Cruising the Clyde
29 March 2026 / Story: Keith Monaghan; Photos: Lesly Brook, Keith Monaghan, Anda Clayton
On an overcast Thursday a group of seven people met at the Heritage Bakery in Milton to start our trek south to meet up with the Clyde River Lunch Cruise.
As well as our regulars Roger, Leslie, Sue, Karen and myself, we were joined by Tony and Jen from the Illawarra Chapter.
Even though it was overcast it was still good weather for roof down driving and off we headed with Roger and Leslie doing the duties of Tail-end Charlie. I thank them for volunteering for this.
Just south of Burrill Lake we picked up Kim and Fred.
From there we continued down the highway to Batemans Bay with the trip being uneventful except for one driver who had problems staying on the road. Not one of the members of our group.
At the Bay we found suitable parking and headed towards the dock. This is where we met up with Anda and Clyde Riverher the three friends. With the whole crew there we purchased our tickets and headed to the boat.
We were allocated tables which allowed us to congregate together and then as we headed off we pointed east and the captain told us we would be in Sydney in 14 hours’ time.
After sailing east for about 10 to 15 minutes to see the views in that direction, and here's some commentary about some of the beaches around the Bay, we turned west and headed back to the dock to pick up our lunches.
From that point it was a pleasant cruise up the river with an informative commentary from the captain who pointed out some of the historical sites along the river. It was interesting to see that there was a lot of thought put into naming some of the landmarks such as Snapper Point, Chainman’s Point, Big Island and Little Island.
After a pleasant lunch of fish and chips we arrived at Nelligen where we disembarked for a walk around the town. Some people indulged in ice cream and others walked up the hill to check out the War Memorial Statue.
After a suitable tour of the town we boarded the boat and headed down the river back to the dock.
Upon arriving at the end of this enjoyable river cruise we disembarked, said our goodbyes and headed in various directions either home or staying in the area for a few more days.
As we hadn’t had rain all day, I put the roof down to drive home even though it was still overcast. Within 10 kilometres of Nowra the rain hit hard but sitting above 80 kilometres an hour we managed to stay dry until we were able to get into the Bunnings car park to put the roof up.
It was a great trip and those who attended enjoyed it. See you next time on the road.
