Nearly came a Crofter - The Drifter’s Guide
(This article is from an older NEWSETTER ARCHIVE)
Probably a little harder for the bigger boats right at the moment, but when the lake is up, it is worth ducking into the mouth of the North Pine River.
One hot summer’s day, boat loaded with kids, my father and I set sail out from the club and went past the old partly submerged tree. I remember when I first sailed here in the early 80’s that tree had quite a few branches on it. Whole flocks of birds would sit on it and compare notes with one another about what they thought of your sailing ability. They were a tough crowd in my experience. They’d all look quite peeved when sailor or paddler got too close and they would all fly off in a resentful and fairly arthritic flap. Now that once proud platform is now just a blackened arc pointing eastward (sort of a “hey you racer – don’t come in here if you want steady wind” type indicator).
Heading north we sailed up the passage into the river mouth. It actually is pretty good sailing in behind the islands – once you get through the shallow channel at the Western end (the old river mouth into what is now the lake is actually between the islands). We sailed up and round into the North Pine River channel. You can see where efforts to reforest have been attempted, and it is quite serene as the wind drops away blocked by the hills.
Our old Green Farr 6000 gets along ok with even fairly light breezes, and this day there was a fairly fresh Nor’easter, which in the hills and channels came from most directions all at once. But it was steady enough in the open and it still blew enough to move us along. There are a lot of little bays where the water is quite still against the shore, and it is very peaceful – the occasional White Herron might poke about along the edges.
Things were getting fairly tight as the channel narrowed and the bush started to crowd in close to the river’s edge. The need to tack reduced our capacity to make and drink our usual quota of cups of tea. My young Nephew was hard at work on the ‘Coming About Rope’ as we edged further North/West.
After a while we rounded out of another meander into a wider reach to find a rustic scene from a Turner or Constable Painting. A pre-industrial era Crofter, poling a square punt across the river - with his vessel laden with wares of some sort. Who do you think who was more startled!? I reckon he would not usually encounter a 6 metre trailer sailor poking that ‘Farr’ upriver (I just had to). And we were quite surprised - it isn’t often you see a 18th century British farmer crossing in front of you, and I had not seen any suitable thatched cottage nearby. We never saw him again mind you, so it might be some sort of Brigadoon phenomenon. A gap in the time/space continuum - near Dayboro – who knew?
Some pre-race briefings aside, I can’t guarantee you’ll ever meet a relic from a bygone era when you come to sailing or paddling on the Lake. But when you come for fun or if you are tired of always winning the races, or if you just don’t want to be lapped again at the first mark (like me and Dad) just go for cruise, or a paddle. Head north, behind the islands. Take an oar or paddle, and something to eat and drink. Maybe a phone. See you again in 100 years…
James F