Scribe Neil Warburton
During this trip I did not gather much of the relevant data necessary for a satisfactory report because I did not plan on writing a report. Such information as people’s names, times and wind speed may be in error. Also I’m writing this report as a novice in both sea canoeing and report writing. But for what it’s worth there it is.

The Meeting and Trip Planning
A meeting was planned for the day after the Australian Championships in May, 1980 at Cairns. Several groups and individuals were invited to this meeting. The numbers were modest - three from Cairns, two from Townsville, three from Mackay, one from Brisbane, and one from Melbourne. The meeting consisted of a general discussion about sea canoeing conducted in the main by John, who had recently attended the Sea Canoeing Course described in Vol 3 of this magazine.

A four day trip was planned to the Palm Islands beginning the following day from Lucinda. Seven people decided they had sufficient time to undertake the trip.

The Trip.
Seven people in 6 canoes. Two were Nordkapps, one was a “Thunderbird” (a “one off” design produces in Brisbane), one was a 2 man Kayak produced by the Mackay Club, one was a slalom (a Lettman) and the last was a North Sea Tourer.

We met at the Lucinda Hotel, stayed at the Lucinda Caravan Park and set off the next morning.

Day 1
At Lucinda, a sugar loading terminal jetty projects 3 miles, 2.7 miles or 5km depending on which local is asked. North Palm Island lies 15km from Lucinda. We started off into a considerable wind. There was a strong wind warning out (25 - 30 knots), but the estimates of wind speed by members of the party were between 15 to 20 knots. At the end of the jetty, the couple in the double found their boat was leaking badly and considering our rate we would have arrived at North Palm after dark as conditions appeared to be worse closer to the island. We returned to Lucinda.

After lunch and a review of the maps we decided to paddle around the outside of Hinchinbrook instead. The two paddlers from Mackay in the double withdrew, leaving:-
Gordon Patchin - Brisbane - Thunderbird.
John Beacham - Melbourne - Nordkapp.
Warren Huxley - Cairns - Nordkapp.
Doug Silke - Sarina (Mackay) - Slalom.
Myself - Townsville - North Sea Tourer.

That afternoon we paddled 9.5 nautical miles to Zoe Bay in the rain. Hillcock Point which is 80m high has granite cliffs which rise almost vertically out of the water. The swell averaged between 5ft and 6ft with some up to 7ft. With waves going towards the cliffs and rebounding from them produced a very confused sea.

We made the distance from Hillcock Point to Zoe Bay quickly, surfing all the way and camped at Zoe Bay in the rain.

Day 2
After exploring Zoe Bay, we set off about 11am and stopped for lunch at a bay called “Lost and Found” between Agnes Island and Zoe Bay.

Zoe Bay is a beautiful Place. It is at the feet of Mt Bowen and Mt Diamantina. The area near the bay is flat, covered with tropical lowland rainforest and has two fresh water streams, one of which has a 50ft waterfall into a very deep pool in the forest. For those interested in wildlife, I saw an 8ft scrub python and many birds - noisy pitta, friar birds, robins, boobook owl and several species of honey-eaters.

The wind was from the same direction almost directly behind us on the section from Agnes Island to Ramsay bay and had not diminished since day 1.

Doug Silke caught enough fish for us for dinner and increased our delight even more by offering it with some wine for us to drink for dinner at Ramsay.

We had some fantastic views of a rough piece of coast with quite sizeable mountains behind although the cloud never cleared from Mt Bowen.

We saw several species of Terns, Sea Eagles, Turtles and a Dugong.

We travelled 7.5 nautical miles and generally had a relaxing day.

Day 3
I felt the swell had decreased in size and the wind dropped, but the other paddlers assured me they hadn’t and it’s just that I was no longer scared speechless.

We occasionally lost sight of land in the mist and rain which engulfed Ramsay bay.

We stopped at the tourist resort at Cape Richards for lunch - T-bone steak and several beers and about 2 gallons of free coffee. The staff were very friendly considering we left little puddles everywhere we went.
Now in the shelter of the island, the paddle to Garden Island was on smooth water and we had a chance to look at the scenery. 16 nautical miles.

Day 4
Garden Island is certainly appropriately named; there does not appear to be a
square inch of ground without a plant growing on it, but the canopy of the rainforest is sufficiently closed to reduce ground cover to ferns and other small plants and allow one to easily walk through.

We all had a snorkel to look at the fine coral on the fringing reef around Garden Island.

The trip of 8 nautical miles back to Cardwell was a straight forwards paddle over calm water interspersed with mad chases after several small herds of dugong. One dugong surfaced within 8ft of my boat, giving me a very good look at these shy animals rarely seen by people in speed-boats. Such views makes one appreciate the value of these silent craft.

Doug Silke’s wife met us at Cardwell and returned us to Lucinda to our cars.

Conclusion
1. The boats: During the trip we all had a go at paddling each other’s boats. The following I think was the general consensus of opinion. The slalom was small and slow but stable and manoeuvrable. For a trip of this length in these conditions it was a reasonable boat. The Nordkapps were thought to be unstable and not to handle well in the wind, but apparently this changes with better packing of the boat. The North Sea Tourer was thought to be unstable, wet (because it’s low in the water) and not manoeuvrable. Gordon Patchin’s boat is 17ft long, quite broad with a rudder - it was thought to be most stable and manoeuvrable, but I found it hard to push because of its great weight.

2. Sea Canoeing in North Queensland: There are several people who are now interested and more trips will be planned.

3. My personal experience: It was an excellent chance to experience sea canoeing with some people who knew what they were doing and in the safety of a group.