We are back! Not sure where we should call ‘home’ these days but sharing our time between our home on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria AND on our catamaran bossa nova certainly works well for us. We have had discussions about one or the other … but we like it both ways! So after a grueling… Read More »
This is our fourth year on The Bossa and our third cruising the east coast. Our trip north this year began slightly differently … we joined friends at Byron Bay and celebrated my entry in to the next decade with a 3-day land interlude. (My biggest concern was spending this occasion under our boat with… Read More »
One of the bonuses of the cruising life is visiting places that are only accessible by water and are also not on the ‘tourist’ run. Yellow Patch on the northern side of Curtis Island not far from here comes to mind and also where we are now, Pancake Creek. The anchorage ‘hops’ up the east coast… Read More »
Let’s mix it up. We think some of our blog ‘followers’ might enjoy this little side story. We are a sailing boat, so yes, we always want to sail. If we need to, we motor-sail, which is a combination of sailing and motoring (usually because there’s no wind). And then there’s motoring, which we don’t really want… Read More »
A perfect day for updating my blog! We are anchored at Shaw Island with Pas De Chat (pronounced pa—da-cha). It’s blowing 20+ knots so it’s a day on board, but we have blue skies and 24 degrees … and internet … so who’s complaining? We left The Narrows two weeks ago for Great Keppel Island. It… Read More »
While our 2018 visit to the Whitsundays has been a brief one to date, we have already seen some of Cyclone Debbie’s destruction and the its lingering consequences. We stopped at Hamilton Island to re-provision, to South Molle Island for a walk to the lookout and we are now anchored off Gloucester Island, a favourite… Read More »
Did you know … Magnetic Island was named by Captain Cook, whose compass played up when he sailed past in 1770? Visiting Horseshoe Bay on Magnetic Island is a bit like visiting a friend. Familiar, easy, friendly, secure, pretty and calm (its protected from most wind directions) … a ‘yachties paradise’ Neville would say. It is… Read More »
The big … While we have seen so many whales on our trip north this year, I’m still hoping for that ‘special’ shot of a whale breeching. We have seen some acrobatics, but way too far away. We’ve also had whales close, sometimes too close, but they’ve been simply heading north like us. We have… Read More »
It has been a few weeks since my last post. We are anchored in Gulnare Inlet, near Hamilton Island, ready to collect Abbey tomorrow. We have had such a run of great weather. Clear blue skies, warm and gentle sailing breezes. We’ve even had super calm days without a breath of wind. We do treasure… Read More »
We have just enjoyed 12 days of glorious weather, but more importantly, 12 days of family time with Abbey on board. First stop … Whitehaven. THE best beach! After many visits to the Whitsundays over the years, on our last visit here in 2016 we actually visited a bay we hadn’t been to before. Waites Bay… Read More »
Wow … Wow … Wow! We picked a day with a clear sky forecast and then a time with the sun overhead and also low tide. We booked a one-hour Reef and Islands flight out of Airlie Beach. The day was perfect with little wind and no clouds. My last experience on a small plane… Read More »
It’s so good to be back in the water. However to date, I’ve only managed to get to the fringing reef around the islands. The outer reef is hopefully not too far away … we are waiting on a ‘weather window’! The popular Whitsundays snorkeling spots here have been the likes of Blue Pearl Bay,… Read More »
It has been a rollercoaster ride over the last few weeks here in the Whitsundays. There are a few ‘safe havens’ in these waters. When the wind blows too hard, we yachties look for shelter (contrary to what some think … we don’t like strong wind either). Nara, Macona and Gulnare Inlets, along with Cid… Read More »
My last snorkel in the Whitsundays! While the reef here is not what it used to be, there’s still plenty to see under the water. While the bottom is covered with a layer of brown murky sediment and the water somewhat cloudy, seeing the bright fish life and the new corals, is still my favourite… Read More »
Friends (non-boating ones) often ask … “what do we do?” We sail, we fish, we read, we walk, we talk and we just love the cruising life. But, it’s the people we meet along the way that have the biggest impact on our cruising life. Lasting friendships are formed. We are beginning our southern journey… Read More »
We hopped down south to Plantation Bay, Lindeman Island. An unexpected treat was another ‘last snorkel’. Little did I know I would finally see some Anemonefish. Here’s a few pics …
We have arrived at Great Keppel Island (GKI). The northerlies finally arrived so several yachts departed the Whitsundays around the same time, all southward bound. I counted 30+ yachts in a few of our anchorages. It is approx. 200 nm from the Whitsundays to GKI so its usually a 4-day passage. We had a brilliant weather… Read More »
Each morning we get up in anticipation. The weather forecast! We are planning to hop down the coral cays of the Southern Great Barrier Reef with Take It Easy. We need light winds, clear sunny skies, neap tides, a low tide in the middle of the day and a favourable wind direction to get us… Read More »
Snorkeling has become my number one activity when I’m on The Bossa. I’ve mentioned how disappointing and sad the state of the Great Barrier Reef is around the Whitsundays. The silt and algae, along with the damaged coral, will be having a big impact on the tourism there. However, back south, here at GKI, it… Read More »
I hope I haven’t bored my readers with this endless collection of underwater snaps yet?! We are venturing out to the southern section of the Great Barrier Reef very early this morning. Maybe more underwater photos that even “gazump” this collection? There will be no phone reception out there so my next post will be… Read More »
In my last post I mentioned we were heading out to sea. We have just spent the last seven days in the Southern section of the Great Barrier Reef, at the Capricorn and Bunker Groups of islands. Why haven’t we visited here before??!! I suppose Lady Musgrave Island counts, but I also think perhaps we are… Read More »
We left Great Keppel Island at day break (5 am) and arrived at North West Island at lunchtime, after 7 hours of motoring (remember, we didn’t want wind). An uneventful 43 nautical mile trip, our longest passage, until we leave Lady Musgrave Island at the end of our Southern Reef adventure. North West Island is a large… Read More »
After a calm night at anchor at North West Island we woke to glassy water and a blue sky. It was a short motor hop to Heron Island and Wistari Reef. Fortunately, the two moorings were free so with TIE and The Bossa securely attached, it was snorkel time, once again taking advantage of the midday… Read More »
Entering the Fitzroy Reef lagoon entrance on dead low tide made it quite spectacular. Once inside, it was a glass-out! Not a breath of wind. Absolute perfect outer reef weather … whoopee! After a 3-hour motor on flat oily water from Heron Island, we followed Take It Easy through the somewhat narrow Fitzroy lagoon entrance, with both… Read More »
We loved Fitzroy Reef. The lagoon has a white sandy bottom, such clear water and so much reef to explore. I had snorkeled every day for a week now I think. Was I snorkeled out yet? Nearly. If Heron Island was all about big fish, Fitzroy was about the little fish. After a long 2-hour… Read More »
Lady Musgrave Island is probably the most well known coral cay in the Southern Great Barrier Reef. Day tour boats visit from Bundaberg and it’s a popular stopover anchorage for yachties on the way north and south. It’s approx’ 35 nautical miles from Pancake Creek, south of Gladstone. We had visited Lady Musgrave a few… Read More »
It was on this day 5 years ago, when our Bossa Nova slowly glided down our driveway, behind a monstrous truck. It was such a memorable day! After three years of blood, sweat and tears building our Fusion 40, our baby was finally leaving our paddock. A big truck entered our work yard, backed under… Read More »
Take two! I’m trying to improve on my layout for you email subscribers. This is what your post update should have looked like … It’s that time of the year again … when we swap ‘homes’. Our 2018 sailing season has come to an end. We have arrived back at Boatworks and packed our boat… Read More »
Take two! I’m trying to improve on my layout for you email subscribers. This is what your post update should have looked like … It’s that time of the year again … when we swap ‘homes’. Our 2018 sailing season has come to an end. We have arrived back at Boatworks and packed our boat… Read More »