If you don't say you are coming then you cannot be given 50:50 odds whether or not you will front up. Carol's assumption of a petite all female affair morphed into a motley crew with a number of past regulars putting in an undeclared appearance. Tom remained a no show having booked in on a larger vessel we were about to see off.
Brighton Park was new to us and the RACQ. It is a popular place as most of the parks were taken. A somewhat scungy muddy beach flanked by rocks made for an invidious maiden launch of
Crikey !! While some were on the water and circling for the 9am launch, it was forestalled by the late arrival of those who had forgotten paddles. We had thought it somewhat unusual when we passed Stan and Jenni going in the opposite direction along Kingsford Smith Drive.
A south easterly made it face on into the chop on an incoming tide. If I had had my way it would have been a great sailing to Redcliffe. Slight technical hitch, the start of the Brisbane to Gladstone yacht race is off Shorncliffe and no one else was going my way. By the time we had punched out into the slop we decided
we may as well head straight over to the start line. Three large anchored cats flying faded flags suggested some type of exclusion zone. The less official yacht told us that we were looking down the barrel of the line for the 49 starters, amongst them Bad
Habits.
Bouncing around we could just make out the muffled poof of a starter's gun. The kevlar sails started titling. A minute later another poof exploded an array of colourful spinnakers and they were off. It did not take long for the dominant form of Black Jack to race away towards the bar. We shared their steady SE which had pushed up a comfortable following swell, just right for skipping and sailing, although an additional 5 knots would have been even better. It might have made the comfort stop just that more urgent too. As it was there was no mucking around. A definitive sand landing was
followed by rip up the boat, try not to make a bolt for it and slink out looking like it could not have been you that was in such dire need. Bailer buckets are an anatomical privilege. Mark did a similar performance and it was only after this we could kick back and enjoy a coffee in the sun on the rock wall
overlooking Brighton Beach.
We coasted into the boat ramp, and can you believe it, he fell out. Yes on it's maiden voyage Mark canned out of Crikey !! Let's leave it there (snigger snigger).
We had come via the tunnel making the most of management's transient magnanimous splurge. While the Feroza is young enough to get a recall notice from Toyota (don't smoke near it - it might blow up), it is not savvy enough to have an alarm for lights on. I said RACQ didn't know where Brighton Park was. So while we made it on this paddle, it took a bit longer to get home.
Brian, ye of little faith, I said that we intended to be there last Saturday night, and we were. I didn't say how we would get there - your gazes downstream were your assumption.
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