Category Archives: Cruising East Coast

5 Years Today!

By | November 3, 2018

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 »

Lady Musgrave Island

By | November 1, 2018

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 »

Fitzroy Reef … day two!

By | October 31, 2018

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 »

Fitzroy Reef … loved it!

By | October 30, 2018

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 »

Heron Island and Wistari Reef

By | October 28, 2018

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 »

first stop … North West Island

By | October 27, 2018

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 »

Southern Great Barrier Reef

By | October 26, 2018

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 »

my underwater world … part two

By | October 20, 2018

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 »

my underwater world … part one

By | October 19, 2018

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 »

Great Keppel Island

By | October 19, 2018

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 »

Southward Bound!

By | October 13, 2018

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 »

one more time …

By | October 12, 2018

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 …

2018 … “cruising blues”

By | October 3, 2018

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 »

my last snorkel here …

By | October 3, 2018

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 »

the highs and the lows

By | September 23, 2018

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 »

Back in the water …

By | September 18, 2018

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 »

A Must Do!

By | September 4, 2018

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 »

12 days …

By | September 3, 2018

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 »

Back in the Whitsundays!

By | August 20, 2018

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 »

the big and the small …

By | August 9, 2018

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 »

Magnetic Magic!

By | August 8, 2018

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 »

Island Tragedy

By | July 27, 2018

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 »

The Percys

By | July 22, 2018

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 »

The Narrows

By | July 6, 2018

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 »

Pancake Creek

By | July 4, 2018

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 »

Byron to Bundy

By | July 1, 2018

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 »

We’re back …

By | June 19, 2018

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 »

All over for another year!

By | November 20, 2016

We have hauled out Bossa Nova at Boatworks. The packup has started. It’s very comfortable and welcoming here at Boatworks.  A few friends are around too so the socialising continues.  We have also caught up with our friends from last year, Leanne and Steve on Easy Tiger, who are visiting for a few days and… Read More »

Time for some reflection …

By | November 15, 2016

Our 2016 northern journey is coming to an end. Like last year, we’ve had the most fantastic time and also like last year, we are actually ready to return to our lovely home, family and friends. Here’s a few favourite memories … We have met so many great people this year.  It has been very… Read More »

Let’s go fly a kite!

By | November 13, 2016

Today was our last sail!  Mooloolaba to Moreton Bay with Chances (Port Stephens) and Pas de Chat (Port Macquarie). We have really enjoyed cruising with our new friends – Gary and Annie, and Jim and Jan.  I’m sure we will see them again! 66 nautical miles.  Top speed 12.6k (Neville says the instruments don’t lie!).  Departure 4.15… Read More »

Bundy to Mooloo’loolaba!

By | November 9, 2016

We reluctantly departed our favourite Lady Musgrave for Bundaberg, once again at daybreak .  We are getting very used to waking at first light but these Queenslanders don’t know what they’re missing with no daylight saving. The weather does dictate our passages …BUT we also had a 60th birthday to attend! Last year on our… Read More »

Lady Musgrave – The Magic of Nature – Part 2

By | November 1, 2016

On our last night at Lady Musgrave, we joined Gary and Annie from Chances and went ashore for our sundowners.  We set up our own turtle watching station, out of the wind, on the western side of the island.  There was 14 knots of wind blowing so we knew we were going to get wet… Read More »

Lady Musgrave – Part 1

By | November 1, 2016

When we visited Lady Musgrave last year we knew we’d be back.  Lady Musgrave is a coral cay.  It has a tiny sand island at the end of its big blue lagoon with a coral reef surrounding the lagoon.  We have just enjoyed such a memorable three days there … again. We arrived at Pancake… Read More »

Yellow Patch

By | October 26, 2016

I’ve had a ‘bucket list’ of destinations for this year’s trip north.  One was Yellow Patch and it did not disappoint. Yellow Patch is an anchorage on Curtis Island and it is known for its huge dramatic patch of yellow sand.  A stunning sand hill is the backdrop in this sandy estuary.  It’s a possible… Read More »

Alphabet Soup!

By | October 21, 2016

We only have four more weeks! Time for some reflection … One thing stands out with this year’s northern journey … it’s the people we’ve met and the friendships we’ve formed. We do occasionally travel in company and this year it has been with Gary and Annie on Chances (who we met briefly right at… Read More »

Keswick Island … we now know it better!

By | October 16, 2016

Most of my blog posts do show the ‘up’ side of our trip north.  The idyllic, relaxing and picturesque lifestyle we lead for six months of the year is what sailing is all about for us. However it’s not always like this … but … we can usually find an ‘up’ side no matter what… Read More »

Our week with Tim

By | October 10, 2016

Timothy came up this same week last year and it blew a gale all week.  We rocked and rolled around the Whitsundays. This time we had blue skies, kinder winds and hot sunny days.  Lots of swimming and snorkeling.  We unfortunately didn’t get to the outer reef but we did get to some of the… Read More »

Reef Adventures … Part Two

By | September 24, 2016

Wow!  Hardy Lagoon. It was a tad scary entering the lagoon. We followed Chances (who had been there before) which did give us some comfort, but as we approached Hardy Reef we did seem to be heading straight for the reef?! Hardy Lagoon has an ‘entrance’, but, it is a very narrow break in the… Read More »

Reef Adventures … Part One

By | September 23, 2016

One of our (my) ‘must do’s’ this year was to spend more time at the outer reef.  But it really is all about the weather when it comes to the reef. We left Magnetic Island a week or so back (can’t quite remember, the days do blur in to each other).  And then the weather… Read More »

Snorkelling in the Whitsundays

By | September 22, 2016

Seems like a long time ago that I wrote my last post, but not really.  We have been out of phone range since then. After five glorious days at the outer reef we are now anchored at Stonehaven on Hook Island, near Hayman Island and its’ snorkelling mecca Blue Pearl Bay. After arriving at Gloucester… Read More »

One Perfect Day …

By | September 15, 2016

A great reaching sail in steady northerly winds on flat water Two fish caught … a Spanish Mackerel and a Northern Bluefin Tuna on our new rig Whales including a breaching whale off our port side Sunshine Drinks and a defrag with Chances Spanish Mackerel for dinner!

Magnetic Island

By | September 15, 2016

We have had a wonderful time at Magnetic Island. We anchored in Horseshoe Bay over week ago after a few days of provisioning, washing and cleaning in the Breakwater Marina in Townsville. So many boats at anchor.  We regularly counted over 50 yachts alone. We met up with familiar faces including a big night of… Read More »

Palm Islands

By | September 5, 2016

After our five days of socialising at Dunk it was time to depart.  Some boats went north, we went south.  We set sail (ha!  … lots of motoring) for the Palm Islands with Chances, Arkaydes and Rene. We weren’t quite sure how far north we were going to get this year.  Starting at the Gold… Read More »

Destination Dunk

By | August 28, 2016

We are all set to leave Dunk Island tomorrow, heading back south.  Our most northern destination for this year! We have had five very social days here at Dunk!  We have met up with several other yachts, some known, some new. Walks, lunches at the sand spit seafood cafe, sundowners and then finishing off our… Read More »

Otter Reef

By | August 26, 2016

Calm weather for few days!  Zoe Bay then Otter Reef. The outer reef is quite a bit closer this far north so after talking to a few boats and getting a calm forecast we decided to head out to Otter Reef.  We finally caught up with Chances too! I got to use my underwater Olympus TG4… Read More »

Hinchinbrook Magic

By | August 26, 2016

Hinchinbrook Island is such a majestic island with its misty high peaks.  It’s our largest island national park and known for its lush rainforest, long sandy beaches and mangrove filled channel.  And for Zoe Bay! We spent a few days with Aqualibrium in Gayundah Creek in the Hichinbrook channel and lucked it with some calm… Read More »

Townsville to Dunk

By | August 25, 2016

After a few days reminiscing in Townsville we left for Magnetic Island. We worked out it was 1987 when we first visited … in a 23’ trailer sailer called Southern Comfort.  No we didn’t sail it from Melbourne to Townsville!  We had three months long service leave, towing our TS up the east coast cruising… Read More »

Fast Tracking To Townsville

By | August 15, 2016

There’s something comforting about visiting familiar places, but there’s such anticipation and even excitement when we visit new places.  Our most northern stop last year was the Gloucester Passage, just north of Airlie Beach.  This year we planned on sailing further north.  And we have, arriving in Townsville yesterday afternoon. We spent a lovely few… Read More »

The Whitsundays

By | August 6, 2016

Last year we spent quite a lot of time here, nearly two months.  This year our plan is to spend a few weeks, then head north to Townsville and beyond. We picked up Andree and Steve from Airlie Beach when we arrived and had a great week with them on board.  Not the best weather… Read More »

It’s a snubfin dolphin!

By | August 5, 2016

It’s a dolphin … no … it’s a dugong … no … it’s a snubfin dolphin! When we first saw these dolphins some time back we were not really sure what they were, maybe not even a dolphin.  They have a rounded head which was quite confusing. We are currently anchored in Wardwark Bay, near… Read More »