A medley of seven kayaks left from Raby Bay's token beach. A steady south westerly offered some lift and a splashy beam sea. An occasional finger of cold water found its way down a skirt to the discomfort of a nice warm back.
In the shelter of the island the ruffled surface and dull grey skies did not do much for coral viewing or photography. Instead
the high tide invited some poking around the mangroves. The putrid stench of strange (? whale) remains washed up in the shallows below the Lazaret curtailed any curiosity. A slimy little hitchhiker was duly returned to another tree while Dave's
photo date with a kingfisher was lost when the bird gave up. Towards the NE corner basalt rocks loomed erratically and made for tricky manoeuvring.
It remained overcast and the breeze was decidedly cool. Morning tea or lunch was had in the partial shelter of a grove of hibiscus trees in preference to the exposed stone wall jetty at Platypus Bay. A fruit cake was massacred. Jackets were left on and a switch was made to warmer gear for the return. While there was plenty of water to cut straight across the SW rocks the
sailing petered out with the arrival of spats of rain.
While no turtles, dugong or dolphins were seen, there was a salient message on the stern of the eighth boat which joined the group just north of Peel Island "You have just been passed by a Sea Bear. Time to get an outboard or take up cycling."
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