May Cruise

by Sue Perry — the Cruise

With Mothers Day coinciding with the May cruise weekend, the collective MYCQ mothers & grandmothers were too strong a draw card to tempt cruisers for a guided excursion to historic Saint Helena Island in Moreton Bay just down from Port of Brisbane. It will happen later in the year.
A new plan was hatched by Cruise Captain Ray, although it was nearly no plan when the Captain discovered he did not bring boat keys. Luckily the crew (moi) had hers as a last minute ‘just in case’ thought. For me the boat keys could fall into a similar category to ‘mad money’ on a date….a girl may need options or an exit strategy…not that I have ever needed to so far……
Meanwhile with calm conditions on Friday night, Purr~fik ,with my Mum Joan in tow, tied up at the Little Ship Club (LSC) at One Mile on North Stradbroke Island & Commodore Bruce & Lyn on Shanda, anchored nearby. For dinner at the LSC we were joined by Joan’s nephew, Mark, & his wife Gai, who are part-timers on North Straddie.
FYI. the LSC management has changed since our ‘jetty party’ weekend last year. We ordered the house created meals or locally caught seafood, and were not disappointed. Over dinner there was much catching up with all things Gladstone and my cousin Mark’s recent visit to mutual close friends in Switzerland then self-guided walk in Italy. Note: Next month June Cruise - club cruisers will be back again to the LSC on the long weekend, in particular Sunday 6th June for the Jazz Day.

The crew from Purr~fik joined the cousins for breakfast at ‘Sonia’s’, a short stroll away on the main drag. What a find! Prepared food, fruit & veg, deli, nursery and, of course, coffee.

Lunchtime we anchored at Peel Island for a refreshing!! dip before sailing down to Coochiemudlo Island under motor & jib. As Coochi is a scheduled Club Cruise destination for the weekend 8&9 in August, it was a great opportunity to reconnoiter. We anchored to the south on the eastern side of the jetty. A bit of a westerly came through for a short period overnight but otherwise very calm.
Both crews went ashore for dinner at the Red Rock Café, an even better find! This eatery has been reinvented – brilliant for yachties who can anchor in front as we did, and land-lubbers, who can also arrive via a 10 minute ferry trip from the mainland. Red Rock has a tasteful island ambience; our meals were all interesting, fresh & delicious ; the service welcoming, attentive and fun.
It was a jovial evening. I shared with our party one of those Yin/Yang boy/girl boattie moments. Earlier that day, the crew (moi), while manning the helm, was apparently being more than usually insubordinate. Ray roared…”I’m the Captain” to which I replied….”Yes, a Captain who forgets his boat keys”. He insightfully noted he would be reminded of that lapse… for the rest of the weekend he thought….I corrected him ….. it had far greater mileage.
Early next morning ‘Shanda’ headed home for Mothers Day activities while my mum had tea & toast in her bunk on board Purr~fik. We then scooted over to Blakesley’s Anchorage for a wander on shore followed by brunch.