Eve and I were keen to participate in the Tweed Valley Sailing Club's marathon race from Condong to Fingal Head as BRSC spectator fleet. We booked a cabin for the Saturday night at the Hacienda Caravan Park at Chinderah so that we could be on the river bright and early for the race on Sunday 17th May. Seemed like a good plan, but...
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| Private boat ramp at Hacienda Caravan Park, Chinderah |
We were launching, well reefed, at low tide on Saturday afternoon. The boat ramp was covered in a treacherous slime - the worst I have ever seen. You guessed it, I lost my footing and fell backwards hitting the back of my head on the concrete ramp. Not a good start. The rest of Saturday was a write off. I lay on my bunk in the cabin with Eve keeping a close eye on me ready to call an ambulance if I got worse. Luckily we didn't miss much in the way of sailing, it was wild and wet.
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Pontoon at Hacienda Caravan Park's private anchorage
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| Eve Schoenheimer |
Sunday morning. The weather had improved, the wind had moderated and it looked as if the showers might give way to sunshine. My head was still not good but I was much better than the night before. I decided to head off under motor. Eve is a sailor so I knew that she could take charge if necessary. It was extremely pleasant gently motoring upriver and waiting for the racing fleet to appear heading downriver to Fingal Heads. I am still confused about the wind. It was forecast to be S. The weather report said that it was SSW at a weather station close by. We decided to shake out the reef and sail for a while. I assumed we would be on a broad reach or run as we were heading from S to N. However we seemed to be head to wind and having to tack back and forth. Very odd. The racing fleet persevered tacking in light fluky conditions. We reverted to motor sailing and soon I was fading so it was back to Chinderah. We didn't make it to Fingal Head. There is always next year.
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