.
Sunday 9 April
and, at last, nearly two weeks in, a perfect Yamba autumn day. Blue skies,
half-horsepower sunshine (17 rising to 25), the sea mostly blue, except where
the storms have ruffled the sea bed, and lovely big white-toothed waves
crashing on to the beach. Perfect.
Lesson (1) buy a
hat. I was the only person with no hair without one. I had to retire to the shady
shelter of the surf club: only to find I’d plonked myself right in front of the
board room.
Surprise (1)
‘Senior’ in surfing is 18 and over. So Harry was competing against … Big Joe!
His Dad! Who seems to have trimmed marvellously since last year.
Lesson and
surprise (2) Watching surf competition live, even from the clubhouse, is sooooo
much more enjoyable and exciting than watching it on telly. I guess that’s the
truth for most sports.
Next heat: 'ski'.
Same course, this time with canoe paddles. The waves won this one. Joe capsised
once, Harry twice. Some folk were still trying to get OUT through the breakers
when the leaders were coming back.
Trying to identify
the boys from their hairdos … I think Harry was second.
Third heat, another variation on the theme. Thrills and spills all over the place … and this time Joe waved the Fahey flag with a smooth second…
And to top it all,
Harry took out the beach sprint and something called a ’snake race’. It was all
such plain, unvarnished glorious fun!
A delicious and
delightful two hours (Mia brought me a plastic chair, which added greatly to the
grandstand comfort), I’m just sad that the Yamba Surf Carnival only takes place
once a year. And I’m glad I saw it this year, in today’s conditions of sea,
sun, wild surf and Sunday.
And, of course, it
helps when the family is starring!
Sunset celebrations
at Fusion on the Hill …
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