Up the Mighty Clarence

 On Boxing Day, we headed 15 nautical miles up the Clarence River on a Huck Finn style adventure. The Clarence is navigable for about 100km inland to Grafton, but this involves getting under the Harwood Bridge which, with only 8.5m clearance, is too low for our 19m high mast to pass under.

Have we got enough clearance, Clarence?

Cooktown

One might be lured into thinking that Cooktown is a haven from the tribulations of the turbulent northern seas. This is true to a point. If for instance, you have been sitting on top of a reef in one of the King's fine wooden barks (or converted coal ship to be precise), taking on water some nine months from home with no hope of assistance - then finding the Endeavour River would be fine indeed. Reading the small print, you would find that Cook grounded at the mouth and had to warp the Endeavour over the bar at the entrance to the Endeavour River - which effectively means that they had to drag the boat into the harbour using ropes. King had to do the same 50 years later when European folk next entered the estuary. Once the Endeavour had been careened and repaired, Cook had to wait some weeks for the right tide conditions and then warped back out again.

The setting sun smiles down on the deep and comfortable waters of the Endeavour River

A Grounding at Mourilyan Harbour

Finally the wind and swell settled enough to set off from Dunk Island to Cairns.


Able Sea Monkey found this plate sized starfish on our last day at Dunk.

This is a 70 nautical mile stretch so rather than attempt in it a single day we headed for Mourilyan Harbour south of Innisfail.

The Great Sandy Straits

Arjuna at twilight. Photographed from Twilight. (c) SV Twilight

As the First Mate points out, it may be a bad sailing omen to start a voyage on a Friday but probably no worse than quoting Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem on dying in a previous blog post. As we and the internet can attest, the Wide Bay Bar was survived (if the truth be known, the swell was worse on the journey up than that on the bar itself) and we lived happily overnight at Pelican Bay - or at least as close in to it as we felt comfortable with.

Into Brisbane

If, dear reader, you have followed this web log in chronological order then you will be aware that the fridge on Arjuna was by this time bursting at the sikaflex with fish fillets from a variety of massive pelagic monsters. So, wakened from our slumber by the sounds of departing jet skis and curses from a neighbouring yacht we breakfasted on fish. The chef sensed mutiny and resolved that the next meal would have to be either red meat or vegan.