Mackay - Airlie Beach
Jackamy
Paul & Derry Harper
Mon 6 Sep 2010 00:50
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Tuesday 6th October
The last few days have been spent doing
jobs, provisioning and ordering a dinghy and outboard engine to replace the one
we lost back in Nuie. We have arranged to have the dinghy delivered to
Townsville further up the coast.
We also said the last of our goodbye's, this
time to Pete and Margie (Peregrina) they leave the rally here
in Australia. It was lovely meeting you and hopefully we will
bump into each other when you get into the Mediterranean, we wish you
fair winds and a safe onward journey. There are just twelve out of the original
eighteen boats that set off from Gibraltar left.
 We left Mackay Marina on Monday
morning heading for Goldsmith Island one of the southern Whitsunday
Islands.
  Fueling up before we
leave...Goodbye Mackay
 Goldsmith Island.......Our
anchorage for the night
On the way we spotted some
humpback whales. Up to 3000 whales enter these waters between late July and the
end of October and travel in pods of two or three. Every year these massive
creatures (they can grow to 15 meters in length and weigh 40 tones) swim
5000 kilometers from Antarctic waters up to the warmer waters off eastern
Australia, where they mate and give birth before returning south.
 Humpback whale Mother and
calf
We Arrived at Able Point
Marina, Airlie Beach on Monday afternoon where we were directed to pontoon
F15, we were almost in our berth when the boat came to a stop, when we looked at
the depth gauge we were only in 1.8 meters of water, and Jackamy draws 2.2
meters, well that's a first, luckily it's only mud we're sat in.
.
 We chartered a boat from this
marina in 2001, it's huge now
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