Wednesday began with a glorious sunrise. The last day of our long voyage was going to be a warm, sunny day with barely a breath of wind. The sea was flat, as flat as The Bay, not even any ocean swells because we were well inside the Great Barrier Reef that protected us from the offshore waves. Off-watch crew took the opportunity to relax on the foredeck, reading, listening to music or just enjoying the view.
For much of the day we were some distance from the coast, up to 50 nautical miles (90 km) and beyond normal mobile phone range – unless you have a 3G booster! During the day Carpe Diem slowed down so Debonnaire could come alongside and swap news. It also brought Debonnaire close enough to pick up mobile reception via the 3G booster on Carpe Diem. We were confident that we would reach Airlie Beach on Thursday, so the crew took the opportunity to book their return flights to Melbourne.
During the day, our course took us through the middle of the anchorage off Mackay for cargo ships waiting to be loaded with coal from central Queensland bound for export markets. There would have been more than 50 ships as far as we could see to the horizon and beyond.
The glassy water made it easy to spot sea life on the surface. We saw several schools of fish in a feeding frenzy. Dino, our fishing expert, instantly identified them as mack tuna and longtail tuna and wished he could throw in a line. Sorry Dino, no time to stop, we had places to be! We also saw flying fish and even a turtle.
With the trip coming to an end, Catherine was keen to empty the larder. No problem! We had plenty to eat, especially chocolates, chips, nuts, fruit and freshly baked biscuits. It all had to go. We also had the last of the frozen dinners that Catherine prepared. Sorry to keep writing about how good they were, but they really were so delicious and all the crew loved them. We were actually one meal short because someone’s hungry teenage son (let’s call him “Charlie”) helped himself to a lasagne before the voyage. Fortunately, Catherine prepared generous portions and there was plenty of what we had left to share.
As night fell, we became more excited in anticipation of reaching Airlie Beach in the morning. Kylie ran a book on when we would arrive. It was going to be another dark night with no moon to help navigate the most tricky part of the voyage. Our route took us past numerous islands, shoals, rocky headlands and reefs with strong currents and swirling eddies. Navigation was now a full time job and Phil worked overtime through all the watches, catching only an occasional short nap. Having travelled safely all the way from Melbourne we didn’t want to stumble so close to the finish. Dino and Phil even discussed “what if” scenarios, like what to do if the GPS went blank, just to be sure we were prepared for all contingencies.
At 2:30am we rounded the final headland. As the featureless black mass passed we saw the welcoming lights of Airlie Beach in the distance. We felt excited and relieved all at the same time. But we had one more challenge and that was to negotiate the narrow entrance to Abell Point Marina. Surrounded by a rocky breakwater, we were tense as we carefully weaved through the unfamiliar and tight right-left-right turns into the protected haven of the marina. The rocks seemed so close in the darkness. Soon we were alongside our marina berth. The crew of Carpe Diem, who arrived only moments before, caught our mooring lines and at 3:20am on Thursday, 27April 2017, our long voyage from Melbourne to Airlie Beach was complete.
The crews of Carpe Diem and Debonnaire congratulated each other and celebrated with drinks. We went to bed around 4:00am but many of us were still too excited to sleep.
We were up again by 7:00am to clean the boats and pack up. Most of the Debonnaire crew flew home that afternoon, so we enjoyed lunch together at the marina restaurant. Catherine and Phil greatly appreciated having Kylie, Lawry, Dino and Colin on board for this final leg of the delivery. We hope you enjoyed the adventure and our good times together as much as we did.
That evening, Dino, Catherine and Phil joined the Carpe Diem crew for their farewell dinner. We ate at a restaurant that is a favorite among sailors. Somehow we still had energy to eat, drink and listen to the live music. Catherine and Phil even had a dance! We had lots of laughs sharing stories of our voyages. Thanks for a fun night, Carpe Diem.
A special thank you to Paul, too. Catherine and Phil are so grateful you invited us to join you in tandem on this awesome voyage. We appreciate all your guidance when preparing for the trip and also leading the way as we cruised up the east coast of Australia.
Debonnaire 