Captain’s Log: Great Keppel Island

5/11-5/13

Hi All,

We indeed made it to Keppel Island around 6:30am last Wednesday. The last few hours were uneventful but the winds did build to 20-25kts from the south so all behind us…the ride remained moderately smooth!!

The anchorage was flat calm with just a slight chop coming from the south winds, but the 600′ hills blocked a lot of it so it was only 5-15kts in the anchorage. The anchorage has remained calm through today (Friday) with only a slight, <1′, swell wraparound. It did get a little rolly yesterday afternoon when we came back from our hike so we did put out the flopper stopper but really haven’t needed it much!!

Yesterday was my birthday….yikes, another one accomplished which is a good thing. This time difference is weird….I got a few wishes yesterday but more today so get to celebrate over 2 days!!! Our good friend Jo says if it doesn’t have a zero or a five in it then all is good:)))) Well, this one has a 2 so it shouldn’t be a big deal but unfortunately this one got to me a little. About 3 weeks ago within days of each other, we found out 2 of our friends have cancer. Yes….a big blow to us and obviously to them. Both people want their privacy so no names. It seems in one case treatment is effective and we don’t know about the other.

On the third night of the passage to Bundaberg last week the winds had finally shifted to behind us and the stars were out in all their glory. I spent quite a bit of time out on the Portuguese bridge taken in all the wonder….I never tire of the night sky/stars at sea…a wonder of the world for sure!!! I have learned to not sing out loud so as not to offend the Big Guy but in my head I was singing out Amazing Grace, Gloria Hallelujah and other oldies!!! I thought a lot about our friends and what it must be like for them and their families. I prayed for strength, courage and determination for them and their families to beat this insidious disease.

Kathy and I continue to be so blessed to be able to see the world one island at a time….truly blessed. What I got back that night was a strong feeling of resolve/determination….resolve to continue to live life as hard as we can knowing it can all go away in a flash. We see the end of our full time cruising coming in the next 2-3 years as we both are feeling somewhat tired of the lifestyle and the physical nature is also wearing us down. But that night, I got a big dose of resolve….as in, it ain’t over yet so dig deep and keep it going…..thanks Big Guy….I needed that!!!

I indeed had a great birthday…..Kathy made sure of that!!! We had a great 4.5 mile hike on Keppel Island. We had thought it was going to be about 3 miles but it turned out to be 4.5 miles and could have been 6 miles. We made it to the top of Mt Kanute (600′) but we did not make it our to Point Bald and the lighthouse….I got almost there but ran out of time. We did not hook up Mini Moon, our 9′ very light dinghy to carry up on the beach, but are using Moon Lite which is too heavy to carry. So we have to anchor her out which in this case is tricky with 8′ tides. We timed it a few hours before high tide and we wanted to be back about 1 hour after high tide. So we just found a great spot, had our celebratory beer and lunch and made it back in time to see Moon Lite still floating!!!

On the hike we saw a gazillion butterflies….much like the Monarchs we saw in Mexico but these were blue and black….they were eating the nectar from a grass tree…..truly one of nature’s magical moments!!!

For the BD meal…..a great steak cooked perfectly with all the fixings and with a 1998 Oakford Napa Cab….excellent, maybe a 9.8 …..LIG indeed!!!

We are alone for the moment as Brett and Stacey on sv Bella Vita have sailed on ahead of us but we are slowly meeting some of the cruisers in the area. So it was just the two of us and it’s days like this when you really miss your family and friends back home. But, it was better than last year when we were on passage from NZ to Vanuatu!!

Today we did a dive…yeah. It was just ok. Unfortunately the current was pretty strong so we didn’t venture out too far as Kathy’s ankle is still swollen and hurts when she has to fin hard, especially against a strong current. So we did about 30 min at a max depth of 30’….maybe a 100 yards or so….not too far from the dinghy. Nevertheless we saw a gazillion blue spotted sting rays….in fact several were buried and got spooked only when we got too close….yep, got my heart racing when you see a cloud of sand and motion maybe a foot or so away…yikes….one was also huge…we think a white tailed ray!!! And a new specy for us….aeolid nudibranchs. As we went towards shore the reef came alive with hard corals and a lot of fish!!!

Tomorrow we are going to make a run of ~100nm to Percy Island. We will be up and out of here @ 4am…..still dark….joy, NOT. It is a wide open anchorage so should be no issues. We are going to speed up and do 8-8.5 kts so should be in just before sunset…..4-5pmish.

Mr Weather is still dictating his terms…blowing 18-25 kts SE….so behind us but the seas are 4-7′ short period so we will have some motion. And, cry me a towel, it is still too rough to head out to the GBR…..so going to have to miss the Swains…..ugh:((((

Hope all is well!!

John
Mystic Moon
GO MYSTIC GO!!

That is Empire Marina at Bobbin Head….that is how far we got our first day out….tiresome passage:)))

This is what we mean when we say trawler weather and calm seas

One of the sunsets on passage to Bundaberg

Bundaberg seafood for opening ceremonies

Opening ceremonies at Bundaberg with Brett, Stacey and their niece Kalle

sv Bella Vita on passage to Lady Musgrave

That’s Lady Musgrave…our first Great Barrier Reef island!!

Sunset at Lady Musgrave….we did see a green flash but did not capture it here:((

Magical sunset at Keppel Island on John’s birthday

Views of Wreck Bay on Keppel Island

View of the anchorage on Keppel Island

More views on top of Keppel Island

Birthday boy trying to get a butterfly to land on his arm

Butterflies eating the nectar from a grass tree

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