Mooloolaba

 Tues 20th to Sat 24 July 2010

What a great place Mooloolaba is with lots of eateries and coffee shops down the road from the marina. The beach and bay are perfect for a swim in weather warmer than 20C, mind. Note that Anne is not ready for the water as we take a short cut along the compacted sand of the shore. A lovely stroll along the boardwalk brings you out near the Surf Lifsaving Club which has roast dinners (yum but we missed out). The fishing co-op, which was right next door to the marina, had great seafood and excellent chips, which will always get Michael's vote.

Entry to Mooloolaba harbour is well marked with a non problematic bar due to the sand dredge working constantly to remove any build up of sand and replenish the beach. Coast Guard Mooloolaba are a short walk from the marina and have a sheet with the latest waypoint updates for Wide Bay Bar (which can get a bit treacherous at times). The waypoints in 'Beacon to Beacon' are not current due to the shifting nature of the sands. What else would one expect at the bottom of  'The Great Sandy Straits' besides a bit of sand shifting around.

Beautiful sunny weather for the next 3 days saw us out and about taking in the ambience of Mooloolaba. No cultural activities here but a stroll up to Alexandra Headland took us to where the mast of HMAS Brisbane looks out to the final resting place of the now dive wreck 3nm offshore. HMAS Brisbane's bridge and control room are located at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.

Anne the sailor is gracing the mast support, once again wearing another stunning outfit.

Along the forshore drive is the Anti-Hoon measure signpost which we thought a very novel idea. Perhaps there should be more of it, especially when those rowdy LMYC CD's are out and about!!!
On checking the weather for the trip north we decided to leave at 0500 Sunday morning, hence a rainy Saturday meant resupply at Coles, fill the water tanks and the gas bottle, then pay up ready to ship out. The rain stopped us from walking down to the Surf Club for a roast dinner so we had to settle for a seafood extravaganza instead from the Fishermans Co-op. Michael was so stuffed with food he could not manage all of the chips. Was it the dozen oysters, calamari, prawns, and the mahi mahi fish that were just too much for the belly that left insufficient space for the chips?? (We will never know).

Bruce & Meagan from Yamba in 'Winkali' an Adams 36 we met in manly and again in Mooloolaba. They are on their way north also.

Michael supported by Anne plans another great sea voyage Saaremaa style with a glass of 'Ribena' for sustenance.

Anne has a glass of 'lemonade' and as responsible sailors we always double check our passage plan (the next day) especially if the' turps' has been out and about.