Dire Straits

We are still up in the Sandy Straits with our friend Peter who we met while sailing the South Pacific. Peter, a seasoned sailor and Professional Skipper decided to call in on us for a visit on Faraway en-route back home to New Zealand. Our plan is to sail south to Brisbane by the end of this week but at the moment there are strong wind warnings, big seas and rain clouds looming overhead of us. We are basically stuck here until the weather situation improves. We picked Peter up on Wednesday in Tin Can Bay then motored north through the narrow Sheridan Flats to seek shelter in Kingfisher Bay from the severe thunderstorms and winds that were predicted to head our way. We arrived in the bay late afternoon and quickly went ashore to explore the resort with Peter. We sat on the beach and had sundowners while watching the storm brew over on the mainland. We had already stowed and tied everything away onboard Faraway in preparation for the storm. Luckily the storm virtually went around us and we sat in the cockpit watching the lightning show and the sunset beneath the towering black clouds. We experienced strong wind gusts over the next few days and it has been mostly very hot and sunny. We have spent the days hiking the bush tracks, pumping for yabbies, kayaking and fishing off the jetty. Ian has spent hours working on our generator and engine but we have found some time to relax for a change. On Saturday afternoon we watched a beautiful golden sunset over the mouth of the Maryborough River from the bow of Faraway. As the sun slid beneath the horizon a large turtle breached the surface of the water very close to Faraway. At that moment we realized how special this journey was and appreciated the opportunity to explore Fraser Island from a yacht. After enjoying all that nature has to offer Peter suggested that we head over to the resort for a restaurant meal. We had quick showers and put our ‘normal’ clothes on for the occasion and braved the return dinghy trip in the dark. We had some yummy cocktails and a delicious dinner in the Seabells Restaurant. The next day we were all slow to start but I went for a nice kayak along the mangroves while Ian pumped for yabbies. Faraway looked at home against the back drop of white sandy beaches, tall coloured sand dunes and bright blue skies. We decided to head south in the afternoon and made an overnight stop at the South White Cliffs anchorage. Unfortunately the bugs were all over us because we anchored very close to the mangroves and the wind had dropped off. Today we were up at 5:30am to head down to Garry’s anchorage on the high tide. Before we set off Ian and Peter went to check the crab pots and they were lucky enough to get one big buck Mud Crab. The crab is destined for our plates at lunchtime today if Ian can get motivated to clean and cook him. It is a very rainy and overcast day but a nice change from the scorching heat of the last few weeks. While the sun isn’t shining I have time to catch up on the blog and start writing those soon to be overdue Christmas cards!