Boys trip!

Last Wednesday saw me turn 31(shit!) and also marked the first day of the long awaited trip away with the boys. There was myself, Lacho(back home for two weeks from writing a novel and working in the UK), RooBoy and Big Fella, all of whom I met on the first day of Grade 8 at De La Salle College in 1988.The Big Fella drove to 1770 on Wednesday and fortunately only stalled the RV five times. We arrived exactly 236 years to the day Captain Cook landed there.
Wednesday night saw us watch the State of Origin(F$%@%!) at nearby Agnes Water Tavern, then on Thursday morning, after we ditched a vague plan of driving to Airlie Beach, RooBoy drove us to Yeppoon and after lunch at the we pooled our funds to charter a 35 foot cruiser, the Prince Regal.
Friday morning saw a chilly dawn but the day quickly turned into a mild one. We let out some line upon exiting the Marina and trolled unsuccessfully on the 7.3 nautical mile, 90min journey to the truely beautiful Great Keppel Island where we anchored off a reef. It wasn't long before we dropped our lines over the side of the boat with beers nestled in our hands as the sun bathed us with its warmth. I was by far the most inexperienced fisherman on board (only second time fishing) and was only using a 5-6kg rod with prawns for bait whereas the other boys where using bigger rods with anchovies and squid for bait. The fishing started well when I quickly reeled in two foot long Moses Perch followed by a Happy Moment(very poisonous and your hands will be in agony for hours if you touch them - hence the ironic name!) and some small spotted codfish which were thrown back. Problems arose later when we decided to move another position on the other side of the Island. The anchor was stubbornly resisting our attempts to raise it and the process of manouevering the cruiser in all directions led to the rope securing a tinnie to the cruiser unravelling a couple of metres from where we had tied it and then getting caught in the propeller. Having been cut adrift, the tinnie quickly drifted away and Lacho had to quickly dive in and then swim after it!! We then had to double check that the anchor was secure before before we drifted onto the reef, fifty metres to port. RooBoy sardonically commented that he could almost hear the newsreader say 'In other news today, four drunken sailors were rescued by the Coast Guard after running aground on a reef off Great Keppel Island"!!!! The other three boys then spent 30 mins diving under the boat to cut the rope loose from the propeller whilst yours truly, a poor swimmer and without his contact lenses remained aboard. The rope successfully removed, we then found a hot spot anchoring above a school of Whiptail and I easily reeled in around 15 in about an hour, throwing them all back in. All up, we caught around 40 fish and I contributed half of that but only the two Moses Perch were good for eating. It was a most fabulous day out on the water and the drama should ensure that we have plenty of talking points for years to come! I can also now brag like a veteran fisherman! Saturday morning, we perused some travel brochures and decided to drive to Lake Monduran near Gin Gin - (about 40k west of Bundaberg where we trolled and fished unsuccessfully that afternoon and the next morning before I drove the RV home on Sunday. After nine days without running and with my cough slowly fading away, I strapped on the Brooks Glycerin 4's on Sunday morning and went for an easy 10k run around the quiet country roads and beautiful countryside where Qld's most famous Bushranger, the Wild Scotchman was caught in 1866. The lake and the dam where frequently visible throughout my run and provided a magnificent backdrop to the scenery. With the early morning mist, hanging above the lake and surrounds, it was pretty similar to the Warwick Half Marathon, only hillier. So, a great trip was had with my oldest mates and lots of stories were told and retold, card games were played and laughs were had over beers of which we enjoyed quite a few. You know, even after being mates with someone for 18 years, its possible to discover new things about them on a trip away like this - I'm still in shock at the discovery that the Big Fella, a real man's man uses moisturiser twice a day!!


Km's this week - 10
Km's this month - 108
Km's this year - 452