Thwarted By The Wind: Boydtown to Bermagui By Boat

When the email came proposing a 4 to 5 day trip from Mosquito Bay on the south coast of NSW to Boydtown, near the Victorian border, Doug and I were in right away. Although we have paddled this section of coast before, on a series of different  trips, sea conditions make every trip different and we would be sharing the adventure with a great group of other paddlers.

In the days leading up to the trip, the interwebs buzzed with the usual emails sorting out trip details but mostly focused on the weather which predicted a switch from the more frequent northerly summer flows to a period of moderate southerlies. Accordingly, instead of starting at Mosquito Bay and paddling south, we decided to start at Boydtown and paddle north.

Day 1: Boydtown to Pambula River:

Due to some complicated calculations involving tidal flows, wind speeds, wave periods, and slow kayakers, we left Boydtown Beach early and paddled out as a rising sun cast low light across Twofold Bay. We neared the coast at Worang Point and paddled north along this lovely bit of coastline which is part of Ben Boyd National Park. At Haycock Point, the tide was too low to paddle inside of Haystack Rock so we paddled around the outside and into the Pambula River where, despite reports of long wave periods, we found the Pambula Bar easy to cross.

Day 2: Pambula River to Nelson Lagoon:

Another early morning departure as we were meeting another two kayakers at Kianinny Bay at noon. Perhaps it was the tide but Pambula Bar was more lively to cross and some took a wave or two across the chest, but Doug, Rae and I, with impeccable, but completely unscripted timing, paddled out totally dry during a long break between sets.

From the Pambula River to the north end of Wallagoot Beach the coast is a mix of sandy beaches separated by small headlands. Last time we paddled this section we landed near Bournda Island which does not provide much shelter from the swells. This time the swell and the group was bigger and we decided to push on to a more sheltered landing.

Between Wallagoot Lake and Tathra is the wonderful stretch of coast traversed by the Kangarutha Track. This 8 km section of coast is riddled with caves, clefts, grottos, gauntlets and small rocky islets, but, you need calm seas to explore them fully and the 1.5 metre easterly swell was not conducive to playing about in narrow rocky defiles. Even the entrance to Kianinny Bay looked a bit confronting with big waves smashing on the reef. Had I not paddled in before, I might have been more nervous as entering the sheltered bay requires making a dog leg turn around a breaking reef.

We arrived just as John and Gillian arrived with their double sea kayak, and we had a good long lunch break while they prepared to leave. The wind and sea picked up while we were having lunch and when we emerged from Kianinny Bay we found ourselves in a rather lively sea with rebound and clapotis bouncing the boats around. A couple of paddlers were brave enough to put their sails up, but most of us waited until we passed Tathra Head. Wajura Point provided enough shelter to land the kayaks without anyone taking a beating although there was one casualty to the surf.

Day 3: Nelson Beach to Barraga Bay:

This is another nice quiet section of coast that is mostly national park with a few small tourist settlements spaced apart. Landing can be tricky, but we got enough shelter from rock reef near Barraga Bay to get onto shore. The forecast had changed and the extra days of southerly wind we had been expecting were gone and we would see a return to the more usual northerlies the next day. There was a lot of discussion about what to do but no resolution.

Day 4: Barraga Bay to Bermagui:

The swell was smaller next morning and a handy rip beside some rocks made launching easy. More little headlands and small beaches and then we rounded Point Dickinson and paddled into Main Beach at Bermagui. John and Gillian were pulling out here while the rest of us, too optimistically it turns out, opted to carry on to Mystery Bay 16 km to the north.

We dallied way too long over lunch and when we started paddling again we were heading into a 10 knot northerly that rapidly became 15 knots. It was hard work paddling directly into the wind and, to shorten our distance, we were paddling far off-shore which made it seem as if we were not moving at all. Various GPS's indicated we were progressing, but at a slow and tiring 4 km per hour. At this rate, it would take another 4 hours to reach Mystery Bay. It's hard getting a group together in a brutish head wind, and there really is not much opportunity to mull over decisions as you rapidly lose hard won ground, but, we did manage to group up, and the decision to turn and run south with the wind seemed unanimous.

One kayaker capsized when his sail caught the wind, but, to his credit he self-rescued by doing a re-entry and roll and most of us were not aware until later than anything had gone wrong. With the sails up, we got back to Bermagui quickly and easily. The only difficulty was retrieving the cars which were now at Boydtown, finally a use for my encyclopaedic knowledge of bus schedules.