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Sunday July 14 - Monday July 16

After a quiet night anchored at Double Island, we got up early and headed out to Batt Reef at about 6:30am. Winds were light and we mostly motored but it looks like perfect reef weather. We're hoping to spend 2-3 days out there. We arrived at Batt Reef by 11:00am and started our entry. It's a tricky entrance as there are lots of little reefs to avoid on the way to the anchorage. The problem is that you can only come or go between 10:00am and 2:00pm as that is when the sun is in position to be able to see the reefs. Although we could see fine to get in we didn't want to be in a position of not being able to get out when we wanted to, so we decided to go on a bit further to Opal Reef. We arrived there by noon and had no problem getting in. We did a fabulous snorkel in the afternoon.  Visibility was fantastic and the coral was beautiful. Ron and Bradley had some great success spear fishing. Ron got a lobster which Margy was quite happy about since she eats lobster but not fish. Bradley added two emperor fish and Ron got a parrot fish and a redfish. Ate the lobster as an appetizer and froze the fish. Had a beautiful sunset and some lamb chops on the grill (no wind this time!).

Monday morning we listened to the weather forecast as usual and were surprised to hear that there had been a dramatic change in the forecast. A high pressure system had developed and winds were building, expected to reach 20-25 knots by mid-day. Rats! Instead of perfect reef weather it looks like we'll have to cut our stay short as it will be quite uncomfortable anchored at the reef in that kind of wind. We can't make it all the way to Lizard Island so we look at the charts and find Hope Island as a possible good stopping point. We regularly listen to several of the radios "nets" in the mornings. Sailors who know each other check in on the radio at a designated time and frequency. It's a way to stay in touch and get information. One of the net participants is anchored at Hope Island so he's able to give us the information we're looking for and says it would be a good place to hang out for the night. From there, we can either go into Cooktown for awhile or continue on towards Lizard Island. We're having a lot of problems with the new autopilot system. Right now it's not working at all so we'll have to hand steer again until whenever we get back to Cairns.

So it's off to Hope. We have a wonderful downwind sail. Sure enough the winds are right at 20-22 knots most of the way so we make good time, occasionally hitting ten knots. We arrive at Hope Island by 3:30pm and there are two other boats here. One is Macabee, the one who we talked to by radio earlier and the other is Ad Astra, a New Zealand boat we met in Cairns who gave us some information about Tasmania. We invite both couples and David, a 15 year old on Macabee over for drinks and have a great conversation with them.

Tuesday July 17 - Wednesday July 23

We set off at 9:00am for Cooktown. It's a wonderful sail with winds 20-25 knots so we make great time. Arrive in Cooktown just after noon. We have some trouble getting into the harbor as it is very shallow. Finally we find a suitable place to anchor and go ashore to explore. Cooktown is where Captain Cook first came ashore in 1770 after his ship, Endeavour, ran aground on a nearby reef. He was able to repair the ship here and continue on his voyage. 

Wednesday morning we set off early for some bushwalking (hiking) up to the top of Mt. Cook. The starting point is about halfway around a circular scenic hike of Cooktown so we walked for an hour and a half just to get to the starting point. Then it was another hour and a half of steep uphill climbing to reach the summit. It was a great walk with varied and beautiful scenery from beaches to rainforest. Great views but no wildlife sightings. Then it was another 45 minutes to get down and half an hour back to town where we were ready for lunch. Then we cruised up the river looking for crocodiles but with no success. It is a beautiful river though. On Thursday we visited the James Cook museum and learned all about Cook's landing in Cooktown. We explored the whole town of Cooktown which only takes a couple hours. It is a nice little place.

Thursday night brought some excitement. A couple we had met in Cairns, Geoff and Geraldine on a 75 foot boat called Blue Dawn had come into Cooktown in the late afternoon. On the way back to our boat we stopped to say hello to them. They had sailed down from Cairns in 30 knots weather and made good time.  Like us, they had some difficulty getting into the shallow harbor at Cooktown. They had just anchored but were going to move to a better spot. We returned to our boat and an hour or so later heard a knock. It was Geraldine asking if we could help them. The tide had gone out and their boat was aground. Their anchor chain was also wrapped around a buoy and they couldn't free it. Bradley, Ron and I set off in the dinghy. Ron and Bradley went about to help. The first task was to get the boat floating again. We put the secondary anchor into our dinghy and took it into deeper water and dropped it. They then attached the anchor line to a winch on board the boat and were able to winch the boat towards the anchor until it was finally freed. Now, we had to try to free the primary anchor that was caught on the buoy. Bradley jumped into the water with mask, fins, and snorkel and was able to find the anchor. It was deeply buried and he could not free it. He went back to get a scuba tank and something to dig with. He spent an hour on the bottom but was not able to completely free the anchor. He was able to get a line from the anchor to tie to the top of the buoy. The thought was that when the tide rose the buoyancy of the buoy would lift the anchor. In the meantime, that anchor was disconnected from the boat so the boat could proceed to a safe berth on the dock. So the boat was safe and we'll probably see them again in Lizard Island in a few days to hear if they were able to retrieve their anchor.

Friday morning we set off for Lizard Island. Winds have been 25-30 knots all week and today was no different. We had a great sail, averaging 8-9 knots with just a headsail. We arrived at Lizard at mid-day, just as the weather turned from cloudy to rainy. Ron began one of his rainy day projects - re-organizing some of the dry food in the cabinets. In the process he discovered that we had been invaded by weevils, little bugs that often get into rice and grains. So the afternoon was spent going through everything and getting rid of anything that showed signs of weevils. We also ended up with a very nicely organized food supply!

Saturday was another rainy day. We went ashore and found a phone at the little resort on the island to make some calls. We also were able to check emails using their computer.  Our friends from Hope Island, Macabee and Ad Astra are also here at Lizard Island. Blue Dawn, the boat we helped in Cooktown also arrives during the day. We went over to Macabee in the afternoon for some cards and other games. Had a nice time with them. Then we went to Blue Dawn for drinks before returning for dinner.

Sunday continued highs winds and clouds with occasional sun and also some showers. Margy is not having the best weather for her visit! We did go for a nice snorkel around the other side of the island at Mermaid Bay. It was a beautiful reef with tons of fish. A little chilly but not bad. After lunch we had a special flag raising ceremony. The Northern Virginia Technology Council, an organization I chaired for two years, had presented me with a special flag which we were anxious to get flying!  The winds were still blowing 25-30 knots at the anchorage so it would get a good breaking in! We got it up and it's having a wonderful time up there on the mast.

After that we went back ashore for a game of Pitonk and a walk around on the island. The resort lets sailboats bring their trash ashore and leave it. That's a very nice thing for them to do since it's a real pain to have to carry your trash around when you're out for a week or more at a time. When we are offshore, biodegradable stuff (food, paper, etc) can be thrown over the side, but anything plastic or non-biodegradable has to be stored somewhere until you get ashore to dump it. Not only does it take space but it smells after a while. The resorts asks for a donation to cover the cost so we'll give them something before we leave. We did see a couple large goannas - lizards - hanging around on the island. They are the source of the name of the island.

Monday the weather continued unchanged. Ron and I went for a run in the morning to the Blue Lagoon on the other side of the island. There is a research station on the island which give tours so we all went there in the morning. It turned out to be a little more of a walk than we had thought - about 40 minutes along a sandy road that was very hard to walk on. But we arrived just in time for the tour and learned about all the things they're studying at the nearby reefs. It's really pretty fascinating. We walked back along the beach with just a few spots where we had to climb some rocks. Spent most of the rest of the day relaxing on the boat, listening to wind and rain.

Tuesday the sun was out early but the wind continued, though it's supposed to lighten up. Blue Dawn, Ad Astra, and a couple other boats left the anchorage this morning, reducing the population by about half. Bradley, Margy, and I set up to walk up Cook's Look, the mountain (hill) Captain Cook had climbed to get a better view of the reefs and from where he first saw Cook's Passage. It took about an hour to get up but the view was terrific. It was nice to have sun! After lunch we set off for some more snorkeling. Saw some wonderful reefs. Too bad spearfishing is prohibited here as we saw some yummy looking coral trout and other fish. I also found my first lobster - bigger than any of the ones we've caught so far. We also saw a strange prehistoric looking creature. According to my book, it was a reef cuttlefish, a relative of the octopus.

Wednesday the weather finally decided to cooperate. Too bad Margy's leaving today. There's blue sky and sunshine and the winds are finally dropping.  By tomorrow they should be down to 15 knots so we'll be heading out to some of the outer reefs and hopefully have several days of nice diving and hunting! After we dropped Margy off at the airstrip, we had time for an afternoon dive. Saw plenty of fish including a huge barramundi cod who was fast asleep. A beautiful sunset to end our time at Lizard Island.