5/16-17
Hi All,
We are here at Scawfell and well…..kind of blown away….I mean literally. We left early this am…around 6:45am….for this 62nm run to Scawfell. We had one of our best passages….10-15kt SE winds…..maybe 2-3′ chop….all behind us…..again a smooth ride!!!
AND…..drum rolls please…..we fished and caught….a lovely bluefin tuna…maybe 10 pounds or so….yeah baby….panned seared tuna and sushimi tonight!!!
The anchorage is surrounded by 300′ hills….actually quite pretty….densely covered with gum and pine trees. BUT….the hills funnel the winds, called bullets or willawaws….blowing 15-20G25kts in the anchorage when it was 10-15 kts outside….maybe a little wraparound swell too….so with the boat sailing, a little wind chop and swell it is just an ok anchorage….and, because of the height of the hills, we have only sporadic internet….so, the Admiral said let’s move tomorrow!!
We woke up to a very pleasant morning….the winds have finally died some time last night but still a little rolly and internet still sucks. But, the wind bullets were back by 7:30am…ugh!!!
We left around 8:00am heading for Goldsmith….about 30nm away. We had another very pleasant down wind run until about half way. Then the winds and seas picked up on our port beam…..now that is different. We both were on the internet catching up after 4 days of being off the grid and bam…lot’s of things go flying….WTH….this lasted about 30 min and we never did figure out why but just some confluence of tides, currents and winds funneling through a passage…..arghhhhhh!!!
Goldsmith Island is another beautiful uninhabited national park island….very pristine. We took the dinghy for some explorations and it was just so so….a lot of current has stirred up the waters so maybe 5-10′ visibility….so no watersports:(((…the beach was beautiful but mainly rocks with few shells on the beach.
So once again we will be on the move tomorrow to Shaw/Lindeman islands in search for the perfect island!!!!
We have now traveled over 1000nm in our 2500nm trek to Darwin in just 17 days…..wow…..ok, time to slow down a bit which we will as we are now entering the Whitsundys. “The 74 Whitsunday Islands lie between the northeast coast of Queensland, Australia, and the Great Barrier Reef, a massive stretch of coral teeming with marine life. Most of the islands are uninhabited, characterised by dense rainforest, hiking trails and wide beaches.” It is supposedly the premier cruising grounds for Australia and a huge charter “bareboat” sailing area…..maybe like the BVI’s…we shall see!!!!
Hope all is well!!
John
Mystic Moon
GO MYSTIC GO!!!
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