Gibban

29 June - 1 July 2016 Finally we escaped the seductive clutches of Great Keppel Island with a pre-dawn departure bound for Pearl Bay in the heart of the Shoalwater Bay Military Exercise area. This remote section of the Queensland coast is closed to all shipping at times of the year for the Green Machine, Navy and Flyboys to practice blowing stuff up. It was all a no go area on our last trip north and we had to sail overnight well off the coast to keep clear. No such problem this time. The sun was yet to rise over Great Keppel Island as we began our passage north to Pearl Bay The anchorage at Pearl Bay had been talked very highly of by every cruiser we’ve met who has been there so we were really looking forward to seeing it. The forecast was for moderate south easterly winds later in the day which wasn’t ideal as our destination was north west putting the wind directly behind us. In the early morning light though, the breeze was yet to strengthen and settle so we motor –sailed across to...

Here's another historic painting featuring some basic paddle decoration. It is from Cornelius Krieghoff's 1858 work - Indians in the Employ of the Hudson's Bay Company at at Portage . Leaning on the rock is a paddle featuring some etched chevron markings   Indians in the Employ of the Hudson's Bay Company at at Portage Cornelius Krieghoff - 1858 Art Gallery of Ontario - Toronto (Canada)   Dates: 1858 Paddle Closeup

This aluminum sloop looks like a stock boat, and referred to as the PJ44, although only one was ever sold. She was built by Palmer Johnson of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin and launched in 1964. Here's Rod Stephens performing sea trials and probably saying "Can't you guys trim any faster"? Here are the plans. Principal Dimensions LOA 43'-9" LWL 29'-6" Beam 11'-2" Draft 6'-2" Displacement 19,950 lbs Ballast 8,500 lbs Sail Area 852 sq ft

August 3-5, 2016. Another early morning start saw us underway across Upstart Bay heading for Townsville well before the sun appeared above the horizon. With over 70 nautical miles to travel, we knew it was going to be a long day but had no idea just how challenging it would turn out to be. Again the wind was stronger than the high teens predicted for the morning. Our gauge seemed permanently stuck around 25 knots but ALL the forecasts we checked had agreed that the wind would ease right down through the day. In the meantime we had two reefs in the mainsail, left the mizzen in the bag and had the genoa pulling us downwind nicely. We had been underway for about an hour when we found the auto-pilot having trouble holding course and the boat weaving considerably back and forward. We blamed the large swells pushing through on our stern quarter and tried resetting it a couple of times with no improvement.   Rob began hand steering and quickly discovered he was also having trouble keeping...

https://www.nps.gov/viis/planyourvisit/maps.htm (UPDATE:  See link below to download free charts & GPS coordinates).  Last year, we barely stepped foot on St. John (except to pay our mooring fee at Lameshur:  (planesboatsandbicycles/2016/05/virgin-islands), forget about taking advantage of the extensive hiking trails.  Time to make up for it. Difficulty :  Moderate (No flip flops.  Teva sandals, but we did have a blowout, possibly unrelated) to difficult (tennis shoes). This is a marked National Park hike.  The trail was mostly shaded in the morning and has a few steep sections but also levels out and a few downhills. Recommend :  Leave early, at least 16 oz of water/each, sunblock, hat, long sleeves, (bug spray, but we didn't need it). Intro : The island of St. John, USVI is over 50% national park which includes a series of hiking trails.  We heard a rumor you could hike from our anchorage in Leinster/Waterlemon to Coral Bay for lunch at...