Great Keppel Island is a beautiful spot and definitely worth a longer stay. The water is so clear here that you can see everything on the bottom; shells, starfish, the anchor chain, and even the imprint of where the chain had been as the boat moved slightly during the night!!. But nasty south-easterly change is expected in 3 days time and although we have plenty of time to sail to Pancake Creek and hunker down there for a few days while it blows over, we’ve no guarantee we’ll have northerlies again to blow us home, so we decided to head straight for Bundaberg.

It’s a 30 hour trip if we can average 4 knots but there was absolutely no wind when we left GKI so we motored for a few hours before putting up the sails in a beautiful 8 knot breeze. We had to turn the engine back on later that night as our speed dropped to 2 knots which is a pity because it is glorious sailing at night in easy conditions. I had no problems with my watch (we do 3 hour shifts) but Jim watched a couple of blips on the radar getting progressively closer until he could see their lights and recognised them as container ships. They both passed within a half nautical mile of us but it is a scary experience as they draw close because you’re completely at their mercy...’Do they know we’re here’

The rest of the sail was uneventful and we arrived home happy though a little weary, still together, and already planning boat improvements of the summer and next year’s trip.