Start Loc: Shute Harbour (20o 17.76'S, 148o 47.27'E)
Narrative: I found out from talking to some locals that Whitsunday Magic sank at the wharf where she is currently tied up, so it was a different boat we saw sunk near Airlie Beach. The mast next to where we moored in Shute Harbour is on a 65ft steel ketch that sank about two years ago! I can't believe the authorities are letting it sit there as a navigation hazard while the insurance battle drags on.
As far as the shipwright goes, we called him on Sunday afternoon as we came in to Shute Harbour to confirm the arrangements for Monday morning. Heather left a message asking him to call back. When we had not heard from him by 9:30am yesterday, Heather gave him another call. He said he was doing some work on another boat and would not get to us until early afternoon. Bloody slack! When he had finally finished and I dropped him back at the jetty, I started to finish the job by putting the first coat of varnish on. I will do two more coats over the next couple of days.
While I did that, the kids did their standard schoolwork, and then Heather gave them another lesson on fractions. After cleaning up, I took the opportunity to throw a line in, sit in the cockpit and read my book. I heard the line start to go so I jumped to the rod holder, got the retaining strap off, increased the drag and started to wind in. The rod had a fair bend in it and it felt like a decent fish, but I will never know as it bit through the 12lb trace and I lost my hook. Game on ... I decided to take it up a notch, so in addition to re-rigging my light boat rod with the 12lb line, I also put out my heavy deep sea rod with 30lb line, both with a pilchard as bait.
Heather had joined me in the cockpit when the heavy rig started to run slowly. I grabbed it, increased the drag and started winding in some of the slack. This excited whatever was on the other end it took off. It was at this stage I realised it was something big. The line ran out while Heather and I passed the rod to each other and around everything that is in the way of fishing at the back of a yacht, so I could sit on the back step and fight it more easily. I didn't want too much line out because of all the other moorings (not to mention the sunken yacht next to us) which would give it the opportunity to snap my line, so I increased the drag again and was pulling and winding to bring it around. The line went a bit slack and started turning from off the stern to up the port side of the boat which gave me the opportunity to wind in a bit. When the line was reaching level with the boat, a shark breached moving quickly. I estimate it was about 1.8m long and showing us its belly. My exclamation of "That was a shark!" brought the kids upstairs. It turned and started to run again and I had to give it some line as it switched around the stern to the starboard side of the boat. Everyone helped by winding in the other line, moving the dinghy forward, getting the gaff, and grabbing the camera!
The rod is a short, heavy, solid fibreglass rod, and it had a good bend in it! I fought it for another minute or so to try and tire it before it snapped the trace below the swivel and the line went slack.
I am not certain if I hooked the shark or if the shark was simply trying to make a meal of whatever I had hooked, but Heather thinks it was the shark that was hooked. Either way, what was on the hook was something heavy. It got the heart pumping and was an exhilarating few minutes.
We ran the engine for 21 minutes to give us hot water for showers.
We left Shute Harbour at 10:40am today, bound for Grassy Island. The forecast winds were N/NW at 10-15kts. They were basically NW, as was our heading, so we motored. We initially made for Roseric Shoal, a rock formation rising 13m from the seabed in 20m of water, located north of Airlie Beach at 20o 10.92'S, 148o 42.58'E. It wasn't too rough, so we figured we would anchor and have lunch while trying a spot of fishing. We anchored at 12:00pm, but had no luck with the fish, so we left again at 2:10pm.
Our course to Grassy Island was basically WNW and the wind had swung to NNW at 12kts, so we sailed. With one reef in the main and full head sail we made 6kts, sailing between a close haul and a close reach. There were two other yachts anchored on the southern side of Grassy Island when we arrived and dropped anchor at 3:30pm.
End Loc: Grassy Island (20o 09.32'S, 148o 36.34'E)
Distance run: 16nm (cumulative: 1176nm)
Engine hours: 2 hr, 26 min (cumulative: 150 hr 36 min)