Winner, Winner a Crab Dinner

Drawing a crab tagged with number 401 for the GoWest Rally Crab Race had a promising sound to it. We had purchased a $20 contender which we’d get to eat a couple of days later. Ocean Pacific Seafoods who also own the Bundaberg Port Marina and were among the major sponsors for our rally, had made their premises available and not only supplied the spanner crabs but had offered to cook them too.

The racers

  

Even the crab selection was a spirited affair. What would a quick one look like?

We Aussies are known for betting on anything and everything - even 2 flies crawling up a wall. The international sailors took note and participated even if a bit skeptical to begin with. The arena, rather than being a circle, was amusingly arranged as a map of Australia. Tasmania was included but as usual, something of an afterthought and represented by an appropriately shaped rock. Rules of engagement were simple: first 5 crabs in each of 2 heats, to reach any boundary, would be in the final. In the final, the first crab to reach any boundary would win the ‘owner’ a $100 seafood voucher from Ocean Pacific Seafoods. Win or loose, we’d still have a cooked crab for supper on Monday night!


With much at stake, participants were ready to urge their crab on. We felt particularly good about OUR crab: number 401. The number seemed auspicious. The Japanese garden in the central courtyard of Building 401 on our university campus, was the scene of our wedding reception 40 years ago. Look at those numbers, surely they would be lucky for us?

   

Geoff, the marina manager, presided over the occasion and gave a run down on Spanner Crabs, where and how they could be caught and local regulations regarding catch size and even how to handle them and tie up their claws once caught.



But enough already! Let’s get back to the racing. We’d been warned it might be slow. In the main, Geoff was right except for 401 which took off towards the furtherest boundary and the geographical equivalent of Perth - our own home town. The other contestants had barely left the starting mat when our crustacean clawed the line. The Bloke was beside himself, we’d scored number 1 in the heat.

Getting frustrated, another backer urging his crab to move. Just a bit. P l e a s e.

Just shift those nippers!

Amazingly, in the final, our 401 made a conspicuous repeat performance making a bolt for ‘Perth‘ on the westernmost border of the arena. Clearly, The Bloke is better at selecting racing crabs than Melbourne Cup contenders!

Winning nippers!

The afternoon was rounded off by a raffle of excess rally gifts while we gobbled down 500gms of freshly cooked prawns each, washed down with some ice cold Great Northern beer supplied by the Great Northern Brewing Co. Beer and prawns - a killer combo! To 'share the love', we immediately converted our $100 seafood voucher into oysters to share around.

  

From the sponsors

Coffin Bay oysters - yum

Roll now to Monday....bottoms up...Winner, winner... a crab dinner!

Thank you 401!!

Mayhem on The Burnett River

Melbourne Cup always creates a bit of fun and madness. Upon seeing a promotion for a $35 a head Melbourne Cup Luncheon up at the Lighthouse Hotel in Burnett Heads, The Bloke set about organizing a table. 6 quickly became 9+ and the hotel shuttle bus was arranged to collect us from the Marina. Although only 2 kms away, at the last minute, we decided it was a bit too hot to walk in the semi-tropical heat.

Some other Aussie rally members had organized a sweep for The Cup and The Bloke drew a crazy horse by the name of ‘US Army Ranger’.  Having this as ‘our’ horse undoubtedly threw a hex on it. The Bloke generally has a ‘flutter’ on The (Melbourne) Cup and his record in the last few years particularly poor. Dead, still running (i.e. last) and dead, as distinct from dead last. This year? Nearly last: US Army Ranger was cantering and out of camera shot while the winners were galloping and straining at the finish line. The re-telling next year will become more elaborate.

After lunch, the first of our GoWest Rally talks was scheduled. It began with a lighthearted presentation on how to survive ‘Downunder’: Aussie vernacular, food and animals. The Vegemite sandwiches had a mixed reception! After this we had a presentation about coastal VHF radio channels and understanding East Coast Weather. Among the information bites was a warning not to go to sea if thunderstorms were forecast. In fact, they were forecast for that very afternoon and why Zofia had all the hatches closed and dogged shut before we left for the day.


The Bloke was extending his afternoon’s enjoyment while I, sensing a distinct change in the weather, caught the earliest shuttle bus back to the marina to double up our lines, take down the flags and generally secure the boat. We were about to ‘cop it’!




And ‘cop it’ we did. The Bloke had mustered the last of the group still at the pub and requested an immediate return trip to the marina and just managed to clamber aboard Zofia as the lightening and wind intensified and rain began to fall.

This impressive image entitled "The Beast", of the entire storm cell, was captured from a high point by a professional photographer and included by his kind permission.

Daniel Morada - DTM Photography.

https://www.facebook.com/dandmanphotographix/

The wind contained in the storm cell was clocked by a fellow yachtie at 68.7knots (~ 126km). We were seeing 59-60 by the time we switched on the instruments. From a few announcement gusts of 35knots the wind just gushed stronger and harder like an approaching freight train. Rain was almost horizontal. Visibility reduced to a few metres. After 30 minutes, the wind and rain relaxed almost as suddenly as it had arrived. Only the lightening and devastation remained. All thoughts of frivolous horse racing stuff blown away with the wind. A whole new drama was unfolding. A catamaran already 2/3 sunk and a rescue and salvage in full flight.

The aftermath