Author Archives: kparker

Surfing and sensational beaches are what Coff’s Harbour is known for. Highland Fling did her best to arrive in ‘Aloha’ style a month ago, surfing downhill for 60 nm in 25-30 knot north winds. Since then we have been home … Continue reading →

Keen to get south while the weather and tides stayed favourable we were up at dawn and heading out across a mirror calm bar at 0700hrs. We were in company with four other yachts heading south and the day promised … Continue reading →

After an incredibly windy day or two everything settled. Except the Ballina Bar. A couple of yachts left early in the morning on the top of the high tide. We wished them well and worried for them. Late afternoon a … Continue reading →

What a difference a day makes. Last night’s blissful sunset ( Red sky at night….?) gave over to today’s very strong winds. We have had on average 30 knots of wind driving right into the stern of Fling. From breakfast … Continue reading →

Ballina is proving to be a nice stop off spot. Today we found hot showers at the swimming pool and tonight we were treated to a spectacular sunset and dolphins swimming around our wharf.

So here we are again. Fling has been resting in Manly harbour for the last ten months. Boat sales are slow and we feel like we’ve been hibernating in Melbourne without a boat. We have decided to sail Highland Fling … Continue reading →

There’s always a place where you call it quits, and for us it is here in Manly Harbour. After ten months, thirteen days, five hours and twenty five seconds (for those pedantic people amongst us!)  we are tied up at the … Continue reading →

  We left Mooloolaba early in the morning and headed out against the last hour of the incoming tide. Once offshore the passage was brilliant, a great big sparkly day of sunshine and beam reaching in 12-15 knots! Bellissimo! The Fusion … Continue reading →

 We always enjoy Mooloolaba, and not always for it’s great beaches, user friendly marina or it’s fantastic shopping and dining. Behind Mooloolaba there is a hidden hinterland of small towns and communities high upon the ridge behind the canefields. The … Continue reading →

We picked our way through the Sandy Straits and settled into the Inskip Point anchorage at sunset. Andrew spent a sleepless night waiting for the alarm clock and at three am we were up and ready to beard the dragon … Continue reading →

Wasn’t easy! We planned to leave on the Monday from Bundaberg. No go. Less than half a nm out from the marina Fling’s engine coughed, skipped a beat then stalled. I quickly turned her into the incoming current while Andrew raced downstairs … Continue reading →

We just caught up with the P2P rally group again for sundowners on the marina lawns. The crew had been resident in the marina for a month and the final count was 400 kilo’s of Cocaine, not the 40kg of … Continue reading →

  We spent another day relaxing at Pancake Creek. In the morning we checked the crab pot, but alas, no crabs. We repositioned it and headed over to the other side of the inlet to enjoy looking at the small … Continue reading →

  We left Great Keppel island early in the morning as the wind had shifted East-South East and made for an uncomfortable and potentially unsafe anchorage. We weren’t the first to go, by dawn four other boats had moved on. … Continue reading →

  We spent three or four days at Rosslyn Bay Marina, resting and getting our engine issues resolved. Two blades of the raw water impellor had dislodged and were preventing the coolant from circulating effectively. Quickly fixed, once someone could attend … Continue reading →

We slipped into Mackay after a wonderful day of zooming across mirror flat sea’s, watching butterflies and the odd dolphin grace the surface of the water. The continual ‘Red Tide’ algae bloom we have seen since we left Townsville persists, … Continue reading →

Meet Finn, our new Helmsman! He comes to us with two plus years of sailing experience, and local knowledge! Pretty damn good considering he’s just two and a half! Still, he started his life out sailing on Port Phillip Bay … Continue reading →

  Two long days of sailing found us back at the Whitsundays. Our first day of sailing had us on the go from 0730hrs. We left Townsville behind us and rounded Cape Cleveland, aiming on an anchorage off Cape Bowling … Continue reading →

There are things which draw you to this town. It’s not just the colonial architecture, the broad coastline parks, the markets…. it’s the people. I’d start with the local marina. We were last through here several weeks ago and yet … Continue reading →

We left Cairns at six in the morning, the sky eerie and still blanketed by smoke. Light and shifty winds assisted us past Cape Grafton and we rounded the corner for our southbound passage into an unexpected headwind of eight to ten … Continue reading →