whatta the odds?

I love a good coincidence. I love the story, the pure chance and the curiousity. I’m hooked. There’s a warm fuzziness about coincidences. That feeling that sometimes things are just meant to be. 

There’s always a story behind a coincidence. I’m going to tell two stories about two coincidences. One about an octopus and one about an anchor.

After sitting out four days of showery and windy weather at Scarness with a few visits to Enzo’s On The Beach to ease the waiting, we spotted a weather window for Lady Musgrave. 

It was a vigorous sail out to Lady Musgrave from Burnett Heads, much windier than forecast but it did make for a particularly quick trip.

I’m always looking forward to my first snorkel but there’s always a touch of apprehension too as the camera routines have to be revisited, the snorkel gear found, the wetsuit has too fit (?!) and of course the water is cold in July! All boxes were ticked.

My first snorkel was a very special one. 

I’ve snorkeled the lagoon at Lady Musgrave many times and I’m never tired of it.  There’s always something that attracts my attention, often it’s the turtles. This time initially, it was a purple/hot pink Magnificent Anemone. Its vibrant colour and healthy state were stunning. Pink Anemonefish usually reside in these anemones, but after patiently observing for a long time I didn’t spot one. Maybe they were very shy?

But it was my next experience that really topped off this visit to Lady Musgrave. Not only did I spot an octopus in the shallows (they are the masters of camouflage), I enjoyed several moments of almost interaction with this octopus. It was so exciting. How lucky was I?

I’ve since read this octopus is called a Day Octopus, also known as a Big Blue Octopus. Apparently they are active through the day as they are day feeders.

The octopus moved several times, each time finding a new crevice to sneak under and even at times just sitting on top of the coral, almost saying ‘look at me, look at me’. It changed colours and textures each time, totally camouflaged against the backdrop of the reef. Amazing. A snorkel I’ll remember for a long time.

Yes, this is the same octopus! The masters of disguise at work. Watching it’s colours and textures change was such a treat.  If I hadn’t watched this octopus move from place to place, I’m sure I would have swam straight past.

The coincidence? 

I left home with several book recommendations, one being Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt. The book features a Pacific Octopus called Marcellus. I was reading this book when I was at LM. When I was snorkeling that first time I frequently thought of Marcellus, hoping I’d maybe see an octopus, but ha, no way. Then I did!

My octopus, Ollie, sits on a shelf on The Bossa, alongside a jar of special messages from Ava and Olive. Ollie is a birthday present they gave me when I left home. Ollie will now remind me of this special snorkel at Lady Musgrave in 2026.

The book, the film and another film that may interest you, The Octopus Teacher and my Ollie.

The anchor?

It was to be an early departure from the Burnett Heads River for Lady Musgrave. 6 am we were up retrieving our anchor. Unfortunately the river had other ideas as our anchor was well and truly stuck. After numerous changes of angles but with no luck dislodging it or making inroads on the 15 metres of chain we thought we were losing, the Captain used his angle grinder to cut it off. Our Saka Excel anchor has been with us for the life of The Bossa. Bugga!!

We continued on to Lady Musgrave as we had our spare anchor on board and we anticipated picking up a mooring, which fortunately we did. The wind was still howling but once secure we were able to catch our breath after such a vigorous sail and to attend to the many phone calls we made along the way. We had contacted the manufacturer (7-10 days from Melbourne where we purchased our original) and various chandleries including the Captain’s Chandlery at the Bundy Marina, but no one had a Saka Excel in our size in stock. We needed a replacement anchor, preferably another Sarka Excel and even possibly new chain if we didn’t have enough left on the boat.

We were in luck. Ian at Fusion HQ had an anchor we could borrow until the end of the season. It was a Sarka Excel. Yay! Our car was being collected from Fusion HQ in Maryborough by a very helpful friend and driven to our next port at Keppel Bay, so adding the anchor was timely. Phew. Perfect!

But there’s more …

We received a visit from Ulu (friends of friends), a cat anchored near us at LM. The Captain retold our unfortunate anchor story. Can you believe it … Ulu had a spare Saka Excel on board (even the right size) which he’d been given by Zygo (also anchored at LM)  which he didn’t want AND they had been in the Captain’s Chandlery when The Captain called and overheard the conversation. But with no name nor phone number that opportunity had passed until introducing himself at Lady Musgrave. 

We bought a second hand anchor at Lady Musgrave! More ass than class our friends would say. Oh, and we do have enough chain for the season.  

So a big thankyou to Ian at Fusion HQ, Bob our car collector, Reeflection who suggested Ulu say hello to The Bossa at Lady Musgrave and of course Ulu (and Zygo) for selling us an anchor! We do love our yachtie community.

I have no photos of our anchor mishap (bor-ring), but here’s a few of the numerous turtles I photographed at Lady Musgrave.  The turtles are always a treat..

We are now at the Keppel Bay Marina catching up on shopping, washing, cleaning and prep for our passage through the Percys with Vivacious, followed by a Whitsundays family visit with two toddlers. Fun times ahead. 

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