Why are ships so fascinating?

It seems I am my father’s daughter… I don’t know whether my fascination with ships started with Dad being an engineer on oil tankers or whether it’s a genetic thing, but the older I get the worse it gets! I was delighted to find a bulk sugar carrier in Mourilyan Harbour when we sailed through Continue reading


Farewell to Hinchinbrook Island

For eighteen years I looked down on Hinchinbrook Island from the cockpit of my Dash 8 as we flew between Cairns and Townsville and I marvelled at its moods. Quite often the skies would be clear accept for the thunderstorm brewing over the craggy island. Under the care of Captain Lyle Cook I joined a Continue reading


Cairns Tropical Writers Festival

We have six days to make our way north to Blue Water Marina in time for the Cairns Tropical Writers Festival – I do hope the weather behaves! Check out all the details of the full programme at: CTWF Programme. The Literary Dinner, starring Madga Szubanski in conversation with Helen Chryssides, is sold out, but there’s Continue reading


Exploring Orpheus Island

Our day started with a leisurely kayak ashore as the tide reached its high for the morning. In the shallows a black-tipped reef shark did its best to pretend we weren’t there.   The walking track to the ridge line starts from the picnic table. It’s loosely marked with varying colours of tape and string but easy Continue reading


Under the waves

What a day! We’re both exhausted from exploring, kayaking and snorkelling. If you get the chance to visit Orpheus Island then take it. The fringing coral reef is spectacular and my photos don’t do it justice. Even more special is the clam garden which is full of giant clams. They were bred here in the Continue reading


Orpheus Island

We had a delightful sail from Horseshoe Bay to Orpheus Island – although I lost count of the sail changes as the wind was up and down. When it reached 17 knots in a rush, and we still had our beautiful pink spinnaker up, I think we were both a little concerned we were headed Continue reading


Maggie Island

I love North Queensland! We hopped on the bus to go to Nellie Bay and the driver was busy checking up on the health of one of his elderly regulars who’d been taken ill yesterday. Same driver on the way back announced to the bus via the PA that ‘the couple that wanted to buy Continue reading


Time for a change

If you’re a regular visitor to my blog you may notice things have changed a little! I hope you like the new look. I’ve gone for something simple, something that allows me to share more of my photos – since we’re seeing so many wonderful out of the way places while we’re cruising it would Continue reading


South Molle Island – a quiet haven

After our speedy run to Airlie Beach to re-provision, where I clocked up 18,000 + steps on my fitbit, we decided to head out to the islands again. The closest anchorage we hadn’t visited before was Bauer Bay on South Molle Island. We had a lovely run across with the sails up and dropped anchor Continue reading


Great Keppel Island lived up to its name!

We’re heading north again this morning, planning on an overnight to push us further along so we reach the Whitsundays before strong winds next Thursday. We’ll be out of internet range for a day or two so we’ll see you out the other side! The last week has been magical on Great Keppel Island, catching Continue reading