Magical Magnetic Island & Terrific Townsville…
What is the perfect size town or city to live in??? I’d think it would need to be big enough to have pro sports teams, get good concerts but still have a small town feel and be a safe community. I think Townsville rocks !!! Home of The Cowboys a Rugby League team that was one win away from another Grand Final berth again this year.( For those of you in the USA not knowing what Rugby League is…try to imagine NFL football without any pads, no stops in play, and a tackling style that remind me of steer-wrestling) Also home of The Croc’s a professional Basketball team in the NBL, of course it’s not the NBA level but “I wouldn’t live in Cleveland just to watch Labron play anyways”.
Jupiters Casino is next to the Townsville Entertainment Center right in front of the “duck pond” a free anchorage right outside the marina breakwater in the center of town…”gotta love it"…(see photo)

Magnetic Island is about 8 miles offshore from Townsville, we spent a week in Horseshoe Bay, I’d say it is almost a perfect anchorage. We were able to get wireless internet in the bay though no cell phone reception. We were lucky enough to catch the “Bay Day” a jazz festival, a great day of live jazz on the beach. One afternoon we went out for a day sail, just put the sails up and tacked straight out towards the GBR ahhhh…perfect… I had the lures trolling behind and bang !!!! Fish on !!! It didn’t feel like a Tuna they have their own feel, as I brought the fish closer to the back step I saw it was a shark, yuck!!!
It was a pretty damn big shark too with one of my best lures in his mouth. I live on the water and spend a lot of time in it too, so have come up with a theory that if I don’t kill or eat sharks they will show me the same respect. Now how can I get my lure back safely? Well getting a treble hook with barbs dislodged from a swimming shark on a boat sailing 5~6 knots ain’t easy…A new Repella rattler lure is about $25. and I’m not going to give one of my best lures to a damn shark!!! End of story…
Another beautiful afternoon we hiked up to the Forts, these forts were built to defend Townsville from the Japanese in WW2. On the hike we saw a couple Koala bears sleeping in the trees. It was our first experience to see Koalas in the wild;( see photo) they are surprisingly cute and have great expressions on their faces. On the way down we saw some Wallabies bouncing along the path and as we walked back towards Horseshoe Bay the full moon rose giving Magnetic Island a truly magical feel.
As for us right now we have a few things to sort out here in port, a small tear in the mainsail, leaky pump in the head, a few new books to read, re-stocking of fishing supplies and of course a chance to try my luck at the tables at Jupiters Casino coinciding with the happy hour drink prices…