Sailing Around Australia Adventures; Something different

24/2/2014  Something different

We have become reasonably accustomed to getting up and going to bed with the sun on our around Australia sailing adventures. South Australia has daylight saving going on at the moment which has has taken us the weeks we have been here to get used to.

The sun goes down at about 9pm not rising until 7.00am. We couldn’t work out why we were sleeping so late in the mornings promising ourselves that we would get up early and go for a walk around the town for exercise. We wake with the sun and then get out of bed to ready ourselves for the exercise feeling quite pleased that we got an early start to the day.

A glance at the clock then shocks us with the reality it is already 8.30am. As my father in law used to say “we have missed the best part of the day”.

 

Our Sailing Around Australia Adventures aboard Easy Tiger have lead us to Streaky Bay South Australia. We have been here “borrowing” a mooring from Geoff and Heather Georgiou that is located about a hundred metres from shore and about the same from the town jetty.

The jetty is very well used every morning during the day and evening. As it has an area fenced off into a swimming pool about half way along the jetty, this proves a very popular pastime with many different groups throughout the day.

In the morning there are the regular “lappers”, then during the day the youngsters come down and muck about, then in the evenings the age group and associated noise levels go up. The other night in the misty rain about a half a dozen young men were really whooping it up over at the swim area of the jetty. On closer inspection it was obvious they were enjoying an evening skinny dip. I offered this information to Leanne, but she must have been really tired as she didn’t even stir for a look at the action.

During the drifting Dinghy episode, we met a guy officially known as “bugs” at the end of the jetty. Bugs is a Streaky Bay local, who has done a lot of diving fishing and boating in general and an interesting guy to chat with.

Bugs asked us if we would like to try Razor Fish. I was thinking that they sounded like something you would see on Foxtel shows like “weird things people eat” or Bear Grylls etc…

Today as B1 and I got another round of water in jerry cans, we saw someone snorkeling along around the moorings and over to the Jetty. I didn’t think too much more about it until the wetsuit appeared at the back step of Easy Tiger. Up popped the face of Bugs. “I’ve got some razor fish muscles for you”, he said. “Great”, I said, not too sure how great that would actually be. “Come on board”.

Bug’s produced a small net bag that had a dozen and a half of what looked like scallops in it. Taken

 one out of the bag he offered it to me to try. I found them not too dissimilar to scallops. The flesh was probably more meaty in texture and a nice sea foody flavor.

After he stayed for a chat and morning tea,  B2 and Eva came passed to ask bugs about the possibility of catching King George Whiting  near the jetty. He said it was possible in one of the sand holes surrounding our boat. He then suggested that we use the whit parts of the razor fish.

Bugs then offered to collect another dozen or so razor fish, which he did in about 15 minutes. He then showed us how to cut them open and get the muscle part out for eating and the little white bits out for fishing bait.

Having just finished “shucking” a bucket of Razor fish, Leanne is in the dinghy trying the bait out on the King George Whiting. Hopefully she catches a couple, then it will be Razor fish seared in Garlic butter for entrée, followed by blue swimmer crab, oysters and whiting fillets for main course tonight. Total cost = $0.

Did I mention that we may stay in Streaky Bay for a while yet?

The Razor Fish grows this shell by burying the clean part of the shell into the sand. The upper shell seen here with the barnacles etc.. on it protrude from the sand. The top edge of the shell is quite sharp hence the name Razor Fish. Inside it has the muscle part (seen in the plate) which is similar to a scallop and the white long piece which is good fish bait. Source; "Bugs".

 

Leanne and "friend" fishing for whiting, although I do believe that "friend" also accepts stripe fish.

Gotta Go; dinner is served.