the best of plans …

Sometimes cruising doesn’t always go to plan, but it’s how you deal with the hiccups, that’s the key. Even more so when you have guests on board. Suffice to say, this post is all about our guests.

The number one concern with guests?  You guessed it, weather. Where can we go, what will we do, can we get back. Our plan with guests on board is always about treating them to the wonderful cruising life we enjoy every day on The Bossa.

We have just shared a wonderful 12 days with our friends Lynn and Greg, cruising the Palm Islands and Magnetic Island. This wasn’t our plan.  We envisioned visiting the outer reef, maybe John Brewer Reef, to fish and snorkel. To drop by the Palms, then Hinchinbrook and Dunk Islands, and the nearby Beaver and Taylor Reefs. But, the weather didn’t allow and also, the Captain had an unexpected appointment (several actually) with a Townsville doctor to sort out some skin issues (he was advised to deal with them quickly). 

As we say, “plans are drawn in the sand at low tide”.

So, with several days of 20+ knot winds in the forecast, rain and endless SE winds, and now a timeline for doctor’s visits, we adjusted our plan. We visited Fantome Island, Orpheus Island and Pelorus Island, all islands in the Palm Group (approx’ 30 + nm north of Magnetic Island) and we managed to overcome the wind restraints.  

I mentioned fishing … Greg brought five rods with him and he caught the catch of the day, a large Spanish Mackerel which provided I think five meals. We can’t count the three unwanted Mack Tunas … with four lines out, two pinged at once, followed by another shortly after, but all were returned to the deep.

Check out Greg’s bed … the gear!  A great catch which fed us multiple meals – tempura battered, fish tacos (or as our friends on Waterfront call them, ‘facos’), Lynn’s amazing fish curry and seafood noodles.

We also scored the best prawns ever, Endeavour Prawns. These may not look like a Tiger or a King Prawn, but they are delicious.  Straight from the prawn trawler at 6 am., which was sheltering in our bay. The Captain jumped out of bed early and purchased 5 kg (!) of freshly caught prawns before they were snap frozen, all for a grand total of $70 (!!). He was told by the crew they were the best to eat and they certainly were.

We spent the majority of our time at Orpheus Island, in Hazard Bay, during this windy stretch. It was well protected, it had beautiful calm mangrove waterways to paddle, a pristine clearwater sandy beach to watch the sunsets from, Yanks Jetty for a swim and it was a fishing zone for our resident fisherman. 

We returned this beach numerous times, for kayaks, fishing, swims, walks and sundowners. Think we’ll name it Walsh’s Beach!

We even scored some entertainment in Hazard Bay watching two very fast whales dive under a neighbouring yacht. 

We haven’t got an ID on these whales so if anyone can help, please let us know. My zoom lens wasn’t quite powerful enough to offer a clear image of these whales, but our bino’s revealed the below description and after talking to the yachtie who you can see on the bow watching them dive under his boat, we’re absolutely sure they weren’t Humpbacks.

They were super-fast, the largest approx’ 15/16 m in length, grey not black with a distinct dorsal fin and definitely not a Minke or Humpback. Maybe a Fin Whale … known as ‘the greyhound of the sea’?? 

The sunsets were beautiful. It was hard to believe the wind was blowing out there.  We were in the best place.

In between our visits to Hazard Bay we stopped by Juno Bay on Fantome Island, the clam garden in Pioneer Bay on Orpheus Island and we visited Pelorus Island for a snorkel which was new to us. Fantome Island provided a walk around the old Leper Colony site. Can you believe this site only closed in 1973! We also jumped in for a snorkel just outside the channel, but it was very murky with the constant south easterlies. I have enjoyed some great snorkels here in the past.

Pelorus Island is the northern most island in the Palm Group. We hadn’t visited here before. We had the benefit of a mooring (too deep to anchor) so we jumped in for a snorkel. While the water’s visibility was poor, it was better than Fantome, and it’s a place I’d revisit in better conditions. Fortunately, we also squeezed in a snorkel for Lynn and Greg at the old clam ‘farm’ in Pioneer Bay. They felt it was the pick of the snorkel locations.

Not quite as clear as the outer reef! But, worth another visit in calmer conditions I think.

It was then back to Hazard Bay, which we all felt happy to do. Lynn and I enjoyed some lovely kayaks meandering amongst the mangroves. The water was crystal clear with a clear sandy bottom, so very still and quite mesmerizing. We also enjoyed more sunsets from Walsh’s Beach (yep we’ve named it), once even eating some remaining prawns!

On our last afternoon in Hazard Bay, we enjoyed some calmer conditions so we dropped by Yanks Jetty for swim. A stunning swim in clear water over a sandy bottom, followed by another meandering mangrove paddle back to Walsh’s Beach where we watched the sun go down for the last time in the Palms.

It was then back to Magnetic Island and Townsville. With strong SE winds still forecast, we picked the calmest of the days to tackle the headwind and after a 7 hour passage, we arrived at Magnetic Island. The bonus of our early return meant we caught up with friends from home.

It was a wonderful 12 days.  There were lots of laughs, great food (Lynn’s cooking was a highlight), fish, prawns, paddles, swims, games and lots of conversation. Greg’s fishing is always a treat. Our sunset drinks in Hazard Bay were a highlight along with the mangrove paddles. We love Lynn and Greg’s enthusiasm for everything that’s on offer from The Bossa. 

Just goes to show you, its not all about the weather … hmmm … not too sure on that one. We are now sitting in the Townsville Marina (doc visits) and of course once our guests departed the weather improved.  It’s reef weather!

Postscript – Our guests are the biggest drinkers of tea. They do bring their own teabags and we do supply some. I think we consumed maybe 200 teabags for the 12 days (not sure on the maths there, but it sounds like a bloody lot). But did we allow for the milk? Powdered milk is a winner now and we just made it. Big thanks to Greg who sacrificed his Duty Free allowance recently when he purchased two bottles of our favourite Havana Club rum to bring on board (not much left there either) and for many of these blog post photos. Greg’s fishing is always a highlight (his Spanish Mackerel was a big one, fed us five times). We were so keen to get him out to the outer reef, but not this time. Lynn’s cooking was amazing! I do get over my own cooking during a season so I very much appreciated the new menu. Congrats too to Lynn who seized her snorkeling opportunities with gusto during this visit. The conditions were not great but after spending Will’s inheritance on new gear, she certainly gave it a red-hot go and also enjoyed the warmer water. And finally, I must mention the games, they were fun . The 500 winners retained their crown! The Bossa crew of course.