Sail To Tangalooma

Not a bad trip, but such a long one. I have to remind myself that it’s a two day kind of place to visit. Half a day to get there, half a day one day to enjoy it, half again the next, and finally half to come back home. 

 

The wind wasn’t as favourable as I would have liked either, coming in from the direction we wanted to head. Whilst the boat can sail reasonbly close to the wind, it can’t sail into it. It meant a zigzagging trip up to Moreton Island taking about a third longer than it should have needed.

 

We arrived at about 12.55pm, anchored of the beach, and took the dingy ashore.

 

We brought our own lunch, but managed to knock back a few beers from the bar whilst checking out the local talent. Sadly the good female talent were in short supply, though not completely absent. Many Asian visitors, some Asian newly-weds, and day tripper familes coming in from the main-land.

 

Nevertheless, a beach always is a good viewing platform when the days are warm and the weather is fine, and the eyes feasted on one or two worthy contenders.

 

Packed up by three to make the jaunt across the water back to home. Two hundred degrees magnetic, and the wind coming in from the port side swirled and couldn’t make up it’s mind whether it wanted to be a north easterly, or a south easterly. Bit of a pain when you are trying to make land fall before dark and losing speed each time there was a wind shift.

 

Brisbane Coast Guard had us logged in for a 6pm arrival backinto harbour, and when I was certain it was not likely that we would make the timing (at 5.45), I got back onto the radio to make the amendmant and found the radio would not transmit. I could hear fine, but getting out to BCC was futile. At 6pm the calls were broadcast over the air for my boat to respond, and there wasn’t a thing I could do about it. The light was fading and I grabbed the marine books I had onboard looking for a phone number,,, and do you think they publish it? Not even in the Goverment’s safety section of their "Boating in Moreton Bay’ book did they print caost guard numbers.

 

I picked up my mobile, and tried for directory assistance. They couldn’t find it….until I said that that it was an emergency, and Coast Guards are supposed to be contactable in emergencies!!

 

Well, didn’t that make a difference! In two seconds, she gave me two numbers, and connected me direct to one of them!

 

(Imagine asking for an ambulance, and finding out they don’t list the number of ambulance stations, and you can’t ring and get one!)

 

Finally, I could get through to someone, and the guy told me that they had been trying and would make the ammendmant. What a relief! Imagine all these search and rescue craft heading out to find us, when we were perfectly fine, just running late.

 

Beautiful night, sparkly night and gentle seas welcomed us back.

 

 

– M

 

P.S I wonder if they ever feel unappreciated…..