A social worker wants Old Alec, who lives with his dog on the coast of Queensland, to move to a pensioners’ home; but to escape such a fate, the old man decides to sail his broken-down old boat up the Barrier Reef, until a fierce storm and the friendship of a young boy change his mind. First Edition pp. 48 #0620 Egg tempera artist: Tempera, also known as egg tempera, is a permanent, fast-drying painting medium consisting of colored pigments mixed with a water-soluble binder medium, usually glutinous material such as egg yolk. Tempera also refers to the paintings done in this medium.