“Come an’ get it!” I must have shouted as we anchored just north of The Narrows because word quickly spread to every midge and sandfly in the nearby mangroves that it was tucker time on board Raven. It would seem that I am to these little critters what hot freshly baked bread with butter; pavlova with cream, strawberries and passionfruit; chocolate caramel slice and gelato in any flavour except bubblegum are to me- - - scrumptious. They have nibbled and munched happily on every part of me with the exception of my ear canals and the spaces between my toes which suggests to me that even midges and sandflies are fussy eaters. Right now I am unhappily covered in bites and blisters, including one blister for all the world to see on the very tip of my nose. I've tried unsuccessfully to find relief from anti-histamine tablets, Aristocort cream, SOOV with lignocaine and brandy administered systemically, not topically. I have found momentary relief (bliss) by scrubbing the scratchy part of the Velcro fasteners of my sailing gloves across the bites only to have Peter catch me out and remind me for the hundredth time “Stop scratching!”
Bites and itches aside, the northerly winds have set in once more which meant that we were able to get away from Rosslyn Bay last Monday with the intention of making an early Tuesday morning crossing of The Narrows (which I might point out once again, should be called The Shallows rather than The Narrows because it must be Australia’s shallowest, sometimes navigable, waterway). We were piloting Tahaa through which resulted in me engaging in some rather compulsive checking behaviour of our course before we got underway as I did not want to run both boats aground.
The photograph shows Tahaa passing Ramsey Crossing which is one of the shallowest parts of The Narrows. If you look carefully you will see Mary taking a photograph of Old Man Kangaroo and some of his mates who were basking in the morning sun in the otherwise unoccupied cattle pen as we passed.
PS ever dog that has ever had fleas has my sympathy.
Bites and itches aside, the northerly winds have set in once more which meant that we were able to get away from Rosslyn Bay last Monday with the intention of making an early Tuesday morning crossing of The Narrows (which I might point out once again, should be called The Shallows rather than The Narrows because it must be Australia’s shallowest, sometimes navigable, waterway). We were piloting Tahaa through which resulted in me engaging in some rather compulsive checking behaviour of our course before we got underway as I did not want to run both boats aground.
The photograph shows Tahaa passing Ramsey Crossing which is one of the shallowest parts of The Narrows. If you look carefully you will see Mary taking a photograph of Old Man Kangaroo and some of his mates who were basking in the morning sun in the otherwise unoccupied cattle pen as we passed.
PS ever dog that has ever had fleas has my sympathy.
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