CAIRNS

     I'm in Cairns (pronounced "cans") at the Marlin Marina right on the waterfront of town. Everything is great.. I was in the Whitsunday Islands for about a week. Nice sailing but the water isn't as clear as I'm used to (too many rivers). After I leave Cairns it will take about two weeks to get to the top of Australia (Torres Strait) and then I will be heading Westbound again. Darwin then the Indian Ocean.

Beautiful Hill Inlet in the Whitsunday Islands with
 Whitehaven Beach in the distance

The silica sand beach at Hill Inlet

Sunrise at Sawmill Beach

The entrance to Hardy Lagoon on the Great Barrier Reef

   

I'm including a photo of the GPS screen I took about 100 miles South of here. When the "targets" (cargo ships) get inside of 1/2 mile they turn red to indicate a possible conflict. If you look very closely the small red and green triangle in between the two is Flyer at 1am no less. Holy crap.

On The Move... Northbound

 Flyer was ready to go back in the water on the 2nd of April. New zincs and rudder bushings were installed,

 the prop serviced and anti-fouling paint applied. She shouldn't need to come out of the water again for the remainder of the journey.

  

 I flew back to the States for my best friend's funeral. He was 61. He was on this earth for 22,783 days. You better make each one count.

I left Lake Macquarie on the 22nd, headed up the East coast of Australia. I'm now in the Whitsunday Islands on the Great Barrier Reef, where I'll spend the next several days exploring. Internet service is sketchy but I'll update when I can.

Some beautiful bays in the Southern Cumberland Islands