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FROLICKING TO FRASER ISLAND...continued |
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It was a sparkling day that flowed into a sparkling evening and then one of the best night sails we’ve had. The conditions were mild and dry, and a steady breeze caressed our beam. Masala shot along at up to 7.3 knots with a reef in the main and only half the headsail, courtesy of her slippery new bottom. Whilst enjoyable, the extra speed was a problem – we would arrive to cross the notorious Wide Bay Bar at the southern end of Fraser Island far too early for the tide. So sadly we had to furl away the headsail and put a second reef in the main, to slow the express train down. |
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There are few things on the planet to beat a fiery red full moonrise at sea, perhaps because the phenomenon is so unexpected. Naturally you are aware of when sunrise is due, but the same doesn’t apply to moonrise. So it comes as a shock when, in the pitch black, a large flat strip of deep red light appears smeared across the horizon. The other reason it takes you so much by surprise is that this colour is more normally associated with the sun, not the moon. And on land, the point where the moon first breaks the horizon is normally obscured – not so on the ocean. The moon literally oozes above the horizon like a layer of molten steel poured from a blast furnace. |
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Above: the rising full moon quickly transforms from molten fire on the horizon to its normal shape, here more like a rock melon or cantaloupe than the conventional cheese. |
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Once across the Wide Bay Bar and into the Great Sandy Straits, we headed for our secret anchorage where we spent five magic days with the place all to ourselves. We took the dinghy ashore with Leanne’s new bait pump on board. On last year’s cruise, we were taught by Len, Maurie and Von off the sailing cat Akama, how to locate and pump out yabbies for bait. Then they took us fishing and taught us how to catch Whiting. Now it was time to see if we could do it all ourselves. |
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Below: Wide Bay Bar, Fraser Island |
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After pumping around in the sand for a while with no results, we finally hit the jackpot. Before long our bait bucket was a wriggling mass of yabbies, all trying to burying themselves in the layer of wet muddy sand in the bottom of the bucket. Then out into the shallows we went, bait on, WHACK! A Whiting! Hey, this really works! Quite a few went back as they were undersized, but the final kept tally was 6 Whiting and 3 Flathead. Back to Masala for a yummy feed of fresh fish with French beans, a salad and tartare sauce. Thanks Len, Maurie & Von, you’d be proud of us. |
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Left: sunset at our secret anchorage |