Day 30: Saturday 23 May - Flinders Island
Another really boring day in paradise. Had nice drinks on the beach with crews from the other seven boats in here. Incidentally, people who were at Ingram Island the night after us saw a big skinny crocodile on the beach there.
Day 31 Sunday 24 May - Flinders Island
Absolute frustration - no wind (in future when there is no wind we will appreciate it and just motor along!). Fridge/freezer stopped working but Peter managed to bypass something and get it going again. Tender definitely has a hole in it somewhere. Went to the water tank and did some washing and showered. The tide was too low to get in to see the Aborigine paintings. Marine Parks boat came in. Everyone stayed on their boats. We had sundowners on Tookawile.
Day 32 Monday 25 May - Flinders to Magpie Reef
Were heading for Morris Island but didn't get there. Left at 6.30am with about 6 other yachts. Tried putting the spinnaker out looking for some wind. Took it down and put it up again and caught 7.4knots (5knots is an average per hour) and the fishing rod went off and we were heeling over so bought it down again and caught some seaweed!!! Peter saw a yacht (Kristie 1) about 500 metres to our starboard and said he looks close to the reef, I had a look with binoculars and said what is he thinking and then Peter said he is on the reef. 
Singlehander got excited cleaning a fish and his autohelm let him down! Escape, the boat in front of us came back and launched their tender and put out a stern line but there was little we could do for him. All the yachts were milling around and one by one they asked us if they could leave so off they went. Kristie 1 called the Marine Parks boat which was about 6 miles away and they came down so three of us yachts anchored about a mile away behind a sandspit on Magpie Reef. When the tide came up Marine Parks called us up and Geoff (Tookawile) picked Peter up and Eric (Escape) and they went down to help Kristie 1 with the lines. Marine Parks had divers down and checked the bottom of the boat and marked all the big bommies and our lot slowly winched Kristie off and Geoff pushed with his tender. That man should never buy a lottery ticket because he used up all his luck - just a few scratches to the bottom of the boat!! Interestingly Marine Parks never actually touched the boat but supervised as it came off. Peter and Eric came back on Kristie and we all anchored together.
Miles 48 Total 1186nm
Day 33 Tuesday 26 May - Magpie Reef to Night Island
The next morning I heard a funny scraping noise and then when we were having coffee in the cockpit we suddenly starting spinning. Seems we had come off a bommie and our anchor was loose. Lucky it didn't happen in the middle of the night! Headed off at 6.30 with light winds. We took a detour to have a look at Morris Island which was very pretty but didn't stop - time and tide and crocs withstanding! We sailed very slowly and when I said I could swim faster than this Peter started the motor and we made it to Night Island at 3.30. Peter lost his favourite lure today. Whatever it was took the lure, the wire trace and broke 50lb breaking strain line. I am fairly happy we didn't get whatever it was on board!
Miles 43 Total 1229
Day 34 Wednesday 27 May - Night Island to Portland Roads
We had a great day today - left at 7.15 along with Tookawile, Kristie 1 and Escape. We motored for the first hour and then put the spinnaker up and had a great sail. Had to fight with it for a bit as it collapsed every time the wind died and it tied itself in a knot at one point. But we got along really well and found that Portland Road was a very pretty little place with houses in the trees on the hill and some of them seemed to have manicured lawns! The wind started howling that night and it poured with rain. I thought we were getting closer to Tookawile through the night but Peter didn't think so.
Miles 43 Total 1272nm
Day 35 Thursday 28 May Portland Roads to Shelburne Bay
The wind was howling and we were where Tookawile was and Tookawile was 200 metres further out in the bay. We had both dragged through the night! When Peter retrieved our anchor it had a white teeshirt wrapped around it! Tookawile decied to stay and we left behind Kristie 1 and Escape. It was very rough at first but settled down. Kept looking back to see if Tookawile was coming but no - very sad. We got to Margaret Bay which was supposed to be beautiful but the tide was up, the wind was howling and it didn't look that great so continued on to Shellburne Bay, another 10nm and anchored in fairly shallow water with Escape by our side. Kristie 1 had decided to go straight through to the Cape (a huge effort). Kept looking for Tookawile's sail to come around the corner but it didn't come.
Miles 55 Total 1327
Day 36 Friday 29 May Shelburne Bay to Escape River - Happy Birthday Bill
Today was the big one and the day of way too much excitement. We left at 6.30 and it was a long horrible trip in huge seas 4-5 metres with the winds howling and hitting 35+knots at times. We got to Escape River at 3.30 and headed in. (we have a 1.8 metre draught and our depth sounder is set half a metre lower so when the depth sounder shows 1.4 metres we are on the ground). Escape was in front of us and the lowest we went down to was 3.9 metres and we were in the river and out of the swell and all was good. Or so we thought then all hell broke loose. Escape says they are on the ground. We showed 2.4 metres so immediately turned hard to port and Peter put the gear from forward to reverse without stopping at neutral so all of a sudden we had a jammed gear and no engine. Escape is on the ground and we are sailing at a great rate of knots up an unknown river with no engine!!!!! And pearl farms all around. Heart rate went up a bit. Peter finally got the gears sorted so could start the engine and we went back to assist Escape. After much stuffing around we got a line to them and starting pulling but the tide was falling, the wind was blowing a gale and we were heading to the left. Metres - 2.0, 1.9, 1.8, 1.7 - I am screaming at Peter to cut the line - 1.6, 1.5 and finally Peter cut the line and we spun out into deeper water!! Stress levels going through the roof! We stayed around for a little while longer but light was fading and there was nothing else we could do so started up the river and the pearl man came out in his tinnie and told us to stick to the right, there is a yellow buoy over the rock and don't get into the water as the lizards up there are rather big!! The pearl rafts come at least half way across the river, with black buoys unmarked and in some places both sides of the river. Peter stood up the front to make sure we missed them all. And the sun was nearly down. The river had good depths and we almost found the exact spot for the anchorage and were anchored just after the sun went down. The skipper had a well deserved rum or two and I had a couple of wines. We just left the mess downstairs where heaps of stuff had got thrown around in the rough seas. We are working on getting everything in its place but something always goes flying!!
Miles 65 Total 1392
Day 37 Saturday 30 May - Escape River
There is a strong wind warning for tomorrow. Escape arrived at about 7am and Eric and Kim came for morning tea to tell us of their terrifying night. The boat went over on its side as the tide went out but they didn't get any water in as it righted itself when the tide started coming back in. They finally got the boat into deeper water at 1am and their depth sounder had stopped working!! The wind howled and the swell was coming in. Nightmare stuff. It is now only 20 miles to the Cape but looking like we may be spending some days here before we can get out!! The tides seem to be a little bit cockahoop. The pearl farm man very helpfully informed Escape that a lot of yachts run aground there!!! It is marked on the charts as safe.
Still no internet or phone coverage. Hope all is well. Desperately missing Jack and Rosie and little Jessie's hugs.
Fair winds
Dell and Peter
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