Check out a snapshot of all the fun we've had at Magnetic Island over winter this year!

We have had a fantastic summer with over 700 guests jumping on board for a range of sailing experiences - Twilight racing, #Sip&Sail with Tamburlaine Organic Wines, Private charters, Charity regattas to name a few.

A big highlight was coming second in the RANSA Twilight Series so a big thank you to our regular crew who helped us to victory and also made all the guests on board feel at home and welcome!

We've loved sharing Pilgrim and Sydney Harbour with everyone:  check out a little recap of all the fun we had this season.

But all good things have to come to an end....on 24th March we left Sydney for our trip North to Magnetic Island for winter...we're looking forward to meeting new people, discovering new places and again sharing the fun of Pilgrim and sailing with anyone that come on board!  Before we get there we're going to enjoy the "Pilgrimage" up the coast and enjoy cruising and exploring for a while.....

The wet weather hasn't dampened our spirits this week with the launch of #SipandSail with Tamburlaine Organic Wines.  A couple of wonderful evenings sailing around Sydney Harbour enjoying the sights while sipping a range of Tamburlaine's wines and enjoying Woombye Cheeses....

• Vintage Blanc de Blanc
• Scarlett Bubbles
• Wine Lovers Sauvignon Blanc
• Wine Lovers Chardonnay
• Wine Lovers Petit Fleur

If you want to join us for the next one on 5th December - check out our website....more dates will be available in the new year...

Twilight racing on Wednesday and Friday nights has kicked off.  After only three races everyone's been different.  We've had wind and no wind, good results (2nd place) and bad results (DNF - did not finish due to no wind - only one boat out of 30 boats finished!), we've had sunshine and rain.  That's the beauty of the twilight racing...not one race is the same!

Come and join a race and find out what it's all about...book in here

We're fully back in the swing of Sydney life now and settled in our home for summer - D'albora Marina Rushcutters Bay.  The photo above shows our view from the berth!  Not bad!

Since being back we've shown the Sydney Harbour sights to a few groups already.  On Friday we did the Giant Steps Regatta, although the guests were more into the champagne and cruising than the racing which was fine by us!  

That was followed by our first Friday twilight race of the season with RANSA.  Lots of fun - our crew for summer is a fun bunch so it should be a good season!!

Saturday, we were back out for a charter with 24 guests (very full boat) - a farewell party - plenty of oysters, wagyu steaks, swimming and chilling!

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Paul and I were very kindly asked by Pete and Sarah to present at the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron to their cruising members about provisioning for cruising.  

After six months of living on board where we've provisioned for charters and for ourselves for extended passages offshore we probably have a few tips to share.  If you're interested to see our presentation and also a few favourite recipes from Pilgrim you can click on the links below:

On 25th September 2015 - Pete and Sarah joined us at Keppel Bay Marina, Rosslyn Bay for the journey south to Sydney.  A trip to Rosslyn Bay is not complete without a trip to the Fishermans Market or the Capricornia Cruising Yacht Club

First stop, when the wind eased, was Great Keppel Island where we showed Sa & Pete the cruising way with sundowners on the beach with all the other cruising sailors.  

After that we were heading for the reef - after lots of local advice we settled on North West Island for our first reef experience (on this leg of the trip) and it didn't let us down.  On the sail from Great Keppel to North West Island we were blessed with heaps of sea-pets to keep us company - whales, dolphins and a shark.  With the recent siting of the shark our senses were heightened and when we arrived at North West Island desperate for a swim in the clear blue waters we paused to identify some unknown creatures in the water which looked scarely close to the fins of sharks, but they weren't moving in quite the right way.  We paused for lunch to assess the situation and finally figured out they were manta rays. Suddenly everyone wanted to jump in again!

We went for a budgie ride to get to the reef and then went for a snorkel in.  Pete was lucky enough to swim with the manta rays a little bit later.  All very special.

We settled in for the night enjoying celebratory champagne for arriving in paradise with a spectacular sunset followed by a full moon rise.  Perfection - with very few boats around us.

The next day we left for Fitzroy Reef and went via Heron Island and Wistari Reef.  There was a nice wide channel between the two with incredible green waters showing us where the reef was.  Again dolphins and whales to great our arrival at Fitzroy Reef.  

The channel to get into the lagoon was terrifyingly narrow with a strong current but very deep so we were all stationed to a position - bow and at the shrouds - to assist Paul in the navigation of the channel.  We could all breathe again once we'd anchored clear of bommies and could see the anchor on the bottom in 9m of water.  Incredible.

Lunch then a snorkel was the plan, which wasn't as successful as we'd hoped - suffice to say our trip to Fitzroy Reef was cut short with a little accident which required Paul to get medical assistance.  Crew stepped into action promptly and in text book fashion with the medical kit followed by a pan pan.  

Thankfully we were assisted by an incredible boat called "Hooked on Two" from Hooked on 1770 Fishing Charters who came to our assistance and took Paul to 1770 for onward transfer to Bundaberg Hospital.

Pete, Sarah and I sailed the boat overnight to Bundaberg where we caught up with Paul - who seemed very happy to be surrounded by attentive nurses!

After 24 hours and safe in the knowledge that Paul was being looked after in hospital we continue the journey south to make the tide window to go through the Great Sandy Strait.  The plan was for Paul to  meet us in Southport of Tin Can Bay.

We stopped the night at Kingfisher Resort before embarking on the 3.5 hour trip through the shallow and very shallow waters of the inside passage.  A nerve-wracking experience but after 3 touches we were safely through and quickly made the call that we were NOT crossing Wide Bay Bar without Paul, especially as  on the outside strong winds were forecast for 24 hours.

Tin Can Bay was a little piece of heaven and the yacht club seemed the right place for dinner!

The next day Paul returned to the boat with 28 stitches in this knee for day late birthday celebrations.

Thankfully the rest of the trip was less eventful - crossing Wide Bay Bar was still hair-raising but with the co-ordinates from VMR Tin Can Bay and watchful eyes on the leads, chart and the breaking waves we crossed it with no issues.

We were on a deadline to get to Coffs to avoid a strong southerly that was forecast to come in at 1pm in two days time.  We smoked down the coast, surrounded by heaps of whales (one breached so close to the boat much to Sarah's delight & fright!) and arrived at 7am - right on cue at 1pm with tripled up mooring lines we watched Pilgrim tack in the berth as 55 knots howled around us.  Glad we weren't outside!!

On 9th October it was time for the penultimate trip south to Pittwater for a few days refuge before the final sail through Sydney Heads on 15th October.

What a trip!!!!

For more details on this trip you can read it on Wine Dark Sea's blog (Sarah & Pete's blog).

A thoroughly enjoyable few days with the Waplings on board Pilgrim.  We packed in sailing, fishing, snorkelling, paddle boarding, relaxing, exploring, swimming into 4 days!  There was plenty to keep the kids entertained and Budgie the dinghy was a hit!  

Itinerary this time was:
Hamilton Island to Nara Inlet via a swim and prawn lunch at Henning Island.  Nara Inlet there were paddle-board v budgie races, exploring on the beach and a new bait recipe was put to the test by the boys.
Next day we took advantage of the glorious weather and headed to Hill Inlet for the walk to the lookout before heading down to Chalkies.  Lee, Sarah and the kids hung out on the beach for hours only radio-ing back for refreshments to be sent over by paddle-board as the afternoon sun started to set!
We weren't sure if Chalkies could be beaten but gave it a go the next day and headed to Whitehaven.  Another success but it was time to head to Sawmill Bay for the night to allow for an easy trip the next day to Airlie Beach.

The time flew by but we squeezed plenty into the short trip...please come back again  - we loved having you on board!

Geoff, Helen and Nicola joined us for 6 nights of exploring the Whitsundays.  The itinerary was based on the weather and the limitations of having little Nicola at 10 months old on board.  

Depart Hamilton Island Marina on 6th September - head straight to Whitehaven Beach
7th September - Motored to Chalkies for some fishing (Helen) and snorkelling around the reef (Geoff & Helen) - beautiful anchorage and less rolly than Whitehaven.
8th September - Sailed to Butterfly Bay.  When Nicola was having her lunchtime nap - Mum and Dad went for a little snorkel.
9th September - with strong winds forecast in couple of days time we decided to find shelter in Nara Inlet for the night.  On the way there we stopped at Blue Pearl Bay for a snorkel and then headed to Nara.  The aboriginal cave paintings were a great family trip before Helen took to the fishing rod again!
10th September - a windy ride to Sawmill Bay to seek shelter for the last two nights.  We tried our luck at crabbing but sadly only small ones so they were returned to nature.  Despite the weather we were very protected so there was more fishing, walking and exploring to be done.

A lovely few days with the Saxby's - Nicola took it all in her stride and seemed to love the experience!  Let's hope next time she'll be pulling ropes!!

Pilgrim Sailing's first Sealink Magnetic Island Race Week and it certainly won't be the last.  We had core crew of four - Paul, Clare, Micko and Sandy with extras joining us along the week either for the day or those who got hooked kept coming back for more...Ken!!

The racing was great fun and competitive mainly around Cleveland Bay with the Round the Island Race on Saturday was, of course, the day with the least wind!

MIRW is a stark contrast to Hamilton Island Race Week in its relaxed and easy feel.  All the accommodation, boats and Race HQ are a stones throw apart.  

WE LOVED Magnetic Island Race Week and will be back next year with bells on for the 10th annual regatta!  Who's coming with us?