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On Tuesday, August 20, our friends Wolfgang and Christeen returned for another visit. We had a lovely dinner out in Port Douglas before setting off on Wednesday bound for Agincourt Reef. The winds were very light at 5-8 knots and we were only able to make 4-5 knots, so we changed our plans anchored at Tongue Reef in time for some snorkeling. Ron and Bradley caught dinner - two coral trout and some kind of perch. All were great on the grill! Bradley won the opening night round of Hearts with a dramatic come from behind shoot-the-moon on the very last hand.

Thursday morning was gray and rainy. We set off bound for St. Crispin Reef and had a nice sail there. Bradley and Wolfgang both caught beautiful mackerels off the boat on the way.  We arrived in time for some very nice snorkeling in fairly shallow water. It was low tide so we were anxious to return the next day at high tide where we would have room to swim over the top of the reefs. The coral was varied and spectacular and there were many, many varieties of fish. We ate Wolfgang's mackerel cooked on the grill and then Wolfgang won the seconds hearts tournament.

Friday we got up early and went to the outside of the reef for some snorkeling. It was nice, but there was quite a bit of surf and a little current. I saw a beautiful turtle but nobody else did. I think I got a picture though. (I can't wait until they have good underwater dive cameras so you don't have to wait to get back to land and get your film developed!). Then we came back inside the reef to continue snorkeling and had a wonderful time. Bradley nabbed a honeycomb cod - the first of them we've caught. Back at the boat everyone relaxed for the rest of the day. I made some ANZAC biscuits - the first dozen barely made it out of the oven before being devoured! In the afternoon Christeen and I went for a short snorkel while the guys all continued relaxing.

Saturday morning we were headed to Ruby Reef, about 20 miles north. It looked like a great day for sailing. But our departure was delayed when we had some trouble raising the anchor. It had tangled itself around some coral and nothing we could do would shake it free. Ron went into the water with his snorkel gear and tried to direct us to drive the boat around to untangle it but to no avail. Finally he had to don his dive gear, attach a line to the anchor beneath the point it was caught, put tension on that line to create slack in the chain, and untangle it. Finally we were successful and got underway. It was a perfect day for sailing. It was Christeen's turn to catch a fish and after two false alarms she finally landed the largest mackerel yet - a hefty 12 pounder.

We arrived at Ruby Reef in the early afternoon and set off in the dinghy for a snorkel. We've had some spectacular snorkeling before but nothing to compare to this. This is without a doubt the best snorkeling we have found yet. The coral is not only beautiful, it has valleys and canyons you can swim through - much like a maze. At every turn is something interesting - an incredible variety of fish life. Christeen and I were still going strong after an hour when Bradley went back to check the anchor. He determined that we needed to move the boat because the anchor was not properly set. So reluctantly we got out of the water and got to work. Again the anchor was stuck but we were able to free it by maneuvering the boat. We selected another spot and dropped it, but then decided it was too close to the reef so we had to move yet again. Finally we found the right spot and got the anchor well set so we could sleep soundly!  We ate Christeens' mackerel and Bradley's honeycomb cod for dinner and they were excellent. Finally it was my turn to win the hearts tournament!

On Sunday morning, we set off for a snorkel wondering what could possibly top yesterday's. Soon we learned the answer. There was a fishing boat anchored behind us which dispatches several small dinghy's to hand fish for coral trout which they collect over several weeks and export live to Asia. One of the small dinghy's waved us over and pointed out a large pod of dolphins playing near his dinghy. Soon they were playing with ours too - they just love to swim and jump and dive in the bow wake. There were dozens of them! After playing a little we stopped to get in the water with them. It was just incredible. We could clearly hear their dolphin chatter and though they were a little wary of us when we were in the water, they still hung around for a good while. It was a great start. Finally they moved on and we set off to snorkel. Again, it was very spectacular. We saw tons of fish and even a turtle. We spent two hours in the water before heading back for some lunch and naps.

In the afternoon we planned another snorkel trip. As we were getting ready we saw the dolphins again, cavorting in a nearby bay. We hurried our preparations and jumped in the dinghy hoping they would wait for us. They did and we were treated to another romp with them. We would race the dinghy (well, it goes about 10 knots with four people) through the bay and the dolphins would flock to surf in the bow wake. They would jump and dive and seemed to be having as much fun as we were. Christeen and I were lying flat on the pontoons and could almost touch them. What a day. The snorkel that followed was just as good as the others with a friendly reef shark, another turtle, several nice large fish, and a huge variety of coral and smaller fish. They guys didn't get any fish but we all had a great time. We finished two hearts tournaments - I got my second win as did Bradley. I've now finished first twice and last twice - seems like it's all or nothing for me!

Monday morning we set sail back to Low Island. It was a lovely sail with 20-25 knot winds most of the way and a few showers mixed in with some sunshine. We arrived Low Isle in the afternoon and were happy to find that there are now moorings installed in the harbor.  That means we only have to tie up to a mooring rather than anchor.  We went ashore for a look around Low Island. We met the marine service ranger who lives on the island and she told us the moorings were just installed the day before and we were the first boat to use them. After a nice dinner, Wolfgang evened the score in hearts  with his second win. Christeen had a great shoot-the-moon hand too.

Tuesday morning we headed back into Port Douglas where Wolfgang and Christeen had massages and we spent the day running various errands and checking emails. After a final dinner on board Wolfgang won the hearts championship with his second win in a row.  Wednesday morning we said goodbye to Wolfgang and Christeen who had to head back to Melbourne before returning home. We spent the rest of the day doing laundry, provisioning for our next trip out, and shopping in Port Douglas.