It turns out that the south coast of
NSW is full of keen sea kayakers, mountain bikers, bushwalkers and
other adventurous people. Through the Eurobodalla paddling group we
have been lucky enough to meet up with many local sea kayakers, some
relatively new to the sport, but others, like Wildey with impressive
whitewater and sea kayaking resumes. One of the best ways to get
better at any sport is to go out with people better than you, but, as
we all know, the theory is much easier than the practice.
Wildey paddling out through Tuross Bar
So, when Wildey organized a weekend of
sea kayaking for those of us who are less brave and less experienced
on the open ocean, Doug and I were keen to go. The forecast was a
bit daunting with a strong wind warning for Saturday, 15 to 20 knot
winds for Sunday, and "large and dangerous surf" predicted
for both days. This was just perfect as we could get some
instruction in more challenging conditions and increase our margin of
safety paddling in a larger and more experienced group.
Arriving at the Tollgate Islands
On Saturday, 14 kayakers lined up their
boats at Wimbie Beach just south of Batemans Bay. Doug and I had
landed and launched from Wimbie Beach last time we paddled out to the
Tollgate Islands. On that day, we had a small dumping surf due to an
easterly swell, now, with a more southerly swell, Wimbie Beach was
remarkably calm with only a small ripple reaching the shore.
Our group on the sheltered west side of the Tollgate Islands
It took us about an hour to reach the
Tollgate Islands, I was definitely the slowest and had to paddle
pretty steadily to stay within sight of the group. Strangely,
despite the dire forecast, the swell was actually smaller than last
time we had been out to the islands and we paddled easily through the
gap between the two islands out to the eastern side. There are a
number of known kayaker play spots around the islands and Paul led us
into a tiny wave swept bay on the east side of the north island.
Inside the bay, you could tuck into a sheltered spot behind a big
rock and then paddle back out through some swirling white water. I
would never have gone into this little bay without watching other
paddlers go in first. It was a blast.
Paddling through the passage between the islands
On the north side of the north island
is the spectacular "blue cave" which Paul and John paddled
a short way into. There was too much surge and wave action for the
rest of us, but, the "blue cave" is definitely on the list
to go back to. Back around the sheltered side of the islands, we had
a short break in the kayaks and Jon managed to lose the brand new
cover for his day hatch which must have sunk quite quickly. Steve
and John rigged up a temporary cover with a float bag and then we
turned back and paddled through a freshening breeze back to Wimbie
Beach. The bay was so calm, the water so warm and clear that it was
perfect for practicing eskimo rolls and I managed to get six - not in
a row, but, nevertheless, I did get six - a "PR" as the tribe would say.
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