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| The Captain hard at work somewhere in the Northumberland Islands |
But one thing had been missing - where were all the fish?
As you may recall from a previous post, the captain underwent a radical makeover in Yeppoon from this . . .
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| Before Yeppoon |
. . . to this.
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| After: living proof of what Yeppoon can do to a man. |
The Gladstone Water Police in their vessel Lyle M. Hoey had been shadowing us since Kingfisher Bay, reappearing at Keppel Bay, Rosslyn Bay and again at Port Clinton. And as time went on, the crew were increasingly convinced that the Captain's facial hair had something to do with it.
His appearance was also clearly scaring the fish away.
However, with his extreme makeover, his luck slowly began to change, the first fish in 1000km being caught between Port Clinton and Pearl Bay.
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| The Captain hauls in the fish at Howard Islet, South Percy Island |
Then at South Percy Island, three Red Bellied Fusilliers were reeled in within minutes, the Captain providing dinner for five whilst the rest of the crew mucked around exploring the caves, tunnels and snorkelling at Howard Islet.
At South Percy, once again we were the only boat in sight on a calm windless Sunday.
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| Howard Islet |
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| Howard Islet boasts its own smugglers' cave and tunnel - Middle Percy Island in distance |
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| The crew basking in the rock pools at Howard Islet. |
Later that afternoon we hoisted the sails and drifted (more than sailed) the four nautical miles to West Bay at Middle Percy Island, pushed along by the 2 1/2 knot westward flooding tide. At West Bay the barbecue was fired up for a fishy feast, looking out over the Pine Islet lighthouse as it started up for the night.
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You're getting very close to Townsville. Looking forward to seeing you soon. Wonderful terrain you are exploring and sooo glad to see that The Captain has finally shaken off that horrible and uncivilised Robinson Crusoe look. We wouldn't want him turning up here and expecting to be introduced to the natives looking like he did. It just would not be the done thing. Much better in the dapper cap... I hope he can sing the theme song and play shuffle board as well.
ReplyDeleteWith the cold, cold tropical winter upon us, lack of a beard is going to prove troublesome.
ReplyDelete