Sunday 24th January (Lini’s Journal)

Brindabella's Web Diary
Simon Williams
Mon 25 Jan 2010 19:13

 

   Si has been up on deck for much of the last few nights. The wind has changed direction and we had swung almost onto a mooring buoy. As I sleepily came to life and took tea on deck, Si dived off the transom to check the anchor then pulled in a few metres of chain. It is strange that in marinas and towns that are supposed to have wifi we can rarely connect but when we least expect it we can connect to a nearby hotel network. Si wasted no time and Skyped CJ and his brother then checked the weather in case there was anything sinister forecast with the changing winds. Luckily the forecast was fine and we had a great connection to catch up with his family. Our last connection with his sister and family was also good enabling us to clearly see the beautiful girls who are growing up so quickly. Extremely strong gusting winds stopped play however before I could Skype my side and we upped anchor and moved to an open space just vacated. Checking the anchor was just an excuse for some snorkelling round the boat which today saw no wildlife but was a good chance to get some exercise.

   For a lunchtime treat I recycled some of the bean burger mixture and made even spicier little balls served with cucumber and mint in yoghurt: Si’s face was a picture! When we had recovered sufficiently we decided to go to a suggested snorkelling site at the edge of the bay and shot off in the dinghy. A feast for the eyes awaited us. I regretted having no camera waterproof or otherwise as on the white, grey and black rocky island at the site sat wonderful pelicans and white gulls camouflaged beautifully with the rocks. They peered down on us looking unimpressed by the intrusion. Underwater there were so many types of fish I didn’t know where to look first. At times we swam through shoals of babies and we had a job to see the fish for the fish. Thousands of uniform sized, silver and blue babies darting around in formation: What a sight and how lucky I am to have experienced it. I wanted the world to see through my eyes and share the view. We snorkelled around the whole site again before returning to Brindabella with huge smiles.

   The anchorage was getting busy as we unwound with our sundowners. Many new boats arrived with lively crews aboard. We had a quieter time on Brindabella with Si reading and me writing to neglected friends after cooking a bean free dinner.