Miles, Mantas, and the Mental Load
Community
Jun 4, 2025
Through Stars, Fog, and Mantas: A Passage to Remember
The following was adapted from a post made by SeaPeople user Ian @watermark. This overnight passage to the Great Barrier Reef captures everything about cruising life: stillness and speed, reef and fog, fatigue and joy—and the mental weight of getting your family there and back again.
Under Sail, Under Stars
2:40am and the anchor light is extinguished and navigation lights lit. The forecast was spot on so we pulled up all our sail in the dark for a silent 7kts in flat water toward our destination. The apparent breeze was being dragged just forward of the beam which made for a good angle. It’s such a great feeling banking miles without the noise of engines. Em and I shared watches and the kids slept until dawn when the wind dropped, and engines were once again needed to keep our speed up.
Hoping for a Hook
Angles were still working in our favour so we gently motor sailed on a flat sea crossing our fingers that one of the two moorings would be available when we arrived. The kids love these passages as it is a rare time when they have a free-for-all movie marathon. The island which nests in the middle of a coral atoll finally jumped from beneath the horizon after about 6 hours, and rewarded us for our commitment to doing the miles.
Safe Ties, Sound Sleep
Whilst it isn’t ideal for sailing, a glass-out is fantastic weather for visiting an atoll on the Great Barrier Reef. Em did a great job on the helm putting us over the mooring pennant and we had independent lines secured from each bow in no time. I tend to sleep well on these moorings as the Parks crew keep on top of the maintenance, and having the redundancy of two lines garnishes that confidence. In contrast, anchoring in 15m amongst bommies of coral is not ideal if we can avoid it.
Mantas and Mental Load
Almost immediately we were reminded of why Elliot is so mind blowing. A procession of manta rays welcomed us by flying in formation past the boat whilst Em and the kids feverishly donned their gear. I took a moment to exhale and reset. Getting my crew safely to where we are going has alway been a commitment that I have held, and it is a cognitive load that many will never understand. I often wonder what it would be like hanging out on someone else’s boat and going full-passenger-mode.
Shore Leave and Broken Davits
Even when things are going well, there is always something that is on the maintenance to-do list, or something about to go on it. Today it would be one of the davits not wanting to cooperate. This meant we would be without the tender for the trip, thus confined to the inflatable kayaks and SUPs. No biggy given how close the mooring is to the island. As a courtesy we always contact the island’s eco resort management to check in and seek permission to go ashore. What started as a walk to the office manifested into a buffet lunch at the resort, fuelling us for the next 24 hours of indulgent snorkelling and exploring.
Confidence in Small Adventures
It’s great seeing the kids work outside their comfort zone here, whether it be swimming with sharks or going ashore by themselves. These seemingly little adventures (under the watchful eye of mum and dad) build their confidence and hopefully keep them interested in coming on more adventures. With the kids now at 9 and 11, we are starting to compete with their other interests, which makes these experiences all the more important.
Into the Fog
We managed a few snorkels and a swim with the manta-rays which is always a highlight. I procrastinated with the surf unfortunately. Initially the spring tide was too low the reef, then the swell was not quite big enough in the afternoon to be consistent. Next time. A chilled evening knowing it was going to be another early start and a massive motor home. To make things easy in the dark, I had the mooring lines ready to slip, and plotted a clear course away from the reef and clear of the no anchoring buoys. All went to plan and we slid clear of the island at 2:30am for a 10 hour passage home.
By late morning we found ourselves motoring into a wall of pea soup, and on went the navigation lights on for the second time today. The digital radar is such a great bit of kit, and has allowed us to confidently depart for many early missions over the years. The technology is so much better than it used to be, and combined with AIS, goes some way toward reducing that cognitive load. We do however keep a rigorous real-world watch also. I have been run into by other boats more times than I wish to remember, so the vulnerability is triggering.
Ring the Bell, Tie the Lines
The fog really thickened up, so I slowed down and dug the big bell out to give the kids a go at ringing it. I could see some little fishing boats nearby on the radar, so it would have been an interesting buzz for them hearing a ship’s bell clanging in the foggy distance. The last time I had the bell out was during the Australian bush fires at Mallacoota during the summer of 2019/20. It was worse however as we could not see anything, or breathe. Dolphins were disturbingly coming up alongside us sucking in the smoke laden air, and we again leaned heavily on the radar to avoid hitting the navy ships deployed to evacuate the panicked families fleeing from the beach. That’s another story..
Tying up after a unicorn weekend is always bitter sweet. Shattered from multiple early starts, but stoked that the effort was worth the reward.
