THAT’S ALL, FOLKS ...until next time

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THE END...continued

Making the decision to stay put at Garry’s Anchorage in the Great Sandy Straits, while other boats left and crossed the Wide Bay Bar on the way south to Mooloolaba. Shortly afterwards the Bureau of Meteorology issued a storm warning over the radio. A massive inland thunderstorm cell stretching from Brisbane to Rockhampton was bearing down on the coast.

 

Within an hour the sky went dark, a frightening rolling black cloud bore down on us, and all hell broke loose. Masala was caught between the outgoing tide and the wind and waves pouring into the anchorage. She sat side on, heeled over at 20 degrees as the wind hit 40 knots gusting 60 and the driving rain reduced visibility to zero. But we were securely anchored. The boats which had left that morning had a very bad time. There had been enough warning to allow them to get their sails down, even so they were blown all over the ocean at frightening speeds for the hour that the storm lasted. Ironically the afternoon was clear, calm and sunny, as if nothing had ever happened.

Right: Garry’s anchorage after the storm

Scooting across the Wide Bay Bar at Fraser Island, beam reaching at 6 knots with all three sails up.
Then followed one of the most remarkable events in our boating history. We were probably about 5 miles offshore when a very small land bird, the gorgeously coloured Rufuos Fantail, appeared from nowhere on Masala. We couldn’t decide whether the bird had been blown offshore in the storm yesterday and was trying to make its way back to land, or whether it just wanted to go sailing. From the log:

 

The little bird covered the boat from end to end, collecting bugs to eat. It was totally fearless. It flew under the doghouse while we sat there, poking into everything, then would pop up and out the open hatch. It sat on the cockpit seats with us and had a snooze. It perched on my feet, trousers and shoulder, and for a while even sat in my lap. Never have we seen such behaviour in a wild bird. Then it flew down below and was rummaging in everything and pooping occasionally. We had to shoo it out several times and in the end it was so persistent we had to put in the insect screens to keep it out. Leanne went below and was asleep on the saloon settee. I went down to go to the loo. When I came out the bird was sitting on the back of the settee, serenely gazing down into Leanne’s sleeping face. It stayed all the rest of the day, disappearing just before dusk. We never saw it again.

 

A special conclusion to a great trip.