Thomas Island was good to us again in terms of weather, sea
conditions and fishing. I certainly got my fair share of coral trout this trip.
Thomas is right up there on the list of my favourite Islands. It is far enough
south of the Whitsundays to provide some solitude from the charter yachts and
the fantastic beaches are all accessible at low tides. We are leaving this
island to head to another favourite on the list – Scawfell Island.
We left Thomas at 9am and motor sailed in light winds
arriving at 2pm. Sea conditions were good on our arrival however i know things
are going to get worse before they get better again.
The forecast today was for light easterly winds shifting to
NE in the afternoon increasing to 10-15 knots however there is a strong SE
change coming through early tomorrow morning. We are going to have to anchor on
the northern side of Scawfell in anticipation of the change. This is not going
to be a comfortable anchorage as we are going to have to anchor on a lee shore
in 10-15 knot NE winds on a rising tide which will bring the swell into the
bay.
As I predicted it was a lousy night sleep with waves big
enough to surf on and halfway through the night the tide turned the yacht
sideways to the swell and we rolled and rolled. It was not until 6am when the
SE change came through that the sea conditions got better but the wind got
stronger. So we had to contend with the bullets of wind up to 30 knots coming
down the hill and into the bay. It was a long night and a long day. We have had
such a good run of weather and sea conditions to date but every now and then
you get a bad day. This is one of those days you have to suffer and you have to
take the bad days with all the good ones you get. The percentage of good days is
high otherwise you would not do this cruising in open waters.
To break the monotony of the windy day we decided to have a
BBQ ashore. Graham and Leanne joined us and we had a wet ride to shore in the
dinghies battling the wind and the waves. We were soaked by the time we got to
there but what did that matter. We were going for a swim anyway.
Tamara tending to the BBQ
We lit a fire and cooked the BBQ and managed to eat with a
howling wind. It was as pleasant an afternoon as one could expect in the
wind. The trip back to the yachts was
easier than the journey in and we spent the rest of the day and evening
catching up on reading. It was too windy for 5 o’clock drinks so we decided on
an alcohol free day!!! We managed to sleep better and the wind subsided a
little during the night.
Today being the 5th of October is an important day. My
birthday!!! The wind continued to calm during the day which helped with the
celebrations. Today was my day and I was allowed to do as much as I pleased. So
I went fishing in the morning and caught nothing. We were invited for coffee on
Echo Beach and Graham and Leanne gave me some nice presents and handmade card
which depicted my dedication to fishing. After lunch I went fishing again as
the conditions had improved. It was not that productive but managed a good red
throat emperor that will do for dinner the next night as we already had dinner
planned.
That evening we invited Graham and Leanne to help celebrate
the occasion with a 3 course meal that consisted of - grilled haloumi cheese for
entree, fillet steak for main course and a berry Pavlova and cream for dessert.
That left us all feeling rather full after it was washed down with champagne,
beer, red wine and the coffee liqueur.
It was a happy birthday!!
It was a great night and we slept peacefully.
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