We only had 18 hours left to go to Lizard Island, so we didn’t need to leave yesterday until the afternoon. We realized that in the small slip we could easily reach the rub rail and miscellaneous external metal pieces that can’t be reached in a full size spot, so Christi spent a couple of hours polishing the metal on the starboard side of the boat. We have to admit that we have been incredibly lazy about the metal and, until today, haven’t polished it ourselves once since we left home. In Fiji the people who waxed the boat also did the metal, but it was looking pretty bad again already. The areas that Christi did are sparkling and shiny, which makes the rest of the dull and partially rusted metal look that much worse.

We pulled out at about 13:30 (1:30 pm). The ride to Lizard Island was wonderful. The views were pretty, with mountains similar to Port Douglas along the coast most of the way up. There were lots of little islands here and there, too. Last night there was just a sliver of a moon, so the stars were incredibly vibrant. The temperature is nice out on the water. In town it has been very hot, both day and night, since the wind died last week. The wind varied from zero to six knots and the seas ranged from flat as a pancake to a tiny bit of wind chop. We have been dreaming of a day like this for the last six months. It felt like we were driving in a RV, not a boat. The channel is well marked with lighted markers, which is great. The only down side was that we were in a busy shipping lane, and gigantic ships kept passing us in the narrowest sections of the channel. That can be a little nerve wracking, especially at night when there is no light from the moon. You have to depend on radar and the navigation lights.

And, the best news of all is that the shaft and collar both did just fine, which is a huge relief.

Lizard Island was visible with the first rays of daylight. It is taller than most of the other islands and stands out. It looks like a sloping mountain, with a baby sloping mountain island right next to it. Lizard Island was considered a sacred place by the native aboriginals. They used the island as a meeting place and for initiation ceremonies and as a base for collecting shellfish, fish, turtles and dugongs (a large sea mammal similar to a manatee). White man first settled on the island in 1881, and were viciously attacked by aboriginals trying to protect their sacred ground. Today almost the entire island is a national park, except for a small area with a luxury resort with rooms starting at $1025 per night AUD (which is almost the same as the American dollar right now) that attracts clients like Al Gore, Tiger Woods, Sean Connery, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, etc. There is also a world renowned ocean research facility on the island that does research in a wide array of fields.

We pulled into Watson’s Bay, on the west side of the island, at 0900. To the left is a tall hill, to the right a small hill with a tiny island that is wading distance from the hill, and in the middle, directly in front of us, is a small stretch of valley. The resort is on the hill to our right. We dropped anchor and went about getting Kosmos situated. Within an hour someone from a near by boat stopped by to tell us there was going to be a party at 12:30 to celebrate Melbourne Cup Day.

To be continued”¦.