2nd Oct Thomas to Keswick 34nm

At 6 am after practically no sleep we had to up anchor and get out of there. It was so rolly that it was impossible to get the motor off the dinghy and to raise the dinghy. I made the decision to tow it until Goldsmith Island which is 12 nm away and raise it in the lee of the island. That worked well and we caught another spotted mackerel on the way there.

In the lee of the island we were able to make tea and toast while raising the dinghy.

We had big concerns as to where was going to be the best anchorage for the night. We had hardly any wind but this huge swell was obviously being sent in from a major wind way out east. The decision was to anchor in the lee of Keswick Island which is also protected from another island adjacent called St Bees.

On the way, we caught a big eye tuna, another spotted mackerel and a mac-tuna.

We let the mac-tuna go as we have enough sashimi of better quality in the big eye tuna.

We arrived at Keswick Island and were relieved that there was little swell so we made the decision to anchor there. It was at the middle of the tide and in overcast conditions we thought we were anchoring outside the reef. At low tide and when the sun came out we were anchored above some coral bommies so we had to move further out or risk getting the anchor tangled in the coral.

I had a snorkel and found it a very good place for coral and looked like some good fish there. With a nearly full freezer there was no fishing done off the yacht although I think it could have been productive.

We had sunset drinks on Isabella and an entre of sashimi.

We returned to Billabong to cook the coral trout from the day before. I BBQ’d it nicely with lime, garlic, chilli and coriander rubbed with sea salt and bathed in olive oil. It was definitely a treat for Eric and Maureen.

It was a good night sleep with a gentle rock although the anchor did drag across the coral.