Month: May 2011

May 19, 2011
We suddenly found ourselves with no means of posting the blog after leaving Rossyln Bay – so nearly a week has passed since we wrote about the crocodiles. After leaving Rossyln Bay we sailed to two other anchorages in quick succession – both of them about 8 hour sails. We wanted to continue to make progress up the coast, but still tie up in a comfortable anchorage to sleep at night. (The bays were called Pearl Bay and Middle Island of the Percy Isles for the record) . We ended up doing quite a bit of motoring as the winds were light and the weather was fine – really beautiful, but not that good for sailing. We started seeing very high winds and seas coming up in the forecast so we made our way to Scawfell Island which is a fairly big island with huge hills that surround a very large and supposedly comfortable and well protected bay. We ended up spending a very long 5 nights at Scawfell. After we arrived the wind and seas both picked up and there were “wind warnings” out over the marine radio. The hills protected us from the high seas, but the winds seemed to accelerate as they came over the hills and into the bay, and between the high winds and huge tides, the boat was very uncomfortable for a lot of the time–rolling and bobbing around almost as bad as being at sea. The wind was whistling and screaming through the rigging constantly and it really started to get on our nerves. There ended up being 7 boats in the anchorage and no-one left their boats at all (except for one evening). We felt a bit trapped, not able to go to land and walk on the pretty beach or even visit with anyone else except by radio. Oh well, today the winds finally let up a bit and we finally left (as did all the other boats) and we had the most beautiful sail up to our next anchorage. Great wind and we sailed through the long beautiful islands of the Whitsunday’s where both winds and currents were going our way which gave us an incredibly smooth and fast ride. We felt like we were just skimming the surface of the water – just gliding over the seas – and yet going at 9 knots of speed – pretty much as fast as we ever go. . Just wish we had left Scawfell a few days earlier and sailed here. How much scrabble can you play?
L.

Posted via email from sabbatical3blog’s posterous

May 10, 2011: Crocodile Dundee lives!

We met an Aussie today – a nice guy named Sean who gave us some important advice regarding fishing and crocs which we wanted to pass on to you – BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNOW when you might need it.

First of all… you don’t really have to worry about crocs since :

1.)    The big ones are old and that means that they grew up when it was legal to shoot crocodiles – and apparently they are smart enough to associate the sound of an outboard motor (on your dinghy) with the memory of being shot at in their youth – and so, Sean tells us, as long as you are running your engine they won’t bother you.  

2.)    The smaller ones who don’t remember being shot at  will probably be curious about you but also will be afraid of the sound of an engine and so they too should bugger off if you run your outboard.

3.)    You only have to worry about the first bite….

1.  Sean is a hired skipper who brings boats here and there around Australia and across various oceans. Before doing that he ran fishing charters so he also gave us good tips on how to catch barramundi (a delicious Australian fish).  He also pointed out the crocs won’t be interested in your fishing pole, and even if they do, they will just snap it off before you have time to react anyways.

2.  He also ran crocodile tours, so I guess he knows what he is talking about. He invited us to call when we get farther north and he will show us around the rain forests near Port Douglas where he lives when he is not off sailing. 

3.  He was super enthusiastic about how beautiful it is up north – and he assures us that as long as we don’t try swimming in or near any of the rivers we will be fine.  The crocs apparently are “rarely” seen on beaches this time of year. (What a comfort!)  This information was conveyed along with a few asides about the fact that it is now safe to swim because the deadly poisonous box jellyfish season is over. This is one strange country.

For those of you who enjoy Bill Bryson’s writing, pick up a copy of “In a Sunburned Country” and read Part III which gives the most accurate and hysterically funny description of this part of Australia.

We are currently in Rosslyn Bay on the mainland – just a short sail from our previous anchorage at Great Keppel Island.  We had to come over here to pick up another pump and do a bit of provisioning.  The stop has been well worth it.  The name of the town closest to us was worth the trip alone: “Yeppoon”. The next closest town is called “Emu Park”. You have to love this place.

Tomorrow we head north another 50 miles to Pearl Bay.

L.

Posted via email from sabbatical3blog’s posterous

We arrived an hour ago at Great Keppel Island after a 51 hour sail from Scarborough. We had light to moderate winds the first day followed by 30+ knot winds the second day. It was a pretty good sail, although all that wind on day 2 made it a bit wearing. The occasional large wave would give Sabbatical III a good toss, making the boat roll deeply and sending anything even remotely loose knocking against whatever was next to it. During the night, whoever was off watch was protected by 6 or 8 pillows placed against the lee board of the sleeping berth. There was quite a bit of freighter traffic coming into Brisbane and Gladstone/Rockhampton, but we saw them all on our AIS display and they never came too close.M.

Sent from my iPad

Posted via email from sabbatical3blog’s posterous