Loping Lazily to Lizard Island
Peregrina's Journey
Peter and Margie Benziger
Tue 21 Jun 2011 07:41
Position Report -
14:39.637S 145:27.099E
LOPING LAZILY TO LIZARD ISLAND
There were
two compelling reasons to sail toward Lizard Island which lies inside the Great
Barrier Reef of Australia.
The first
was the opportunity to pass by Nymph Island on Peregrina.First mate Margie had
left Peregrina to return to the United States to see our children while my
friend Tom and I sailed the boat about 1400 miles to Darwin. Just ask yourself, what boat, with two males
aboard, would NOT want to sail to Nymph Island. When we arrived it was amazing….[Further text has been deleted by the
Nautical Board of Censors]
The second
reason to visit Lizard Island was that royal marriage of Prince William and
Kate Middleton had just occurred. The
Australian press was abuzz that Lizard Island was, potentially, the honeymoon
destination. Naturally we wanted to be
there and “party on” with the Royals.
We anchored
Peregrina in a beautiful bay seen in the picture below. Peregrina is the tiny
speck on the right side of the picture.
Actually,
the most compelling reason we wanted to visit Lizard Island has to do with
Captain Cook. The island is famous
because of ‘Captain Cooks Lookout.’
The year was
1770 and Captain Cook, who is sometimes called the World’s Greatest Explorer,
was essentially lost. He had sailed inside the Great Barrier Reef and was
trying to get out again. He wrote in his log that he was “altogether at a loss which way to steer.” [Please note that Peter never got “lost” and
always knew where to steer inside the Great Barrier Reef!]
But permit
me, gentle reader, a brief interlude to throw some facts your way regarding the
Great Barrier Reef:
-The Great Barrier Reef is larger than the Great Wall of China.
-It is the only living thing visible from space
-It is one of the Seven Wonders of the Natural World.
-There are 2,900 separate reefs
-It forms a 2,300 km outer ribbon parallel to Australia’s east coast.
-The Great Barrier Reef is listed as one of the “50 Places to See Before
you Die.”
Well, when Captain Cook was sailing
inside the Great Barrier Reef in 1770 instead of rapture, he felt trapped and
threatened. He had been sailing inside the reef and could not find a way out.
He wrote in his journal that the Great Barrier Reef was “a reef of rocks…extending farther than I could see, upon which the sea
broke in a dreadful surf.”
So, Captain
Cook decided to stop at Lizard Island and climb the 358 meter hill which would
give him a bird’s eye view of the Great Barrier Reef. After reaching the top of the hill he “was overjoyed to see a break in the reef
which offered an escape to the open sea.”
Now the rapture reached him and, in great modesty, he named the break
between the reef “Cooks Passage.”
So, many
years later it was on a cloudless day that the valiant crew of Peregrina
followed in Captain Cook’s footsteps and climbed the hill. It became very clear, as we ascended, why the
entry in his journal reads: “The only
land animals we saw here were lizards…which occasioned my naming the island
Lizard Island.”
It would
appear that the lizards on the island in 1770 were so very pleased with this
honor that they decided to stay and multiply … which they did. As we hiked upwards we were surrounded by
lizards….and I mean really, really big lizards. These are lizards that could
knock you over and use your body as a doormat.
Reaching the
top of the mountain we had to agree with Captain Cook that the views are quite
spectacular. Because we were so high up, it was easy to see the details of
specific reefs. The details of each reef were what Captain Cook needed to
identify a safe passage.
Sitting like
a royal throne atop the hill is a cairn commemorating the site. At its foot lies a wooden box containing a
journal of all the people who have made the strenuous hike. While the book does
not contain the original signature of Captain Cook therein resides the recordings of many a
wandering traveler. Peregrina, which means “wanderer”, is now an official entry.
Amongst the
pages we saw, with joy, that in September, 2010 the three children from the
yacht ‘Miss Tippy’ had signed their names. Miss Tippy sailed with Peregrina on
the Blue Water Rally crossing the Pacific.
The interesting
ending to this tale is that, after Captain Cook sailed through “Captain Cooks”
passage out the open sea, his vessel was severely battered and tossed by high
waves. Sailing northwards, he once again re-entered the Great Barrier
Reef and wrote in his journal that he was “happy
once more to encounter those shoals which were but two days ago our outmost
wished were crowned by getting clear of…”
And thus
ends the story of Peregrina’s journey to Lizard Island.
So what did
we learn from our travels:
#1 There were
no nymphs on Nymph Island (sorry guys!)
#2 Don’t sail to an island just because you
think it will be a royal party
#3 Even Captain Cook discovered that it is
really much more pleasant sailing in the sheltered waters of the Great Barrier
Reef than in the open sea.
And so, as
the sun rose on a fine new day Peregrina hoisted anchor and continued sailing
towards Darwin…inside the Great Barrier Reef.
