Dank, dark and dromedary

When you are rock snaggling 500 yards off the beach and pointy bits on a very dark slightly drizzly night wreathed in dromedary foetids it pays to be very careful. Eyeballs and GPS and 6th and 7th senses - which were jerked into adrenalin blast by a series of bright flashes - far brighter than Montague Island light out to starboard. Umm? A fireworks display, just for Berri and me, about 10 miles behind us. And there's a christmas tree on the eastern horizon - probably a fisho out of Eden.

The lights along the shore merge into the phosphorescence - lovely - no time for more.

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Kettle crisps and Dr Cooper's prescription for laryngitis and just about everything - aaaaaaah!

5 miles south of Bermagui, motor sailing, rock hopping along the coast to stay inside the east Australian current. Too early to predict an ETA but we are making good progress at the mo. Fresh mussels to come. A great swirl of whitebait just off the bow, rounded up by tuna or someone else bigger and hungrier.

From here, we look straight up the starboard nostril of Cook's Dromedary. We will work our way around its hairy nose at Cape Dromedary and then look up its port nostril before getting the whole silhouette - head and hump. We will be looking at it for at least 24 hours. I'm actually surprised that Cook knew what a dromedary was - but perhaps it was one of the scientists who applied the template and gave Cook the name. It's a very good likeness.

Later: We have now passed Bermagui, Montague Island to starboad and the Dromedary's nose to port. I can smell his foetids.

Just pushing the old barge as fast as she will reasonably go, aiming for Monday morning at the next rusty hinge.

We'll see.

1042

Yesterday morning: A thousand plus the answer to everything and the highest barometric pressure reading I can remember ever seeing. I think there is a calibration error somewhere - the forecast was for 1038. Clear day, slight haze, big bushfire along the shore west of Mallacoota. Gabo Lighthouse lost in the haze against the hills behind Cape Howe but only 15 miles away. No mobile signal yet.

Today: Got into Eden around midnight. Eden a bit frantic - no diesel on the wharf any more, no phone signal on the wharf - Telstra 3G yet. By massive coincidence, I bumped into Chris H also on the dock and he organised his mate Peter to bring hie wheels and take me to the service station at the other end of town for 80 litres of diesel, and then Jen and Anne arrived to take us shopping and delivered hot muffins and it all got fixed and we left as soon as we were sorted - departed 1035. HUGE thanks to Chris, Peter, Jen and Ann - as with so much of this gig, we could not have done it without lots of help from lots of wonderful people. Jen, I'll send you back the muffin basket. Had intended to give the Eden Magnet our story but it all got too complicated. Kari's mob too - sorry but we just had to get on with it.

Earliest possible ETA now early Monday if absolutely everything works for us. Else later Monday or - most likely, early Tuesday for entry to suit whoever wants to come and meet us. We should be in mobile range most of the way. If anyone desperately wants to talk to us, 0418243600.

Watch this space! And cross em please.

Carol, plonk always used to be the cheapest red available and screech the equivalent white. The stuff you burnish copper with.
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