Our next overnight stop having left Lady Musgrave Island was an anchorage off North West Island, which became very rolly and not so comfortable overnight  The next day dead calm,but warmer, sun out and beautiful blue sky and sea.  The wind got up in the afternoon and we had a lvoely sail to our next overnight stop which was Pearl Bay, very beautiful, lots of roky islands with pine trees off the bay.  A small dingy came over to us, a family who had been fishing and were on a motor boat at anchor in the same bay. jsut to say 'G'day' and to say how they loved watching our yacht sail in and how beautiful it is!  We offered them a beer but they couldn't stay.  Up at 5 a.m. the next morning before it got too hot and had a walk on the beach, that bay has to go in the list of one of my favorites even though we had to be careful where we anchored as it is quite shallow and at low tide (now Springs) we only had a foot under the keel, but all sand so would not have been a huge problem if we had bumped, just didn't want to roll over!  The bird song in the early morning was incredible. Motored out of the bay by 7.am wind 4 knots..... by early afternoon we got to our next anchorage.  As we went along the smell of old dried fish was terrible, think it is Red tide, just a soup of foul water every now and again.  They have been having a problem with it off Gladstone and fishing has been banned.  We came through some strong overfalls of tide as we came around S. Percy Island and anchored in North West Bay, another walk on another white deserted beach and island.

Today 27th is Antonia's Birthday so have sent her a message via irridium as we are out of wifi and 'phone contact at the moment, can't believe our daughter is now a quater of a century old...........

Have just finsihed a book called  'The Hare with the Amber Eyes' by Evelen de Warr, a fantastic biography of his family and world history at the time as well as Art history a must read.  Now on our way to Scawfell Island, sind had died again, but it is warm and sunny and no red tide.