Saturday, Sept 7 -

Mike and Becky arrived in Port Douglas on Saturday afternoon after a series of flights from Denver, a taxi ride into Cairns to pick up the world's largest wetsuit from a local dive suit for Mike, who is 6'7" and then an hour bus ride to Port Douglas. We celebrated their arrival with a couple Shear Madnesses (our special drink), had a nice dinner on board and went to bed early. After visiting the Port Douglas markets in the morning - a combination farmers market and craft fair - we had a special flag raising ceremony for the Washington Redskins flag (American football team) Mike had brought from Denver. After we had it flying high we set off for a short trip to Tongue Reef, about 15 miles away. There was almost no wind so it was a motor all the way.  It was Mike's first time on a sailboat, so he was probably a little relieved having geared himself up for high winds, big seas, and possible seasickness!

Just as we arrived at Tongue Reef and Ron went to bring in the fishing line which had not had any action, a small mackerel came along. Mike got to catch his first fish and we were off to a good start. We landed the fish and proceeded to anchor the boat and then set off for a little snorkeling. Mike is a first time snorkeler and Becky has only snorkeled once. We picked a spot for a little practice and hit the water. It was a small bommie but had a ton of fish. After half an hour everyone seemed comfortable so we moved to another spot and saw some great coral and tons of more fish. Ron and Bradley nabbed a coral trout and an ocean perch.

Monday morning we went for another short snorkel, but the visibility wasn't great. We decided to move on to Opal Reef. There was still no wind so it was another day of motoring. In just under two hours we were anchored at Opal and off for an afternoon snorkel. The visibility was good and it was definitely a notch up from Tongue Reef.  Mike and Becky enjoyed seeing new things around every corner and Bradley speared a blue trevally that at 12 pounds is the biggest fish he's speared so far. He added a sweetlips to his catch.

On Tuesday morning the visibility was incredible and the sea so calm there was barely a ripple. Bradley suggested an early snorkel before breakfast and we all agreed. An hour and a half later we climbed out of the water, tired but reluctant to leave. We had seen a huge school of humpheaded maori wrasse - large fish that remind me of buffaloes. We also say some rays and a couple of turtles, but so far no sharks! After breakfast and listening to the weather forecast which called for more perfect, calm, reef weather, we decided to move on to Norman Reef a short 13 miles away. We arrived by mid-afternoon and Ron, Becky, and Bradley promptly embarked on serious naps while Mike read a book on pro wrestling and I installed some new software on the boat's computer.

At Norman Reef we noticed a piece of reef sticking up with a pole on top of it. It sure looked like a great place to hoist the Redskins flag so we planned a morning expedition to do that. Wednesday morning we got up early and set off to raise the flag. Ron drove Mike and I by dinghy the short way to the spot. It looked a little treacherous with some sharp coral around most of it. But on the back side there seemed to be a place we could climb up. Soon we were on it and raising the Redskins flag and my NVTC flag. Ron went back to gather the photographers, Becky and Bradley so they could get some close ups (they had opted to film from the boat but now that it looked like we were having fun they decided to come!). After the photos, we took the flags down and snorkeled for awhile.

Then we set off for nearby Spur Reef, a small reef which looked interesting but turned out not to be. After anchoring we went snorkeling and optimistically took spear guns, but there was only shallow coral and no good fish to shoot.  After swimming a while we took the dinghy out to look for a better spot but with no luck. So we moved on to nearby Hasting Reef, about an hour away. We still have not had a sail up since Mike and Becky arrived as the winds have been only 1-4 knots! It's not good for sailing, but it is incredible for snorkeling.

We arrived at Hastings Reef in mid afternoon and everyone took a much needed nap. This is a reef that is visited during the day by tourist boats. There is a semi-submersible boat that stays moored here. Tourists who don't want to get wet can ride in it and see the reef through glass windows in the bottom. We thought it looked like another good place to raise a flag, so we planned another flag raising expedition for the morning before the tourist boats arrived.

We've taught Mike and Becky to play hearts. They caught on very quickly and Becky appeared to be headed for a win in her first game when I staged a dramatic come from behind victory. In the second game, everyone ganged up on me and allowed Bradley to secure the victory.

Morning came on Sept 12 and we were glad to hear that nothing bad happened back home on Sept 11. We all got up early to watch the sunrise but unfortunately a large cloud had settled in so there wasn't much to see. The weather is forecast to change today and we should start to get some wind. So we will probably head back to Cairns this afternoon and finally have a chance to put some sails up.

After sunrise we set off to raise the flags on the sub. Then we went for a final snorkel before departing for Cairns. It was a great day for a sail with winds of 20-25 knots. Mike and Becky finally got to experience sailing! It was a quick trip and we arrived back at Yorkey's Knob by 4:00pm. Mike and Becky went for a walk on the beach while Ron, Bradley and I gave the boat a good cleaning. We had a nice dinner at the Yacht Club.

Friday morning Mike, Becky and I went to Palm Cove to pick up a rental car for the next few days.  After lunch we headed into Cairns. We dropped Mike and Becky off to explore the town and shop while Bradley and I ran various errands. After dinner on the boat we resumed the hearts competition and Becky proved she's a quick learner by beating us all!

On Saturday, Mike and I went to play golf at Paradise Palms, one of the top ten golf courses in Australia. We had a great time and it was a beautiful and challenging course set in the rainforest with plenty of lakes and bunkers. Bradley and Becky went to the local Aboriginal cultural center and theater. For lunch we went to Trinity Beach and after some naps, headed into Cairns for some more shopping, a trip to the Casino (my $50 laster longer than Mike's $100) and a return to our favorite Indian restaurant, the Tandoori Oven.

On Sunday, Mike and Becky headed for the train trip up to Kuranda while Bradley and stayed to finish up all the things we need to do before returning home.