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I’ve always liked a challenge and have a natural problem solving mind. No fish is going to get the better of me, or so I thought. Every time I stabbed at Igor he would open his mouth wide and flash those horribly large teeth at me. I decided the only way to get him was to thrust the skewer down his throat and try to pierce him internally. Well I don’t know who got the bigger surprise, me or Igor. Igor bit down on the metal skewer, severed my line and swam away, skewer still sticking out of his mouth. So if you are ever fishing at Garry’s Anchorage please be on the lookout for this rogue fish and if by chance you should land him, I would love my skewer back. |
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COMMODORE’S CORNER...continued |
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Above: Igor’s younger sister, caught at Garry’s Anchorage. No skewer here. Photo courtesy of Col and Ann. |
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CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE WHALE KIND—OR HOW TO SCARE A BUNCH OF BLOKES
I awoke early one morning whilst at Rooney Point on Fraser Island and decided I would try my hand at fishing. I left Grant sleeping below and quietly went on deck just prior to sunrise. It was a beautiful still morning with crystal clear water.
About 100 metres away a motor boat with 5 men on board was anchored fishing. All was quiet. I was facing away from the motor boat and somewhat lost in my own thoughts when a huge commotion erupted from behind me. I spun round to see the motor boat rise about 1 metre on a large wave. The men were yelling “Whale, Whale, Whale!” and sounded extremely scared. The next minute they were gunning their engine and motoring backwards still with the anchor down.
The wave passed under them and then I could see the underwater shadow of a large humpback whale. It eventually came up for breath a little way off from Masala and continued on its journey. Meanwhile the men were over-excited and using very colourful language F*** this and F*** that. It took a good 15 minutes for them to calm down and return to their fishing. I worked out that the whale had dived under their boat. The upwelling water from its powerful flukes had lifted the boat and its anchor and pushed the boat sideways. |
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SNAPSHOT—DOING THE LAUNDRY REVISITED
Last month’s snapshot of life on board evoked an interesting response from Martha, our neighbour at East Coast Marina, now ashore in Brisbane while the boat is stationed at Mackay. Here is a summary of what she had to say:
Did laugh to myself about the washing. If you (being we of the female lot) do not work on the engines then you usually find that the laundry is your chore. Having not used a Laundromat since we were able to afford our first washing machine some 25 years ago (even if it was second hand), it comes as a shock.
Our first landfall at Mooloolaba quickly let me know what I was in for. Arriving on a Sunday, I strolled up to the laundry and saw several loads sitting in a line on the floor and two machines in operation. “Hmm,” I thought. “This is not the way I want to spend the afternoon.” So I rose at 6:00 am the next morning and raced up with the washing, just beating someone else meandering over. |