Our circumnavigation of Australia, including Tasmania, took
9600 nm (17800 km) or 13 months
( 1 nm = 1.85 km )
| 28 May 2002 | departed from Gladstone (Qld) |
|
29 May - 10 June |
travelled in day sails up the Queensland coast to Cairns (591 nm) via (amongst others) the Whitsundays, Palm Islands and Dunk Island |
| 11 - 15 June | spent in Yorkey's Knob Marina just north of Cairns. The days were filled with shopping, maintenance and sightseeing in the area (e.g. Skyrail to Kuranda) |
| 16 - 21 June | sailed with plenty of wind to Lizard Island (157 nm) via Port Douglas, Cape Tribulation and Cape Bedford |
| 22 June 2002 | spent on Lizard Island climbing to Cook's Lookout and exploring the island |
| 23 June - 1 July | sailed to Horn Island (360 nm) with stopovers at some of the reefs, Night Island, Portland Roads, Shelburne Bay and Cape York |
| 2 July 2002 | spent on Horn Island and its neighbour Thursday Island |
| 3 - 5 July | sailed across the Gulf of Carpentaria to the Wessel Islands (342 nm) |
| 6 - 8 July | cruised around the Wessel Islands |
| 9 - 11 July | sailed to Port Essington on the Cobourg Peninsula (276 nm) with a stop over on Oxley Island |
| 12 July 2002 | cruised around Port Essington and visited the ruins of the Victoria Settlement (1838-1849) |
| 13 - 15 July | travelled (mainly under motor due to a lack in wind) to Darwin (145 nm) via Cape Don and Cape Hotham |
| 16 - 26 July | anchored in Fannie Bay, Darwin. The time was spent with re-provisioning, maintenance on the boat, antifouling and several sightseeing trips in and around Darwin (e.g. Litchfield National Park with its termite mounds and waterfalls) |
| 27 - 30 July | sailed (or motored due to a lack in wind) across the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf to the Kimberleys (240 nm) |
| 31 July - 16 August |
cruised the Kimberleys (573 nm) Highlights: King George River (waterfall unfortunately dry), Prince Regent River with its Cascades (plenty of water), Horizontal Waterfalls in Talbot Bay, Crocodile Creek |
| 17-19 August | sailed/motored to the Rowley Shoals (200 nm), a system of three spectacular coral atolls |
| 20-25 August | explored Mermaid Reef and Clerke Reef in the Rowley Shoals and saw an incredible variety and multitude of fish and coral |
| 26-28 August | sailed/motored to Dampier, back on the mainland (260 nm) |
| 29-30 August | stayed in Dampier to re-provision, fill up with diesel and water and have a look around the area |
| 31 August - 12 September | battled from Dampier to Carnarvon, mainly against the wind; travelling through but not being able to sea much of Ningaloo Reef (454 nm) |
| 13-16 September | spent anchored in the Fascine very close to the centre of Carnarvon and enjoying the facilities of the town |
| 17-20 September | cruising Shark Bay, visiting the dolphins of Monkey Mia and watching whales (133 nm) |
| 21-23 September | sailed/motor sailed to Geraldton (180 nm in direct line but actually sailed 210 nm tacking against the wind) |
| 24-27 September | spent at first in Geraldton's Batavia Boat Harbour (expensive) then in the Port Authority Marina, very much enjoying the sights and facilities of the town |
| 28-30 September | motor sailed to Hillarys Boat Harbour in one of the northern suburbs of Perth (200 nm in direct line, but we actually travelled 223 nm due to some required tacking again) |
| 1- 8 October | tied up in a berth at Hillarys Yacht Club. We spent the days with some maintenance and a lot of sightseeing in and around Perth. |
| 8- 21 October | moved to Challenger Harbour in Fremantle and continued with our maintenance, sightseeing and shopping program |
| 22 - 29 October | cruised down the remainder of the west coast, visiting Rottnest Island, Mandurah, Bunbury and Port Geographe (143 nm) |
| 30 & 31 October | sailed around the south-west corner of Australia (Cape Naturaliste and Cape Leeuwin) to Albany (272 nm) |
| 1 - 4 November | spent in Albany enjoying the sights |
| 5 - 10 November | sailed from Albany to Esperance visiting various bays and islands on the way and seeing plenty of seals (251 nm) |
| 11 - 17 November | after spending 5 days in Esperance we sailed via Duke of Orleans Bay to Middle Island in the Recherche Archipelago (73 nm) |
| 18 - 25 November | crossed the Great Australian Bight: the distance in direct line would have been 660 nm, but the wind forced us to make a "small"detour to the north and we sailed a total of 790 nm to Memory Cove and then a further 25 nm to Port Lincoln |
| 26 November - 5 December | spent in Port Lincoln with its extensive tuna. prawn and abalone industry |
| 6 and 7 December | visited the islands of the Joseph Banks Group with its friendly sea lions, as well as Thistle Island (57 nm) |
| 8 - 10 December | sailed from Thistle Island to Adelaide with overnight stops in Emu Bay (Kangaroo Island) and Marina St. Vincent on the southern end of the Fleurieu Peninsula (110 nm) |
| 10 December 2002 - 8 January 2003 | tied up at the Royal S.A. Yacht Squadron in Outer Harbour, a suburb north of Adelaide City. We celebrated Christmas and New Years Eve there and also hired a car for some time to tour the Barossa Valley, the Adelaide Hills, the McLaren Valley and the Fleurieu Peninsula. |
| 9 - 18 January | spent on and around Kangaroo Island visiting, amongst others, the Sea Lion colonies and the Remarkable Rocks (168 nm) |
| 19 - 22 January | non-stop sail to Melbourne (450 nm). The wind was too good to waste it and stop anywhere ! |
| 23 January - 2 February | spent tied up in Sandringham Marina south of Melbourne in Port Phillip Bay. We toured the city but were driven out by 40 degree temperatures and smoke from the bushfires nearby. |
| 3 - 8 February | sailed to Launceston in Tasmania via King Island and Stanley (328 nm). The 30 nm trip up the Tamar River into Launceston was spectacular and we are now in freshwater - a first for Pelagic. |
| 9 - 21 February | tied up in the Seaport Marina in Launceston. We hired a car and visited the spectacular Marakoopa limestone caves, Cradle Mountain, the Franklin/Gordon National Park and Strahan at Macquarie Harbour. |
| 22 - 24 February | cruising the Tamar River (37 nm) |
| 25 Feb. - 7 March | sailing along Tasmania's north and east coasts with stops in Wineglass Bay, Canoe Point and Port Arthur (303 nm) |
| 8 - 31 March 2003 | tied up in Hobart, Constitution Dock, enjoying the beautiful town and its surroundings (Mount Wellington, The Air Walk etc) |
| 1 - 6 April 2003 | cruising the D'Entrecasteaux Channel and around the southern coast of Tasmania to Port Davey (147 nm) |
| 6 - 18 April 2003 | in Port Davey enjoying the beautiful scenery and wilderness. Our days were filled with exploring the many bays and rivers, as well as climbing some of the mountains (78 nm) |
| 19 + 20 April 2003 | sailing up the west coast of Tasmania to Strahan in Macquarie Harbour (105 nm) |
| 20 April 2003 | motored through Hell's Gate into Macquarie Harbour on a calm day, but the surf near the entrance gave a vivid reminder of what conditions would be like in windy conditions |
| 20 - 29 April 2003 | explored the Gordon River: we took "Pelagic" nearly 20 nm up the river and then continued further by dinghy into the Franklin River |
| 30 June - 4 May | left Macquarie Harbour and travelled via Hunter Island along Tasmania's north coast to Flinders Island (323 nm) |
| 4 - 7 May 2003 | explored Flinders Island and climbed Mount Strzelecki |
| 8 - 21 May 2003 | cruised across Bass Strait back to NSW with a first landfall in Eden and then continuing up the coast via Bermagui, Batemans Bay, Jervis Bay and Port Kembla to Sydney (471 nm) |
| 21 May - 11 June | spent in Sydney exploring the harbour and the city with the Matthew Flinders Bicentennial Sail-In through the Heads on June 9 as a highlight. |
| 12 - 22 June 2003 | travelled up the NSW coast via Broken
Bay, Newcastle, Port Stephens, Sugarloaf Bay, Crowdy Head, Trial Bay and
Coffs Harbour to the Goldcoast (457 nm)
Passing through the Southport Seaway we crossed our own tracks from a previous tour and therefore finished our circumnavigation of Australia! |
| 22 - 24 June | spent at Southport at the Goldcoast and travelling up to Brisbane |
| 25 June - now | at a pile mooring in the Brisbane River at the Botanical Gardens |