Bound for Botany Bay...or thereabouts

This journal has always been slightly out of date - so many readers will now be familiar with the awful fate of Arjuna.  What follows is an account of the final leg of Arjuna for those who came in late.

Planning on this voyage has always been a careful blend of up to date information supplied by those saintly workers toiling at the Bureau combined in the right measure with ancient sea craft: a look to the West at sunset, a careful stroke of the sea beard while staring at the wind playing upon the currents in the distance. A Captain considers many variables when planning a passage, weighing up the life of the crew, the safety of the vessel and the level of the remaining sauvignon blanc stores. However, when considering the departure date from Port Stephens, it ultimately came down to the fact that the Second Mate wanted to spend his birthday in Sydney over a tankard of soft drink rather than in some forsaken sun-drenched aquatic playground on the NSW coast drinking filtered boat tank water from an unbreakable plastic cup. 

Iconic sunset cover shot. Also figuratively: 'the sun is setting on this voyage'

Vast Distances Are Covered

What the ?

The Rock left us in Cairns. Older, wiser, more suntanned and anxious to join the Hakluyt Society for original travel journal enthusiasts. The Second Mate also left us in Cairns with urgent business to attend to down south. We turned back out of Cairns in a few days after replenishing our stores and finally refilling our water casks. We left with memories and, in return we left behind our stamp on the marina: a spatula here, a pair of glasses there - claimed by the bottomless mud lurking at the bottom of the estuary.

The way ahead was South. Many, many miles of South. And some East. But mainly South. Our plans at this stage were mildly indistinct. There were friends to pick up further down the coast at specific dates vast distances away and beyond that a vague plan was forming to reach Brisbane by December. In either case, we needed to make like the black marlin and get moving in case we were caught in Cairns.

The Uncrowded Splendour of the Whitsunday Islands Continue

The weather had now most definitely become far more tropical sun and less tropical cyclone and we were burning up good days and good dollars in port. We thoroughly checked the underfloor smuggler hatches and dry stores for stowaway rats, wookies and backpackers and then made our departure from Airlie under perfect sailing conditions. A couple of charter catamarans lay off our bows heading for the islands. We ruffled our luff in a threatening fashion, they spilled their margaritas and thus we soon put them behind us. It was a late departure from the coast so we aimed for Stonehaven again and moored there for the night.

Manta Ray Bay, First Light. Suspiciously tranquil

A visit from the Water Police and a swim in the pool at Kingfisher Bay

 

We spent Tuesday 15th and Wednesday 16th April anchored slightly north of Kingfisher Bay Resort. The resort occupies a peaceful position east of Maryborough and was lovely and sheltered.
The crew enjoyed a swim in the resort pool which is open to day visitors. There were also some basic showers at the Sand Bar pool which had hot running water.

Engine troubles at Slaughter's Gutter



Farewell East Coast Marina.

Finally all the odds and ends had been tidied up and Arjuna was set to depart from Brisbane. The final elusive bearing for the autopilot and been tracked down and the car had been repaired.