Snorkelling with Moorish Idols and other
reef delights and imagining that the apparent
curiosity ref lects one’s own, rather than
an expectation of free food encouraged by
previous human visitors, a suspicion that is
hurriedly quashed.
Sneaking into a small coral lagoon at high
tide to anchor for the night near the edge
of the outer reef, going close enough to the
shallow coral for a f lutter of anxiety, with no
other boat in sight and discovering a bounty
of coral and fish we had never yet seen; Jewell
Reef, near Lizard Island.
Seeing a 5.5 metre crocodile in the creek we
were anchored in, in the Daintree rainforest,
which provided a timely reminder of our place in
nature’s hierarchy.
Having just the right light for photos, like at
Fraser Island one afternoon at around 4pm.THE NOT-SO-IMMEDIATE HIGHS
Nothing compares with the highs of cruising
but they might not be so addictive if there were
not also lows to contrast, though these can
morph into useful learning experiences with the
wisdom of hindsight. Sometimes they just evolve
into great experiences!
After f leeing an approaching storm at Dunk
Island and thinking we were safe in Mourilyan
Harbour we discovered our anchor had landed
on two separate sets of discarded chain and not
set properly, resulting in us dragging in 45 knot
wind bullets towards boats on piles.
We watched helplessly from shore, sure the end
was nigh, unable to launch our dinghy for several
minutes due to the wind and waves pounding up
the ramp. Yet amazingly, it all ended well.
More is at: matey-musings.blogspot.com.
au/2013/09/blood-on-deck.html
Boat issues have on occasions forced us to
return to civilisation prematurely. A leaking
crack in the hull led us to hauling out in
Cooktown for repairs. As a result we met some
wonderful people, got to waterfalls we did not
know existed and ended up house sitting in a
rainforest for two weeks.
A broken rudder cable meant we spent several
weeks at the dramatic Flinders Group of islands
and around Princess Charlotte Bay waiting for
the strong south-easterlies to ease off enough for
us to limp back to Cooktown. The wait enabled
us to explore these islands more thoroughly than
we would otherwise have done and find much
to love in the process; such as dramatic rock
formations, caves and Aboriginal art.
Plastic refuse polluting once-pristine
beaches and islands is one of the greatest
disappointments. However, it is possible to
convert these feelings of despair at the limitations
of your own species into something more positive
by removing as much of the plastic as you can.
It is surprising how much you can collect in an
hour and how satisfying it is. It just requires some
large, strong bags and a love of nature.
Tangaroa Blue is a website keeping a national
database of plastics collected, so if you clean-up an
area it’s a good idea to ensure what you collect is
recorded for research, via: http://www.tangaroablue.org ≈50
Cruising Helmsman June 2017REFLECTIONS
Carmen Riordan and Simon Jones have lived
aboard Gemini catamaran, Ebb Tide, since
late 2011. In life before Ebb Tide, Simon ran away from home
to join the navy and then had an electrical contracting/antenna
business, while Carmen’s career was in communications.
She keeps a blog at: http://matey-musings.blogspot.comCARMEN RIORDAN
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Cape Upstart rock pool.
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Hinchinbrook Island,
approaching fresh water.
Wooroonooran national
park waterfall.