Australia

We think we've arrived in Australia. We have not seen any kangaroos, wallabys or crocs to prove it but we hope to see more wildlife as we get out of the city. After the most thorough quarantine inspection ever performed on Marcy we were given the all clear and anchored in the river off Cairns. We spent the next few days doing laundry and other necessary boat jobs and getting ready for our guest, Steve, to arrive. Mid week our friends on Jade pulled in to Cairns so in addition to enjoying time
with them they were kind enough to let us use the marina showers! The highlight of Cairns for us was the fresh veggie market which is open Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Steve arrived from Brisbane on Saturday evening, we got up early Sunday morning went on a big produce shopping trip and weighed anchor for places north. We're currently anchored off an islet in the Great Barrier Reef. It's a bit breezy and overcast here, too cold for Peter and Ginger to swim but Steve enjoyed a dip, scrubbed the
prop, and gave us a full report on the state of Marcy's underside. As we review the weather charts daily it appears the normal wind for this time of year here is a steady 25 knots. With that kind of wind blowing straight up the side of the mainland some big chop can build so we're pleased to have enjoyed a couple of nights tucked into anchorages with some protection. Right now we're enjoying fairly calm waters with a steady breeze to keep the wind generator producing about 4 amps. We've been
eyeing a prawn trawler waiting for the crew to wake up so we can try to purchase some seafood from them. We're hoping to spot them up and about before dinner time!