The ghostly pall of dust was a dour reflection of how long it has been since the girls were on the water. Unsurprisingly it was the Raider who attempted an early break when a cradle departed the roof rack. Fortunately Kingsford Smith Drive is fairly quiet early on a Sunday and the cradle was retrieved before
having a meet and eat session with a truck.
It was a beautiful smooth morning for the paddle from Shorncliffe to Scarborough. The warm sun made thermals redundant. Eleven starters moseyed around the corner heading north on the shoreward side of a keen fisherman. The kayaks soon
dispersed into groups of one or two over a silvery expanse. A lack of surf had managed Brian to persuade his son to come along seven years after his last paddle with the group. A couple of dolphins broke the surface in the distance. The sighting of a sandy stretch and promise of one of Carol's superb cakes had us come ashore at Margate Beach. Today's eager eyes carefully divvyed a two tiered rich chocolate number. Perfect with black coffee.
It was not much further to the Redcliffe jetty where we beached just south of the rock wall. The pavement was lined with the colours of a Sunday market. Plenty of people were wandering amongst the stalls, enjoying a day on the beach, a coffee in one of the roadside cafes, or, in the queue at the ladies loo. After
a relaxed lunch of fish and chips or the salad roll and fruit variety it was for a leisurely retreat. The NE was starting up as promised but didn't blow much more than 5knots and there was little swell to nick a ride on.
On the way back another cake offer was radioed out. Naturally there was not much difficulty in coaxing a shore landing to discover another tempting chocolate cake, this time courtesy of Tom. Homemade, it passed the discerning 'rich and moist' criteria with flying colours. However this performance needs to be repeated for QA.
Returning to Shorncliffe some caught and kept fishing line and lived. We also caught up with Navman Nev who was able to fill in the news story of kayakers being hauled out of the seriously muddy sludge that is the Mangrove Passage at Fisherman's Island. Delightful.
Hopefully the dust will not be as thick before the next time the girls are taken out for a run.
|
