Messing about with boats

This weekend our Scouts had planned to do a sailing expedition as a “hike”. The older kids organised the trip and we leaders just tagged along for the ride (although “tagging along for the ride” meant towing boats, car shuffling, and kayaking 10km, which is not the laziest “tagging along for the ride” that I have ever done!).

The first order of business on reaching our launching point was to rig the boat, with its nice new sails for which one of the parents had gained sponsorship (he had also undertaken a few modifications in order to make rigging it easier).

We set off from a lovely little bay on the lower east side of the Huon River, south of Petcheys Bay. The kids (with Skip on board but only supervising) set off first in George Bass, as they were the ones doing the actual sailing, while Buffer and I followed in kayaks, with Leon, our friendly and helpful parent, providing support in a tinnie (aluminium dinghy with an outboard motor).

It was a glorious early afternoon for launching, and lovely and calm for kayaking … and far too calm for sailors. The poor Scouts had to row the first 1.5km and were probably worried they’d have to row the whole way. Eventually, however, the forecast southerly arrived, gentle at first and then with a bit more gusto, and so they were able to ship the oars and let the wind do its stuff.

The wind was mostly behind them which made for an easy trip once the rowing was over, and Bass made a fine sight with the light on it/her as we approached Port Huon.

Buffer and I, in kayaks, were also glad the wind was behind us, and we made the 10km trip in just under 3 hours. What was slightly disconcerting was that the trip back in the tinnie (so that we could collect the cars) took only 15 minutes.

Once we’d all arrived and made things shipshape (appropriate cliche!) it was time for dinner: laksa for the leaders and the now-traditional (cliched, even!) cheesecake. As we were washing up the rain — also forecast — finally arrived and put a dampener on plans for wild night time games.

And the rain was still there when we woke up this morning and proceeded to continue all day, frequently heavily, with strong winds arriving not long after the following photo was taken. This explains why we decided not to do the final leg of the planned journey. Sometimes discretion is the better part of valour.

Needless to say the Scout hall and my garage are now filled with wet gear, and everyone should sleep well tonight (although, now that I think of it, the kids really didn’t exert themselves especially much for this “hike”!).

Added on 23 July: Here is the cartoon I did to celebrate the event (it’s been a long-running tradition of mine to make a hike certificate for the kids who do overnight hikes, with some photos from the trip and one or more cartoons to commemorate some of the more amusing/notable happenings).