Wednesday 17 July 2013

Bundaberg and beyond

The passage through the Sandy straits was uneventful.
After the night at Inskip Point we motored up to Tin Can bay to find somewhere to buy a couple of crab pots as we didn't want to pass up the opportunity of hopefully catching a few muddies.
The local chandlery was able to help out, so after a cruise around the Tin Can Bay estuary in the dingy we decided to stay in the area at anchor for the night.
Early the next morning we sailed up the strait to Garry's Anchorage, a muddy gutter off the main channel which is a popular anchorage, as it is sheltered and easy to get ashore. This is thickly forested and has some very pleasant walks.
We loaded up the crab pots with dog food loaf and tried to look as if we knew what we were doing as we located the spot to drop the pots. At low tide most of the pots are sitting on the mud and we realised we needn't have bought pots as there were old pots scattered everywhere throughout the anchorage.
On our first pull the next morning we caught a biggy! Onto Google to see how to cook it! All was revealed and a pleasant lunch followed.

After a couple of nights at Garry's it was time to move on, especially when Di spotted a big dingo on the shore where we water the dogs. Her last trip ashore that morning saw her armed with a dingy paddle over her shoulder. No dingo was going to get one of her babys!!

The weather in the sandy straits was overcast and showery so we were pleased to find the sun shining when we anchored later in the day at North White Cliffs, an area of sand cliffs and a long sandy beach. We had been keeping company with Mike and Helen on Grande Cru (Bavaria 50) during our time in the straits and a few relaxing sun downers were enjoyed in their company.
Helen introduced us to skipr.net which is a position reporting site that covers boats on the move all over. Its worth a look.
We left this anchorage early on Friday 12th and had another good sail to Bundaberg (60 miles) with the headsail poled out most of the way.
The Bundaberg Port Marina only lost a couple of pontoons in the floods last year but the Mid City Marina was wiped out with many boats swept out to sea still attached to the marina pontoons. This flood was HUGE with water speeds reported as high as 80KPH.
We have used our stop here to catch up on some restocking and washing plus an important stop at the rum distillery shop for some of their yummy liqueur.
On Sunday we drove South 300km to catch up with Tim and Sue Gourlay and family who are holidaying at Noosa Heads. It was great to see their family and meet all of the grandchildren.
Two days were spent doing things not normal for us yachties like golf and chasing one another around the Go Kart track in the wet! Tim and I taught the younger generation a few tricks probably left over from our younger hooning days.
We arrived back at the boat yesterday and spent the day today sorting through a months mail (thanks Aileen)
The weather over the next couple of days is forecast to be fairly light so we are planning to head out to the reef to Lady Musgrave atoll. As this is 50 miles or so offshore we wont be in phone range so I will move my sim card into the Sat Phone.

I hope to find time to select a few photos covering the last week or so. It is amazing how quickly the time is going and how diverse the trip has been so far.

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