Despite having seen no whales in Moreton Bay, we didn't want to take any chances so we left Mooloolaba at 3am knowing we would have daylight in three hours, but also knowing we were taking a risk on an afternoon crossing of the Wide Bay Bar. This time we were better prepared for the cold and rugged up like Southern Ocean yachties. The sail was great, plenty of breezes, timed to perfection, and we crossed the Bar just after the turn of the tide.

But the winds were increasing and we were pretty sure Gary's Anchorage would be full, so we headed down to Tin Can Bay Marina. And that's as far as we got! At the entrance to Snapper Creek, on the line of Green Beacons, out in front of the Coast Guard, we ran aground. Even though we were on a rising tide we couldn't get her off because the wind kept blowing us back on the sand bank. We did all the right things; rocked her; gunned the motor backwards and forwards; put out the anchor and tried to kedge off; but nothing worked. Eventually I called the Coast Guard who came over and dragged us a distance of two metres to free us and we quickly anchored a short distance away in Smoogen Point and there we stayed for the next four days.

(You can see the Greens on the right of the photo; the Coast Guard is the building in the centre.)