CREEPY CRITTERS
    

Leaving our safe haven in the Brisbane river (except for the Bull sharks) we were headed for the tropical north where more than Australia's fair share of dangerous critters live.

From Rockhampton north to Darwin we would be in crocodile country.  We had been warned  about stories of croc's jumping into dinghies or using these rubber boats as teething rings not to mention deadly jellyfish so thick you could not even swim.  Venomous snakes, poisonous cone shells and vicious biting sand flies could make even beachcombing a nightmare. 

Below are warnings from our Cruising the Coral Coast guide.
    

Crocodiles have become a menace!  Fatalities are increasing! Never swim in any river or in the vicinity of it's mouth!

 

Since the ban on hunting crocodiles have recovered in extraordinary numbers,
 none with any memory of man, the armed aggressor.  

 

BEWARE OF STINGERS

Entanglement in it's tentacles is almost certain death!

Box Jellyfish

                                                                                                                 Irukandji           


The Box Jellyfish is one of the many species of 'stingers' or 'sea wasps' than inhabit the Queensland coastal waters from Gladstone north in the wet season. The venomous tentacles can grow up to 9 feet long. The extremely toxic venom affects the skin, blood and heart muscle, causes an immediate excruciating painful sting and with a high number of contact over a broad area can cause death.

The Irukandji is not confined to the coastal areas but also inhabits off shore reefs. Much smaller than the Box Jellyfish the Irukandji's sting is often barely noticed until about 30 min. later then......
severe low back pain, cramping, in all four limbs and the abdomen and chest, that come in waves, goose pimples, sweating, a feeling of impending doom and, in some cases spiking blood pressure. These stings are almost always fatal.  
 

Any onshore wind can wash the sea wasp towards the beaches, but it seems a northerly is the most dangerous wind conditions. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Swim in netted beach areas

 One can greatly reduce the chances of a sting by wearing a 'stinger suit' or light weight lycra suit, to cover most of the body's surface area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Treatment for stings
Douse with vinegar
Seek medical help
 

DEADLY SNAKES
 

BEWARE!!
Many Australians species are so highly poisonous that one bite can deliver enough venom to kill a number of people, let alone a single victim.

The death adder lies in dust and sand and strikes when trodden on.   It is a sluggish reptile and will not necessarily evade your approach.  The taipan is one of the most venomous snakes and lives dominantly on the Cape York Peninsula.  It might be encountered anywhere in the bush and its potential for aggression without apparent provocation should be considered despite its rarity.

 NEVER KISS A SNAKE

 No Matter How Much You Love Them!


A golden rule with many snakes is to never sit quietly on or walk along a beach of an evening presuming it to be a sterile environment.  Snakes sometimes venture from the scrub line to the sea for reasons uncertain.  This seems especially true in the spring season.
 

MAN'S WORST NIGHTMARE

     We left Boy Dong Island and Little Boy Dong behind.  Was this a sign?  Just around the corner from the Top End at Cape York we pulled up anchor.  Let me say, before you read on, that we are both fine.  I may forever be a bit squeamish and certainly Steve more protective.
     There, squeezed between one of the anchor chain links, was a pale fleshy colored appendage about 6 inches long (could have been 8 but who measures?)  painfully stuck, bulging at both ends.  I screamed for Steve but upon his arrival and seeing the situation, made a hasty retreat back to the cockpit with the most agonizing look on his face.
      It was up to me.  How could I release this poor, now purple veined appendage, from it's lethal grip?  The anchor was off the bottom and just dangling there.  I had to move fast.  I slowly weighed  anchor, the chain with the appendage making it safely over the roller but it was necessary to drop anchor again to get it in the proper position.  That was when it happened!! 
      It was a very climatic ending when the poor thing got caught under the roller and exploded all over the bow sprit!   Beche-de-Mer.......Beche-de-Mer-der!  
         
                  A Beche-de-Mer caught in S/V Ariel's anchor chain (not dangerous just gruesome)
 
They are a type of sea slug or sea cucumber.  Beche-de Mer is a delicacy I am told.  The Japanese love them. It eats from it's bottom and defecates from it's mouth.   Doesn't sound too appetizing to me.
 

GHOSTING SHIPS
April 15, 2006    GHOST SHIP FOUND - Pirates or Death by Misadventure??

Much mystery surrounds the disappearance of the three man crew aboard s/v Kaz II

While we were anchored at Muddy Flats off Airlie Beach, a hazard of another type unfolded.  The catamaran Kaz II was found ghosting 160nm off the coast of Townsville after leaving Airlie Beach three days earlier in rough weather.   The main sail was up but torn, engine running with boat moving at 1kt, GPS and computer on, the table set for lunch and undisturbed, fenders down on the port side with the dinghy up on the davits.  The three men aboard were never to be found.    Three weeks on, after an extensive and exhausting search, it was concluded  ' Death by Misadventure'.