We left Palm Bay Hideaway at 10am on the high tide. It was
very tempting to stay another night it was so good but with the weather at
present so good we must make tracks on the GPS and head for the reef. There is
insufficient wind to sail so it is motoring everywhere. We motored to Blue
Pearl Bay at Hayman Island. This is a world renowned spot for diving and snorkelling.
When we arrived the bay was full and with no moorings available so we had to
anchor. We snorkelled for an hour and then had a late lunch. We sat back and
enjoyed the warmth of the sun as we were entertained by the coming and goings
of the backpacker and tourist boats with their loud music and skippers who don’t
seem to abide by the rules of the sea. One big power yacht had about 20 young girls
on board and he was the only male. Lucky him. He must have thought he was in
heaven at Blue Pearl Bay on such a wonderful day.
Billabong was surrounded by thousands of little bait fish.
They were seeking protection from the predators who were stalking them below. I
took the flippers and snorkel and swam amongst them. They were not frightened
of me and swam very close to me. It was a different story when the big trevally
came and attacked them. They took flight out of the water and a few of them
ended up in the dinghy. These are great bait so I gathered them up and put them
in the freezer. Nothing like free bait for fishing!!!
A lot of bait here!!
We picked up a mooring for the night and wished we had not.
The mooring buoys that Queensland Parks and Wild Life put in for our benefit
can take large yachts up to 20 meters however the rope they want you to hook
over your mooring cleat could hold the Queen Mary!!!. The rope is too big for
Billabongs little cleats. We managed to secure ourselves and then settled down
for dinner (fish of course) and before we knew it the buoy was banging on the
hull at the turn of the tide. It happened again at 3am and then again at 5am
when the wind came in from the opposite direction to the tide.
Another great sunset on a calm sea 18 miles off the coast. It does not get any better
No comments:
Post a Comment