Sailing around the World, ( Cairns , AUSTRALIA )

A Lady
Stephen Hyde
Sun 15 Aug 2010 01:40
FRIDAY   13th   AUGUST   2010 
 
01.30hrs,  we rolled out the headsail again,  at least we were getting  a little breeze,
shortly after, the wind was abeam on our port side, and blowing 16 knots, Beautifull sailing on a beautifull night, on flat water,
 
05.15  we were outside Cairns, actually at cape Grafton , about 6 miles SE of Cairns ..
The entrance channel into Cairns was about 5 miles long,  very well marked with flashing lights on both sides and
 looked more like a runway for aircraft. The channel was only about 1/4 mile wide the whole way into the marina..
 
06.45 We arrived at " Marlin Marina " and tied up at the marina on the southern side next to " Wild Tigres "
Later , " Joe " from the marina dept gave us directions to our berth , E 20,  there were still a few W ARC boats here.
We moved to our permenant berth, and after a few minutes of securing the boat, we scrambled up the marina and into the town
for a hearty, collesterol filled breackfast,,,  ( 2 fried eggs, a mountain of bacon, 2 sausages, 2 slices of toast, 2 tomatoes, 2 big helping of baked
beans, and a coffee )  the equivelant of 7 euros each.
 
skipper returned to the boat , washed her down, and strolled over to Super Sandy at the Marina office, She had been on the radio to us a few
times on our way to Cairns, At the office, we filled out all the paperwork and guess what !  the big Boss, his name was Micheal Barnett,
However , he was not around to ask him if his relations came from Schull.
 
The others went off about the town, Cairns is very compact, and the marina is only a few minutes walk from ther center of town.
The place has a lot to offer, which we discovered later, it was a beautifull day for good measure.
Skipper joined them later and did some more exploring,  Yeah, we could fall in love with this place,
 
17.00hrs, Skipper met one of our neighbours on the marina called " Richard Chapman,"  Originally Welsh, lives in Oxford now, and has a
buisness with mini Submarines called "Nautil Oz Submarines"  in Cairns.  We invited him for a drink later , which he enjoyed very much, so
stayed for dinner,, Mary cooked a super   - lasagne -  We munched it down with lots of fine wine and had a great night.
We spent a couple of hours listening to how he got involved in the buisness,, facinating stuff. and a nice guy ..
 
We went ashore later for a night cap,, did a bit of the town again, and just soaked up the place,  The activity was great, the place
was buzzing with people, and the park close to the marina was being cordened off for a rock concert tomorrow night....
buzzzz,   buzzzzz,,
 
We also booked a trip to " Kuranda " tomorrow morning, so not too late a night.
 
Thats it for today,
 
Signed :-    Stephen Hyde   ( Skipper )