Given our prolonged radio silence, you might be forgiven for thinking that Mowzer and her crew had sailed off the end of the Earth.
In truth, we’ve just been a bit crap at writing updates, plus, we’ve been busy quietly putting in the nautical miles, schooling, fixing (always fixing…), and exploring new shores.
June 2024
Since our last update, there have been some significant life changes, but more on that later. For now, I’ll pick up where we left off, in Pittwater, New South Wales in June 2024.
With our new rigging installed, we departed Careel Bay and headed North with a brief stop in the Gold Coast (where we had a near miss with a couple of migrating humpback whales!), through the seaway with a quick stop in Raby Bay where we completed our first Parkrun in Queensland, had a trip into Brissy, and waited for a weather window for Moreton Island.
Moreton Island, one of Australia’s largest sand islands, is famous for its towering dunes, it’s crazy soldier crabs and the Tangalooma wrecks, a cluster of ships scuttled by the Queensland authorities.
From the anchorage, we explored inland, through immense waves of soldier crabs, to the summit of Mount Tempest, the highest coastal sand dune in the world, with mega 360⁰ views of the island. The return journey down the dunes, on boogie boards at sunset, was especially magnificent.
Next up, we sailed northwards for an overnight at Rainbow Beach, then through the tricksy Wide Bar Bay, a brief stop at the Kingfisher Resort on K’gari, some challenging navigation to Hervey Bay, then onto the Duck Pond in Bundaberg, Port Clinton and onwards to the Whitsundays.
The 74 mostly uninhabited Whitsunday Islands form a massive stretch of coral teeming with marine life. Inland, the islands are mostly dense rainforest, ringed by epic white sandy beaches.
We had some pretty spectacular hikes, encountered some awesome wildlife, ran a couple of Parkruns and the boys did some dinghy sailing. Best of all though, in the Whitsundays we caught up with our sailing pals on SV Miles Away.
July 2024
July 2024 saw Mowzer continuing to push northwards, approximately 1000nm from the Whitsundays to Thursday Island in the Torres Strait.
Our route took us via Horsehoe Bay in Magnetic Island from where we hiked all over the island, spotting kangaroos, rock wallabies and our first Koalas.
Our next stop was Cairns. Highlights here included the cool markets, art galleries, festivals, museums, botanical gardens, a ferris wheel and awesome cruising buddies, Julie and Graham on Salty Ginger and Chezza and Richie aboard Serenity Now. The lowlight was a dose of Covid which knocked us out for a few days.
The trade winds were now very well established, consistently gusting into the 30s, occasionally reaching the low 40s. Sailing downwind, in the calms of the Great Barrier Reef, we made rapid progress northwards with overnight stops in Low Islet, Hope Island, Cooktown, Lizard Island, Flinders and Margaret Bay.
As anyone who has ever sailed long-term will tell you, the emotional spectrum is INTENSE. The highs of this lifestyle are of epic proportions – the freedom and sense of adventure; immersing ourselves in new cultures; the challenge and sense of achievement as we navigate from one beautiful anchorage to another whilst travelling only under the power of the wind; connecting with nature and being truly present as our kids grow; belonging to an awesome community of like minded folk; witnessing mega sunrises and enjoying a slower pace of life. Conversely, the price we pay is soul shattering periods of despair, when the weather goes to shite, everything breaks, the boat feels claustrophobically small, you momentarily loathe your crew mates, then something else breaks and you long for the ease of life ashore with flushing toilets, hot water, a washing machine, a functional kitchen, a bed free of mould and sand, personal space, decent coffee, Sainsbury’s, and a regular steady income.
Unfortunately, circumstances conspired against us in Margaret Bay, and we experienced one of our lowest lows. Several hundred miles from anywhere, with gear failure and sick family back in Europe, we were unable to return to Cairns because the trades were pumping hard. We felt utterly defeated and had it been an option, would have happily given Mowzer away there and then and never sailed again. Our only option however was to push on another 1000+nm to he nearest city, Darwin.
What saved us from abject misery during this period was the company of fellow Island Packet sailors, Julie and Graham aboard Salty Ginger. Always calm, super-knowledgeable and upbeat, the Gingers generously held our hands as we sailed onwards.
Morale partially restored, we progressed onwards to Horn Island in the Torres Strait. Sitting approximately 20nm north of Australia’s Cape York and only 80nm South of Papua New Guinea. The strait links the Coral Sea to the east with the Arafura Sea and Gulf of Carpentaria in the west. An important international sea lane, it is very shallow with water depths of only 7 to 15 m, with crazy strong currents which made for wet and terrifying dinghy trips to neighbouring Thursday Island.
The islands’ indigenous inhabitants are the Torres Strait Islanders, an ethnically distinct groups of Indigenous Australian people. Highlights of the islands included a cool museum on Horn Island, the Torres Strait Islander’s cultural centre and some old forts with fab views of the Gulf of Carpentaria, our next challenge.
Sailing Mowzer 