Tiare Taporo III at Magnetic Is. (again) Lat. 19 degrees 07' S Long. 146 degrees 52' E

After a very enjoyable stay in Townsville we came back out to Magnetic Is. this morning in conditions of stark contrast to the gale we had when going into Townsville the other day. There was hardly any wind - 3 knots max. - so we motored the whole way. Very peaceful here in the anchorage and we are so relaxed with having abandoned the plans for Darwin this year that we went to sleep!! All part of the unwinding. It's Queens Birthday Weekend here now so when we go ashore tomorrow it's likely to be crowded. There are around 25 yachts and launches in the anchorage.
Yesterday we had an early start. We said goodbye to our neighbours, Rob and Kim who are taking off on a ship cruise out of Brisbane to Noumea and Port Vila and at 0730 walked into town to catch a bus out to the suburbs (Fulham Rd.) to our osteopath appointments at 0945. That all went well and Jim has some exercises to do for his knees. Gina's pelvis has been straightened up although she is feeling somewhat sore. They said that would take one or two days to dissipate. Then back into town and a very pleasant lunch at an upstairs restaurant in Flinders St. on their balcony overlooking the street.
Townsville is really a lovely city with many very well preserved and attractive old buildings. Lots of history here. The old Burns Philp (BP) building (a 3 story building on an apex corner) is for sale. Very tempting at first glance but the scale of work required would almost certainly send one bankrupt!! This puts Jim in mind of a trading deal which was stitched up - apparently - between BP and his great grandfather whereby they carved up trading rights in the south Pacific in the late 1800's. Donald's got the eastern Pacific (the Cook, Society, Tuamotu and Marquesas Islands) and BP had the rest (Samoa, Tonga, Fiji and PNG plus a few other smaller places). BP definitely had the best of the bargain which was in all likelihood not one negotiated from equal strengths!!
All along the waterfront is an extensive park (Anzac Park) which is leafy and cool. A great buffer between the foreshore and the CBD and then the marina is right there as well. There is also an olympic sized swimming pool and gym which would no doubt be good for exercise when we return. There is an impressive and detailed memorial to the Battle of the Coral Sea in the park and it's sobering to realise that the battle took place about 400 miles NE of Townsville in 1942. The Allies actually lost more ships than the Japanese but such was the scale of the Japanese losses that it effectively stopped any further advance southwards by them.
There is a biplane on floats which operates out of the marina called the "Red Baron" and we thought that when we come back to Townsville in November we might go for a jaunt in her. The pilot sits in the rear cockpit and 2 passengers sit in front.
We'll let you know our impressions of Magnetic Is. tomorrow.
Cheers and love from us.............
Jim and Jean (Gina)

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