Hidden treasures on the beach
Issue 63 : Nov/Dec 2008
The waters of Shelburne Bay on the far northern coast of Queensland, Australia, are pristine, isolated, and exquisitely beautiful despite the persistence of the ever-blowing southeast trade winds . . . winds that, due to their strength, are reported to blow the milk out of your tea!
Ashore, exploring the soft white sands is a treat when you discover the starfish that inhabit the shoreline. When they sense your approach they submerge beneath the sand, leaving their shape etched on the surface. If you pause, the starfish emerge and resume gliding across the sand, leaving a trail behind them. Start moving again and they will start submerging themselves once more, until all you see is their outline.
Then the tide washes in and the starfish are hidden from view, waiting quietly until they think it’s safe to rise to the surface. A very special experience and a photographer’s delight!
Patricia and Alan Lucas are longtime Australian sailors. Patricia says the only trepidation she feels in this photographer’s paradise is that many crocodiles also inhabit the area. “We could feel their eyes on us,” she recalls.
Thank you to Sailrite Enterprises, Inc., for providing free access to back issues of Good Old Boat through intellectual property rights. Sailrite.com
