A quiet day today for us only a few jobs but we are crossing a few things off the list. One of the challenges of marina life especially in a Super Yacht Marina is the passing traffic and today we had to put up with the people in the three photos in this post – and yes it is a challenge but I am coping. Fresh prawns for dinner tonight and then next week we get set to head south to Sydney.

I think I got it pretty right we did knock off about 5.30 yesterday but we still seem to have plenty to do. Had a nice meal up in marina area tonight and early to bed as it has been another busy day. We never seem to get to the end of the damn list! Tomorrow is a day of rest !!!! (well one can hope) .

First happy 30th to Andrew Howie, our godson, I hope you are a good boy at this party Andrew and behave as your Godfather would behave! We are still on the Gold Coast having had the dinghy attended to by Swift who have been a bit tardy but with Chris on their case and a helpful sales guy, Roy we seem to have made them see sense and the dinghy looks like it is in better shape now. We have also been up to our armpits in boat jobs (why are there sooooo many !?). Wednesday and Thursday we had both bow watertight compartments open so we could check them and tighten and seal screw / bolt holes. What a job, fortunately for me Chris was small enough to fit in while I am just too round to fit in the tight spots so Chris got the rough end of the deal. We think we have sealed it up and today is a layday with only 5 hours of work scheduled instead of the usual 12-13. We purchased some fresh prawns and bugs straight on the trawler yesterday and had them for dinner – yum they were great. The weather is OK now but a big blow is coming so we have decided to wait it out in the Gold Coast. We are both now keen to get home but we must be disciplined and wait until the weather is right. So hopefully we will be home in 10 days or so. Then we have the “pleasure” of unpacking, and getting the boat back into Sydney shape.

We are in the Gold Coast. We came from Peel Island via the narrow and shallow channels on a rising tide. We had no trouble with depth but did need to keep our wits about us. I don’t know if the twits who drive the big Stink Boats get their lobotomy free with the boat or they have the operation before but Jesus they’re stupid. One goose came past in a narrow part of the channel about 5 metres away in a big Rivera kicking up about a one metre wave. Shook the crap out of us – the man is an idiot and should have his boat confiscated. We came down the Broadwater to be confronted with every boat under the sun – there were boats everywhere and only every tenth person had a clue. It was mayhem. After the peace we have enjoyed further north we were like the kids from the bush. There is something about the Gold Coast that attracts the flash and the gaudy. These idiots come past 10m away waving and smiling and knock the crap out of you. However we are in a nice marina in the main part of town and it is not too pricy. There are restaurants and shops near by so Mother is happy. We have a few boat jobs and hope to out of here nest week for the run home to Sydney. We had a lovely day today with Rob and Steph and Rob’s Mum and Dad and brother, John and wife Fran. We took Rob’s boat from Southport to Hope Island, and had a picnic lunch on the way. It was great to catch up with nearly all the Howie clan. Rob’s Mum and Dad are in fine form and we had a great day.

We have been busy bees the last few days. Finally the wind has swung to the north, yeah! Since last time we have been holed up at Gary’s Anchorage in a very strong and usually NW which confused everyone. Great lightening show that night but the thunderstorms did not Passover us luckily. After a couple of days at Gary’s and a final dinner with Synergy and Tacks Z Evasion we parted company on Wednesday morning, them to head for Tin Can Bay and “home” and us to Pelican Point to be ready to cross Wide Bay Bar early Thursday morning. Thursday dawned with a light easterly breeze and a pretty quiet bar, yeah! We got up at 0430 and had the anchor up at 0500. Off to the Bar. It was a bit lumpy in the stretch they call “The Mad Mile” but other than that it was a perfect gentleman. We made great time and arrived at Mooloolaba River Entrance about 1430. We were getting low on fuel as we have bloody driven from Mackay, so we fuelled up and dropped the pick in the “Duck Pond”, dinner at a little Thai place on the wharf – all good. Up at 0430 the next morning (this getting up at 0430 better not be habit forming!) to make a dash for Peel Island at the southern end of Moreton Bay. We are now anchored up at Peel and will head toward the Gold Coast tomorrow. Chris caught a good Spanish Mackerel on the way today so more fresh fish – but don’t they make a HUGE mess.

Well we left Bundaberg at 0600 (yes a sleep in!) on Sunday to cross Hervey Bay and into the Great Sandy Straits. It was another windless morning, so the engines got another work out. Slowly through the morning a bit of breeze came in but only 4 knots and the sea was glassy – so we had a flat ride. About 11-12 the breeze started to fill in and we were able to sail – yeah!!. We had been trolling for time and we hooked a nice big Spanish Mackerel which was great to fight as we brought it in but 2 metres from the back of the boat it threw the lure and escaped – it was a great fight and we have fish to eat so can’t complain. By 1300 we were sailing along nicely and planned to stop at Big Woody Island for the night but as there was a bit of west in the breeze it was not going to work. We then headed for Kingfisher – too rolly so we kept going to South White Cliffs (Yankee Jacks) That was the best sail of the day! 15-20 knots on a reach and we were doing over 8 knots. Anchored up in here for the night and moving on to Pelican Point to be ready for Wide Bay Bar, which now looks like Wednesday not Tuesday.

We have escaped Pancake Creek, leaving at 0430 in the morning to make the long, long run to Bundaberg. So, now we are up at 0500 and Sunday typing this blog in the Burnett River (upon which sits Bundaberg) this early start must be catching. The trip to Bundie was another drive……..only had wind in the last 2 hours – the winds have been so contrary this trip. We did have some fun fishing. We caught a very large Mackerel Tuna – took me 30 minutes to land it and my shoulders are stiff this morning. Unfortunately they are lousy eating. A couple of hours later we landed a nice 80cm+ Spanish Mackerel , and they are GOOD eating. So that’s dinner fro a couple of days. Today we drive (again) to Fraser Island (maybe wind later today) where we will spend a few days before positioning ourselves for Wide Bay Bar, the trickiest bar on the coast. We will wait for near perfect conditions for that sucker! We are still travelling in company, but from Bundaberg some people are going there separate ways. It has been a great few weeks with these people and Chris and I are very grateful for their company, advice and easy friendship.

We are still in Pancake Creek. We now think that Monday looks positive to run to Bundaberg. It takes a deal of patience to put up with waiting for the weather window but as there is nothing one can do about it you just have to go with the flow. Tuesday was a red letter day for the crew of Phlat Chat. We went to check our crab pots about midday and lo and behold a giant mud crab was sitting happily on the trap we found washed up and wrecked at Sea Hill. We rebuilt it and it has paid us in spades! The crab was male (you can’t keep females) and was 180 mm across 30mm more than legal size and it weighed 1.25KG – a whopper. The question was what to do now – the damn thing had claws that cold literally take your finger off. We did the smart thing and called for help from the locals. Bob from Kinta knows what’s what and he came to the rescue. We tipped the monster out into a bucket and put a wet towel over him, and a bloody big cover on the bucket. Chris was VERY nervous about getting up through the night in case he got out. He didn’t. Wednesday morning he was dispatched and cooked (thanks to our crab consultant Bob, who directed proceedings and allowed us to borrow the kit we needed. We can him cols for tea – he was magnificent. God, I hope we catch a few more!! Last night we had a progressive dinner on three boats, Synergy, Phalt Chat and Tack Z Evasion. It was great fun – we ate too much and had a ball. 12 people moving from boat to boat eating too well and too often. Today we walked to Aircraft Beach (about 4 kms each way) and had lunch with the “Tin Can Bay Mob”. It is called Aircraft Beach as planes land there. One was there as we arrived and he took Chris for a lift as he taxied up his “runway” – pretty cool. After lunch four of us decided to walk the extra distance to the Lighthouse, another couple of kilometres. There we met Anne and Dennis who kindly invited us in for a cup of tea and a chat. We then walked back to the dinghy and checked our crab pots (nothing!!!). Another busy day at Pancake Creek.

Fishing was the order of the day this morning so off we went to fish in the same spot Andrew caught a few good whiting yesterday – guess what no fish, well no keepers anyway. Bob from Kinta got two nice whiting and two good bream. I wondered where he was sneaking off to? While we were fishing it poured with rain and we got soaked, worse still we left our hatches open a tiny bit for ventilation and as this was the strongest rain we had had we got water inside. My side of the bed is wet, wet, wet and some water ended up under our computers, fortunately they seem OK and the galley had a bit of water on its floor too. So we have learnt a lesson, don’t leave the hatches open even a tiny bit if rain is even a remote possibility. We ended up with 12 people aboard Phlat Chat for morning tea, which started at about 1230 and finished about 1415. Chris and I then had lunch about 1500. We ate yesterday’s flathead for lunch, it was beautiful. We have a little whiting left for tea – which will just be a snack as drinkies are on Tack Z Evasion tonight. It is raining non stop now and Chris has rigged up a water catcher and of course it works a treat (I was not that confident) just a little funnel on the coach house roof with a bit of piping. So far we have filled three buckets and the solar shower bag. We’ll have to disconnect it soon as we will run out of buckets. Chris is delighted with this new source of fresh water so she can keep cleaning, her favourite pastime.

Yesterday was an interesting day! We started out fishing off the back of the boat and caught a stingray, followed by a GIANT toadfish (see picture) what an ugly brute with teeth to take finger off and it is reported that these fish have done exactly that! Yuk. We set two crab pots also yesterday and at low tide we went yabbying in the same area. We got a good few yabbies, great bait for whiting. Anyway Chris decided to walk over the sand banks to check one of the pots – it was in a little channel. In she waded to look at it and pulled it up to see if we had a couple of fat mud crabs. No such luck but we did have a metre long grey coloured shark – she shrieked and threw the trap back in the water. So brave Andrew to the rescue. In I went and pulled up the trap – I could not see the shark, until it moved – scared the crap out of me. Undeterred I reached in a pulled it out by the tail. Once I had it suspended from my hand I was wondering what to do next when Chris said, “it’s got a little sucked fish on it”. So I turned it to see and the damn thing started to fold upwards toward my arm – my turn to shriek and drop the bloody thing as fast as I could. Unfortunately it landed in the water and took off. It was AP’s job to re-set the crab pot, hard to do looking all round you at the same time. Will check the pots today and I hope the shark is smart enough to avoid the pot this time. We had drinks of Synergy last night and on the way back one of the ladies fell into the water off the back of her dinghy – her partner managed to help her to get to the side of the dinghy, where she was able to hold on to the gunwale. A couple of us left Synergy in our dinghies realising something was wrong – we did not know what it was until we got there to help. We managed to get her on board but she was in mild shock so I don’t think we will see her for a while. It was a frightening and sobering experience for all the people in the team we are travelling with. It is blowing quite hard here today over 20 knots I reckon and we are getting occasional rain squalls so it is a day to catch up on inside jobs – maybe a walk this afternoon. We didn’t walk, we checked our crab pots instead and caught up with Bob and Julia and Ron and Robyn where Chris was taught how to play Rummy-o ( a game with tiles using numbers). But the crab pots were interesting. In the first fancy one, nothing, but in the little one two muddies and a fish. Unfortunately the muddies were tiny so they went back into the water but the fish was a beauty, a nice big flathead – he must have been 55cm long so he is for breakie tomorrow. A quite night tonight on board with some red meat for tea. We have been eating a lot of fish lately – good for us too.

We arrived at Sea Hill mid morning on Wednesday not too much of a great spot and no wind (that is until 2 hours after we arrived – we should have left later). The next morning, Thursday was “The Narrows” a thin strip of water between Curtis Island and the mainland leading to Gladstone. It is very shallow – so much so that it dries out at low tide and cattle are herded across at low tide on dry ground. We had to wait until the tide was right – easier for us than for the keel boats travelling with us. Cadenza Blue and Synergy had to time it just right as they draw about 2 m. We all got through with Phlat Chat leading the way as we only needed a metre. We got to Gladstone Marina, and did the work start!! The girls hired a king cab ute and went shopping filling the back – the ute even had a flashing yellow light on the roof – very cool. The boys did boat jobs – we fuelled three boats with jerry cans, which took a long time, filled up water , replenished gas for cooking etc. We had Rob Turnbull to dinner and it was great to catch up with Rob. We even saw him the next morning at 0540 when he delivered a package for us. Thanks mate! We left Gladstone at 0555 to go to Pancake Creek before the next big southerly blow comes in - they are not supposed to do this at this time of the year but the weather system have clearly not read the book. Looks like we are here for 5-7 days before a long run to Bundaberg. Today’s trip was not much fun, safe but lumpy- 15 knots from the east and of course on this part of the coast we are heading due East!! Pancake Creek is a great place so it should be fun especially with all the boats we are sailing with who were at Port Clinton too. We also caught up with Bob and Julia again so that was a bonus. “Sundowners” was on a sand island that forms at low tide. We were restricted as to how long we could stay as there was an incoming tide. It was good to have an early night.