[Paddlewise] Boating incident

I thought I would mention this small boating incident as it may make Wayne
Smith feel a bit better.

I was out on a day trip on the Hawksberry River which is just north of
Sydney (everyone must have heard of Sydney by now). It was a nice day with a
gentle SE wind. I launched at Brooklyn Bridge and headed out to where the
river meets the sea. It was to be a longish day - around 30km and I was
travelling solo enjoying the tranquillity of being on the water in my Kayak.

As I was paddling back to where my car was I was dreaming away in that state
you get into when paddling solo just enjoying the time on the water when my
paddle suddenly hit the bottom. The water was murking and I had just
drifting across a mud flat with only a few feet of water. No problem I just
swung out into the middle of the river where its very deep. As I did I
glanced over to my right and noticed a boat Marina or boat ramp a few
kilometres away. To get to this area you need to go up river for another
Kilometre then follow a channel back along the shore. If you are in a kayak
and the tide is right you could paddle in a straight line across to the
Marina and save a couple of kilometres but not if you are in a power boat
and certainly not if you are in a Half cabin cruiser and this is clearly
marked on any boat chart for the area. As I looked over I noticed the tide
had gone down to just where the mud is appearing and there in the middle of
this mud flat was a half cabin cruiser sitting in the last remaining puddle
with 3 forlorn looking men. It was late afternoon and the tide had only just
started going down, they were in for quite a wait and it would be impossible
for them to leave the boat or for anyone to go to them without sinking deep
in the mud.

They weren't in any danger, except their egos, so I chuckled to myself and
continued paddling. I wish I had taken a photo

Cheers
David Whyte
Australia
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