Captain cook, was a sailing god. I know "I say I am a sailing god" but that's only whilst I'm overdosed on adrenalin after a particularity crazy dinghy sailing session. Don't get me wrong, I'm good. But captain Cook was sodding amazing.

Spear Chucker 

Or Lieutenant James Cook. Captain, later and of his second hand coal carrier.

We've been dodging reefs in at most 40 meters of water for days. Since we left Mackay we've not lost bottom on the echo sounder, not even close. Its deep here 25meters. I'm used to being in a kilometre of more of water 1/2 mile out to sea. Mackay is hundreds of miles away.

Cook came up here is Endeavour, with No Charts, No GPS, No Electricity, thousands of miles from the nearest help. No medicine to speak of, no refrigeration, no engine. In What, as previously mentioned was a glorified coal barge.

Jesus there's a lot to hit here, even with modern stuff. We have a chart plotter, with radar. That's a magic box. with a screen and some buttons with charts in it and a GPS so it shows you where you are  it will even show you the radar overlaid on top of the chart. Its raymarine so its got more bugs than a new release of windoze(tm)  but its still fabulous.

 
Cook related illustration

Yesterday we were in lizard island, famous cos cook was getting very nervous. He'd been doing what we're doing sailing north inside the great barrier reef. And climbed lizard island for a look ahead. Spyied a gap in the reef and escaped from the increasingly narrow inshore passage. Spending 23 hours on a reef just south of here may have sharpened his mind. See Chart right. Note, I have cropped the north arrow out of this picture because some idiot signwriter had it pointing East.

I know I said "what's so great about this barrier reef anyway" on twitter I think, I may then have refereed to the Great Barrier reef as being attached to the bottom if Matt's yacht. It was certainly impressive. Its great as in BIG. its great as in a great place to sail. Its great at protecting you from swell. Its great scenery. Stops the crocs getting sea sick.

 
I wonder why Cook called it Lizard Island?

Speaking of great navigators, saw Matt, + mum, Mei and co up in Cairns, on holiday. Daintily they drove to the Datintree national park. Then it rained. I mean rained. Jackal in Fiji sort of rain.  6 feet of water in the ford(river). They stayed in the Daintree. I know he hired a ford(car) Falcon, but even a landcuriser with a snorkel wouldn't have got out off there. Typical Matt? I think so.

I took several pictures of the reef, including cooks channel, the one he used to escape the barrier reef but even with my best fiddling with contrast and picture enchantments* I can produce a usable picture, sorry. So I've gone for illustrative instead. For the record, though my boomerang won't come back, I did have a go with a Japagai (Cairns local Aboriginal Tribe) spear thrower, even if it was a fibre glass spear. Kangeroo's should be worried. Accuracy maybe 6 out of ten velocity 7 out of ten. Compared to the other tourists, I did good.

 
A little of what Cook Saw. The Great Barrier Reef.

 Hmm what happened to my picture alignments? And why are the old ones fine? More work....