An outgoing tide until midday is ideal for a run to Jumpinpin and The Bedroom on South Stradbroke Island. Seven paddlers had indicated they were keen. Eight fronted up.
The work done on the carpark at Cabbage Tree Point has granted more spaces for boat and trailers and diminished those for cars. By 0730 cars with boat trailers lined the main road and were still parked in the streets. We joined the street parkers with options further restricted by fresh yellow lines.
When we put in Innes was out front practising a roll in his recently acquired Mako. Called Das Boot, the colours were a dead give away that this used to be one of George’s fleet. All afloat we headed north into a light breeze. Off the southern tip of Russell Island there was a bit of wicked snicker in leading a jet ski astray. Nothing quite like hearing a stranded pest stuck in the mud. It was a biggie too – they really are getting fatter.
The wind proffered a delightful sail across Caniapa Passage. Jack’s astute radio call had us pull up for morning tea north of the minor powerboat convention at Slipping Sands. A tidal gutter fronted a small beach with some welcome shade. What we hadn’t seen were the broken bottles stuck in the sand, likely the rubbish associated with the burnt out tin shed collapsed in the scrub. Fortunately no one stood on any glass.
We were soon scooting down around southern Straddie. The conversation had an educational theme about platforms like Tinder, how they worked, the significance of swiping left and right and what you could be in for. Not for the timid or the faint hearted and not a place for intimacy. Along the way my Raider gave a live demo of a ubiquitous design flaw and, as Jack said, ‘dropped its tail’. Trev kindly poked the rudder back in while trying to convince Innes that he should consider buying his Arctic Raider. A tryout of Greg’s Epic paddle had me liking the blade but not the extra weight or feel of the green shaft. Funny how you become so attuned to the gear you use.
After a small play in some waves at the pin (not a really good idea on a run out tide) we pulled ashore for a swim and leg stretch. It was here that Innes and I swapped boats. I don’t think Innes had taken on board that the Arctic Raider is a very different creature to his Aurora. For a start, it has limited primary stability as he soon found out, the wet way. Trev was hooting with laughter and calling out instructions for me to take a photo but I was too busy myself getting into an unfamiliar boat to capture the moment.
When we landed for lunch Innes, having rolled in both directions with ease was coming around to thinking that maybe the Arctic Raider was more in keeping with what he was looking for. I in the meantime had landed and declared that his boat was a total dog much to the mirth of the heads floating in the muddy drink. Innes should not be disheartened, I have not liked any of Mark’s boats either. Horses for courses and, as Greg rightly said, it takes a while to get used to a different boat or paddle.
After lunch we walked by the likely site of the old toilet block and across the dunes to the surf beach. The dunes did not look at all familiar. They seemed to span a wider area and in their midst appeared a very large midden. From the top of the seaward dune we watched a powerful surf roll in. A brown haze smudged the Gold Coast towers yet the breeze did not seem strong enough for it to be sand and it looked too dirty for salt spray. The vicinity of where the toilet block used to be has a resilient collection of coastal vegetation featuring remarkably healthy looking Banksia integrefolia. This little patch provides food and shelter for a chorus of secretive birds.
After lunch Mark completed the circumnavigation of Pandanus Island, which on an early incoming tide can morph into a bit of a mud scuttle. Trev gave an early demonstration as to why you do not follow him as he walked his boat out of the shallows. We waited for Innes to catch up before sailing across into Whalleys Gutter on a helpful tide and NE breeze. Thereafter it was pretty much sailing for most of the way back to conclude a delightful 30Km day out on the water.
