GOLD COAST TO MORETON BAY
Behind the jagged facade of glinting concrete, sultry mountains loomed and then the roar of the surf met my salt-encrusted ears as I approached the seaward entrance and its sometimes-treacherous bar. So, with sails sheeted in tight and gunning the outboard, I surfed into the shelter of the Broadwater to drop anchor in the famous Bum’s Bay, a haven for many a tired sea vagabond. Just as I was going below for my first proper sleep in 36 hours, a head popped up over the transom to ask me many friendly questions, in the staccato nasal drawl the defines the accent of these parts.
The Gold Coast is a sheltered region on Australia’s Pacific shoreline, midway between the wild Southern Ocean and steamy tropics of the north. It’s an ideal year-round cruising ground that I was looking forward to enjoying after six weeks of sailing north from wintertime Sydney.
Located just south of Australia’s third major city, Brisbane, it’s sometimes called ‘Las Vegas by the Sea’ because of its ostentatious skyscrapers, night clubs and general decadence. Such as the bikini-clad meter maids that used to strut around the city, topping up parking meters
