Friday 29 August
Engine Hours 1041
Total Fuel 317 Litres
Total Hours 251 hours

Up at 5.00 am to get ready to leave, this boating is getting to be hard work, Picked up my gas bottle that I’d left at a nearby service station to have filled and got told its got a leak in it but they filled it any way , am I stupid or something . So after forking out $20.00 for a leaking gas bottle I started in search of another one. Ended up getting the bus into Yeppoon again. Took time out to check out the military museum at the RSL. Matthew and Michelle have done a fantastic job with it. Matthew very kindly offered to drive me to pick up a new gas bottle and get it filled and then ran me back to the marina. Great guy, his dad “Slag “O’Keefe did 2 tours of Vietnam with the SAS . Finally got away at 1300hrs and had a 3 hour run up to Corio Bay. Bit iffy coming in with waves breaking everywhere but I took all necessary precautions and made it safely over. Moored by what looks like couple of car garages on water.

Thursday 28 August
Up early and had a good run from Keppel Island to Rosslyn Bay Marina .Very nice marina under the shadow of a large rock headland. Got the bus into Yeppoon, did the shopping mostly salad stuff. Bus back to to marina then bus back to town for beer then bus back to marina .Boy you notice when you don’t have a car ,thank goodness that they have a good bus service in Yeppoon. Had a meal at the marina and met a nice chap, Brian who was in Vietnam with 4 RAR in 1971. He’s sailing up the coast in a small sailing boat by himself, must be a veteran thing.

Wednesday 27 August
Absolute top day. Motored around the northern end of Keppel Island and anchored off a deserted beach that had white sands fringing coral ext. Went ashore and climbed up to the top of the headland .Fantastic. A charter boat then arrived in my peace of paradise, however nothing lasts forever. Talked to the deck hand who was bringing the tourists ashore and would you believe he came from Maleny, his father was the butcher there. Small world! Cruised back to my anchorage, off the empty resort.

Tuesday 26 August
Left Pacific Creek and headed towards Great Keppel Island. Had a good run, Mac in Gladstone had obtained some info about when to travel with the tides, I had a good 5 Knots all the way. Anchored off the resort but it is all fenced off waiting redevelopment. There is still a couple of shops open ,don’t know how they survive .Had a hot dog and a beer ,did my bit to keep them in business.

Monday 25 August
Decided to stay in Pacific Creek for another night as the wind was up a bit. Did some fishing and caught river Jew ,pike bream, steely salmon and grunter all within an hour ,spent the next 2 hours cleaning them. I had river dolphins around the boat all day.

Sunday 26 August
Went fishing with Nick and Fran, trolling for steely salmon, everyone was catching them and we got our fair share , one. Left after lunch to pacific Creek to have a beer with Pat but unfortunately he wasn’t home. Steely salmon for dinner.

Saturday 25 August
Quite day at the Narrows, had a fish, read a book, tided up the boat and entertained my visitors (Nick and Fran).One of the interesting things at the campsite was a collection of unique BBQ’s made by a chap called ‘the big fella’ . He works at the mines and the BBQ’s were masterpieces ,one even had an oven built into the back of it. Another was made out of the hub of a huge tyre rim Dinner was a BBQ ashore with many bottles of red wine and port. Staggered back to the boat—again.