RECORD OF INFORMAL OUTING AT MARINE STADIUM/BUDDS BEACH
AUSTRALIA DAY 2008

It’s easy and pleasing to report that National pride was alive and well on the Gold Coast for Australia Day celebrations. The informal get together of Whittley Club members was but a very small part of those celebrations. Photos - click here

We came in boats and cars in about equal numbers from near and far from Nambour to Mullumbimby. At last count at the on-shore BBQ I think it was about 6 families in cars and about the same number in boats.

During the day there were boats and cars to be seen everywhere festooned with Australian flags. However, it’s a pity that your editor isn’t yet totally familiar with his job and didn’t think to take a photo of Larraine & Mike Verrall’s 660 “Too Easy 2” in Marine Stadium, which was covered in flags. However, we do have a photo at the evening BBQ of Owen Oxley with his flag which normally flies from “Olivier”.

The weather over the weekend was as they say, variable, a beautiful night on Friday with a few showers early Saturday morning. Then during Australia Day it all depended whether you were one of the car families or boat families as to how some your day progressed. Perhaps it also depended where you were.

Sharyl and I hitched a ride with Keith & Edna Miller on “Ande” from Southport up through the fantastic real estate along the southern arm of the Coomera R to Sanctuary Cove. Of course Keith observed the 6 knot zones and enjoyed those other bits where the bigger boats of more than 8m still have to observe the 6 knots. We then went down the Coomera north arm to Tipplers for lunch. Australia Day was alive and well there with thong throwing, toad racing and sausage sizzles all on the menu err program.

Along the way we crossed paths with a number of other Club members including that “Fox Sea Lady” and Graham Booth in the Coomera River near Sanctuary Cove and “Missdeboat 11”, Chris Lloyd at Tipplers. Chris reckoned Marine Stadium was blowing a gale in the morning.

Well on our way back to Marine Stadium we couldn’t have agreed more. The wind and the wash from really big boats made the trip to Southport for the 2004 Whittley National Easter Rally, which our NSW club members commented on as very rough, look like child’s play. However, “Ande” rode the waves and we made it back to Marine Stadium just after 2:00pm Qld time, 3:00pm “Ande” time.  Being really land lubbers for this weekend we left for our motel to dry off after that trip, not really we went to collect our gear for the BBQ. Then about 4:00pm we got the phone call don’t come back and thought that’s the end of a good friendship.

But no, the wind had apparently come up even more and the group of boats including Commodore Wayne and Rhonda, at Marine Stadium had decided to up anchor and head to Budds Beach in the more protected area off the Nerang River on the southern end of the tributary that runs around McIntosh Is. That provided the boats anchoring overnight a calmer mooring than it looked like being at Marine Stadium.

To any members who did turn up at Marine Stadium at 5:00pm or after we’re sorry if we missed you. I know I saw a Monterey anchoring near a 700 at that time and no amount of me jumping up and down like an idiot on the shore could attract their attention. However, along with everyone else looking at the idiot we did get the attention of a couple in a cool MG-“B” to find it was George and Lyn Cook who’d left “My-T-Montie” in the sales yard and were looking for the rest of the crew at the BBQ. So we also headed for Budds Beach by road.

So the assembled crew enjoyed their drinks and BBQ as the sun went down on Australia Day 2008 across the water of the Nerang River from Budds Beach. It was also interesting to hear the stories and see the photos from Richard and Susan Lane of their trip to Antarctica in December. As evening turned to night George Cook tried to convince us all that many hands make “light” work but any number of laying-on-of-hands didn’t provide enough electricity to generate “light” from Graham Booth’s lantern.