Disaster!!!

11^th May 2013

Airlie Beach is very pretty town. It services the Wetsunday Islands and the place is teeming with European backpackers. The street front looks like Bali with everyone selling tours, renting stinger suits, diving gear, jet skis or boats.  I’m parked between charter cats and most of them operate out of here or, nearby Shute harbor.

On the walk down to the Saturday markets there are still a couple of boats lying where they finished up after then last blow.  Perhaps they might have slipped their mooring line and drifted in.  This reminds me of something that happened to us the first night here. Can’t remember what it was at the moment.  Perhaps The Great Kepple could remind me? 

Wrecked on the rocks

Before GK left we had the obligatory steak dinner.  This is the one restaurant we didn’t need.

After the usual trip to the hardware  I spent a day on the beach tidying up Merv.  The fisheries guys I spoke to in Mackay made a comment about the collar hiding his registration numbers.  Even though he’s a little bit too big I’ve decided he is now a tender and anointed him so.

Merv is tightly locked in up high in the davits now when we are underway,  He also has a little bit of grey on his mo to stop him marking the boat when we get in and out of him.

Leaving Airlie Beach

Whilst doing this work I pulled a muscle in my back and have had to take it easy up for a couple of days. It means I’m going to miss the good wind that has been forecast and will probably use a bit more diesel getting to Townsville.

15^th May 2013

Upstart Bay 19^o 43.707S 147^o 44.747E

Left early this morning and was going to have short day to take it easy.  There was a bit of breeze but then died when I caught a small spotted mackerel for breakfast. Fairly bland compared to Spanish Mackerel.  By the time it was filleted, fried and masticated the engine had to go on. At least the weather was fine.

I had planned to pull in at around noon at Queens Bay just outside Bowen but the wind came up from the North.  This is very unusual for this time of year and would have left me on a lee shore. (This means that if the anchor dragged the boat would get blown onto the beach.) It was either go back to Bowen or head on up to here.  By the time I got started through the coal ships waiting to be loaded the wind died completely out and it was flat sunset.

 

 

The anchorage at Cape Upstart was is as still as a politician’s synapses. 

There are a lot of fishing shacks here.  A bit like wedge Island but much prettier.

It even has mist in the hills in the morning

 

16^th May 2013

Disaster!    

I lost my best lure this morning.  I hooked a bloody great sailfish who danced away with it.  It cut though the 200lb leader without a second thought. I would have let him go anyway. It was a pretty ugly lure that looked very unlikely but it caught fish!  Dam! (teeth gnashing)

 

I'm using lure number two now which only seems to catch Mackerel.