- Date: April 17, 1987
- Location: Cairns, Australia to Fitzroy Island
- Subject: Sailing Goosewing to Fitzroy Island
Dear Diary:
Today is Good Friday, and we are on our way to Fitzroy Island for Easter weekend, which is a beautiful island about 16 nautical miles from Cairns ( 30 km or 18 miles). I have been to Fitzroy Island many times, but I still love it and am looking forward to having some Easter celebrations with other yachties. Last I heard, Hannah from Sunshine and Whiskey, Melinda from Onaway, and BG from Gangemi will be there, plus tons of Mom and Capt’s friends.
We, and by that I mean, Mom and Capt, got up really early to get ready to leave. I could hear them walking around the foredeck, getting the sails ready to hoist and stowing and lashing things down. When I heard “Mr. Gardner, Sir” startup, I figured I better get up there and do my part. Mom was at the wheel, and Capt was at the aft of the boat, working the aft line over the piling. Then he scurried to the bow and did the same thing to the bow line. And just like that, we were free from the pilings. Mom put the motor into low gear and headed out to the harbor. It was to be a beautiful morning as the sun was just coming up. The rest of the day was sunny with light winds. Capt said, as soon as we get out of the harbor and round Trinity Point, the wind be up our back side also known as down wind, and we were going to be in for a great day of sailing. That makes Capt happy because as he always says, “Any day of sailing is a great day of sailing”. I don’t always agree with that especially when it is yucky weather and the sailing is rough, but today was a great day of sailing.
I took the boom cover off, and released the mainsail bungee tie, which holds the flaked (folded) mainsail in place on the boom. I also made sure all the lines to the headsail and mainsail were coiled and free from tangles and in the cockpit, near the winches and ready for action. I got the winch handles out of the storage locker in the cockpit and put them in the winch pouches. Things happen fast on a boat, so having everything ready to go is a must. When Capt was ready to raise the mainsail, he gave Mom the signal and she steered the boat almost into the wind. Pointing the boat almost into the wind, makes it easier for the mainsail to be raised because there is little or no wind pushing on the sail. Once the main was up, Capt came back into the cockpit to unfurl the headsail. Sometimes, I forget how BIG the mainsail is, big, white, triangular and very pretty. I like just looking up at it and listen to it ruffle in the wind and a little bit of clanging from the halyard, before it is completely tightened.
Next, Capt got the headsail out by releasing the headsail furling line, which is attached to the bottom of the headsail. As he pulls on the headsail sheet, to pull out the sail, the furling line wraps around the drum at the bottom of the headsail stay. Once the headsail is totally out, Mom steers the boat into the direction she wants to go and Capt gave me the signal for me to go downstairs to kill the engine. AHHHH so quiet. Capt is busy setting the sails to perfection. Once Capt gets the sails set the way he wants them, he turns on the autopilot and basically, we are free to move around the boat, while she sails herself. We hear a few birds, and the slapping of the waves on “DingDong”, which we are dragging behind us, but not much else.
With Capt at the helm on lookout, Mom got busy in the galley making breakfast and of course tea. I went about tidying the deck, put the mast cover away into the sail locker and coiled the sheets to make things pretty. We were underway and having breakfast, all before 7am! The sail to Fitzroy should take about 4 hours.
About one hour into the sail after breakfast, we turned east to go around Trinity Point, and Capt got his wish. We had the light winds directly behind us, and were able to set the sails goosewing. The conditions to do this do not happen often, so it is a lucky day for us. To set the sails goosewing we let the headsail out to the port side as far as it would go, and the boom and mainsail all the way out to the starboard side. So the boat has a big sail on one side and another big sail on the other side-like, a big wings of a white bird flying through the air. This setup is perfect, boat is flat and no healing and there is a little shade, so I can write this in the cockpit without any hassles.
8:00pm
Sailing into Fitzroy Island is so magical. The water is crystal clear light blue and we can see to the bottom and see the white sand, and some fish and the occasional coral bommie. The island looks like two green triangles sticking out of the sea because they are covered with lush, tropical green vegetation. Between the blue sea and the green island is a thin line of white coral sand. We have to keep a good look out so we don’t run into any coral reefs, but Capt is very familiar with the island and anchorage, and he has it all marked down on his navigational chart, I don’t worry much. Nobody lives on the island. There is a small resort, some camping sites and a few bush walks, and a lighthouse. Fitzroy Island is a very popular day trip from Cairns, so during the day there are lots of tourists, but they most leave by 6pm. A few tourists spend overnight in the resort or camp ground. And, of course, there are the yachts. By the time we got to the island, there were already a couple of other boats anchored. When Capt sees Tikani and Gangemi and Mollemok, he starts with his Kookaburra call. Mom just looked at me and said, “He just can’t help himself.”
After we dropped anchor and put the sails away and set up the sun awning, Grandpa Pete and BG from Gangemi buzz by us. They were heading ashore and going to hang out at the resort pool. That is code for going to have a few beers by the pool. When we finished putting Sacha-B back together, we jumped into DingDong and headed to shore.
One thing that is really important to remember when you are going ashore to a coral island is to always have something on your feet. The beach is not made of sand but pieces of dead coral which are very sharp and could easily cut your feet. I usually wear my canvas tennis shoes. If you get a cut on your foot by coral, there is a really good chance it will get infected. Mom says that coral infections are very difficult to get under control and could make you very sick. I am not interested in that.
We spent the rest of the afternoon camped by the beautiful pool which is surrounded by palm trees and other plants. There are plenty of umbrellas and shade canopies and of course a bar where we can get snacks, drinks and beers for the adults. It overlooks the beach and the boat anchorage. Handy for Capt so he could keep an eye on Sacha-B while enjoying the company on land. BG and I went for a walkabout into the jungle of the island. We were specifically looking for the HUGE lizards that live on the island called the yellow-spotted monitor. The girls can grow up to 3 feet, and the boys can grow to 4-5 feet. They eat just about anything, and can move very fast in the bush. The lizards on Fitzroy Island are not shy, I think they have learned that people mean an easy meal. It did not take us much time to run into tons of lizards, most were skinks and not the yellow-spotted monitor, some resting on the side of trees so still we almost didn’t see them. Some were running across the path when we got close, and others were just hanging out on the rocks. We also saw some cool birds, a flock of sulfur-crested cockatoos. They are big and totally white except for the crest on their head, which is bright yellow. They are very loud, screeching and squawking all over the place.
We got back to Sacha-B just before the sunset, had a quick sandwich for dinner and we are all ready for bed. A great day sailing, sitting by the pool in the sun and walking around the bush, sure makes a girl tired. Our plan for the rest of the weekend: walk to the lighthouse, snorkel on the reef, look for sea turtles and manta rays, have a BBQ at the campground and do a whole bunch of nothing else. Ta Ta!
