Catch Of the Day

 Catch of the Day - first published on the ABC Open website it was a story that showed how you never know what you might catch on the beaches of Disaster Bay - Greenglades just a few kilometers from Wonboyn.

           

Beach fishing is not my forte.

I don’t use one of those huge rods, or cast out for miles.  So it’s hardly surprising that my catch of the day is a little unorthodox.

 Down on the beach at Green Glades in the Nadgee Nature Reserve it’s common to see the footprints of dingoes out foraging through the sea wrack above the breaking waves.  Oyster Catchers strut importantly about in and out of the surf as migrating whales cruise by.

 Arriving at the beach before the turn of the tide around dusk one evening we noticed a sea kayak pulled up on the sand.  We set up our rods nearby hoping to hook a big salmon for dinner.   A young chap approached us after visiting all the anglers along the beach.  “Are you heading into Eden,” he asked hopefully.

 My husband chatted to him for a while as l struggled to bring in what l thought was a huge fish. Both men laughed when l dragged in a pumpkin firmly hooked but a little worse for wear.  “Catch of the day,” they quipped grinning.   The bites were few and far between so we packed up and offered to drive Richard to town.

 He left his kayak carefully hidden in the bush then, with a little prompting, filled us in on his travels.  He and a mate had just paddled across Bass Strait from Devonport to Lakes Entrance.   The next leg of the journey to Bermagui was a solo effort.  A recent spate of rough weather had worn the young fella out. 

 Years ago l read a book by Patsy Adam-Smith about her years working as a radio operator on a ship sailing across Bass Strait.  She recorded instances of ships going down in wild storms.  Why on earth would anyone want to cross the Strait in a little kayak?

 Strangely Richard thought this was pretty tame stuff.  One of his mates almost paddled from Australia to New Zealand – l say almost – as he lost his life not far from making shore.  I suppose four or five meter swells near Gabo Island, where Richard decided to look for a rest spot, were hardly worth a mention. 

 The very fact that he decided to have a dip with the seals before the weather cut up rough was also no big deal.  I asked him if huge sharks, who also love those seals enough to give them top billing on their dinner menu, were a consideration.He smiled and said – “no.”

Before heading into Eden we took him back to the bus for a fortifying cuppa and chook sandwich.   We marveled at his fearlessness and quest for adventure and often think of him when down at Green Glades.  Perhaps we’ll see him on the news – smiling as he breaks a paddling record crossing miles of churning ocean.

 My husband now claims Richard as his “catch of the day” – and l must admit he’s a hard one to beat!

Richard returned to his medical practice in the Blue Mountains and we wonder what his next adventure will be.