SV True North

 We had a very calm day which allowed us to anchor in Zoe Bay which faces east and is usually to rough to anchor because of the southeast tradewind swell.  Zoe Bay is very beautiful with a long crescent of beach framed by tall verdant green hills in the background.  The biggest attraction is the waterfall at the southern end of the bay. Zoe Bay viewed from the top of the waterfall.  Note True North anchored under the high hill at the top of the picture. If you could not find True North in the last photo, here is a zoomed in image 😊 The waterfall seen from True North at our anchored position.  The waterfall is the white streak coming down towards the beach in the middle of the photo. After anchoring we took the dinghy across the bay to the beach and followed the trail up to the to- of the waterfall.  The trail started by passing through level rainforest before crossing the river from the waterfall and finally climbing very steeply up the side of the waterfa...

 We sailed away from Dunk Island in a light breeze initially from the southeast but which soon changed to easterly.  When the wind shift occurred we tacked and for,a while were able to head directly towards our direction, Cape Richards at the top of Hinchinbrook Island.  We sailed between various islands of the Family Islands group before the wind shifted back to the south again and we had to tack a couple times to reach Cape Richards.  I wanted to anchor near the northern tip of the cape on the western side to protect us from the southeast ocean swell but the swell was rolling around the tip making us roll.  We moved further down the tip to a more comfortable anchorage. The next morning I went to shore to explore.  There were several camp sites and some very overgrown trails.  The trails were very slippery so I did not go far on them.  The campsites were surrounded by fences to protect the campers from crocodiles. The park signage at the beach. ...

 We arrived at Dunk and tied up to a free public mooring ball.  It was late afternoon so we took a quick trip to shore to stretch our legs and then returned to True North for dinner.  Overnight, the wind died and the mooring ball tapped against True North’s hull.  In the morning Nancy asked that we anchor since she felt that overnight the mooring sounded like it was hammering the boat.  We dropped the mooring, moved a short distance and dropped the anchor. Dunk has a good walk up to a lookout and then down through a rainforest area before looping back up the other coast back to the anchorage.  We set out mid-morning and after meeting some friends Cobus, Riandi and their kids Jayden, Brendan and Rico on the beach having a pancake brunch which their three kids, Nancy and I headed on the hike. The view east from the Dunk Island lookout Some interesting fungus in the rainforest Closeup of the fungus The rainforest is very lush and overgrown.  Many bird cal...

 The first passage from Cairns was a short one to Fitzroy Island.  It was quite windy with wind speeds between 25 to 32 knots.  The waves were about 2 metres but steep and close together making the passage a bit rough.  When we arrived at Fitzroy it was difficult to find a good spot in the anchorage.  The waves and currents wrap around the island and then cross the anchorage from both directions.  This means the boat swings around the anchor constantly and waves roll in from both directions.  We hunted around for a spot as close to shore as possible with room to swing on anchor and reasonably shallow without being too close to the coral reef.  The spot we chose was as good as any but for the duration of our stay the waves and currents caused us to rock and listen to the waves slapping the hull. Another yachtie friend from the past, Alec was anchored nearby and we had a good time catching up over the two days we stayed.  We hiked the trails to...

 We stayed at Mackay Reef for the morning to snorkel on the reef.  It was an excellent reef with great coral cover and variety and lots of fish species.  The water was clear and warm so we spent most of the morning exploring the extensive reef.  We returned to True North and had lunch before heading off to Low Islets. The passage to Low Islets was easy since we could make it in one close-hauled tack.  Unfortunately the wind was a little light so we motor sailed in order to arrive with plenty of light left.  As we arrived, a motorboat cast off from one of the public moorings so we grabbed it.  It’s the third day in a row we have been able to pickup a public mooring instead of anchoring. Low Islets has one small island with a lighthouse and a larger island to the east.  It is well protected but also very busy with tourist boats from Port Douglas is is only a few miles away.  We watched a steady stream of tourist boats go back to shore at the en...

We departed Lizard Island and had a single long tack into Cooktown.  We were still hard on the wind and had to beat into large waves and 30 knot winds during the passage.  The Cooktown harbour is very protected so the water was calm as soon as we entered the approach channel.  The harbour has a sandbar just inside the entrance but I had calculated the tide was rising and should be just high enough so we could get into the deeper anchorage area past the sandbar.  We came over the bar slowly, made it with a few inches to spare and were soon securely anchored. Cooktown Harbour - True North is the ship furthest to the back of the photo The next day we visited the Saturday market then did some grocery shopping.  We went to town to have fish and chips from the small kiosk by the dock for dinner.  The following morning we hiked up to the Cook Lookout at the top of the grassy knoll.  It is a steep climb but we made it without problems.  The picture of the...

 On September 30, 2021, I departed from Lizard Island to head south to Tasmania and beginning the circumnavigation of the Australian continent.  Yesterday, September 10, 2023 we arrived in the Lizard Island anchorage at 17:45 to complete the trip. The circumnavigation was over two calendar years however I was back in Canada for 8 months of that time and then in the Mandurah marina in West Australia for another 4 months waiting for the end of the cyclone season before continuing the trip.  The actual sailing time for the trip was about 1 year. There were a number of crew members on True North for segments of the trip.  Christine was aboard during the 2021 trip when we visited Lizard Island and went as far south as Mooloolaba, Queensland before departing. Christine and me enjoying the sunset at Yanks Jetty, Orpheus Island, Queensland I sailed solo south to Pittwater, a northern suburb of Sydney where yachties and good friends John and Kay joined True North to sail to T...