sv evi

Riki met David & Millie on SV Penny Oyster, a British couple in their early 30’s, on the dock in Cairns. They left the same day we did, and we both overnighted to Lizard Island. We ended up buddy boating with them all the way to Cape York, the northernmost point of the Australian continent. It was a bit of a blur, as we covered about 400 nautical miles in 10 days with 4 overnight sails and one day sail. However, so nice to share it with another boat. We shared dinners, hiked together, and played Ticket to Ride. They always sailed faster than us, with their racing background. It was really windy the whole time. One night at anchor in Lizard Island we saw 50 knots on the wind speed instrument! We sailed with just a triple-reefed main for most of the time from Cairns to Thursday Island.

It can be unnerving sailing at night between the Great Barrier Reef and the mainland because some places you are passing through narrow channels between reefs. The depth is usually between 15-30 meters, and the waves are definitely smaller than in the open ocean, so that is nice. Often there are cargo ships in the shipping lanes. We always tried to stay outside the shipping lanes, but it wasn’t always possible because of the wind. Once the Australian Border Force called Riki on the radio, asking his destination port. Once a cargo ship called “Echo – Victor – India” (evi) on the radio, and asked his intentions. Riki answered that we would pass the cargo ship port-to-port and change course to starboard.

We would usually nap as soon as we got to our destination and put the sail cover and the instrument covers on. We didn’t do any home schooling during this stretch because we were pushing hard to make miles. However, the kids engaged in many creative endeavors. They made a puppet show, complete with soundtrack produced by musical instruments. Jade and Luz invented some song and dance numbers (Jade singing and Luz dancing). All three kids played tons of games: Catan, Ticket to Ride, Nerts, and mah jong. Once I woke up and they were playing mah jong 3-handed, with a dummy. Ha! I’m learning not to stress too much about home schooling. I asked them to try to finish their math textbooks before September and the start of a new school year in the US. They worked super hard to do it, doing maths while underway and at all hours of the day. They did it! I was a proud teacher mama.

Lizard Island was incredible! We hiked up to Captain Cook’s Lookout with Millie & Dave for some gorgeous views.

The snorkeling at Lizard Island was epic! We hiked over to the Blue Lagoon, and had some special time watching a sea turtle eat seagrass in shallow water. We were maybe 3 feet from the turtle. So majestic! And then in our anchorage, we snorkeled at the aptly named Clam Garden, home to tons of giant clams. I saw an octopus slurp back under a rock. We saw 4 huge (3-4 feet long!) bumphead parrotfish up close.

We didn’t go ashore at either Flinders Island or Margaret Bay, because we didn’t want to launch the dinghy and put the motor on. Also, we were a little scared of the saltwater crocodiles. When we rowed to SV Penny Oyster for dinner in Margaret Bay, I brought a stout stick to fend off the crocodiles, if needed. On the overnight sail to Margaret Bay, Jade and I had a special visit from dolphins just after dawn. We stood up near the forestay and watched them play for about 10 minutes. They were smallish dolphins, and there were 2 baby ones amongst them!

Then we arrived at Cape York, the northernmost point of the Australian continent, or “the tip”. It was hairy getting into the anchorage — we saw 2.7 meters on the depth sounder and we draw 1.88 meters! We saw four wild horses walking on the beach when we arrived.

The kids didn’t want to join us for the hike, so we didn’t force them. They were happy doing 30 minutes of videogames, then playing board games or cards, and we brought the handheld VHF so we could check in with them.

Here are some pics from Cape York:

As we approached the sign, I saw a grey dorsal fin break the water. “Shark! Crocodile!” I cried. But it was 2 dolphins, swimming about a meter from the shore.

Amazing Australia, indeed.