Back on the Water - Clayton Bay 17 - 20 March 2023 (v2) For many this was our first chance to get back on the water since the biggest flood in the Murray-Darling system that most of us had ever seen. We planned for an event in the Lower Lakes of the Murray in part because this was less affected than most other areas. Twenty four people attended, with 10 boats on site, including 3 cruisers/trailer sailers, 1 cruiser/tinny, 2 larger open putt-putt boats, 3 tinnies and 1 small open boat. We camped at the Clayton Bay Riverside Holiday Park, which had excellent facilities. The weather was windy for all 3 days of boating, which was unfortunate, but we still managed to get out on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It is also worth noting that on this same weekend there was significant storm damage in parts of Adelaide, with many power outages, some lasting several days. The water levels in the area were also 250-300mm below pool, due to many gates in the barrages still being open after the floods. On Saturday the water level dropped a further 100-150mm as the wind picked up from the south. Most boats were launched locally, but one cruiser came up from Goolwa. The two largest boats were stranded by the drop in the level of the already shallow water in front of the Holiday Park, but after a monumental team effort they were refloated and spent the rest of their mooring time at nearby Snug Cove. Winds at Clayton were from SW to SE, 20 to 45kph, day and night. Thursday, Friday and Saturday were warm to hot if out of the wind. Sunday was quite cool. Parts of the camping ground were reasonably sheltered, but areas near the open water at the southern end were exposed. This made the more open waters quite choppy and so the planned exploration of the Finniss River was cancelled. On Friday a small group of 3-4 boats went from Clayton into Dunns Lagoon, until the weed became too dense to proceed. On Saturday - 6-7 boats went upstream to Boundary Creek, but the water level was too shallow for the larger boats (<0.7m), so we then went back to Holmes Creek and the old barrage, with a stop in one small sheltered area for morning tea/lunch. We were back in time to see the start of the Rat Race Regatta, the biggest event of the year on the Clayton Bay Boat Club (CBBC) calendar. Sunday had us revisiting Duck’s Hospital and Dunn’s lagoon and this time most boats got through and into the main stream. Two of the smaller boats then went straight back to Clayton due to the rough conditions, whilst the larger boats went around Rat Island and back to Clayton. Day 2 of the Rat Race Regatta took place around us and it was great to see in action, the 34 boats registered for this event. Our social activities began with a welcome to Clayton on Friday afternoon under the RCBC marquee, followed by a discussion about the weather and possible activities for the weekend, pre-dinner drinks, presentation of momentos and the first of 3 raffles. Friday night was Hamburger Night at the CBBC and 23 of our Members attended. We made up more than 50% of the total attendees. This was a fun and economical night, with good food and cheap bar prices. There were opportunities to catch up with CBBC members and hear the lastest local news. Saturday pre-dinner drinks also included discussions about the weather and activities for the next day, Raffle No. 2 and then dinner at the Finniss Cafe, a 15 minute drive from Clayton and a nice venue for a Club activity. We chose to eat outdoors in a large sheltered area. Food was of good quality and quantity, service was fast and efficient and prices were very reasonable. Sunday morning several of our volunteers treated participants to a catered breakfast of bacon and eggs, juice, tea and coffee. Sunday afternoon saw another post-boating gathering, pre-dinner drinks and Raffle No. 3. We then moved on to the excellent camp kitchen for a self-catered dinner and wine tasting. We had a few departures over the course of the weekend due to other commitments and perhaps the weather, but attendance at Sunday dinner was still good, with most people packing up on Monday morning. The wind persisted through Monday, though shelter could be found and the cruise back to Goolwa was quite pleasant. Over the course of the weekend new members were introduced to the Club and we also had some guests who were friends of members. Noteworthy events apart from the rescue of the stranded boats included: members who had left the boat ignition key back in suburban Adelaide; boat owners seen in the water at 6:30am in their underwear, trying to re-position boats blown out of their moorings; a Committee member having a go at towing the jetty, whilst also trying to exiting shallow waters (degree of difficulty 3.5/5); and a floodlit call to prayers at 4am. All in all, a pretty good recovery post-flood and very entertaining all around.

Photos to come:

Photos to come: