Cleone - in the Great Barrier Reef - Part 2 - Flinders and Morris

Windy but not so rough.

 

If we thought Lizard Island was a windy spot, it was only because we had not yet been to Morris Island!  We had a fast passage to Flinders, past stunning scenery and in fine sunlight.  We left the Lizard anchorage before dawn, threading our way through the anchored yachts after wrestling briefly with an obstinate anchor chain.  We spotted that Talulah Ruby had arrived during the night, but failed to see Kasuje, who had done likewise.  Dawn broke, we had breakfast and neatly and narrowly avoided been run down head first by a container ship.  We'd been warned that yachts are expected to keep out of the way of ships in the channel that threads its way tortuously through the reefs, so the Skipper radioed to the officer on the bridge.  After a pause - he did not seem to have seen us and obviously took a look out of his bridge wing - he agreed that he would pass down our port side.  But despite this, the ship continued to head towards us.  Discretion being the better part of valour (wood gives way to fibreglass, which gives way to steel), the skipper prudently altered course to starboard - the book says that it's difficult to be faulted for this manoeuvre.  Shortly afterwards the australian twang of the pilot was heard calling us urgently on the radio - he was surprised to see we'd altered course (steam gives way to sail; the stand on vessel must stand on!).  He had left the bridge for some reason, but on his return was disconcerted - he'd obviously instructed the officer of the watch to pass down our starboard side and then cut across our stern to regain the channel.  But being an Aussie, it was "no worries mate - we'll keep an eye on you" and we passed neatly within 200 metres of each other.  I'm glad it was not dark.

 

Navigating through the well-marked and well-charted reefs is sufficiently challenging to be interesting, the scenery is stunning and we've enjoyed two magnificent days sailing.  At our Flinders anchorage we were joined by Cali Due, with Windflower being in another equally protected and isolated anchorage a few miles away.  And in the lee of Morris Island we were again next to Cali Due.  The anchorage is well protected from the seas, but the wind is again howling around the rigging, and Cleone was straining at her anchor.  But all was well; we slept long and hard and  we set off for the Escape River, probably the last anchorage on this leg before we reach Thursday Island and the start of Leg 14 to Darwin.

 

And today has been another glorious day of down-wind sailing, with some of the most challenging coastal navigation that we have had so far, with shipping chanels to cope with to boot.