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Well what a weekend we have just had! Last weekend there were no racing but this weekend we had sprints and marathon races and a lot of paddling in between so the newsletter is pretty big. Wild Water Paddlers don't forget we have races around the buoys on the next two Monday evenings at Sandy Beach
Reserve.
If you are entering the Sprint Championships 28th-29th Jan don't forget to enter before Saturday night. Downwind Paddlers don't forget the 2023 OCEANBUILT Gage Roads Run Race on the 28th Jan. (New date change.) For White Water Paddlers there is a Collie Water release on the 29th Jan. A lot going on next weekend.
The strong easterly wind created difficult conditions at Champion Lake for the Sprint Regatta. Photo Andrea Virág
Four portages were added to the Convict's Fence Marathon for those paddlers who wanted to do them. I love to portage in races, but in the state, national and international races paddlers over 65 don't portage which is a shame. Photo John O'Sullivan.
Convict's Fence Marathon organiser John Hilton giving out rewards.
Fire risk at Lake Leschenaultia closed the venue over the last week so another venue had to be found. John and Doug managed to get the change of venue sorted out within a week.
- Editorial
- Wild Water Around the Buoys Race - Monday Evening 23rd Jan at Sandy Beach Reserve
- Masters & Novice Sprint Training Program
- Sprint Regatta
- Convict's Fence Marathon
- Over 55 Social
Paddling
- Birds Along The Way
- WA Sprint Championships 28th & 29th Jan
OCEANBUILT Gage Roads Race
Collie
Water Release - Coming Events
What do you think this Egret has in its mouth? See more photos
below.
Team work- improving the nest.
One Kilometre = 50 Minutes Within 400 metres of launching Monday morning I was passing Ascot Kayak Club. There was a wave from Izzy and Geraint who were having breakfast at the Swan Café. I usually stop to have a chat after my paddle but I couldn’t resist stopping before it today. A free cup of coffee was a welcome addition. Andre, John, Patrick and a couple more friends were sitting at the next table. I chatted to Izzy and Geraint as well as flinging some banter towards John and the group nearby. It
was a pleasant meeting to start my day but as I moved back to my kayak I chatted to four other Ascot members washing down their boats. After a bit more banter I managed to drag myself away and enter my kayak to head upstream. As I reached the red spit post my watch indicated I had paddled one kilometre in 50 minutes. Luckily today I still had time to do a 12 kilometre paddle. Having a clubhouse and a kiosk nearby can be a distraction as it can be quite difficult to resist the temptation of stopping. I don’t mind having a slack paddle in the morning if I know I will have a hard training session in the evening. Stopping to take photos also takes up a lot of time but I can't resist getting a good photo. Paddling is all about the enjoyment, isn't
it?
Josh Kippin heading home after a hard training session. Getting
ready for the Marathon Championships.
Not So Wild Water Around the Buoys
Peter Liddle negotiating the buoys.
It might look odd but it really sharpens your skills. As well as the Friday morning training there will be a race on Monday Evening 23rd Jan at Sandy Beach Reserve at 5.15-5.30pm time.
There will also be a race the following Monday Evening as well.
Livelighter Masters and Novices
Sprint Program
Sprint training at Ascot Wednesday evening.
OCEANBUILT Gage Roads
Run Change of Date
Unfortunately due to the wind/heat forecast the race date has been changed with the new date being the 28th January. Details below.
Unfortunately it now clashes with the
Sprint Champs.
Sprint Regatta last Saturday It was a testing regatta with strong easterly crosswinds.
Women's doubles. Photo Andrea Virág
Women's singles.
Photo Andrea Virág
Levi Coentro de Souza powers away from myself and Adam in
C1s.
The windy conditions made it really difficult to keep our canoes straight. Photo Andrea Virág
Gergely in the C1 comes second behind Kalani Locke. Photo Andrea Virág
Adam Berta is a rising star in the C1. He is coached by
Gergely and doing really well. I beat Adam in the 500m and 1000m and he beat me in the 200 metres. Photo Andrea
Virág Results here: PWA-Regatta-4-Results.pdf (paddlewa.asn.au)
Convict's Fence Marathon With the fire risk at Lake Leschenaultia it was decided to change the 10km marathon to Shelley and paddle a course on the Canning River. The venue was easy to get to, the parking was great, no car shuffle, toilets close, a perfect beach for portaging and an easterly wind which kept the water conditions calmer. Paddlers had a choice to portage or not. About half of the racers decided to portage 4 times on the 5 lap circuit. Portaging is a fun part of racing and although I don’t run for exercise anymore I love to portage. Unfortunately at State, National and International events paddlers of 65+ don’t portage so we don’t have as much fun as the younger competitors unless we go down to the 55+
category. I was off on the first portage grid and as I looked around all the paddlers in my grid were faster than me. However with Christmas just out of the way there was a possibility that the odd paddler might not have been training and still had a full stomach, so I still had a chance to
beat someone. We took off and within 50 metres I was behind with Jade Lane over to my left. When the paddlers in front started to spread Jade and I started to gain a little with Jade edging ahead of me. At the first portage I was last in my grid but I wasn’t too far behind Jono, Darryl Long and
Jade. As I exited my kayak and started running I caught up with Jono who carried his kayak nose down and was having trouble going forward. Despite being slowed down I managed to get in the water before him and off I went chasing Darryl, Jade, Sarah Major, Steve Stasiuk and the girls in the double, Lily and Scarlett.
The start of grid one of the portage paddlers. Photo John
O'Sullivan.
Luke Dooley winner of the portage race.
Grant Pepper dances his way out of his kayak with Brett McDonald slightly ahead. Grant eventually beats Brett by 0.3 of a second. That's close racing. Photo John O'Sullivan.
Jono Clarke is followed to the portage by Steven Stasiuk.
Jono beats Steve by 1 second.
Lily Farrell & Scarlett Florisson jump out at the portage.
The younger paddlers make portaging look easy. On the way to the turn buoy the water was a little ruffled, but the wind was behind us so we all made good progress. Just after the turn buoy where it was head wind I passed Lily & Scarlett, Sarah, Jade, Steve and Darryl, although Darryl wash rode me to the portage, but I lost him at the portage to be
never seen again. With 5 boats now behind me my sights were on Warren Southwell, although he got well away from me at the start and he was still a few hundred metres ahead so it was a big ask to catch him. On my third portage though I noticed that Warren in his ski was a little slower, so I
made up several metres and for one moment I had thoughts that I might just be able to catch him. Of course Warren is a fighter and he would never allow me to do that, so I gained little on that next lap. On my 4th and last portage I managed to get some water in the kayak as I got out
so instead of lifting it with one hand I threw it on my shoulder and see-sawed it a couple of times as I ran to get the water out. The portages were fun, but paddling that next 200 or so metres after the portage was probably the hardest part of the race as I was still recovering from the
fast portage sprint. Unfortunately for me I hadn’t gained on Warren and it seemed impossible to catch him as he was still a few hundred metres ahead and paddlers like Chris Watson, Simon O’Sullivan, Andrew Storey and Alastair Fox who weren’t portaging were now about to merge with Warren
so I knew he would never let them pass him. (The non- portage paddlers had a shorter circuit making their race 8.58kms and the portage race was 9.63kms. Next year the distance will probably be increased. As I drew up to the Convicts Fence and red spit post where the non-portage paddlers
merged, Jayden O’Brien pulled up behind me. He managed to wash ride me for a while but I needed to paddle stronger, which I did and left him behind. With a kilometre to go I knew I had no chance of catching Warren but I was still happy with my race and the fact that I was about to beat 5
paddlers that were usually faster than me. It was a fantastic race. Hopefully more paddlers will enter next year.
On the second lap I passed Lily & Scarlett, Sarah, Jade, Steve and Darryl, although Darryl wash rode me to the
portage, but I lost him at the portage to be never seen again.
I might be a bit old by I can still run (although nowadays I never practise). Photo Rod Hale.
Beau Jacob leaps out of the kayak like a Springbok deer. Photo
John O'Sullivan.
Close competition. Photo Rod
Hale.
Warren Southwell portages his ski. The only ski paddler who portaged. Photo Rod Hale.
I leap of my kayak more like an elephant than a springbok deer, but I didn't waste any time. Photo Rod Hale.
Para paddler Katharine Mallory enjoyed the race and looked happy at the finish.
With no feeling in her legs to steer the
kayak she has to take her hand off her paddle and push a lever across, which not only can prove difficult on turns and in high winds, it also takes time and slows her down. Photo Rod Hale. Results Here:
Social Paddling Over 45/55 Canoe Club
The club paddle leaving from near the new coffee shop at the Garrett Road Rowing Clubs.
Heading towards the city.
Oh dear its a blowfish! The first recorded instance of blowfish poisoning was from Captain James Cook's 1774 excursion to New
Caledonia. Blowfish are prepared as expensive sushi (sashimi fugu), as fugu-chiri, a light vegetable and blowfish stew, and as soup or even sake. The eggs are eaten as a
delicacy. Chefs who prepare fugu are required to apprentice for at least 3 years before graduating to the poisonous fish.
The egret drops the blowfish.
The common blowfish or 'blowie', is abundant in estuaries and coastal waters throughout south-west Western Australia. While the blowfish will never win a
popularity contest, it has an important role in marine ecosystems. The blowie is native to WA and keeps our waterways clean by eating waste scrap, bait and berley. The common blowfish, and its cousin the northwest blowfish, belong to the family Tetraodontidae, which includes well over 100 species of toadfish and pufferfish,
of which more than 25 are found in WA. Members of the Tetraodontidae family typically have torpedo-shaped bodies, soft skin instead of scales (sometimes imbedded with small spines) and fused teeth that form a beak. Another characteristic of this family is a highly lethal toxin, called tetrodotoxin, present in the fishes’ skin, flesh and internal organs.
Two young coots hang around their nest.
Although the nest appears complete the adults continue to add more reeds.
WA Sprint Championships Saturday 28th & Sunday 29th January
2023Entries close on Saturday midnight. All athletes (including each individual for outrigger crews) need to sign up within Webscorer to ensure we have full safety/medical and contact details. Ensure you complete your individual (K1, Ski, OC, Va etc) distance
entries in the registration. All team boats (K2, K4, OC6 will be captured by green Google sheet link in the opening registration form) Outrigger crews - these will be compiled centrally by your clubs and provided to me. You still need to sign up in webscorer to collect entry fee and
administrative data. https://www.webscorer.com/register?raceid=301128 PROVISIONAL RACE-DAY SCHEDULE
Saturday & Sunday K1
K2 & K4: Races will be spread over both days.
Outrigger team boats will be Saturday. Outrigger/Va'a individual races on Sunday
Masters races scheduling provisionally for Sunday welcome to also participate in Open events on Saturday
Race finals following heats will be same day
Start Gate practice prior to 7.30am, First Race: 8:00am Saturday & Sunday
Briefing notes will be emailed out. No check-in, just collect
number on the day
OCEANBUILT Gage Roads Run Change of Date
Unfortunately due to the wind/heat forecast the race has been changed with the new date being the 28 January | Port Beach to Sorrento
Welcome to the 2023 OCEANBUILT Gage Roads Run, and thanks to Justin Brent-White for his support for the OCEANBUILT Gage Roads Run.
Race Course: Fremantle
North Mole (enter water at Port Beach) around Gage Roads marker to Sorrento SLSC (27kms).
Race check-in: Port Beach from 12.30 pm
Race start: 2.00pm
There will be a time limit to reach City Beach. Anyone not at City Beach in the required time will be asked to withdraw from the race. 'The ASH Trophy' for the Open Paddlers and 'The U23 Gareth Wright Trophy' and other prizes will be awarded at Sorrento SLSC after the race. Enter here: JustGo
Collie Water Release
29th January
A high flow release is planned to take place from 8am to Midday on Sunday 29 January from Wellington Dam. It is expected to be a 400+ML/Day release. Water will take approximately 20 minutes from 8am to reach max flow rate.
Thank you to Harvey Water for providing this release. Please contact develop@paddlewa.asn.au if you have any queries. |
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