Life is happening faster than I can write about it. From Bundaberg to Fraser Island then on to Moreton Bay and the Gold coast before passing behind Danger Reef and using the strong winds to finally reach New South Wales and Cobbs Harbour.
While waiting for the wind to change in our favor we took a walk along the long lonely beach on Fraser Island. Just the two of us. And a million soldier crabs.
If the skipper gets a rope wrapped around the propeller, then the skipper goes in the water to cut it off – and tries not to think about the crocodiles, sharks, jellyfish and snakes.
In Moreton Bay the shipping lane is a little confined so, when a ten story cruise ship wanted to pass, we moved a little to the side.
Night time off Brisbane. The skyline is full of the lights of anchored ships but luckily we have them all on the AIS screen so we can sail a course around them all. Hopefully they all have their AIS senders and lights switched on.
We passed between Cooks Island and the swell breaking on Danger Reefs just before sunset. The channel is deep but very narrow. The trick was to reach the start of the channel and then turn EXACTLY 180°. Luckily there was a small wood on the distant land that you could aim for.
We were running in front of strong winds trying to reach Byron Point (the most easterly point on the Australian mainland) where we could duck in to the wind shadow of Australia. All afternoon we saw the sailing boat A’Bientot chasing us. She eventually passed us at sunset.
We rounded the South Solitary Island with its old lighthouse after two days at sea and just before turning in to Coffs harbour – our first landfall in New South Wales.