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STARLIGHT, STAR BRIGHT...continued |
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A dreamy afternoon was punctuated by the sudden appearance of four large Humpback whales on a converging course. We started the engine to alert them to our presence, then used it to get ahead of the leviathans when they held their collision course. Hervey Bay is the spot to go for whale watching – the place is literally infested. |
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Just before midnight the wind came in from the north-east. From being behind time we were soon way in front as Masala skipped along under headsail only, at up to 6.7 knots. We had already dropped the main to reduce speed, and had to furl the headsail in half way as well, otherwise we were going to arrive off the reef before sunrise – not a good idea.
If the night sail to Fraser Island was good, this one was even better. There was no moon at all so you might think it would be very dark. Not so. The blazing stars radiated a tremendous amount of light, making it quite easy to see. We have never before seen such brightness from the stars. Some even had paths reflected in the sea, like the stairway to the moon.
It was fun to lie on your back in the cockpit and watch the sky as Masala sailed. The absence of any moon made it easy to see just how many meteors are bombarding our atmosphere.
Perhaps the most spectacular sight was the phosphorescence in the sea. We had the usual glowing bow waves and wake where the water was disturbed, most prevalent on moonless nights. But this time, near the boat and especially in the wake, there were circular explosions of purple light going off like depth charges as seen in war movies. Quite something.
We had the biggest tide of the year that night, at 4.5 metres. The huge volumes of water rushing north and south along the coast interact with the wind to produce short, steep seas that race unseen out of the darkness. From midnight for about three hours, Masala was thrown about unmercifully. Fortunately she is a great sea boat and handled it well, but the violent motion and tiredness got to Leanne on her midnight to 3 a.m. watch (the most difficult, in our book) and she had to be relieved early. We both took the unusual step of popping a sea-sickness pill (Avil, an antihistamine) as conditions really were unpleasant for that period. |
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Above: Gannets watch us passing by |
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Above: Humpback whales in Hervey Bay |