May 2011
G'day from Down Under!
We have spent the last few weeks cruising from Cairns to Port Douglas in North Queensland on the coast of Australia. We gunkholed along the Great Barrier Reef. The southeast trade winds have been wonderful. Each day Blaze is scooting along around 6 to 8 knots. Sunny tropical weather and turqoise blue seas. Cairns is a wonderful city along the coastline.The waterfront has an "Esplanade" that stretches for miles. Along this boardwalk are parks, public pools, workout stations, bike lanes, picnic areas with BBQ's, soccer fields, a skate park and bands in the parks on weekends. It is beautuifully maintained and lively. One day we rented a car to go to Barron Gorge National Park. Here you ride a gondola above the rainforest canopy. Along the way you can get off and walk through the dense jungle and see the huge waterfalls
plunging down into the gorge. At the top encounters with Koala Bears, Crocodiles and Kangaroos. The total "Aussie Outback" experience.
We are ready to leave terra firma and start sailing. On the the north coast Cairns is a gateway to the Barrier Reef. We enjoyed a quick sail to Green Island.The next morning we were off to Michaelmas Cay, a bird nesting sanctuary. Here thousands of birds congregate on a small white sand motu. From a distance the masses huddled together looked like a huge swath of chared beach. We kayaked out to the island and found that the birds would come out in herds (not flocks) and dive bomb towards you and pull up at the last second. It was an erie sight (yes visions of the "Birds" were 'flying' through my mind. My paddle useless as a weapon.) The noise was deafening. We could hear them under water while snorkeling. Blaze anchored different nights at Hastings, Saxon, and Lowe Reefs.. Each gave us an oppotunity to skin dive and see a literal carpet of coral below us.
There were several varieties of hard coral: staghorn, pillar, table, brain, blue, tube and elkhorn. The sizes were amazing. The table coral being large enough to "seat" 50! I was amazed at giant sized clams.Some larger than me with brilliant green and blue edges .The sealife was spectacular as well. In the crystal clear waters we spotted many huge turtles serenely gliding by. Along with a few stealthy sharks, a motionless sting ray and the repulsive sea cucumbers. The tropical fish were constant colors surrounding us. We spotted Trigger fish, Banded Humbugs, Ragged Fin Firefish, and Hawk Fish to name a few. Lowe Island is charming with an old lighthouse in the center. We saw many sea tutles lumber by. There were also batfish about 2X2ft! (harmless but large). At dusk we spotted 5 black tip sharks circling under the back of the boat. They stayed for quite a while. Unusual behavior for this species However Lowe Island is a popular day trip for tour boats. The sharks are use to boats as a source of snacks. They wereh hoping for a meal which I did not want to be a part of. After our time on the reef we sailed in to Port Douglas just north of Cairns. Port Douglas sits between two World Heritage wonders. The Great Barrier Reef in the Coral Sea and the Daintree Rainforest. The town has the feel of a village. Locals lean towards boardshorts and barefeet instead of business suits. A walk along Four Mile Beach was a nice chance to stretch our legs and enjoy the rolling surf. We had balmy days and evenings with warm breezes. The one evening we did not have a breeze the no-see-ums came out in armies. Unfortuately Peter got the brunt of the attack. Itching for days later.
We drove out to Mossman Gorge in the Dain Tree National Forest. A beautiful hike menaders along the rivers that have carved out the rugged gorge. The cool air under the canopy of trees was wonderfull. Time for us to depart Blaze II and check into the "real" world. Looking forward to catching up with friends and family. Take care!
Captain Molly and 1st Mate Peter