We left Tin Can Bay after five weeks delay we finally reached Gary's Anchorage on Fraser Island Monday - surrounded by rainforest and mangroves in a sheltered creek - this is what cruising is all about!. Then Scarness, Hervey Bay Tuesday and only managed to nudge three times making passage up the Great Sandy Straits! The shifting sand bars made the passage a little uneasy and sometimes confusing, but on a rising tide and the whole day to make the passage in fair weather we made it with room to spare. Engine worked like a horse with not a breathe of wind and thanks to Clive and the crew at Blige Rats Mechanics (up Snapper Creek) in Tin Can Bay she runs like a dream. Bundaberg Wednesday, for a quick stop over and a Bundy or two. Thursday we put the sails up for the third time in 7 weeks with a good breeze forecast its Pancake Creek on a beam reach with Bella peeling back the miles making 11.2Kts on a 25knt gust - whahoo! There is a bit of rain and the south easterly trade winds are starting to pick up over the weekend so hopefully the weather will hold and we'll possibly make Keppel Island before continuing further north. In any case it feels great to be on the move once more and heading for warmer grounds. Kieran is a week ahead of his school work and saving a 'free day pass' for snorkelling on the reef. The time at Tin Can has allowed us to establish a good school routine and the hard work will start to pay off. Drina enjoys also doing her kindy 'school work' and tries to copy Kieran with letter formation and writing - very cute. She is very slowly going through her letters when her concentration allows. Today was a bit lumpy on the water so none of us really felt like sticking our heads in books. Maybe when we have reached the sheltered anchorage and allow our stomachs to settle I could do the business books and the kids can do some school work too. Its a bit overcast and cold at the moment which doesn't make the idea of swimming very appealing but a walk along the beach might be nice - I'm sure the dogs would like that too! Only 7NM to anchor....