In accordance with our plan to sit out the wet and windy weather in Innisfail, we left Dunk Island, after a fairly unsettled night with a couple of 30 knot squalls passing through. Getting Paseafique across the entrance of the Johnstone River was going to be a challenge, even at high tide, as this area is very shallow and the sand bars shift around a bit. The particular high tide we were going in on was not predicted to be very high so we checked with the coast guard who told us that a boat with a 2M draft had recently got in with no problem. So we set off with the aim of arriving at the river entrance just on high ride, and consequently had busy morning trying to get our average speed about right – at one time being too fast, and then too slow, so there was lots of fiddling with the sails. We arrived at the entrance right on the appointed time and started the crossing- the shallowest water being just 0.6M under the keel. Flying Fish Point (isn’t that just a great name) is a very pretty spot just at the entrance there. With some relief we got into deeper water and motored up the river, again seeing some very shallow depths on our way up – 0.4M at one point.

We got ourselves settled at anchor in the river just opposite the main part of town. After spending one night there to satisfy ourselves that the boat was secure, we escaped to Phil’s cousin’s (Toni) place at Kurrimine Beach just south of Innisfail. Toni kindly came and picked us up in the morning and we spent a pleasant day at her place watching the bad weather roll in from the comfort of her sunroom which overlooks the sea. Toni treated us to a roast dinner that night and then took us the long way back to Innisfail through Mission Beach, Silkwood and some other little townships, and of course past lots of sugar cane and bananas.

We ended up spending nearly a week at Innisfail and boy did it rain while we were there. The upside was that we filled one of our water tanks from the rain. After all the warnings we had about crocodiles in the Johnstone River, Phil was most disappointed not to spot one while we were there. My niece and two nephews lived in Innisfail for a few years so it was fun for me to spend some time there and send them various photos of the landmarks. My sister-in-law, Christine, stayed on in Innisfail after they all moved away for work but sadly was no longer there as she developed early onset dementia a few years ago and moved to Brisbane to be closer to the children. It was a pity that the timing was not better as we would have had a chance to visit Christine.

Eventually the weather was once again in our favour and we set off for Fitzroy Island, just off the coast south of Cairns where we spent two nights- a very nice island with an intact resort, a bar and restaurant for day visitors, and some reef for diving and snorkling. We did the summit walk and again saw some lovely views, but I did comment to Phil that you know you have had your fill of these islands when you do the walk and don’t take many photos!

And so, after 10.5 weeks and almost 2,000 nautical miles, we made the last little hop to Cairns, where we will spend almost three weeks before leaving on the rally, making our way up to Thursday/Horn Island and then onto to Indonesia. At the moment we are anchored in the river along with many other boats. Our time here will be a mix of doing various boat jobs, provisioning for Indonesia, catching up with new and old friends, and enjoying the vibe of this tropical city.