Wildwater Racing National Championships

Key Points:

• When leaving an eddy, it is important that your boat is positioned at the correct angle. Continuing the manoeuvre with an incorrect angle can result in a capsize. If you feel that your boat angle is incorrect, drop back into the eddy and try again.
• The quicker and more powerful the current, the greater the need for boat speed across the eddy line.
• It is important to combine edging with leaning.

If boat speed has not been maintained, the current may simply bounce the boat around on the unstable eddy line between the fast and slack water.

The Low Brace
 

The Low Brace Turn.

For more stability when breaking-in.
 

The Low Brace Turn is a wide turning stroke which requires the boat to have forward momentum to be effective. It is particularly useful for eddy turns in white water.

• Accelerate the boat forward.
• Sweep on the opposite side of the turn – to assist the boat to carve. 
• Edge your boat into the turn by lifting your knee and thigh on the opposite side to your intended direction.
• On the turning side, place the paddle blade almost flat on the water surface just behind your hips  and  out  from the  boat.

Ensure that the leading edge of the paddle blade is slightly raised, so that the water can pass beneath it. Leaning lightly on the flat paddle blade will provide support and cause a slight braking effect, therefore the boat will start to veer to the side that the stroke has been executed.

• Keep your elbow at approximately 80 degrees above the paddle shaft (as in the photo)..
• Dragging the paddle blade harshly across the water, or sweeping backwards will slow your boat and create instability.
• The combination of the sweep, speed, edging, the current and the low brace are all important factors
  to ensure a good stable turn.

https://terrybolland.wordpress.com/basic-strokes-skills

Breaking-in using the Low Brace

For more white water instruction go here:

Birds Along The Way
 

Hundreds of cormorants and dozens of pelicans head towards me.
 

Pelicans and cormorants.
 

Grebes.

It's fun watching these little grebes keep ducking under the water.
 

Most Amazing Memory

I had an interview with a lady from the Bassendean library on Wednesday. As a long term resident of Bassendean, 44 years, she was interested in my life which conversation will be saved as a Pod Cast and stored in the library for other people to listen to.
 

She asked a question -

What was one of your most amazing memories.
 

I forgot to mention the time I crossed the Sierra Nevada mountain range by bicycle and viewed Yosemite Valley for the first time.

At a service station at the west side of the Sierra Nevada mountain range I bought a tin of beans, put it in my bike pannier, zipped my Gore-tex jacket and hood and descended. I was cold and became colder as I gathered speed down the steep hill. I was now longing to climb a hill to get warm again, but I just kept accelerating downwards. I sped through two tunnels and suddenly right in front of me there it was – one of the most spectacular sights in the world, Yosemite Valley.

It was like something out of a fairytale book. If there was a fairytale world out there, then this view was it. It was more than amazing and my heart pounded with absolute joy. I stopped next to a Japanese couple looking over the valley, took my camera out to find it was all fogged up and unsuitable to take photos. I couldn’t believe my luck! I had the world’s most breathtaking sight in front of me and I couldn’t capture those memories. How disappointing that was.

A river flowed below in the valley, winding through the pine trees and between huge cliffs and mountains. One huge, vertical cliff was called El Capitan, a very famous climber’s cliff. It was right there dominating the scene. I could see a lush valley that narrowed, until the mountains totally engulfed it. A waterfall cascaded from near the summit of one mountain top. Mist was rising from the river. I was in complete awe of the sight before me. I shivered with total elation.

Yosemite.

This is a different scene to the one I witnessed.

The sun dipped beyond the mountain behind me leaving an illuminated trail that slowly grew fainter until finally the bright light that was shining into the valley had virtually vanished. The whole scene was overwhelming, breathtaking and I just wanted to camp right there to keep looking at it and to wake up to it in the morning. Unfortunately, the steep sided mountain pass offered no place to do so as it was just too steep.

A low wall ran beside the twisty road and guarded traffic from running off it and dropping thousands of feet to the valley floor. I followed it down zipping by it at great speeds until I crossed the Merced River and where the hill ceased. Shivering, I now followed a one-way road shielded by towering trees. I was seemingly in another world and trying to grasp the stark contrast in scenery.

As the last of the sun’s rays faded from above the mountains on either side of me, I felt a rush of excitement that pulsed through my whole body. I kept getting glimpses of the huge rock walls between the trees and occasionally I would see a tiny ray of sunshine through the clouds that would illuminate a small part of the high vertical cliffs. It looked mysterious, surreal, but brilliant. I paused to take a photo but my camera was still fogged up. Further, a huge rock tower (Sentinel Rock) to my right stood like a giant pillar at the entrance of a hidden world. The shallow Merced River flowed to my left with tiny meadows beside it which were layered with mist. The canyon narrowed further leaving me with a sense of being locked in. I could see why this place was turned into a National Park.

I knew that I was entering a very special area, but suddenly those last remnants of light had gone and the darkness now robbed me of seeing one of the most stunning valleys in the world until the morning. The canopy of trees and the cliffs blocked the light from even the brightest star from filtering through, leaving my trail towards Yosemite Village black, wet and cold but I was on a high.

Have Your Say on the Bells Rapid Master Plan

https://www.swan.wa.gov.au/Your-Community/Have-your-say/Community-consultations/Bells-Rapids-Master-Plan-Stage-2-consultation?fbclid=IwAR0Fna-qYxf368ahZlnz-8ZZlwbHFkZDWfe3GgvtGDTWWn6LPg61a5LDdoY

Avon Descent  Scrutineering

Paddlers - lock Friday 29 July in your diaries for scrutineering!.

We will be holding scrutineering at Ascot Kayak Club from 3-7pm, & the Swan Cafe will have some yummy dinner options available too..

We’d appreciate if all paddlers could please ensure they attend scrutineering at @ascotkayakclub . We appreciate the commitment it takes to get there, but it is a critical step towards helping make #avondescent safe for all participants (penalties could apply for non-attendance).

Collie Water Release
Release #3 is coming up soon on:
Thursday 28^th July to Sunday 31^st July!