By Friday morning, with no improvement in the forecast, we slipped out of Cairns marina as the sun rose and headed north, sticking closely to the coast to avoid the swell, and entering Dickson Inlet, Port Douglas, a few hours later. We have had many enjoyable times in Port Douglas, from our honeymoon in 2010, a Valcor celebratory long weekend, many previous times in Manookatoo at the marina and a caravan trip to the Tropic Breeze - we love the place! We visited many of our favourite locations, on foot or on the bikes. We shopped at the markets at the foreshore on Sundays and at the marina on Wednesdays, we even had a trip to Mossman markets one wet Saturday. When the fishing trawler came in for the weekend we stocked up on prawns. We attended a burlesque caberet at the local “Clink” theatre and dined out at many of our favourite restaurants.Monday morning was a little calmer so we took the chance of a trip to another favourite, Low Islet. We arrived early and anchored as close as possible to the shore, with the island and its neighbour, Woody Island, making a horseshoe around us and protecting us from the worst of the swell - while the tide was low, anyway! There were five tourist boats there before us, snorkelling and cruising across the reef in glass bottom boats. We went ashore to walk the perimeter of the (small) island, finishing with a quick dip in the water. Later in the afternoon, when the tourist boats departed, we went ashore again, greeting the island’s caretakers as they walked around the shore and enjoying sundowners on the beach. Next morning, after exercises, we went ashore for a refreshing swim before breakfast, then we raised the anchor again to return to Port Douglas. It was time to stock up and make new plans… We had a busy Wednesday morning doing the washing and the shopping, including cycling to the local fish store, at the service station, to buy coral trout. By 9:30 we were ready to go, cruising out of the Dickson Inlet in between all the tourist departures and making a course across to Michaelmas Cay. It was the first day in many that the forecast was for “medium” conditions instead of “rough” but it was still pretty bouncy! There were a few whales in the distance, jumping and frolicking, but they were hard to discern in the choppy waters. We anchored at the sand cay just as the big tourist yacht out of Cairns motored away. Michaelmas is a bird sanctuary, and there is only a very narrow strip of sand where tourists are allowed, and only between 9am and 3pm. The noise from the residents is very loud! We took the dinghy ashore, through the buoys marking the channel between the coral, for a quick stroll and a swim in the warm, clear water. The wind was quite strong, making conversation onshore almost impossible, particularly over the noise of the birds. We returned to the boat and whiled away the afternoon, enjoying sunset drinks on the flybridge, in the lee of the wind, and a delicious coral trout dinner on the back deck. Conditions got a bit rolly during the night and we were happy to raise the anchor and keep cruising the next morning, stopping briefly for breakfast at Vlassoff Cay before continuing on towards Fitzroy Island. We picked up a mooring reasonably close to the shore and after lunch we both caught up on some sleep from last night before going ashore for afternoon “sundowners” at Foxy’s bar. We dodged the misting rain and were lucky to return to the boat before the showers really set in. Telstra is working on local communication supply so there was very little internet or phone reception, even the satellite was affected by the unsettled atmospheric conditions! But we enjoyed a quiet night inside knowing we were in a safe anchorage. There was a lot of rain and a fair amount of wind overnight, leading to changed sleeping arrangements - the first mate secured a berth in the spare bedroom and the captain chose to bunk down on the floor of the main cabin - to avoid the worst of the rock and roll. On Friday morning, after breakfast, we kept an eye on the weather map and waited for the rain to disappear before we took the dinghy ashore for a walk to the lighthouse. The track is paved but very steep and we puffed our way onwards and upwards, but the view from the lighthouse across the reef was well worth it. Returning even more slowly to avoid slipping on the downhill sections, we then walked up to the “Secret garden” hidden deep in the dense rainforest - a hidden gem. We rewarded ourselves with a cuppa at Foxy’s, watching whales frolic offshore and waiting for the latest downpour to pass. Returning to the boat in windy and swelly conditions was a challenge! We enjoyed Mocka seafood pies for lunch as our friends Yvonne and Andrew cruised around the corner in “Tranquility base”. They grabbed the closest mooring to us, which was fortunate, because it was only a short trip for us to visit them for afternoon drinks in their lovely wheelhouse, gazing across at Liberty and to the shoreline beyond. We returned to our boat just after sunset and enjoyed a “quiet night in”, choosing this time to set up our alternate beds and hoping for a more peaceful sleep. The windy and rolly conditions persisted and, after another night of less than ideal sleep, we threw off the mooring and headed across to Trinity Bay and followed the coastline around to Yorkeys Knob Marina. We had been planning to stay here later in the week but we extended our booking; the marina is quite full so we were lucky to get a berth at short notice! While the weather is not ideal for boating, it is still very pleasant for touring, so we spent the next few days exploring the local area, with the captain’s brother taking us on a local car trip around the northern beaches and a bus excursion into the city to spend a few interesting hours in the Cairns museum. There is plenty to see and do in the local area, so it is no hardship exploring around here while we wait for a good weather “window” to continue cruising.
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