Great Sandy Strait

Friday. Yesterday and today have been pretty hectic. I never got my walk on Frazer Island, tghe wind came up and all the boats were swinging around everywhere. Tide and wind were opposing which always creates a bit of a problem. I had to move Paragon to further out as I wanted to let out more chain and I was too close to another boat. It settled down in the evening and I was able to get a peaceful night.

This morning I left at 0630 so that I could ride the incoming tide up the strait. The wind got up though at one time over 30 knots. After about 3 hours I got to where the tide changes and I was getting the incoming tide from the north which meant it was against me. I went over to an anchorage and decided to sit it out until the tide started going out. A couple of hours later, I thought the wind had dropped, and I departed, but the wind came up again this time stronger than ever and I again took shelter in the lee of Frazer Island. Very strong curreent and I anchored twice before I was happy. After another couple of hours with the tide racing out I realised that my second position wasn't that good either, too close to the rapidly rising sand bar. Even though I was in 14 meters of water, I thought that there was sufficient chain out that if I swung towards the sandbar, I could hit it. This time I decided to go much further out, but I couldn't get the anchor up. One, I was pulling against a strong current and two, it appeared to be caught on some obstruction. Finally after the 4th attempt at going forward under power it unstuck with a bang and a jolt, it then came up easier and I am finally anchored in a safe location.