My legs ache so much in the night that I eventually get up and take a tablet to calm them down a bit but I think they are tired as much as anything, rather than actually damaged by yesterday’s unaccustomed exercise. When I wave them around from the safety of my bed in the morning though, I find they are completely better. I suppose all the constant bracing and tensing on the boat is keeping them in good shape. I wish it would do the same for my stomach muscles which seem to have deserted me completely!
It’s not as sunny as yesterday, much more hazy, so I’m glad we did the walk to Cook’s Lookout when we did, even though it was undoubtedly hotter. The views would have been a disappointment today.
We make a loaf for Heidi and Casey to take back to Wild Tigris with them but unfortunately, Mike puts the ingredients in the wrong way round (ie flour in first then the water which is like our machine at home but the opposite to this one) and the finished result is a brick which is half compacted flour and half soggy bread. Quite disgusting. However, we discover that the fish like it – when Heidi throws it overboard, huge angel fish and black tipped sharks come and fight over it. They are not quite as keen on the just-on-the-turn strawberries though.
Sean, the captain on Wild Tigris, comes over and tells us stories of the resort charging $2900 for one night’s stay including dinner for four. Apparently the resort is very anti yacht people even when they can pay that sort of ridiculous money. I’m glad I can’t afford it! Apparently it’s in the top 10 hotels of the world.
Heidi and I discover that the lizards we saw yesterday were komodo dragons. Apparently the ones we saw were small ones (about 3 foot long) and they can be MUCH larger and have your hand off as soon as look at you! How glad are we that they scuttled off into the bushes when they spotted us.
By midday, Wild Tigris has shed her guests and Heidi and Casey leave to continue their journey on their boat. Sean decides to leave Lizard Island today instead of tomorrow so we will have company for a little while before they overtake us.
As we pull the anchor up using our newly fixed windlass, I am relieved to feel the difference. The chain comes up nice and smoothly even when it has to pull against strong headwinds. We motor our of the bay, and once clear of the island we put the genoa out. It’s a bit wild for the first couple of hours, rocky and rolly. Mike informs me that it will be like this for the next few hours until we turn a corner. Oh goody.
He goes for a short afternoon nap and in his absence, I adjust the sails for myself for the first time EVER as they are flapping just a tiny bit and unbelievably the speed increases – I am a sailor after all – not!
The sea is a most beautiful turquoise probably because the water is so shallow here between the Australian mainland and the Great Barrier Reef.
The wind changes direction slightly and we are able to goose wing the genoas getting a steady 8 knots with 11 at times as we skate over the waves. There is a bright, full moon but it is obscured by a thin layer of cloud. However, it makes the whole sea shimmer in a silver light which looks beautiful. There are so many shadows on the surface and so much white froth from the waves, that I keep imagining I can see humpback whales surfacing, showing their white bellies as they roll. The strange mournful howling of the wind through the rigging does nothing to dispel the feeling that the creatures are all around us, and watching. On top of that, there is a bird fluttering around which makes ghostly shadows on the boat from the light of the moon.
Our position is: 13 deg 53min S, 144 deg 15 min E
Distance so far: 11142 nautical miles
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