11th 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.
15th May 2013
Upstart Bay 19o 43.707S 147o 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.
It even has mist in the hills in the morning
16th 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.
