Cylinder Headland at Point Lookout on Stradbroke Island = hours of fun. The ever changing coastal dynamics due to the interchange of sand, tides and climate, created a kaleidoscope of possible activities on that particular rocky headland and surrounds. Three activities there I remember best were the thunder clap stand, beat the barnacles and the headland run. In the first two activities one planned to get wet and so one approached it accordingly. The headland run was a dry clothed activity meaning to get your dry clothes wet, was to fail. Now, one of the unique features of waves crashing onto the Cylinder headland, is that sometimes a recoiling wave, of about half its original size, is formed and swells back in the opposite direction. This predictably creates an eruption of colliding forces, when the recoiling wave meets the next advancing set. That’s the place to be if you are going to play thunder clap stand. You may well think that the thunder clap is the sound that the waves make at this moment of impact not true but it is the sound that you hear (if you have positioned yourself perfectly) in your ear, as your head is cymbaled and your body is propelled uncontrollably skyward. That’s right folks, it feels and sounds a lot like that time when your brother came up behind you and slap-cupped both ears with his hands exhilarating fun, not! Well, when we got tired of having our ears and body pummelled by those Pacific monsters, we would then move onto the next wet water activity. See, when the conditions were right, these furious waves would rise to gigantic heights and crash at the base of the headland, causing a huge volume of furious white water to shoot up the rock face like a mighty gushing geyser. So, here was the activity. 1 – Find a spot in the shallow waters of the receding wave in which to put your bum. 2 – Get as compact as you can with your sandshoed feet firmly up and in position on the now exposed barnacled clad rocks. 3 Wait and pray that you live long enough to write this story. The next wave would hit your back and the sandbank at exactly the same time forcing you, with incredible pressure, against the rock face. If you could tame the waves planned intent to splatter you all over the rock face, then you got the ride of your life as the power of the wave shot you up the rock and then brought you down again, leaving you wanting to pay big money for the sequel. Of course if, like Bancroft, you could not keep your feet moving up in proper time with the driving exerted force, then the cuts and burses on your hands and legs received that day should heal up in about a week – I would guess. Well, the final activity was a game that anyone could play and one could play it fully dry clothed. In fact, it only had real meaning if you were dry and fully clothed and had a strong desire to remain that way. Also it was a game suitable for ages 8 and up and the good news – you did not have to have a death wish to play. In the 40 odd years we have been going to Straddie, the game has been played and it has now become part of the Baskerville tradition. It is still simply known today, as it always has, as the headland run. Bancroft was introduced to the game for the first time when we went there with him, Pip and Tom. Now I thought that I had explained the object of the game to him quite clearly. Bancroft, you must run along the front of the headland on the sand left by the receding wave, to see how far you can get. No worries was that typical laconic Bancroft reply. He seemed to understand OK. So, we all waited for the precise moment and took off at great pace. Bancroft was there but had been a caught off guard just a little by the unified sensed timing of us boys. Pip made it to about the 50 meter mark and then pealed off to scurry up the rugged rock face. He was followed by Tom and me in quick succession as we all saw the huge impending wave. Well, Bancroft beat us all. There he was ahead of our set mark, standing at the base of the headland in ankle deep water proclaiming his mighty victory. I wanted to explain but sadly, the wave beat me. He did manage to keep his watch dry that day by holding his arm straight up over his head but everything else was on the rock and fully submerged under that wave and its accompanying swell. Still, I guess I was right about one thing – most of his cuts and burses did heal up in about a week.
