Dolphins surfing our bow wave as we sail down the East Coast of Australia...

Sailing 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 deck – our rear solar panels.

The images of Lucey Blue underway were nice and we landed safetly back on the forward trampoline after about 10 minute in the air. However, the majority of the photographs were taken from too far away for the wide angle GoPro camera to show much detail.

Given our partial success the decision was made to haul up the spinnaker and try a second flight. This time the plan was to fly the drone right alongside Lucey Blue. The images from the second flight were substantially better, but there were a few tricky moments - including when the Mariner Drone disappeared from view behind our spinnaker!

Flying a drone blind while sailing towards your airborne position certainly adds to the excitement level. I am glad to say we experienced no mid air collisions and despite running out of battery power before landing back on Lucey Blue we declared our mission a success.

After the Mariner Drone adventure we decided to take a few photographs of Lucey Blue under different sail configurations from the dinghy. Have we ever said we love our new radial sails?

The kids all enjoyed the dinghy ride – you don’t often get to see your own boat sailing and even though we never cracked five knots it was a great way to spend a morning!

North East Herald Cays to Holmes Reef (or perhaps Cairns) - Have you every made a mistake that cascades?

Well like most of our great plans this one started one evening after dinner when we decided - for some reason - that we should probably relocate and explore somewhere new.

Sure we could stay at North East Herald Cay for another month or so, enjoying all that it had to offer before our fresh food ran out. But the temptation to explore somewhere new is always strong on Lucey Blue and perhaps at the next location we would also find some other yachts to share the adventure.

With our goal in mind we left North East Herald Cay just on sunset for an overnight sail to Holmes Reef with a triple reefed main and our blade jib. The weather forecast was for 20-25 SE winds with a low to moderate sea, but the conditions were predicted to strengthen over the next few days. No matter we thought as we would be safely tucked behind Holmes Reef before it got too uncomfortable or so said our theoretical plan!

The sail to Holmes Reefs was comfortable and we arrived in the early morning with 1.5 to 2 metre seas and about 25 knots of wind behind us. 

The only problem was no one had told us that all the sand cays at Holmes Reef had been blown away in the last cyclone. We arrived with grey overcast skies, surge rolling across the reef and surf where there should have been sand cays so we decided to update our plan and head for Cairns (with nowhere else to go within range).

Now an updated plan is a fine thing, but when conditions are forecast to deteriorate and you don't yet have clear idea of your passage through the Great Barrier Reef it's probaly best to take more than a few minutes to prepare for the next step.

We took less than a minute for a quick breakfast behind the Holmes Reef and then headed straight back out to sea while we calculated arrival times, tide and swell conditons at Grafton Passage. So what might happen next? 

Well the conditons deteriated as predicted and before long we had 30 to 40 knot SE winds and steep 3 to 3.5 metre breaking seas and the occasional larger swell. Even with a triple reefed main and unfeathered propellors Lucey Blue was hammering along at over 9 knots and surging down waves. The boat handled the seas really well and the crew were all ok - no one was seasick, but some were not feeling great as we crashed through the conditons towards Cairns.

At around 14:00 we lowered all sails and ran barepoled at 4 knots for a few hours to ensure we did not arrive at the continental shelf - where the sea bed raises from over a kilometer deep to about 60 metres - when a one knot tide was running against the sea. I am glad we took this extra step because at around 19:00 when we were still way out to sea in deep water the behavour of the waves changed markedly with sharp breaking waves regularly rolling over the deck and into the cockpit. With hindsight it would have been great to have taken the underwater camera outside in the conditions, but as Sam has said there will alway be another time...

We arrived at Grafton Passage with 35 knot SE winds at around midnight in total darkness with no moon and low clouds. We carefully turned side on to the sea and made for the sheltered water of the reef as quickly as possible all the while listening for rolling surf that might indicate a breaking wave was on its way...

Grafton Passage proved to be a perfect entrance that night and we were soon in relatively smooth waters on our way to Mission Bay just outside Cairns. We anchored at around 03:00 in 3 metres of water and were quickly asleep. The kids woke the next morning at 06:00 as if nothing had happened and indeed apart from some rather salty internal floors - a marker of a real ocean passage - no one would have know that some decisions cascade in rather unexpected ways...

Would we do it again? Absolutely, but perhaps we will decide to stay behind a nice sand cay next time the wind is predicted to rise!

Snorkelling in the northern Whitsunday’s and Bait reef

Eric continues to enjoy his time in the water and whenever we get a chance we all hit the water together. The conditions were quite nice so we spent a few nights at Langford Island and then sailed out to Bait Reef.

The trip out to Bait Reef was unusually eventful with a large fish (that got away) causing no end of trouble. As a tip - do not set a large code zero and then hoist your full main in 20 knots of wind if you want to slow down in a hurry.

The net result of our failed fishing adventure was: one code zero in the water; one halyard lost halfway up the mast; and two hands with rope burn!

We detoured back to Luncheon Bay at the top of Hook Island to affect repairs and then headed back out to Bait Reef in the afternoon. With a more conservative sail setup – blade jib and full main – we made the journey in just under two hours.

Snorkelling on the Stepping Stones at Bait Reef remains impressive.

However, the best part of our time back at Bait reef was the amazing song of a Humpback whale and her calf. The two whales swam up and down the edge of the reef for over 48 hours and on the way out they treated us to some spectacular breaching approximately 100m off our port bow.

Lady Musgrave to Middle Percy Island - Sailing at speed

We arrived at Middle Percy Island at around 15:00 on the 4th of August after a quiet overnight trip from Lady Musgrave. There was very little wind for the first twelve hours, but a 10-15 knot southwest to westerly breeze kicked in as we passed Island Head Creek so we could sail!

Sam was desperate for some colour so we hoisted our flaming red spinnaker and took off down the coast at a consistent 8.5 plus knots. The wind shifted around causing us to alternated between the code zero and our spinnaker which was fun - our top speed was 9.8 knots. The sailing difference between Lucey Blue from our last trip is amazing - old sails and three bladed fixed propellers would have limited us to 7 knots in the conditions. We love our new gear!

We had expected to find West Bay empty as a strong southerly was forecast to arrive by the 5th of August and the anchorage is exposed. But the bay was packed with small racing yachts making their way up to Hamilton Island for race week.

Despite being a little tired we ducked ashore to check out the beach and A-Frame. We didn't stay long as we were all keen for a hot shower and an earlier night...

Lady Musgrave - A departing gift 'Whales off the port bow'

We left Lady Musgrave an hour before high tide on the morning of 3 August. As soon as we had motored out of the lagoon a pod of three humpback whales swam leisurely past the boat within metres!

Just minutes later there were another two or three whales off our port side, leaping and frolicking in the water.

We watched them for about an hour or so before setting course for Percy Island approximately 180 nautical miles to the north. The kids enjoyed the whales and had fun in the sailbag for another few hours...

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… 

Brisbane to Bundaberg - Nearly nonstop!

We left Brisbane on the 15th of July and motored down the Brisbane river against the last of the incoming tide.

On the way down we passed another Lagoon 42 TPI - Connect Four, and a range of spectacular properties before we made it to the industrial area of Port Brisbane. The change in scenery along the banks of the river is dramatic and its great to see ships, tug boats, factories and container loading facilities near the mouth of the river. Sydney has lost a lot of this character with most of the city's waterfront now converted to luxury residences.

There was no wind at all when we arrived at Moreton Bay, but ever hopeful we pulled up our new mainsail and set off north via the small boat channel south of Bribe Island. Ryan used the traditional method to pull up the mainsail while Nick used his new electric winch handle - a WinchRite from Sailology- to save energy for more important tasks!

The kids entertained themselves in the cockpit and we were all treated to a spectacular sunset on the way  to Double Island Point. We arrived around midnight in pitch-black (there was no moon and plenty of low cloud that blocked out the stars) and anchored in six metres of water.

We woke early on the 16th to dash across the last eight nautical miles to the first waypoint of the Wide Bay Bar. We wanted to make the crossing while the tide was rising, but also wanted to wait for first light so we had everything working in our favour.

Wide Bar Bar was tranquil with no breaking waves in the shallow channel and we were pulled rapidly into the waters behind Fraser Island. We love to hitch a lift when we can as it's nice to see Lucey Blue traveling at about nine knots over the ground when we are only moving at seven through the water!

We decided to try and ride the tide all the way through the narrow channels behind Fraser Island to Hervey Bay. The conditions were perfect, but we needed to maintain the tidal advantage if we were going to clear the shallows near Boonlye Point. We nearly ran aground there last time and had no desire to get stuck.

We passed a number of yachts along the way and managed to sneak through the worst bits just on high tide. By the time we had cleared the Fairway light on Hervey Bay our boat speed across the ground had hit ten knots. We had been sucked in at one end of Fraser Island and spat out the other end in a day which is a record for us.

The crew of Lucey Blue kept their eyes peeled for sealife on Harvey Bay and Eric spent hours seagazing with Dad on the front trampolines, but the whales alluded us this time.

We arrived off Burrent Heads at dusk and gently pulled into the Bundaberg Port Marina at around 18:00 with the help of another yachtie - Gayle from Electra.

The sail north - Sydney to Brisbane (well almost)...

With Lucey Blue ready to go we waited for a suitable weather wind to sail north to warmer weather.
The first opportunity arrived in early July and we scrabbled to leave Middle Harbour on the 14:30 Spit Bridge opening.

We left the harbour on the evening of the 5th of July and sailed/motorsailed north, hugging the coast to avoid the east Australian current that can flow at a speed of over three knots - not fun if you are traveling in the opposite direction!

Our new sails and feathering propellers proved themselves on the first night with Lucey Blue surging along at 8 to 9 knots in a 14 to 17 knot north westerly wind. By dawn we were located just north of Port Stephens on flat sea with a number of local fishing boats.

The wind died off during the day and swung around to the southwest so we motorsailed most of the next twenty four hours to keep up our boat speed. We enjoyed a visit from a pod of dolphins on the evening of the 6th and arrived off Coffs Harbour at dawn on the 7th of July.

We passed South Solitary Island in perfect conditions with blue skies and 15 to 20 knot southerly winds. Lucey Blue was really enjoying the conditions and her crew was entertained most of the day by humpback whales sunning themselves along the coast and thrashing their tails against the growing southerly swell.

By nightfall on the 7th Lucey Blue was located off Yamba and the weather forecast indicated that a change was due to hit the region overnight. We reduced sail that evening to a triple reefed main and our blade jib as there is nothing worse than having to reduce sail in rough conditions at night. We also decided to take Lucey Blue further offshore to gain extra searoom if required.

The southerly wind picked up steadily and Lucey Blue sailed along at 8 to 9 knots in the growing seas. By midnight we were located off Ballina in two to three metre seas. Unfortunately we also found the east Australian current was running strongly at two knots against the sea which was making the waves rather pointy.

The southerly front hit at around 02:00 on the 8th of July with 35 to 40 knot winds, three metre breaking waves and heavy rain. Lucey Blue was sailing safely, but our boat speed was too high for conservative cruising folk - consistently 10 plus knots - and we were slewing around as we surfed down waves at 15 plus knots.

To reduce the load generated by the sails/sea we reduced sail to just the triple reefed main and unfeathered our MaxProp propellers. The postive impact on the boat's motion and our overall comfort was dramatic. Most of the improvement came from using our now rotating unfeathered propellers as mini sea drouges to provide extra drag at the stern. We had not considered using the propellers in this fashion when we purchased them, but the ability to change from no drag (feathered propellers) to drag (unfeathered propellers) is a fantastic feature.

After a long wet and rather bouncy night we decided to pull into the Gold Coast Seaway and by about 10:00 on the 8th of July we were anchored just behind Seaworld and watching filming of the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie!

We left the next moring and motored through the narrows behind the Stradbroke Islands before reaching Dockside Marina on the Brisbane river at 17:00. The trip through the backwaters was fun, but obviously not everyone makes it through the shallows and overhanging powerlines safely...