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Our first day at sea was wonderful -the sun shone and the water glistened as we headed out of dreaded Moreton Bay, so famous for its moving sandbanks and opportunities for groundings. We were not sorry to say farewell to that hazardous but beautiful piece of the Queensland Coast.   Farewell to Scarborough We headed…

Sounds corny I know, but I can’t express the joy that being visited by dolphins brings us. To have them swimming alongside our boat and playing in the bow wave makes us feel totally privileged and really grateful to be alive. What is it about dolphins that incite such intense feelings? Is it their exuberant…

In this world of rapid and constant change isn’t it wonderful that some things stay the same – exactly the same. We are sitting in the peace of Port Clinton, a beautiful natural harbour north of Yeppoon in central Queensland, where 28 years ago minus one day, Jonathan and I, one year married, anchored our…

It was like one of those dreams where you have to be somewhere and although you are running as fast as you can towards your destination, your legs feel like dead weights and you don’t get any closer to your goal. Is it always so complicated getting a boat ready for a voyage such as…

Sadly we’re still here in Scarborough waiting to take off up the coast, heading for Cairns where we will be joining the Sail 2 Indonesia rally. The good news is that thankfully the auto pilot is now working but frustratingly, a leak has sprung – apparently from a valve where our newly furnished prop shaft…

Oh the frustration! We should be enjoying a relaxed “shake down” cruise up the coast from Brisbane right now, as a prelude to joining the Sail 2 Indonesia cruise in Cairns, but the sea gods have dictated otherwise. It has been a question of two steps forward, one step back, since we brought Bali Hai…

Revisiting Middle Percy Island after almost 30 years was a joy and a real trip down memory lane. Yachties have been made welcome there for well over half a century and the place looked very much the same as when we had last visited on our 28 foot timber yacht Rondo, 28 years ago.  …

With the words of the radio operator on customs vessel Cape Byron ringing in our ears to “keep a look out and let us know if you see anything unusual”, we headed for Middle Percy Island, a “must do” for any yachtie sailing the Eastern Seaboard. We had visited this beautiful and much loved island…

We were just casually sailing along on our way to Middle Percy Island from Curlew Island having a quiet read when we noticed a very large vessel speeding along and heading straight for us! Was it cargo ship – too fast! Was it an inter Island ferry – too big! It was getting closer and…

As we continued our way down south we approached Gladstone with our eyes peeled. We had previously seen from the air the vast number of container ships anchored out to sea, waiting their turn to collect their load and sail for foreign ports.  We knew that we would have to have our wits about us…

 Every boat should have a parrot. Meet Claude the cockie who joined us just before we sailed for Brampton Island But then we were alone. Even Claude decided to leave us to sail into the sunset  – just the two of us. Our delivery trip to Brisbane allowed us to revisit some of the…

It was a shake down cruise, a chance to get to know the boat properly, but it turned out so much more than that …… First family time. After Ben’s accident it was wonderful to spend some time together with him and Sarah and their friend Beccy on Bali Hai. Ben, Sarah and Beccy on…

After a break from cruising of almost 30 years, my husband Jonathan and I are about to sail off into the sunset – this time to the wonderful islands of Indonesia. While we do expect dramas, tough times and even moments when we feel it’s all a big mistake, we also know we will learn…