This week we visit two Ladies with our friend Bill on board: Lady Elliott Island for a snorkel adventure and Lady Musgrave to hide from a blow.

Both locations in the Southern Great Barrier Reef are photogenic… therefore you guessed it, this is a long post with lots of images. So sit back, relax and enjoy the virtual cruise!

Snorkeling Adventure at Lady Elliot Island

It is not often we get to moor and snorkel at Lady Elliot Island. Being a tiny cay in the middle of the ocean, it is not a very protected spot, subject to current and swell. But it was worth putting up with a bit of rock & roll and spending a few days there!

Lady Elliot Island is the southernmost coral cay of the Great Barrier Reef and is located 46nm north-east of Bundaberg, just to the north of K’gari (Fraser Island). You realise how small it is and get that “middle of the ocean” feel when you take to the air.

The island has a private eco resort with its own airstrip frequented by small aircrafts dropping off and picking up a few lucky tourists. Although as sailors you can set foot on the island and walk along the beach, you need prior permission.

There are two public moorings, which are really the best option if you want to spend time there as anchoring is in deep water – 20 meters – and those sand patches you see in the aerial are inside the reef protection markers, so out of bounds. We were the only yacht there, the other crafts being moored dive boats and barges attached to the resort.

As you can tell from the above image, it was quite rolly there, especially at high tide… uncomfortably so. Despite this, we spent three days there, snorkeling all along the northern edge. In all our years of reef hopping, we had only been there a couple of times before as it always looked too rough, hence being keen to return. Why? Because this reef is renowned for its rich marine life, perfect for underwater photography.

The water is clear and the coral varied with a mix of plates, branches, boulders and encrusting textures but it is mainly in shades of beige, green and dark brown, with few bright colours. However the underwater seascapes look vast and there are interesting arches and dive throughs, which were fun. Although not what it used to be, Lady Elliot is one of the better reefs we have visited.

What is particularly striking is the quantity of fish of many species which pass by in schools: Emperors, Queenfish, Drummers, Bluefin Trevallies, Parrotfish, Sweetlips abound, and they don’t seem perturbed by the snorkelers! Also abundant are the Coral Trout, obviously teasing our spearos who were not allowed to fish – it is a Green Zone, which also accounts for the quantity of marine life.

But the highlight for us at Lady Elliot was the huge number of turtles. We took so many photos of them, Bill with his iPhone in a SeaLife Sport Diver housing and Chris with her faithful Olympus camera in an Ikelite housing and dome lens. It was a turtle overdose! We saw mainly Green Turtles. Some of them were very large. If you ever wondered how to identify the different species, we refer to this handy guide put together by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.

Lady Elliot is also known for its Manta Rays. We saw several from the boat jumping out, but unfortunately did not spot them underwater. It just means we will have to visit again!

Hiding from a blow at Lady Musgrave Lagoon

With rain forecast and the wind picking up, the anchorage was only going to get more uncomfortable so we sailed to Lady Musgrave earlier this week, 23 nm further north, and took refuge inside the lagoon. We grabbed a public mooring and are here for several more days while it blows at 25 to 30 knots – it beats sitting in the river at Burnett Heads!

There has been a bit of boat maintenance going on as our desalinator was needing some attention. With a burst fitting, one out of two membranes dead and salt water gushing, Wade not only had to attend to the water maker, but also clean up an electrical panel in the vicinity as connections to the mainsail winch and the autopilot were shorting, switching themselves on and off in the middle of the night! Nothing is ever straightforward on a boat. We are now operating on one membrane and have ordered two new ones which will be delivered at the Bundaberg Port Marina.

The change in weather is rather tedious. We are passing the time as best we can: island walks, lots of reading and binging on Netflix, snoozing and the odd snorkel at low tide. The coral here is quite damaged but the NW wall in the green zone still shows large expanses of Porites mounds and Merulina. With the strong wind, it was a bit hard going and the visibility was ordinary but two types of critters caught our attention: a school of tiny Pacific Blue Eyes and a Sea Hare, a type of sea slug we had not seen before. Their large rounded body shape and the long rhinophores on their head mean that their overall shape resembles that of a sitting rabbit or hare. 

We are hoping the forecasts improve so we can revisit Heron Island soon and give Bill another reef experience, before we head back to Burnett Heads.