I see skies of blue …

A lot has happened since our guests recently departed … doc appointments, calm weather, outer reef visits, fish caught, countless snorkels, a naughty drone and even a hospital visit. We have also enjoyed some of the best conditions to date this season, especially while at our two favourite coral cay reefs, Taylor and Beaver, just offshore from Dunk Island on the Cassowary Coast.

And I found Dory! And a Sailors Eyeball!! 

Might be a long post this one.

First up … while back in Townsville the Captain needed to revisit the doctor over a 5-7 day period for some skin surgeries, one incision each day, so we booked a week in the Townsville Marina. Taking care of our skin, protecting it from what can be endless hours of sun exposure on a boat, is tricky and trying, but absolutely necessary. Unexpectedly, but we think fortunately, Dr. Jamiel detected what we hope are early non-melanoma skin cancers (the Captain always gets his skin assessed and treated at home each year so this was a surprise). Sooo, there was a bit of excitement when the doc released the Captain early (after 4 days), as the weather was looking promising and we could depart before the weekend, three days early! (We just have to drop by Townsville on the way south for one more to be removed.) The stitches were to be removed in 12-16 days.

It was to be a ‘stupid o’clock’ departure for the John Brewer Reef!  With an amazing weather window in the forecast, we had a plan for several reef stopovers whilst heading north to Cairns. The Captain was relieved and I was excited. 

Its always a good sign to be motoring out to the reef on dead calm water & what a catch! A 93 cm Spanish Mackerel.

We did drop by JB for an overnighter, but the wind sprung up (slightly) and with the Captain not being able to swim (stitches) and the tides all wrong for a snorkel (I’m getting fussy), we opted to relocate to North East Bay on the ocean side of Great Palm Island, an anchorage we just haven’t managed to visit to date. It was a top day getting there (see the Spanish Mackerel caught above) and as we entered the bay we could see why we have been encouraged to visit this beautiful location. There’s a long white sandy beach, rainforest and palm trees to the water’s edge and clear shallow water, making it an idyllic anchorage, particularly in these light conditions. Perfect!

I managed to only get a few aerial photos of this stunning bay before my drone decided to play funny buggers. It defaulted to the RTH setting, not letting me override it. This is particularly scary when on a yacht. RTH stands for Return To Home. ‘Home’ moves on anchor! It did come back, but the Captain had to ‘catch’ it leaning over the side of The Bossa.

Otter Reef was next. There was a tad of reminiscing at Otter.  Otter Reef was our very first venture to the scary and unknown outer reef, way back in 2016, with Gary and Annie on Chances. This time we had this anchorage all to ourselves! It was an easy spot to navigate in to, but nevertheless the Madonna headsets came out.

While the coral wasn’t wonderful, there was lots of underwater life to like at Otter. I’ve never seen so many blue Christmas Tree Worms for instance. They were prolific, as were the Tunicates and Sea Fans.

Use the <> to scroll through the slideshow photos above.

The amazing weather continued. We had days of zero wind. Motoring between each reef was easy and distances minimal.  So it was off to Taylor Reef next (15 nm), in time for a morning snorkel. There’s only three miles between Taylor and Beaver Reefs. Both Taylor and Beaver Reefs have sand cays.

I see skies of blue … it really was a wonderful few days.

We met up with K’Gari at Taylor Reef. We’d met K’Gari at Townsville when they had just returned from an aborted offshore crossing to PNG with our friends on Skedaddle.  Skedaddle continued on in rather trying conditions but they are now enjoying their PNG adventures. K’Gari are now heading south, as are the few yachts we are coming across.  It’s a very quiet season up this way.

We had the most amazing weather here. Glass-outs each day. Stunning!

I tried the drone from the sand cay here at Taylor as the sand does not move, only the landing point.  My last flights were from The Bossa, both with the RTH function triggering, unprompted. It also happened here at Taylor too. Contacting DJI is next.

Love this coral cay view below … everyone has gone, even the campers. Does our new umbrella add a touch of Greece to the scene? 

After another drone flight on the Taylor cay early, we then popped over to Beaver Reef (3 nm), anchoring in the best little lagoon, not far from the cay. It was 4 metres deep, crystal clear, on white sand and we had no wind.  The day was planned out … swims, snorkels from the boat and the AFL Grand Final in the afternoon (Starlink!).  It was hot.  The poor captain was still reluctant to jump in, but at least he could use the cockpit shower now.  He’d had to wait three days from his last incision for a shower, which meant it was just on eight days without a full shower.  Eeeek!

Beaver Reef coral cay all to ourselves. A favourite shot too.

We have visited Beaver Reef a few times, but never anchored in our little lagoon before (thankyou Lakoa), so I was close enough to swim from The Bossa over to a sparsely dotted reef close by. It was a bit of a ‘muck snorkel’. Lots of white sand, no dark, but lots of critters and life I don’t normally see around bommies and tropical reef structure. It was shallow too, which always gives me good natural light for my photography. 

It was a treat … I saw several Lagoon (Picasso) Triggerfish and a Titan Triggerfish, Blennies, Gobies, a Black Saddled Toby, Sea Cucumbers and a Sailors Eyeball, to name a few.

A Sailor’s Eyeball? Yes. It’s bubble algae and sometimes also called a Sea Pearl or Sea Grape but I’m sticking with my Captain Black Sparrow’s Sailor’s Eyeball.  What a great name! I’d actually seen a few of these shimmering bubbles peeping out from the amongst the rubble during the last few days, but not knowing what they were, I left them alone. Until a whole Sailor’s Eyeball appeared, only a few centimetres in size, so I photographed it and tried the ever reliable Google Lens to ID this strange shimmering thing. They are one of the largest single-celled organisms on earth. Sounds weirdly impressive doesn’t it?

And I found Dory!!!!! Ava will be pleased. I don’t recall ever seeing a Blue Tang before, so I was quite thrilled to actually see a school of them at Beaver during my ‘muck’ snorkel. But there’s only ONE Dory of course.

Taylor Reef turned out to be the only reef we shared … unfortunately?! We discovered the birds from the Beaver coral cay like to get way too friendly when there’s only one boat nearby. Arghhhh!!!

While we were the only yacht anchored at the Beaver cay, two day charter boats came in each day.  One was a business which had coincidently purchased some of my Beaver Reef photographs late last year, so it was lovely to chat with Bryan from Dunk Island Reef Adventures.  The other day boat pointed me in the right direction for some great snorkeling in deeper water.  With lots of healthy, colourful coral and prolific fish life here at Beaver, it really is a special place to snorkel. Finally a reef that is breaking our GBRMP declining trend.  

We are now sitting in the Johnstone River, Innisfail.  We have never been in here before but we have been pleasantly surprised.  You need a 2+m rising tide (we came in on 2.3 m tide), then it’s a gentle meander down the picturesque Johnstone River. It is often a bypassed anchorage but we feel it’s worth the visit, especially if you are looking for medical assistance (we needed the hospital for the Captain’s stitches to be removed … done, not even a wait) and shops. Everything is close by, a 5-10 min walk.  Yes it is HOT but we’ve had a gentle breeze (no swims, it’s croc territory). The locals are friendly and we can tie our dinghy up in a secured wharf for a refundable $50 fee, there’s a great fish & chip shop nearby and there’s a tavern right on the water for an afternoon beverage and even a meal. What more could we ask for?

Next stop, maybe the Frankland Islands and Fitzroy Island, then Cairns where we’ll catch up with our friends Leanne and Steve from the Easy Tiger days.