SV SEAKA: CRUISING AUSTRALIA IN 2019.

Well a couple of days after BOM cried "Wolf" over a possible Cyclone it quietly disappeared from their charts. So we don't have to worry about that one!

I was in Airlie Beach for 3 days from last Thursday. During that time I restocked the larder and put 70 litres of water onboard. When I checked the diesel fuel I found that we had only used 10 litres since leaving the MacKay Marina so I only refilled the main tank and did not replace the fuel.

On the Friday, mid-afternoon, I finally made it to a Physio to have my leg check out. I pulled a muscle in my lower left leg on the day before we went over to Woodwark Bay. During my time there I had been resting the leg which turned out to be the best thing for it. I now have a couple of exercises I have to do several times a day to get it back to normal. We have a ways to go yet on getting this leg back to normal.

Today, Sunday 5th July, we sailed across to Mays Bay via Unsafe Passage. We left Airlie Beech at 0730 with full Mainsail and Genoa up and enjoyed a 4 to 5 knot passage in smooth water until the Pioneer Rocks off Mandalay Point. At that point I received a phone call from a mate who was ahead of me saying “That he had 20 knots [of wind] in the Whitsunday Passage”. Taking that onboard, I dropped the Mainsail and so we proceeded on under Genoa only. We sailed across the Molle Channel at over 4 knots, past the Daydream Resort and into Unsafe Passage. Once clear of land and out into the Whitsunday Passage the wind picked up and Seaka took off doing 6.5 to 7 knots in the slight seas for the entire crossing. I really enjoyed that sail today.

We are now in Mays Bay and tomorrow will sail around the top of Whitsunday Island to Tongue Bay, a distance of 12 nm. From there I am planning to go to Windy Bay on Haslewood Island. I am also keeping an eye on the weather looking for a suitable window to go out 20 nautical miles to Bait Reef which is the closest bit of the outer reef to the Whitsundays.