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 »
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 »
This is one of the more difficult posts I’ve written. When we return to The Bossa each year we leave our family and friends behind for six months. We’ve always felt ‘connected’ though, with our mobile phones and the internet. We are only a phone call away we would say. And then only a flight… Read More »
After our extended marina time in Keppel Bay we were ready to ‘escape’. The strong winds and big seas had eased and the Shoalwater Bay military training zone had reopened which was quite timely. We had no wind! One extreme to the other. After two days of motoring we revisited South Percy Island for a… Read More »
We have been in the Keppel Bay Marina now for two weeks. We originally came in for birthday celebrations and the need for a VHF radio repair. We’ve been here ever since! After enjoying a fantastic run of beautiful weather from Boatworks to Great Keppel Island, we are now waiting for strong winds and BIG swells… Read More »
We had a great sail from Heron Island to Great Keppel Island. Flat water and a steady 10-15 knot breeze. Dinner was covered for five nights with a spotted mackerel caught on passage and we enjoyed some repeated breaching by a very energetic whale off our starboard transom. While it was too far away for… Read More »
Heron Island has one of the few resorts located on the GBR. Unfortunately, it doesn’t welcome yachties who might venture out this far, however there’s always a walk around the island on offer as we have access up to the high-water line. We did visit reception though and they were generously agreeable to us having… Read More »
Apologies to my email subscribers, another try … There are so many coral cays out here but the weather and time dictates how many you can visit as sheltered anchorages are a must. If there is an island, they are quite small. We can usually circumnavigate them in under an hour by foot, so it’s the… Read More »
It’s so wonderful to be back in the water! A warm and calm patch of weather over the last week has meant I’ve unexpectedly been able to enjoy my underwater world in the Bunker and Capricorn group of coral cays and islands, in the southern section of our wonderful GBR. We are now back in… Read More »
Woohoo, our 2019 east coast journey begins! After we left The Boatworks we caught our breath with a few nights in the Broadwater, familiarizing ourselves with our ‘second home’. Living between two homes involves some clumsy moments remembering just where things are. Of course, on The Bossa, it’s a tad more important as many things… Read More »
I think we left Melbourne at the right time! Winter has well and truly set in now with wind, rain, hail and even snow. And it’s COLD downsouth!! Sunshine and 25 degrees up here. We are now on the water enjoying a rest … and the sunshine!As per the previous four years, we left The Bossa… 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 »
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 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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 …
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 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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 … 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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »