Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Cooktown and Lizard Island

“I had ambition not only to go farther than any one had 
been before, but as far as it was possible for man to go."   
—Captain James Cook

Martin sent me this quote found on the statue above from Captain Cook.  Martin sent me the quote and I really liked the message.  

Turns out that AMARA's satellite stopped working, so instead of heading to Lizard Island as planned, they had to change course and go to the closest anchor off shore.  That meant, Cooktown.  Cooktown is a small town in Far North Queensland and is named after Captain James Cook when he beached his ship, Endeavor, to do repairs on it.   

After working with the satellite company until 3 am, Martin was finally able to get the satellite up and running again.  AMARA is very dependent on the satellite as it sends weather updates regularly to Martin and David which is very important information to have when sailing.  That is why they had to get to the nearest island with internet access and get the thing fixed before they could move forward.
An impromtu picnic.
The crew and Martin finally left Cooktown yesterday and headed for Lizard Island.  

I talked to Martin today and he said he was relieved to get the satellite up and going and that they had finally made it to Lizard Island after a nights sail.  When I talked to him, they were all getting ready for a hike through the island.

After Lizard Island, AMARA and crew will make one more stop and then head for Indonesia.  Their visit to the beautiful Great Barrier Reef is coming to an end and soon they will be on to a new country that will have new customs and even more discovering and diving.  
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Before we get ahead of ourselves with Indonesia, while in Australia, Sue cooked up some Kangaroo for the gang to give it a try. (Glad I wasn't there for that one.)
Sue also made some beautiful fish pies that deserve mention (notice the little fishes).
And let's not forget Sue's delicious tuna steaks...
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While sailing, they had some friendly visitors, swimming off the bow of the boat.
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We are also happy to say that John and Tamrika haven't jumped ship and are still enjoying their time on AMARA.  Here are some great photos of them enjoying their time in Australia.
Riding in the tender with AMARA in the background.
Martin has really enjoyed John and Tamrika and is so glad that they are having this experience.  
There is always plenty to be done... and fixed when on a boat.  John and David.
Internet access has come to an end (sigh) and now Martin and I are on to talking on the satellite phone to get daily updates from each other.  The good thing is that I still have contact with Martin, the bad thing is that now it costs $$$, so our conversations are short and to the point.  Our conversations now are something like...  Martin: "We are doing great and I love you."  Me responding, "Things are moving along and I love you too, K' bye!"  That's about all we can get out before we have to hang up.  Although the internet is now a faint memory, the satellite is up and running so I can still zero in on where AMARA is and keep an eagle eye on them.  

Please check back in a few days when I get a few updates and maybe some more photos of their time at Lizard Island...