Two lovely daughters and a lovely German friend on her gap year

The weather forecast for the next week did not look too promising.  We set off in a northerly from Airlie early afternoon after meeting daughters, Suzie and Rosie, and Lea from Germany, who all arrived from Newcastle in the morning. We anchored in Cid Harbour and had a horrible night as a large swell developed. It was not a good start for the girls and none of us slept well. It was also unusual to be so uncomfortable in Cid. Next day was grey and cloudy and we sailed south to Lindeman. Rosie had been in contact with the caretaker there as the report used to be owned by Club Med and, at that time they had a flying trapeze rig which is now in pieces sitting idle. We anchored off the old resort and the girls rowed ashore to go and look at the rig. Rosie took a lot of photos and will circulate them among her circus friends to see if it can be of use to any of them. We were undecided where to spend the night as the wind was forecast to go from a light northerly to a stronger southerly during the night. We decided to go across to Shaw Island and to be prepared for the southerly even if it were a bit windy for the first half of the night. It was a good decision as we were very comfortable and did not have to make a very early start next morning to get ourselves off a lee shore. In the morning there was a brisk southerly blowing and we had a fast and somewhat bumpy sail up to the Solway passage. As soon as we entered the passage the sea calmed down. It was very overcast so Lea's first sighting of Whitehaven beach was not very spectacular. However once we had anchored off the beach, the sun came out and the water turned its usual turquoise. We swam, rowed to the beach, walked along the beach and had lunch during a leisurely afternoon and then sailed the short distance up to Tongue Bay. We were a little worried about swell arising during the night but all was well. We have learned not to pick up a buoy there, even if one is a free. We anchor as far down as possible, well away from the other yachts. That evening we had our best ever dugong experience. Just before sunset we saw several dugongs not very far from the boat; but then a mother and calf swam right up to the boat. They were very close to each other with the calf being very well protected by its mother. It was wonderful to watch. In the morning we put the outboard onto the dingy and went to the other side of the bay to do the Hill Inlet lookout walk. The sun was out and it was as magnificent as ever. Regular blog readers will know that we have done this walk many, many times but it never ceases to amaze and delight me. Every time we go we see something different; the tide is at a different height, the sun is in a different position, the clouds are different etc. And so, after another stunning morning climbing to the lookout and walking in the dazzling white sand, we upped anchor and made for Frittata bay for the night. The forecast was for quite strong southeasterlies the next day but we decided to head for Cateran Bay any way and to come back if the wind were too strong. We had a fast sail across, picked up our usual buoy and had the bay to ourselves until mid-afternoon. We were quite well sheltered but there were a few strong bullets (wind gusts known as catabatic winds) but it did not detract from the snorkelling. From there we returned to Nara Inlet for the night. There were quite a few boats there who had obviously decided not to venture out that day. Next day we decided to have a lazy day and took the dingy up to the top of the inlet and walked up to a cave with aboriginal paintings. It's an interesting site where you can listen to recordings of Aboriginal people talking about their land, their attachment to it and of their parents and grandparents' memories of their lives and traditions. In the afternoon we motored round to Macona Inlet just next door for a change in scene. Here we had a motor round in the dingy and admired the wonderful rock formations along the side of the inlet. Next day we sailed out of Macona and round the top of Hook Island. We picked up a buoy in Butterfly Bay having arrived just as someone else was leaving. There were only a fraction the number of boats there than there had been a couple of weeks ago. The snorkelling was great and we cooked scones in the solar oven before sailing off and heading for Airlie Beach. We arrived just as the sun was setting and in time to have a quick shower before heading off the Mr Bones for a farewell dinner for Rosie. We were all very sad to say goodbye to her next morning. 

Rosie at Hill Inlet.

Aboriginal cave paintings at Nara Inlet.

Rock formations at Nara Inlet