Up and down with the tide

A few days in Tin Can Bay meant a visit from Barry, who drove from Noosa for an evening of mirth. We stayed at a protected anchorage nearby called Carlo, home to a pretty caravan park and camping ground. Barry reminded us of how to play cards, specifically ‘Up and down the river’. Far be it from the Matey to gloat, of course, but the Captain, as always, was gracious in defeat.

Scotch o'clock, err, sunset, with Barry

The weather at ‘Tuncunba’ (in the local Aboriginal language, apparently referring to a very large fish, scant now of course) improved and apart from the challenge of getting ashore at low tide (trudging through slippery and sticky mud), we have enjoyed a few more days anchored near this mostly quiet little town (except at dusk at parrot-o’clock), with panoramic views, and chocolate éclairs in the bakery.

Matey was pleased to spot a large, pale pink sea snake just near the boat – the first time she has seen one. We saw a turtle and some dolphins, lots of small fish (and Matey rescued a stranded prawn at low tide – hopefully the God of Prawns will remember this one day when she has her prawning net in hand). Captain managed to catch some small fish (but they were quickly thrown back due to size). However, a local confirmed that the area is all fished out. Hmmm...

Kill Tin Can Bay!

Tin Can Bay has a pleasant little marina, but apparently this ain’t enough and a new mega-marina is proposed. Too bad for the shorebirds. And what’s left of the marine life. Gotta have somewhere to park those screaming super-powerboats after all so a big, fat marina halfway out into the bay is just the thing. Anyway, the mud is a nuisance so why not dredge it? So much room for improvement. Gag those greenies!

Sunset at Tin Can Bay

The Gemini legend

What can I say? You have to be born under the right star sign. With so few Gemini catamarans in Australia the opportunity to have a look on board doesn’t sail in every day. Two people at Tin Can Bay motored up asking ‘is that a Gemini?’ and Kerry, a likeable and like-minded soul, shared some fishing tips. We hope we'll see him again. Kerry kindly drove us to the nearby town of Cooloola, which has a ‘real’ supermarket. This made serious stocking up easier and cheaper. Thanks Kerry!
We're also grateful to Pat for sending through some photos of us under sail – thanks Pat – we hope you find your Gemini!

We were able to refill the water tanks at the public jetty (as well as carrying extra in containers – so we now have about 300 litres – in the process we met a nice man named ‘Jumbo’, and we have been pondering how he might have acquired his name). But, pleasant as Tin Can Bay is (pre mega-marina anyway), it was time to move on. So, refueled in every sense, we hope to be able to avoid any need for ‘civilisation’ for at least two weeks. It will be interesting to see how long we (and the fruit and veg) last. We are now anchored between Stewart and Dream islands (off Fraser Island) – another beautiful spot – especially at sunset. We’ll make our way up Hervey Bay in the coming days – Matey looks forward to meeting sand rather than mud and being able to swim ‘off the back of the boat’.

Almost at Stewart Island

Between Stewart and Dream