It was a big day today, 79 nautical miles (146 km) from Dunk Island to Cairns. We were up at 5:30am to weigh anchor by 6:00am while it was still dark. It was so beautiful at that hour looking over the calm, peaceful anchorage.
We had breakfast along the way and thanks to Chef David we had delicious savoury French toast with bacon.
The weather started off pleasant but became more windy in the afternoon, reaching 20-25 knots. The seas started to build but we were quite comfortable on Debonnaire because we were travelling downwind. It was cool and we had to take shelter inside when there were a couple of passing showers–everyone except Rosie who was driving the boat!
We followed the mountainous coastline along a relatively straight course. We had good speed, often around 8-9 knots, and took almost 11 hours to reach Cairns. When not at the helm, we spent our time relaxing, doing things like reading, snoozing, splicing ropes and watching the scenery. David took aerial photos from his kite, like the following one showing Carpe Diem and Debonnaire travelling in tandem.
We had a delicious dinner tonight at a seafood restaurant. Cairns has so many restaurants abuzz with lots of people, particularly in the tourist areas along the foreshore.
Tomorrow, we’re looking forward to sleeping in and spending the day in Cairns.
Debonnaire 