Rescue at Flat Rock
On my return from Fraser Island, off the Australian Queensland coast, I stopped over at Mooloolaba. By chance I met Jim, a Canadian yachtsman aboard his boat Island Orix. After an amicable chat, we decided to sail in company south towards Sydney, some 687km away.
Both solo sailors, we agreed that our first port of call should be Southport, just 172km away. There are two routes to reach Southport: one through the inland waterway of Moreton Bay and the other, southwards along the eastern coast. The inland waterway is notorious for sandbars and as Island Orix draws 1.5m and my 38ft Roberts yawl Sandpiper 1.2m, we decided on the safer coastal passage. The weather forecast was ideal for what was to be a 24-hour trip, so we set out the following day.
Jim had already left before I cleared Mooloolaba’s Duckhole at 8am, and from there I set a course
