A busy day sailing south to Middle Percy Island

After 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 complained too loudly!

We arrived at West Bay at around 2230 that night and anchored alongside several other yachts.

Whitsunday 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. We also swam with the big Maori Wrasse while Eric looked on from Lucey Blue. The fish were right up in Rory's face and eating his hair.

We even found a new pet we called Trevor the Trevally. He stayed with us for a nearly an hour while we were swimming around the western edge of the reef. Trevor tried to photo bomb our pictures of the school of Bumphead Parrot fish, however, he was unsuccessful...

Dad thought the fish below was really cute, he's smiling from his little cubby hole!

On the way back to Border Island we caught a huge Spanish Mackerel and two smaller Tunas, which was awesome! We kept the Spanish Mackerel and threw back the Tunas.

Thanks for coming to visit Rory and thanks for bringing out the big fish!

Spur 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 loose coral rubble in about 10 metres. Our anchor held for a few hours while we snorkelled around at low tide.

The underwater visibility was much better on the edge of the continental shelf, but the shallow reef - best suited to snorkelling - had clearly taken a battering in recent years so we made our way back to Michaelmas Cay via Hastings Reef for another overnight stop...

Diamond Islets - Fishing

After we left Central Diamond Islet our fishing luck changed dramatically. The shoals between Central and West Diamond proved to be a fishing mecca - even for those of us that simply throw a line out while sailing to their next destination...

Our first catch that afternoon was 1.3 m reef shark - he went back into the sea after a bit of delicate work removing the hooks from his jaws.

Then we finally caught something worthwhile - a 0.94 m Dogtooth Tuna. This one wanted to go back to the sea, but he was definitely staying with us!

 As we sailed past West Diamond we also caught a 0.8 m Green Job Fish.

After filleting the fish we had filled three large boxes (about 2 kg each) with delicious dinners....that's a whole lotta fish (Nick had the audacity to complain about how much food we now had...and that his fridge was overflowing!!).

We all agreed that we did not need anymore for a while so the fishing lines were stowed at 14:30 and we continued our journey to the Herald Cays overnight. Eric has now started calling Dad the 'Master Fisher' following the theme from the Lego movie of 'Master Builders'!

East Diamond Islet - Fishing...

Well our fishing luck has not improved! After a morning looking for fish all Nick brought back was a Barracuda to show the kids. Right size, but wrong fish so we let him go. Fingers crossed for something better tomorrow...

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First catch of the day...

A little Mackerel Tuna, which we elected to return to the ocean. Fingers crossed his bigger cousin Mr Spanish Mackerel is not far behind!

Middle Percy Island - Fishing

Emily and Ryan continue to fish whenever there is an opportunity and Percy Island has plenty to offer the avid angler if you have fresh bait.

At low tide large schools of Garfish flocked around Lucey Blue and many of the other boats in West Bay. Marty invited the kids to catch some with his drag net which was a fun way to spend an evening, but we did not have much luck.

Not to be deterred we pulled out our cast net and with a little help from the kids (in the form of bread crumbs) we soon had a bucket load of Garfish on the back deck.

We were super keen for a fish dinner and the fish guide rated Garfish as good eating (if you don't mind small bones) so the decision was made to have mini fish fingers for dinner. Filleting Garfish is fiddly work, but after about 40 minutes we had enough to batter in Panko bread crumbs and deep-fry. Emily also caught a 25 cm Sea Bream which we added to our supply. Our evening meal that night was remarkably good.

The next day we decided to change tack - prehaps inspired by Angus from Roar Ege or just the thought of filleting another load of Garfish. With a few crumbs of WEETBIX we lured some Garfish to the surface and within easy range of our cast net. With a fresh Garfish on a gang hook we sat back for some afternoon nibbles and waited.

A short while later the hand line wizzed out and a shout from the crew of Lucey Blue was heard across the bay - we have a fish! We had something big on the line and with a little running around we traded our tiny Garfish for an 8 kg Golden Trevally (and it's attached small Remora...Two for the price of one!!).

We had a superb dinner that night and have enough Trevally left for several more meals. It is very statisfying to be travelling with the wind, making our own water, baking our own bread and now catching our own fish!

Lucey Blue - Emily and Ryan fishy tales...

Ryan and I have decided we like fishing, it's a long story...so here goes...

Recently we met some other sailors who had been fishing off the back of their yacht. They had caught all kinds of fish (and a seagull) and Ryan and I were eager to join in the fun. 

At first Dad only let us have one rod and Ryan caught two fish (in an hour!) He caught them with the bait the friendly yachties had provided for us. The first fish was a Sooty Grunter and the next was a Bream. Unfortunately they were too small to eat. 

Finally Dad let me get a rod and after a loooooong time with nibbles and stollen bait, but no fish, I finally had success! A huge Dusky Flathead (or as Eric called it...'a fathead')! It was over 50 cm long and big enough to eat, but I decided to let it go, the next one I catch isn't going to be so lucky. 

I have been fishing several times at Lady Musgrave - from the back of the boat and even the dinghy, but I haven't caught anything that we can eat. I nearly caught two awesome fish, but one broke the line and the other swam into the reef and THEN broke the line.

Finally on the 29th of July I had success - well kind of success. When Dad and Ryan were out snorkelling I caught a fish. Mum and I ran around squealing because we had no idea how to deal with fish hooks. I found some pliers and we eventually unhooked the Remora, otherwise known as a sucker fish because it has a large suction cup on its head that helps it stick to things. Despite my earlier promise I let the Remora go as they're not good eating. The next day Ryan caught another Remora. So we are all still waiting for a good fish dinner... 

Bundaberg to Lady Musgrave

We left Bundaberg at around 00:30 on the morning of the 26th of July and motored north towards Lady Musgrave. We were at the tail end of a good weather window so there was a light north westerly breeze blowing and calm seas. 

The new sails and feathering propellers are great in light winds. We had to add motor power to keep up our boat speed, but we only ticked the engines over at low revs so we hardly used any fuel. Apart from a few fishing boats hunting along the edge of the marine exclusion zones we had the ocean to ourselves - no large ships or other yachts.

Sam took watch at around 0:600 with about ten miles to go to Lady Musgrave. Before I headed down to catch some rest I reeled out our fishing line on the off chance that something would take a nibble as the sun slowly rose in the east.

We took the long-way around the reef system to avoid the marine park and snuck in close to the southern edge to see if we could lure any fish out of the shallows. There were some small breaking waves on the reef flat, but we maintained a safe distance and hoped for the best. Unfortunately we lucked out despite Sam's fish dancing and we did not catch anything before we entered the lagoon.

Sam thinks she saw a whale near the northeast tip of the reef, but the rest of the crew didn't see anything. Sam’s next sighting - accompanied by the call "dolphins at the bow” - was accurate. We all rushed forward to watch a pod of dolphins playing off the bows of Lucey Blue. Eric was enthralled by the strange friendly fish that snorted and leaped out of the water and a lot of fun was had by all.

We entered Lady Musgrave lagoon about an hour before dead low tide and anchored near the island at the west end. 

What a beautiful place! Sure there was a southerly change coming and we would be locked down for a few days by 25 to 30 knot winds, but today the sun was out, the water was warm and we had reef to explore… 

Bundaberg - The best little big town in Queensland.

Bundaberg is such a welcoming town with so many great features for yachts - amazing fresh produce, plenty of fresh fish and super friendly people - that we could have easily spent several weeks. 

Eric loved the subtropical feel of the town and was forever running around offering ladies flowers at the marina. 

Emily and Ryan took up fishing with some expert guidance from Peter aboard Acropora and other yachties. They had some success and are likely now hooked on the sport, but we will let them tell their own story in their own words to let you decide for yourself!

We all enjoyed catching up with family and friends - we even managed to have dinner with Mel and Angus from Roar Ege which was fantastic.

One of the many highlights is Lushus Cakes on the main street of town. They have been in business since at least the early 1980s and whenever we are in town we make sure to buy one (maybe two… ok you got me maybe a few more) Peach Blossom cakes. The shop has been flashed up with a new coat of paint but the cake remains as delicious as always.

We zipped to and from town in a borrowed car and apart from a few cane trains there was never any traffic or delay. 

If we could stay forever we probably would, but the call of the reef was strong and the crew of Lucey Blue was keen to see Lady Musgrave again…