We left Cairns on the most perfect weather day,our first for a while! The Australian navy on one side of  us as we sailed down the channel and 2000+ triathlon swimmers on the other. Our first stopover was at Low Islets,these comprise of 2 islands, one mangrove and the other housing the lighthouse ,a couple of houses with some researchers who are stationed there.There was a good 3 G connection here. As we picked up one of the 3 public moorings the 4 foot sharks,turtles and some very large bat fish came to circle and shelter under Callisto. We had a good walk around the island and spoke to Jenny who is stationed there for 3 years ,she assured us the sharks were friendly,so the captain and young Ron went snorkeling. Leaving at first light we set off for Hope island,unfortunately we could see that the 2 moorings were already taken and the entrance into the reef was unclear with all the wind waves and white caps ,so we opted to continue on to Cooktown, and as already blogged the entrance was too shallow( not what the chart said), with goose eggs on the depth finder halfway up the channel the captain made a sharp about turn and we anchored just outside the red and green markers,rather rolly! But there was 3G for our Internet ! Setting off at first light ,finding our special glasses ( last used for the solar eclipse in  French Polynesia   in 2010)for the transit of venus along route, we think we saw a once in a lifetime event .Again we had a very quick sail to Lizard island, quite a united nations of world traveling yachts are in this anchorage flying   1 danish, 1 swiss, 1 swedish,3 Dutch,2 American ,4 Australian,2 new Zealand  ,1 german and our British red ensign.The water here is probably the clearest we have seen since New Caledonia. Our first afternoons entertainment was watching a fire creep up the hillside with the strong winds here,then later that evening a 100 foot cruise ship came in ,in the dark and picked up a mooring 2 boat lengths away! We had a lovely hike over to the blue lagoon on the other side of the island,the captain and young Ron needed a nap post walk. A note for yachties following us, we do have 3G here ,but we are anchored the furthest out in the bay. Today has been snorkeling, discovering giant clams ,live corals and cleaning under the boat. We also encountered  a friendly visit from the Oz customs officers who are patrolling these waters. We set off tomorrow for Howick island.