Launching the First Thursday Book Club in 2013...

… with a River Cruise !!!

Well, the first book club of the new year 2013 is nearly upon us and instead of the usual meeting venue, The Burrow in West End, we have something special planned:

On Thursday, 7^th February we will celebrate the new book year with a cruise down the Brisbane River on Thorsten’s sailing catamaran, HINA.

View of the meeting point

Start and finish of the book cruise is from a public jetty in West End, approximately 300 meters upstream of the Go Between bridge. The jetty can be reached from half way along Riverside Drive, West End. From Montague Road, turn right into Jane Street and continue straight down into Riverside Drive (the road bends to the right and runs alongside the river). You'll find it on Google Maps. There should be sufficient parking.

Important points:

• Due to the size of the boat, the number of participants is limited this time to 8 book club members, please book early with Hazel. First in, first served!
• Don’t wear your best clothes, I’m expecting a calm and easy cruise but the occasional wave (say from a city cat) might wet you.
• Please do be on time! 18h30 for an 18h45 launch.
• We’ll be aiming to be back by approximately 20h45, but do leave a bit of extra time in case of any unforeseen delays (pirates, sea monsters…)
• Bring your own food and drink. I have an esky on board and it will be filled with ice. I’ll also have some glasses, plates and basic cutlery on board. Simple finger food, nibbles etc. are probably best, maybe something we can share around. There’ll be a table in the centre of the cockpit to place everything.
• Unfortunately there is no bathroom on board or in the immediate vicinity of the landing jetty, so come prepared!
• Bring a light jacket or windcheater.
• Please give Hazel your mobile phone number just in case we need to cancel at the last moment due to bad weather. In that case of course the book club will still happen, just at the usual venue.

Also I Just have to say it at this point: This is not a commercial river cruise. I am of course licensed to operate my boat, have the required safety gear on board, including a life jacket for everyone. But you do come on board at your own risk and are expected to behave reasonably.

Even though I don’t think this is really an issue but I just had to get it out of the way!

Here are a couple of pictures of the boat, so you know what to look forward to.

And here is the anticipated river trip. How far we actually go depends a bit of course on actual conditions and I don’t want to go too fast (mainly so the motor doesn’t drown out the conversation).

View of the intended route

But we should get to see South Bank, Botanical Gardens and pass under the Story Bridge, possibly reaching as far as New Farm.

Thorsten Schulte
Ships Captain!

ps: Must acknowledge Thorsten's generosity in hosting this - a rare opportunity surely?
Hazel