Not to get too philosophical but...everything has its pluses and minuses and one of the pluses of the delay in getting our visas is that we got an early start in meeting our fellow rally mates...since we were hanging around the Cairns area for days and days and days.....and a wonderful group they are!

Originally, Captain Ken set up a course which would have us sailing some days, and then taking off some time from sailing to explore the various islands along the way. Because of the delay in our departure, we don't have that luxury. Basically, we sail 8-10 hour days, find a safe anchorage, drop the hook, eat dinner, watch a movie and go to sleep, only to wake up the next morning and repeat the process. It actually hasn't been too bad. The winds have been at our stern, giving us a push, the weather has been delightful, the seas have been relatively calm and we have even had some wonderful sailing.

Once we got our visas and passports, all of the boats in the rally left ASAP to head north to Thursday Island. Since the boats sail at approximately the same speed and there aren't many different routes, we do sail in tandem with some of our new buddies, and get together in the late afternoon for 'sundowners'.

Lest you think we do nothing all day while cruising but play Candy Crush, Spider, Sudoku, Dabble, and read books, we do have other things to do on watch....like WATCH. Yes, every once in awhile, a big ship comes into our view, and we do keep an eye on it to ensure that we don't cross paths too literally.

Today's pic of the day is of our AIS (Automatic Information System). These days, most boats which venture out on the seas have this device. It allows us to pick up on any traffic around, and then provides the boat's name, exact location, speed, course, etc. In addition, based on that information, it lets you know if you are on a collision course, in which case, you would make a decision to revise your heading by a few degrees until that situation is resolved. How do we know which vessel should make the change? There are rules of 'right of way' and commercial shipping vessels do get right of way...not to mention that old saying 'might makes right'.

On this screen, there are several boats, all of which we are travelling in tandem with. So, we are watching them, watching us, watching them....etc.

You may have noticed that we have not commented on your blog comments, assuming you have commented. That's because we can't read them without wi-fi, and we haven't had wi-fi since we left Yorkey's Knob, and won't have it until we arrive in Thursday Island on Wednesday. We do send these blog updates via our Satellite communications system. There was talk that we would have wi-fi at last night's anchorage (Portland Roads) but, alas, it was like going to the McCafes on the mainland. The McCafes advertised free wi-fi, we went in and ordered breakfast just so we could take advantage of it, only to find out it was not working. The same was true for Rockland Roads.