Rain, Rain Go Away.............

Wednesday, 11 July 2012 - Townsville to Magnetic Island
With 25 knots forecast again (it has been raining and blowing for the last 2 days), we leave the marina and decide to head back to Horseshoe Bay which we know is good in a blow. We spend 2 days here with only half a dozen other cruisers - we are not sure if there are less people cruising or it is too early in the season for them to be this far north.

I spent Thursday afternoon playing with a new App (Splice) for creating videos. It seems easy to use although does crash occassionally - it is free though! Here is a short video I put together of a spinnaker run I had filmed last year. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bcr7ick2J_0&feature=plcp   (and yes Josh I know now I should have filmed it in landscape not portrait!)

Friday, 13 July 2012 - Magnetic to Havannah Island
The wind has eased off completely and we motor the 27 nm to Havannah Island. The anchorage to the north of a small sand spit is calm and we see whales for the first time since Double Island Point. Warren caught a Spangled Emperor for dinner which was great as the trolling has been a disappointment so far. We are alone after the few tinnies fishing off the nearby Fly Island leave.

Fly Island in the background

Saturday we wake to a thick fog which hangs around all day and evening. Much of the day we could not see Fly Island at all.

Warren saw something in the water that we thought was a whale, then a dolphin, then a shark before we eventually work out it is a large manta ray about 2m across. We could only see the tips of its wings breaking the surface. It later came back and circled the boat so I could get a picture.

Manta Ray had us confused 

Sunday, 15 July 2012 - Havannah Island to Hinchinbrook Passage
A strong southerly blew the fog away about 4am and brought a nasty chop into our anchorage. We head for Little Pioneer Bay on Orpheus Island. When we get there we see a catamaran on a mooring, bucking in the swell coming into the anchorage so we continue on to Haycock Island in the Hinchinbrook Channel. It is very protected and we spend a lovely quiet night here. The weather is still overcast today so we will wait for things to settle. We hope to catch up with friends Marie and Rob from Ingham and see the new house they are building at Forrest Beach.

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