Cruising The Clyde

13 August 2022 / Story: Mike Fowler; Photos: Bill Short, Anda Clayton

Mike and Madhu meet the MX-5 Club

Before he moved to Tassie, my old mate and erstwhile South Coaster, Mal, said to me “hey Mike, these old MX-5s are a lot of fun. You should get one”. Being of an independent and critical frame of mind, I immediately replied “Sure, I’ll buy one tomorrow”, and promptly forgot all about it. Fast-forward a couple of years to retirement, and Mal’s recommendation became an idea whose time had come. I explored the classic car sites, eBay and Gumtree for a suitably priced vehicle in good nick, and eventually found a silver Series One NB that ticked the boxes. At that point I thought I should mention the plan to my wife, just in passing, to test the water. Ever supportive, she laughed and said “Don’t be ridiculous”. Not quite the positive response for which I’d hoped. I needed an angle - it was time to think laterally! “Just imagine”, I said to her “how cool you’ll look cruising the Pacific Highway, top down, on a sunny Sunday afternoon, in your red polka-dot scarf and white-rimmed sunnies. Think how envious your friends will be”. That seemed to work - over the next day or two she acquired a mine of knowledge about classic MX-5s, and ultimately endorsed my original choice of car.

We put down a deposit and arranged travel to Toowoomba to fetch home the silver bullet. I knew vaguely that Toowoomba was in Queensland, ie a long way to drive, and I turned a deaf ear to friends who tried to dissuade us from such a dodgy enterprise. I did have an unsettling moment when I first saw the car and thought “hmmm, will I fit in that”? But once I got down to it (pun intended) I found that I fit very comfortably and said to my wife “jump in my car, I’m gonna take you home … tra la la”, which I did over 16 hours via Newcastle, in a punishing road test that went well beyond the call of duty.

We’d learned about the MX-5 Club from old mate Mal, and had decided to join even before we arrived home from Toowoomba. We were, therefore, chuffed to find that a South Coast chapter run from Batemans Bay to Nelligen was scheduled within days. With help from Anda and Bryan Shedden we quickly completed the formalities, and rolled up at Innes Boatshed as fully paid-up, joined-up members, ready meet and greet our fellow enthusiasts. A complete lack of any MX-5s in the immediate vicinity of the Boatshed caused some momentary confusion (“you’ve got the wrong bloody day”, she said). However, we soon found MX-5 people in appropriate attire, who had sensibly parked their vehicles off-road down by the new bridge. Anda welcomed us to the Chapter as the newest members, and we mingled while we awaited our marching orders.

Promptly at 11.30am we boarded The Escapade, with Geoff, Rose, Bill, Jan, Anne, Graeme, Karen, Martin, Sue, Paul, Linda, Valerie, Anda, Brian, and a couple of Bobs and Ians making up the manifest. We cast anchor for Nelligen, initially out to the end of the breakwater in the wrong direction, until the skipper brought her round (that’s a U-turn on water), and then up the Clyde, under the bridge, and on past the oyster beds. The running commentary was actually quite interesting, what we could hear of it over the engine noise and general chit-chat, and has motivated me to do more research into the origins of the town we now call home. There was Innes’ famous fish and chips for lunch, with some salad for decoration, a Pinot Gris that you will never find in Hallidays, and tea and coffee. Following a leisurely sojourn upriver under leaden skies, we docked at Nelligen around 12.30, where we made a beeline for the café. This place serves up the best value for money ice-cream possibly in the world! One scoop will do you nicely for the rest of the day, two scoops will see you through tomorrow. The coffee there was pretty good too.

Back on board and heading home, we met more people and learned of their many and varied MX-5 experiences. I was really impressed by the folks who had driven south for an hour or more, top down, just to be there, and I felt like a bit of a wooz for having the top on for just the five minutes from Long Beach. We promise to do better next time! And there will be a next time - we really enjoyed our day out, and we have already nailed several upcoming Club events to our social calendar. Thanks for the hats Anne!