tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14519989960682936862024-03-13T14:10:07.329+11:00Lucey BlueLucey Blue - Lagoon 42 TPI CatamaranSamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02582596325205093863noreply@blogger.comBlogger228125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1451998996068293686.post-7760069118738788792015-12-30T15:05:00.000+11:002015-12-30T15:05:48.732+11:00Lady Musgrave - New friends with new stories and new toys...Radha and Pam from Sesha came to visit one afternoon and a new friendship was quickly formed. Eric ran the boat tours and ensured there was always plenty of nibbles and small talk for our guests.
We spent the next few days snorkeling and exploring the island together. Radha even setup his dinghy so the kids could go sailing one morning which provided plenty of fun for all.
Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02582596325205093863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1451998996068293686.post-12334229963274767522015-12-30T14:22:00.000+11:002015-12-30T15:07:16.833+11:00Lady Musgrave - Turtle nesting season...The first night we made it ashore we found a large Green Turtle laying her eggs in the sand surrounded by a small group of school students who were camped on the island.
We missed the turtle coming up the beach and digging her nest, but we stayed with her until she had finished laying and was on her way back down to the waters edge.
Eric enjoyed the show and even managed to stay quite for anSamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02582596325205093863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1451998996068293686.post-35416821475975007542015-12-30T13:46:00.000+11:002015-12-30T13:48:22.660+11:00Lady Musgrave - Just hanging around...When not diving we spent our time split between turtle watching, visiting the island and thinking up new ways to cool off. Probably the most enjoyable solution we found for the latter problem was leaping off the boom into the crystal clear waters of the lagoon...
Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02582596325205093863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1451998996068293686.post-38045573138448787202015-12-25T07:23:00.000+11:002015-12-25T07:33:44.780+11:00Dolphins surfing our bow wave as we sail down the East Coast of Australia...Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02582596325205093863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1451998996068293686.post-64139691999407124602015-12-06T07:10:00.000+11:002015-12-16T15:26:46.871+11:00Lady Musgrave underwater life - Another day another adventure...We spent over a week at Lady Musgrave on our way south and each day we hit the water in a new location to explore the reef and interact with the local inhabitants.
Eric made the transition to deep water snorkeling during our stay and despite his limited swimming ability the extra buoyancy of his wetsuit gave him wings.
There is awalys a lot to see at Lady Musgrave and during our visit Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02582596325205093863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1451998996068293686.post-52773160887444688952015-12-02T16:39:00.001+11:002015-12-02T16:39:23.418+11:00Hoskyn Island - Swimming with dolphins...A pod of dolphins played around Lucey Blue as we motored into the lee of Hoskyn Island to anchor in a small sand patch. The sea conditions were perfect for an exposed anchorage and we decided to go for a snorkel along the reef wall. The water was amazingly clear, the coral diverse and complex, the fish were friendly and to our amazement the dolphins that had played around our bows returned while Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02582596325205093863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1451998996068293686.post-10040133451134784622015-11-30T16:32:00.000+11:002015-12-02T16:38:41.554+11:00Middle Percy to Hoskyn Island...
We left Middle Percy Island at 0730 on 10 November. West Bay was empty after our departure - everyone else had moved around to Escape Bay the night before due to the arrival of gentle Northerly winds.
The conditions were light during the morning and we sailed under spinnaker and full main with a number of other yachts - including Nimrod and Duet. By late afternoon we lowered the spinnaker Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02582596325205093863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1451998996068293686.post-70308250082296903462015-11-29T13:03:00.000+11:002015-12-02T09:06:43.999+11:00Middle Percy Island...We stayed a few days at Middle Percy in West Bay swimming, visiting the homestead and generally having fun.
The hospitality of the island leaseholders remains a highlight and much to the delight of the kids we were lucky enough to arrive shortly after the arrival of several baby goats!
One sunny afternoon Ryan, Eric and Dad went around the corner of the bay to a large sand dune.Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02582596325205093863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1451998996068293686.post-129350498973146822015-11-29T12:42:00.000+11:002015-11-29T12:42:24.306+11:00A busy day sailing south to Middle Percy IslandAfter a few weeks in the Whitsundays we decided to continue our journey south. On a still morning we left Hamilton Island and motor sailed slowly down the coast to Percy Island.
The conditions were nice and we spent most of the morning reading while the kids played or slept in the cockpit.
A Spotted Mackerel interrupted our busy schedule at around lunchtime. But no one Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02582596325205093863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1451998996068293686.post-60507183665641441972015-11-28T21:03:00.000+11:002015-11-29T08:21:17.328+11:00Sailing in the Whitsundays - A view from above...After several successful flights of our Mariner Drone from a stationary platform it was time for the next step - aerial images of Lucey Blue sailing.
The task of sailing while flying the Mariner Drone was a little daunting, but the promise of unique photographs helped us overcome our concerns. With Lucey Blue gently sailing out of Cateran Bay we launched the Mariner Drone from the flight deckSamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02582596325205093863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1451998996068293686.post-26508624875450058892015-11-27T21:28:00.000+11:002015-11-27T21:28:06.214+11:00Esk Island - Marine Safety Training 101When the Captain calls abandon ship we all know what to do!
Jump – preferably with all the kids in tow, but if the weather is nice you can always repeat the training course as often as required…
Eric are you ready to take the leap of faith?
Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02582596325205093863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1451998996068293686.post-16582521062264878682015-11-27T21:11:00.000+11:002015-11-27T21:11:45.792+11:00Border Island - Eric's return...
Border Island remains a favorite for the crew of Lucey Blue – the shallow sandy beach is a great place to play and there is always plenty of fish in Cateran Bay.
Eric claims he remembers the beach from his last visit, but we remain skeptical based on our simple 2015 and 2011 boy in a bucket test!
Before anyone asks - the buckets are the same size...
Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02582596325205093863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1451998996068293686.post-69616145631182154922015-11-27T20:42:00.001+11:002015-11-27T20:42:28.680+11:00Bait Reef - Aerial images from Mariner DroneOn one of those magically still days out at Bait Reef we decided to launch the Mariner Drone to capture the view from above Lucey Blue.
The view proved to be spectacular with the Stepping Stones floating in an azure ocean and Hook Island visible on the horizon.
What a nice place to learn how to fly and what a great place to go for a swim...
Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02582596325205093863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1451998996068293686.post-37387633487725781232015-11-15T08:49:00.000+11:002015-11-27T19:33:13.732+11:00Whitsunday Island - Wandering around with Rory
Uncle Rory's visit was great. Rory stayed with us for five nights and on the first day we caught a Spotted Mackerel on the way to Bait Reef! It was our first Spotted Mackerel this trip and that night we had fresh fish for dinner two hours after we had caught it.
We stayed at Bait Reef for two days and we all enjoyed power diving with Rory. He seemed to bring all the big fish out and about.Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02582596325205093863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1451998996068293686.post-41133378267341321812015-11-11T10:59:00.002+11:002015-11-11T10:59:41.961+11:00Hamilton Island - Grandi visitsOn the 20th of October Grandi came to Hamilton Island to visit the crew of Lucey Blue.
We spent a week or so pottering about the pool playing and we also all had a sleep over at Grandi's apartment, while mum and dad went out to dinner. We also had a delicious selection of treats such as ice-cream, mars bars, slushies and wedges.
We had a lot of fun at the pool and the pool Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02582596325205093863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1451998996068293686.post-59710817636059700432015-10-30T08:41:00.000+11:002015-10-30T08:41:30.739+11:00Fitzroy Island to the Whitsundays - A little leap down the coast...At 2030 on the 12th of October we departed Fitzroy Island for somewhere further south. The conditions had improved, but we still had to motorsail all night into southeasterly winds. By the sunrise we were approximately 15 nautical miles east of Dunk Island with light easterly winds.
We decided to continue down the edge of the reef and see if we could make it to the Whitsundays before the Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02582596325205093863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1451998996068293686.post-22850300924938509222015-10-21T09:57:00.001+11:002015-10-21T09:59:08.106+11:00Cairns - Time to move onward...The southeast winds eventually eased and a small favourable weather window appeared to open so we departed Cairns at 0500 on the 12th of October.
The grey overcast conditions gave way to a blue sky around Fitzory Island, but with the blue sky came 15-20 knots of wind from the southeast - the direction we wanted to travel.
With a confused and uncomfortable sea state we decided to stop and Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02582596325205093863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1451998996068293686.post-80927590503169088452015-10-19T19:06:00.000+11:002015-10-20T08:36:29.274+11:00Kuranda - Our return to the Kuranda Candy Kitchen...Ryan, Eric and I (Emily) have decided that the Kuranda Candy Kitchen is EPIC...
We spent an afternoon watching the Kuranda Candy Kitchen owners (Mel and Chris) making fresh candy and Mum noticed that they also made personalised candy to order!
After ages and ages of discussion Mum and Dad decided to place a special order for 4 kg of Lucey Blue lemonade candy. But when we went to Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02582596325205093863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1451998996068293686.post-17862318620516474632015-10-19T14:40:00.000+11:002015-10-19T14:40:10.757+11:00Cairns - Hanging around for the wind...After the reef we headed back to Cairns to prepare for our southward journey. The plan was a quick stop to complete a few last minute things, but as always things got complicated and we were delayed first by an appointment and then by unusually persistent southeast trade winds.
We hung around with the wilder side of the local population at the marina and filled the first week with odd jobs Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02582596325205093863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1451998996068293686.post-78503283287302657672015-09-27T10:26:00.000+10:002015-09-27T14:41:23.682+10:00Michaelmas Cay - "Now I can PowerDive"!On our last afternoon at Michaelmas Cay I (Ryan) went to dive school with Dad. It was awesome! We saw loads of clams and fishes. I had to wear a weight belt like Dad. We tested me with only one weight, but I still floated so I had wear two weights - each one was one kilogram.
We swam around the reef checking things out from a fish's perspective. There were Bat Fish and Parrotfish. I saw aSamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02582596325205093863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1451998996068293686.post-72984583363646292572015-09-26T19:13:00.001+10:002015-09-27T08:10:11.261+10:00Spur Reef - A day trip to the edge of the continental shelf...After a few great days pottering about Michaelmas and 'Sand Castle' Cay we decided to try our luck on the outer reef. We detoured a little on our way to Spur Reef to clear the no fishing Green Zone and as we sailed past Onyx Reef we finally caught a Spanish Mackerel!
The anchorage on Spur Reef was rather exposed and the only sand patches we found were really deep so we ended up anchoring on Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02582596325205093863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1451998996068293686.post-22854267659946054182015-09-26T18:54:00.003+10:002015-09-26T18:54:51.216+10:00Michaelmas 'Sand Castle' Cay - Another sand cay appears at low tide...As the tide dropped one day we noticed a small sand cay appear on the horizon approximately 3 nautical miles away from Michaelmas Cay so we decided to up anchor and have a look.
Emily named the transient island 'Sand Castle Cay' after we built a small structure near the high point to see if it would survive the night. Unfortunately the high tide wiped out any trace of our castle!
Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02582596325205093863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1451998996068293686.post-76807464065176431092015-09-26T18:50:00.000+10:002015-09-26T18:50:12.883+10:00Michaelmas Cay - Underway life remains pretty cool...We stayed a few days anchored behind Michaelmas Cay and enjoyed the snorkelling on offer. The underwater visibility varied dramatically depending on the tide and wave conditions. But there was always plenty for Eric to see.
The fish on some of the coral bommies to the north of the cay were pretty friendly and there were plenty of red fan corals on the deeper drop-offs.
Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02582596325205093863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1451998996068293686.post-76487728319977405252015-09-26T10:48:00.002+10:002015-10-08T07:36:48.161+11:00Michaelmas Cay - Lots of tourists, but still nice coral...Michaelmas Cay has really changed over the years. What was once a relatively quite little sand cay covered in birds is now inundated by large numbers of tourists who arrive on mass at around 1000 each morning aboard sailing catamarans. The majority of the cay has also been roped off and there is a no access period that runs from 1500 until 0930 the next day.
While the changes are pronounced the Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02582596325205093863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1451998996068293686.post-63601362204958549962015-09-24T19:37:00.002+10:002015-09-25T20:24:14.834+10:00Kuranda - A great day trip...We took the old train to Kuranda. The 11 heritage coaches were pulled by a 1720 class locomotive. ( I like that word, lo-co-mo-tive.) The trip was really awesome, first we went around this really big curve in the track, it was there so the old trains could build up speed and climb the mountain. Later on we passed Stony Creek falls which was E-P-I-C! Then we went through the last of the 15 Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02582596325205093863noreply@blogger.com0