April, 2008



May , 2008

DUGONG RESCUE

April 25 – 29, 2008

We spent six days in Bundaberg and three of those days were taken up with a big sewing project. It had been three years since we designed and sewed the clear side panels, which help keep the cockpit warm and dry. The plastic was by now somewhat discoloured and tearing at the zippers in a couple of places. We were ready now to make some small modifications in the design and we used a slightly heavier grade of plastic for the replacement panels. We were very pleased with the finished product as we managed to get an even better fit this time and the panels look professionally made.

The remainder of the time in Bundaberg was spent provisioning for six weeks away from towns and cities. Our next populated stop on the coast would be Mackay and we were planning on being there at the end of the first week of June. That is where we would be picking up Paul’s brother Alan and his friend, Theresa, from Canada as they arrive for a two-week stay aboard.

We also caught up again with Dave and Fran from Melric II. We especially wanted to see this couple one more time as they were heading across to Vanuatu within the week and then on to Asia. It could conceivably be the last time that we see Dave and Fran, although we hope not.

April 30 – May7, 2008

We left Bundaberg bright and early on Wednesday, April 30, to make the 55-mile passage to Lady Musgrave Island and reef. We had spent a few days there two and a half years ago and this is where we saw the turtles laying their eggs in the sand. We have fond memories of that time. We would see no turtle action on the island this visit, as it was the wrong time of year.

The main reason for our visit this time, apart from the spectacular view of the coral reef, was so that Paul could play with his new spear gun.

Here is Paul’s firsthand account of spear fishing at Lady Musgrave:

“We specifically came to Lady Musgrave Island so that I could try some spear fishing with my new spear gun, the one that I got myself at Christmas and have not yet had a chance to use. Lady Musgrave Island itself is located at the western end of a huge coral-ringed lagoon, 2 miles long and a mile wide on the inside. Although the entrance into the lagoon is very narrow, depth is no issue, even at low tide. When we first arrived the wind was blowing 20-25 knots, which made it a bit uncomfortable at high tide when the water flows over the coral reef. During the next day, the winds gradually died making it quite comfortable in the reef for a couple of days.

The coral heads inside the lagoon and the encircling reef offer a huge habitat for all sorts of marine life. You may recall that it was here, in October 2005, that we went ashore and watched giant turtles laying their eggs. Although the entire island and some of the fringing reef are reserved as a marine sanctuary, meaning, NO FISHING allowed, there is still plenty of reef-strewn water in which one can legally fish both inside and outside of the lagoon.

Since I prefer to snorkel and fish in company of others - offering a somewhat false sense of security - I visited other boats until I found four other yachties planning on fishing inside the lagoon who welcomed me to join them. Soon after entering the water I speared a meal sized sweet lip, a good first catch for the new spear. Buoyed by my quick success I soon speared a second, even larger sweet lip, that managed to wriggle itself off of my three-pronged spear tip. I could see where the wounded fish was hiding under a ledge of coral. As I was quickly trying to re-arm the spear gun, I became aware of a white tip reef shark circling the bommie, the fish and ME. At that point I knew that the wounded fish was no longer mine to have and I quietly started to back away from the area, always facing the shark as he circled the wounded fish and me. I must admit that I became a little concerned when I tried to break out of the inside of his circle and he simply increased the size of his circle. At that point I poked my head out of the water and shouted to those who could hear, "shark". When next I looked, the shark disappeared in the direction of the wounded fish.

Phew! I immediately climbed into the dinghy as did the others and we called it quits for the day. It was my pleasure to give the fish I speared to a couple who were not so lucky and had no fish waiting for them in their freezer as we do.

On day two, my fishing buddies had left the lagoon so Mary came along and sat in the dinghy and did Sudoku puzzles while I fished on the outside of the reef, west of the lagoon entrance, where the water is deeper and the fish species more varied. Once again I was almost immediately successful bringing up a good sized coral trout - dinner for two - in less than ten minutes. After two more fish I decided to call it quits for the day when once again a shark, this time a black tip reef shark, started cruising through the area.

On day three I found a new fishing buddy in Ivan, a New Zealander aboard a neighboring catamaran. Ivan, who is my age, has been spear fishing since he was very young and uses a spear gun that is twice the length of my metre long weapon. Upon seeing the immense size of this spear gun I assumed that he would be immensely more successful than I, which in the end, was not the case. Although I only managed a few small cod this day, he came up empty handed. During this dive, we were regularly in the company of reef sharks cruising through the area. For me, this was definitely unnerving.

The highlight and then the big let down of the day was when I speared a coveted Barramundi Cod, one of the best rated tasting fish on the reef, a restaurant delicacy. This fish, like the one from yesterday, managed to wriggle off of my three-pronged spear tip. Sure enough, this drew the attention of yet another shark. We first saw it lounging over a coral shelf some 20 feet below us. Its all grey colour and larger size suggested it was definitely not one of the less dangerous reef sharks. Once again, it was time for me to get out of the water. Ivan soon followed, though seemingly unbothered about our company. (Post Script: I have since learned that the Barramundi Cod is a protected species in Queensland and I should NOT have been targeting that fish. Unfortunately my Australian “Field Guide for Anglers and Divers” only spoke of the Barramundi Cod’s great taste, not of its protected status. I will NOT be targeting this fish in the future.)

On day four Ivan once again joined me, this time fishing the shallow bommies on the inside edge of the reef. This was our most successful day particularly because I changed from the three pronged spear tip to a single point with a much more substantial barb to stop fish from wriggling off of the spear. After an hour and a half of fishing we each took home two large Sweetlip and a tasty Gold Lined Spinefoot. For me, this was definitely a more relaxing fishing experience, the water was warmer and there were no sharks. Well... none that we saw.” End of Paul’s personal account.

TThis pair of coral trout will provide dinner for four. Paul opted for a relatively short spear gun, which means he just has to be a little cannier about getting close to his prey.

Our time at the cabin included a walk in a rainforest, with a picturesque waterfall at the end of the walk.

Our second walk occurred before breakfast on Tuesday when we again enjoyed a waterfall setting.

May 8 -14, 2008

We had to “tear ourselves away” from Lady Musgrave Island and reef in order to continue our way north and make Mackay by our deadline. We really were fortunate with the weather at Lady Musgrave. To have a week of calm conditions in this lagoon surrounded by reef is unusual we have been told.

We left on May 8 and sailed to Northwest Island, a small island surrounded by coral reef. We could tell that we were now in the beginning of the famous Great Barrier Reef, as we passed several small reef-surrounded islands. We settled at anchor at 1700h. Although the wind was blowing 15-20 knots out of the southeast, the reef protected us and the anchorage was quite calm. Not so in the morning though. We were planning on staying one more day at Northwest Island but by 0900h a big swell had invaded the anchorage and it was becoming uncomfortable.

Mary had just started to bake some bread and had oatmeal raisin cookie batter mixed when we decided to haul anchor and continue to the next anchorage. All baking was put on hold. We had a lumpy ride in confused seas and the wind on the aft port quarter, to Great Keppel Island. We rounded the northeast corner of the island at about 1500h and 30 minutes later were settled at anchor in Leek’s Beach on the northwest side of the island. We spent three nights at Great Keppel and enjoyed long beach walks and beautiful weather.

On Monday, May 12, we left Great Keppel Island and continued north. The forecast called for winds out of the southeast, which should have been perfect for a long day of travel. Unfortunately, the forecast did not happen. For most of the day the winds were out of the northeast/east with swell from the east and squally rain conditions. We didn’t mind the conditions while we were traveling but the northerly winds put a damper on our plans to anchor in Pearl Bay that day. Instead we stopped at Port Clinton, an all-weather haven just three miles south of Pearl Bay. We had stopped at Port Clinton two years ago but had not gone far enough into the long anchorage and spent a rolly night near the entrance. This time we went in further and found a nice spot that offered quite a bit of protection. We stayed at Port Clinton until the winds died a bit

While at Port Clinton, Paul had the opportunity to swim with dugongs (this is a picture from the internet). It’s unusual to see more than one at a time and there were actually a few dozen swimming in shallow water one afternoon.

We asked our friend Rod to send some information about dugongs and here is what he had to say – “There are four living species of this animal (Sirenia - notice that the root word for the scientific name for Dugong is 'siren' - they were named for the mermaids/sirens of Greek mythology as it is believed that the whole idea of a mermaid came from lovelorn sailors seeing Dugongs lounging at the surface of the ocean while on long voyages). The dugong has the largest range of these species of large sea mammals. They eat sea grasses and are therefore found only along seacoasts, in bays or mangrove channels. The majority of Dugongs in the world are found in the northern waters of Australia, although they can be found throughout SE Asia and along the east Africa coast. They have been hunted for thousands of years for their meat and oil and many populations, particularly in SE Asia, are close to extinction. Dugongs are about 2.7 metres long and weigh up to 300 kg. Female dugongs are larger than the males. Dugongs live up to fifty years, but that is not likely as they are preyed upon by sharks, killer whales and salties - and, of course, humans. There are only five Dugongs in captivity.”

Keep reading for a story about our “dugong rescue”.

We enjoyed our stay at Port Clinton, especially as the fishing was good. Paul befriended a group of men on a mid-sized cabin cruiser who were out for a week of fishing. They were having great success and they shared their favourite spots with Paul. Not only did Paul catch a few mackerel, but we were also given a small mackerel and two mud crabs in exchange for Paul diving on their prop to unwrap a line that they had snagged.

May 15 - 23, 2008

We were anxious to get to Pearl Bay, a place that is listed in our cruising guide as the “prettiest anchorage on the east coast”. We had tried to stay there in the past but it was either too windy, or the wind was out of the north, or the area was closed due to army maneuvers.
This time everything was working in our favour so we moved to Pearl Bay after breakfast and joined two other boats at anchor. What a beautiful spot. For the first time in over three years, an anchorage really reminded us of the north shore of Georgian Bay in Canada. We were able to anchor much closer to shore and we were nestled in amongst several islands.

Both Port Clinton and Pearl Bay (and several other popular anchorages) are part of the Shoalwater Bay area and this is part of the Commonwealth Defence Department’s army training area. A few times every year the entire area is closed to yachties – absolutely no anchoring. We were lucky this time as the area was open.

What a shame! On the left, one of the most beautiful spots on the east coast of Australia is marred by bombed out craters (at least that’s what we have been told by several yachties) from army maneuvers.

The picture on the right is of a sign at the high water level on the beach. Yachties can walk along the beach when the area is open but not above the tide line.

It was when we were at Pearl Bay that we received some sad news about a couple that we had recently met in Bundaberg. This couple, Colin and Glyn from South Africa, had just departed Bundaberg for New Caledonia when Colin was hit by the boom and died quickly from his injuries. Glyn called for help via her HF radio and was airlifted from the boat and brought to Bundaberg, leaving her dead husband on the boat at sea. Volunteer rescue people then went out to the boat and brought it to Gladstone. This brought to mind for us just how fragile life really is and the need to make each day count. We could only imagine what Glyn was going through as she dealt with having the life that she had known for the past several years change so dramatically within the span of a few minutes.

We spent 8 days at Pearl Bay and had a wonderful time. We walked on the beach most days and found some new friends to play Boules (aka… boccie) on the beach. We had a lot of laughs because most of the beach had a gradual slope and we felt more like we were curling as we had to adjust for the slope when we threw our balls.

One of the more exciting events that occurred at Pearl Bay was a joint effort by several yachties to save a dugong that had been caught in a large fishing net.

Here is another personal account from Paul about the dugong rescue:

“Pearl Bay, about as remote as you can get on the Queensland coast of Australia, is an anchorage sheltered by uninhabited, picturesque rocky islands to the east and adorned with pristine sandy beaches to the south and west. The morning was brilliantly sunny - the air temperature deliciously comfortable due to a light sea breeze. A perfect time to clean and polish the stainless steel rails aboard Bella Via, a bi-annual task. Yech!!!

What else is there to do in paradise!

While Mary and I were in the middle of our “wax on, wax off” routine, (I’m wax on, she’s wax off) I noticed some strange behavior being exhibited by our boat neighbours, Ken and Jean from “Renaissance 2000”.

Ken was paddling their dinghy in the vicinity of their ‘yacht’ (Australian for ‘any sailing vessel’) while Jean was perched at the bow, reaching forward with a boat hook, trying to snag something white that kept disappearing below the surface of the water. At first glance I assumed they were attempting to retrieve something dropped overboard, a common enough occurrence, so I paid little attention and went back to ‘wax on’ just barely keeping ahead of ‘wax off Mary’.

However, it became increasingly more difficult to focus on my task, particularly when I saw Jean lose their boat hook to the white object that she was attempting to retrieve.

What in the world were they trying to do!

Being the ‘sticky beak’ (Australian for ‘nosey’) that I am, I hopped into our dinghy and raced over to investigate what was going on, leaving Mary to do all of the work herself.

I did invite Mary to join me in the investigation but she declined and continued with the polishing. She is far less distractible than I am, especially when I’m in the middle of polishing stainless steel. Yech!

By the time I arrived at the scene, Chris and Judy from the yacht “Braveheart”, had just managed to snag the mysterious white object with their boat hook from their dinghy. However, it was immediately apparent that Chris could not hold onto whatever was at the other end and if he didn’t let go, which he did, he would have been dragged head first into the water. During Chris’ effort to hold the white object at the surface, we could now see that the object was a white fishing float, approximately 10” in diameter, attached to a mass of rope, fish net and a dozen smaller floats all entangled around the tail fin of an adult dugong - from this moment on, affectionately referred to as “she”.

Each time ‘she’ came up for air, as dugongs do, the large float along with the mass of rope, fish net and now a boat hook, would float to the surface and trail behind her. It was a sad sight, for although this appendage was only snagged on her tail, it was a significant hindrance to her and in no way would she ever be able to shake this stuff off. We had to try to get her free of this mess.

At first, I thought of using my spear gun, which happened to be in the dinghy at the time, to spear and snag the fish net mass. However, I didn’t want to risk hitting the dugong nor did I want to risk losing the gun as two others had already lost their boat hooks. A better solution was required so I raced back to “Bella Via” where I produced a makeshift harpoon from a boat hook and length of rope with the bitter end firmly tied to the dinghy. With this, a sharp fillet knife and Mary, we quickly returned to the scene where our dugong was being tracked by an additional dinghy from the motor vessel “Oscar Blue” with Steve, Chum and Dee aboard. There were now a total of 9 people in four boats tracking our dugong.

Here we are tracking the unfortunate dugong. The intervals between her surfacing were getting shorter and we attributed that to fatigue. The Canadian boat in this picture (on the left) is “Renaissance 2000”, with Ken and Jean of Toronto, whom we first met in Vanuatu in 2006. Chance meetings like this one are very common.

Picture me, well known as “The Dinghy Cowboy”, at the helm of our inflatable affectionately called “Bella Baby”, racing from sighting to sighting - Mary perched on the bow waiting to strike with her trusty harpoon like that whaler (what’s his name, from Moby Dick). Each time the dugong surfaced at a completely different and random location than last, we would race up to it at full speed and slam the throttle into neutral to avoid injuring our dugong. Mary would then reach forward with our hook hoping to snag the mass trailing behind the dugong, which of course would be diving to get away from these crazy humans who were harassing her in these dinghies. Each time the large white float would be the last thing to disappear below the surface, just out of Mary’s reach. After half a dozen attempts she got it, and we were in business. I grabbed the line, ready to pay it out, as the dugong dove down and away from the boat. Fortunately Mary had enough sense to let go of the boat hook before the dugong brought Mary down with her. Unfortunately, with a shake of her tail, she (the dugong, not Mary) managed to disengage herself from our hook.

During our close encounter we noticed that one of the two earlier lost boat hooks was still very much attached to the mass of net being trailed by the dugong. All that we had accomplished so far was to unintentionally add to her baggage. However, it was this boat hook that a man from the fourth dinghy managed to grab during one its rapid fire approaches.

In this dinghy there were two men, Steve and Chum and a woman, Dee. This time, the two men were able to grab hold of the mass of netting and rope and just barely hold the dugong on the surface. They didn’t have a knife on board so I raced up beside them and handed them my fillet knife in order that they might be able to cut the net away. With Chum working on cutting the net, this left only Steve to hold the mass of netting to keep the dugong alongside. Dee offered moral support at this time as well as acted as a counter balance to keep the dinghy from capsizing - a very real threat. My original offer to join them in their dinghy was declined but then quickly accepted, for Steve was not able to hold the dugong much longer on his own.

Here are Dee, Chum, and Steve at the beginning of the daunting task of cutting away the mass of net from the poor dugong.

I brought our dinghy carefully alongside and jumped ship, leaving Mary in our dinghy, and quickly lent a hand holding the dugong in place while Chum kept trying to cut away the net. I couldn’t believe how much strength it took for Steve and I to hold her. In fact, within minutes I announced that I wouldn’t be able to keep this up much longer and we would have to find another strategy. That was when Dee, the woman and brains aboard, used the bow line of the dinghy to tie around the mass of net and hence to a rail on the dinghy. This helped dramatically, allowing Steve and I to simply steady the dugongs tail on the gunnel of the boat.

Although this helped us keep the dugong alongside, it didn’t make it any easier for the cutter, because the dugong was thrashing and twisting and turning. There would be a brief lull in her efforts to free herself each time she lifted her head out of the water to take a breath of air. Then she’d dip her head back into the water and start thrashing, twisting and turning. Water was flying everywhere. We were now being dragged out into more open water with two-foot waves dangerously rocking the boat and water coming over the sides. The immense power the dugongs thrashing tail was both frightening and distressing for we could see that her twisting was causing the mass of net to tighten even more around her tail, a sad sight indeed. Although we were trying to help her, she had no way of knowing this.

Here is an example of the power of the trapped dugong as she thrashed about.

During all of this activity, Judy, from “Braveheart”, documented the event with her new Olympus waterproof camera, taking both still shots and video clips. This is the same camera that Mary and I have recently acquired.

This went on for half an hour, during which we were gradually being taken by the dugong and the tide further and further out to sea before the cutter finally managed to cut the final strand that allowed her freedom from us and the bulk of the fish net and floats. Unfortunately there was still a little bit of netting wrapped on her tail, but we choose to believe that since she is a grazer, not a hunter, she will survive with this bit of extra appendage. Though weary, the rescuers celebrated that evening over beer and wine, retelling the story and other tales.” End of Paul’s personal account.

Most of the net has now been cut away and the dugong is almost free.

This is the mass of netting and floats that were around the dugong’s tail. Paul cut up the net (for a later trash bin at Mackay) and distributed a commemorative float or two to the people involved in the rescue.

May 24 – June 1, 2008

We decided that it was time to move on from Pearl Bay as the wind was building and there was now a slight swell developing in the bay. So, on Saturday, May 24, we hauled up anchor and traveled only a few miles into Island Head Creek, where we planned on staying for about a week.

The first night was spent out near the entrance to the creek in the company of Steve and Dee on Oscar Blue. They were going on to Mackay the next day and left early in the morning.

On a rising tide, we moved on into the more sheltered area of Island Creek. There are three narrow arms that branch off of the main area and we chose to go into the first one as we know from two years ago that there is good fishing in this arm. There were two other boats at anchor in this narrow arm.

On the first full day at Island Head, Paul continued to have success with fishing. He caught a good-sized Mangrove Jack, a most sought-after good-tasting fish and one that he has never caught before. At first when he brought it back to the boat and we checked our fish books, we weren’t sure if it was a mangrove jack or a Red Bass (known to have ciguatera and to be avoided). The man from the trawler nearby had insisted that it was a mangrove jack but the similarities between the two fish made determination difficult. After much discussion with the trawler man and amongst ourselves we decided that it was indeed a mangrove jack. Just to be safe though, Paul ate only a very small morsel that night and as he suffered no ill effects, we finished off the fish at another meal. Boy, was it delicious. We will definitely try and catch more of those.

We must say that our time at Island Head Creek will be remembered as the “best fishing success” that Paul has had in our time in the South Pacific. He was out fishing almost every day and only once came back empty-handed. Our freezer started to fill with fish, which was a good thing as we were running out of meat. There were very few boats around and he only gave fish away once.

Another of our favourite fish to eat is the Red Emperor. Paul managed to catch quite a few of those as he still-fished from the dinghy. We had been shown where to catch this fish by Heather, from “The Catch”, two years ago. One day, towards the end of our stay, Paul came back to the boat with a catch of 9 fish – five red emperors, a mackerel (which actually bit him on the hand), a stripey, and two cod.

The weather for most of our stay at Island Head Creek was dismal – strong winds, gray skies, and with some rain and colder temperatures. The seas were building and we were glad that we had time to wait out the bad weather before we had to be in Mackay. We moved even further into the narrow arm of the creek into very shallow water but out of the strong southeast wind. We were very comfortable and could see the choppy water out in the main part of the creek.

Monday, June 2, 2008

It was time to continue our journey to Mackay and we were fortunate that the weather had cleared the day before. The air was warm again and the skies much clearer. 10-15 knots of wind from the southwest/southeast were predicted for the next few days. We left Island Head Creek after breakfast and traveled 40 miles to Hunter Island, part of The Dukes chain of The Great Barrier Reef.

We were quite delighted with the picturesque setting at Hunter Island. The island, and the neighbouring one called Marble, are mostly private property and taken up with a cattle and deer station. There are many rolling hills, which are grass covered, and the view is very nice. We went for a beach walk and actually saw a deer moving over one of the hills. We would have liked to get closer but that is when we came upon the private property sign. That was disappointing but we understood the need to keep the public out.

June 4, 2008

We left Hunter Island at almost high tide and traveled 37 miles to Curlew Island. We had been at this island two years ago for one night and, again, found it to be a comfortable anchorage. There was a bit of swell shortly after we arrived but that settled down.

June 5, 2008

We had another travel day and this one took us to Mackay, a distance of 40 miles. Alas, there was very little wind and we had to motor all the way. The day was beautiful and the water was sparkling. We made it into the harbour at 1515h, fueled up at the fuel dock and were settled into our marina berth by 1700h. We had a wonderful dinner at a seafood place to celebrate our 37th wedding anniversary, which occurred on May 15th when we were nowhere near civilization.

The next few days were taken up with shopping, provisioning the boat, cleaning, and laundry, all in preparation for a two-week visit from Paul’s brother, Alan, from Canada.