Paddled every day for 147 days. 
See graph further down.

Canning President Simon O'Sullivan and Vice President Dave Griffiths thanking Steve Irons MP and Kristy McSweeney for the government grant. 

It is on the same date as the Australian Marathon Championships in Queensland but not every paddler will be making the journey over there.

Progressive Racing Group
 

All different sized kayaks and different level of fitness but with the staggered starts the slowest paddler can come in first.
 

This Sunday

Action starts at 8.00am
 

Why not go for a paddle and have a peek at the cricket.
 

Saturday, 30 October 2021

The Women’s Big Bash League returns with a smash to Lilac Hill for another exciting season!

With thrilling double headers on each day of the weekend.

Fixtures as follows :
Saturday, 30 October | 10:25 AM
Melbourne Renegades vs Sydney Sixers

Saturday, 30 October | 1:50 PM
Perth Scorchers vs Adelaide Strikers

Sunday, 31 October | 10:25 AM
Adelaide Strikers vs Melbourne Renegades

Sunday, 31 October | 1:50 PM
Perth Scorchers vs Sydney Sixers

Off field, the action will be just as hot, with the Cricket Carnivale serving up free water slides, inflatables, rides and Scorchers activities. Plus a food truck pop-up, licensed bar and more.

A free shuttle bus will run from Guildford Train Station all day and there is plenty of free parking onsite.

Don your supporters' gear and pack your deck chairs and picnic blankets for a great day out at the cricket!

The turf is ready. They just need the cricketers.
  

A few weeks ago I was teaching 10 of this group the finer points of white water paddling.

Today the 10 and 19 others were on a social paddle. 

 

The group gather at the half way mark at Sandy Beach.
 

Steve Morup all kitted out for a good social trip.
 

Heading back home.
 

Heading towards Tonkin Highway Bridge.
 

The new bridge being suspended across the river.
 

Another few days and it be right across.
 

Swannies spent Sunday exploring 20 kms of the Serpentine River, which at times was no wider or deeper than a drainage ditch but would then open up to spectacular lakes full of bird life.
 

The river winds.
 

The river gets tight.
 

Back in open water.
 

Blackwood River Trip Log

Winter 2020
Richard Molek

Some people like paddling stories, even if they’re old ones, so here’s an update on our paddling trip down the upper Blackwood River last year.  Even longer ago, way back in 2008, a few paddling friends navigated 261kms down the Blackwood from Bridgetown to the coast at Augusta.  Ten years later in 2018, most of the still-friends paddled 177km along the Arthur River, a major source of seasonal flow merging into the Blackwood’s upper reaches.  Early last year paddling team leader Richard M canvased a plan to paddle from the Arthur’s confluence with the Blackwood down to Bridgetown, hopefully filling a 142km ‘gap’ in a 580km paddling journey from the southern end of WA’s wheatbelt to the southwest corner of the state.  Although a COVID lockdown was always a possibility, we were lucky enough to avoid any travel restrictions and our trip was on.

Paddlers: Alan Morbey, Steve Coffey, Richard Molek and Richard Swindale

Like most mini-expeditions, sometimes the planning is longer than the trip itself…ours started with a long day-trip to reconnaissance all possible access points along the river.  We needed to cross-reference river flow with gauge levels available online – to work out if there would be enough flow on our planned paddling days, and to also check the distance between likely put-in / take-out points.  We also made good use of Google Earth images and 1:50,000 scale government maps produced in the 1980s (also freely available online) to review likely conditions.  Along with feedback from other paddlers who had previously paddled various sections of the river, we knew to expect everything from long pools and channels, through to tight thickets of ti-trees and paperbarks, plus the odd tricky rapid.

That just left choice of boat?  Given the likely conditions, a plastic creek or estuary kayak was the best option, and as it happened, we all owned Q-Kayak Tui’s, which turned out to be a great choice – short and manoeuvrable enough to work through the narrow channels, very stable in moving water, and no complaints when being dragged over rocks and fallen logs.  After the reconnaissance trip we also knew some sections would be fairly isolated, so with safety our first priority we packed the obvious safety gear – PFDs, whistles, helmets, paddling gloves, throw-bags, and first aid kits – along with a 2-way radio for support, plus a PLB for a worse-case scenario if someone was badly injured.

In the end it turned out to be a 6 day paddle over 2 separate trips.

Trip 1

Our initial put-in location was Eulin Crossing, just upstream from where the Arthur River becomes the Blackwood.  Almost straight away we were swallowed by foam flowing down from a culvert further upstream, and our tip to other paddlers is: don’t breathe in the foam, your lungs prefer oxygen! 

The river was mostly fast-flowing through narrow channels, with the odd long-pool of still water, and plenty of bird-life.  However with four paddlers and multiple channels, it was easy to become separated, which is where the whistles came in handy.  It wasn’t unusual for channels to separate around an island and join again further downstream, or did they?  A piecing whistle cut through pretty quickly to work out whether your separated companions were upstream or downstream.

Trees left, trees right, foam centre

Portage is a last resort

On the first day we started late and covered barely 13km at 3.5km/hr, which is pretty slow even for the Tui’s, but a good indication of how stop-start paddling can be when you’re navigating through thickets of trees, and trying to work out which path is the best option out of the five possible channels before the next blind corner. 

Portage is totally a last resort

That night we camped at Trigwell Bridge on the Boyup Brook – Arthur River Road, and spent the evening speculating on whether the conditions would improve on Day 2.

No, they didn’t.  We rose early and waited a little before deciding there was enough light to safely put-in.  However by then we’d already been under a steady drizzle since pre-dawn, which gradually worsened into an icy, penetrating rain for most of the day.  The silver lining was that it might help the water-levels, which were slightly lower than we’d hoped for, leading to a few awkward portages over fallen trees.  We also needed to portage around a nasty chute flowing straight into a strainer.  Another unwelcome surprise came at the end of the day at our take-out at Condinup Crossing – our support crew car was broken!  An intermittent problem with the car’s turbo raised the possibility of being caught on the river at night without our dry clothes and camping gear, so we abandoned the paddle and limped home to Perth with plans on returning later.  Added to yesterday, we’d covered 42 of the planning 142km paddle, so there was a bit still left to do.

Trip 2

We came back refreshed and revitalised a few weeks later, and paddled the remaining 100km over four days.  This time we had a different plan.  Instead of camping each day at a different spot on the riverbank, why not have a hot shower and cooked meal every night?  So we stayed at the comfy Remy’s Retreat in Bridgetown, and ferried ourselves each day to the designated put-in and take-out locations.  We may have collectively eaten at least 16 Parmi’s at the Bridgetown Hotel over the four evenings…

The water level was higher than the first trip, which was both good and bad.  Less obstacles, but faster flow.  One paddler capsized on the second day in a fast-flowing section of ti-trees, with the Tui becoming wedged sideways against a tree.  Without a throw-rope it would have impossible to retrieve, at least until the water level receded.  We paddled Day 3 from Jayes Ford, a mandatory portage during the Blackwood Marathon, a multi-sport relay event held each October between Boyup Brook and Bridgetown (https://www.blackwoodmarathon.org).  We also didn’t take any chances, and put-in downstream from the ford – but straight into a strong eddy and immediate capsize.  Otherwise a great paddle down to Winnejup Crossing with no further mishaps.

Jayes Ford, mandatory portage…

On the 4^th and final day we needed to cover the remaining 33km into Bridgetown.  This leg included three known rapids early on, and a suspected 4^th rapid further downstream closer to Bridgetown.  The first was Winnejup Rapids, approximately 2km downstream from Winnejup Bridge.  There’s a number of river level gauges on the Blackwood, including one at Winnejup itself.  We recorded 11.25 on the day we paddled, and at that level there were long, fast channels through ti-trees to the first major drop, then a gap to a second drop (let’s call it a waterfall) on river-left.  Although the rapid can be paddled, we had no plans to take any risks, and portaged around most of the difficult sections.  It would have been a long walk with a broken boat if anything went wrong.

Winnejup Rapids, 2 drops

Below Winnejup, let’s call it a waterfall

The next ‘rapid’ we were expecting was close to Evan’s Bridge, which turned out to be more of a pebble run.  However there was a nasty fence post near the bottom protruding just enough from the water to tip out anyone on the wrong line – thankfully none of us this time.  Not far downstream was our suspected rapid, which had a good entry and clear lines, so no portage required. 

No portage, if the right line taken?

However things became a little unstuck on the last rapid of the day.  Although we knew it was coming, the entry was a fast, narrow channel through ti-trees on river-left, which turned right then suddenly opened out on the left putting us onto the main drop without warning.  After the left turn you were committed, no eddies left.  Luckily there were no major rocks or obstacles and we dropped into a large round pool.  By now we were within easy reach of ‘Fridgetown’, and finished in time for afternoon tea at the friendly Barking Cow Café.

Into the mist.
 

Photographer and indispensable support crew: Jason ‘JJ’ Molek

On My Paddles
 

Two weeks ago these were only babies.
They have grown up quickly.
 

 

Just look at these fat ducks.
 

A Cormorant flies by.
 

Have you seen this grass tree as you paddle through Bassendean?
 

It also reminds me of being on one of my expeditions.
 

Is that a face.
Don't you just love cloud formations.
 

On my paddles.
Country life.
 

Fisherman's Rubbish
 

31st October

very first Come and Try Day. 

All participants had a great time and we’ve managed to gain a few new members as part of holding the event, it was also awesome seeing so many smiling faces on and off the water. For anyone who missed this one and is keen to give it a go, feel free to contact me anytime to organise a paddle. #geographebaypaddlers #geographebaypaddlingclub #busselton #paddlewa
 

COURSE OVERVIEW

The Basic Skills Course is delivered by our Paddle Academy instructors, and is designed for anybody wanting to learn the essential paddling strokes and safety skills to go paddling in WA. Individuals of any paddling ability will benefit from this course, and all participants will receive a certificate following completion of the course. A variety of paddling skills, safety and rescue techniques will be taught in the program, including

• Preparation of paddle craft and equipment
• Launching and landing your craft
• Correct paddling posture
• Paddling strokes and the correct technique
• ‘Rafting up’
• Assisting with deep water rescues

Cost: $120 (adults) or $80 (under 18)

All equipment is provided (kayak, paddle, life jacket), but please feel free to use your own craft if you wish.

Note: the minimum age is 12

INSURANCE

All participants will be covered under the Paddle Australia Insurance for the duration of the basic skills course only.

If you wish to purchase a direct membership with Paddle WA for just $85 to get 24/7 insurance coverage, visit paddlewa.asn.au/direct-membership or contact develop@paddlewa.asn.au

Mandurah Duel

Date: November 14, 2021

SPECIAL FEATURES

• Electronically timed
• Ocean ski VS Outrigger VS SUPs VS Kayaks for line honours
• Close to shore

ENTRY FEES

• Single Craft – $60*
• Double Craft – $100*
• OC6 – $300*

* Fees include Mandurah Duel cap

The Mandurah Duel is a 12.5km multi-class ocean event on one of Australia's best downwinder runs. All classes of craft battle it out for line honours as they follow the coast from the Dawesville Cut to the Mandurah Ocean Club (which hosts the event) at Halls Head.

Enter here:

https://secure.onreg.com/onreg2/front/step1.php?sessionname=fc5aff7d400b794e35f5f76f0be93963&id=5433

November 14th

Kent St. Weir, Canning River