Orpheus Island

We had a bit of everything today. With only a short sail from Magnetic Island to Orpheus Island, we had time in the afternoon for some shore leave.

We departed Magnetic Island at 7:00am as the sun began to shine on the mountains surrounding Townsville. The day promised sunny skies, warm weather, fair winds and flat seas. We started in a gentle 10 knot breeze which soon freshened to 15-20 knots. It was terrific reaching conditions for Carpe Diem and Debonnaire to speed along at 8-10 knots. We got a blast of wind at 25-30 knots and even with a reef in the mainsail we maintained good speeds around 8 knots and passed other cruising boats. All on board loved the sailing conditions.

The winds shifted later in the morning and we took the opportunity to fly the spinnaker. The winds eased as we sailed between the Palm Isles and eventually we had to douse the spinnaker and motor the rest of the way to Hazard Bay at Orpheus Island.

Debonnaire and Carpe Diem had the bay to themselves. We anchored carefully to avoid the reefs. We then launched our tender to explore the bay. David and Rosie walked along the secluded beach and found lots of wildlife, including oysters, clams, stingrays and small fish. Catherine also explored the shallows and Phil went snorkelling in the deeper water to look at the coral.

Back on the boat, we relaxed in the warm late afternoon sun. Carpe Diem visited us for drinks and we shared stories of the day’s fun.

Catherine and Rosie prepared a delicious dinner of Moroccan chicken, cous cous and salad.

Afterwards, we marvelled at the stars in the clear night sky and watched the moon rise on our peaceful anchorage.