I know there have been a few postings already about the comp but here is my take.
Again, what a top time, despite the weather and little fish.
I took up the offer that came my way of staying in a house of 18 guys in total at Orchid Beach, instead of camping. I was sure glad to be in a house, as the weather conditions turned real bad for the last few days of the comp, as I am sure would have made the media down here.
Left for Fraser on Tuesday, and meet up at Moby Dicks servo on the highway near the Glasshouse mountains. We all travelled in convoy up to Inskip Point. 6 boats and a jet ski in tow, and 3 service vehicles. After we all aired down,
we made our way onto the beach to be meet by 4 empty barges waiting for us:
We filled one barge completely of just our group:
The trip to Orchid Beach was trouble free as the tracks were in good condition. Even Indian Head was great with us able to get everyone through without any boggings.
Mitch and Steve with "Red Speckle":
Good thing that I had heaps of fuel as the current prices at Orchid Beach was:
As the comp did not start till Saturday 24th May, we had a few days to get organized. The teams with the boats all went out to find their secret spots.
The population grew daily as the opening night came around. Lee and Tanya Kernaghan were the entertainment for the opening night.
I was not doing too well on the fishing front, as all I was catching was Dart, small Whiting, and small Flathead.
It is quiet a sight to see the main gutter at Waddy Point at dawn each day during the comp. This year, about 280 boats entered the comp, and they all use this gutter to launch and retreive their boats.
If anyone wants to buy a cheap Cruiser, I hear this ones for sale.
Only been on the beach once:
We were joined at the house by the "Double or Nothing" crew, with Greg and Terry biting at the bit to test the new boat out:
The weather was great up there:
Then on Wednesday, the wind came up.
Thursday red flag days which meant it was too dangerous to boat fish.
Friday mornining around 2 am turned real nasty. A lot of campers had their campsites destroyed. The wind even blew over the portaloos that were scattered along the beach for the campers:
Friday morning at 6am, a decision was made that they were going to continue with the comp for beach fishing, as it finished that day, but was deemed way too dangerous for boats, so another red flag day.
A lot of people started to leave the island in droves during the day. There was no let down to the wind and rain. Friday night, the rangers came close to evacuating the island.
We were all packed up on Friday afternoon, as we were all leaving the house at 7 Saturday morning. We heard some horror stories on the radio from competitors that had left on Friday night. Cars had hit washouts, trees, there had been mass boggings, boards on the tracks were exposed and were puncturing tyres, and numerous other hazards.
Ended up being a great trip back to the barge, with no problems at all. Eli Creek was non existant, and Hook Point seemed better then what it was when we all came up.
All in all, it was a great time. Shame no prizes.
But there is always next year.
A big thankyou to Shane and every one else in the house.
It was great to catch up with a lot of friends from last year, and make some new ones.
Graham.
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Originally Posted by Reel Nauti
