Blowin' in Bowen

Sunset from Sinclair Bay looking towards Bowen

When we first heard the term ``blowin' in Bowen' we laughed. Yeah, it was breezy last time we were here, but it would calm off from time to time.
Well we're back in Grey's Bay at the back of the township and guess what? It's still `blowin' in Bowen'.
But for some reason, Bowen has great appeal for both of us. It's a bit sleepy. It's a lot friendly, has beautiful beaches and the bus picks us up, takes us shopping and drops us back to the boat ramp where we leave the dinghy!
Plus there's a fabulous cafe in Bowen `Food Freaks' with great cakes, coffee and atmosphere.
We sailed across Edgecombe Bay from Sinclair Bay yesterday morning on the outgoing tide with (initially) a gentle wind pushing us along at 4 knots. A few ticky tacks got us across the bay where we picked up a 20 knot plus wind which zoomed us up and around the headland into Queen's and Grey's Bay.
In the middle of changing course and adjusting the sails, a good-size mackerel decided to hit the trailing line. Royden pulled this one in and was in the process of letting the line out again when he got a second hit - this time just a bony herring which got to swim back in the sea.
As we rounded the rocky bar at the tip of Cape Edgecombe I just happened to look out to sea as a whale breached. Luckily it did it again for Royden to see.
It was fairly swelly when we anchored in the bay as the wind was gusting through from the north east but around 9pm it shifted more to the south-east and things settled down - and so could we for the night.
We'll probably stay here for a few days before heading towards Cape Upstart and then on to Magnetic Island.
We're at the whim of the weather.
PS: All negative thoughts about Olympus have been cancelled. The company has replaced our `not-waterproof' camera with the latest model (it is currently in Benalla). The first thing I will do is test it in a bucket of water. In the meantime, the little Agfa special is doing a fine job.