Enjoy the CDU Newsletter

Published: Fri, 05/20/22

20th May 2022 CDU Newsletter 749

Terry 0417977330

terry@canoeingdownunder.com.au (email)
https://canoeingdownunder.wordpress.com (website)
https://www.facebook.com/canoeingdownunder/ (facebook)
https://terrybolland.wordpress.com/ (trips & achievements)

This week I have paddled 372.75 kilometres bringing my total to 12,945.85 kilometres (18th May).

At 7.45pm on Thursday night 19th May, I reached the 13,000km mark

If you want to give a donation to the
Prostate Cancer Foundation
please go here:

(https://fundraise.pcfa.org.au/fundraisers/terrybolland)

Thursday night.

With paddling 50 - 60 kilometres a day I don't have too much time to spare so the newsletter isn't getting as much attention. Nor is my garden, in fact I must start tidying up the house, water the 55 indoor plants, clean the bathroom and give Nikki something to eat as Jenny is back next week.

I only have 13 days left to paddle until my year is up. I will be doing my final few kilometres at Ascot Kayak Club at 5.00pm on Thursday evening June 2nd. You are more than welcome to paddle those last few kms with me.

I have had some special times on the river and Wednesday evening was just one of them. 4 or 5 dolphins were up the river at Point Reserve, Bassendean when I arrived there. Sean Killen had already been given a show and soon after it was my turn. I have seen dolphins on the river many times and in more recent times I haven't seen them so excited and they were tonight. There were lurching up bringing half their body out of the water and turning over on their sides. At one stage I was sat in my K1 with bubbles all around and underneath me. I was expecting to be lifted out of the water but they came up beside me as if they were saying hello. I captured a few photos but it wasn't easy as it was hard to know where they were coming up. I didn't get any of them lurching as they were too quick.

I followed them and met two SUP paddlers who were also given a good show.

As it was getting dark and my camera was having difficulty to capture the light I left them to head downstream.

After paddling about 21 kilometres, around 7.35pm the moon rose and what a sight it was. For the last 3 nights I have caught the full or near full moon rise and its been enormous as it rises above the trees. The water has also been calm, real calm so its been a pleasure to be paddling in the dark with the moon and the stars up above. There is something quiet about the night away from the roads. The odd bird will make a call, a screech or a chatter just to let me know that I'm not a lone. Then a pelican will fly passed like a low flying aircraft. Then they will float around and do some fishing.

It was hard to tell but there were at least 4 dolphins possibly 5 putting on a show.

The dolphins were very playful.

I took this photo about 20 minutes after the moon appeared.
It was huge when it rose up above the trees.

The moon rises about 50 minutes later each day.

The Waning Gibbous on May 18 has an illumination of 92%. This is the percentage of the Moon illuminated by the Sun. The illumination is constantly changing and can vary up to 10% a day. On May 18 the Moon is 17.44 days old. This refers to how many days it has been since the last New Moon. It takes 29.53 days for the Moon to orbit the Earth and go through the lunar cycle of all 8 Moon phases.

This week hasn't been good for moon photos due to the cloud cover and dark nights but I got a couple.

The New Redcliffe Bridge

The new Redcliffe bridge is now across the river. For the past year or so workers have been building a second bridge across the Swan River at Redcliffe. This week the last section of the bridge was successfully pushed across by hydraulic rams. Now they can build the end sections of the bridge which are on land.

The left section is the new bridge - the right section is the old bridge.
What you can see is the reflection.

Wild Water Buoys Race

https://paddleaustralia.justgo.com/workb.../public/events...

The first race of the WildWater season gets underway this Sunday at Ascot Kayak Club with the WWR #1 Buoys Race.

This is a best of 2 runs race over a 1-1.5km course navigating around buoys along the rivers edge, and is open to all competition boats!

So even if you do not have a Wavehopper or downriver boat, grab your Avon boat (plastic or composite) and join in the Sundries Series for some of the best fun going around the river.

On The River

Lawrence Greed.

Lawrence has been paddling for a while. He once beat me in the Avon Descent by 7 seconds and he won't let me forget it. That was when he was younger and fitter! I have got my own back several times since then.
He and his wife Anita have 3 boys Christopher, Matthew and Nicholas who are crazed about paddling and are all very good paddlers.
He is also a Life Member of Ascot Kayak Club and Paddle WA.

That dude or should I say joker on the other side of Lawrence is Martin Watson, he too has some English blood in him but he can't really be taken serious!! He is fast though for an old geezer. He beat Peter Pawlow at the weekend and Peter is one of the fastest 65+ paddlers.

Ben King.

Ben is a pretty good paddler when he actually gets in a kayak. Apparently he is a better baseball player. His dad Phil paddles so does his brother Chris. His mum also paddles. They used to be in my Progressive Racing Group but they have moved on to better things.

Paul Dymock.

I see Paul flying passed me a few morning a week. He is pretty quick but he rarely enters a race. I need to convince him how good they are.

Double Barkers Race

This race is nearly 24 kilometres which I thought may test me as I had paddled two 55 kilometre days before it and 371 kilometres that week so would I have to take it easy? I arrived early at Ascot to help set up and once everything was looking good I went off on a 5 km paddle as I needed to paddle 32 kms that morning and the race was only 24 kms. Later that day I would paddle another 24 kms.

Division 3 and division 4 were off together. I was in division 3 with Bruce McWhirter, Warren Southwell, Sean Killen and Robin Jacob who were my equal but most were better so the race was surely be on.

Warren took off like a wild animal and I gave chase. Bruce shot across from the right and Sean stampeded from behind. Robin came up in clear water on our left and we were all came together as we moved around the Sandy Beach corner. A few hundred metres further I managed to get on the left of Warren and Robin was beside me. Then Robin got some weed on his bow. As he tried to get it off he fell back and we took the opportunity to surge ahead and leave him. One down 4 others to go.

Warren, Bruce and I.

Photo Selena Lloyd.

The top guys.

Photo Selena Lloyd.

Our pack of paddlers kept together until 400 metres after Fishmarket Reserve then the faster paddlers started to catch up. Luke Dooley was on our left and the rest of the pack that included about 6 paddlers were on our right. Suddenly they shot over from the right to the left to get onto Luke. In the process they cut across our path and 2 paddlers hit Warren and Bruce. With all the wash of the boats and separation it caused Sean managed to get between me and Warren and started leading to the bridge. Ahead was an outrigger. It was going a lot slower than we were and it just managed to be under the bridge when we all needed to turn. We came to a halt as we had no where to go, but Bruce, Sean and I managed to get around when there was a gap and we paddled out from the bridge leaving Warren behind.

I managed to get behind Sean and Bruce after the bridge but at the Fishmarket Reserve corner a bulldozer of about 6 paddlers tried to get through a narrow gap between the bank and us. One of the paddlers washriding on the outside just bulldozed his way through giving no regard for me and knocking me out of the way. I had no choice to move aside as we clashed paddles and boats. By doing so he was still on his wash but I fell off mine.

As this herd of elephants stampeded through close to shore paddlers coming the other way had nowhere to go. When they all cleared I was surprised when I met Jo Ward virtually head on. With her hair flying in the wind like a beautiful film star riding a horse she was suddenly surprised as I was..

It took me a while to catch Bruce and Sean but it was a relief when I did. A kilometre later we caught up with Darryl Long. He started washriding Bruce which was a pain for me as the wash was ruffled and harder for me to keep on. Then a group of faster paddlers came by and he shot off after them which I was happy with. Just before Sandy Beach three more faster paddlers came along side me so I jumped on their wash and now I was leading our group. All three of us kept on their wash up around Ron Courtney Island and back up to the start line, but then I lost their side wash as we moved around a buoy so we resorted to their rear wash. As we were about to go around the corner at Sandy Beach on the way upstream I decided to get back on their side wash so I made a hard push and after a real struggle I made it. I think this is where Sean got left behind which I was pleased about. Sorry Sean. So we now had lost Robin, Warren and now Sean so it was between me and Bruce to fight it out. I have to point out that Bruce and Warren were in Finn Molokai plastic skis.

Bruce and me.

I was first in the 70+.

Photo Selena Lloyd.

Mostly Division two paddlers.

Photo Selena Lloyd.

David Burdett and Harry Langley.

They will be representing Australia in Europe in Wild Water.

Photo Selena Lloyd.

Sean trying to catch up.

And unfortunately he did.

Photo Selena Lloyd.

It wasn’t long before we lost our ride so we pushed hard back up to Barkers Bridge for the second time. As we headed home I noticed Sean getting close just before Fishmarket Reserve and within minutes he was on our tail. Oh shit now my chances of beating him were virtually impossible. I said to Bruce there goes my $20.00 for the Prostate Cancer Foundation. Every time I beat Sean he puts $20.00 into my fundraising. It was no good trying to get away from him as he seemed stronger so I kept the same pace.

Just after Point Reserve Kim Mahony and Jade Lane starting passing us. Bruce and Sean had an opportunity to get on their wash but they didn’t. I let them get a few metres ahead and then I sprinted and got on Kim’s wash leaving Bruce and Sean behind. Kim came along at the right time and as long as I could keep on his wash I don’t think Bruce and Sean could beat me. What a happy sole I was as we edged further away from them and I didn’t have to work any harder than I was before. I could see that $20.00 was going to be gifted to my fundraising again.

As we passed Sandy Beach on that last 600 metres the pace was lifted. I wasn’t about to lose the wash so I fought right to the line with Kim leaving Jade a few metres behind. Turning around and seeing Sean and Bruce come in made me very happy. There were a few paddlers in division 2 still to come in and if they were two minutes slower I would have beat them. Like Nina, Sharon, John, Andy and several others.

It was a good race and a hard one at that. After paddling another 24 kms that evening paddling 51 kms the following day wasn’t easy. My arms were a little stressed.