At last, weather suitable for a paddle plus another 2.00m high tide - bliss.
As high tide was due at 8.52am at the entrance we met up at the oyster sheds at 8.00am. Having launched we decided to head up and across the lake and a little way up the creek. The oyster farmers were busy tending their produce and preparing for the Christmas holiday rush.
Up the creek we turned at the old oyster shed and headed for the mouth. A little past our launch spot the tide turned and we had a lovely float down to where we pulled in for morning tea. Having not seen each other since we last paddled in early October, the sun obligingly came out and we settled down in a patch of it and for the next hour or so caught up on each others news.
Back on the water the incoming swell aided our paddle for the first 100ms or so but when it fell away we found ourselves struggling to make progress against the outgoing tide. Forward momentum fell to a crawl as we approached and rounded the first corner and I for one was very relieved to reach the eddy in the little bay.
Resting in the eddy for a moment we realised our mistake. We should have paddled down to the entrance first off, and then returned on the slack. For the rest of the trip we stuck to the edge, paddling from eddy to eddy and further on sneaking behind the oyster beds where the flow of the outgoing tide was barely felt.
Not much filming today, we were too busy chatting.
9.9km
