|
|
|
|
I just hope that I'm still alive and fit at 88 because there would be no better reward than paddling the Mississippi River and claim a record that Dale Sanders set at the age of 87. Read his story below. In 1998 I paddled the entire 3734 km Mississippi River in 35 days. How good would it be to return and do it again at 88! I can only hope. Check out my account here- https://terrybolland.wordpress.com/about/11-2/ I was devastated when I missed paddling on the river on Tuesday because of a sore throat. Apart from the weekend I spent in Sydney getting the 'Presidents Award' I can't think of a
day that I haven't been on the river for nearly two years. I raced at Sandy Beach Saturday morning, did a bird spotting 10 km paddle Saturday evening, paddled the Rod Fry Race in a double with Chris Watson on Sunday morning, did another 10 km bird spotting paddle Sunday evening and then paddled 11 kms Monday
morning. Then all of a sudden after my paddle I developed a wicked sore throat so bad it was hugely painful to swallow or even talk and on Monday night I slept little.
I took two different RAT
tests and no indication of Covid. Tuesday evening I was feeling a lot better and by Wednesday lunch my sore throat had just about gone and with no other symptoms it allowed me to go for a short non strenuous paddle Wednesday evening. On Thursday it seemed that I was getting back to normal although I will be taking it a little easier for a few days.
An Osprey having dinner downstream of Point Reserve, Bassendean. If you can't find an Osprey out there at the moment, you are not looking.
The sun goes down at my put-in point.
There might be erosion along the shores created by all the power boats, you can't miss some of the big trees dying along the shoreline but there are still many snapshots of beauty along the river. I just love to find spots where the sun is setting and bringing a brighter colour to the trees.
There are certainly a lot of beauty in other parts of the world but still, how good it is to be living here in Perth.
- Mississippi River Record
- Rod Fry Race
- Who's Out
There
- Wednesday Night at Ascot
- Kayak Cross (Extreme Slalom)
- Birds Along the Way
- Coming Events
- Sprint GP2
- Paddle WA Come & Try
- Mandurah Canals
- City Lights
To Conquer the Mississippi River at 87
HE DID IT: Dale “Greybeard” Sanders reclaims Guinness World Record for oldest person to paddle down Mississippi River. Near the end of his journey at New Orleans. He did it. When
Dale “Greybeard” Sanders landed at the Vicksburg waterfront on Aug. 20, he may have been tired, hot and hungry, but that did not keep the 87-year-old from continuing his journey. On Aug. 21 he put his canoe back in the water and on Sept. 8, he broke a Guinness World Record when he became the oldest person to paddle down the Mississippi River in just 87 days. “At 87 I thought I would never be able to do something like this,” Sanders said. “I always thought I would be dead before the turn of the century.” Sanders admitted his body was tired on the last day. “Ready to shut down,” he said. But it didn’t deter him from the victory. “We paddled out into the Gulf of Mexico enough to taste the salt in the water and then made the turn to come back into the beach,” he said. Elated to see his wife, Sanders said he was also overjoyed to see his entire family there on the beach waiting to celebrate with him.
Dale near the start of his journey.
During his travels, which stretched 2,340 miles, Sanders had a film crew along for the ride documenting the historic feat. “We followed Dale on his three-month paddle of the Mississippi River and filmed the incredible journey that will serve as the backdrop on which we tell the story of Dale Sanders,” Zak Rivers said. Rivers, an award-winning photographer, filmmaker and musician from Minnesota, was directing the project, and he said, the last day of the journey started with a “beautifully coloured
sunrise.” “But as we got going it was almost like the whole river experience down into one day. It was a beautiful morning as we got going, but then it started raining. It poured super hard, and the paddlers dealt with it where normally they would get a break. There was nowhere to stop on the last day — just weeds and water,” Rivers said.
Unable to stop and rest, Rivers said, the paddlers were exhausted by the time they made it to New Orleans. “It was emotional for them, but when we got to the end, the rain cleared up and it was a beautiful afternoon and when we landed, we got the shots we wanted to get,” he said. Rivers
said the goal is to have the film ready for the Lookout Wild Film Festival, which is held in mid-January in Chattanooga, Tenn. Titled “Greybeard: The Man, The Myth, The Mississippi,” the documentary will focus not only on Sanders’ journey down the Mississippi River but will also be an overview of his accomplishments.
In addition to breaking the Guinness World Record for the oldest person to paddle down the Mississippi River, Sanders held that record once before, as
well as breaking and holding additional records which include being the oldest man to hike the full 2,190-mile-long Appalachian Trail. He is the oldest man to hike the Florida National Scenic Trail/Florida Trail and in 2020 became the oldest man to do the Rim to Rim to Rim — R2R2R — which is a hike from the south ridge of the Grand Canyon to the north ridge and back which also garnered him a Guinness Record. Sanders said he was appreciative to all those who cheered him on and assisted on his journey. “I want to thank the crew and the River Angels. All the hundreds of River Angels that helped us were just superb. It’s so important to have River Angels help you out along the way. I also had a crew that was experienced and that was a tremendous asset,” Sanders said, adding they all helped him reach
his goal “as planned,” which was reaching the Gulf in 87 days. To view a trailer for the documentary, visit https://youtu.be/8zPZPu_ypx0. By Terri Frazier
Rod Fry Race When we arrived at the Swan Canoe Club there was a stiff easterly wind blowing so it looked as if the first 1.4 km part of our race, with the conditions being a little rough was going to be interesting. I was paddling a double Epic ski with Chris Watson. We were very close to being the same speed in singles but we hadn’t paddled together for a few years and that was in the WA Marathon Champs with less bounce in the water. I didn’t expect that we would be falling in, but paddling across the waves as we warmed up had us stuttering for a while. There were only two paddlers that braved it in narrow K1s, John Hilton and Andrew Hewlett. The rest of the field were either in skis, outriggers, SUPs or sea kayaks. Jaime Roberts introduced me to a young guy called Lewis Smith who was visiting Perth from the city of Lincoln in England. Having been brought up on a farm in Lincolnshire we had a little in common. He was in Perth for 2-3 weeks and it was his first race in Australia.
Young Gregory Small the only guppy paddler. Photos
SCC.
SUP paddlers, outriggers and rescue boats are off.
The wind seemed to ease a little the longer we were waiting for a start. We were the last grid to leave with only 4 doubles on the line - the Guns – Brett McDonald & Paul Paardekooper, the Torpedoes – Warren
Southwell & Bruce McWhirter, the Rockets Cindy & Steve Coward and the Pop Pistols, Me & Chris Watson. Brett & Paul took off like a super-sonic missile, but we were ahead of Warren & Bruce at Chidley Point where the river calmed as we paddled in a south-westerly direction to
Point Roe. We started passing several single craft on this section, but so did Warren & Bruce who were getting closer to us. As we cut across the shallows of Point Roe and got into deeper waters they were in my peripheral vision which was not a good sign, but it was expected as both Warren & Bruce were faster paddlers than Chris and I. My plan though, if they should pass us, was to washride them as long as we could, hopefully back to Chidley Point, and on that last 1.4 km section, where it would be a little rough, we would go for it and beat them over the line. But for the moment they were still behind. As we crossed the river several big power boats came by leaving pretty big wakes that had to be taken seriously as they could easily cause a capsize. They got worse as we moved around the next corner after the Swan Yacht Club and crossed the river again. We had now passed many more singles including crazy kayak paddlers John Hilton and Andrew Hewlett who didn’t seem to be going as well in their kayaks as some of the more stable ski
paddlers.
Volunteer spotters at the bridge turn point.
Huge power boats continued to cross our path and leave big wakes. Once we crossed the channel again and paddled into a little calmer waters we could put more effort in. The closer we got to the turn-around-point
at the bridge pylons the calmer the waters. We could hear the voices of Warren & Bruce behind and Brett and Paul were already heading back upstream with the current.
When we reached the bridge I shouted our number out to the two beautiful volunteers on shore (thanks volunteers along the way) and turned around at the bridge pylon hoping the way back might be a bit calmer, but it
wasn’t and when two boats met, each going in different directions the waves were even more confused. When I saw Kate Crossing I again wondered how the less experienced paddlers were feeling as we at times had to do a support stroke. By the time we had got half way back Warren & Bruce appeared
to be a few hundred metres behind which took the pressure off us a little, but we really couldn’t let up as there were still some big power boat waves coming through. A lack of concentration and a capsize would be disastrous. A race is never over until the finish line is crossed. After Chidley Point we
only had that 1.4 kms to go and with Warren & Bruce still a ways behind we had a little time in hand but that didn’t stop us from paddling as hard as we could to make sure the gap at the end was substantial. Leaving Chidley Point the waves were small as there wasn’t much wind fetch at that point, but the closer we got to the club, with more open water the waves coming from the side became more of a nuisance, but it didn’t stop us paddling hard so we beat the Torpedoes – Warren & Bruce by
39 seconds. Being the 6th boat over the line we even beat Olympian Jaime Roberts, but Lewis Smith, the young lad from Lincoln was 9 seconds off being the first single home. It appears he isn’t a bad paddler! It was a great race, a little challenging at times but that can be expected at this
time of year. If it was a month or so later, the wind might be a little friendlier and there might be less boats heading out of the harbour wanting to take advantage of the warm weather. Lots and lots of food waited to be eaten upstairs at the club where paddlers were mingling and the presentation was
being held. I went home with a full stomach and a prize consisting of some sun screen lotion and skin softener / wrinkle cream. Someone knew there were going to be a lot of old paddlers taking part in the race. Many thanks to SCC and their volunteers. Results here:- https://www.webscorer.com/racedetails?raceid=305231&did=368964
Warwick Smith returning in the sea kayak division. Warwick was
a very good C1 slalom paddler. We both paddled against Rod Fry in slalom and sprint C1s before Rod's accident and death.
It was the first time Kate Crossing had paddled in the Rod Fry race. I bet she found it exciting.
The guys from Sea Rescue being fed.
It was good to know 3 rescue craft were out there today.
There were lots of food to eat and prizes given out.
Race HistoryRod Fry (1964 – 1993) was a dominant force in C1 and C2 paddling in Western Australia for more than a decade.
His competitive achievements are numerous.
Perhaps those most well known are his three wins in C1 and five in C2 classes (with Lydia Formentin, Geoff Chambers and Ray Hall) in the Avon Descent. Rod’s
records for the Mixed C2 and Men’s C2 in the Avon Descent still stand with Lydia and Ray.
In State and Wild Water championships he consistently came first and second.
At the National level, Rod was known for his successful partnerships with Lydia Formentin, winning both the Wild Water Open Mixed C2 and the Slalom Mixed C2 classes in
1983 and almost duplicating the feat in 1984. He had further successes in both Slalom and Wild Water events over the years, most recently in 1993, just two weeks before his tragic road accident.
Internationally, he competed in the World Marathon Championships in 1985 and in the World Wild Water Championships in 1989 and in 1991 when he came 27th in the C1 class.
Rod was a valued member of Swan Canoe Club for twelve years. He was a quiet achiever who will be remembered for his enthusiasm and encouragement of others, and his skill and dedication to C1 and C2 paddling.
Paul Sheehy and
Steve Cartwright try to out pace each other on a morning training run.
Andy, Peter & Sharon, Brett, Bernard and Trevor and others taking part in the Thursday evening 1.8 km island sprints.
Patrick Tullock cruising along this morning.
A few of the Over 45 Canoe Club this morning heading to Maylands.
They just kept coming - about 50 of them.
I hope the Peninsular Farm Coffee Shop has a lot of staff working.
Wednesday Night at Ascot Kayak Club
Jane Pankhurst putting juniors through their paces. K4 paddling with a member standing up.
Line up for the club race.
Peter Tomczac leads the race and wins.
Extreme Slalom (Kayak Cross) Extreme Slalom (KayakCross) is set to make its Olympic debut at the Paris Olympic Games. Action at the Penrith Open.
WAs Ben Pope gets a silver.
JGRimages
An Osprey having dinner downstream of Point Reserve, Bassendean.
Swan-ning down the Swan River.
Red Tailed Black Cockatoos are out in force and enjoying the honky nuts of the marri trees outside home.
Grey Teal ducks. I have been seeing lots of Grey Teals in the last few weeks. It must be the season for them.
Michelle Major Sprint GP2 Update GP2 is here this week. The trailer has arrived and athletes fly out mostly tomorrow morning bright and early. Good luck to our local and performance centre based crew. Go show them west is best. Links to results, social media in the PA post below. No livestream - fyi.
Paddle WACome and join us and try paddling! 19 February 9am - 1pm Kent Street Weir, Wilson
Register Mandurah Canals Feb 26th ! https://www.webscorer.com/register?raceid=302891 Head down to exotic Peel Region, race on a really interesting course, stay for fish & chips in the harbour ! Inaugural “Big Waka” Cup for OC6s ! [need 3 at
least] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
