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This week I paddled 295.14 kilometres.
I should reach 10,000 kms about 5.45pm on Saturday evening but it doesn't stop there.
I have a lot more paddling to do. Until June 2nd.
A good meal for an Osprey.
Just look at those talons.
- Marathon Training
- Australian Masters Early Bird Entry Closes today
- Ascot Juniors
- Who's Out There
- City Lights
- On My Paddles - Birds Along The Way
- Products
- Coming Events
Sunset overlooking Ron Courtney Island.
Our top marathon paddlers on Thursday night.
Brendan Rice, Will Lee, Coran Longwood and Luke Dooley front row.
The WA Marathon Championships are next weekend.
Australian Masters Games
Canoe/Kayak/SUP
Marathon
Sunday 24 April – Monday 25 April 2022
Sunday morning 24th April, singles
and Monday afternoon 25th April (Anzac Day) doubles.
Early Bird entry
until Friday 11 March 2022!
Today
Enter here:
Minimum age 35 years
If not paddling
Are you willing to volunteer?
Some of the Ascot Juniors on Saturday morning.
Paddle WA Instructor Clare and George Pankhurst running another school course.
I had the pleasure to talk to Genie Collin on Monday morning after she had finish slalom training. She was really happy to be back in Perth for a week or two to see her family and friends.
She also said she was happy, although a little disappointed with her performance at the Championships at Penrith. She came third in one race and fourth in another which in my mind is amazing considering who she is paddling against.
Alan Moreby.
If you want to meet a great guy, look no further than Alan.
He started paddling with Canoeing Down Under around 2002-3 and like many paddlers he later joined the Ascot Kayak Club.
Alan trains in the mornings with the masters group.
I'm hoping he and the other members in the group will be taking part in the Australian Masters Marathon and being part of the celebrations.
Brendan Welker.
Brendan paddles with the Progressive Racing Group when he is not doing Fifo work. He also trains with his three children and they all paddle, they say better than Brendan!!
He and Tom Canavan just beat me and Izzy on Sunday night in the City Lights Race.
They were lucky!!
Will Lee.
If you are paddling against Will you will need to be fast. He won several marathons last year and he trains with Brendan Rice and Josh Kippin so he has to be fast.
He and Amanda Bowman won the mixed K2s in China at the World Masters Marathon. He is always in the top spots in the Avon Descent.
He can paddle a SUP as well.
No one recognises him when he puts a shirt on!
City Lights Race
I have paddled the City Lights Race in a canoe, a double plastic kayak and a double ski but because I am doing my Paddle for Prostate Challenge I felt it more fitting to do it in a single ski so when Isabel Combe asked for a
partner I jumped at the chance. As she is a slower paddler than me I thought I wouldn’t have to work as hard, which suited me as I was paddling 40 kms every day, but how wrong was I.
It all started at Riverton foreshore. There weren’t as many paddlers as a few years ago. It had been rough the last two years so the race wasn’t for the faint hearted or a beginner. The wind was blowing quite strongly so it was
going to be interesting which section would be rough.
Izzy and I were on the first grid, slowest paddlers first, although we also had two doubles on our grid and when the horn
sounded they shot off and never to be seen again. Izzy also shot off and ended up being the first boat leading the pack going under the bridge. I was hoping she wasn’t going to go that fast all the way. Once we turned under the water pipe she did calm down. Apart from the two doubles we were still leading. We crossed the shallows and moved around a corner into Shelley Water and it was like a truck had hit us. The wind was gale force, well that’s what it felt like. It was a struggle. Passing
Shelley Sailing Club building we were still ahead but after that we paddled to the right side of the line of stumps/posts and Doug and Robin paddled to the left side of them, I imagine so we couldn’t wash ride them (but I was told later it wasn’t so windy on that side!) After several hundred metres Doug and Robin started to pull away from us and unfortunately we never caught up with them again.
Then came Brenden and Tom. They had been worried all week that we would beat them. If we did, would they be-able to live it down? The wind was still hugely strong when they crept up from behind and started to overtake. I just kept
my ski just a little in front of Izzy to assist her to wash ride but the rough water wasn’t what you call perfect for wash riding. We kept plugging in watching the faster paddlers pass us by. By Mount Henry Bridge Brenden and Tom were about 300 metres ahead. They went a little wide so we made up a little ground but not enough to catch them. As we changed direction the wind started to ease or at least it wasn’t straight in our face.
Brendan Rice and Josh Kippin at the portage.
They were the fastest team.
Grant Pepper and Amanda Bowman having trouble in the big surf!!
There was quite a line of boats heading towards Canning Bridge where a police boat with blue lights flashing was stopping
boats from going under it while paddlers were racing through. Conditions were now calmer but the further we paddled along the freeway the rougher it became. It wasn’t really rough but at one section it was getting a little lumpy. By now most teams had past us. There were probably only 2 or 3 teams behind.
As the sun was going down I could see Tom and Brendan way over on our right, Brendan was off his ski. I didn’t mention it to Izzy as we were on a section that needed a little concentration. About 5 minutes later Izzy was off her
ski. It was lumpy and I had to be careful when I turned to help her. I pulled up along side and held her ski so it would be easier for her to remount. It worked and we were away in no time. The last section to the portage was calmer so we flew to the beach to where there were a few people cheering us on.
A short carry and we were back in the water which was a little rough on the entry. Here we switched our lights on jumped on board and away we went heading around a groyne and under the Narrows Bridge to a fairly calm Perth Water.
Two ferries were crossing over 500 metres or so ahead which meant we would not get run down when we crossed their usual route. Luckily it wasn’t quite dark so we could see what was going on. Some years it’s been dark at this stage and hard to know how far the ferry lights were away.
The city looked stunning with all the lights and tall buildings. I thought to myself - we must come to South Perth more often at night to see it lit up when I’m not paddling and can take it all in. Izzy was in the zone of paddling
hard making me struggle a bit. I told her to look towards the city and that was it she loved the scene so we stopped and I took my camera out and took a photo. It didn’t quite turn out as good as it was in real life though. We must have lost a minute or two so I hope we don’t lose the race by a minute or two.
As we come up to the portage Brendan and Tom are not far behind.
Izzy picks her ski up and runs.
Izzy as we paddle through the city.
It was now just about dark and if it wasn’t for the ‘Café on the Point’ being lit up it would have been harder to see where
to head. We couldn’t see any lights of other paddlers so we were well behind all the ones that past us. The further we paddled the rougher the water became so it was a bit of relief when we turned and headed into the narrower part of the river just before the Causeway.
We passed the Causeway checkpoint which had Veronica and Anita checking us off. Jo and Gordon were sitting on the bank so something must have happened. We moved under the bridge and got a great view of Optus Stadium and Matagarup
Bridge which were both lit up. I was hoping to enjoy this part of river but Izzy was paddling like a steam train, a fast one at that.
When I signed up I was hoping that my partner was going to be slower than me, which she seemed to be on the first part, but now she was pushing. I probably shouldn’t have paddled 13 kilometres that morning, or paddled 40 kms every
day for months. Izzy was certainly determined, she didn’t miss a beat and just kept plodding in like some machine that could keep going forever.
Paddling around the racecourse bend was long. A tiny fish jumped into my cockpit. Because of Izzy’s speed I didn’t have much time to scoop it out, if I stopped she would leave me behind, but I couldn’t have it wriggling under
my legs so I had to.
A few boats were waiting to get out at the Maylands boat ramp. I turned around and saw two lights behind us. I was hoping it wasn’t Brendan and Tom. Just as we were about to cross over and go into Ascot Waters Izzy stopped to have
a carbo shot. I was so thankful she did as it gave me a rest and then it was on again. It was here we heard Tom and Brendan talking. I imagine they were saying, we have got them now.
As we moved into the Ascot Waters channel they started to pass but we kept up with them in a behind position. They were a few metres in front as we entered the river again with little hope of catching them but Brendan steered wide
and we cut the corner so we caught up with them again. By Garratt Road Bridge we were neck and neck. I was now trying to pull Izzy along which seemed to work for a while but I think the boys were just a tad too fast for us and started getting a way. It was pitch black so I couldn’t see if Izzy was on my wash or not and although I asked her if she was, she never replied. Eventually I gave up and she came beside me and we paddled the last 500 metres side by side
again.
We cruised over the line 1 minute 12 after Tom and Brendan with a time of 3.20.40 but beating the team of Julie, Tim, Byron and Chad by 1 minute 26 seconds.
All I can say - Izzy paddled her heart out and if someone in the future wants to paddle beside her make sure you have trained hard. I'm going to have to find a much slower partner next year - I just want to have an easier
time.
We were the only mix pair in singles.
Another great race. Up early tomorrow to do another 40kms.
On My Paddles
Birds Along The Way
The Black-shouldered Kite feeds mainly on rodents, particularly the introduced House Mouse, Mus musculus, often following mouse plagues in agricultural areas. Also will eat insects such as grasshoppers. It prefers to hunt during the day, particularly
early morning and late afternoon, often hovering with its wings held upright in a V-shape, before dropping down and grabbing prey with its talons. Prey items are eaten while flying or on a perch, which can be a high tree or an artificial structure, e.g. a powerpole.
Breeding
The Black-shouldered Kite forms monogamous pairs. During courtship, the male will feed the female in mid-air: she will flip upside down and take food with her feet from his, while both are flying. Both sexes build the nest, which is a large untidy shallow cup of sticks, on high tree or on an artificial structure such as a bridge or power pole. The young birds can feed themselves seven days after
fledging and leave their parents within a month.
Birdlife Australia.
Rainbow Bee-eaters eat insects, mainly catching bees and wasps, as well as dragonflies, beetles, butterflies and moths. They catch flying insects on the wing and carry them back to a perch to beat them against it before swallowing them. Bees and wasps are rubbed against
the perch to remove the stings and venom glands.
Black Swan with her Cygnets.
The Black Swan is a vegetarian. Food consists of algae and weeds, which the bird obtains by plunging its long neck into water up to 1 m deep. Occasionally birds will graze on land, but they are clumsy walkers.
Black swans are monogamous and often have the same mate for life. They are territorial and remain in solitary pairs during mating but occasionally mate in colonies. February through September is the breeding season. Usually, the female swan makes a nest from sticks, debris, and dead leaves into a mound floating on the water. She lays 5 to 6 eggs, one day apart. Incubation
starts once all the eggs are laid and lasts 35 to 48 days. Males help with incubation. The cygnets are precocial and can swim and feed soon after hatching; however, they are brooded in the nest after hatching for a period of 2 to 3 weeks. They fledge between 150 to 170 days old. Black swans can fly at about 6 months old and stay with their family group for about 9 months. They reach reproductive maturity within 18 to 36 months.
Now is this a Brown Goshawk or a Collared Sparrow Hawk?
Brown Jellyfish are characterised by a bell that is usually saucer-shaped and brown with white spots. These jellyfish are brown in colour due to a dinoflagellate alga that lives in the jellyfish tissues. The jellyfish’s mouth is under the bell and surrounded by
long stinging tentacles. These animals have a stomach cavity and reproductive organs inside the thick jelly of the bell. These jellyfish grow to a width of 50cm.
During summer and early autumn, as Perth temperatures rise and the marine influence over the estuary increases, Brown Jellyfish increase in numbers and may form a dense layer near the water’s surface. This jellyfish does not inflict a painful sting on humans, but it is best not to touch it.
Brown Jellyfish feed on small planktonic algae and zooplankton (including eggs and larval fish).
Although jellyfish cannot feel pain, they can become stressed if they are touched too much.
River Guardians.
Little Pied Cormorants
feed on a wide variety of aquatic animals, from insects to fish.
Two Osprey are perched in the tree.
Club Carbon - $460
- 737g
- Carbon fibre blade, Green oval shaft
- Fully adjustable length & feather
- Includes Paddle Bag
The Epic 18X Sport is designed for intermediate to advanced touring paddlers seeking a distinct edge in a high-performance
kayak. Paddlers find the stability and sleek, efficient shape of the 18X Sport to allow them to cover long distances with exceptional ease and speed, and that it performs great in rough water conditions.
In addition to all the features that come standard on an Epic, the 18X Sport includes the advanced Epic Track Master™ steering system, a day hatch, an adjustable seat, large storage capacity, and front deck cutaways for a closer, more
efficient stroke.
SPECIFICATIONS
Length: 18' (5.48m)
Width: 55.88 cm
Depth: 28.6 cm
Capacity: 173 kg
17.5 Kg $5,200
Australian Masters Games
Canoe/Kayak/SUP
Marathon
Sunday 24 April – Monday 25 April 2022
Sunday morning 24th April, singles
and Monday afternoon 25th April (Anzac Day) doubles.
Early Bird entry to Friday 11 March 2022!
Enter here:
Minimum age 35 years
Age Groups
Female: 35+, 45+, 55+, 60+, 65+, 70+, 75+ 80+
Male: 35+, 45+, 55+, 60+, 65+, 70+, 75+ 80+
Minimum number of participants required to conduct competition: 60 participants
Classes will be constituted where there are not enough participants to win a medal. A minimum of 4 participants are needed to constitute a male class, and a minimum of 3 participants to constitute a female class.
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