After much consultation with other members of the BWR we have decided to give Yorkies Knob & Cairns a miss. So we will press onto to Port Douglas.

It has been an unremarkable day. Quite grey and overcast. Humid too. We had motored overnight and then mid morning we were able to get the full Goose wing plus rig in action. That is all the sails of the Cutter rig in play, and poled out Genoa. Had a lovely sail right up until Midnight, when we had a “dance” with a large Cargo vessel. The duty officer of which was Indian and spoke little English on the VHF radio, except to say “Yes”.  I could almost see him bobbing his head from side to side as he said it! Despite the new AIS transponder ( Automatic Identification System) we have now installed on the boat, it was a close call.  Poor Jennie got quite wound up about the situation. I do sympathise as it can be quite scary when you have a 250 metre long vessel charging towards you in the dark at three times the speed we are doing, and determined to ignore the “rules of the road” and pass starboard to starboard.

After that fun, we de-rigged the Goosewing set and are now motor sailing in 7 knots of apparent wind, and the engine on tick over.

We were blessed with quite a few Humpback Whale sightings on the first day out. You could also hear them talking to each other down below. But since passing north of the Whitsunday Islands, we have seen not a single one or heard them.

Nothing to photograph to day, so sadly it is a picture free Blog this time!

Our current position is 18:26:67S 146:33:73E and we hope to arrive at Mirage Marina n Port Douglas at first light on Tuesday morning, local time.