Author Archives: Amanda
it’s a wrap
Another great sailing season has come to an end. We have been very fortunate getting to our boat again this year. We left Victoria back in July crossing the NSW and Qld borders, but little did we know Victoria and NSW would experience more Covid lockdowns and that there would be more border closures.
a last hurrah
There has to be a last snorkel! Sitting at the Gladstone Marina for nearly a week, waiting for strong SE weather to pass through, we had plenty of time to plan a Lady Musgrave visit but I think we must have exhausted the alphabet with the number of plans we came up with. Tides, winds… Read More »
monkey beach
We have visited Monkey Beach on Great Keppel Island many many times and I’ve snorkeled here most of those visits. But this time we scored the perfect anchorage. My ‘dream’ anchorage is one that lets me snorkel straight from The Bossa. There’s no need for Neville to hang about in the dinghy. He can return to the… Read More »
airlie to keppel
The strong northerlies have been blowing forever and with daily thunderstorm warnings we decided to stay in the Port Of Airlie Marina for a few nights (no anchoring off Airlie in northerlies). We were also waiting on two packages, one being our new screecher which we had been missing big time since our old one… Read More »
britomart, walker and kelso reefs
reef hopping south
what a game … in cairns!
What a game! What a game! What a game! What a great time we had in Cairns. Nearly two weeks of catching up with Leanne and Steve who now live in Cairns. We met these two five years ago on their Fusion cat Easy Tiger. Easy Tiger has a new owner but our friendship has… Read More »
beaver reef
our hinchinbrook haven
john brewer reef
made it to maggie
crossing the paddock
great keppel island
how sweet it is
back to the bossa
it’s a wrap!
lady musgrave … again!
There was something special about this visit to Lady Musgrave. The weather window was perfect, the company great, the snorkeling fun and it was just so very picturesque. Perhaps it was just that. We entered the channel on a very low tide so the reef was exposed all around us and with the sun overhead,… Read More »
a favourite!
heading south
After our catchup with Waterfront we have now officially headed south. With a lift booked for the 25th November and with a few planned stop-offs along the way, it was time to take the timely northerlies. Our first stop was Thomas Island. I think the little bay on the southern side of Thomas is everyone’s favourite including… Read More »
my happy place – part two
my happy place – part one
hook island
destination whitsundays
reef window
big tides
fitzroy reef
musgrave magic
whales of hervey bay
The whale season in Hervey Bay is now! Many humpback whales drop in to Hervey Bay from August to October each year on their way south. Our ‘normal’ cruising season means we are usually further north at this time and while we certainly see whales further north, they do seem to be a bit more… Read More »
strait lines
it’s that song again!
It’s that song again! We have been at Boatworks for four weeks and yes, we had a long list of jobs to do and mostly annual maintenance, but unfortunately the list did grow and two weeks stretched in to four weeks. It was the longest stretch we’d left The Bossa out of the water since… Read More »
phew … we made it!
it’s a wrap …
lady musgrave island
fitzroy reef
yellow patch
In 2016 we visited Yellow Patch on Curtis Island. We have finally returned! Yellow Patch is a treasure! A large orange (not yellow) coloured sandhill slopes down to a deep water beach, extensive white sand flats fill the inlet and endless mangrove creeks meander deep in to the inlet, further than the eye can see.… Read More »
keppel magic
whitsundays to great keppel island
our week with Tim … hardy lagoon
our week with Tim … bait reef
Soooo … we were left with Tim (and his drone)! We had another week with our son on board and we struck gold … an outer reef window! Could not have been better timing. We dropped (a sad) Kaycee at Hamilton Island airport, picked up a few necessities, refuelled and we were on our way.… Read More »
family time – part two
Damn … got the layout wrong! Thats what happens when you are chasing internet … here’s Take Two! (Ignore the last email post.) Yes, it was busy on board with six of us! But a special time too. We enjoyed watching the Tigers winning the GF while at Hamilton Island and those that didn’t, they… Read More »
whitsundays snorkeling
family time … part one
lodestone reef
I wonder if there’s a “five-year rule” on boats?? Bossa Nova turned five last November (how time flies!). We had already replaced our VHF hand-held radio a few months back, then, not long after we officially turned south just recently (which means this season is half over 🙁 ), our toilet holding-tank pump stopped working, our… Read More »
beaver reef
Finally, after some false starts, we got to the outer reef. We have several waypoints for reefs off Orpheus and Dunk Islands so we have been keen to explore them. But like all outer reef ventures, it’s the weather, particularly the wind and tide, that guide our decisions. Beaver Reef was our first reef
hinchinbrook magic
According to our Alan Lucas ‘bible’ the Hinchinbrook Channel “is the most scenic, calm waterway on the east coast of Australia”. We like it! We were fortunate enough to see quite a lot of whale activity on the way in to the Hinchinbrook Channel. A pod of five or six whales kept us entertained but… Read More »
sexy or sinister?
Sexy or sinister … I have stolen this title from a friend! I am talking about clams. We have just visited Orpheus Island after a stopover at Townsville and the ever popular yachtie haunt at Horseshoe Bay on Maggie (Magnetic Island). Orpheus Island has a Research Station in Pioneer Bay. Threatened with extinction many years… Read More »
clams and clownfish
A reef weather window at last! Bait Reef and maybe the Hardy Reef lagoon were our destinations. Unfortunately, Bait Reef was everyone’s destination. As we approached Bait Reef it was apparent we would be travelling further on to Hardy Reef as the 5 moorings were already occupied, with another 5 boats anchored. Busy! Bait Reef… Read More »
whitsunday wandering
We are currently sitting out a few days of ordinary weather with strong winds, showers and cooler days, in Cid Harbour. Time to catch up on my blog, watch a film, read, clean and cook. Fortunately, we are getting some intermittent phone signal, thus internet, so it’s not too bad. But we are a tad… Read More »
whitehaven beach
With the wish to be in phone contact with home and our friends on ET, we decided we would only venture a short distance to Whitehaven Beach. We have two ‘must do’s’ when we visit the Whitsundays … Whitehaven Beach and Hill Inlet. Our friends on Chances and Vivacious were at Whitehaven and had been… Read More »