Fitzroy Island
We pulled up our anchor at Dunk Island on the morning of 14th June and continued our journey north with a few possibilities of overnight anchorage, depending on the wind conditions as we went along. At first there was next to no wind and needed to use the engines for the first few hours to assist the sails. Gradually the winds picked up and we were in full sail and able to turn the engines off so decided to head to High Island for the night. As we were getting closer we came across HMAS Canberra carrying out some amphibious exercises and needed to stay well clear. The winds picked up more as some storms passed over us so we decided to continue all the way to Fitzroy Island for the night. After lunch things got interesting, Steve headed inside to get a few jobs done when we had a big strike on one of our trolling line. Steve hauled in the line to find we had a good sized Spanish Mackerel hooked on the line. He eventually managed to get the fish on board and off the line while we are still sailing along at 7 to 8 knots. Of course we had to get the photos as proof as we are not the best fishermen and this is the first fish we have ever caught on our trolling lines. We reckon there may be more fish further north of the Whitsundays or just luck. Then came the filleting and bagging of our fish and into the freezer and making sure we were still on course. The timing could not have been better as not long after along came a ferocious little storm with stronger winds and driving rain. The rain then affected our chart plotter so Steve spent the rest of the trip getting it working again. Now comes the dilemma do we replace at Cairns or keep going with what we have. We arrived at Fitzroy Island at 5.00pm and were lucky enough to pick up a mooring.
Next day we went ashore in the dinghy and did a challenging walk up to the Lighthouse and back. The walk is quite steep in parts but a good walk with great views from the base of the Lighthouse. The resort was quite busy with many guests and ferry loads of people arriving from Cairns. Fitzroy Island is certainly a nice place and we are planning to spend a few more days here enjoying what it has to offer.
Here it Sunday and we are spending another day at Fitzroy Island and tomorrow as well. It is such a laid back island full of people enjoying what the island has to offer, with all sorts of accommodation and activities to fill in your day. The sun was out today so a nice warm day. We went ashore to explore some more of the walks available. Both were quite short and easy to do. The first was The Secret Garden which was about a 1.5km walk through beautiful rainforest to a lookout which would be rather spectacular when there has been a lot of rain. The second walk was the Nudy Beach walk which was another 1.5km walk through beautiful rainforest along the cliff face to a beautiful sandy beach with clear water. When he arrived at the beach as there was not a nude person in sight just a great view. It was then a walk back to the bar and eatery for a drink and to enjoy the live music from the Sunday Session.
Off to Cairns from here so our sailing buddies can do some minor repairs to their yacht and we can do some sightseeing.
