Great Sandy Strait

Fleck
Wed 16 Sep 2009 05:20
Position: 25:49S 153:02E Pelican Bay, Wide Bar Harbour, Great Sany Strait
 
Wednesday, 16th Sept. 15.00 hours
 
We continue to enjoy wonderful weather and scenary as we travel slowly South. For the last couple of nights we have been in Great Sandy Strait: it looks a bit tortuous on the map, but in reality is an almost wide open space. Only problem for us navigators is that it is also very shallow. The tide runs up from both ends and meets in the middle, and you have to cross the middle at high tide to avoid running aground and getting stranded. We timed the tides ok, but forgot that it would get dark! A bit of an adventure then until we found our way into a safe deep inlet for the night. Mark has learned that elderly surgeons swear just as much as anyone else when the chips are down, and the depth guage is running on zero. Last night we anchored off the settlement of Tin Can Harbour. Good to get ashore for our first Australian pub experience, MKDons playing the Canaries (Norwich City) on Fox TV! They said the dolphins would come to the town quay to be fed at 08.00 hours next moring. Thought for a while I had consumed too much of the Tooheys, but they were not kidding, and we left Tin Can Harbour after a huge shoreside breakfast ourselves. Now we are waiting for the tide before running out over the bar and wind permiting, turning south. The stretch of water over the bar is called the 'mad mile'. Charlie has taken her sea sick pill, and we are all keeping our fingers crossed.
 
Richard, Charlie and Mark
 
PS Are our coordinates showing on the Mailasail map? I'm not sure if we are putting them in right?