Well, Ariel is now back in Moreton Bay after a 41/2 months cruise and let me say categorically, that it was a wonderful experience. I personally have never travelled the Queensland coast and I would have to say, as always weather permitting, there are many wonderful sights to be seen. As well as that the activities e.g. fishing, crabbing, swimming, walking, oyster gathering and exploring, are considerable. But over and above all that the people that we met and the friendships that we made were truly very heart warming. Added to that, in the main there is a good selection of Marinas available with good staff and trades people in attendance. The good ship Ariel exceeded our expectations on all levels and certainly enabled us to maximize our enjoyment of the trip. I for one am certainly suffering a little post trip depression, but console myself by daydreaming about possible future excursions to the far north and beyond. Whilst we did see a lot on this trip, there is certainly much, much more, I for one will anticipate and look forward to. Of course we did learn a lot this trip about cruising and what is involved and I might say that is quite considerable. Teresa flew home from Gladstone and I brought Ariel back the remaining 200 odd nautical miles, a very interesting trip for myself. The first night out I intended to travel over night but with bad weather and fatigue I eventually put into Bundaberg at about 3am. A good decision as the next day at 6am I was very pleasantly surprised to find crossing Hervey Bay the first of nearly three days of ideal cruising weather i.e. 5-10 knots of following breeze. By about 6pm that night I had covered Hervey Bay and most of the Sandy Straits and anchored close to Gary’s Anchorage. The next morning I was again very lucky, I thought, to find the Wide Bay bar a non event and then continued a pleasant day’s run to Mooloolaba. Finally, after another 6am start the following and last day, it was an easy run to Raby Bay, and a very hospitable welcome from Rob and Alan about 2pm. I haven’t mentioned the wonders of encountering all the whales, porpoises and turtles etc. on the trip, an absolute joy. I have to say, I certainly did enjoy the last leg of the trip, myself Ariel and my two Volvos, which I patted affectionately each day gratefully as I checked oils etc. Teresa provisioned extremely well for me, which saved me having to endure my own cooking, or lack of it. But I was absolutely blessed to have such good weather for the last days, especially considering the generally very ordinary weather that we experienced most of the trip. So that’s it folks from Teresa, John and the great ship Ariel, and I hope that we talk again next year!
One of the many fabulous sunsets of the trip
The open sea
JFP kept the best weather for himself - look at how flat it is
Garry's anchorage the return trip
Coming through the wide bay bar
Just like on the roads you can also be cutoff by bigger boats. This past very close to Ariel