As soon as Jo returned from her trip down south, we had intended to head to Mooloolaba, but the winds were in the wrong direction. So instead we decided to enjoy a couple of days at anchor in a couple of sheltered spots in Moreton Bay. First we headed off to Horseshoe Bay on Peel Island, where we could anchor and shelter from the northerly wind. This was perfect – and the twenty or so boats that followed us across the bay from Manly thought so too. It was lovely to get onto a sandy beach, again - and even to drift across the live coral that we found at the end of the bay.
Peel Island
The next night we dropped anchor off Moreton Island at a spot that offered shelter from north-easterly, and easterly winds. This was perfect in the evening, but as the night went on, the wind went round first to north, then west and finally to south west. As a consequence, we had quite a rough night, during which neither of us got much sleep!
Sunday we left for Mooloolaba, a thirty-odd mile run out of Moreton Bay along the main shipping channel. It’s amazing how fast those big ships come up and then pass by!
A ship passes
us by
Mike tries
another way
to hang the
dinghy
Mooloolaba turned out to be a great place to stay and wait for the right winds and tides for us to head further north to Fraser Island. Here we have met up once again with Andrew and Marie and their boat ‘Sentosa’, who had been our companions on the trip between Wilsons Prom and Sydney. Andrew and Marie have bought a house on one of the canals here in Mooloolaba, while their boat sits near us in the Marina where we are staying.
Meander and
Sentosa in
Mooloolaba
Andrew welcomes
us to his new
home
The sun is shining, the winds are warm, and everyone in the Marina is very friendly. Looks like the week or so here is going to be fun!
Mike
