AIRLIE BEACH TO CAIRNS, AU

June 19-28, 2014

The sailing distance from Airlie Beach to Cairns is about 315 nm.  Usually, we try to do this with day hops of 40 nm and avoid over night sailing.  If the winds are so light that we aren't able to accomplish this, I have no problem with over night sails in this part of the Great Barrier Ree system.  It's still wide enough to safely avoid the many islands and reefs.  Electronic charts and good GPS make it relatively easy.

We departed Airlie Beach on 19 June 2014 at 0830 hrs enroute to Cairns.  Our first stop was at Bowen (20-01.0' S x 148-15' E)  which is 35 nm north of Airlie.  We were able to get a pile mooring for two days and went out exploring the small town of 10,600 people.  Not a whole lot there but is most famous a the movie set for "Australia" which starred Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman.  We haven't seen the movie but have it on our list.  Bowen was a cattle town and has very wide streets where the herds were driven into pens and auctioned.  I think this is shown in the movie.  Additionally, it supports seafood, mining and  horticulture.  There was a great restaurant serving meat pies and pastries.  The other unique feature of the town is the 26 hand painted murals on various walls depicting the diverse history of Bowen from the town's early settlement to present day.  There was a good historical museum with lots of artifacts and memorabilia from the area.  Other than that, nothing outstanding.

Bowen was hosting an international  power boat show on Saturday June 21st: these are the "cigar boats that go 200 km per hr and make an ungodly sound that is deafening.  We got out of there at 0630 hrs before the event started and set sail for Cape Upstart (19-42.6' N x 147-45.1' E) which is 40 nm further North.  This turned out to be a very pretty anchorage with mountains and a few houses (mostly rustic type campsites for fishermen).  It was a peaceful setting.  Many of these anchorages with mountains generate "bullets" of wind which are unsettling;  not so at Cape Upstart.

On June 22nd, we weighed anchor at 0715 hrs and got underway for Magnetic Island: 30 nm North.  the wind was light and fickle from the SE at less than 10 kts and eventually died out.  By 1300 hrs there was no wind but a SE'ly swell so I started the engine and and motored along until 1524 hrs when the wind came back up and we set sail once again.  Our progress had been so slow that we decided to over-night it with what wind we had and passed Magnetic Is by for Great Palm Is about 35 nm further NW.  During this time of light SE'ly winds we used mostly the head sail since the winds were just off either the Port or STbd. Qtr.  Unless we ran out the mainsail on on side and the jib on the other (Wing and Wing) the mainsail would blanket the jib and rob it of the little wind there was.  Additionally, with very light winds and a good swell running, the swell rolls the wind out of the mainsail and causes it to slat back and forth.  This is hard on the sail and my nerves!  Decent wind came up after we cleared the wind shadow of Magnetic Is and we sailed along and dropped anchor in Casement Bay, Great Palm Is (18-44.2' S x 146-33.8' E) at 0930 hrs on June 23rd.  This island is an aboriginal settlement.  We are starting to see several of these remote areas that were "given" to the aborigines to get them out of the way.  Basically, the same thing we have done to the Native Americans.  They have the same alcohol, drug and crime problems that are encountered in our own Native Americans: a way of life, religion and raison d'etre have been destroyed.

We haven't had time to launch the dinghy and explore these islands and villages so we anchor, hope for wind and continue on.  On June 24th, we weighed anchor at 0800 hrs and set sail Lucinda and Hinchinbrook Is.: 30 nm to the NW.   The port of Lucinda has one of the world's longest jetties jutting out over 3 miles with a sugar loading facility on its end.  This is sugar country as  ismuch of the Queensland coast.  It's shallow with many shoals.  The jetty solves this problem for ships but for a yacht entering the southern end, one has to wait for a tide complementary to the LWS (Low Water Springs) of 4'ft.  In our case, we draw 6' so we need a tide of at least 2' plus any swell running.  I chose to wait on another 4' before entering so we lay ahull for several hours off the sugar jetty and waited.

We started into Port Lucinda at 1615 hrs and entered Hinchinbrook Channel 1700 hrs.  We had 8 nm to go to our chosen anchorage at Reis-Haycock Is (18-28.1' S x 146-13.2' E).  With a rising tide and very strong current we zipped along at 8 kts and anchored at 1800 hrs.  The Hinchinbrook Channel is spectacularly beautiful.  It has the mountain range of the mainland to the West and its own mountain range on the East.  Hinchinbrook is a National Park and World Heritage Site.  There are few places to land a dinghy but many creeks to anchor in and enjoy the absolute silence and beauty of pristine wilderness.  There are mosquitoes so burning coils and 12V Zappers are helpful.  We believe that Gary's Anchorage in the Great Sandy Straits and Hinchinbrook Is. are the two most memorable and beautiful places we have see so far in Australia.  Most of the Great Barrier Reef consists of scrub land and mountains with a smattering of beaches: not my idea of South Pacific Tropical Paradise.  We've seen the best and the GBR is second rate in landscape but pristine in reefs.

The next stop after Hinchinbrook Is was Dunk Is. (17-56' S x 146-08.0' E) about 35 nm NW.  Once again we were given light winds and then becalmed.  We had to motor several hours to make the anchorage before nightfall.  We dropped anchor at 1500 hrs on June 25th.  Dunk Is was once a gathering point for many artisans and a rendezvous point for yachts travelling North.  There was a small resort and walking trails.  In 2011, a cyclone hit the island dead-on and destroyed the resort and artists gallery.  Today, there is only the jetty remaining but the future will bring renewed development.  It's a pretty island and we went over to the beach for "sundowners" with a few cruising friends from "Gypsy Rover".

The following morning we weighed anchor at 0730 and proceeded to sail to Mourilyan Harbor (17-36.2' S x 146-07.4' E) which was only 20 nm away.  We had a beautiful wind out of the SW at 15 kts and smooth seas.  It was a very pleasant sail but too short!  Ah!! the inherent ingratitude of mankind!!

On June 26th at 0730 hrs we weighed anchor for Fitzroy Is. (16-55.7' S x 145-59.3' E) about 45 nm distant.  Another good day of sailing with SE'ly winds 15-20 kts.   We were able to sail along under headsail at 5.5 kts for most of the way.  We dropped anchor at 1615 hrs on the Northern side of Fitzroy Is.  It's an anchorage that is swell prone and rolly.  In a developed Trade Wind it would be marginal at best.

Fitzroy Is is only 15 nm from Cairns.  Our original plan was to anchor in Mission Bay, which is another aboriginal settlement, for the night and make Cairns the following day.  When we got to Mission Bay, there was no wind and the place looked uninviting so we decided to continue on to Marlin Marina in Cairns.  This will be the rendezvous point for the Sail2Indonesia Rally.  Our first meeting will be on Tuesday July 1st.  We will be here until July 8th and then depart for Thursday Is:  400 nm further North for the check out to Saumlaki, Indonesia:  600 nm from Thursday Is.

First impressions of Cairns are that is it a beautiful place with a significant SE Asian population.  It has everything a cruiser or tourist could imagine or want.  Beautiful broad maritime walkways and parks.  Fresh fruit and vegetable farmer's markets along with every imaginable ethnic restaurant.  It is a bustling center for helicopter flights to the GBR and resort islands, cruise boats, para-sailing and every other kind of water sport.  The only thing it lacks are beaches:  mud flats out to 1/2 mile at low tide, however, to the North or South one finds beautiful beaches.

This will be the last great place for "grubbing-up" for the trip to Indonesia.  I believe we will have "duty free" at Thursday Is.