Sea Kayaking

St George Head Circumnavigation II

2012-01-24T12:28:00.001+11:00

I organised a club trip to circumnavigate St George Head - this time we did it in an anti-clockwise direction.

Barnabas & Fernando

Chrystal Clear Water

Nice little slot

Room with a view - Caves Beach Campground

Round the outside

Megan heads into Steamers

Fernando's incomplete GPS Trip Log

Fernando posted some video from the trip

Whales in January

2012-01-13T18:57:00.001+11:00

Last Saturday on a club trip from Cronulla to Boat Harbour, about half way accross Bate Bay, we crossed paths with a pod of at least three Pilot Whales.

After our lunch stop at Boat Harbour the Nor Easter kicked in and made for a fantastic run back. I shouldn't have been dissapointed that we had to change our trip plan from our intended landing at Little Marley as it turned out to be an excellent day for all who came along.

Watsons Bay to Bondi Beach Return

2011-12-27T21:06:00.004+11:00

BOM forecast Southerly 20-30 KNOTS 2.5 to 3 Metre Swells. The Observations at Little Bay put the wind speed between 19 & 29 KNOTS so the forecast was spot on. Barnabas called me the night before to see if I was up for a paddle. "Of course I was". The problem was I had only ever paddled with Barnabas on the kayak clubs Tuesday night paddle and as that trip is so well managed I wasn't really sure if Barnabas was experienced enough to handle what I knew would be pretty wild conditions.

But with a beard like his I should have had no doubt that Barnabas would take the heaving seas in his stride - which he did! I was able to let rip with the sail as Barnabas seemed even more in control once he had his sail up and we both ripped up the coast at record speed. The pool of kayakers who enjoy a rough sea out and back sailing trip is getting a bit small so i'm glad I can now add Barnabas to the list of those that do!

Surfing

2011-11-09T18:19:00.004+11:00

Last week I took some stills for the NSWSKC training video. We had three of our instructors demonstrate how to get in and out of the surf with the action being photographed on shore by me and filmed by Mel Macpherson from the back of a jet ski. I enjoyed the opportunity to get some shots of the experts at work and can't wait to see Mel's footage. Unfortunatley the biggest wave of the day was had by Stuart before anyone was ready to shoot it!

Stuart Trueman

Owen Kimberley

Steve Bell - low brace on back of paddle

Mel filming Steve

Stuart showing off his finger puppet

The Cave

2011-10-13T21:58:00.017+11:00

The coast south of Swansea is very different from around Sydney. There are quite a few inlets and a couple of magnificent caves. On this relatively calm day we decided to land in them.

Two Humpbacks & their calf ambled along with us. We ended up paddling ahead of them they were going so slow.

Dave & Campbell in a slot

Paul

Dave making a splash

Dave times it well

Why you should stay on the SEA SIDE of your boat if you stuff your roll and have to wet extit. Go to vimeo for a bigger version.

Lost at Sea

2011-09-10T12:17:00.009+10:00

Forecast was 25-35 Knots SW (Observations put the wind more at WSW 15 to 22 Knots, apart from North Head which was much stronger). The water temperature was around 17 degrees. This is my version of events and is the write up I submitted to The NSWSKC Magazine in the hope others can learn from our experience.

It is important to note that the forecast was so far outside club trip guidelines that any comparison or parallel to a club trip must be dismissed outright. This trip was in an entirely different category and in no way represents the activities of the NSWSKC as it had absolutely nothing in common with a club trip. We just happen to be club members but that's the only connection.

Mark, Andrew, Matt

We left Clontarf with the intention of using the strong Sou Westerly to paddle and sail to Pittwater, an open sea trip of about 40 km's. Still in the harbour I put up my sail and something failed so we pulled into Cobblers Beach where I used a spare hose clamp to affect a repair. As soon as we rounded North Head I was off, the wind being accelerated around the headland was very strong. A few minutes later I heard a whistle. Marks mast had bent badly. We rafted up and Andrew and I tried to bend it back into shape – it wasn’t going to happen and we discussed going into Shelly Beach for repairs. Mark decided against it and so we agreed to zig zag around him and wait for him periodically as we continued on towards our goal.

It was an excellent day for sailing. We were making good progress and really speeding along. The westerly gusts often had us out wide and after a run eastward I would battle across the wind westward and towards Marks line. We were always within site of one another and I commented to Andrew that we were probably each other’s biggest hazard out there as I often had to put in some big stern rudders to avoid colliding with him as I screamed down a wave behind him. I resolved to keep a bit more distance and give myself a clearer run.

At around 1330, the wind picked up, gusting from the west. I found myself having some exhilarating rides. I was really coming to terms with the boat now and this was the time to push it, to see how much I could control it, under sail in strong conditions. I was totally engaged, and although I knew I needed to head in soon I found it hard to resist staying with the waves and heading further out – I figured slogging back across later would be worth it for a bit more excitement, and after all, Mark had no sail so it would be fair on him too. I had a period of serious sailing, with the bow pearling and water spraying off the bow - I had my camera video rolling and have some spectacular clips. Racing yachts healing hard and flying towards me made for a formidable sight and I suspect fragmented our group even more as we each chose our own course clear of the oncoming behemoths. I headed out even further. Eventually I began heading west, expecting Mark to be over there and Andrew to be somewhere between us both or maybe even further in. I couldn’t see either of them. I put in and paddled across the wind, the sail losing much of its effect. I searched for Andrew behind me as with his sail and speed it was he who was the wild card. I knew Mark, the machine, would be to my left slugging away in a relatively straight line. Andrew could be anywhere, but as always, he should pop up soon. I paddled on anxious to regroup. I eventually spotted Mark, further ahead than where I had expected him to be and paddled hard to try and catch up. As he was still well west of my position, and with the wind coming from the WSW my sail didn’t give me as much help as I would have liked and I dug deep to try and intercept him, increasingly worried now that Andrew was not with him. I got to within a hundred metres or so and blew my whistle and yelled but on this rough and windy day Mark didn’t hear or see me and paddled on. I got my marine radio and called “Baidarka” which is Andrew’s call sign and after no response I tried calling Mark but he too had not turned on his VHF.

I laboured a 180 degree turn, took off my sun glasses and scanned the sea – the dread rose inside me as I came to the realisation that what I had been suspecting for the last five minutes or so was now a distinct reality – Andrew was lost, and it had been a long time since I’d last seen him. I made a frenzied attempt to paddle into the wind.

At 1413, I radioed Marine Rescue. In strong terms I relayed the situation and made it clear that there was a missing kayaker, probably in the water and that a call should be put out immediately to all boats in the area, especially those yachts that had recently passed us in a race. This call was made on CH 16 as much to go out to local traffic as to go to Marine Rescue. I paddled hard into the wind, making little progress and seeing nothing in my field of view. A call came through to me from the rescue vessel and I explained that as they head south from Barrenjoey Head they should come across two kayakers, if there is only one, as I suspected, the missing person is confirmed. They called me back soon afterwards and indicated that there was only one kayaker. I was now very worried, knowing that Andrew was indeed lost and probably in a perilous situation. Another call came through to me from Marine Rescue Vessel Cottage Point indicating that “a kayaker had been taken on board a yacht”. I was mightily relieved. They asked for my position and as I turned north I could see them stopped, probably next to Mark. My mobile rang, I dug it out of the day hatch and it was Rob Mercer, confirming that Andrew had been rescued by a yacht. Apparently Andrew had called Rob using one of the crew’s phones. With sail up I sped toward the rescue vessel and they confirmed that a kayaker had been picked up. They offered mark and I a tow but we politely refused. We saw a large shark off Barrenjoey but oddly enough we didn’t take much notice. The two of us then paddled back to our finish point within Pittwater. I logged Mark and me off with Marine Rescue Sydney at 1634.

As Rob had told me that Andrew called him I assumed Andrew had his phone (and boat) with him. We were shocked later when I again spoke to Rob, and learned that Andrew’s boat had been abandoned at sea.

Lessons learned (My perspective)

These are peer group paddles conducted completely informally and run in conditions exceeding what is generally accepted as safe conditions for sea kayaking. I have always seen these as being completely different from club paddles – I don’t anymore and will use what I have learned within the club for all my paddles, club or private. We have managed incidents on exactly the same route in even rougher conditions before and may have gotten a bit complacent. Andrew is a competent paddler and is generally looked upon as the one who is looking out for the group rather than the one to be watched – It is a mistake to think anyone is beyond needing help.

We carry a full suite of safety equipment. On this occasion we all had VHF radios, mobile phones, flares and PLB’s. We need to have a procedure put in place so that the minute anyone is out of sight VHF’s are turned on. This simple act could have alerted us to Andrew’s position, possibly with the help of a flare, and we could have dealt with the situation ourselves.

Sails can make boats move very fast in strong winds. Sails are supercharging the risks. Where normally group spread happens gradually and even predictably, sailing in strong following conditions can have kayaks move hundreds of metres apart in minutes. When one does capsize with a sail, self rescues are made much more complex. We will need to practice our self rescue procedures in the rough stuff, with the sails.

Andrew had his helmet cam going throughout his capsize and rescue. It is sobering viewing, watching a man struggle into hypothermia as he gallantly tries and fails over and over to re-enter his kayak. If it wasn’t for the yacht Andrew could have died. I am going to now adopt a strict 5 minute rule for all these situations:

1. Immediately on losing sight of a colleague out comes the VHF radio

2. If I can’t find my colleagues within 5 minutes I’ll call for help

3. If its me in the water, I’ll attempt to renter for 5 minutes or three times before I activate the VHF and call assistance from my fellow kayakers. Only once my position is relayed, possibly by flare, will I continue to attempt a self rescue

4. If the VHF fails, I’d use the mobile, if that failed I’d use a flare and finally the PLB followed by more flares

5. I’d only continue attempting self rescue once contact with colleagues, rescue agencies or other vessels were notified of my position or all efforts to contact them had been exhausted.

After watching Andrew’s struggle through his helmet cam, it becomes clear that the chances of successful self rescue will be diminished as time goes by. Its better to get the communications done early because as Andrews situation demonstrates, you might simply not have the presence of mind to even use your equipment if you struggle in the water for too long. If this sounds like overkill, you should see Andrews forty minute video!

PS Offshore winds continued for the next couple of weeks so the prospect of Andrews kayak washing ashore (at least in Australia) has become less likley.

Paying the price for a bad brace

2011-08-30T07:50:00.000+10:00

Payng the price for a terrible high brace. Watching this its obvious that the blade should have been dug in much lower. The look away from the wave was to get a breath for what I knew would be a trashing!

The Ultimate Sea Kayak Trip

2011-07-28T17:47:00.004+10:00

Stuart Trueman has today kayaked into Broome, completing his circumnavigation of Australia. It is an absolutley amazing feat. Congratulations Stuart!

Here are a couple of media interviews by ABC and Channel 7

Stuart Trueman has circumnavigated Australia in his sea kayak

Kayakers attempt to be the first to reach North Reef

2011-07-21T12:00:00.000+10:00

Rob, Chris & Mark are resort hopping in Queensland

Kayaker takes out stand up paddleboard

2011-07-13T09:32:00.002+10:00

Enjoying good conditions on the bar

until a collision with a Stand Up Paddle Board

Kayak 1, SUP 0 (nobody hurt)

St George Head Circumnavigation

2011-07-07T11:15:00.001+10:00

Seven of us enjoyed a great paddle out through Jervis Bay around St George Head finishing with an up current slug up Sussex Inlet and accross St George Basin to Erowal Bay.

St George Head Circumnavigation from Matt Bezzina on Vimeo.

Ian Vaile got some pics and video as well.

Recent Pics

2011-07-04T13:23:00.001+10:00

Claudia takes her new Nadgee Bombora on its maiden voyage

Cathy & Ian with their sticks

Sea guide training with Rob

keeping the training real - in this slot we paired up, both paddlers capsize and wet exit, rescuer re enters and rolls using half a spare paddle, throws a tow line to the other paddler and tows him and his boat over a couple of rocks and out of the slot.

The NSWSKC Rock'n'Roll Weekend

In the rough - Clontarf to Pittwater in a Howling Southerly

2011-03-26T22:32:00.002+11:00

Mark Schroeder, Andrew Eddy, Ian Vaile and me decided we would test ourselves in big seas.

Forecast winds were 20-30 Knots Southerly with 2-3 metre seas and a 2-3 metre Southerly swell.

That forecast defintiely got my attention but it wasn't until we rounded South Head after starting at Clontarf that the conditions really hit us.

Observations obtained later put winds at 30+ knots gusting to 45 and wave heights during the time we were out peaked at a whopping 7.2 metres! It looks like the wave rider buoy got knocked out itself around midnight.

I told myself more than once during the day to stop looking behind as it was simply scary to see such big swells baring down on us, especially since the tops were sometimes breaking away.

We tried to sail but three out of the four sails got damaged. Ian's mast step snapped away from the tiller extension arm. Mark's has a plastic ring which connects the stays and it got stretched and slipped down and my mast bent like a banana. At least mine still worked though and had me not too far behind Andrew Eddy who is a very experienced sailor and has a demonstrably bomb proof set up.

Due to Marks broken rudder cable (broke where some webbing was riveted to the peddle)and Ians damaged mast we pulled into Collaroy where it was decided that only Andrew and I would continue around into Pittwater as planned.

We all decided there is no place for rivets on sea kayaks.

On route, we paddled past a massive old seal just wallowing in the rough as if he was sleeping on a water bed! Unfortuntley I simply couldn't get my hands off the paddle for a shot.

Andrew and I made it back to our car after 43km which took us 5 hours on the water, partly due to rescues, repairs and detours.

Shaan Gresser and Paul Layton set off from Shelly a couple of hours before us and dealt with a number of capsizes before hitting Palm Beach in 4 hours.

Here are a few scenes from what was probably the roughest sustained paddle I've done to date.

In The Rough from Matt Bezzina on Vimeo.

Tuesday Night

2011-03-22T11:40:00.001+11:00

Here are a few scenes from a typical paddle from a couple of weeks back in fairly bouncy North Easterly conditions. Unfortunatley I didn't get any footage of the biggest shark I've ever seen near North Head.

Tuesday Night Paddle from Matt Bezzina on Vimeo.

Beecroft Peninsular - Circumnavigation

2011-03-21T11:19:00.007+11:00

Mark & Andrew

Bill - had a "BIG" day!

Rob - rounding Pt Perpendicular

Blusterly conditions made for an exciting day. Big long period swells and ENE winds meant we needed to stay well off shore to allow for a margin of error should any incident result in us being blown up against the cliffs - not a good place to be on this day.

We stopped at Boat Harbour for lunch before giving a couple of members an out at Honeymoon Bay. Four of us continued up a rapidly emptying Currambene Creek which was teeming with fish, rays and sea slugs. A small shark and juvenille sea turtle were spotted. After the portage we were fully engaged in an adrenalin pumping surf launch. We all got out unscathed and finished off the circumnavigation with perfect weather and a dolphin escort back to our starting point.

Blusterly Conditions off Beecroft Peninsular from Matt Bezzina on Vimeo.

Team: Mark, Bill, George, Rob, Matt & Andrew.

West Coast of Tassie

2011-03-09T10:02:00.003+11:00

Keith Oakford, Harry Havu, Guy Reeve and John Wilde have completed a trip from Devonport to Cockle Creek which takes in approximatley half of Tasmania - the wild half that is.

Keith describes the trip:

Well Harry and I are back at work, Guys is looking for a new job and John, well the bugger is off to India in the next few weeks so we won't mention him. (At least this time he is taking his wife)
The Trip was everything we had imagined and then some, the coast along from Devonport to Woolnorth (NW Cape) is a mix of beaches and low hills with green trees and shrubs, The headland called the Nut was spectacular as the top was covered in a low cloud, giving it an eerie look, Robins Island and Mosquito inlet would have to have been the highlight. Turning the corner and heading down the west coast mother nature let us know who was the boss and showed us what we could expect, about 15km out of Marrawah we were hit by a STH Westerly change that brought winds to 25knts gusting to 30knts and bloody heavy rain, we must have looked like bloody idiots to those on the beach when we eventually landed.
The west Coast of Tasmania is something to be seen, the coast is consistently changing from low sandy beaches to low rocky foreshores to high sand hills and even higher granite cliffs, some covered with the hardest salt bush in the world, in the back ground you have various ranges and mountains that range from a deep green or blue in colour and are consistently covered with a moving low cloud, it is always raining somewhere, the beauty of this was that the sun would break through every now and then and give us a fantastic range of colours and shades that highlighted the surrounding landscape. Of note was the lack of bird life the further south we travelled, guess even the Sea Gulls, Shearwaters and Albatross have more sense than us.
It was tough but enjoyable paddling most days with various strength headwinds, some rather large swells and seas and rain squalls, one day in particular we paddled for 8 and a half hours with no land in site due to a heavy sea fog that greeted us after a 4am start, good management and navigation saw us paddle out of the fog with the entrance to Macquarie Harbour right where it was supposed to be, I must say that we all let out a sigh of relief, although none would admit it while we were there. The size and power of the swells along this coast are something you have to experience to understand, you have this ground swell with wave periods of 15 to 20 seconds moving mountains of green, blue or grey towards the shore, there are rocky shelfs (bommies) scattered everywhere that force the larger ones to break, this forced all of us too, at some times mutter a few expletives, turn our kayaks and paddle like there was no tomorrow. Oh and don't forget the 2 to 4 meters of seas and the consistent rebound that on top of the swell that at times raised our heart rates.
The camp sites we found were varied from sandy beaches to moss covered river banks to bunkering down under the trees at Port Davy, it was in Spain Bay (Port Davy) that we saw wind gusts picking up sheets of water off the surface of the Bay and hurling it meters into the air, each site allowed us to experience another part of this coast, we walked the beaches and surrounding hills, we swam in the creeks and rivers, we drank the water from the creeks and rivers,(you do get to like the taste of Tanning water) we saw some of the wild life that dares to make it home in this bountiful but inhospitable palace and we did our best to leave only foot prints. The South Coast saw even higher granite cliffs from the water to the sky; each bay we paddled past was surrounded by high peaks covered in low cloud with deep rich green valley's running down to the ocean, water falls were numerous and provided us with the chance to get some clear sweet water.
We didn't quite make Hobart the weather and time conspired against us, Cockle Creek was always an option and given the nature of the West and South Coast of Tassie we were blessed to make it there as we did, still it does allow for another trip?????????????
To the Buff boys
A trip like this takes some planning and this one went off as planned, we had some gear failures (all of which were managed with spares etc), we had wind and rain, we were cold and wet, we saw some amazing places and sites, all our landings except Rocky Boat Harbour were as planned, everyone was consistently on the lookout for each other, the day to day decisions were made with a minimum of fuss and were centred around the group dynamics and not on individual wants. Thanks for being there and being you.
To the People we met along the way and to those that supported us with the logistics (Christian, John and Sarah + Family, Brett and Chris, + Family, Keith and Lisa + Family, Richard, Ian, Mick, Brian, Gas, Nigel, Laurie and
Lisa)
A big thank you for being part of our trip, your friendship and support helped make the trip what it was. If you are ever in Sydney please do not hesitate to call or drop me an e-mail, there will always be a warm bed a clean shower and plenty of food and drink on tap. We are planning to put some of the better photos together and to write up a full trip report for our Clubs magazine, as promised we will be in touch and get you all copies.
To my long suffering wife
I thank you most of all, your support and belief in me allowed me to do these still things, one day I will find a way to pay you back at least in some small way.
Keith

Congratulations on another notable kayaking achievment. Its the prospect of trips like this that keep all the regular paddling real for the rest of us.

GUYS PHOTOSTREAM

Shaan Crosses Bass Strait Solo

2011-02-26T19:25:00.007+11:00

Shaan Gresser has completed a Solo crossing of Bass Strait. Although a great feat in itself theres a lot more to it than just the crossing. Bass Strait doesn't give itself up easily to a kayaker and Shaan's crossing was no exception. 19 days it took her and this I believe was her second attempt this year after being thwarted by weather earlier. Shaan also came back from a kayaking related shoulder dislocation last year. With guts and tenacity like Shaan's it was only a matter of time before she bagged the Bass and became the first girl to do so solo.

Congratulations Shaan - Your an inspiration!

Urban Epic III

2011-02-15T08:25:00.008+11:00

There were Six of us up for the latest Urban Epic Club trip. We again had a grey day only this time with the added bonus of strong Southerlies and a livley sea. Both me and Garry were in unfamiliar boats and as both of us have come from the rock steady reliability of Mirages we found staying on course a bit of a handfull (and upright in some instances - Garry got to do a couple of rolls in anger). George's shark sighting and resultant yells helped I'm sure. I'm hoping that improved skill and getting used to our boats will overcome these issues for us. While some skeg paddlers seem to accept that zigzagging is part and parcel of paddling downwind I find this frustrating. Going in a straight line and catching waves at sea is now my prime focus. The Stern rudder helps maintain course for sure but I don't like this stroke as it has a breaking effect (when compared to forward paddling) which can result in missed rides (tragic). I accept that its essential for surfing breakers on a bar or beach or when sailing (15 KT +). I will now focus on more aggressive edging to maintain direction without compromising the all important forward stroke. Next test this arvo in Easterlies which will produce rebound waves off the cliffs. I've installed an inflatable beanbag type seat which will raise my seating position and might help with edging.

weirdos

Thanks to Andrew E, Andrew C, George, Neil and Garry for making it such a fun day! Photos by Garry Thompson.

Hybrid 550 Update

2011-02-10T14:35:00.005+11:00

Starting to really enjoy the new boat. Whilst positioned in a break zone at South Head ready to get a picture of Andre a steep breaker appeared. I was way impressed at how little effort was required to turn bow on and accelerate. The H550 rose over the crest to fall off the back of the wave very nicley indeed.

These pics are from Andre's camera as my new Panasonic drowned after only 3 uses. Very disapointed in that camera - I should have gone with my gut and stuck with the indestructable PENTAX.

Intro Paddle

2011-01-30T10:10:00.002+11:00

Selim Tezcan posted a video of a recent club paddle

Hybrid 550 Update

2011-01-29T20:28:00.012+11:00

I bought the Hybrid 550 as I see it as a serious expedition boat that can carry a big load but at the same time can be used for everyday paddling. Its manouverable, nimble and easy to do 360 degree on the spot turns. It edges well and rolls nicely.

I have only paddled it three times and am still getting used to it but on Tuesday in a 15 knot NE wind it went well between Watsons Bay and Frenchmans Bay. It seems to get onto waves easily and the rudder, whilst nothing like a Mirage rudder, is effective if its "turned on" at precisly the right time. It doesn't work if you simply push the pedals, it has to be engaged with the sea and the body in unison. I wouldn't bother using the rudder at all in flat water.

The Hybrid 550 is fast but stable. It's exceptionally well behaved in rough water and the big edge creates an effective platform on which to turn quickly, important when in rock gardens or when you find you need to face off fast to an oncoming wave. I found this out today when Rob Mercer, Tsunami Ranger Jim Kakuk and I spent some time bouncing around The Gap near South Head.

The fittings are all solid and well thought out. I especially like the front day hatch and feel the centre located "second" day hatch behind the seat would be less prone to flooding than the offset hatch. The toggles are neat and comfortable to hold. I don't think they would be effective tow points as a lot of tow ropes use large karabiners which would slip over them. I suppose you could always just use a deck line or tie a loop under the "golf ball" on which to clip on to.

The seat is hand carved and is really comfortable (Andre tells me it takes him 3 hours to fit one seat!). Whilst a lot lighter than my old boat I did find it harder to shoulder carry but if you hold it from the day hatch and cockpit its easy to do the old clean & jerk lift to shoulder height and then place onto the car (even if your short).

I get the feeling the boat might actually be better suited to a bigger person as its light on the water with only me in it. Today I tried it with a few dry bags full of sand and it sat much better (I'm 64 kg). This is good as its the expeditions that I most look forward to doing with this boat so the improvement in handling with extra weight would be an advantage.

the round hatches are actually larger than oval hatches

Hybrid 550

2011-01-13T16:36:00.009+11:00

Andre Janecki's garage is full of brand new Hybrid 550 Sea Kayaks

I know Andre is a perfectionist who has put his heart and soul into these exceptionally good looking new sea kayaks. With its myriad of kayak firsts, integrated rudder and flawless build quality I might have to have one.

The boat just screams out for serious open water kayaking and expeditioning. I hope I can begin the next chapter of my kayaking journey in The Hybrid 550.

I've just got to take it for a paddle!

2011-01-09T09:15:00.007+11:00

Stuart Trueman joined Rob Mercer's Tuesday Night Paddle at Watsons Bay after padddling from Broome, Western Australia. Stuart headed out Sydney Heads the next day having already completed around half of his epic circumnavigation of Australia.

Matt, Stuart, Owen, Mark

This is one person I admit to having a bit of celebrity worship for. All the best Stuart!

Broughton Island via Cabbage Tree

2011-01-07T22:41:00.011+11:00

Five of us enjoyed a club trip out to Broughton Island.

NSWSKC Trip to Broughton Island. Video is created using Pics and Video from Dave, Megan & Matt.

David Fisher has also posted pics and videos.

We are surely entering the "Documented Decade". This should help those of us who develop dementia!

Figure 8 Trip

2010-11-07T19:51:00.016+11:00

GPS Trip Log - Mission Accomplished!

From the harbour .......

to the sea
George Jessup, happy to be finished the first portage and heading out to sea

Ian Vaile tests out his new Greenland T

Garry Thompson - out there

Portage two - Andrew on route from the ferry wharf to Manly Beach

The final leg - out we go again

the downpours were spectacular

Andrew & Cathy having fun

Neil & Cathy coming in through the heads

that rain was so good

It's a great feeling doing a one way trip and landing back at your starting point. Can't wait for the next one!

David Fisher has more pics, trip data and a video of this amazing journey.

Recent Pics

2010-10-13T20:34:00.014+11:00

Mark about to get a shower

Tuesday Night Paddle - white capping sea provides excitment as Rob punches into it

Alan powers out the heads

Mark shoots a gauntlet off The Murk, North Bondi

Puffing like a steam train but still not enough - missed opportunity

This pic was taken by Rob Mercer on Tuesday afternoon when Wendy Stevenson, Mark Sundin, Rob Mercer and I used a 20 knot Nor Easter to blast our way to Malabar from Watsons Bay in two and a quarter hours.

With a bit of wild weather around latley I have noticed there are two ways you can paddle in the rough: Defensively or Offensively. When confronted with breaking seas, particularly following seas, the defensive paddler tends to let the waves pass under them or in a breaking sea braces into the waves. The Offensive paddler simply goes for it, paddling hard to catch every bit of movement in the water, big or small and apart from all the subtle control manouveres like edging and leaning rarely does anything other than the good old forward stroke. Paddling like this will occasionally have you reach a speed equal to that of the bigger waves and inevitably if you keep up the hard work you'll get an almighty ride that can be surprisingly long and fast, especially if you keep paddling throughout.

Admittedly it takes a lot of puff to keep paddling offensively so I wouldn't use such a high rate if I was facing a very big day. A sail can help in this regard as it can keep your speed up so only a few starter strokes are required to catch the rides - but beware, sail or not, once you do catch a big wave theres no getting off - its a classic case of eyes dead ahead, focus on where you want to be and go for it. I ususally aim to get shot out in front of the wave so fast that a few more strokes will get me onto the next wave, and the next, and the next again.

Phang Nga Bay, Thailand

2010-08-24T20:35:00.022+10:00

I recently found myself in Phuket for work. As soon as I got the chance I contacted a local paddling outfit Paddle Asia and a guide was hastily arranged. I was to catch a ferry from Bang Rang Pier out to Yao Yai and then onto the smaller island of Yao Noi. The ferry turned out to be a local longboat which, after a week in a resort, was a welcome change.

I met my guide Jumrat at the Pier and we went by motor scooter to pick up the kayaks. We paddled off into a flat sea dotted with limestone islands. This was kayaking Mecca!

It wasn't long before we reached our first island

Run

We met some fishermen along the way

Showing off his catch

We paddled on to the next island

These limestone islands are speckled with caves - complete with stalictites and other formations I'd only ever seen underground.

Run could only feel the water, he couldn't drink it

We stopped for lunch which was part of the tour deal and Run laid out quite a feast of fried rice, chicken and fruit. "Where's yours?" I asked. "It's Ramadan" he replied, "I cannot eat". I gave him back the food and said if he wasn't going to eat nor was I. I don't eat much anyway so the thought of missing out on lunch didn't worry me in the slightest. It was when I learned that Ramadan also meant one couldn't drink I started to worry.

The day was hot and humid and the sun was strong. I knew I'd be in trouble without water so unlike my devout friend I slurped from the many waterseaps cascading down the cliffs that we paddled under.

We paddled into a small gap in the rocks and found ourselves in a magnificent lagoon. Apparantly the lagoon was good fishing and was a favoured spot for the local fisho's.

We paddled back into a solid headwind in stifling hot conditions. My guide struggled but made it back not far behind me, even though by that time I'd consumed at least 3 bottles worth of water and he hadn't drank a drop.

I caught another longboat back

Some of the many islands of Phang Na Bay

My family arrived the next day and we spent another week exploring Phuket, Yao Noi and Yao Yai. It turned out that Jumrat has his own longboat so along with his own children he showed us many beautiful spots around his home, both by boat and motorbike.

If anyone is heading to Thailand and wants a really special tour email Run Jumrat as he is born and bred on Yao Noi, has his own longboat and can arrange rental of propper sea kayaks through Paddle Asia. run_jumrat[at]hotmail.com

Harbour Cruising

2010-07-25T23:05:00.011+10:00

"Variety is the spice of life", as well as paddling. I spent Saturday with seven other members of The NSWSKC taking in the sights of Sydney Harbour. We put in at Vaucluse Bay and cruised around Clark and Shark Islands before heading over for a close up view of Fort Denison.

Woolloomooloo

Julie, Ian, Steve, Matt, Ken, Adrian, Bill

We ran into fellow club member John Friedman who took this photo of the rest of us. Ian posted some of his excellent photos from our Harbour Explorer and our previous Inner Harbour Explorer trips as well.

The great thing about paddling with a club is it brings together a diverse range of people who all bring something unique to the group whilst contributing in their own way and learning from each others real world experience. The training and accreditation process used by a club with formal training and operating procedures ensures a consistant, qualified and tested approach to training and any advice given is from those qualified to give it. The problem with unqualified and internet expertise type advice is its usually bullshit. Its like doing modifications to your kayak in your garage - it all seems fine until you actually test it in real conditions only to find your great idea has become a serious liability.

I recently came accross a fellow helping his mates learn to roll. He suggested that the offside leg be disengaged from the coaming and straightened, as that will make the roll easier. The novice followed his advice and rolled up easier. There were smiles all round. Whats wrong with this? Well I know from being cleaned up and rolled unexpectedly that the most important thing is to lock those thighs in as hard as you can and to keep them locked in otherwise you'll be sucked from your boat and put into a far more perilous situation. I know its easier to roll by disengaging a leg but its bad advice, unless of course you just want to roll in the harbour to impress new kayakers. This is an example of unqualified advice being bad and possibly even negligent.

It takes a long time and a dedicated approach to work up through the ranks of a club such as the NSWSKC. It generally takes active members five years just to get to Sea Leader stage - and even then we're still not qualified to instruct, and only give general advice. Of course all these qualifications mean little if you find yourself facing treacherous conditions. Unlike other pursuits like business, politics and so on where spin, big talk and flashy gear can get you up the ladder sea kayakers have a higher authority to sort us all out - the sea.

Of course club paddling will never be for everyone, which is one of the main benefits!

Food

2010-07-04T20:56:00.016+10:00

Here's my contribution to food culture: a recipe for a meal that takes little space, keeps for ages before cooking and is highly nutritious - just keep a cup of water on standby to wash it down.

take a 1/4 cup of mixed beans and lentils

add sea water

seal and let it slosh around in your kayak all day

collect some Warigal Greens (another good reason to keep dogs out of National Parks)

boil it all up for a healthy meal

Bass Strait Crossing

2010-03-21T09:49:00.060+11:00

Both Mark and I admitted that paddling across Bass Strait was in the back of our minds since we began kayaking about five years ago. Last Wednesday at 1.30 PM we landed at Little Musselroe Cove on the NE tip of Tasmania 20 days after we began our trip from Port Welshpool, Victoria. As we had two false starts to Hogan Island as well as having to return to Port Welshpool for repairs before paddling back to the start again we ended up paddling over 430 km. This included meandering around some of The Ferneaux Group of islands off Flinders and taking cautious routes across the bigger crossings to allow for tides which added quite a few extra kilometres to the crossings.

Generally we had good weather. There were two big highs moving across Bass Strait but there were also a number of cold fronts associated with these especially between the two highs. These fronts were producing strong SE to SW winds which meant we had to do quite a bit of waiting which really didn't matter because although we were stranded we were in paradise and enjoying every minute of it.

Rabbit Island on route from Port Welshpool

We headed out to Hogan from Refuge Cove in calm conditions. We had a good forecast but there was no mention of the impending thunderstorm that soon began to engulf us. After about 10 km out, with sky darkening and lots of lightning strikes just ahead of us we made the call to retreat.

No go - we turned back and battled head winds, rain and a rapidly developing sea on one of the most committing paddles of the trip

Bare Back Cove - A beautiful and trackless cove

While at Bare Back Cove we fished in the morning and climbed the nearby peak in the afternoon from which we caught our first glimpse of Hogan Island. We fished again in the afternoon and then cooked our catch for dinner. That night I lay in my tent getting colder and colder but sweating profusely. I zipped up my sleeping bag which up until that point had been way to hot but was still freezing. I put on all my thermals and lay there shivering uncontrollably."This is not good" I thought. At about 4 AM I finally exorcised my demons and stumbled on to the beach vomiting violently. I'd poisoned myself I suspect by eating a fish that had been out for too long before cooking. Luckily the weather was not good for our crossing the next day so I had a day to recover and moped around feeling like I'd gone a round with Mike Tyson.

The afternoon after the first retreat Mark's mast snapped while on a fishing mission just outside the cove. We fixed this with a hose clamp and tent pole repair kit and then, after the front had moved on two days later and I'd recovered from my bad fish experience we headed to Hogan only to be thwarted again, this time by a snapped rudder.

We limped back to Refuge Cove in poor spirits and then spied a National Parks boat moored in the bay. With our friendliest faces we approached the National Parks guys and their contractors who were busy drinking tea and told our sad and sorry story. "No problem we're heading back there anyway" was their response. We set up one tent at Refuge and dumped all but our most essential gear and then loaded the kayaks onto the boat and got a lift back to Port Welshpool where we were greatly relieved to find Marks spare rudder in the car. We had a sombre meal at the same pub we'd eaten at almost a week earlier and went to sleep on sun set with little conversation.

TAKE TWO

We paddled out of Port Welshpool well before dawn to ride the outgoing tide. With the wind also behind us and being on a bit of a mission we didn't stop at any of the islands this time and absolutely fanged it back to Refuge Cove. It took 5 hours to paddle the 43 km there. As we entered the bay we now found four yachts who were also doing a Bass Strait crossing. We again said our cheeriest g'day's and spent a further half hour in the boats chatting to the skipper & crew of Lady Bay.

Time spent chatting to Skipper Dave and his crew paid off!Now on our 7th day we headed off to Hogan on attempt number three. The forecast wasn't great but the wind strength was low and the sea was dead flat. We got up early and blasted off, desperate to make a proper start to our crossing.

In our haste and enthusiasm to get going we didn't pay enough attention to the route plan and tides and together with our planning tardiness the slight head wind conspired to turn this days crossing into an 11 hour slug which I will never forget. In dead flat mercury still water, our speed routinely dropped below 5 km/h and made for one miserable day. We arrived on sunset exhausted but happy and despite the constant carrying on of penguins, shearwaters and rats we slept like logs.

We stayed on Hogan Island for two nights and did a lot of what this penguin is doing

From Hogan to Deal was the best crossing. We had a solid NW wind of between 15 and 20 knots and building sea. Although there were two opposing swell patterns that occasionally caught us off guard we made excellent time and got to Deal Island in six hours. On rounding the headland into Winter Cove for the final 1.6 km push we found out just why we had been going so fast. We battled a now channelled Deal Island willy waugh wind into a final shore dump to land at Winter Cove.

Happy to be on Deal

A series of fronts and storms were now forecast to roll through so we got to know Deal Island quite well and spent four nights camping at Winter Cove and exploring the island during the day.

View towards the lighthouse from the museum

East Cove

Skank - our pet wallaby who constantly hung around camp

Deal Island Light House

The remains of a Humpback in Winter Cove

Jan and Roger, The Deal Island caretakers. We have never drunk so much tea! These great folks made our stay on Deal Island all the better.

Leaving The Kent Group in our wake

The crossing from Deal to Killiecrankie was as one would expect - a long slug (9:47). We got no help from the wind or the sea - it was just pure forward stroke that got us there in the end.

Killiecrankie was just a place to camp although we did get a decent breakfast at JJ's cafe which is
an unexpected find.

Next stop was Prime Seal Island. Mark scored this Pike as we approached the island.

Pike is Delicious and easy to prepare

Crossing from Prime Seal to Chalky Island on route to Whitemark

Whitemark - we have never seen such a calm sea

Racing down the coast now - Mt Strzelecki

As we were a bit tired I thought we'd just do the 12 km from Whitemark to Trousers Point and call it a day. Mark had other ideas. "Theres two kinds of Bass Strait Paddlers" he pointed out. "Those who climb Mt Strzelecki and those that don't".

Later that day - on top of Strzelecki

well worth the effort

That night I caught a couple of squid by drifting the kayak over the weed with a simple jig

Trousers Point

Next day we stopped in at The Cape Barren Aboriginal Community where we were fed toasted ham, cheese and tomato sandwiches. The place had a great vibe about it and everyone we met was friendly and cheerful (except for one woman who reminded us we couldn't camp there without permission).

Next stop was at Spike Bay on Clark Island. Mark paddled out to this tiny unnamed island and began waving me over.

Last night in Bass Strait camped on a tiny island with the penguins, shearwaters and cape barren geese

We crossed Banks Strait in dead calm conditions but with very low visibility. We didn't see land until we were just a couple of kilometres out but once we did we had the tide shoot us eastwards along the coast and into Little Musselroe Bay.

Mark had used the Sea Kayak Forum to seek help at our finish and this angel, Cynthia came out of the blue and offered to help. Not only was she there waiting for us as we arrived but she brought champagne and lunch and most importantly a welcome smile and congratulatory hug (even though we were soaked from our victory roll). Having Cynthia meet us and drive us to Devonport was one of the really special things about the whole trip and we are forever grateful for her generosity. The sea kayaking community is great and perhaps more importantly the reception we received from people along the way as kayakers was very positive and supportive.

We hired a satellite phone and took a short wave SSB radio but didn't really need either as we got web access and mobile conection via Marks Next G phone at most places from high points and tops of hills. We also recieved weather via the VHF from Brim at Coast Guard Tamar and passing yachts as required. We kept everything charged from the solar battery system in my kayak which worked well.

Bass Strait and its islands are a remote and beautiful part of Australia and to explore these areas by kayak and make the crossing under our own steam was an extreamly rewarding experience which will long be remembered by both of us. Thanks to our wives and families who went it alone for three weeks and probably faced more challenges in that time than we did!

Trip data

Marks write up from NSWSKC magazine

Great Paddling Weather

2010-02-14T10:18:00.007+11:00

Recent wild weather has made for some great paddling conditions.

AndreGina

Not everyone coped well. This is the second yacht I know of that came to grief last week. Another one was washed onto rocks at North Head as witnessed by fellow kayaker Dave Fisher who helped with the rescue.

Mark

Rob

Keith

Port Stephens to Forster

2009-12-31T13:44:00.018+11:00

Shaan, TJ, Mark, John, Matt & Dave just before leaving Pindimar in Port Stephens

Mark Sailing

This Photo by Shaan

We arrived at Forster after 3 days of delightfully rainy and windy weather. A great area, exciting conditions and a fantastic group made for an excellent trip.

Secret Seaside Gardens - No 1

2009-12-23T14:39:00.015+11:00

A calm start to our days paddling

TJ reminisces his days as skipper of The Ted Noffs

South Head local Gunter - One of the most successful people I know
I've paddled past here countless times and never landed

until today

TJ timing his move

A seldom visited part of Sydney

a closer look reveals a whole micro environment

of specialised plants and mosses

and even tadpoles!

time to leave Cockatoo Cove

As those who paddle past here would know there is a flock of resident Cockatoos who nest in the nooks and cranny's of the cliff just South of Blue Fish Point. Cockatoos, like all Australian Parrots need hollows to nest in. This is a big problem because there are very few hollows left around Sydney and those that do remain are fiercely contested for by the likes of indian myna's, european honey bee's, black rats and so on. It is heartening to see some cockatoos are adapting to the shortage of hollows and migrating to the cliffs - or maybe, like us kayakers, they just prefer to be by the sea.

An Urban Epic - The Circumnavigation of Sydney

2009-12-14T20:56:00.035+11:00

A while back there was a photo in The Herald of a kayaker paddling under The Harbour Bridge. The kayaker was Phil Newman who in 2007 along with Richard Barnes completed a full circumnavigation of Tasmania. In the accompanying article Phil philosophises that you don't need to travel far or go to exotic places in search of adventure - it can be found right on your doorstep - all you need is a bit of imagination. This coming from someone who had paddled the whole of Tasmania was surprising. I'm glad I came across this article because it changed my mindset and from then on every paddle became a fun little adventure to be enjoyed in its own right, regardless of how close to home it was.

Track Log from Dave Fishers GPS

The adventure begins

Laurie Geoghegan enjoys the sights

Laurie manufactures the legendary Nadgee Sea Kayaks

Always smiling - Mark Schroeder

Ian Vaile enjoying the day at Coogee

TJ - Never a dull moment

Dave Fisher - life's good!

Rob Richmond - wore the Lycra suit for the portage as well!

Rob's a bit of an authority on circumnavigating Sydney

Cathy Miller - Great Laugh guaranteed to make any trip a fun trip

Cooks River was OK

The pull out at Marrickville

Bemused golfers - "what the . . . "

"Road Subject to Flooding" bring it on!

George Jessup - was on a mission to be home for dinner!

Our paddle went "down the drain" from here.

This took us underneath Parramatta Rd and not long after that . . . .

the tide came in

After doing kayak limbo to get under a low bridge and getting up to ramming speed to make it over a rubbish boom we were once again in deep water. A solid headwind slowed us down just a bit. We said goodbye to Cathy & Ian who live on the waters edge at Balmain and made the last dash for home. Once in Rozelle Bay we had the wind behind us for the final push under The Anzac Bridge and back to the point from which we started.

The entire round trip came in at just under 65km with about 3.5km being on foot. Thanks to a great crew for making it such a fun day. We proved that Sydney can be circumnavigated by kayak (and trolley) and that you don't need to leave town to have an adventure!

Freya Hoffmeister also circumnavigated Sydney but she went the long way round. She mustn't have known about the drain under Parramatta Road. Onya Freya!

Whale

2009-11-11T13:06:00.004+11:00

A young humpback shows off to TJ near North Head

Hawkesbury Classic 2009

2009-10-29T21:15:00.007+11:00

If you've ever wondered why anyone would want to paddle 111 km from late afternoon through till morning battling an incoming tide for what can seem like an eternity, struggling to keep your eyes open, strainng to see where your going all the while paddling hard to get it over with here's the reason:

The Finish is so damn good!

Well done to Dee and all the other paddlers who did The 2009 Hawkesbury Classic

Turbulent Tuesday

2009-09-16T10:11:00.007+10:00

Jervis Bay

2009-08-19T09:46:00.012+10:00

Four of us headed down to Jervis Bay for a midweek paddle. We had great winter weather with enough bounce to keep things interesting but not too rough that we couldn't get close to the spectacular Beecroft Peninsular cliffline with all its caves, slots and bays.

Chris Walker - Epic 18

me & my Mirage 530

Chris James - Valley Aquanaut

Rob Mercer - Rockpool GT

Rob looked to be really enjoying his new Rockpool GT It goes fast, can carry a big load and is highly manoeuvrable (in Robs hands at least).

Seals on "The Drum"

tents under trees make for a much drier night

room with a view

Thursday Morning

Photos by Matt Bezzina & Rob Mercer

Mirage Modifications

2009-08-08T14:29:00.022+10:00

Here are a few things I have done to my Mirage 530 that have proved to be helpful. One of the good things about The Mirage is the rail for the foot brace. Unlike most kayaks that simply have screws through the sides of the boat The Mirage rails are glassed in, are very strong and have lots of holes and slots to secure other things to. Its easy to run a bit of webbing from the deck fitting screws to the railing to hold bottles or containers where they can be easily accessed from the seat.

Clockwise: Sponge, food, tow rope, piss bottle

You can see from the pic that the whole rudder assembly/footbrace has been raised. This was done because whilst driving with my feet the point of contact was right accross my arches - the weakest part of the foot. With it raised its the balls of the feet that I can push off.

More recently I added a bit of chopping board to create a full foot plate. Although you can't tell from the pic the black part is angled so together with the original fitting it makes for a strong and comfortable platform which is used to really engage the legs and drive that all important forward stroke. The plastic chopping board is screwed to the back of the existing assembly as well as secured to the railing with webbing and screws.

Raising the footbrace will improve your speed and endurance

This modification has resulted in a significant improvement to the speed and distance I can travel. I got the idea from looking at racing skis and the way they are paddled.

You can still shove stuff into the space behind the footbrace by forcing the rudder pedals back.

Rear Hatch Modification

The rear hatch cover is a bit of a weak point with The Mirage but its very easy to fix. The bungee has been reconfigured to cross the ends of the hatch cover as well as going accross it (only works on 530's). The fastex buckle makes it all sit flatter than the standard hook and the canvas eyelette holders help as well. The rear hatch cover has never budged (even when serioulsy trashed) and the entire compartment is always dry.

This is a standard Mirage seat that has been encapsulated in a thick yoga matt. You can fit 8 litres of water down the sides and behind the seat. The long 2 litre Platypus bottles fit perfectly down each side and you can fit 2 behind the seat.

Foam covered fibreglass seat - best of both worlds

One of the bottles can have a tube attached if its really rough or I'm doing a race. I can simply pull the tube up and clip it to my PFD for hands free hydration.

This is a Scotty attachment that can take many different fishing rod holders and other fittings. The one here is my default fitting (fender holder) that is useful for clipping things to and for locking the boat onto the roof racks. There is als a light post available for this fitting.

LED light inside compass

This is one of my favourites - an LED has been drilled into the compass and is powered from my main pump battery. This is very helpful for night time paddling if you have your barings written down and taped to your deck or skirt. See more DETAILED POST.

Another significant improvement is to cross the rudder cables over. To do this cut the cables near the rudder and pull them out through the cockpit. Pull the tubing out first through the day hatch and then into the rear hatch. Cross them over and push them back through. Now thread the cables back in and re sage. The point where the cables cross are behind the hatch so you won't even notice. This will really help with edging and surfing and if you ever have to paddle a rudderless boat or your own rudder breaks then you will be better skilled to handle it.

Meat & Potatoes

2009-08-03T16:42:00.011+10:00

From this . . . .

Peter, Dee, Harry, Ed & Andre prepare for launch

Our usual Saturday Morning Paddle is a good opportunity to knock out those K's in varying conditions.

to this

Dee

Andre

Winter Solstice Paddle

2009-06-21T12:55:00.015+10:00

This is how Harry Havu described one of the highlights of The NSWSKC trips calendar:

Winter Solstice Paddle

A paddle to explore the darkness of the longest night. The brave souls who choose to join this pod launch from Gunnamatta Bay and head out to the darkening sea as the sun sets. Rounding the black, forbidding cliffs of Kurnell, where swell pounds the unyielding rock with unforgiving anger, our fragile craft shall steer a heading toward Bear Island. Some say the island is haunted - don't go there at night! — we shall see, let's round the island. After 30 gruelling kilometres, the paddlers will return late at night, and no doubt, quietly remark amongst each other on the depth of darkness of the longest night.

Conditions were on the rough side with a white capping sea of about 1.5 metres on top of a 2 to 3 metre swell. The wind was around 12 to 16 knots from the North East. Heavy cloud and a few showers were also features of this moonless night.

There were five starters and as we headed out from Port Hacking my anxiety eased as I found the conditions to be quite manageable. The distant urban lights reflected off the clouds so it was not as dark as I had anticipated and there was enough visibility to see the approaching waves which enabled me to paddle the same as I would in daylight. The 15 KM trip into Botany Bay was only interrupted by a cargo ship exiting the bay. We waited for it and then, with all lights blazing crossed the shipping channel just as the accompanying pilot boat shot back in front of us, probably shaking their heads at the sight of kayakers out at sea on a rough and rainy winter’s night.

On rounding Bear Island two paddlers made the call that, due to nausea and tiredness, they had had enough and didn’t want to make the return journey. We all paddled across to Kurnell where we left them to catch a taxi back to their cars and then the three of us turned around and gunned it. I was pretty much in top gear from that moment on – partly to keep up with club heavy weights Harry Havu & Keith Oakford and partly because the trip back had me outside my comfort zone and my preeminent thought was getting back into Port Hacking.

Heading back we had the wind and sea behind us which made for some hellish rides but it took me quite a while to relax as unlike the trip out we were looking away from the city so it was now much darker.

Like so many situations in Sea kayaking, how you cope is a mind game above all else. Because I’d had a couple of breakers hit me unexpectedly and took off a few times on waves I didn’t see coming I was a bit anxious. I told myself to just chill, stop thinking the worse and paddle the sea like I normally would. It helped that Harry sometimes zoomed past yahooing as he rode the steeper sets, a ghostly figure often appearing ever so briefly before disappearing in front of a cresting wave. Once I changed mind sets I too started to paddle hard for the rides rather than going into cautious mode every time I felt the stern get picked up. It wasn’t long before we left the rougher cliff section and began our crossing of Bate Bay where many a midnight ride was had. We encountered some noisy penguins and paddled into a few gannets which were almost invisible as they took off around us. Another hour and a half and we were back in Port Hacking and soon after were in dry clothes and heading home.

The thought that I take with me from this paddle is that we don’t paddle this boat or that – we paddle the ocean and the conditions and circumstances we find ourselves in when we're out there.

Broughton Island

2009-05-26T10:20:00.015+10:00

Broughton Island - 24 & 25th of May.

Whilst inside a gauntlet a wave came through. There was only one thing to do - paddle like hell! Lucky for me I got up just enough speed to get through.

Rough conditions going out through Port Stephens

James Johnson

steep waves, almost standing

rounding the north east point of Broughton Is.

Esmeralda Cove

Ian Vaile
Mark Schroeder takes on the slot. Moments after he goes through it turns to froth but luckily he makes it through without splitting his head open (as happened to Commodore Mike).

We turn towards home to witness a humpback do a full breach right in front of us. A whale then goes in close to Cons Cleft.

We paddle back to Port Stephens at a fast pace - and finish off a fantastic two days. Photos by Matt, Ian & Mark.

Sydney Coast Line

2009-05-19T18:53:00.010+10:00

As autum sets in the coast gets more desserted. Even the VHF is quiet. Perfect!

and our local Sydney waters from a different perpspective: Looking South from Dover Heights at an often paddled route from Sydney Heads to Bondi Beach (8 KM)
And North to the entrance to Sydney Harbour - The HeadsDiamond Bay

We Sydneysiders are fortunate to have wilderness on water right at our doorstep. The only thing missing is more SEA kayakers!

Kayak Storage

2009-05-12T16:03:00.003+10:00

I met a bloke who told me he'd like to get into kayaking but doesn't have enough storage space.

Thats no excuse!

Sea Kayak - Not Just a Toy

2009-03-31T10:38:00.015+11:00

The NSWSKC held its annual Rock'n'Roll Weekend at Umina on the central coast. A few of us decided to paddle up. Fortunatly I live within portaging distance of the harbour at Glebe so I could avoid driving to the launch. As my neighbours left for work I left for four days of kayak paddling, kayak talking, kayak gawking and, well kayaking everything.

Sea Kayak - A viable means of transport

After surviving the ferries I met Mark Schroeder at Watsons Bay and we paddled out The Heads. As there was a strong wind warning it ended up being just the two of us.

out to sea

Once outside we had a solid SE wind of between 15 & 20 Knots, a good following sea also helped push us along. It took 6 hours 30 minutes to get to Pearl Beach where we gorged ourselves.

The kayak fest at Maitland Bay the next day

Larry Gray demonstrates an exotic stroke

I decided to join a trip with Paul Loker to Palm Beach. A gentle paddle . . . . perhaps not.

Tony Murphy demonstrates some superb bracing as he gets side surfed into the beach. He made it without going over.

My own beach landing was similar: Paddled into the "zone". Look behind, too big let it pass, jeez these are big. I thought this was going to be an easy day. NOW - GO, paddle like hell, look behind, OH shit, crunch time! I paddle hard, the wave breaks just behind me, I feel the boat being sucked back but keep paddling until I'm sucked into the white water, boat is on edge and braced hard into the wave, somehow I end up facing out to sea as the next wave hits this time sucking me into a brace on the other side where I side surf in, similar to Tony, onto the sand.

Oddly enough the rest of the group decides not to follow us in and so they paddle over to the southern corner where they land. Paul Loker comes back and lands in the middle of the beach where Tony and I are staring at the surf trying to work out how we are going to get out. He follows my trajectory almost exactly, surfs in, broaches right, spins to face out to sea, broaches left and ends up in reverse at the very end.

Paul Loker is still in there - somewhere

The sets are quite big and the breakers are a long way off the beach. Its hard to pick a line out. It would be highly likely that we'd be surfed backwards if we tried to punch out so we portage the three boats to the southern corner, have lunch and paddle out from the protected corner. So much for the gentle paddle!

Monday Morning and Cathy Miller, Mark Schroeder and I head back home.

This time we have a head wind of between 10 & 12 knots, building sea and a bit of swell. My barometre is dropping and the clouds spell "wind". We set a good pace, do not land and rarley stop.

I get the best welcome home ever from Megs & Amy after exactly 8 hours & 50 km

One last push/pull and I'm home - no car used all weekend!

So a sea kayak really can be used as a vehicle. It could be the answer to the troubled Sydney Ferries, scrap them and build kayak lockers at Circular Quay, now wouldn't that be progressive!

Tuesday Night

2009-03-18T11:35:00.008+11:00

Chris & Rob

Mark

Dolphins

Tim (of Sea Kayak Forum.com)

The word is out - Tuesday Paddles are getting popular with yesterday being a near record with 14 paddlers. Good conditons for getting up close & personal with the cliffs of South Head. Check out a description with more photos on Mark Sundin's blog.

Bonito off Bondi

2009-02-16T14:22:00.005+11:00

Bonito's are in town. Caught this beauty off North Bondi. As the media says there are a lot of fish around at the moment which is great. Unbelievably some people think we should be culling them or bringing back the commercial fisho's to stop the sharks coming in!

Its the ocean, its their world even more than ours.

Nadgee Wilderness Coast

2009-01-24T20:10:00.038+11:00

Andre Janecki and I spent a week exploring some of the fantastic coastline of The Nadgee Wilderness. We left Eden and headed South - and that was about the only plan we had.

Calm conditions on day one meant we could land in usually hard to get to spots

There was some heavy weather in the preceeding few weeks. Sometimes even the experts falter

At high tide all these rocks were invisible

It seems every beach has its resident goanna - this one was enjoying the dead seal

With heatwave conditions it felt like we were in the tropics - apart from the cold water!

A massive Leatherback Turtle checks Andre out

and then swims under my kayak

Green Cape

Octupus

and the ocean gave way to a quiet backwater

I followed it to the end

and beyond

We found a cave to sit in during the afternoon thunderstorms

Comfortable in our little cave we were laughing

We discovered some fantastic sea caves

this one went back for some thirty metres and even had little bats!

We turned North and paddled back to Eden

The weather was calm but there were a few squalls which quickly whipped the sea up. Even with low swells and moderate winds some landings and launchings had the heart racing. It would require considerable skill to land at these beaches in anything but the most benign conditions. I was fortunate to have my first experience of this very special bit of coast with Andre who is a highly skilled paddler with a lot of experience in The Nadgee area.

Macro Shots

2009-01-04T18:01:00.002+11:00

Underwater Macro with Pentax WP10

Morning tea stop just around the corner from the entrance to Broken Bay

Calm inside - not so outside, the Nor Easters are here!

Bruce McNaughton

Training Day

2009-01-03T17:57:00.000+11:00

John & Pete practice rescues

"Dolphins"

Aquanaut

2008-12-18T21:52:00.001+11:00

Tonight I had the pleasure of paddling a Valley Aquanaut. Quite a different boat to the Mirage 530.

Rob ON South Head

We came back to a gathering storm

Moments after this shot a cold gusty wind with rain hit us

And it passed soon after. Another pleasant paddle off Sydney Heads. I just hope this summers rainy with lots of storms so paddling isn't ruined by stink boats.

Botany Bay to Double Bay

2008-11-29T13:26:00.002+11:00

As neither of us had been doing much paddling lately we thought we'd get back into it with a decent trip. We organised to put in at the very convenient Frenchman's Beach at La perouse and hit the water at 11.30. It was pretty blowy and we had to work hard to get to Cape Banks but once there we turned northward and, with a good wind behind us literally took off. I hoisted sail and had a fantastic time riding waves. Mark Schroeder was also flying along at a good rate, so fast a paddler he doesn't need a sail.

Spot the Schroeder

a 20 Knot South Easter made for great paddling conditions and we landed at Bondi Beach two hours after launching.

Another hour and we were at South Head. The final harbour leg took over an hour of hard slugging into what seemed like very strong winds to our finish spot at Double Bay.

Bass Strait Direct

2008-11-22T15:38:00.005+11:00

Stuart Trueman has crossed Bass Strait direct, no islands, no nothing.

Stuart Trueman

Congratulations Stuart, what a legend!

North to Shelly Beach

2008-11-08T20:22:00.000+11:00

Two of us headed around to Shelly Beach which is a bit of a magnet for Sea Kayakers

Mark Schroeder

We met up with 7 club paddlers and came back to the heads with them

Mark Sundin - Matching hat & hull

Rob Mercer - Matching everything

Peddle to Wollongong to Paddle to Sydney

2008-11-03T16:41:00.008+11:00

Mark Anderson called a while ago with an idea for a trip. His plan was to do The MS Sydney to Wollongong bike ride and then paddle back to Sydney. So that’s what we did.

I started my ride from Glebe, got to the official start at St Peters and began just before 7. Mark and I met up soon after and we more or less did the ride together finishing around midday. Admittedly Mark beat me to the finish but then he has a carbon fibre racing bike and wears lycra and special bike shoes whilst I have a heavy hybrid and wear sandals.

Marks wife met us at the finish and we rode a few hundred metres to Wollongong Harbour where we swapped our bikes for the kayaks. The day had turned grey and there was a solid North Easterly blowing. We packed our boats, had a chat to the coast guard who were watching us, said our goodbyes and off we went.

We paddled into the wind at a speed of only 5 km p/hr and landed at Coledale Beach after a three hour slog.

Coledale

Mark crawled to his tent and fell asleep before he'd even got in

The next day a strong wind warning was issued and this made Mark want to abandon the trip. Although there was a strong wind warning it would be from the south west, with a southerly change later, all good seeing we were going north. I argued that we could duck under the cliffs for shelter and if the southerly change came before we got to Little Marley, where I wanted to camp, then good – we’d get a free ride. The other big plus was that there wasn't much swell which meant we had various pull out options. Mark was still not convinced and as I punched out through the surf I wasn’t entirely sure he was going to come. Once past the break zone I turned to see a grumpy faced Mark getting set to launch. As I watched him paddle through the surf I thought “if he gets trashed here I’m in big trouble” but thankfully he made it out unscathed.

Conditions turned out to be absolutely perfect although the cirrocumulus clouds warn of the approaching change

The wind was blowing quite solidly from the south west so we hoisted our sails, a new experience for both of us. The conditions, the wind and the sails made for a fantastic day on the water. We flew along the Royal National Park coastline enjoying long rides on the following sea. When the wind became too strong we’d simply paddle in closer to the cliffs effectively turning the wind up or down depending on how far out we chose to paddle. As we turned the corner into Port Hacking we felt the full force of the SW wind and had to work hard for the last stretch to the Bundeena ferry wharf. We had a huge hamburger and milkshake before finishing up for the day at the National Park Camp site at Bonnivale.

Near North Era

By Tuesday morning the effects of the southerly change and associated fronts were obvious – it was raining and very windy. Our morning negotiations were again in full swing as we packed up ready to at least have a look at what it would be like outside. We pushed off and I hoisted my sail. Adrenalin was up as I felt the wind blasting from behind. My GPS showed a speed of over 13 km p/hr and we hadn’t even cleared Bate Bay! I figured we could be at Sydney Heads within 4 hours! But alas it wasn’t to be. Mark blew his whistle and indicated that there would be no way he was going to go outside in those conditions so without hesitation we both turned around and headed to Cronulla where our trip ended – amicably!

I made my way home by train & tram, collected the car and came back for Mark and the Boats. It was a great little trip that we both thoroughly enjoyed.

Wind was around 30 knots from the south with gusts hitting 40

Dolphin Action

2008-10-07T14:42:00.001+11:00

Nine paddlers showed up for last Tuesdays paddle. As soon as we rounded the corner at Watsons Bay I new from the large number of gulls around that something was going on. As we hit South Head Andre and I broke from the group to go investigate.

Soon we were in amongst a huge school of Australian Salmon. They were feeding on the surface, mouths wide open sucking in some tiny food source which I suspect were shrimp about 4 mm long. To add to the spectacle hundreds of gulls, some terns and a couple of cormorants were also working the frenzy. The sheer size of this school which I estimate to have been at least 20 x 30 metres (and thats just what was on the surface) was exciting enough but what happened next really blew us away.The sea in front us erupted. The fish were splashing the surface as the predators came charging in from three sides. At first we didn't know what was going on except that there was something big involved. To our great relief we soon realised that it was dolphins that had launched the attack. The surface quickly went quiet as the fish dived. Now dolphins were popping up all over the place. Not far from us two dolphins shot clean out of the water, somersaulted and landed with hardly a splash. I was snapping away with my little camera but as is often the case the photos were all duds. Out of focus, water on the lens, too far away and missed shots beacause of that dam shutter lag. As a result I got this could have been a great shot!
We caught up to the group, none of who had noticed a thing!

I'm thinking of retiring my Nikon D2H and sacrificing it for a season of kayaking shots.
A few weeks ago there were three seals off South Head, there are whales coming down the coast and now large Pods of Dolphins. It seems this is the time for wildlife spotting!

Big Sunday

2008-08-24T23:11:00.000+10:00

Conditions were not as rough as the previous day but were still interesting. According to the weather history (Sunday 24/8/08) wind was between 15 & 31 Knots starting out from the West and then turning South. Swell was in the vicinity of between 4 & 6 metres. Two of us went for a jaunt from Watsons Bay to Coogee & back.

This is what it looked like through the little camera.

There were no boats out here today except for a single kayak heading towards us somewhere off Dover Heights - Who could this be? Non other than Stuart Trueman who had paddled from Botany Bay and was heading into the harbour. He intended to also finish at Botany Bay!!

Jervis Bay (again)

2008-07-17T23:00:00.000+10:00

Five of us went down to Jervis Bay to paddle what some believe to be the most spectacular bit of coast in NSW - Beecroft Peninsular. This time it wasn't only the geography that caught our attention.

Whilst the pope was giving his blessing to the masses in Sydney Ian received his blessing directly

whilst Cathy visited the cathedral

Jimmy, TJ, Ian & Cathy

Tuesday Night

2008-06-06T21:54:00.001+10:00

Some pics from our regular Tuesday afternoon club paddle. Thanks to Rob Mercer for leading this paddle week in week out rain hail or shine.

Wind

Rocks
Waves

Sea

Swell

Owen Kimberley

Rescues

Umm . . . I think I forgot something
Shaan & Adrian take Paul on board while his boat gets adjusted at sea

More Rescues

and no session is complete without rolling practice

Batemans Bay to Ulladulla

2008-05-13T08:48:00.000+10:00

The stretch of coast between Batemans Bay and Ulladulla on The NSW South Coast is mostly within The Murramarang National Park, has lots of bays, coves and islands to explore and is within a half a days drive of Sydney. So Mark Schroeder, Mark Anderson, Terry Walsh and me went down for a bit of a look.

Reasonably calm conditions opened up lots of landing possibilities

Looking out from Oakey Beach

From dawn till dusk Terry didn't stop smiling the whole time

Slight seas didn't necessarily mean adrenalin free launches

Dark Beach is the southern most point of Sydney Basin Sandstone - the difference can be seen between the northern and the southern halves

The bush is mainly spotted gums with an understory of Burrawangs and is surprisingly open

This unnamed cove didn't look to be that good a camping spot until . . .

We went bush a bit and found a perfect hidden spot

complete with ocean views

packing the boats

Calm conditions with a following sea made for easy paddling

but things picked up a bit in the afternoon

On the inside of Crampton Island we found a bit of paradise and had a long lunch

We then headed off in search of a camp. After not finding anything suitable we headed to Ulladulla. Mark Schroeder and I went in to a break zone for a final ride. Mark Anderson and Terry then came in behind us and suddenly found themselves on a breaking wave. A collision and capsize seemed imminent but Terry braced hard and Mark maneuvered down the face and both made it through unscathed. The trip ended at Ulladulla where we set up camp in a park.

White Faced Herons

Now I know why so many paddlers go on about The South Coast - Its a great place to paddle

Calm water paddling

2008-03-09T11:19:00.000+11:00

After the carnage at Maitland Bay it was good to do a nice quiet harbour paddle directly from home. This is becoming a regular thing and there is a smattering of paddlers putting in at various inner harbour locations and meeting at Blues Point at 7.30 every Saturday. It takes me 30 minutes to get to Blues Point from the pristine waters of Rozelle Bay where there is now a new beach and dedicated kayak launching facility. Good on Sydney City Council!

While there are no waves or bommies in this part of the harbour there are other hazards

I'd take my chances in gale force winds on the ocean over a sunny Sunday on The Harbour. At least waves and rocks are more predictable than power boats! Its usually not too bad Saturday Mornings - especially if its rainy or overcast and can be almost deserted in Winter.

We usually hit Sydney Heads by about 8.30 and depending on the group either go for coffee at Manly on the inside or round to Shelly Beach on the outside.

Thinking about a sight like this 238 years ago sent a shiver up my spine

Today we went to Shelly where we were greeted by some wonderful scenery

The Bower

Bennelong Point

Trashed off Killcare

2008-03-03T12:13:00.001+11:00

Have you ever paddled past one of those big breaking Bomboras and wondered what would happen if you got caught up in one? On a recent trip from Brooklyn to Maitland Bay three of us found out - the hard way.

Joanne & Mark, Paul, Kate and I left Parsley Bay at Brooklyn with the aim of going to Maitland Bay and back, a trip of about 40 KM. The day was overcast with a few showers and the wind, while predicted to be up to 25 Knots (Seal Rocks to Broken Bay) was between 10 and 20 and blowing from the South East. The Sea was white capped and there was a solid 3 metre swell. We paddled through bumpy conditions to Maitland Bay where there were some good rides to be had on the swell entering the bay. Logically we would have landed in the Southern corner but as we approached the beach it looked as if it was the Northern end that would offer the easiest landing, probably because there is a big reef just off shore that was a maelstrom of whitewater and seemed to be taking most of the power out of the waves which were hitting the beach in a nasty little shore dump.

We landed uneventfully in good spirits and a sunny break in the weather to have lunch.

Launching was not exactly elegant for most of us and Kate got broached just as she hit the water and ended up in the sand wash. A sore shoulder ensued. We paddled out into a rough ocean. I took a nice wake up drenching as a breaker hit me from the side. Being in unfamiliar waters I decided to follow Mark who was leading his first grade three ocean trip. There are quite a few bomboras scattered about this section of coast but as the swell was big they were obvious - huge crashing waves rising high above the surrounding ocean. We were taking a route through the middle of two of these, which Paul wasn't comfortable with. He had stated earlier that we should go right around the outside, well clear of the lot of them. Turns out he was right. We paddled along in a close group, Paul out front followed by Kate, with me on the inside and Mark less than two metres to my port side. Joanne, I think, was trailing behind Mark.

The wave appeared suddenly. It was coming broad side and I pointed out to Mark that we needed to turn into it - fast. At this stage I thought it was just a big swell wave, as we had been experiencing a few big ones since leaving Maitland Bay but this just kept steepening, so much so that Marks boat simply fell onto mine and we both tumbled down the face of this huge wave.
It broke and we got chundered. It was not possible to know if I was being hit by Marks boat or not as the breaking wave unleashed its force on top of us. It finally passed and I tried to roll but the water was turbulent and my paddle leash was now next to the blade. I was running out of air and tried one more roll but simply found myself under the next breaking wave. Although not as powerful as the first this was far more scary as I was now past my breath holding comfort zone. The wave passed and I popped out holding onto my boat for dear life. There was another Bommie further in and I wasn't sure if I was now heading for that. Joanne, having avoided the initial wave went to rescue her husband who was also in the water. Another big breaker came through and cleaned up Joanne too. Mark let go of his boat to help her and they ended up in the water together.

There was a lonely silence as I tried to work out where everyone was and what the damage was. I saw Mark & Joanne in front of me, on the sea side and then got hit by another wave. When I came up from that one Mark & Joanne were behind me, probably because I still had a death grip on my kayak and they were on their own. I didn't know if we were clear or if there was still more to come. Kate was now paddling towards me. I found myself yelling at her to "watch out behind" as there were the ever present breaking waves behind her. The last thing we wanted at this stage was for her to get knocked in too. I then saw Paul in the distance who unbeknown to me had paddled clear and let off a flare. Kate came over to me and attached her tow rope. Mark and Joanne were in the water behind us and the plan was to get me back in my boat so that together Kate and I could go and tow Mark and Joanne which is what we did. Kate had Joanne hold her Stern and I had Mark hold mine. Just then a surf rescue IRB (Inflatable Rescue Boat) appeared and took Mark & Joanne on board. We were out of the danger zone. I saw the bow of Marks boat and went over to see if I could retrieve it but it was completly flooded and immovable.

We regrouped and talked to the Surf Rescue guys. It was decided that the IRB take Joanne and Mark in to Putty Beach and Kate, Paul and I paddle in. The three of us paddled in to the north side of the beach as suggested by Surf Rescue and witnessed a monstrous set come through. No discussion was needed as the three of us turned around and headed back out to sea.

Paul's hand held smoke flare had definitely worked . It turns out that calls were made to the Police, the Coastguard and Surf Rescue and now we had boats from all three agencies on the scene. The police launch stayed back a bit and coordinated the coastguard boat by radio, wary of coming in too close. It was decided to escort the three remaining kayakers back into Broken Bay so we headed back.

As we neared Broken Bay and conditions became calmer the Police and The Coastguard decided to take us aboard. The Police loaded Paul and his boat and the Coast Guard took Kate and her boat. They clipped a line on to my bow and towed me - as if I hadn't already had enough excitement for one day. Once I realised I could lean on to a low brace onto the back of my paddle for support they took off and we were at Little Patonga Beach in no time, Paul having already been dropped off was waiting for us on the beach.

The three of us wasted no time in paddling the last few kilometers back to Parsley Bay.

We loaded our kayaks and drove to Putty Beach to meet Joanne and Mark. Once there it was hand shakes and hugs all around. We had quite an ordeal but we did what we could for each other and all came out of it OK. Mine and Marks Boats were quite badly damaged, Marks severely.

It seems the force of the initial wave was so powerful that the kayaks couldn't take it. My boat has two vertical splits on the hull, one on either side almost in the centre of the boat which suggests it was almost folded. Marks has a split seam and snapped towards the stern. What actually broke the boats I'm not entirely sure. I could still paddle mine as although it was taking water it was only entering the cockpit and I could pump & sponge it out. Remarkably the bow and stern hatches of my boat were bone dry!

The worst thing about the whole incident is that I lost my favorite hat. Joanne & Mark may not entirely agree but then again they still make Mirages while the new version of my hat is nowhere near as good as the original. If anyone out there finds a ragged looking hat with a foam brim that has a bit of fluro cloth tied on please let me know!

P.S. There are a few points regarding the damaged boats that need to be made. I don't think any boat would have fared any better than our Mirage Sea Kayaks in this incident. My boat, a Fibreglass Mirage 530, collided with Marks 580 (Kevlar Hull) in the wave and I suspect this is what caused most of the initial damage to that boat. The fatal blow to Marks Mirage 580 was made by a dumping wave as it washed up on to the beach - full of water. This was also how the other boat was (slightly) damaged. My Mirage 530, having survived the initial two waves and a cartwheel maintained its integrity and its solid buoyancy was very reassuring. Its also worth remembering that I paddled back to Broken Bay with it.

It has been pointed out that we were very lucky. A quick search has revealed an astounding history of wrecks on West Reef with more than 100 lives lost. For any of our kayaks to have survived at all is testament to the quality of their construction. I am also grateful to Mirage Sea Kayaks for fixing my boat within a few days at very reasonable cost.

The good people at Gurney Gears sent me another hat the same as the original so all is good!

The dumbed down and sanitised version as it appeared in The NSWSKC Magazine can be seen HERE. Whilst the lessons learned bit is good I do wonder what happened to the good old adventure tale that made the club magazine such a good read in the past.

Kayaking around Sydney

2007-10-30T10:47:00.000+11:00

Some pics of typical paddling scenes from around Sydney and surrounds. I hope they inspire more people to enjoy our great harbour and magnificent coast in the best way possible - from a Sea Kayak!

Juvenile Black Browed Albatross

Just inside the entrance to Sydney Harbour

Pelican - The Biggest Beak on Earth

TJ catches a wave

Underneath a wharf at Pyrmont

North Head

Looking towards Sydney CBD from Watsons Bay on our regular Tuesday Night Club Trip

This is on a day trip from Frenchmans Beach, Botany Bay to Rose Bay in The Harbour

Rob Mercer ROLLING an IMPEX

A Humpback dives off North Head (Sat 2nd June 07)

Rainy days are good - you get the harbour to yourself!

Under Sail

Drum & Drumsticks - Beecroft Peninsular. Can you see the 3rd kayaker?

Hawkesbury Classic 2007

2007-10-28T17:50:00.003+11:00

The Hawkesbury Classic. If you love paddling you'll love this event!

Hawkesbury Canoe Classic

Classic night is one long night

Mark with his ground crew & wife Catherine. At least one of them looks to be having fun.

Wismans Ferry round midnight

What a night - Mark did it in 12:07 with a short break and I did it in 12:22 non stop. Next time I'm doing it in a Mirage 580 or some other fast boat. Last time it took me 12:57 (including a 30 min stop) using a wing paddle. This time I used a flat blade - conclusion - wing or flat makes no difference when paddling a sea kayak! I felt much less fatigued when I finished this time which I also attribute to the flat paddle.

All photos in this post (Hawkesbury Classic 2007) by Steve Tarrant. Thanks for ground crewing Steve!

Survivor Weekend 25th & 26th of August 2007

2007-08-26T11:15:00.000+10:00

Participants:

Stuart Trueman (Leader)

Paul Loker (2 IC)

Mark Schroeder

Mark Anderson

Roger Boardman

David Page

Terry Walsh

Stephan Meyn

Matt Bezzina

“A weekend of tests to challenge individuals” was how Stuart Trueman described and conducted this years Survivor Weekend.

Saturday morning saw us unloading boats and gear early as our brief included the line: “At 0859 you will be standing by your kayaks, cars locked, keys packed with nothing to do before getting on the water. Those running the weekend are not expecting to have to motivate participants”.

Not surprisingly everyone was ready early. We were soon heading out of Shoal Bay towards Cabbage Tree Island. On arrival we zigzagged over to Boondelbah Island and from there turned towards our days destination, Broughton Island. Stuart quizzed the group as to our ETA and as it was about 12 KM the estimates ranged from one

and a half to two and a half hours. The conservatives got it because half way there Stuart had us tie bungee cords around the hulls of the boats to simulate a heavier load. This on top of the sea water ballast we were carrying really did make a difference. It wasn’t long before a couple of litres of sea water were poured into everyone’s front hatch as a test to make sure that everything was properly waterproofed.

Once we arrived at the island we all went through the obligatory Cons Cleft – and all got through without incident. It was the breakers over the reef across from Esmeralda Cove which gave one member a swim. Following this we had to
demonstrate our off side roll which resulted in a couple more swimmers. As we approached the beach around the other side we were ordered to bail out and swim the boats into the beach. This resulted in mass swimmers! On landing we were given ten minutes to be changed into dry clothes and have a hot cup of tea in hand. After a written test we were free to find somewhere to set up our tents – easier said then done seeing we were on a beach that gets submerged at high tide and the top of the
banks were infested with prickly pear.

Sunday we were to be ready to go by 6! This had us up in the dark packing away tents and trying to fuel up on breakfast. Stuart and Paul paddled around from their civilized camp spot on the other side and came up to the weary eyed group. As he looked out at the dead calm and peaceful lee side of the island towards Myall Beach Stuart said “Look at those huge dumpers – theres no way we can launch from here. We’ll have to do a portage over the island”. And that was our morning, lugging all our gear and seven boats up the rough track over the top of the island and down to Esmeralda Cove on the other side where Stuart and Paul sat having breakfast and coffee. Once over there we made a call to the coast guard via the radio on the island and then headed off. The swell was up a bit from the previous day and Cons Cleft was looking quite hilly.

Mark Schroeder was first through with me following. A year ago when I first went through it was a scary experience as I copped a big wave whilst in there and got smashed into the side. I managed to stay upright but my boat took a bit of a beating and lost a lot of gel coat. This time it was probably just as rough but a year worth of experience made all the difference and I took time to look around and take in a bit of this spectacular feature. I came out and turned quickly to get a few photos of the others as they came out – all grinning from ear to ear.

Mark Anderson

David Page

As Terry Walsh came through so did a big wave. It reared up behind him and knocked him over. As I was thinking how best to conduct a rescue, as I’m sure were Paul and Stuart who were holding position inside the cleft waiting for the wave to pass, Terry rolled up beautifully and powered past – the happiest face imaginable!

After that we did a navigation exercise before landing just next to Dark Point on Myall Beach where we had lunch. After a surf launch we headed back. Once out past the breakers progress was good, a slight head wind but way short of the predicted 20 knots, a bit of rain and a nice swell. I was just getting into the zone and really cruising well when Stuarts dreaded whistle blew. We gathered round as he suggested we follow him in to the surf. Mark Schroeder, myself and Mark Anderson blindly followed. As he approached the surf zone Stuart did a roll which I think he does as some kind of preparation for battle.

The swell suddenly got much steeper and as Stuart and Mark Schroeder turned to seaward to avoid a big wave Mark Anderson and I found ourselves side on to a big breaker. At this point I decided to roll under it so as to avoid being pummelled into the beach but as I leaned hard into it I found myself in a perfect broach position, the lean became an edge into a high brace and I enjoyed the best broach ride I’ve ever had, all the way to the beach where I landed quite nicely. Mark didn’t have quite as nice a landing and ended up being pounded, eventually landing about thirty metres down the beach from where I was. We both turned our boats around and stood there on the beach staring at the quite solid surf in front of us. The feeling of jubilation I had from making it in unscathed was quickly replaced by feelings of anxiety as I wondered how the hell we were going to get back out!

Mark and I met for a discussion but there wasn’t much to say. We were in the best spot with a light rip going out in front of us but still there were breaking waves right across and they didn’t seem to be getting any smaller.

I went back to my boat and sensed a lull. I quickly got in and knuckled into the surf. As soon as I was afloat I paddled like hell – through the first small breaker and then through the next more sizable wall of white water. I saw a clear run and paddled with all I had. I thought I’d made it and tried to catch my breath as another wave appeared before me – a bloody big one. I paddled with all I was worth and just managed to get my blade over the crest to make it over. Next thing I experienced the biggest free fall I’d ever had as I dropped over the back of a now crashing wave, the laden boat adding to the impact. I paddled over to the group who were waiting patiently out the back. Mark hadn’t been so lucky on that last wave and had been collected and washed back to shore. As the group had now been waiting for some time Paul Loker went in to give Mark a hand. He was in and out in no time and made my whole experience a little anti climatic!

A short time later Roger Boardman had his boat lifted out of the water by something big enough to lift his boat out of the water. He had teeth marks on his now bent metal rudder and Paul noted a large swirl. I had seen a shark the day before but it was too far away to make a positive identification. That sighting helped with motivation during the swim landing and after Rogers experience no more rolling was done – except by Mark Anderson who’s obviously not afraid of sharks.

That was to be our last adrenalin dose for the weekend as we paddled back to Shoal Bay. Not so for Stuart who snuck between a rock and a lot of whitewater. On rounding North Head we were greeted by some dolphins.

This was a trip with a difference and one of the best things I’ve done with The NSWSKC club. I think the objectives of the weekend were well and truly met – that is to test yourself (and your buddies) in an expedition environment. It was a good bunch of blokes who worked well together and made it a truly enjoyable weekend despite (or because of) the Trueman induced hardships.

If your thinking of doing a serious trip I would recommend you take this challenge on with anyone your planning to go away with – as someone once said you can learn more about a man by paddling with him for an hour then you can from a year of conversation.

Norah Head to Sydney

2007-01-20T13:38:00.000+11:00

Mark Anderson and I put in at Norah Head on the North Coast and paddled south with aim of going to Sydney. We did the trip in a somewhat leisurely time of three days.

Launch Spot-Norah Head boat ramp

With a nice North East swell running, and the wind also from the NE, we made excellent time paddling up to 3KM off shore. On arriving at Terrigal for lunch after 23KM we negotiated a break across the bay and landed for lunch amongst the hordes of tourists and day trippers.

After lunch we paddled a further 8KM to Little Bay. Having never been in this area before neither of us new what we were looking for but after carefully looking at our map I was convinced that what appeared to be the bottom of an unbroken cliff line was in fact our destination. The wind had been consistent all day and the sea was up to about 1.5 Metres on top of a NE Swell. From where we sat it looked pretty threatening but being sure we were in the right place, now with the added certainty of a GPS reading we decided to head in. We paddled into the zone and were immediately surfed in. On racing down a wave I noticed we were surfing over a nasty reef. Luckily we both handled our surf ride well and landed between a couple of rocks on the beach where we set up camp.

Ideal Camp spot on Little Beach

Day 2 Mark took off with such enthusiasm that it took me quite a while to find him in the swell outside.

We then paddled around the corner to discover another camping possibility:

Caves Bay - enough room for one small tent

We then paddled into the beautiful and well protected Maitland Bay for a brew and a sunbake.
The rest of the day had us paddle into Broken Bay and finish up at the very end of Patonga Creek where we set up camp in sweltering heat to the deafening sound of ciccadas. Paddling up this still mangrove lined backwater was a real contrast to being on the ocean.

Patonga Creek

The next day we were to paddled non stop for 44KM back to Little Manly Beach in Sydney Harbour BUT we got to Palm Beach where we agreed we'd wimp out. Mark called his lovely wife Catherine to come pick us up and so ended our little trip - I would have liked to have been able to say we did the whole trip but then again we kayak for fun not bragging rights and besides we'd done the stretch from Sydney to Palm Beach in a day trip a few weeks previously (excuse).

All in all a great trip which I'm sure I'll do again, maybe in reverse.

Beecroft Peninsular Jervis Bay

2006-07-16T15:28:00.000+10:00

This was to be a NSWSKC two day trip to circumnavigate Beecroft Peninsular, at Jervis Bay. The group was large with at least ten novices, four advanced sea skilled paddlers and two instructors but even with this generous ratio of experienced to novices it was decided in pouring rain on Saturday morning not to do the circumnavigation as the sea state and wind were up - wind was NW up to 30 Knots and the swell was more than three meters. Although we were not going to go all the way round it was decided that we should go to sea for a feel of the conditions, so we launched our boats and headed out.

It wasn't long before we had our first swimmer

Lucky for Katherine Mark Anderson was straight on to the rescue

and reassured the victim

Of course if it was any of the lads who had gone in Mark would have enjoyed a sandwich instead.

The next day conditions had improved. The wind had died down to between 10 & 15 Knots but the swell was still running at up to 3 metres. The circumnavigation was on!

Currarong Beach

We split into two groups and set off for Honeymoon Bay which would be about 10KM and a portage shy of a complete circumnavigation. The conditions were bouncy and a few in the first group swam, some more than once. Everyone in the 2nd group was fine.

Bouncy conditions near Gumgetters

The 2nd group caught up to the 1st group and we all paddled into Boat Harbour for lunch.
After that we went around the corner where some of us explored a through tunnel that goes for about 30 metres. Soon after we landed at the beautiful Honeymoon Bay where we ended our trip.

Here are some more pics of Beecroft Peninsular taken on subsequent trips.

Magnificent Arches that can be paddled through

Gumgetters on a calm day

Full Circumnavigation done on the 24th June 07

Solar powered battery charger for bilge pump & devices

2005-06-11T12:12:00.001+10:00

The system described here has been in my boat for nearly two years and the batteries are still in good condition, nothing has corroded and it hasn't failed. Apart from that I'm not an electrician and don't claim to know that much about electronics but it works and my kayak hasn't exploded.

The idea of having a solar charger is that the system is completely self sufficient - it will keep your batteries in good condition and your pump ready to go even if you never touch your batteries. With a cigarette lighter adapter wired into your battery case you can also charge pretty much anything that you can charge from a car - and that means DC chargers are available for practically any battery or device. I have found cheap devices on EBAY to charge my Pentax Optio WP battery (which doesn't have this option at all according to Pentax), Sony Handy Cam batteries, USB charger for an MP3 player, Nikon chargers, mobile phone and with this system you always have a bank of charged AA NiMH batteries for your GPS, torch, radio or whatever else you can think of.

The solar panel I use is a UniSolar 5 watt flexible panel. It is fully waterproof and very robust. Mine has had many full submersions in seawater and continues to work fine.
I can put the panel on to the boat if I'm going on an expedition or simply plug it in with an extension lead from the panel mounted on my garage door so that either way batteries are

always charged and in good nick.Thats the gel acid battery under the EBAY DC battery charger.
There are two sets of batteries in the Pelican 1060 box - one 12 Volt lead acid and the other a 10 pack of AA NiMH 1.2 Volt (10 x 1.2 = 12) and they are wired in parallel to provide a robust 12 Volts (usually measures in at 14.5). Also in the box is a solar charge controller which regulates the current coming in from the panel so that the batteries won't get over charged.
If the panel is not connected to the system regularly then the AA's will slowly drain the Lead Acid Battery so if you are going to have your panel off for a length of time I would suggest you isolate the two battery packs or use just one type - either NiMH AA's or Gel Acid. The Gel Acid will hold charge on its own for a lot longer than the NiMH's.

It goes without saying that seawater and electronics don't mix so its worth going through the effort to thoroughly waterproof the whole system. The Pelican Box is waterproof and by putting grommetts through small holes and being willing to spend a few minutes swearing you can push the wires through to make a watertight seal. By doing this everything will still work fine even if your day hatch gets flooded.
These wires lead to another Bulgin Plug set which is wired to the pump and another set wired to the panel. I used plugs here so that I can take the whole thing out if I want to have a portable power pack which I use for spotlighting for nocturnal wildlife around campsites at night.

Another adaptation is to run a wire from your connection to an LED light drilled up under your deck mounted compass. I have a switch glued under the day hatch inside rim to turn it on and off and the very thin wires are held in place with a film of sikaflex. The LED draws so little power that it could probably run off the battery pack for months without the solar panel attached. After the wires were soldered to the LED it was encapsulated with a blob of sika to waterproof the whole thing. This idea was originally described HERE using a red LED but I prefer green as it reminds me of photoluminescence!