There is always a plan for an expedition, but whether we get the weather is often the big question. Well we did. Anui and Roobi are off to far-flung destinations: several atolls located in the southern part of the Coral Sea, beyond the Great Barrier Reef.

We are very excited that everything came together for this big adventure: our buddy boat with us, a new prodder installed after last week’s drama, our drone permit granted and a weather window!

Crewed by Graham Wade and Helene Young, Roo Bin Esque is a Lagoon 400 or 12m catamaran. Those two are a solid team whose interests are aligned to ours. We have known one another for years and had some time together at Hinchinbrook last spring, an enjoyable experience.

We were plotting our Coral Sea foray months ago, while Chris was going through cancer treatment, and approached Helene and Graham early in February to see if they would be interested in joining us – they were keen! So since then, we have each quietly worked towards our eventual meeting. They had to make their way south from the Whitsundays, we had to make our way north from the Gold Coast! Meeting point and departure port for the Coral Sea: Bundaberg/Burnett Heads in early June.

Just two catamarans together is perfect: no pressure for space at anchorages, company and back up for safety. Roobi as we affectionally call her is obviously very different to Anui. However both crews are experienced, resourceful, well equipped, have lived aboard for many years and explored far and wide. We are passage planning together but each travelling at our own pace and meeting up at the atolls.

With both the BOM and Predict Wind forecasts looking good, Anui left Burnett Heads at dawn on Sunday. Roobi left on Saturday afternoon. All sails got used on Anui including the spinnaker, but the conditions were so light that we had to have one engine ticking along most of the time. By now we are floating around at Wreck Reef, 220nm offshore, our first arrival point.

Kenn, Saumarez and Fredericks Reefs are on our target list for our next legs. We will see what the weather gods let us do and how long we can stay out and explore. The fallback position if the conditions deteriorate is the Swain Reefs with their labyrinth of reefs offering better protection than the atolls. And then if all else fails, it’s back to the coast! Hopefully there will be other trips later in the season to atolls further north.

Some of the challenges of going a long way past the Great Barrier Reef are distance and remoteness. Once you are out there in the middle of the ocean, you are on your own, well beyond the reach of rescue vessels or helicopters. But that is also the appeal. After months out of action with cancer treatment we are motivated to escape, to explore where we have not been before, to stay far from popular coastal cruising routes and discover what few people get to experience independently, without the help of a rally. We are always searching for ‘something else’, something that stretches us and delights us. We are also all too aware that the Great Barrier Reef is suffering yet again from bleaching and the thought of spending months reef hopping amongst devastated coral has no appeal. It is just too depressing, and sadness is definitely not what we want this year!

The first time we explored some of the atolls further north in the past two years, we hoped we would see amazing wildlife and coral. We did enjoy an abundance of wildlife, but the coral was the worst we had ever seen. This time we are going with our eyes wide open, knowing that between the multiple cyclones and bleaching of the last six months, and damage of previous years there is very little live coral left to see if you are snorkeling. It may be different if you have dive gear, but we don’t. The appeal of the Coral Sea Atolls is the exploration, the incredible bird and fish life, the sense of adventure, the discovery.

While offshore, our intention is to stay in touch via our website in a reduced fashion.  Today’s post is a ‘Proof of Life’ message! We will keep posting on Fridays to let you know where we have been, but we will keep this brief. Once back on the coast we will produce a detailed cruise story of our trip, with plenty of photos. We have Starlink, however will only be connecting for an hour morning and night to get weather forecasts, emails and messages. No big expensive uploads of photos or videos, no permanent connection!

So there we go, we are adventuring offshore at last, doing what we love.