Day 28, Year 3: East Hope Island to Cooktown
Date: Friday, June 6, 2008
Weather: Another Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood; Winds SE 20
Latitude: 15 degrees 27.853 minutes S
Longitude: 145 degrees 14.585 minutes E
Location: Cooktown, Queensland, Australia

We arrived safely in Cooktown, but it was a little nerve wracking getting in here. The directions we had for entering from an up-to-date guide book we have were very helpful and the newest version of C-Maps was right on. We did go over the sandbar and the lowest depth we recorded was 9 feet. This gave us about 3 feet under the keel, but we came in on high tide and it was an exceptional high tide. Getting back out is another matter, but we’ll worry about that on Sunday or Monday. We will be fine
as long as we leave just before or right at high tide. They really mean it when they tell you not to enter or leave here unless you are on a rising tide, so we will obey.

Cooktown is a cute little outpost town. This is the weekend of their Discovery Festival. Just after we arrived, we went into town to check it out. We walked from one end to the other and gathered information. Unfortunately, the only internet caf� was closing this afternoon and won’t reopen until Tuesday, but we might find internet at one of the hotels. Because this is the “June Long Weekend” some things will be closed, but then there are many things that we will get to experience that only happen
on this weekend once a year. The official opening of the festival was tonight. We listened to the usual political speeches and stayed for a light-hearted play, “Farewell James, My Darling.” This was at the James Cook Museum. The number of people in period dress was most impressive and the play had a great ending with James Cook returning to his wife Elizabeth in England very much an Aussie. He had simply spent too much time exploring the “southern continent.” Most everything this weekend has
to do with Captain James Cook, but there is a replica of Dutch Tall ship at the wharf, the Duyfken. This ship is about 70 feet long and sailed in these waters in the 1500’s, long before James Cook. We plan to enjoy the festivities this weekend and will probably leave here on Monday. On Sunday morning there is a re-enactment performance of Captain James Cook and the crew of the Endeavor landing here in 1770. This is the 49th year of the re-enactment and we think it will be great fun.

080606 Day 28 East Hope Island to Cooktown