Walkers Pt to Theodolite Ck
By the third day the wind was starting to blow as forecast so we
took this as the invitation to sail from Burrum Point north to
Theodolite Creek. The Woodgate kayak valet service meant that we would not not have to paddle back into the 20Kn SE. The paddle out to the mouth of the Burrum River was a drudge against an incoming tide. With the wind on the nose we kept as close to shore as possible. By the time we reached Burrum Point as we turned left, the sails went up and the fun began. With wind against tide it was picking up the swell and there was some fun
surfing. As the wind stepped up another 5Kn the swell became even
larger and the feathers started to sprout. The problem with an Artic Raider is that it is such a stable boat that you don't have to learn to brace. In other words, if you have an Artic Raider your paddling skills can remain unchallenged because the boat will look after you. So long as it has a skeg on it's bottom it will continue to do so when you do get on the bigger stuff (as your rudder is invariably waving in the breeze). With this amount of wind it was an effortless tap with the paddle to catch a run on the swell and the girl was zinging along, so much so that there were disgruntled noises coming from a Marlin about having to work to keep up.
The white stuff at the entrance to Theodolite Creek was coming up fast, but not as quick as the kite surfers. I can't say that the thought of copping a flying skeg across the bow or a pair of lines around the throat really holds that much appeal and I hoped they would see us rather than use us as speed bumps or jumps. With the sails secured it was into the white stuff. Beauty about this place is that the surf is not the really powerful kayak rumbling stuff. Not that it can't rumble a kayak - Mirages have been ended white side up in this area. It is times like this that the Artic Raider really excels,
this little boat will surf you in yellow side up. However, like a
Mirage, a Raider would not withstand a frontal assault from a Marlin with its 90+ kilo payload. So when Mark came hooting down a wave telling me to take my 5.4m target out of the way it was a quick spin around to surf the next one in.
We had been the sole boats out the front of Woodgate Beach, after the only tinny fishing thought better of it and went ashore. You could almost feel the eyes boring into you - if we had come to grief there would have been no shortage of witnesses. Many people still had to come up to ask whether we had been the ones out the
front despite the clue of the red and blue sails flapping dry.
Our Woodgate kayak valet service not only delivered the car to Theodolite Creek but also brought with them a beautiful picnic lunch which we enjoyed in the shade of the pine trees. Something not missed by a butcher bird which showed its appreciation by letting one go - talk about target, plop right on the shoulder, a couple of inches to the right and it would have been considered a bullseye.
Another great day out was topped by a great night out at the local oval where the concert started at 5:30. Settled in behind a picnic table we started off with predinner nibbles and drinks before the main course of roast chicken accompanied by Treble, a
local singing trio with a diverse repertoire. Then Electric Banana came on stage with a stand in drummer and stand in guitarist, they were brilliant given that they had not played together before and there were only three of them. Next Treble
were on stage and it turned into a jam session with lyrics being made up whenever needed - funny as a fit as the diction was clear. It might have been the beer ears, but we both thought their take of Eagle Rock and Stairway to Heaven pretty close to the original renditions (allowing some leeway for lyrics). We certainly enjoyed their performance right until the end, along with about 15 others - everyone else had left.
With so many people on the water and Huey predicted to let rip even more we thought it time to make a move while the going was good and miss all that dreadful Easter traffic. Funny thing was most other people seemed to have the same idea. We traded places
with the same gaggle of cars for many miles. However, it was better than being stuck in high winds something that hopefully the big and not so big boys were not making heavy weather of on their return from Gladstone.
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