Category: The Big (half) Lap – Go West

First fishing day today! We took the boat to Farm Beach and did a beach launch. We had some challenges putting it in. We were trying to film it with the GoPro and took a bit too long and the jockey wheel completely sank in the sand which meant we couldn’t drop the large front wheel in place. Luckily Col and I were able to lift the trailer to allow the front wheel to lock in. By then the back wheels had started to sink and Col and I couldn’t budge the trailer. We had to hook the trailer up quickly to the car using some straps and pull it out of the hole. We were then able to push the trailer and boat out far enough to launch it.

If you are thinking that is all that went wrong with this launch, you are mistaken. We got out deep enough and the boat then floated off the trailer at an angle preventing us from being able to unhook the front clip securing it to the trailer. Col and I tried unsuccessfully to push the boat back on to the trailer, it was way too heavy. At this moment Col realised the bung plugs weren’t in and dashes to the back of the boat to stop it taking on any more water. He switched on the bilge pump to empty it out. We suddenly notice that the boat had managed to move clear of the front hook holding it to the trailer and we quickly moved the boat off while we could. In the meantime I managed to step on something in the water that was very painful, possibly a sea urchin. Not sure what it was, but it didn’t cause any issues. We were able to get the trailer back onto the beach without any further drama and both enjoyed the fishing day. It was about 35 degrees in Coffin Bay, but beautiful out on the water. Such a pretty place.

We fished the sandy spots for some whiting and managed to catch a couple of good sized fish for dinner. We caught a few smaller fish that we had to throw back. Not a great catch but a great day. The weather changed quickly and soon we were surrounded by whitecaps and had to head back to shore. I am glad to say that getting the boat out went way more smoothly than putting it in. A couple of nice guys came over to give us a hand too which was good as the water was moving pretty quickly and would have been a fair work out for just Col and I. 

We headed to the Coffin Bay boat ramp to clean the boat. This is also where you can get drinking water and use the public toilets, RV dump point and fish cleaning table. 

The evening was much cooler and we were able to have a camp fire and we cooked up the fish that we caught for dinner. So good. There really is something special about catching, cleaning and cooking your food. You appreciate it way more than what you buy in a supermarket. 

We plan to pack up our camp tomorrow and head to streaky bay on Sunday. My Uncle Ian and his partner Rille are heading back from Perth and will be in Ceduna on Sunday, so we are planning a time to catch up with them if we can line it up.

Temperatures hit 43 today!! So we decided to drive to the Lincoln National Park just outside of Port Lincoln and go to Memory Cove for a swim. It takes about a 2 hour drive from Coffin Bay. You have to go to the Port Lincoln Visitor Centre first to pick up the key to the gate and get a permit first.  It is $11 per vehicle, and they take a $50 deposit for the key but this can be on credit card.  They only allow 10 cars through into the Memory Cove section, so you may want to pre-book to avoid disappointment. The park is only about 10 minutes (13km) out of Port Lincoln but the drive in to Memory Cove took us about an hour. Most of it on a 4WD track but the tracks were pretty good and not particularly challenging.  While we did see some cars that weren’t 4WD, the track was pretty rough in parts and a 4WD would be the best option.  Continue reading “Day 5 – 18th January 2018 – Memory Cove, Lincoln National Park”