To Dunk Island

Beez Neez now Chy Whella
Big Bear and Pepe Millard
Fri 17 Jun 2016 22:57
To Dunk Island
 
 
 
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We got up at six to a very wet, grey day with heavy clouds and quite a lot of rain. Setting off at six thirty, rain now pounding and visibility pretty poor. An hour later, Wishful Thinking a few miles ahead, radioed to say they were in a squall with winds up to forty knots, they were clearly in the middle of it, we were luckier with winds to thirty knots. Soon the hammering rain stopped and we were left with the still very heavy, very grey clouds. Everything around us looked monochrome, whatever happened to the nice weather.......
 
 
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An hour or so later and we could see the low lying clouds begin to lift a bit.
 
 
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By 11:30 things even took on a little colour.
 
 
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It was still raining very hard in patches out at sea.
 
 
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A lone chum looking very small out on the horizon.
 
 
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Midday yet more rain, poor Bear, every time he took the conservatory down – up it went again.
 
 
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Hurrah, a patch of blue sky.
 
 
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Going by the charmingly named Family Islands.
 
 
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Finally, Dunk Island with WT just in sight by the mast of Beez. Yep, more rain.
 
 
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Round the corner into a massive anchorage of gently sloping sand.
 
 
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Ashore to our left, the deserted resort. We could see the damage quite clearly, sad as the owner had to repair cyclone damage after 2006.
 
 
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The resort has been left empty since it was badly damaged in Cyclone Yasi in February 2011. This powerful cyclone hailed from Fiji and reached wind speeds of 177 miles per hour. The narrow eye, just missed Townsville and Cairns but directly hit Mission Beach, just four miles north of here on the mainland. The building on the right looks well cared for.
 
 
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Day visitors come out in small numbers to sit on the beach, tree roots showing since the cyclone.
 
 
Hinchinbrook
 
Dozens of boats in Hinchinbrook Marina were piled on top of each other in tidal surges of seven metres and damage caused insurance claims of $655,000,000. This was the biggest cyclone to hit Queensland since records began, the lowest pressure on the barometer was 929 mbar. The costliest cyclone in Australian history with a total cost of US$ 3.6 billion......
 
 
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Beez is happily settled between Wishful Thinking on her right and the wonderfully named Iron Mongrel to her left.
 
 
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Todays journey from Orpheus Island to Brammo Bay, Dunk Island was 47.6 nautical miles. Pleased to say the rain stopped. Just after beating Bear at backgammon, yeeha, his IPad bleeped. Michael was coming to pick us up as Gin was preparing Spanish mackerel they had caught with the most incredible special fried rice followed by a fun game of Taboo. A brilliant end to our very wet day.
 
 
 
 
ALL IN ALL A WET DAY, SMASHING EVENING
                     WONDERFUL SAIL, GREAT EVENING