Pole Dancing! Wing-on-Wing Sailing up the Great Barrier Reef
Well, I never thought I’d be able to say we pole danced up the Great Barrier Reef, but in a roundabout way, that is exactly what we did! 🤪
Our latest video is the third chapter in a La Niña summer sailing odyssey, documenting what it was like to cruise Australia’s North, and Far North Queensland coasts, during the ‘off-season’ of a particularly challenging year.
After initially getting blown to smithereens by howling southeasters persisting long after the usual tradewind season end, we experienced fickle winds, either right behind us or from the aft quarter.
This saw us running wing-on-wing a lot of the time and doing a merry dance with the spinnaker pole to hold the genoa out.
Our video contains a bit of a ‘how-to’ guide to this sail configuration for those who might be learning it (go to 16:20 minutes in), or just for anyone who wants to see how it works on a Kelly Peterson 44.
If you’re anything like us and seem to be eternally beating to windward, you’ll completely understand how fabulous it is when you actually have to get the spinnaker pole out!! 😂
Being in a wet season compounded by the effects of Australia’s third consecutive La Niña, we got our fair share of rain, so the video also shows how we keep our cockpit dry while sailing through showers and squalls.
The leg of our voyage this segment covers is from Orpheus Island in the Palm group to Sudbury Cay off Cairns.
At Orpheus Island we had a friend in management at the luxury resort, who was kind enough to share her local knowledge on the ‘lay of the land’. With fantastic hikes, history, a James Cook Research Station and a whole underwater world to explore, Orpheus is definitely a not-to-be-missed destination on the Great Barrier Reef.
💙 @shazatsea (IG)
Music via www.storyblocks.com
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Media Music Group / Dramatic Explainer Documentary Reflections
Humans Win (formerly Lance Conrad) / Explorer
The Turquoise Moon / Fruits of Labor
Jon Presstone / Peaceful Oasis
Media Music Group / Inspiring Soft Technology Innovation Explainer Pizzicato Strings
Volodymyr Piddubnyk / Vintage Jazz Big Band Swing
LiQWYD / Running Through the Night
We20fifty / House In Your Way
Media Music Group / Instrumental Minimal String Quartet Dreamy And Dramatic
Additional Resources
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Maps/Satellite Imagery - https://earth.google.com/web/
Marine Park Zoning Explained - https://hdl.handle.net/11017/602
Conservation Park (Yellow) Zone Rules - https://elibrary.gbrmpa.gov.au
Moorings and No Anchoring Areas https://www2.gbrmpa.gov.au/access/moorings-and-no-anchoring-areas
Orpheus Island Military and Historical Sites - https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/things-to-do/activities/military-and-historical-sites
Additional Clips sourced from YouTube
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Shelob’s Lair - https://youtu.be/zpLpkfFFsnI
Just Dance - https://youtu.be/1FH0-Nx29ks
Orpheus Island Resort - https://youtu.be/dbI73QgcZsw
Discover Orpheus Island (JCU) - https://youtu.be/grpPQqv6iHU
Hinchinbrook - https://youtu.be/g2kAVYCS3VU
Jurassic Park - https://youtu.be/VzZN9AVBS1I
The Sailing Adventures of Brilliant II
Join the Smallwoods - Sharon, Julian, Josh, and Pepe (the Blue Burmese) - aboard Sailing Vessel Brilliant II. Brilliant II is a Kelly Peterson 44, built in 1978. Julian and Sharon bought the boat in Phuket, Thailand, in 2005, and sailed her slowly back to Sydney, Australia. Over the next five years they lived aboard and sailed the coasts of New South Wales and Queensland. They are currently based in the Whitsundays, Queensland, where Josh was born in 2010. In 2021 they began a refit of the water-damaged interior (which had needed doing since the start!), while continuing to sail on mini-adventures north and south of their home port. Sharon is a photojournalist by trade, but realising YouTube is a thing has started creating videos too. You can also follow their adventures on Instagram at @shazatsea.
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Pole Dancing! Wing-on-Wing Sailing up the Great Barrier Reef Locations
- Great Barrier Reef (-18.2870668,147.6991918)
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