Great Barrier Reef

Testing out the Snorkel Gear

After a year of hiking.....not diving, we decided it was time to get back in the water.

Lion Friend Sue Takes Us on a Rainforest Hike

We've been wanting to do some diving out at the Great Barrier Reef, but didn't want to hassle taking Worrall Wind out of her slip. Anchoring in this area can be tricky because of the bombes (coral heads).  Russ and I signed up for a three day dive trip on the Anaconda III, a large sloop.  As it turned out, even the Anaconda had some difficulty and lost its main anchor.

We boarded the Anaconda on a Friday night and sailed out to Blue Pearl Bay on the backside of Hayman Island. We were probably the oldest guests on board, but it didn't matter.  We met some wonderful people from around the world on this ship.  The captain and crew were delightful and made our trip fun and relaxed.  Photos below are of the Skipper and his crew.

In the morning, we had our first dive.  Saw some great fish, including a giant wrassse that was very curious about us.  Russ and I were side by side, and the wrasse was right under Russ.  If he dropped his legs down he would have been riding the guy.  Since it was our first dive, I didn't have the new camera out yet.  I wanted to spend my time re-familiarizing myself with my dive gear first.

After our dive, we headed out to the Great Barrier Reef.

We snorkeled at Hardy Reef.  The reef extends for miles.  Dropped off at the top of the reef, the current carried us back to the mother ship.  Snorkeling turned out to be a better option than diving.  The water clarity on top was better than the diving clarity below.  Here are some photos.

We opted out of the next two dives, the night dive and the dawn dive, but did do a mid morning dive at Bait Reef.  We swam through some lovely coral head canyons and saw some fish, but nothing as lovely as the day before.

This is where the anchor got stuck, and we had to leave it behind.  The skipper and crew were quite disappointed.  That's a big investment of chain and anchor sitting on the ocean floor.

On  Sunday we sailed back to the Whitsunday Islands where we dove again later in the afternoon at Luncheon Bay and then found a mooring at Stonehaven Bay.

Due to our lack of anchor ability, our plans to spend the night at Whitehaven beach had changed.  The following morning we motor sailed to Tongue Bay where we could pick up another mooring.  Cruisers hiked over the rise to get the spectacular view of Hill Inlet and then enjoyed a day walking in the beautiful white silica sand.  We sadly then headed back to the mainland, enjoying a great sail.

Russ enjoying someone else raising the sails.

We returned to Airlie Beach on Monday afternoon, had a fabulous curry dinner prepared by Lion friends, Harry and Faye, and their friends Suzette and Adrian.

On Tuesday, we prepared Worrall Wind for departure, rinsing and stowing the dive gear, provisioning, bar-b-quing meats for passage salads, laundry, stowing, folding up the port note, putting on Hydie's wind vane rudder, putting up the jack lines, finding our life vests, gloves, harnesses, checking the weather, and working on the this blog to get it posted before we no longer had cell reception.  We had dinner on Tuesday evening with Russ's sailing buddies.  I will post these photos at a later date.


Wednesday, September 19.  We are going to the fuel dock within the next hour to top off our tanks then starting our voyage south to Brisbane.  There will be spotty cell reception along the coastal islands.  You can follow our progress by watching SPOT.  We hope to make it back south in a couple of weeks.  The winds are not favorable in this direction, so we we may be motoring if there are no winds or hanging out in sheltered bays if the wind and waves are too much on our bow.  It's all about the journey.  Good Bye Airlie Beach and Whitsundays.  Cheers!

All is Well with the 2 Sail R's on SV Worrall Wind

2 Sail R's Together Again

The 2 Sail R's are together once again on one continent....Australia.

I arrived back in Australia on Friday September 7.  Russ greeted me at the Prosperine Airport with a big grin and a bouquet of Australian flowers.   Worrall Wind was decked out with her flags, and her brightwork shone in the setting sun.  Lots of spit and polish had been going on while I had been away.

I thought the natural sheen was green.

It was great to come back "home".

During the last week, I have been meeting some of the Aussies that Russ became friends with while I was away.  He has been active in the Whitsunday Lions club.  This club is very active and sponsors the Saturday morning market in Airlie Beach.  They are, as one would expect of Lions, a great group of folks who enjoy helping others and having a good time doing so.

Helping Out in the Food Booth

He has also been racing with the Wednesday night sailors.

Forward:  Colin,  Dave, Alison; Helm: Glen, Di

Paralympics and Journalism

Sailing is inherently challenging.  Try sailing, cycling, running, or swimming with missing limbs or no vision.

While the Qualifying American Cup Races were Happening in San Francisco, the Paralympic co-ed Sailing Races Were Going on in London.  Australia athletes came home with 85 medals.

Spectacular Closing Ceremony of Paralympics 

Russ installed a new flat screen television in the lower saloon during the Olympics.  He enjoyed watching the Olympics, and then turned his attention to the Paralympics which received in depth coverage and reporting here in Australia.  In phone conversations while I was still in the states, Russ kept asking if we were watching this amazing event.  We were not, and not for the lack of trying.  It simply wasn't on the television as far as I could see, although I hope there must have been some coverage somewhere.

Upon returning to Australia,  I was soon introduced to the Paralympics. The Aussies had full coverage of this fabulous event which for me eclipsed the regular Olympics.  There were over 4,000 athletes from 150 countries participating.  

Sadly in the USA, even though we had 216 participating American athletes, most Americans didn't even know this event was going on.  Held in the same London venue as the Olympics, with over 2.7 million tickets sold, the Paralympic games were one of the most uplifting and inspiring events we have ever witnessed.  It is sad that Americans were deprived of watching this event.  Many of our war vets who lost limbs participated in the events.  We should have been supporting our athletes better.   These are indeed super-humans!  Here are some images that I snagged off the Internet:

So what's with our news coverage in America or Lack of News Coverage?

The lack of coverage of the Paralympics is symptomatic of American news in general.  Even on the cable channels it was impossible to find coverage of significant world news.

As an American and trained journalist/educator, I am disturbed with what is happening in America in terms of news coverage?  Having just been in the states during the Olympics and two political conventions, the news appears to be slanted right, left, trivialized, ignored, or omitted.   We are fed sound bites of "news" that lack depth and twist the integrity of the full and factual story.    I had a chance to see quite a bit of "news" while at home and was shocked by the out-of-context bites and opinions that were espoused as news.

This type of reporting or editing of the news is reaping the rewards of an increasing polarization and dumbing down of the public.  Where is the center?  What are the facts without the spin?  How do these facts fit together to give us a real and complex picture of what is going on with appropriate information from which to make decisions, to come up with solutions, or celebrate human diversity?

Americans are becoming increasingly insular and ignorant of world events.  It has been said that knowledge is power...enough said!

Speaking of Croc!

Even though Russ looks close, he is safely on the boat.

Since we are in Croc country, we decided it was time to visit the reptiles in their natural habitat on a Croc Safari.   We had a great day on the banks and on the water of the Proserpine River, home to an abundance of wild life.

Russ and I were picked up by the Safari bus at 8:30 and driven to the base camp where we learned of the flora, fauna, and non-croc creatures on the banks of the Proserpine.  After tea and campfire bread, we headed down the river in a very sturdy barge.

We got a kick out of the safety talk where we were instructed in maritime safety procedures, i.e. how to put on our personal flotation devices so we wouldn't drown if the boat sank.    We could then float around in these bright orange vests as targets for the Crocs!  We learned that Crocs can see in color.  Crikey!  This boat better not sink.

Three Little Babies - Less than a Foot Long

But they Grow Up !  And Look For Orange Life Vests!

That's it for now.  We are packing for a three day trip out to the Great Barrier Reef to do some diving this coming weekend.  More later.

All is Well with the 2 Sail R's on SV Worrall Wind