'Shaggers' (Shag Island Cruising Yacht Club) Rendezvous, Goucester Passage 26th - 31st August

 

Shag Island, Gloucester Passage

 

We spent three days in the Abell Point Marina stocking up and preparing Rene for the trip to Gloucester Passage and the Shag Island Cruising Yacht Club 2014 Vice Commodores Rendezvous. Just before we left Peter discovered that the fuel injector pump was leaking diesel into the bilge. That caused some angst and grinding and gnashing of teeth. Peter spoke to one of the mechanics at the marina and he advised us to sail on to Townsville and get it fixed there - quite complicated apparently. So, on Tuesday, I went with Sue and Dave from Duet to purchase a few last minute items before we departed. The day was beautiful, but almost no wind, so progress was slow for the first hour, then the wind began to pipe up and we enjoyed a delightful sail for the rest of the day along with half a dozen other yachts. We anchored in Edgecumbe Bay just adjacent to the Eco Resort. Many boats were already anchored there and many more had anchored off Montes Resort in the Gloucester Passage. All up one hundred and seventy boats arrived to participate in the Rendezvous. We enjoyed sundowners on the beach in the evening.

 

Lunch at Eco Resort



Wednesday saw a steady stream of boats coming to join those already there. Peter and I went ashore and walked around to Montes to see how the preparations were going. Ric and Val, Sue and Dave (Duet), Chris and Maureen and Peter and I met at the Eco Resort for lunch and later we joined a whole pile of people for a game of Botchie under the trees. Needless to say neither Peter nor I were on the winning team, but we all had a lot of fun.

 

Peter Julie and Andrew

 



On Thursday we decided we needed a decent bit of exercise so Peter and I walked south along the beach and over the rocks for a couple of kms. There were some very expensive houses nestled in the bush along this part of the beach. In the evening we participated in Happy Hour at Montes as an introduction to the Rendezvous. We caught up with Milton and Jenny (Magnetic Attraction) and Di, Russ, Evan and Helen (C Dragon) from Townsville.

 

Montes - Just a few dinghies on the beach

 



There was no shortage of activities and entertainment to participate in during the four days and three nights of the Rendezvous, but the two that I really enjoyed were the sausage sizzle on Shag Island and the' Hands Across The Blue' dinghy raft up for prostate cancer. Shag Island is very small and hundreds of people congregated there for lunch, in strong winds, on the tiny spit of sand and rock, the only flat part on the island.

Sausage Sizzle, Shag Island

 

 



'Hands Across The Blue' for Prostate Cancer dinghy raft up was my favourite activity. The aim of the exercise was to have all the dinghies assemble and raft up to make the shape of the prostate cancer logo on the water. A helicopter flew over to take photos etc for the media and once all the dinghies were in place it would have looked amazing. Anchored nearby was a large motor boat with a broad back deck and a band entertained us and later the dignitaries spoke from this platform. Everyone took drinks and nibbles and thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere and self satisfaction of being a part of a large co-operative exercise that raised money for a good cause. I couldn't help thinking that I was very lucky to be me - sailing around this beautiful part of our coast, going where I pleased, the weather was perfect, the setting stunning and the company wonderful. In other places in the world people are killing and doing despicable things to each other. How lucky am I? Shaggers was fun and I hope we can do it again next year and meet up again with some of the lovely people we have met this year.

We made ready to leave for Townsville on Sunday and just before we pulled the anchor Ric, Val and Tiger motored past and waved goodbye. They are now on their way south to eventually end up in Pittwater where they base themselves. We will miss them, but hopefully will catch up again next year on the water.

Decorated boats at Shaggers 2014