Holiday Snaps From FNQ

In a warm shady courtyard with a gourmet lunch before us, we looked back on the last 14 days spent on the beautiful islands of the Northumberland, Smith, Whitsunday and Gloucester Groups in North Queensland and amused ourselves by dreaming up captions to accompany some of our holiday snaps. Here are my recollections of some of the more helpful hints.

Just because its a holiday doesn't mean it's always going to be "plain sailing".

(Peter sailing, wind against tide. Photo: Rob)

Develop good downwind skills and catch the tradewind express.

(Sharon off Armit Island. Photo: Rob)

Cover forseeable navigation issues before you launch.

(Boatport breakfast meeting. Photo: Sharon)

Other members of the group will often see things from a very different point of view.

(Approaching Saddleback Island. Photo: Rod)

... but, running repairs are the only reason you should "crawl into your shell".

(Armit Island workshop. Photo: Rod)

When they are "human watching", whales sometimes refuse to keep their distance.

(Rob and whale tail off Goldsmith Island. Photo: Peter)

There are locals on even the most remote islands and, even if they are a little "nosey", they deserve respect. ( Cockermouth Island locals - Pied Oyster Catchers. Photo: Sharon)

Beware of "destination syndrome" and allow time for exploring special places along the way.

( Above-Sharon explores Pleistocene reef on Cockermouth Island. Photo: Rob

Below - Sunset off Steens Beach. Photo: Sharon)

Sometimes it is more interesting to take the long way. ( Rob and Peter enjoying a detailed circumnavigation of Gloucester Island. Photo: Sharon)

The fishing is always best when you would rather be eating or sleeping.

(Fishing at sunset. Photo: Sharon)

(Rafting up for lunch- Edgecumbe Bay. Photo, Rob.)

Instructors School

The Sea is a great teacher, very unforgiving of any complacency or poor judgement but exhilirating when you rise to the challenge. The following five photos show top local paddlers putting their skills to the test.

I have called this selection of pics " instructors school " because these skilled paddlers are "learning by doing".
They view the sea as their teacher and this attitude helps them build the confidence and competence to share their passion for kayaking with others.





Keith Oakford: rock garden Nth Head


Chris James: Heavy weather off South Head






Mark Sundin: Big Day at Botany Bay

Gary Forrest: Cruising the bar at Mooloolaba

(photo Deb Browning)

Karen Dallas: classic beach break at Arrawarra Headland (for photographer details contact Karen Dallas at the Skee Kayak Centre)

Offcuts

As my mate Matt says: "the best camera is the one in your hands". S0 I always take my humble compact along and even when it is bumpy and I have to brace with one hand and shoot with the other, I still try to take a few pictures.
This "dolphin cutlet" was taken when I wanted to identify the dark shape under my boat on a blustery morning, shame about the other bits!








Recently cuttlefish like this one, have been floating around off the Sydney coast providing fine dining for all manner of sea creatures and sea going birds.
Once the flesh is picked off the chalky core accounts for many false sightings of "sharks" with white bony dorsal fins.











A Black Browed Albatross with cuttlefish brunch on a lazy winter Sunday.
These powerful seabirds don't have the same tourist appeal as whales but from the low vantage point of a kayak you can watch them glide low and fast.
On windy days when the waves are steep their flight matches the contours of the sea, their wing tips lifting a fine spray off the surface.

Skyscapes.

On Tuesday night we rounded south head in "light airs" to behold a distant waterspout and a rainbow.
Futher to seaward, spectacular cloud banks added steely tones to the rays of the low, winter sun.






The whole group sat surprisingly still in the afternoon lull, quietly watching as the vortex of moist air dissipated off North Head.











With cliffs to our west and more rainbows on the horizon we paddled with an unusual quietness.

It seemed we were all a little in awe of the skyscape as colours and forms dissolved into the night.

Wayne Langmaid

Last Tuesday afternoon I packed my paddle and headed for the Central Coast to pay my respects and offer support to the family of Wayne Langmaid. We were gathered to acknowledge the passing of a multi-talented and passionate man who had earned the friendship and respect of so many people.

His loving family gave eulogies with a courage and intensity that were reminiscent of Wayne's finest qualities. His inspiration was so obvious in their words.

Wayne was a pioneering figure in the SeaKayaking community. He was a forceful and strident advocate for safety, and the standards that he set for himself and his business became benchmarks for the paddling community. He beleived that fledgling adventurers deserved a challenging but fear free learning environment. He insisted that safe and supportive guidance was a right rather than an option and reminded all aspiring instructors of their moral and legal obligations to these principles.

He shared these values with all concerned and was generous with his time and expertise. When I headed a review of safety and training proceedures as president of the New South Wales Sea Kayak Club, Wayne gave generously of his time and expertise. His positive influence over this organisation and many other kayaking groups, including my own training organisation, will live on.

Two Tuesdays at North Head.

Two photos, one week apart, same time, same place, same group....

... but a very different scene.

Small Waves = Big Fun

The surf report said: "small dribbling surf in the morning with a few peaky 1-2 footers later in the day". So with the low afternoon sun throwing a pink tinge on the breaking crests, Peter, Chris and I headed for Greenhills to catch a few rides in our sea kayaks.
We soon discovered the odd decent set and anyway, it doesnt take much to keep sea kayakers amused. It must have been big enough because we all needed a roll or three.

Punching out we still had some work to do....

with just enough wave action to keep us honest....

But most of the session was clean and cruisy with not a boardrider in sight.

With waves like this, you can practice strokes without the same pressure or urgency that you get with bigger, fatter waves.

Just on sunset with the tide running out, things got quite busy. The local surfers knew the best waves would happen after the turn of the tide and weren't going to let the low light deter them.

So we moved to the North of the beach to avoid the evening "peak hour".

Still enjoying the conditions, we surfed 'by ear' for a while and then reluctantly picked up one last shadowy wave as the last light drained out of the evening sky.