After five months of exploring, we have made our way back to the Gold Coast for body and boat maintenance.
Here are a few images of our last big passage:
We made it back on 7th October, Wade’s birthday after an overnighter! Our only mistake was getting to our destination on a long weekend… you can imagine the madness on the Broadwater. We could feel our hackles going up as we tried to find an anchorage away from the crowds, their noisy water toys and wakes! There was a highlight though: catching up with our friends on Roobi and moving together somewhere quiet the next day!
Eventually the evening came, the long weekend masses went home and the waterways returned to a semblance of peace.
We moved to Dux anchorage, along South Stradbroke Island, for a few days, enjoying walks and chats even if hiding from thunderstorms… it is that time of year!
Looking back
It is also the time when we look back at what we have achieved and reflect. We did a lot this last season; Anui performed very well, we are happy to have explored atolls and reefs we had not been to before, particularly given the horrid start of the year. But that is where the positives end. Some of you think we had a dream season, but in all honesty, we don’t see it that way. We are feeling rather underwhelmed.
There are a few reasons for this: firstly, because after years of witnessing the worsening degradation of the reef, it feels like we are beating ourselves up with depressing sights and need to stop doing this to ourselves! Secondly because we worked to a schedule to get back to the Gold Coast in early October. This deadline drove our decision making for the entire five months, culminating in a tedious return trip south much earlier than ideal and thus with contrary winds most of the way. And thirdly because after seven years spent at the Great Barrier Reef, it is high time we take our explorations elsewhere.
Looking ahead
The change of scenery is coming with our long overdue voyage to Tasmania this summer. Hopefully it will reinvigorate us.
Tasmania is not new to us. Our previous boats Medina and Take It Easy served us well around the Bass Strait Islands and the Tasmanian coast. This is where we used to do most of our cruising while still working and based in Melbourne, but it will be nice to return with Anui this time after a long absence, and cruise there at a leisurely pace without a set schedule.
We are planning a few stops along the way, notably in the Pittwater to visit old friends, at Jervis Bay to dive and in the Gippsland Lakes to see more friends and pick up our cruising guest. From there we intend to wander around the Bass Strait Islands and circumnavigate the Apple Isle anticlockwise. Although it is the year of the Wooden Boat Festival in Hobart, we are not planning our voyage around this. We are hoping we can find the quiet anchorages we so love Tassie for, while the crowds are peering at the wooden boats!
The next few weeks
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves! This is the third time we are getting ready for a Tasmanian trip and the previous two attempts did not happen because of maintenance or medical reasons! For now, we are catching up with friends and tradesmen to start the jobs ahead of our haul out on 21/10. We expect to be out of the water for a week or two. On the program: new clears for the back of the cockpit, replacement of our existing solar panels with more powerful ones (all in preparation for a stay in cooler climes), as well as the usual antifoul and small fixes.
Here is to a trouble-free period of boat and body maintenance, and green lights for us to embark on new adventures soon.
Sv-Anui 
We are within touching distance. Look forward to catching up with you within the week. And a Bengie cuddle!
Hi Trish, yes, it has been a while! Bengie will enjoy her pat!
It sounds like you guys need to stay away from the big reefs, it seems so depressing to me too. Happy Birthday, Wade! Best wishes for the dry dock repairs and the journey to Tasmania, it sounds very exciting!
Looking at a website about Tasmania, it seems to be about 200 miles away across the Bass Strait from the mainland. There was once a land bridge there and the water is around 200 feet deep. I suppose it will take two days or less to make the crossing to Tasmania. Sounds delightful!
You have read up well, John! Depending on where you leave the mainland from, the wind and the speed of the boat, you can get across to the Bass Strait Islands in a long day or overnight. And yes from Wilson’s Promontory you can jump across in small hops!
That sounds fun! I hope you have a safe journey when the time comes, guys! Be well. 😎
I’ve read your post this morning with a touch of sadness. Firstly, we may not see you on the water again soon & we will miss your company. We’ve shared so many great times on & under the water. You inspired my interest in underwater photography. Secondly, it’s disappointing you are ‘leaving’ our cruising grounds with such a sense of sorrow, but as you say, for a variety of reasons. We too have cruised the Qld coast for several years (9) & there certainly has been a deterioration in the reef state during this time. This season we too saw the terrible aftermath of the 2024 coral bleaching in the southern reefs, but we have also seen many healthy & vibrant reefs further north which has given me hope & I’m still in awe of the underwater world. After so many years cruising the ‘same’ places, I think we all look for new experiences. Your recent adventures to the Coral Sea have been amazing. Perhaps it’s simply time for Anui to explore even more new places. Tassie and beyond?! Wishing you well with your body & boat maintenance Chris & Wade. And, for the new adventures that lie ahead.
Thank you so much for this long, thoughtful comment, Amanda. It is just au revoir and we simply don’t know how we will feel after Tassie. Maybe it’s just what we need to take a breath. The Swains and far north reefs are still of appeal so you might still see us back in Queensland next year, if not the year after that. Definitely not leaving permanently!
So glad we bypassed the Gold Coast and Southport. Didn’t realise that it was a public holiday until we tried to find an anchorage around Iluka. So many day trippers there also! Hope the maintenance and upgrade work all goes to plan so you can head south and hope to see you in Pittwater. We usually manage to avoid the VDL circumnavigation flotilla. Must check their 2025 schedule.Best wishes,Chris & Suzanne on DII
Hi Chris & Suzanne, hopefully the works will be quick this year… planned long enough in advance to go like clockwork 🤞. The flotilla generally goes after the Boat Show so by the time they come around to the West Coast, we will have gone… again fingers crossed 🤞!
Message received from Sue Marlin:
I am glad you made it to the Goldie, and now for the work to begin on your bodies and Boat. I hope you enjoy catching up with friends while there.
All underway now, Sue. Hopefully it will be a quick stay out of the water.
Hi Chris and Wade !
We will be lifted up at boat works on 10/21 …. What a coincidence ! See you soon then , after my eye operation on 22nd . Look up for Zao !
Dom and Gary
Excellent! Really looking forward to catching up and seeing your new acquisition.
Here’s hoping this summer’s Tassie trip is a goer!
Looks like you were surfing the bar on the way in, that could have been exciting!
Smooth seas and mellow tail winds guys!
Thanks guys… no surfing involved on the way out of the Wide Bay Bar or into the Gold Coast Seaway! Just breaking on the side of the passage as always on WBB.
It is a shame about the condition of our reef. Sounds like Tassie is ready for you guys. Get some good r & r before you go up on the hard stand. We are on the road inland on our way to Yamba & got the storms. Cheers 🍻for your birthday Wade.
Mick & Lyn
Hi Mick & Lyn, thinking of you and Medina. Hope you get her up to Mackay soon! We would definitely come back up north if you do. All the best!
hi Chris & Wade
good luck with your boat works & journey south. Belated Happy Birthday Wade. We will be heading to Newcastle early November to slip Wahoo then back to Sydney till mid December then will be away till mid Jan. Hope we can cross paths at some stage, big pats to Bengie & hope weather treats you kindly for southern sojourn
Lindy & Phil
Hi Lindy & Phil, we were hoping we’d catch up but we might be ships in the night! The good thing is that you are getting on Wahoo even if it is for a short passage and maintenance. All the best. 🤗
It was so lovely to catch up with you again and enjoy the walks on beautiful South Stradbroke.
Hopefully Anui’s maintenance goes smoothly and we look forward to catching up again either enroute to Tassie or somewhere around that magical island❤️
We loved having a few days with you two. The time out of the water should be quick and we can’t wait to be on our way south for new adventures. We suspect our best chance to catch up again will be along the south coast before Bass Strait.
Enjoy the ‘festival of Graham… and Helene’ in Sydney. What a great tradition! Have fun 🤩 🥰