* * *
Two weeks’ later Michael had completed everything, including the galley sink, and his friend was ready to lower Taylor Maid into the water. Arthur had wheeled himself out of his shop for the last time to witness the scene. Michael noticed him shed a tear as his beloved yacht was finally launched, something he could never achieve. Geoff and another marina roustabout were on board as the yacht floated majestically, before he started the diesel motor and steered the yacht over to the public jetty. Michael said goodbye to Arthur, who had almost treated him as his son during the last few weeks, and then strolled down to the jetty to board his yacht. The worker cast off their lines and Geoff reversed the yacht away from the jetty, before he motored around the sea wall and out into the bay. They were going to head for Herald Island for the night, before continuing onto Rollingstone Creek.
“It’s your yacht, so you take the helm” he suggested. “I’ll raise the sails.”
Michael pointed into the slight breeze while the motor was still powering them forwards and then Geoff raised the main before he unfurled the Genoa.
“Cut the motor and we’ll see how she sails” he said enthusiastically.
As Arthur promised, Tailor Maid sailed majestically on the light south-easterly breeze. The yacht cleared the harbour entrance and steered for the easterly tip of Magnetic Island. The light breeze was fluky and it shifted back and forth from the south-east to the south and this made the trimming of the sails difficult. Further out into the bay the breeze swung steadily in from the south south-east, which allowed Michael to set the autopilot.
* * *
“What do you think of my yacht?” he asked Geoff as they settled down with a cold beer.
“It sails well, but you’ll have to do something about the leak” he said.
Michael knew he was joking, so he retaliated with, “You’re the expert, so I think you should dive down and take a look when we reach Herald.”
“Nah, it’ll be alright until we reach Balgal Beach” he laughed.
The two of them talked about Michael’s plans to sail to Indonesia and then onto Asia. Geoff was willing to come with him for the first four weeks, but then he had to return to work. They could probably make it to Darwin in that time and then Michael would consider all his options after that.
Chapter 21
Geoff and Michael were preparing as quickly as possible to leave Balgal Beach on Tuesday morning and start their 1800 mile trek to Darwin. Today was provisioning day, because the two of them weren’t sure how long it will take them to reach Darwin. If it were possible to do the eighteen hundred miles in one passage they would be there in about sixteen days, but since they would be negotiating their way through the Great Barrier Reef long passages won’t possible. They will be doing a number of overnight passages at the beginning of the journey and once they reached the northern tip of the east coast of Australia, they would be doing longer passages as they near Darwin. But for now the two of them would take one day at a time.
Shopping was just the beginning of provisioning a cruising boat. Once you get back to the boat with all the food, you have to find space to store it away. In terms of cruising boats, Michael had a lot of storage space on Taylor Maid, but much of it wasn’t easily accessible; as Michael would like. So he began to worry about where he was going to store the dry and tinned food, which was still in the bags piled up on the settee in the main cabin. Michael had bought two of the largest portable battery powered freezer and fridge combinations he could afford, but the one he was using as a freezer was almost full. The bottom section of the freezer currently contained six rump steaks, six pork chops, six T-bone steaks, eight beef sausages, and twenty chicken thighs. The top layer had three pounds of bacon, more sausages for barbecuing and a few loaves of bread. The other one he was using as a refrigerator was almost bursting at seams with fresh veggies, salads, cheese, eggs, fruit juice, soft drink and, more importantly, beer.
Michael and Geoff kept getting reports for impending 25 knot winds, but the actual winds seem to be only 10 knot breezes from the south, so the two of them left anyway on the high tide. They sailed north, just passing the exposed Pandora Reef, before Geoff altered course slightly to the little island of Orpheus. They dropped the anchor in Little Pioneer Bay on Orpheus just on dusk. The two of them knew they needed to do some planning for tomorrow and listen to the weather on the radio.
Tomorrow they would be sailing on to Hinchinbrook Island. It was only about twenty-two miles away and the two of them could see it easily from here. In fact, as they sipped a cold beer, they could see the lights along the sugar-jetty that protruded out from Lucinda. It was the longest jetty in Australia and it was for loading sugar onto ships. Tomorrow they should get a closer look as they sail to Cape Richards, before heading onto the Family Islands. The weather report for Wednesday, May 24 was partly cloudy in the morning, sunny afternoon, with winds ESE 15-20 knots.
Taylor Maid left Orpheus early the next morning and they slowly worked their way up the Australian coast. Hinchinbrook Island was veiled in clouds and it was one of Queensland’s treasures. It sits just off the coast but remains one of the last untouched tropical wilderness island left in Australia. There was one yacht-friendly resort on the northern tip of the island, but that is it. There are no roads and no one lives there except at the low-key resort. As the clouds began to disperse, the beauty of Hinchinbrook became apparent. It had jagged peaks draped in lush greenery and something that looked like a very big waterfall. Taylor Maid sailed by Zoe Bay with its white sand beaches and sand dunes and then by Little Ramsey Bay. The two of them could see Cape Richards at the top of the island, but they intended to keep going on as far as they could. Geoff wanted to sail forty miles further north to the little sugar cane port of Mourilyan. The winds were predicted to be stronger tomorrow, so they might have a day or two to wait for calmer ones.
Taylor Maid entered the Moresby River at Mourilyan Harbour under motor and Geoff lowered the anchor onto the muddy bottom, just past the group of vessels tethered to the pylons. This harbor exists to serve the sugar industry and there was a very long sugar and molasses storage shed and a sugar loading wharf. The harbour is shallow once you get out of the working basin, but luckily the two of them had been here before and approached the entrance on the high tide. The crests of Bellenden Ker and Bartle Frere in the distant coastal mountain range were spectacular in the sunset.
* * *
Today was Friday, May 26, and the weather was forecast to be mostly sunny with winds S to SW, 15-20 knots. Taylor Maid was safely out of Mourilyan Harbour by 5:30 am and they had to motor sail for an hour, but then the winds filled in nicely and they were able to sail all the way to the Low Isles. The two of them knew they had to have an early start because they had more than seventy miles to sail today, but Taylor Maid passed the channel leading into Cairns just after 2 pm in the afternoon.
Low Isles was a little island and it was so tiny that anyone can walk around it in ten minutes, but the reef was interesting and the two of them were hoping to walk on it at low tide. Michael started the 36hp Yanmar diesel motor when the winds died down at about four in the afternoon. He furled the Genoa, while Geoff lowered and tidied the mainsail. They were only ten minutes off anchoring when suddenly, a high-pitched sound emitted from the engine bay.
“That sounds like the over-temperature engine alarm. I’ll go and take a look” Geoff suggested, looking perplexed.
Sure enough, the needle on the engine’s temperature gauge was pointing at the red section.
“Kill the motor, Michael” he yelled out.
Michael pulled the kill switch and the rumble of the diesel stuttered into an eerie silence.
“What’s the problem?” Michael asked him when he poked his head through the companionway hatch.
“The engine’s overheated” Geoff replied, before adding. “We’ll have to sail the rest of the way. Unfurl the Genoa and try sailing with just the one sail. I think the slight breeze is directly behi
nd us. I’ll try and find out what went wrong.”
“That’s all I need. It’s only been serviced a few months ago” Michael mumbled as he returned to the cockpit.
“It’s too bloody hot to look at now, so I’ll wait for it to cool down” Geoff said when he joined him. “I’ll raise the main.”
Even though the two of them could see the beach on Hope Isles, it still took Taylor Maid two hours to sail the last few miles.
“I’ll take a look at the motor tomorrow. It could be a false alarm, but I don’t think so. The motor is too bloody hot” he said.
As they approached their anchorage spot Michael noticed another sailing boat anchored in the calm water. Geoff lowered and tided the main and Taylor Maid ghosted into the space, with the Genoa, keeping the other yacht sixty yards away on their starboard side.
They stayed here the next day, dividing their day between work and play.
“It looks like we’ve sucked something into the sea water intake. I’ll have to take a look” Geoff admitted.
Michael found him a mask, snorkel and flippers as Geoff prepared to jump in. The two of them had snorkeled on reefs for years, so it wasn’t a big deal to jump overboard in shallow water. Geoff stepped off the boarding platform; emitting a cloud of bubbles. With a quick kick he dived under the water like a dolphin. Within seconds he located the one and three-quarter inch intakes grate and pulled at the white item jammed half in half out of the pipe. It started to tear, so he decided to resurface, before trying to remove again.
“He broke the surface with a flurry if bubbles, before he removed his mask.
“Is it bad?” Michael asked him.
“It looks like we sucked in a plastic bag. Can you pass me the long nosed pliers out of the tool kit?” he asked.
Michael left him holding onto the boarding platform, went below and rummaged through the toolbox. He located the pliers, went back on deck and out to the boarding platform.
“Here they are, but don’t drop them” he joked.
Geoff replaced his mask and, once again, dived under the hull, but he returned a few seconds later.
“I need something thinner. Do you have any wire aboard?” he asked.
Michael disappeared for a minute and came back with a small roll of tie-wire and some cutters.
“How long do you want it?” Michael asked.
“About a foot long” he replied.
Michael passed him the cut piece of wire, so that he could bend it with a small hook on the end of it. He passed him the pliers, then replaced his mask and dived under the hull again. Fifty seconds later he had hooked all the plastic he could see and collected it in his free hand, so he returned to the surface.
“That’s all of it” he said passing Michael the plastic.
He threw the plastic in the waste bin in the galley and returned to the cockpit.
“When I start the motor, can you check to make sure water is spraying out of the return pipe?” he asked.
“No problem” Michael replied.
Sure enough the return pipe was spraying out the heated water.
“It’s ok” he yelled out.
“Kill the motor” Geoff called back, indicating the cooling system was back to normal.
Later that morning Michael did laundry and Geoff repaired the two winches, which just didn’t seem to want to work anymore. Michael managed to buy five kilos of frozen prawns from a newly arrived prawn trawler, so they thawed some out for dinner. There was one other attraction here worth mentioning. There was a young couple from Cairns, who anchored next to them, and they preferred not to wear any clothes. Michael and Geoff had a great view from where they were anchored.
“Nice view!” Michael mentioned as he sipped another cold beer.
“Yes. It’s too bad we have to leave tomorrow” he added as Geoff opened the top of his bottle.
“You’ve been quiet for most of the trip” Michael said.
“You’re doing something I always wished to do and I feel like going with you all the way” he said.
“I’ve said you can come with me as far as I’m going” he replied.
“That’s what I’m thinking about” he said.
Chapter 22
It was overcast Morning, but the forecast advised it would be a sunny afternoon with SSE, 18-20 winds. Taylor Maid arrived in the Hope Isles at low tide in mid-afternoon and, although Michael was worried about maneuvering around the reefs to get in here, it was worth it. There are two islands here, both uninhabited. West Hope Island is the larger of the two and the closest to the mainland. East Hope is a tiny little sand cay with lush jungle-like greenery in its middle and a little sandy beach encircling it. But at low tide, you can see the reef stretching in nearly every direction. They entered between the two islands and then went a little north of East Hope and then headed south to anchor on her west side where Lucas’s book had marked it a good anchorage. Once they reached their destination Michael launched the dinghy and they both headed to shore. They could see from the anchorage that island was home to hundreds of birds, so Michael was anxious to get to shore and have a good look around. Both of them had never sailed this far north before.
As the two of them walked around West Hope Island they noticed all the birds coming in to roost for the night. Michael had been reading where this island is an important nesting site for pied imperial-pigeons and they did see two different varieties of pigeons flying in to roost. Tomorrow they were sailing on to Cooktown to purchase some more supplies, but for now they were happy just to keep their feet on some solid ground.
* * *
Taylor Maid arrived on the high tide and followed the channel into the Endeavour River, before anchoring near several other yachts. There had been a fair bit of time wasted with the overnight stops and they needed to catch up, but basically, they visited the James Cook Museum, did their grocery shopping and brought those things back to the boat. The two of them enjoyed lunch in town and then walked to the cemetery for an hour-long guided tour, before they walked all the way back to town and ate an early dinner. During the guided tour, Michael and Geoff met two Australian couples that were headed to Darwin for the Sail Indonesia Rally. Another boat that Geoff overheard chatting on the VHF radio mentioned that they were also headed to Darwin for the Rally. However, all of these people mentioned about stopping at Lizard Island for about a week before traveling on.
“I’d like to stop at Lizard Island as well, but not for a week” Geoff mentioned that night when they returned to Tailor Maid.
“The island isn’t that far away, so we could stop there for a day or two” Michael added. “We still need to get some fuel tomorrow morning before we leave on the high tide. It’s important that we leave here tomorrow, about 1pm.”
* * *
The weather was predicted to be sunny day with SE 25-30 knot winds. Taylor Maid made it safely out of the Endeavor River by following another sailboat with a deeper keel than theirs which left around noon. Michael followed right behind them, because he knew they had less water under the keel than they did coming in, but they always maintained forty feet of clearance behind them. In addition to having to worry about the shallow depths, they had 30 knots of wind on the beam to contend with as Taylor Maid exited the channel. From here to Darwin, it is more usual than not to have 25 to 30 knot winds, so the two of them might as well get used to the breeze and look forward to a fast trip north to their next anchorage at Cape Bedford. Taylor Maid seems to do some of her best sailing in these conditions, so once again Michael and Geoff were so happy to be back sailing again.
It was a fast six-hour sail from Cape Bedford to Lizard Island with 25 to 30 knot winds and two-metre seas. Cape Bedford was not a calm anchorage last night, so the two of them were looking forward to spending a day of rest at their next stop. It should have been a downwind run, but the winds were actually coming a little more from the east so Taylor Maid was on a beam reach most of the day. They sailed with a double-reefed headsail and the partly-reefed Genoa, b
ut Taylor Maid was steady in the heavy winds and the yacht made great time. They actually anchored at Lizard Island well before one o’clock. This was a small island with one very exclusive resort and a research station run by the Australian Museum. No one lives here other than those running the resort and the research station. But it is famous as a great anchorage even though it was always windy here. Wind gusts can rage through the anchorage, but the bay at Lizard Island should remain absolutely flat even with the gusts of wind. There were twelve other yachts anchored in Mrs. Watson’s Bay, but this island is a little slice of paradise with its blue lagoon and giant clams.
When the two of them got up for the 7:30 am weather report, they discovered that the anchorage had been basically abandoned. Seven boats had left early that morning to take advantage of the calmer weather and that left just a few yachts at anchor. The weather was forecasted to be partly cloudy with isolated showers and the winds, ESE 20-25 knots. Michael and Geoff walked across the island and went snorkeling, once in the morning in the blue lagoon and again in the afternoon.
* * *
The two of them woke up a number of times last night with strong winds howling through the rigging and heavy rain. Just before 6 am, a 40 plus knot gust had Tailor Maid heeled over and they expressed doubts about leaving that morning. They both agreed that they would wait until the weather report at 7:30 am and make a decision then, but the howling winds and rain continued and the two of them decided to stay here another day if the weather didn’t clear up. The forecast was quite good, so they decided to prepare for sailing in case the sun poked its head out of the clouds.
Slave Of Destiny Page 14
