Cullen Bay.

Sunday 29th June.

Church at casuarina Uniting this morning. The congregation is quite mixed with islanders, indigenous, Chinese and Aussies. A high percentage of kids none of who wear shoes.

After church we drove to Cullen Bay, parked the car and had a look at all the yachts and big power boats in the marina. They have a lock here between the protected waters of the marina and the ocean. Because the tides in this part of the world are so huge, up to 8 metres the lock is filled purely by gravity. Provided the tide is above 5.6 metres the incoming gates can be opened to allow vessels to enter from the ocean side. Once inside the lock these gates are then closed and the water level within the lock is drained into the marina until the two levels are identical. This serves to alternatively keep the water level within the marina topped up. The marina side gates are then opened to allow the vessel to exit into the marina. Entry and or exit from the ocean side is therefore dependant on the tide level on the outside or ocean side. The big advantage gained is that no pumps are required to move the water into the lock, it is all done by gravity.