave behind in the A-Frame.
With the drill, sandpaper, glue, and cord in hand we headed in and setup at the table to make our sign.

We all got to help and do the finger knitting, but Kristie was in charge of gluing/positioning!
The girls collected shells to decorate the rest of the wood.

With the sign done we had a quick swim. Emma did some painting while we were getting wet:

There’s a swing at the A-Frame, and the girls are always up for a swing :)

We were almost ready to leave when another couple walked past and mentioned they’d collected a few passion fruit.
So off we went to see what we could scavenge. We got back to the tender with 9 :)

Early lunch and then onto Digby Island (Nauti Kitty had headed there this morning).

It’s only about 20nm (and I forgot to record the track). We sailed for quite a bit of it, but eventually with the wind and sun dropping we had to use the motor otherwise it’d be dark when we anchored.
As it was, it was about 5pm before we got the anchor down.

Kristie whipped up her asparagus dip, and then we were off to the beach to meet up with the others.

We enjoyed a fire and drinks on the beach.

The others had brought their dinner in, we had to cook it when we got back to Lazuli at around 8pm!
Left over Queenfish for us (Kristina is happy to eat this since I haven’t served it up raw :)

Very rolly (probably the most rolly we’ve had) night - Kristie moved upstairs to sleep on the deck during the night, it was that bad :(

The following is Kristina’s Percy Island Top 5

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At Middle Percy Island there were lots of fun things to do (for me anyways) 
but there were five things that I liked more than others.

My favourite thing was the passion fruit vines that were on the sides of the path. 
I really loved that because passion fruit is so good we we got to pick it ourselves for once instead of buying it.

My second favourite thing was having a sleepover on our friends boat Nauti Kitty. 
I really enjoyed that because it was the first proper sleepover I'd been to plus 
it was with the sniffys who always make me laugh.

The next thing on my list of favourites is the swing that was hanging from the A-frame. 
I was really excited about the swing because I think swinging is so much fun and I haven't done it in over a year.

The fourth thing that I really liked was the fire pit that was out the back of the A-frame.
This meant that we could get warm and make some delicious damper both of which I really liked.

The last thing on my list of favourites was when Mum and Dad decided we were going to do some craft to hang up in the A-frame.
So we did some finger knitting and Mum and Dad glued it on.
Me and Emma also went for a swim to find some shells to glue on as well.

The following is Emma’s Percy Island Top 5

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1. At the A Frame there was a wooden swing. I enjoyed swinging and jumping off it
2. When Kristina, mum and dad were swimming I painted a coconut with water colours.
3. Mum had the idea to finger knit our name Lazuli for the A Frame
4. We had a fire on the beach and I helped mum bake delicious damper
5. Mum, dad and Kristina picked some yummy passion fruit but I stayed behind 
(the passion fruit was a bit sour though).

Saturday 14th

Breakfast then dropped Kristie into the beach and I went back to the boat to get the girls breakfast.

I came back in with Kristina while Emma stayed on Lazuli. We couldn’t find Kristie, and I assumed she was off exploring.
Pete dropped the two boys into the beach and then went back to do some boat jobs.

Kristie turned up - she’d been having a nap on the beach behind a rock.

We (Kristie, Kristina, the two boys, and I) set off exploring around the headland. Good views over the islands to the north/north west.

A quick trip back to Lazuli for lunch and then the kids (and Kristie) had to get ready for the sleepover on the beach.

I dropped the girls back to shore with all their gear, and went back to the boat to get dinner ready.

While I was cooking the beef stir-fry the girls and the other two boys got the fire prepared.

I brought dinner back to the beach in our Billy-Boil (it’s been so handy!). I picked up the camp-oven from Nauti Kitty and went in.

We got the fire going, and Kristie had the kids help her make the damper - we’d run out of lemonade, so had to resort to two of the Bundy Passionfruit cans that Kristina has.

Jess and the kids had brought in some cream and homemade jam to have with the damper. Delicious.

Post damper swing

They’d also had provided the rice for the dinner.

We had fun around the fire, and eventually managed to get the kids in their swag at about 8-8:30pm.

Kristie was sleeping on (and under) a tarp on the beach, with one of our boat cushions and a sleeping bag.

We put the fire out, then left Kristie and the kids on the beach. I went back to Lazuli to do the washing up and watch a bit of tv.

We’d left a handheld VHF on the beach, but thankfully no late night trips were needed :)

Another rolly night for me - I believe the sand was nice and stationary.

The following is Emma’s recount of our time at Digby Island:

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We anchored at Digby Island for two nights.
At sunset we had a fire on the beach.
Kristina, Argie, and Kyan make a fire pit out of rocks and cuttle fish cement.
Mummy made some damper and Jess brought in some cream to put on it when it was ready.
Argie found a rope and a stick then dad used them to make a swing!
I love swings.
We had a sleep over on the beach that night.
All the kids slept in a swag but mum slept under a tarp.

The following is Kristina’s recount of our time at Digby Island:

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When we left the Percys our next stop was Dibgy Island which has been my favourite place so far.
During the day me, the Sniffys and my Mum and Dad went exploring over the rocks.
We had a look in some rock pools and we got a great view from the top of the rocks.
After we got back me and Sniffy started building a fire pit.
At first it was only going to be one layer of rocks but then I put on a second layer.
While I was doing that Sniffy collected some fire wood then started to make a bonfire in the fire pit.
I joined in to make the process go quicker and by the time we had finished Dad had got back from getting lunch.
Our process was worth it as by the end we had made a huge fire that was ready for the night.
Meanwhile Sniffy jr had re-lit one of the fires from last night so we could have some coals for tonight.
After we had all finished those tasks me and the Sniffys made some cuttlefish concrete.
Sniffy jr went up and down the beach collecting all the cuttlefish he could find.
He would then come back and give them to Sniffy who would soak them, crush them up with a rock, 
then mix them with sand in one of the sand castle buckets.
I would then come over, pick them up and reinforce the fire pit with it.
It was getting dark so Dad went to pick up Emma from the boat.
They came back to the beach and Sniffy's parents came just a bit after and with them came the swag.
Another thing we had done was choosing a spot for the swag to go.
We were planning to have a sleepover on the beach and it turned out great.
All of us kids were going to sleep in the swag and our Mum was going to sleep under a tarp.
When every thing was done us kids started to get a bit bored so we started to make a swing out of some rope
that Sniffy had found while looking for fire wood.
Then we bugged the Dads to use the chainsaw on some of the firewood we found for the base.
We then turned it into a swing.

Sunday 15th

I got a message around 6:30 to say that the beach party was awake and after some breakfast.

The kids were happy with the idea of some melted ham and cheese wraps (melted in the fire they had to get going again :)
Cocopops for Kristie and some of the kids as well (the wraps were a little too smoky for some)

We packed up the beach camping and tried to leave the beach in a good state for the next boaties.

Back to the boats and to get ready for setting off.

Nauti Kitty were off to Double Island (we’d looked at that on the map and with the given weather forecast decided it would not be good for us).

We left for Curlew Island. We had to motor out and bash our way south for a bit before we could get the sails up.

I had the 2nd reef in the main, and our smaller head sail out, and we were still hammering along at 9-10knts a lot of the time with apparent wind angle of about 50deg.

We would have had a 1-1.5m swell from the south.

Dropped the sails and went in the western channel. Dropped anchor in a nice calm spot.
We had followed one boat in, and not long after us another two turned up, making it 5 all up.

There was still a bit of swell, but nothing like we’d had the last two days.

Tender down, then Kristie and I went in for a walk on the beach, leaving the girls on their iPads.

Back to Lazuli for lunch, then I dropped Kristie back to the beach while I went back to Lazuli to prep the boat for the sail to Mackay tomorrow.

• Cooked Sausages
• Baked Brownies
• Cut up oranges
• boiled the pasta
• made rice and dinner for tonight.

At about 4pm I took the girls back into the beach for sip’s ‘n dips and dinner on the beach.

We had fun playing on the beach - cricket - throwing/catching - frisbee. On our earlier walk, Kristie and I had found the big rock at the end that people leave shells and other interesting things on.

We took the girls back there, via another group of boaties from two other boats.

Found some more shells, and left them on the rock shelf for others to enjoy.

We wanted to get back to our food before the sun went down!

Walked back down the beach to enjoy dinner with the sun going down (hot dinner thanks to the Billy Boil).

Back to Lazuli.

Monday 16th

Big’ish day sail today - somewhere around 45nm or so to get to Mackay.

We were up early and had ourselves and Lazuli ready for departure not long after 7am. We left via the western channel, and there was a lot of action on the surface, with the seabirds and fish both going nuts all around us.

The wind was more or less SE, and we needed to go NE. Choosing not to go dead down wind we angled into the coast a bit.
Again we had 2nd reef in the main, but full head sail out. We had some fast sailing into the coast, but probably went a bit further off course than desired.
Another boat had left Curlew not long after us, a 50ft X-Yacht, also bound for Mackay.
They ended up getting into the marina about 1.6nm ahead of us. We travelled 50nm, whereas if travelling by Crow it’d be about 43nm.

Dropped sails before we got into the main harbour; after crossing an unexpected “bar” at the entrance we did a few circles while I got the fenders and lines ready.

We had got organised for someone to help us, but with a good 15knt blow-off it wasn’t going to be fun.
I ended up with one foot on the boat next to us keeping Lazuli away from it :(
No damage done, just increased heart rates all around.

We were in the area of the marina for the larger boats.
I noticed a racing boat opposite to us, and realised it was Merit, the Volvo 60 I’d sailed on with Craig two years ago when we helped deliver it from Airlie to Southport.
Michael (the owner) was just leaving, so had a quick catchup/chat with him. Craig (who’ll be on Lazuli in a few weeks) had just recently sailed it up from Brisbane with Michael.

We were still getting settled when we noticed Nauti Kitty had just come around the corner and was heading into a pen just down from us.
Kristie and I walked down to catch their lines. Much less eventful than our entry :)

Kristie walked up to check in, and to get a trolly or two. We had few weeks of rubbish to get rid of, and a few weeks worth of washing to do.

After one trip to drop off the rubbish, we all went up for a shower and to put the washing on.
Good facilities, though showers aren’t as nice as Gladstone Marina, and the washing machines were small.

Back on Lazuli with clean cloths, we walked back up to the marina precinct for dinner.
The sports bar didn’t have any real GF options, so we went to the Deck Steakhouse, which did have lots of options.
Pete and Jess and the boys were their with his mum. We ended up at a table near them and the kids chatted for a bit.
We enjoyed the ribs and a few tasty beverages.

We’ll have tonight and tomorrow night at the marina. We’ve booked the “Rent a Wreck” ($69 to hire one of their cars for the day) for tomorrow as we’ve got lots of shopping / jobs to do.

Pearl Bay to Mackay is about 116nm (or 215km) in a straight line. We’ve made some good progress getting north.

Wednesday 4th June

School and work in the morning.

Early lunch, then into the beach with our swimming mat.

Kristie, Kristina and I walked up to the end of Leekes Beach to check out the headland/lagoon at the end. (Emma stayed and played in the sand).
A nice long walk, some good shells found.

Nic and Kenny were heading off for a snorkle, and dropped Charlee on the beach with Emma just before we got back to them.

The girls enjoyed a bit of time in the water and playing in the sand.

And some beach cricket with both girls:

Back to Lazuli to get dry and changed ready to come back for sips ‘n dips on the beach with everyone else.

A good spread of food as usual with Viv & Russ, Nic & Kenny, and Jana & Sebastian (a new boat Kristie stalked on FB - they have 4 kids!).

Back to Lazuli in the dark - our new solar sensor light works very well :)

Thursday 5th

School and Work.

We’d organised to have dinner on the beach over at Svendsons tonight, so we moved Lazuli over that side so we didn’t have as far to tender
(it was also a little bit more out of the wind). The other boats stayed where they were.

We had an early lunch then went into the beach for a swim.

The other two tenders and crew were on the beach. A quick chat with them before they all went back to their boats.

Water was a bit cool, but still got wet!

Back to Lazuli to get dry (and for a tiny bit more work), and then get prepared for an afternoon on the beach.

We met the others on the beach at about 3:30pm and got ready for the night. We ended up with 5 boats and 9 kids!
The kids all had a great time playing in the sand, running around and exploring the bush.

There’s a permanent fire area set up on the beach, with gazebo, table & chairs and a selection of cooking equipment.
They also have a stack of pre-cut firewood to help yourself too.

With the fire going it was time to bust out some food and drinks.

Usual platter:

• cheese
• chips
• olives
• asparagus dip

Kristie and the girls made some damper, and we got that cooking.

Sweet potatoes went in the fire wrapped in foil.

Marshmallows came out before dark. The kids enjoyed finding and sharpening sticks (our usual forks are still in the camper trailer!)

Always opportunities for sunset photos over the water.

There was a big grill to put over the fire, so we had

• fish
• chicken
• pumpkin
• more chicken
• steak
• cauliflower

There was also a salad. Plenty of food for everyone to share and enjoy!

More wine/cider, then the schnapps came out again (thanks Russ, very tasty!), and we alternated between that and the bottle of Port I brought along.

Gradually the others left until it was just the four of us with Viv and Russ, enjoying the fire on the beach.

What a great night.

Managed to find Lazuli without too much trouble :)

The following is Emma’s recount of our time on the beach:

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At the Great Keppels we had a fire on the beach.
There already an area set up which made things a lot easier.
We had five boats of friends of boats with us.
In those five boats there was nine kids and that, equals CHAOS!
We build a giant sand fortress in a race against the tide.
We build it for baby Mia, but she wasn't allowed out of the carrier so we basically built it for nothing!
We found and cleaned some stick for cooking marshmallows and sausages over the fire.
I helped mum make damper and Kristina helped me stir.
The damper took a while to cook but it was delicious when it was ready.

The following is Kristina’s recount of our time on the beach:

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Last night we went to Svendsons beach with out boat friends.
We started off with just four boats and that was fun but then another boat came and it had two more kids.
There were nine kids, lots of sand and lots more chaos.
All us kids (except for the two toddlers) started working on four Baby.
It was a giant sand castle that was hollow on the inside. 
It had walls and a big moat surrounding it.
Fort Baby was about two meters long and wide and we called it Fort Baby because it was for the two toddlers.
Although neither of them were allowed in so we made it Charlee/Fake Donald Trumps grave.

Friday 6th

Bella and Exhale left early to head around to Fishermans Bay.

We had school and work so didn’t move too early.

We figured we’d just move back to Leekes Beach and walk across to the resort (we needed an Ice Cream and to find an Echidna).

With Lazuli moved, we had a lunch then got ready to head into the beach. Jana & Sebastian and the 4 kids joined us for the walk.

We had to walk a bit back down the beach, then along the track up to the 1st Lookout (which has seen better days!).

Bit of an up hill walk, but once there it was easy down.

Walked to the pub on the corner.

One of the other kids had climbed up a few of the coconut trees and pulled down a collection which the kids carried down the road.

They set up and with the help of their trusty pocket knife had them opened up ok.

We got our ice creams and walked back to meet the others who’d stopped outside the resort.

We all tried the coconut water:

…some less impressed than others!

With twilight fast approaching we had to head back down the beach to walk over the headland.

Kristie came across an Echidna just on the top of the beach by the cabins. We all came back for some photos.
It was completely un-phased by any of us.

A quick stop for a swing along the beach on the way back:

The walk up the headland was ok. There’s a rope on the other side to help get down.

Some lovely sunset photos on the beach.

By the time we got back to our tender there were some fairly decent waves breaking on the beach! Didn’t look like a nice comfortable night.

We got back on and called across to Russ to check out what it was like there… still a bit of a roll but didn’t sound as bad as what we had here.

Quick anchor up, and we were off before the sun could set.

Most of Fisherman’s bay is a bit too shallow for us, so we were out just a bit behind the others.
Rolly, but not as bad as the other side.

The following is Emma’s recount of the walk we did:

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We went on a walk at the Great Keppel Island.
We waited for our friends on Leekes Beach.
When they arrived we started to walk along the sandy beach.
At first the path was rocky and sandy, and then it got steep.
When we got to the top the rocks turned into bitumen which made it easier to walk.
At the bottom on the other side, there were some coconut trees.
Yoshi climbed the coconut trees and tossed coconuts down.
Malo cut them open with his pocket knife so we could drink the milk!
I didn't like the taste but the others did.
We also bought some ice creams because we have a boat rule that we get an ice cream every place we visit.
We started to walk back then we saw an echidna.
The echidna was trying to find something to eat.
We stood still and the echidna walked 3cm away from my foot.
We named it Bobirina!

The following is Kristina’s recount of the walk we did:

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On Friday we did a walk at Leekes Beach. 
We beat our friends to the beach so we pulled our tender up and waited for them.
While we were waiting some other kids that we hadn't seen before (apparently they were on Keppel Island before got there)
came to the beach.
Mum and Dad did a bit of talking with their Dad and at the end out newest friends said they were going to tender over to the other side of the Island.
They left then some of our other friends came over.
(We have so many boat friends that it's getting hard to keep track of them.)
Since they got there we started walking up the beach.
We all found the start of the walk. 
The first bit was lovely, with soft dirt beneath our feet and lush trees above our head.
Then the trees got thinner and the dirt turned to gravel.
Emma started complaining about the fact that it was getting steeper.
None of us liked that bit but the rest of us kept it to ourselves.
After a bit the gravel turned into pavement and we were back under lush trees.
We got to the resort and we noticed all the coconut trees that were full of coconuts.
Yoshi was the first one to react, shimming upt the side of a tree.
It took him a couple tries but he managed to get down two big coconuts before coming back down the tree.
We continued walking and found thw shops, a good spot to sit near the shops and two small coconut trees.
This time both Yoshi and Malo climbed up.
One of the coconuts go me on the head but it didn't hurt too much.
After the boys had collected eleven coconuts Malo decided it was time to opn them with their own personal pocket knives.
Neither me nor Emma liked the coconut water but what we did like 
was the Ice creams we got to obey the rule we have on Lazuli: We must have at least one ice cream each place we go.
This was Mum and Dads way of bribing us onto the boat.
We were heading back along a different path then Mum told us she found one of the echidnas.
We came over to see it then she showed me where our new friends from earlier were.
I ran over to get them because they were just about to leave. 
I told them but although they didn't believe me they came anyways.
Amy, Yoshi, and Malo had seen an echidna last time they were here and Amy named it Bob.
This one was a different colour so we named it Boblina.
OVer all it was a good day and I'm glad that we went on the walk.

Saturday 7th

We had a reasonably big day today - about 45nm to get up to Pearl Bay. We’ve heard it’s nice.

With breakfast done and the boat ready, we dropped the tender so we could offload our rubbish to the bins at the beach.
We’ll be a bit more remote the next week or so with no option to drop rubbish anywhere.

We said our goodbyes to Exhale and Bella, they’re hanging around there a bit longer while we have to head north a bit quicker.
It’s been great travelling with them the last month (we met them the start of May at Fraser Island). Hope to see them again in the Whitsundays!

Motored out and around the islands. No wind sadly :(
Once out of the green zones the lures went in - one on my rod, another on the hand line the girls had given me last year (and I’d yet to catch anything on it).

We’d probably been motoring for an hour or so when my reel went nuts. We slowed down and tried to reel it in.
It put up a great fight, especially when it got close to Lazuli.

I got it to the surface, and with Kristie’s help got it in the net and onboard. I managed to get it across the other side before it splattered too much blood.

It was a 65cm Mackerel Tuna. A bit bigger than the last one I got that was 55cm.

Just as I’d got it off the hook and in the bucket I noticed the lure on the hand reel had hooked up another fish and was dragging it along the surface at high speed!
Glove back on, and started the lengthy process of bringing in the hand line.
The fish wasn’t fighting at all which did make it easier, no way I could have pulled in the last one by hand!
Again, got it close to the side and Kristie scooped it up. Another Mac Tuna, just a bit smaller than the first one.

Gave them time to bleed, then started the process of filleting and cleaning up. Got quite a haul of meat out of both.

Dinner sorted for a couple of nights.

The wind came up eventually (to maybe 10knts) so we put the sails up and enjoyed a nice 30min sail before having to drop them again.

Motored the rest of the way in to Pearl Bay.

Tried to find a less rolly spot, but not too many options for us.

Anchor down, and then cleaned up and put the infill back on.

Dinner.

Wednesday 28th May

Quick school and a bit of work this morning at Pancake Creek.

Kristie tried calling the lighthouse on the VHF, but no response (turns out it was broken on their end!).

Mozzie spray on, hiking pack ready, tender in the water and off we went. The tide was mostly full, so we didn’t have far to drag it up and tie up to a tree.

We had to walk about 50m to find the path, which then went across a bit of a mangrove swamp (mostly dry).

The walk was easy enough (3, maybe 4 skittle stops?), albeit fairly overgrown.

One of the caretakers (Pat) came out to greet us when we got to the top.
She was hesitant to do the tour, as the LARC was on the way up (20min or so away), and the tour would take longer than that.
Kristie managed to convince them that we didn’t need the full (nor shorter) tour, just a quick 20min ($10pp) up the lighthouse and back down.

Pat’s husband came and did the tour for us.

The steps used to go around the outside, but now on the inside:

Interesting history, and good views from the top.

The LARC turned up as we were up the top, so a bit of a rushed climb down.

The caretakers had suggested (a few times) we walk back down the way the LARC had come up to go see the lookout over Jenny Lind Creek.
The tour guide/driver from the LARC also suggested it, so off we went (after some snacks).

It was only about 500m down the track. We didn’t get all the way to the bottom, but still a great view.

Back up the track to the lighthouse, and then back the way we came.
Was just over 7km all up.

The tide had gone out considerably since we’d left. We probably had 25m or os to drag the tender to the water.
The mudflats are pretty good for dragging, and with the girls pushing it didn’t take long.

Back to Lazuli for a late lunch.

As we were in Pancake Creek, it was only natural that we should have pancakes for lunch.
The long life cream works surprisingly well :)

By the time lunch was done and cleaned up it was almost dinner time… and time to hide from the mozzies!

Lovely sunsets over the still water.

The following is Emma’s recount of our time at Busted Head:

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We went on a tour in Busted Head Lighthouse.
In the forest, on the way there, we saw lots of neon yellow butterflies.
The butterflies were in the bushes collecting nectar.
Mummy found some Antlion holes and dug one up for us to look at.
I didn't want to touch it because it looked like a tik.
There was soo many spooky spiderwebs in the trees that made me shiver.
Eventually we got to the lighthouse.
We were lucky and got a tour just before the LARC came.
On the bottom flow we saw a mermaid figurehead.
Then climbed up the spiral stairs to the top.
There was a fog horn. 
They would use the foghorn when it was foggy so the ships would not run aground.

The following is Kristina’s recount of our time at Busted Head:

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At Pancake creek, we went on a lovely walk.
ON that walk there was one thing that stood out.  
Every where we looked there were butterflies.  
It was so amazing!
After a little bit of walking our Mum pointed out some Antlions that were making holes to catch their lunch.
I didn't want to touch them and neither did Emma or Dad.
We did some more hiking and then we decided to stop for a skittle break.
Unluckily for Emma the stop was under some trees covered in spider webs which made her shiver.
When we continued walking it was smostly nonstop other than two more skittle breaks to keep us going.

Thursday 29th

We’d booked two nights at the marina as we needed to do a big shop for the next leg of our trip north
(also, Gladstone Marina has really nice showers!).

With no wind, it was about a 4hr motor with easier/calmer conditions than last time we came to Gladstone.

I worked more or less the entire way in while Kristie kept watch and directed the autopilot.

At one stage the reel started running a little bit, we thought we caught dinner. Turns out it was just some seaweed.

We were in berth A8 this time. You come around the corner and into the marina and have about 300m to line up the entry into your berth!
There was still someone there from the marina to catch our lines.

Lunch, check-in, then time for boat jobs:

• filling water
• emptying rubbish
• washing/dryer (Kristie was plesently surprised to get the squid ink out of her dress)

It was raining, so some of the jobs we had planned got pushed to tomorrow.

Kenny and Nic came over for drinks and nibbles while Kristie was up waiting for/getting the Woolies delivery.
(was handy to have another set of hands to help unload the trolley and get the bags downstairs - thanks guys.)

Dinner on the boat tonight.

Friday 30th

When I’d published the last blog and mentioned we were on the way to Gladstone, one of our friends (Bride) messaged to say that she and her partner Andrew would be there as his mum was currently in the Gladstone hospital.

They kindly offered the use of their car so that we could do some shopping while they were visiting his mum.

We met up for breakfast at the cafe conveniently located at the end of our berth/pontoon. We left the girls onboard and went up for a tasty breakfast and a bucket (at least 2x a normal mug!) of coffee.

Kristie went back to Lazuli to start school with the girls.

It was still a bit early for visiting hours, so Bride & Andrew helped me spend more money on the boat (Gladstone has turned out to be our 2nd most expensive city!):

• Yamaha 2kva generator for those rainy days when solar won’t top up our batteries
• Two new red jerry cans for unleaded (we ran short with the diving compressor and tender usage on Musgrave)
• Oil for generator and outboard.

I dropped them into the hospital and continued shopping at Bunnings and BCF.

• A box to wash regs/dive computer/camera in
• The solar sensor light as recommended/used by both Exhale and Bella.
• Toilet paper (we get the light camping/RV rolls that dissolves quickly)

Back to the boat after a stop in at Woolies for more food (and a hot chook).

Quick unload then back out to Kmart to get some ugg boots/swim shoes for the girls.
(the swim shoes I got Kristina was too big and fit Kristie!)

Kristie went for a walk to get the gas bottle filled and did a couple of trips back and forth to the fuel dock with the 6 empty jerrys.

Back to the boat and time to test the generator. Filled up the fuel and oil and started up ok.
Tested a few appliances. Ran the toaster and microwave, but the big kettle we have was too much.
So off to BCF (again) to buy a collapsable lower power (but still 240V) kettle.

With Bride and Andrew in town, we also organised to have dinner with them tonight.

We’d booked a table up at the Gladstone Yacht Club. I still had their car, and when they called it was more or less time for us to head up for dinner.
I took both girls with me while Kristie set off for a rainy walk there.
They were staying just up the road from the yacht club, so once we were dropped off they took the car back and were back pretty quickly (before Kristie got there).

Good drinks and dinner: another Mexican parmi for me!

Walked home, only a light rain/mist, but we had umbrellas and it’s not that far.

Saturday 31st

We were supposed to leave today, but the weather wasn’t great, and it looked like we’d just be anchored off Facing Island in rain, chop, and swell from the port traffic.
I went up to see if we could stay another two nights. That was fine and we didn’t even have to move.

I spent the day working as I hadn’t been able to do enough hours this week.

Kristie gave all of our dive gear a good wash and hung it up to dry.

Everything had been starting to feel a bit sticky from the salt. So Kristie got out the self soaping scrubbing brush/broom and gave the whole deck & cockpit a good scrub.

As there was nowhere dry left to sit, Kristie disappeared up to the marina lounge room to use her laptop up there.

I also installed the solar/sensor light, and got some fishing rod holders fixed to the bimini.

Kristie had seen a local markets advertised. Just across the bridge - easy walking distance.
We met Kenny + Nic + Charlee at 4:30 and walked over.
They weren’t great markets. However, the girls found some fidgets (3d printed) so they happily spent some of their pocket money there.
Food options weren’t great, so back to the boat for dinner.

Bride and Andrew popped over for a drink/chat after dinner.

Sunday 1st June

We had spent some time yesterday planning our next month ahead. We need to be up at Airlie by the 29th to pick up the first of our Whitsunday guests.
With the plan we had, we’d need more food/supplies.

Thankfully (for us, not for Andrews mum) Bride and Andrew were still about and we could use their car again.

Kristie and I enjoyed avo on toast on the boat, before heading up to the cafe to catch up with the other two boats (and some others).
I had another bucket of coffee, hot chocolate for Kristie.
We talked our plans through with the others. They aren’t on such a tight schedule as us, and don’t need to be in Mackay until a week after we’re in Airlie.

Bride and Andrew turned up not long after coffee was done, and we headed off so that I could drop them at the hospital.
Getting to know Gladstone reasonably well!

Back to the marina to pick up Kristie and the girls (and Charlee). Kristie would do the Woolies shop while I took the three girls to the playground.

They all declared it a fun park.

Stopped in at Kmart on the way back to get some more iPad charging cables: two of these new ones ended up breaking the same day we opened them :(

Sushi for lunch before driving home.

Charlee stayed on Lazuli a bit longer, before inviting the girls back to her boat.

Vacuum sealed the meat and filled up the Engel freezer (We now have lots of dinners!) while Kristie headed up for another load of washing/drying.

No Bunnings/BCF trips today :)

The others went over to the Yacht Club for music and drinks, but we stayed on board for an earlier/easier night (turns out the musician stopped a few songs after they got there).

Monday 2nd

We were all (us, Bella, Exhale) checking out of the marina this morning and making our way north.

Our plan was to check out Cape Capricorn (Yellow Patch) and see how conditions were there. If it was good we’d stay, if not keep going to the Keppels.

A few final boat jobs (topping up the water) and we were ready.

We (and Bella) weren’t keen to exit the North Channel at low tide, so out of the marina and to the East Channel (same way we went out to Heron).
Russ and Viv had to fuel up and that opened at 8am, so they weren’t far behind us.

Exhale took a bit longer to get going with their outboard. With that working (and their shallower draft) they left for the North Channel.

There was some good wind in the main channel heading out of the marina, but by the time we got out past Facing Island there was none to be had.

We motored the entire way north :(

Crossing the Tropic of Capricorn gave us a bit of a chance for some extra schooling, but the girls weren’t too interested.

Refresher:

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The Tropic of Capricorn is a line of latitude located 23.5 degrees south of the equator. 
It marks the southernmost point where the sun can be directly overhead at noon. 
This occurs during the December solstice in the Southern Hemisphere.

Shortly after this momentous event we rounded Cape Capricorn and got into the bay there.
With the next few low tides not being too low we could tuck in reasonably close.
(turns out I probably got a little too close - 2.8m depth the final low tide when we swung with the NW winds!)

Russ and Viv decided to press on to the Keppels as they had work to do.

Exhale anchored near us. We dropped the tender and geared up to walk up to the lighthouse.
As Kenny was working, we picked up Charlee on the way and took her with us.

Smooth ride around to the beach where the walk starts, then 380m (distance, not elevation!) walk to the top.
We “needed” two skittle stops ;)
It turns out the care takers had just been down to paint the seats and rocks along the path, so it was easy enough to follow
(though still too overgrown for Emma’s liking).

There’s no tour or anything at the top, but still a good view. We had our snacks.

The lighthouse has a red sector for the rocks (Rundle Island) just SE the headland.
The sun just happened to line up so the girls got in that sector.

Back down to the beach then off to explore/walk around the rocks some more.
We got around to the next little beach that was a lot nicer - sand instead of rocks/shells.

We hadn’t been exploring too long when Kenny and Nic turned up. The girls had a great time on the beach and in the water.
Another yachtie came in, and we had a quick chat to him.

It was nearly 5pm by the time we left the beach and went back to our boats.

At some point after dinner we could hear some commotion on Exhale (“get a bucket!”). Turns out they had some squid.
I put my squid lure in, and after a bit of time managed to hook one tiny squid.
I tried for more, but a combination of mozzies and tiredness got the better of me.

The stars have been fantastic. Covered in mozzie spray & oddies, Kristie & Emma enjoyed using the Sky Guide app to find all the different constellations.

The following is Emma’s story about her stargazing:

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We are anchored at Cape Capricorn.
It's only a little bit north of the Tropic of Capricorn.
At night time me and mummy were stargazing using an app called Sky Guide.
Using the app, we found all of our star signs.
My star sign is Scorpio and I memorised the position of all the stars for it!
I really enjoyed star gazing with mummy!

Tuesday 3rd

School and Work.

Today we wanted to go explore the sand dunes and Yellow Patch. It’s a favourite spot for many sailors and locals.

We needed to be leaving this area by 1:30pm at the latest so we could get to Great Keppel Island (GKI) before dark.

Working backwards meant leaving Yellow Patch by 1pm.

We had a pre-lunch lunch, then jumped in the tender for the trip across, nearly 2km.
The crew from Exhale were in their tender and following along as well.

It was low tide, so we dragged the tender across a small sandbar rather than go all the way around.

Once around the corner you’re into a lovely protected waterway and a stunning sandhill (when the sun is out).

There are a few deep (4m) spots, but in general this area is too shallow for Lazuli :(

We pulled our tender up the beach, and Kenny went off to check his crap pots.

Lots of fun jumping and rolling down the sand dune.

Time was starting to get away from us, and still no sign of Kenny. He eventually came back, sharing the bad news that he didn’t have a single crab to show for his efforts :(

We all got back in and went back to get ready for a sail north.

Quick lunch, then we got Lazuli ready. Exhale with their dodgy outboard went first, and us following close behind.

By this stage, we probably had a 13-15knt W wind. I ended up putting in a reef, but even still at the start I had the traveller down and main backing a little, and still doing 8-9knts.

We aimed to go around GKI from the West, and Kenny was aiming for the Eastern side. Bella was in a bay in the north.

With the westerly winds there wasn’t much swell, so we had some glorious sailing conditions.

We were matching Exhale for speed, so it’d be a tight finish (it’s always a race!).

The wind started to die out about 30min out from GKI, and with the sun going down we started motor sailing.
That didn’t last long until there wasn’t even enough wind for that.
The sun disappeared before we got through between GKI and Middle Island.

We got around to Leekes Beach and to Bella at the same time as Exhale, and dropped anchor before it was actually dark!

Lots of reviews mention how rolly it can be here, but it’s no worse than anywhere else we’ve had.

There’s probably 20 other yachts in the bay with us.

Calamari for entree, steak and noodle salad for main.

The following is Emma’s recount of our time at Yellow Patch:

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Yellow Patch is a giant orange sand dune.
When we arrived, we climbed up the sand dune with Charlee.
It was tiring since it was so tall and so steep.
But hopping down made the climb worth it.
We climbed up again and played tag on the big open area behind the sand dune.
It wasn't long before tag was over so we hopped down and dug some really deep holes in the sand.
When Charlee was half way through digging her hole, Kristina and I climbed up just a little bit and rolled down!
The orange sand stuck to us making us look like Dorietos!
We went for a swim to wash off but the sand didn't come off easily.

The following is Kristina’s recount of our time at Cape Capricorn and Yellow Patch:

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Yesterday, we went to the beach at Cape Capricorn.
The shore line was full of rocks so me and Emma were glad that we had shoes on.
Charlee was wearing crocks but that didn't stop her from coming with us.
IT was mostly the same as all the other walks we did except every now and then a family of pigs would run across the path.
When we got to the top there was a stunning view but Charlee realised that the mozzies were getting us.
So our group went back down the hill.

(today)
We tendered over to Yellow Patch and go a great view of the dunes.
Despite the name Yellow Patch we think that the sand dunes look more like ginger bread orange.
Charlee got there first but when we got there Kenny went to check the crab pots.
We raced up the dune but this time Augie their dog beat everyone up.
The climb was kind of hard because it was steep and crumbly but we still made it up to the top.
When all the kids (and Augie) were up the adults took a photo while we bunny hopped down.
(It's our favourite thing to do on big sand dunes)
Up we climbed again but this time we stepped in our previous foot prints so it wasn't as hard.
When we got up, we decided that the giant flat area of sand was the perfect spot to play tag.
It was fun until Emma got upset that I tagged her.
To get back down we did some more bunny hops then Me and Charlee started digging some deep holes.
Eventually Emma joined in the hole digging process.
After a little while I started helping Charlee with her hold.
The hole got about neck deep but then Me and Ema go bored.  
So I came  up with a rolling down the hill.
After we tried it we realised that we looked like dorietos because all the orange sand was sticking to us.
We got a photo then rolled down a couple more times.
Charlee saw how much fun we were having and couldn't resist joining in.
We had more fun but then the adults told us to wash it off.
It was hard to wash it off especially when it came to getting it out of our hair.
By then it was getting close ot the time when we were going to sail.
So we packed up and waited for Kenny to come back.
We all hoped that he had caught some thing but id didn't.
He missed our on all that fun for nothing!