Ironic Anchoring and Fast Sailing

Early yesterday morning, we prepared to leave Maryborough and head further north. As Rene was winching up the anchor, it became stuck! We tried all the usual tricks to get it loose but to no avail - we were not going anywhere! Rene dove down (just in his boxer shorts - brrrr!) and discovered that the 2nd anchor we'd put out had become caught up in an old, disused QLD Transport mooring. Oh dear! The picture (right) is of Rene under the water just in his boxers. I was struck by the irony of this situation: when we first arrived in the Mary River, we had trouble making sure that we wouldn't drag - now, we weren't going anywhere! 


Some more pulling on the anchor with various winches did nothing but hurt my hands and warp the metal. Rene was shivering so much and I eventually convinced him to wear his wetsuit. When he dove down again, he took a knife and, as soon as he cut a rope that was caught around the anchor, we were free! We're glad that this worked, as we weren't so keen on hiring a diver to untangle it all.
This is the bounty that we gleaned - an old buoy, very thick rope and some silver shackles. 


By this stage, we were running 2 hours behind schedule. You have to time your trip with the tides in the Mary River as some sections go as low as 0.8m. We draw 1.7metres - so we need enough water over the bottom to not run aground. I was keen to just anchor further up and wait for the next tide but Rene, high on adrenalin, pushed us forward. We had the motor on hard and were sailing as fast as we could go - Anhinga got up to 9knots! A record speed! This is Rene holding on as we go so fast! 


We shot out of the Mary River and back into the Sandy Straits. Then continued up to the northern top of Fraser Island where we anchored in Platypus Bay for the night. It's gorgeous here - as you can see! 

Happy Birthday Rene - what a day!!