Thursday, 16th November 2017
Decisions, decisions, decisions!
Cruise in Companies are full of decisions. What provisions to take, what crew to have on board, the best time to leave, what’s the best time to arrive at your destination, have you got enough to drink??? Queenscliff Marina or QCYC? Pizza for dinner, (cooked in the pizza oven at QCYC) or roast in the commercial sized oven? Many of the boats (both power and sail) decided to leave SYC early in the morning to avoid the 15-20 knot southerly winds. Some made a dash straight to the West channel mark, whilst others chose to try and avoid having the wind and waves on the nose by taking a more indirect route. No matter the choices made, everyone met up on the QCYC balcony for nibbles and pre-dinner drinks. The challenge on the trip down was to write a poem, song or story using all the names of the vessels. Who would have thought we had so many budding writers. Peter Sutton certainly has a fine way with words, taking out first prize for his entertaining verse.
What a great place to relax and socialize QCYC is. The crews continued enjoying each other’s company well into the night, comparing notes on the trip down and discussing options for next day.
Some opted for a leisurely stroll around Queenscliff the next morning before heading over the Causeway to the Golf Club to enjoy some live music, others opted for a leisurely long lunch at one of the waterside restaurants and some just enjoyed relaxing with a quiet book and an afternoon nap. The evening brought more discussions about the weather! The plan had been to head back up the Bay on Monday to Wyndham Harbour but most boats either headed back to SYC or chose to stay another day at Queenscliff. Amo and Pekiri had ventured to Portarlington Sunday night and shared a photo of the spectacular sunset. Wow!! Hard to top that. Monday night brought wind and rain. What a comforting thought to know you are in a secure, safe harbour when you can hear the wind whistling through the rigging. Tuesday saw the rest of the fleet getting ready to return to SYC. Most waited until mid-morning for the wind to abate and the tide to help push them back up the Bay. It certainly makes for a much nicer sail to be going with the wind and tide rather than bashing to windward! No matter the decisions made by each skipper and crew everyone agreed that Queenscliff is a delightful destination.
Hope you can join a Cruise in Company soon.
Check out some of the photos and Peter Sutton’s winning writing comp entry.
On such a warm evening it made Perfect Sense to go to the park where a marching band was playing. They were drawn up in ranks – IV x VIII.
They played some old Razzle Dazzle and dance music. They played and played – what Endurance. Then the tempo slowed – Alegria – I love you written by Caetano Velosa. Bill turned to Gillian and said, “that’s Anui”. Feeling amorous he gave Gillian a hug and whispered “Ti Amo”. Sadly, she did not share his passion and gave him a slap!
All to soon night fell and a Foggy Dew descended, and the crowd pushed and shoved to catch the last bus back to town. In the ensuing Kaos, a little Pickeri (a child or baby) took a tumble and began to shed a tear. Just then The Secretary, forever Gracious pulled up in his truck and said: “all aboard, I’ll run you all home in my Silverado”.