I just received this email from Maurice Byrnes. While there won't be an official cruise North next year, Maurice is thinking about next winter. His email is reproduced here with permission - feel free to leave a comment or contact him directly if you're interested in going North next year!
Hello Everyone,
I have been thinking about an extended cruise to the Barrier Reef. As I can’t see me having the sort of time (in one big lump) that I would like to do this trip comfortably, I am now thinking along the lines of breaking the trip up into 4 or 5 bits, so that time is available to veg for a few days in Island Head Creek, or Port Clinton, or Tin Can Bay or wherever!
The idea being to sail for (say) 2 weeks and get the boat to Urangan or Bundaberg, then book it into the marina for 4 weeks or so and then fly home for that time. Them fly back and continue for another couple of week and repeat the exercise at Gladstone or Rosslyn Bay or Mackay. The centre piece of the trip would be to have 3 or 4 weeks in the Whitsundays during the September / October preferred season. Then repeat the exercise, or maybe modify it, on the way back. This would nicely break up winter 2007.
I have checked flight details and there are heaps of opportunities to the likes of Mackay, Gladstone, Bundaberg, Rockhampton etc.
The only cost that I have from a marina at this stage is Mackay & for a 12 mtr mono the cost is $700 for 4 weeks. Therefore what we save by not paying marina fees here will offset those fees along the way.
Just some thoughts! Is anyone interested or have suggestions?
Maurice Byrnes
Maurice
We will almost certainly be taking Legless North next year. It's a bit far ahead for us to have any firm plans yet, but there is a good chance we could fit in with parts of a cruise such as the one you are suggesting. I have costs for a few of the marinas (Gladstone, Bundaburg, Urangan, Moolollaba, Coffs) having just come back down, but they are mostly only for a few nights or a week at a time and it may be possible to negotiate better rates, especially if there are a few boats.
Great idea. We did this last year on Maggie May. We too had planned around 2 weeks for the Sydney to Roslyn Bay leg but were hit with the makings of an East Coast Low in the early morning of our 3rd day out when we were off Yamba so ended up sheltering there. The weather stayed in and we cruised the Clarence to Grafton ultimately returning to sea a week later and as we had used up so much of our time only made it to Bundaberg where we left the boat for around a month before returning to take her on to Mackay. Another stint at home in Sydney then two weeks on board in the Whitsundays returning to Mackay where the boat was antifould and stored there for another month before we arrived back to bring her home in mid October. I have spent most winters in the past several years delivering boats to and from the Whitsundays and think that the weather in that late October / early November is absolutely ideal for the journey home with the only problems I have encountered being the regular severe thunderstorm warnings.
Maurice,
I am thinking of taking INEZ north for race week at Hammo either next year or the year after (depends whether there is a "classic' division), then leaving her there to do a few weeks of cruising, returning late Oct.
I'll keep you posted.
Ian Ritchie
Maurice,
Give us a call when you are in Whitsunday's. We will be there from July 2007.
Robert and Tina
"Shirena"