Fitzroy Island

We finally left Yorkeys Knob Marina with great relief on the 15th. We had insisted on staying an extra week to get our "free" week which is all we've managed to retrieve from our ill fated "investment" in the Louisiades Rally. Not sure whether it was worth it as it became very unpleasant but anyway we did it and then escaped to Fitzroy which is a volcanic (high) island 18 miles from Yorkeys Knob just south of Cape Grafton which is SE from Yorkeys.
We started off at 0730 and had a good sail for about half an hour with Cairns City on our starboard hand. Then the wind dropped and headed us (how unusual!!) so we motored the rest of the way.
There is a resort there and the island is visited daily by daytrippers and tourists from Cairns. We anchored in the bay in front of the resort along with approximately 8-10 other boats. A fairly deep anchorage (about 10 metres) and beautiful clear water. We launched the dinghy and went ashore each day where we alternately went for walks or sat in the bar!! There are a few good walks through very pretty rain forest including over to Nudey Beach where another yachtie of our acquaintance claimed to have seen 6 young women in a state of considerable undress!! Unfortunately we missed the spectacle. For the most part the weather was beautiful with clear sunny days and not too hot - yet. Cool nights and one night a bit of rain which necessitated closing the fore hatch. Always exciting being awakened out of a deep slumber by the gentle patter of rain drops on one's forehead!!
All in all a very relaxing time and we met several other yachties - all Aussies. We tended to meet at the aforementioned bar at Happy Hour time. There's one thing about yachties - they always seem to manage to suss out times and places of the best prices!
We met Jonathon and Jo and another couple whose names we forget from a catamaran called "Backchat". Strange how you tend to remember boats and faces but names are very elusive. Then there were John and Nancy who are on a Leopard catamaran (which they had bought in the Carribbean a couple of years ago) called "Alana Rose". They are on their way to Darwin from where they plan to continue to the Kimberleys, WA and then across the Great Australian Bight in a circumnavigation of the continent. A big task given the size of the place. By the time we get to Darwin next year we will have covered over 2,000 miles from Bundaberg. John very kindly downloaded onto our computer some charts and cruising notes that he had of the Northern Territory and Indonesia. They'll be handy next year.
Then, 3 days ago we came back - this time to Bluewater Marina half a mile up the same river from Yorkeys. Totally different from Yorkeys (although that wouldn't be hard). We were met at the dock and our lines taken which was in total contrast to our previous experience. A much more friendly atmosphere. Bluewater is a residential marina development and so far they have some berths available for casual visitors like us. They are the only cyclone rated marina in Cairns (up to category 3)so we're as secure as we can be. The biggest issue would be storm surge, rather than wind or wave action, where due to low atmospheric pressure the sea level rises and in extreme cases marinas have risen so much that they've floated right off their retaining piles. However, as we say that is extreme and all should be well. The Queensland Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting up to 4 cyclones forming in the Coral Sea this summer but it's entirely possible that none of them will even eventuate or make landfall and if they do they will probably be in a manageable category.
We are looking forward to taking off again in about 3 weeks for Lizard Is. 160 miles north. Happily Jean continues to improve - helped no doubt by the shedding of all the unpleasantness of Yorkeys. For those gory details see our previous blog!
More from us again in due course..........
Cheers and love from us
www.tiaretaporo3.blogspot.com

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