Zofia - Sailing Adventures: February 2014

Bounty of the sea

Today has been a stunner here at Streaky Bay. The Bloke and I think that summer might finally have arrived. One way or another we have seldom needed to slip, slop, slap. Slipping on a hat has been the extent of it because we've mostly been in long sleeves...so far anyway.

This morning, we saw a very shinny Streaky Bay and probably more in it's normal pattern. The weather almanac indicates an average Feb rainfall of 14mm. This year its is 114mm due to the 108mm that fell in a single 24 hour period last week. The sky is clearing up now.

Easy Tiger closest to town. Pure Logic - Jeff and Heather's Catalina 34, in the foreground.

The Bloke wondered what the prevailing breeze is. Give him a hint!

Looking north today. The good news is that the water clarity is improving. But what do the KG's think?

End of the Streaky Bay jetty

Attractive fish and shark totems overlooking the calm mooring area. Hopefully a good fishing omen. I'm not sure what the coloured posts are.

Hello, hello, hello

What's going on here?

Sorry, can't stay and chat

The culprit. The crab was needlessly worried. This lazy pelican was more interested in what we might provide it than catching it's own lunch.

Fleet fishing was successful today even if our own efforts were not. We were given a dozen Razer Fish today by Bugs (a local identity) who didn't seem at all concerned about snorkeling around and digging them off the sea floor. BTW you DO NOT want to stand on one. They are the #1 cause of visitors attending the hospital to get a tetanus shot and some stitches. Anyway the Razor Fish 'heart' which is actually the muscle, is round and very sweet tasting (like scallops) and can be eaten raw. In fact, Bugs cracked a couple open to demonstrate how to get into them etc and invited us to eat them there and then at the side of the jetty. What can you do? I suppose you are never too old to try something new!

Feeling that a dozen Razer Fish 'hearts' might be a 'bit light on' for supper and not otherwise being successful with the rod and reel, here is the Bloke doing another kind of fishing.

The Bloke fishing in the Engels.

We still have a few frozen packets of WA Gold... fish we purchased direct from the pro-fishermen in Esperance.

A flowering obsession

Coastal landscapes can leave one gasping for the grandeur and sometimes because the wind is a bit strong. While the vegetation often appears very bland at a casual glance, closer scrutiny reveals a fascinating mini world of flora.

Here are some plants I found at my feet when looking at the bigger picture. I hope you like them too.

Evidence of some hopping visitors

The throne at Camelot

There is a lot of whimsy in the man-made environment in the SA coastal towns we have so far seen.

Camelot - the throne room

Leanne pays her respects

The view from Camelot

Personal hygiene - wash up before entering Camelot or after? What to do?

It's official. Camelot is a winner

Those clever Queenslanders know a shit load of Latin

Whoops!

House adorned with a lot of salvage items including the round metal diving helmets

Which way is the wind blowing? Hopefully not from the tip.

The rock says it all..."France is not this beautiful. M&R 2014". Riddle me this.... Who travels around with a spay cans? Really!

A drought-proof garden that references the local environment. There are lots of pretend pelicans and disused dinghies used as decoration in these parts. This is but one example. Neat, yes?

Sunday drivers

We became a part of that brigade of 'Sunday Drivers' this week-end. Heather and Jeff Georgiou from the Streaky Bay VMR have adopted our fleet and took us out in their Pajero on their one day off from their Mobil servo (Killa's) for the proverbial Sunday Drive.

Both Jeff and Heather are locals through and through. Heather was the daughter of the town baker and reckons that Jeff married her for the dough! Anyway, they are very knowledgeable about the area and rightfully proud of their district and shared all their favourite nearby places with us. We all fitted into their Pajero with room to spare (one vacant seat) because B1 was on watch. Almost unbelievably, the Bloke came along too. Conditions were relatively calm and Zofia had 'behaved' for over a week. He felt secure enough to leave her.

We saw Corvisart Bay, Speeds Point, Scaeles Bay and finally Venus Bay where we enjoyed lunch. Now that we have seen these places we have a better idea of where we would like to visit next and have pretty much been persuaded that a trip into Venus Bay is not really warranted as it would mean anchoring in a strong tidal stream near a busy commercial jetty with views to the caravan park. The scenery IS stunning but we have now seen it.

So now that we have seen 'things' we can share them with you too. There were plenty of places that were stunning, some things that I found amusing and some fascinating. So drum roll.....here is part of the camera roll folks.