Escape from Rosslyn Bay

Days in a marina can quickly be consumed with laundry, re-provisioning and boat maintenance. Our engine hours indicated that an oil service was due and seeing as a significant birthday was to be acknowledged too, a one week check-in was a starting point. In the end the weather cycle turned and we needed a few more days to yet again hide from inclement weather.

One of our jetty rats on board another Jeanneau -SV Isabella, was a quad-copter pilot and photographer and he kindly sent us these shots to share. Truly, if we had to be trapped in a marina, we could hardly complain. Yeppoon and Rosslyn Bay in particular, is lovely.

The Keppel Bay Marina nestles behind an old volcanic plug.

Images courtesy of Mike Middleton spikeymikey@gmail.com

We enjoyed lots of hospitality at the yacht club and wanting to check if we were still there, Spikey Mikey flew his drone past to check on us.

     

Screenshots from Marine Traffic demonstrate we were not the only ones with southward travel on our minds

Navigating through the 'parked' vessels off Gladstone, all waiting to take away our coal. Other counties like it a lot. Australians seem to be bucking the trend.

The Master Baiter

Condition for entry was a bottle of wine and the rules were outlined, Ron from MV Tonic would collect Marina from Jorja and myself in Elvis (the 'Love me Tender' to Tonic) to participate with Christine in a little fishing competition. Ron was to drive the tender, attend to our rods, bait our hooks, take our catch off and at the end of the afternoon, pour us some champagne while he filleted the catch and shared it out in ziploc bags. He would be, for the duration of the fishing competition/expedition our boat's Master and Baiter.

The bottles of wine/prizes would be redistributed with the winner getting 2 bottles and the remaining bottle to be an encouragement award. The biggest fish caught, not the number caught would determine who won.

Done deal! What an afternoon of fun awaited and I needed no encouragement.

Alas 3 hours proved, yet again that I'm a rubbish angler. Although I was the first to bring in a fish it was too small and released. Then my rig was bitten off and after that, all I caught was the bottom. Marina, did particularly well in bringing in not only the biggest fish but also a double-ganger on her double hooked rig. By dusk we'd managed 8 fish, plus had a close encounter with a whale and worn out poor Ron - our wonderful Master Baiter.

A good looker

Southbound

Miraculously our anchor lifted without any drama when leaving Billbob Bay. We were not expecting it to be the case seeing as we'd been hearing and feeling the grinding of chain over rubble down below all the previous day. We weren't entirely pleased with the anchor set when we first arrived but with the expectation of very light northerlies, we dropped 50m of chain in 8m of water and let 120kg of metal do its thing. Despite the wind chirping up and delivering bullets in the 25kn range through the saddle in the hills, we held still. Thank heaven for the Anchor Watch iPad App and our anchor buoy providing reassurance that we were not about to be blown to Mackay.

A beach BBQ had been organised but we backed out of going citing our lack of confidence with the anchor. Friends had come to collect us because we couldn't be bothered dropping the dinghy, lowering the motor etc only to have to reverse the process before we could leave in the morning. It was as Jo and Hans motored away that we noticed that Solitary Light, previously anchored inshore from us, seemed a lot closer. It definitely wasn't us moving and besides, if we were to drag anchor we'd have moved away and out into the bay - just like Solitary Light seemed to be in front if our very eyes. Our yelling at Hans and Jo in an attempt to recall them, must have alerted one of the crew of Solitary Light who had remained aboard with a 'lucky' toothache! Kerry's husband was already ashore and his vessel out of view. The others may have thought us old 'fuddie duddies' to start with but we felt very good about our prudence after watching Solitary Light wiggle past us in the customary wrenching motion boats make when 'dragging'!

Leaving Shaw Island.

So today we are making for Keswick and St Bees and leaving the beautiful Whitsunday area. A northerly should fill soon. We hope to find a mooring in the current-prone channel between the 2 islands and we'll stay until we need to shelter from a southerly at Scawfell or Curlew Islands. With any luck that would place us well to visit the Percy Group which the 'wind lords' denied us northbound.

Keswick and St Bees are not far from Scawfell Island

Billbob Bay, Shaw Island

As much as we'd have preferred to be at Thomas Island, a northerly breeze said NO! If fact, a northerly pattern was predicted for the coming days. Is this the start of the change of season? For months we experienced strong SE winds for a week at a time and a Northerly could barely break in for a few hours to deliver a fine warm respite. It looked like a reverse and perhaps signaling the time to return south of the Cyclone belt.

 

Evening sun captured on the headland

The holding in this bay is a bit precarious. Lots of coral reef downstairs and we were not confident. If the wind were to pick up we'd need to leave pronto. So unsure were we about our holding, that the Bloke turned down an invitation for drinks aboard another boat. Yes, that serious!

New Silver Gull on the left is a fully restored 80 year old beauty.

On the right is a steel version sister ship, Solitary Light.

Morning glass

On the upside, it was very pretty and quiet and we could hear lots of bird calls; from crows, to oyster catchers to something that went "whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop" on a descending scale.

Fishing with Cake

By now we have established that The Bloke and I are generally rubbish when it comes to fishing. One has to allocate suitable time, especially around changes of tide. The rig needs to be suitable for the species of fish, the bait needs to be appropriate and the hooks, sinkers etc appropriate for the depth one might be expecting to catch this fish. What can we expect to be there? How deep? We are absolute clownheads.

Lunch, dinner and lunch again.

We have not given up however and have had a modicum of success with a particular type of bait. A box of cake. It's not isolated success either. We've had sufficient success over the last couple of years to persist with it.

Box of mixed slices retrieved from the freezer and good to go!

Whilst in Macona Inlet recently we observed a prawning boat come in and anchor. The Bloke was immediately dispatched with some Ca$h to see if some prawns could be purchased. Success. However, seeing as the smallest quantity we could buy was 2.5Kg The Bloke had to pop back for some extra money. The prawns would be cooked, frozen and caught only a couple of days earlier. Perfect! How lucky that this guy was having some time off with the Missus and came into our bay. Knowing what a tough life it must be on the ocean in all weathers, The Bloke asked me for a box of cake slices as gift. No problemo. A box was fished out of our freezer. The prawner was so taken aback he insisted on a return gift. It was a small bag of cooked and frozen Moreton Bay Bugs. And that's a recent example of how we fish with cake.

They look a bit prehistoric but big tails are awesome.

PS The bugs were pealed and the tail meat heated in some butter with garlic, chopped chillis, cherry tomatoes, Pernod and cream and served on spaghetti. We declared our bait was the best so far.