Lat:      16 25.886′ S
Long:  145 59.209′ E

We spent longer than we’d planned in Cairns due to bad weather and didn’t get to take friends for a day-sail out to the Reef, but it was good for Dallas and I to have a couple of rainy days to get the boat and ourselves back in order now that the crew has deboarded. It was also really good to catch up with family via Skype. I wish we could have had more time to catch up with friends, but thanks to Facebook, I have a pretty good idea of what they’re up to. Tis the season for weddings back home, and I want to say congrats to our friend and pseudo-sister A.P. for getting hitched (wish we could have been there!) and to the Uden family for the marriage of their daughter, Jenny. A lot has happened in the year and a half that we’ve been away, but technology and solid relationships make it possible for me to feel connected and continue the journey.

As Colin was collecting his things to move ashore on Saturday, an Aussie couple in a dinghy stopped by to let us know that a large (10′?) croc was hanging out on the mudbank beside the nearby mangrove trees. Colin, Dallas, and I thanked them and immediately dropped what we were doing and jumped in our dinghy to take a look. At first we were convinced that what we were seeing was an overturned boat with its long, steely appearance, but then we saw movement of the head. Dallas brought us within 100′ or so, and we could make out every little detail, from the wide, vicious but smiling jaw to the spiky tail. It seemed like it was looking right at us, and indeed, Colin has a photo that shows it looking right at the camera. It was awesome to see but definitely as close as I ever want to get. I’m not one to shy away from scary experiences, but my imagination started to play up when I thought about what that croc could do to our dinghy. I made the mistake of saying my concerns out loud, and Dallas felt compelled to grab my leg when I was looking the other way and make me jump. Maybe I have him to blame for my scary crocodile dream that night!

Close enough (Photograph by Colin Murphey – http://www.deadreckoningreports.com)

Gotta love the zoom lens (Photograph by Colin Murphey – http://www.deadreckoningreports.com)

Cruisers on our route often go straight to Darwin from the Pacific Islands or stop in Papua New Guinea or the Solomon Islands, but I was really excited about the prospect of diving the Great Barrier Reef and voted to add Cairns to the list of stops. We weren’t sure if it was the best option since we’ve done quite a bit of diving already, but after my first experience checking out the Reef, I think we made a good choice….

We pulled the anchor out of the thick mud early this morning and managed to break the windlass. Hopefully it’s nothing too serious. We then sailed in 25-30 knots of wind to Norman Reef. As the Great Barrier Reef as a whole is massive, bigger than Kansas in fact, it is hard to know where to go for the best diving, but Norman was recommended by some Aussies at the marina. Also, Dallas was able to find GPS coordinates and descriptions of all of the Barrier Reef dive sites online, so we are using those to inform our decisions about where to go.

We arrived at the one public mooring near the reef around 3:00 p.m. and were happy to find that it was available. (Anchoring at Norman isn’t feasible, so if someone had been on the mooring, we’d have had to just keep sailing, possibly through the night.) It was windy and overcast, but I wanted to get some snorkeling in before the day was done. (Meanwhile Dallas started making some yummy lasagna, his new specialty.) The current wasn’t too bad despite the strong winds, and I swam over to some large, colorful coral heads a quarter mile or so from the boat. I was immediately impressed by the number of large fish. The parrot fish were about 3x bigger than the ones I’m used to seeing, and there were plenty of other large fish as well. I watched a small sea turtle make a nose dive and paddle itself right by me. Just as I started to head back to the boat after realizing that it was getting to be dusk, not a time that I want to be alone in the water, I realized that I was swimming directly over a gray-tipped reef shark. He was probably 4′ long but a good distance away and not the least bit interested in me. Nevertheless, I quickened my pace and looked over my shoulder a couple of times on my way back to the boat. I’m looking forward to seeing what tomorrow brings. We’re planning to get at least two dives in here at Norman and, with any luck, see the huge (6′ long?) Maori Wrasse named Wally that hangs out and is fed nearby.

Ready to check out the Reef!

We’ve had the usual first-day fatigue today but are experiencing lots of motion while moored here just behind the reef, so we should have our sealegs by tomorrow (knock on wood). In the meantime, it is rocking us to sl-e-e–p…