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Starblazer - 16/08/2015 - To Cairns



A brief overview of the trip: we motored the whole way, though got a bit of help from the genoa for the last hour before turning into the dredged entry channel to Cairns. However, it was not a boring trip.

We had barely set off when a whale made its presence known off to starboard, first of all with a tail slap then various waves of a fin together with quite obvious blows as it moved further away. That is the first whale I have seen on this trip. Early Thursday morning I heard a noise a bit like an underwater explosion from behind us. I looked back in time to see a mass of boiling water quickly followed by a whale blowing and thrashing a fin in the water. Again it was not interested in us and moved further away.

The other major experience of the trip was avoiding the shipping. John had the worst experience, spending over an hour dodging three fishing boats, probably prawn fishermen. Our track on the plotter when I came on watch told its own story! The other ships we had to avoid were big cargo ships going in both directions along a rather narrow track. One boat called me up to say his AIS wasn't working. I already knew that but had him on radar and visual. One boat came steaming past within a mile of us travelling at 22 knots, identified on the AIS as 'Australian Warship'. I didn't bother to ask his intentions, I just maintained a steady course and let him avoid me. He was the overtaking boat anyway.

The wonderful sunsets and even more spectacular dawns continue to amaze us. The photo is about 10 minutes before sunrise on Wednesday.

The last few hours into Cairns were frustratingly slow, the entry channel is dredged to about 8 metres with very little water close to the edge in some places. We had a rendez-vous with Firefly who were just leaving and managed to transfer a small package we had collected from Mackay for them. As we turned away John increased the engine revs but the prop made a dreadful noise and rattled the boat (again). He then proceeded slowly to the marina. We had a slight fright approaching our allotted berth, John tried reverse to make sure it would slow us as there was quite a strong wind blowing us into the berth. When he put the engine back into forward it refused to rev. After a few panicky moments the revs returned and we tied up successfully, albeit in the wrong berth. We had been told starboard side to, the fenders and lines were prepared, the berth we thought was H12 was empty so in we went. It was only when John went to plug in the power cable he discovered we were in H11. Fortunately it didn't matter!

We had planned a two night stop and John booked a slot to be refuelled Saturday morning while I was shopping. I got back to the boat at 1830 and said I really didn't feel ready to leave and he agreed. Saturday morning we were up early and ready to cast off to go to the fuel dock for 0930, the engine started easily, I started preparing the lines so they could be slipped, John revved the engine in neutral or at least he tried to. We couldn't get out of tickover! I retied the lines, John phoned the fuel dock to cancel then he set about finding the problem. Maintenance in exotic locations again. The engine wouldn't start when he tried so while he checked fuel was reaching the injectors I turned the key. At my second attempt it fired and, more to the point, was willing to rev. He has started it numerous times throughout the day with no problems and has been able to increase the revs. The cause of the problem eludes us! The other major problem concerns the fridge. We were very close to ordering a replacement compressor and evaporator plate in New Zealand when it finally decided to get cold. I wish we had. Friday evening, as I was putting the shopping away, I reached the conclusion that the fridge was not working. The compressor was running non-stop but it wasn't getting cold. More expense, John has made inquiries about ordering a replacement to be delivered to Darwin but he'll wait until Monday morning before placing an order as the cheapest company doesn't answer their phone on Saturdays.

Cairns is a lovely town with some really interesting buildings, the promenade area includes a wonderful 'lagoon', man made with a beach for the kids, decking and grass verges for the sun lovers, fountains and lifeguard and it's FREE! It is surrounded be several BBQ areas where there are a number of coin operated gas BBQs for anyone to use. The shoreline is very muddy and flat here, the tide goes out a long way making it a popular feeding ground for several types of waders. We decided to have a final meal ashore and went to Outback Jacks because John liked the look of the ribs on their menu. We shared a starter of 'Skippy Dundee', any guesses? Three skewers of kangaroo and three skewers of crocodile with a spicy dipping sauce; the kangaroo was very lean and soft, the croc looked like chicken but was rather tough. John ordered the full rack of ribs, it was huge but he managed it all, and I went for the fillet mignon which was rather more cooked than I'd requested. It was a nice meal and better than cooking myself!

The fuel dock has to be pre-booked and nominally works 0600-1000 and 1500-1930. John had left a message yesterday evening to rebook our refuelling and Frank phoned just after 0700 (skipper was up, crew wasn't) and scheduled us for 1030. It got delayed by about 20 minutes but the engine worked perfectly. Refuelled, we cast off our lines at 1115 for the long, challenging leg to Darwin.

Joyce


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