We had great thunderstorms last night with an amazing lightning display. Not too much wind thankfully. This morning we weighed anchor early at 5:15am and motored South through the Sandy Strait. The sun is shining brightly, painfully, already. The wind was about 3k from the South in the early morning hours but by 8am it was in the North at 5k or so and is now NE at 6-8k where we are anchored.

Our early departure is required to work with the tides and currents. We rode the current the whole way and made well over 8k the entire time. We got in behind a Norwegian boat who seemed to know his way around and we followed close behind him in water sometimes only 10 or 12ft deep.

It is now 9:45 we are anchored about a mile from entrance to Wide Bay, the Southern entrance to the Gt. Sandy Strait. We can see trawlers, perhaps shrimpers, working the area just inside the opening and there are 3 or 4 other sailboats which arrived here at the same time we did from the North. Tomorrow looks great for the final leg to Mooloolaba. Forecasts call for 10-15k from the NE/NW which will make it mostly a motor boat ride but at least we beat it here before the Southeasterlies set in again. We plan to spend the remainder of the day loafing and sleeping and eating. Tomorrow we get an early start so we will go to bed early.