The New Year's recovery paddle had little to do with alcohol detox. Furthermore anywhere on the Bay would have been a welcome reprieve from a so called 'cocktail party' held on the 12th floor at Ridges Hotel. The invitation sounded great - positively convivial. With live entertainment, unlimited drinks, finger food and prime views of the fireworks at South Bank from the top floor of the hotel this was a night to remember. The reality was a crowded room with no chairs, a DJ thumping out 'doof doof' and conversational yelling matches. We escaped the noise onto a balcony reserved for smokers to find out that this hot outdoor area was a dry zone. The only way to escape the heat and noise was via the elevator and out the door at the cost of $180 for a glass of so called champagne.
With a forecast for an increasing NE four kayaks left the boat passage and headed direct for the Mangrove Channel. The rising tide took us past the sad spectre of a loggerhead trapped in a crab pot. Once out of the passage the freshening NE made the hazy smudge of Mud Island look like hard yakka and the alternative of
AM tea on St Helena met no resistance.
Again it was a warm day and after landing in the lee of a rocky promontory on the SW corner it was straight into the drink. White horses trampled thoughts of circumnavigating the island. Instead we sailed and paddled towards, then amongst the mangroves on the SE corner of the island. The 2.3m high tide created a tranquil oasis amongst the tortuous trunks. Once we ran out of water the fun began in earnest.
By now the NE now had a regular swell coming in and it was a direct line for Green with a tail wind. Sorry guys, this invitation was too good to miss. With a radio request to keep an
eye on the red sail we were gone. Gone sailing, surfing and squawking. That puny insignificant excuse of a skeg stuck to the bum of my boat has made the world of difference. Skipping from swell to swell or cutting across the face, there were times when I wondered what my options were about to become. In the end we arrived sunny side up sporting a big fat grin. Everyone else took a while longer and saw a lot more wild life including shovel nosed rays, reef sharks, live turtles, sea eagles and mullet.
Green Island now has chairs and tables, although possibly for a
limited time as planks had been ripped off for fires. The wind
remained steady as we enjoyed lunch in the shade sitting at a table with a breeze way. The return was a beam sea to the boat passage. After yesterday I was happy for the sail to do the work and took the easy way out. By the time we had the boats on the car the wind was thumping in and it looked like storm clouds were
building.
After the fracas at Ridges Hotel maybe the fireworks are best viewed at a cocktail party with drinks served from Level 2 of the
Big Sandhills...
|
