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Many thanks to all those people who sent their condolences regarding our dog Nikki. It was an emotional few days. With Jenny returning from
England next weekend it's going to another emotional time. Nikki's ashes arrived home this morning.
- Paddler of the Week - Michael Booth
- The Avon River is Dry
- Marathon Team to Croatia
- The Double Barkers Race
- World Cup and World Championships - Gold Medals
- The Murray River Descent - Part Two
- Coming Events
- Remember- the Wild Water Buoys Race this Sunday.
- Remember - the Ramon Race next Sunday.
Paddler of the Week Michael Booth
Michael Booth is your all round paddler. He is a member of a surf club and a strong competitor in the surf. He is a kayaker, a surf ski paddler and a Stand Up Board paddler.
Not only that he is at the top of his game in every paddle discipline. I know he was once going to take up C1 high kneeling paddling but I haven't
seen him in a sprint canoe yet! At one time Michael was a World Number 2 Ocean Ski paddler, an Olympic-hopeful kayaker and now he is a World Champion SUP racer several times over. Some of his SUP results are
below. - ISA SUP World Champion Distance Race:
Michael secured this title three times, in 2016, 2018 & 23. - ISA SUP World Champion Distance
Tour:
He won this championship in 2016 & 2019. - ICF SUP World Distance Race Champion:
He claimed this title twice, in 2019 and 2022. - ICF iSUP World Distance Race Champion:
He added another world championship to his collection in 2022. - Australian SUP Champion Distance Race:
He has won this title three times (2015, 2017, and 2018). - European SUP Tour Champion:
He dominated the European SUP Tour for three consecutive years (2017, 2018, and 2019). - Carolina Cup Champion:
Michael emerged victorious at the Carolina Cup three times (2018, 2019, 2022, 23 & 24 ).
Michael competing in Surf Club events.
Michael as a sprint kayaker.
Michael as a surf ski paddler. It looks as if he was a body builder as well!!
In 2015 Michael came 5th in the Doctor Race.
Michael as a SUP paddler and World Champion.
In 2018 Michael announced that he was now the newest ambassador for Ocean Heroes Australia, a charity that is giving people of all ages with Autism the opportunity to experience the thrill of the ocean. With 164,000 people across
Australia diagnosed with autism, Ocean Heroes aims to deliver a service like no other. Ocean Heroes was first discovered in 2017 in Perth and at present has given 1500 people suffering with the disorder the opportunity to “feel alive” through surfing waves in Western Australia alone. Above:- Aussie Champion Michael Booth, along with mates, Luke Hallam, Cameron McKay and Alex Fossilo completed a 230km SUP journey like no other on Saturday, raising close to $16,000 for the charity Ocean Heroes and spreading awareness for ‘Autism’. Michael and the team began their paddle from Dunsborough to Perth to spread autism awareness,
spending a total of 28 hours on the water over five consecutive days.
With just two nights back home in Perth, Western Australia after winning the ISA 2019 World Distance Title in China, Michael was quick to board a plane to Paris, France where he would face very different circumstances. Landing in freezing cold weather; crisp air, high wind and an extremely vast contrast to the hot and humid weather he had just come
from. Michael tested his body and his perseverance, pushing his comfort zone to a whole new level as he braved the change of climate and focused on the race that laid ahead. “China was extremely hot, humid and dehydrating last week and to then come to Paris and
face freezing weather and be wearing thermals and beanie’s was definitely a bit of a shock to the body,” he said. Michael admits that coming into the Paris SUP Open and knowing the race conditions he was about to face, he felt apprehensive “not really sure how my body would hold up”. Michael finished just in front of Connor Baxter and Leonard Nika in the distance paddle.
I had a solid hit out yesterday in less than favourable conditions at the Mandurah Cut run. For what is usually an epic downwind course we had a gusty cross/head wind. Plenty of little bumps to chase and was nice to feel strong the whole way and take the win. A great hit out before the ICF SUP World Champs on Friday in Thailand. Thanks to everyone
who made the event happen. Michael won the Inflatable long distance SUP race in Thailand and was 10th in the long distance hard shell SUP.
In 4 weeks, Michael won major SUP races in the US, France, UK as well as coaching and racing in Italy and Ireland. In Hawaii he swapped his SUP for an Ocean Ski to line up for the Molokai
World Championships.
30th May 2023 4th in the Shaw and Partners Molokai to Oahu. I
gave it everything I had and I’m pleased with my result. Went out strong and had a solid plan for how to attack the race. I had no escort so was self sufficient across the channel and basically nailed my line and strategy.
Hard battle in the final moments trying to hang onto third with a lot of us converging at China Walls. I wasn’t good enough on the day but was cool to be in the fight for the podium for the first
time. Definitely not finished with this race as there’s always something new to learn when crossing the Ka’iwi Channel. The journey, the experience and the challenge is something that helps you strive to be the best you can be. Still have a few things I need to work out to nail it for me as I am always battling cramps in the dying stages in this event.
Massive thank you to Shaw and Partners, Race One and
Oceanpaddler for this incredible week leading into competition. Was nice to hang out with a lot of friends new and old. And was great to be on the daily Hawaii Kai runs warming up for the race. These type of experiences I’ll never forget and I feel fortunate to be doing this stuff.
Time to stand up again and get back to Europe!
𝗪𝗜𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗥 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗙𝗜𝗟𝗘 // Michael Booth – Coach of the Year Michael's unwavering commitment to
improving Sorrento Surf Life Saving Club WA athletes' performances through his dedicated training programs earned him the distinction of being named 2023 Coach of the Year. It was love at first sight with surf sports when Michael
joined the Nipper program at Caves Beach SLSC in Newcastle. From an early age, he was a hardworking, competitive, and determined athlete. As he progressed through the age groups, Michael represented both NSW and Australia in a range of teams and, at the age of 18, made the decision to move to the Gold Coast to pursue the Ironman dream. After a
while, Michael stepped away from Surf Life Saving to pursue other interests, such as ocean ski, sprint kayaking and stand-up paddle boarding where he has excelled and competed in events worldwide. Moving to Perth, Michael took on the role of Head Surf Sports Coach at Sorrento SLSC. Drawing on his wealth of knowledge as a competitor, he has
focused on building the youth and senior squads with a fun and competitive culture. One of his coaching highlights from the season was seeing all the hard work pay off as Sorrento athletes made 32 finals across the youth and senior competition at the 2023 Aussies, a huge improvement from their one final reached at the 2022 event, while at the 2023 WA Championships, Sorrento finished third overall, their highest finish achieved in some time. Michael has a great appreciation for Surf Life Saving as it has given him plenty of friends, opportunities, and skills that he uses on a daily basis. Inspired by the coaching likes of Michael King, and athletes wanting to become the best version of themselves, he aims to take Sorrento's Surf Sports team to the next level, nurturing athletes’ development from Nippers all the way to Open
competition. Sorrento SLSC
Michael is currently in Europe competing. Line up for the start.
It's close at a buoy turn.
A race to the finish. Michael is beaten by less than a second. The big news first: Donato Freens beats Michael Booth. His victory is most likely the biggest win of his career. Arriving at the finish
line less than a board length ahead of one of the biggest names in the sport is a huge career moment for Donato. The odds were certainly on Boothys side and if we had to pick a name for gold it would have been Boothy. In fact we were pretty convinced that this race will be an easy pay check for Boothy. In numbers: The 0.74 seconds cost Boothy EUR 1000 in price money as Donato is taking home his biggest cheque ever.
Michael the coach. Michael has been coaching athletes worldwide through his BOOTH Training programs, helping them achieve podium finishes, local victories, and personal bests. His expertise spans
SUP, ocean ski, and other paddlesports so he has a lot of knowledge to share.
If you’re looking to improve your paddling skills, it’s your turn to benefit from his experience! Check out:- BOOTH Training | Michael Booth (michael-booth.com.au)
The Avon River
Will it Rain? or if it doesn't we could always run it!
Bells Rapid above the bridge a couple of weeks ago.
Photo Kim Mahony
Bells Rapid below the bridge.
Photo Kim Mahony
Above Northam. It looks as if I need to get my running shoes on. Photo Simon Kettle.
In 1989 I ran up to Northam and raced back in a C1. Another year I paddled from Bayswater to Northam against the current and paddled back in the race.
If we have to run the river there should be water by the time we get to Maali Bridge, near Middle Swan. Then it will be easy paddling after that!
Last year in Denmark Dave and I came 7th out of 17 doubles in the 65-69 class. Dave is a powerhouse.
Double Barkers Bridge Race I decided to paddle the 11.3km short course at the Double Barkers Race to see if I could beat my time of 1.16.08 that I did in the John Sims Race
which was the same distance. Unfortunately my back began to ache 4kms in so I slowed, but it came right around the 9km mark however, with a bit of head wind on the way back my time was over 3 minutes slower. It was another great weather day otherwise.
Cameron Thurgate cruising across the line. Photo Geraint Madison
Wendy Burdett was flying and first female in div 3. Photo Geraint Madison
A pack of paddlers passing the jetty on their first lap. Photo Geraint Madison
South African Jade Wilson who has been in Perth a few weeks and taken part in several of our races. she was 8th overall with a time of 1.54.56 which was an amazing time. Photo Geraint
Madison Results 2024 Double Barkers Main: Guppies:
2024 ICF Canoe Sprint World Cup andParaCanoe World Championships 3 gold, 2 silver & 2 bronze medals Gold: Tom Green and Jean van der Westhuyzen - Men's K2 500 Gold: Alyce Wood - Women's K1 1000 Gold: Curtis McGrath
KL2 Silver: Riley Fitzsimmons, Pierre van der Westhuyzen, Jackson Collins and Noah Havard - Men's K4 500 Silver: Dylan Littlehales - Men's KL3 200 Bronze: Curtis McGrath - Men's VL3 200 Bronze: Susan Seipel took out bronze in VL2 200
Gold for Tom Green and Jean van der Westhuyzen - Men's K2 500
Gold for Alyce Wood - Women's K1 1000
Gold for Curtis McGrath - Men's KL2 winning his 12th ICF title.
Spains Antía Jacome 2023 saw Antía Jácome (Pontevedra, 1999) turn into one of the best canoeists in the world. Proof of this are the three silver medals she won at the World
Championships in Duisburg (Germany) last August. With these precedents, this canoeist from Galicia is a firm favourite among the Spanish delegation to win a medal in Paris.
The Murray River 2500km Descent Part 2 Battling Strong Winds The following day, I entered South Australia with its spectacular cliffs and wider river. This indicated that I was getting closer to my goal. Unfortunately, as the river turned south I had to fight the strong southerly winds sweeping towards me. After all the delays, I couldn’t afford to lose any more time, but the
strong afternoon breeze, that also blew through the night, frustrated my final push towards the ocean. Night paddling became a worry; the wind whipped up large waves, making it increasingly difficult to balance the kayak, especially in a drowsy state. I battled on against the wind knowing that the record was now at risk, but if I kept up my average pace over the next 4 days I could
still break it. Over the last 13 days I had thought of nothing but breaking the record. I’d pushed my body close to its limits and survived on little sleep, but despite all that, I had really enjoyed the paddle and learnt an amazing amount about my own abilities. Tim’s job became slightly easier at this point, as a few more roads adjoined the river; for the time being no more worry and
frustration that we might lose each other again. Tim quietly went about his own marathon, enduring the lack of sleep, cooking, shopping, working out our next rendezvous point, and spending long hours simply waiting. As a one man show he certainly had his hands full!
The better scenery was a great change.
The cliffs of South Australia.
Our diet since leaving Perth had consisted mainly of cereal, fruit, vegetables, stew and lots of rice pudding. In fact, everyday for the past 8 months our diet had virtually been the same, although in the deserts and remote places we had no fresh food, so we relied on dried foods instead. Despite the monotonous diet, it was working well. I doubt if
I could have felt any fitter considering what I was going through. I drank copious amounts of water, the odd cup of coffee and a delicious cup of milo at night. Meat was eaten about 12 times in 12 months. By the time I reached Blanchtown, I had paddled 2200 kilometres down rapids, across lakes, through forests and past swamps and beautiful high cliffs. As I approached the Blanchtown
bridge, with a huge semi trailer crossing it – it was one of a few I had seen in over the 2000 kilometres, I realised that although I was paddling in my own wilderness, civilisation was not far away. Champagne Premature All along the river, whenever I saw
someone they would ask where I was going. I naturally replied, ‘to the ocean’, which generally fazed people out, because at the time for many of the inquiries, I was hundreds and sometimes thousands of kilometres away from it. Although I had a task to complete, I always tried to be polite, but every time I stopped to tell my whole story it often took 5-15 minutes. I have many fond memories of the people I met, but I will never forget the time I passed Willowbanks Marina near Murray Bridge. I’d
waved to a lady who had spotted me passing her property and she had recognised me from the channel 9 Clive Robertson show. (Clive thought I was a real nut case.) Soon after, three water skiers being towed by the same boat, came speeding up behind me and peeled off in front of my kayak. Under my breath I selected a few choice words for their inconsiderate behaviour. Then to my astonishment they held up a bottle of champagne that the lady had asked them to give me, to celebrate my achievement. The
lady’s identity is still a mystery to me. Hanging On to A Thread The wind increased over the next few days, severely reducing my speed. I hung on a thread, as the record slowly started slipping from my grasp. Sadly the wind never eased, and I finally had to
accept that I wasn’t going to make it. There was no chance of making up those lost hours battling the wind. However, there was no question of my giving up. I wanted to get as close to the record as I could, and I still had the Tom Groggin to Goolwa record to establish. Lake Alexandrina and the weather had different ideas. As I crossed the lake, 25 – 30 knot headwinds reduced the distance I usually covered, by two -thirds and I could hardly make headway. It was too dangerous to kayak at night,
and extremely risky paddling through the day. So the horrific conditions continued, and I battled on, finally finishing two days behind the record. Despite this, I was very happy with my performance under the trying conditions, and considering my lack of paddling preparation. There was always a next time!
Many of the locks on the river I walked around as it was quicker.
The wind was against me on the last section. As I crossed Lake Alexandrina I had 25 – 30 knot headwinds.
The Final Fling. Although I didn't succeed in breaking Mick Macmanus’ record from Hume Weir to Goolwa, I did, however, establish a longer distance record, which included starting near the river's origin and upstream of
the rapid sections before Hume Weir Lake. Someone will have an exciting time trying to beat that in the future. After kayaking for 16 to 20 hours a day, for nearly 21 days, with a maximum of three hours sleep each night, I imagined the finish of the trip would be something really wonderful, and maybe the media would be there. But the wind made the end grind on, and although faxes and
phone calls to the media went out in all directions, not even the local paper turned up! On Friday 11th February at 12.33 South Australian time, my only well wisher was Frank Tuckwell, the manager of the Signal Point, River Murray Interpretive Centre and an official for the Inland Rivers National Marathon Register. Although Goolwa is where the records are officially finished, I still had to battle 12 kilometres against gale force winds, to achieve my ultimate goal, the
ocean.
I arrive at Port Goolwa. There is a bridge there now that connects the mainland to an Hindmarsh Island.
On Friday 11th February at 12.33 South Australian time, my only well wisher was Frank Tuckwell, the manager of the Signal Point, River Murray Interpretive Centre and an official for the Inland Rivers National Marathon Register. Although Goolwa is where the records are officially finished, I still had to battle 12 kilometres
against gale force winds, to achieve my ultimate goal.
So finally I reached the mouth of the Murray river – and what a spectacular sight! Furious waves were breaking round the entrance for several hundred metres out to sea. I hadn’t anticipated the speed of the current and found myself going at speed through the entrance. I quickly gathered my composure, turned the kayak and paddled
hard towards the beach. For a moment I felt the current was too strong for me to hit the beach, but I persevered and it was all over. I had really arrived! After my 2500 kilometres voyage had sunk in, the kayak went straight on the roof rack, leaving me with 15 kilometres to run back to Goolwa. I had walked 900 kilometres from sea level to the highest mountain and kayaked from
near the highest mountain to sea level. The 21 days on the river Murray was still only a small part of my journey. Now, all I had to do, was to cycle 1000 kilometres along the ocean road to Melbourne, starting the following day. Then I would board the ferry to Tasmania. There, I planned to walk and cycle around Tassie, before returning to Melbourne for a final cycle back to Perth,
where my trip started.
At the river mouth. What a journey. Now I had to cycle to Melbourne by the coast road.
February 16th. Goolwa. I slept happily in my swag and crawled out at 8.15am to take on yet another new, and probably easier challenge, a 1000 km bike ride to Melbourne along the great coast road. With twenty-one days of
constant paddling, grabbing a few hours here and there to sleep, doing over 100 kilometres a day, I imagined that I would want to rest for at least a day. But no, I was on a roll. I felt fitter than any time that I can remember so I needed to keep moving and to feel that I wasn’t cheating myself by resting and treating the trip as if it was a leisurely holiday. Although I was raring to go, I couldn’t move on until I had done my washing, sorting out my gear and servicing the bike. This took until
3.00pm. After eating an ice cream, I left the beach at the point I had finished my run the previous day and continued on my journey eastward. Strathalbyn was the first stop where we took a shine to a coffee with Baileys Irish Cream added. From there, the area running close to the lake that I had crossed only the previous day was low and really barren. My day finished at a caravan park
on the western side of the Murray River at Wellington. I rang Peter in Tasmania, (a guy who wanted to walk with me) to confirm my arrival there, had a shower with an erratic temperament and then finished the day with a $9.00 meal and a beer at the pub. February 17th. Sunday. Wellington. As I opened my swag to greet the morning, a huge spider crept out with me. It looked bigger than huge. I didn’t know they grew to that size. If I had known it had slept with me, I’m sure that I would have been up much earlier. I let the hairy monster walk away with dignity, as killing it would be such a shame. It was a beautiful yet quite frightening creature to be close to. I was soon back on my bike heading for Melbourne and beyond.
Wild Water Race Sunday 19th May Sprint & Classic Races Some exciting changes have been made to this Sunday’s Ascot Bouys Race. This will be the first TWO WA state
series races of EIGHT that will be run over the course of the 2024 winter season. Sundays race format has been changed from a best of 2 individual short classic races as raced in previous years. The new format is 1 x INDIVIDUAL SPRINT and 1 x MASS START CLASSIC. Both of these races will be awarded points towards the overall series standings
individually. Adding the individual sprint race evens the ratio of classic/sprint races in which there is 4:4 in this years series vs 2:4 from previous years. The second sprint addition will be run alongside the WA State Wildwater Sprint Championships later in the season. The mass start classic in this Sundays event also provides a unique opportunity to race a different ICF relevant start procedure to what is usually done in WA. It is a start procedure that is raced regularly on the European circuit but this Sundays event will be one of the first mass start Wildwater races run in the history of the sport in Australia. It will be a spectacle to be apart of whether
spectating or racing. Please
also familiarise yourself with the below course maps prior to Sundays races. We look forward to seeing you there!
Race 2. Classic race around the buoys.
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