This is the latest tale of travelling adventure, for previous logs visit the archives. If you are new to Bad Latitude and wish to get a better idea of the whole adventure then it is best to start at the very beginning. The logs are updated when we get the chance, due to the erratic nature of sailing it is difficult to know exactly when we will be able to update the site, so for this reason we have the update alerter which will inform of any update via e-mail.
Issue 11 - 06/10/2001 Port Douglas - Cairns and Upolo Reef
So after a forty minute drive from Port Douglas we arrived in the first large town we had seen since Darwin, the tropical metropolis of Cairns. What a culture shock! We had experienced extreme solitude for the last few weeks and its weird to be suddenly thrust back into the real world. We scored a unit (like a small flat or apartment) that had a huge pool and was in the centre of things being on the Esplanade. We reveled in the simplest of creature comforts, TV unlimited hot showers, and most of all no more pettiness, no dinner party pressure every nights, no guilty feeling for having a good time just food to live on and some VB - what a concept.
We called John after a couple of days whom we had met at Lizard Island. He had just arrived in Cairns so we popped down to see him in order for a few beers and to suss out the situation, would he take us further on his yacht Charisma? We also talked with him and Brad about our experiences aboard Nkwhazi. The more we reflected on the goings on the more bizarre it all seemed. Not even half of the things that happened have been mentioned here. Our amateur psychology came to the conclusion that mainly age and culture difference's, and hints of jealousy were what led to the English contingent being made scapegoats for most things that went wrong. Couple that with some gutless leadership from the skipper, i.e. when Kim was first being abused things should have been said, but no, the situations were allowed to develop without the confrontation the situation clearly needed. As John Lawler put it " on boats like that you really learn how NOT to do things". And as ever he was right. Interestingly Lydia received the following e-mail from the Norwegian girl May, draw your own conclusions from this admission of guilt.
elenea.1@online.no Note: forwarded message attached.
From : May Linda To : Lydia
Subject : Hello! Date : Fri, 30 Nov 2001 06:12:16 +0100
..........do you have any contact with Tracy and Leigh? I felt so bad after you where gone, and I want to apolegaze for my atitude to them when you left. So if you meet them, send my best regard to them, and tell them i am sorry. I hope they found another boat or a job, like they was talking about. Wel, hope to here from you. Best regards from May
OK at least one of them appologised even if it was indirect. And I know you are reading these logs, a direct apology from all of you would go much further!!
Anyway the Nkwhazi episode was well behind us now, and john invited us on a day sail out to Upolo Reef a small Sand Cay just out from Cairns. The next day we arrived at the jetty, Charisma as ever looked neat, tidy, professional and pleased to see us. John was nowhere to be seen so we made ourselves comfortable and waited for him to get back off his travels. As soon as he did he was immediately in skipper mode, dishing out concise, clear orders that everyone could understand, follow and most importantly Mr. Grout, we could hear. What a breath of fresh air. Already I knew the day would be great. We eased out from the jetty with the minimum of fuss and worry and headed along the long channel into the Coral Sea. Huge catamarans packed with tourists passed us as we motored out, leaving huge waves in their wake which pulled Charisma all over the place. I was stoked that we got to do the same as those sardine like travellers, but we did in style and gratis. The wind was very light as the water changed from the murky Thames like brown to the characteristic gemstone blue of the Barrier Reef. The sun shined its acknowledgment that we were in for an amazing day.
The wind picked up slightly so up went the mainsail and out came the yankee. Charisma was pushing 5-6 knots on very little breeze. Out rolled the stay sail, and we were now flying along. After a couple of hours, some sailing theory lessons from John and a number of VB's (beers) Upolo reef came into view. Down came the sails as we motored up to our anchorage for the day. I was given the unenviable task of guiding us around the bommies (coral heads) that could easily tear a whole in the hull if we struck one. Johns skippering style though exudes confidence that manifests itself into all on board so we we eased through the bommies with no real dramas. So John dropped the anchor, set it and racked up some more beers without breaking a sweat. No purple faced buffoon yelling incomprehensible orders here!
After spending the rest of the day drinking, swimming in the perfect waters with a Sergeant fish (I think it's called) and general chilling out, the sun eventually began to set. So reluctantly we dragged up the anchor, and motored back to Cairns. We arrived just after nightfall. Mooring up was so easy it didn't seem to happen and we ended the day by buying John dinner at Rattle and Hum. John kept us guessing as to whether he would let us on board proper to continue South so we had to spend the next two days hoping.....
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