The lack of rain is not looking good for the next two races to be held on white water. Will the rain this week help the river to rise enough for the Northam to Toodyay race to go ahead or will it be shortened.   

• Paddler of the Week - Michael Leverett
• WA Wild Water
• Slalom Race
• The Yukon River Descent
• Paddling Norway
• Albany Sea Kayaking
• Coming Events
• Wild Water Race - 7th July 2024
  Northam to Toodyay - 14th July 2024

Paddler of the Week
Michael Leverett. 
Born 4/11/1971

Australian Canoe Marathon Champion 18 times.

Since the year 2000 Michael Leverett has been addicted to marathon paddling. In that time he has won the Australian Canoe Marathon Championships about 18 times, won three medals at World Championships and he has always been a consistent paddler over a long period of time. 
Before marathon he was a Surf Life Saving surfski paddler before transitioning over to become a sprint kayaker, then a marathon paddler.
The competitive aspect of Marathon racing has always been one of his favourite things about the sport.
He loves hard racing, and being pushed and not getting things his own way, and has enjoyed the competitive races at the World Championships against all the top paddlers.
He won his first Australian Championships in the year 2000 and from then on he was the top marathon paddler until 2015 when he came second. In 2001 Michael was in third place in the World rankins. 

In 2009 Michael was 12^th in the Men’s Open K1 World Championships and he was also the winner of Paddle Australia’s 2009 Marathon Paddler of the Year.

In the 2013 Australian Canoe Marathon Championships in Perth he won the open men's K1 beating the second placed paddler by over 3 minutes and under 23 Josh Kippin by 5 minutes. He came second with his now wife Kate McGrath in the open men's K2 being under one second behind the male winners. It was an unbelievable performance.

In 1999 Michael was 13th in the world. 
In 2000 Michael was 3rd in the world. He was 29 years old.
In 2001 Michael was 2nd in the world.
In 2005 Michael was 16th in the world. Champs were in Perth.
In 2007 Michael was 20th in the world. 
In 2008 Michael was 5th in the world. He was 37 years old.
In 2009 Michael was 12th in the world.
In 2010 Michael was 6th in the world.
In 2011 Michael was 9th in the world.
In 2012 Michael was 5th in the world. He was 41 years old.
In 2013 Michael was 15th in the world.
In 2014 Michael was 17th in the world.
In 2015 Michael was 16th in the world.
In 2016 Michael was 12th in the world. He was 45 years old.
In 2017 Michael was 14th in the world.
In 2019 Michael was 22nd in the world. He was 48 years old.

Michael has represented Australian dozens of times.

Michael competing in the Australian Championships in Perth in 2019. He came 3rd in the open. He was 48 years old.
In 2013 in Perth he came 1st.

In 2012 Mick took 5th place at the World Championships and is keen to be on the podium this year after winning his 15th national title in K1 earlier in the year.

2013 –Victorians Mick Leverett and Kate McGrath from Footscray Canoe Club head to Columbia to represent Australia at the World Games.

On the 1^st of August, they will race in the K1 event which will be run on a small lake with 7 laps of a 1.7km loop, portaging on each lap. For each category there will be 2 semi finals. The first 4 boats from each semi final and the boats among the rest which have the best 2 times go to the final that will be run in the afternoon.

Kate also has had a string of accomplishments and came fifth in the World Championships five years before having children.

In 2013 in Perth Michael and Kate McGrath/Leverett paddled in the open men's K2 and was less than one second behind the male winners. It was an unbelievable performance.

In this years 2024 Australian Championships Kate was 4th in the open and 3rd Australian. 
In 2003 she was 3rd. 
In 2019 she was 2nd. 
In 2017 she was 1st. 
In 2016 she was 1st. 
In 2014 she was 1st. 
In 2013 she was 1st. 
In 2012 she was 3rd. 
in 2009 she was 3rd.

I don't know Michael or Kate's results in the Australian Championship Results for Marathon from 2002 to 2008 and 2010 & 2011 as I am yet to find them. They seem to be in the clouds somewhere.

Kate who has two children with Michael will be representing Australia in the open category at the World Championships in Croatia.

Mike and Kate have been very committed to Marathon Paddling for a long time.

WA Wild Water 

Nina Mueller above and Harry Langley are back from Europe after competing in two World Cups.

WAs Hunter Florisson 
at the World Junior Championships in Slovakia

Slalom Race Ascot

Kai Stafford showing his skills in the C1 event.

Rhys Macrae is becoming an accomplished C1 paddler as well as a K1 paddler and a wild water paddler.

Warwick Smith. He was once one of Australia's top C1 paddlers. Now he is back in a boat and giving the younger paddlers a run for their money.

The Yukon River Descent 2004

Twenty Years Ago

After chewing on our bread and slurping our hot noodles at lunch we left Perthes Point energised and feeling refreshed and full. We soon paddled through a narrower channel into another part of Taglish Lake, passing some beautiful houses and cabins at a place called Ten Mile, but oddly not a soul to be seen.
Once out in the bigger lake, we were afforded views up into the right Taku Arm where the water again met the snow-capped mountains. The lake was so still, shallow and so crystal clear that we could see the bottom. 
The weather hot though – I guessed around 30 degrees. We could hear the echoes and voices of children playing way over on the shore but other than their screams, and shouts of laughter, it was silent. Like me, they too seemed happy with life. We continued our silent paddle across the water full of our own thoughts. Ed spotted a rather large fish beneath us that excited him. I looked down but it was gone in a flash! 
As we moved into the channel of the Six Mile River, joining Taglish Lake to Marsh Lake, our passage was aided by the current. This gave a much needed boost to our morale after having no assistance all day. I asked Ed if he wanted to camp as we had completed our quota of kilometres, but he was keen to keep going. National and local flags were flying from many houses on the right bank. The houses soon petered out and began to reappear on the left bank a couple of kilometres before Taglish Bridge. We moved under our second bridge as a fisherman hauled a small fish out of the river. Over on the right bank there was a small mariner campsite and fuel station, but it didn’t take our fancy so we kept going.

Lunch at Perthes Point.

As we entered Marsh Lake the surrounds on the western side were low lying and swampy with some slightly higher ground way over on the eastern side where we didn’t really want to be. Our passage across the lake was like paddling into a huge void. Campsites looked scarce along the swampy shores and the low areas had grasses so green the whole area looked like a mosquito lair. We paddled on, moving over areas less than 60cm deep trying to avoid bogging down in the shallows.
I took out my binoculars, stood up in the canoe and searched for any suitable site. We were now desperate and realised we should have stopped before entering the lake. Way over to the west I managed to focus on what looked like a small beach so we headed to it. The spot was backed by thick forest and a green grassed area pitted with holes. As I stepped out onto the beach, very fresh bear footprints, as long as my hand, were embedded in the sand. I knew with certainty they had been imprinted today as yesterday’s rough weather would have washed them away.
The beach was damp and small, just enough room to squeeze in two tents. I walked on the grass to see if it was any better. Instantly a mass of mosquitoes flew up into a cloud and circled. At that point Ed was fairly insistent that he didn’t want to camp at this great spot! I looked at the beach again, which was penned in by dead pine trees and littered with bear tracks and admitted to myself, it really wasn’t the finest camp but it was the best we had seen. I suggested to Ed that we give it a go, but my reasoning didn’t convince Ed that this was the place to lay our head for the night. 
The water was still glassy, apart from a speeding power boat that created a wash that wallowed slowly across the lake. As soon as we could see the shores clearly on the eastern side we aimed for a spot north of a small cliff. We soon landed on stony ground which had half a metre of sloping gravel. This had to be flattened with our spare paddle to give us a level area to pitch our tents and prevent us from slipping off our sleeping mats. 

We immediately heard a noise in the trees. Was it a bear? I walked towards the sound, but forgot my camera. I turned back to get it and by the time I returned whatever it was had fled. Ed said he saw a small dog or something. Damn! I wanted something bigger – even a wolf would have been good though! I had read a lot about the Canadian wilderness and all its wildlife so I was keen to see some of it. Soon after, another noise came from the trees and I turned just in time to see a rabbit jump out and hop along the shore! So much for the scary wildlife.
The further north we paddled, the more we were losing the snowy mountains but this campsite still gave us beautiful, but distant views of them. Unfortunately this was going to be the last time we would see the white topped mountains so vividly.
We went back to our chores and the mosquitoes attached with vigour. By the time we had our tents erected it was still very warm at around 30˚. Ed decided to take a dip and I followed him in and boy was it cold! I yelled loudly before diving under water like a torpedo. As I skimmed along I felt as if I was forming into a huge icicle, so I quickly retreated and had a good wash on shore.
As soon as dinner was cooked Ed retreated to his tent to eat it and get away from the mosquitoes. Not a wise thing to do in this part of the world as the smell of food could encourage bears to enter tents in search of a feed. But at this point Ed would rather have faced the bears than the mosquitoes.
As soon as I had eaten, I also retreated to the tent to write my diary. It was 11.00pm and the sun was still shining, the view was stunning, but the mosquitoes made being outside a nightmare. Our distance for the day was 50kms. That was quite a long distance with so much weight in the boat and no current to assist. To think that only two days ago we were only able to paddle 12kms a day against the strong wind.

Ed was only 20 years old when he took the 3350km challenge taking 40 days.

Friday 18th June. Day 5

Even in the morning the mosquitoes were unrelenting which encouraged us to waste no time getting on the water. The lake was as flat as a pancake, so we had no worries about capsizing as we crossed it. We aimed for a point in the far, far distance and just kept paddling. 
On the north-east shores a small community scarred the pristine hillside with their houses and large blocks. Further on we could see the road, a busy highway which was the main highway north. I kept looking, seeing trucks and big RVs (recreational vehicles) fly by. Although I was out on a beautiful lake the road had me spellbound. I couldn’t help but wonder where all the vehicles were heading to.
A little further we passed the very small community of Marsh Lake, with few houses visible. Eventually we reached the far distant point that we had made our goal and rounded it. As the lake changed direction I knew that even if the heaviest winds challenged us now, it would have little effect on our progress. With the river entrance so close, the dangerous waters of the lakes were now behind us. At the next point we pulled in for lunch on a mosquito free, breezy, stony beach and cooked noodles.
As the lake narrowed, and the eagles sat majestically in the nearby trees I could feel another beginning; we were getting close to the real start of the Yukon River. The canoe started to pick up speed without us even paddling as the shores closed in and a current developed. It was just fantastic, having the feeling of being dragged along and the knowledge that we should have some current with us all the way to the sea.

We have entered the Yukon River leaving the lakes and the mountains behind.

Soon after we moved into a wide swampy area where a noisy power boat came speeding up the river. To our delight, its engine died and it suddenly came to an abrupt halt. We were quite grateful for the peace again and not at all sorry for the driver who would have a long paddle home. We passed a beautiful white sandbar, which was being used by dozens of birds, but despite its inviting appearance it was just too early in the day to stop.
A flock of waterbirds flew overhead as the river narrowed and we moved under the first bridge over the Yukon River, which carried the Alaskan Highway across it. The highway was busy with trucks and big RVs; there must be a lot of rich retirees on the road. As we moved under the bridge we heard the movement of white water. It came from a small barrage a little further downstream where swift water was filtering through its many open gates. There was a warning sign on the barrage structure, so we ferry glided across to the left side, secured the canoe and then read the sign. ‘Danger go to the right side and use boat lock’.
Ed held the canoe in position whilst I jumped out and checked downstream of the barrage for dangers; there were none that I could see and the flow through the gates looked manageable, although a little swirly, so we decided to forget the boat lock and give the whitewater a go. We passed through it without problems and zipped across some boiling water, passing a fisherman.
We were now ready to stop, the area looked great for fishing and with this in mind we needed to find a camp so Ed could cast a line to catch our dinner. At the next corner a high sand cliff came into view. We drifted by it admiring the beauty. It was riddled with intriguing holes much like the work of swallows, but we saw no birds.
A little further, on the right bank just beyond another cliff we spotted a good camp site on the top of a small rise. High and exposed to the wind we thought it would reduce the chances of mosquitoes. Excitedly we jumped out, started unloading and erected our tents high up overlooking the river.

Ed, the keen experienced fisherman soon produced his fishing rod, but on his first cast the lure landed on shore, I couldn’t help but laugh. His second cast managed to reach the water. A little embarrassed he continued casting and he quickly got it down to perfection. I watched from our high camp, waiting for the line to become taut and a fish to wriggle on the hook. Nothing appeared except a beaver which looked like a giant rat. It surfaced a couple of metres from Ed and then swam against the current, dived to the bottom and surfaced again some time later. The beaver continued to do this for a good 15 minutes. It disappeared, but soon after popped up on the other side of the river to continue its strange antics over there.
Meanwhile Ed wasn’t catching anything other than sticks and weeds from the floating debris in the eddy. Here we were with a beautiful clear running river, a great fisherman who’s appeared on the front cover of the ‘Western Angler’ magazine, but sadly nothing for tea. What a disappointment! What do we tell people back home! Instead of finger licking fish, we had finger licking packet pasta for dinner. It was a bit of a disappointment not to be eating something fresh but looking on the bright side we still had a long way to go and a lot of water to cast in.
After our meal we sat down and discussed the race, which was drawing ever closer. At this point we hadn’t thought of how we were going to tackle the 750kms or worked out any strategies or times. Ed was now a little concerned and a little nervous as he hadn’t paddled for 24 hours without stopping before and he didn’t know how he would go. And then to have to paddle on for another 30 hours or more before reaching the race finish was quite daunting. He began to wonder why the hell we had entered the race.

Ed was a keen fisherman but he failed to catch a fish. 
It could have been the beaver that kept the fish away!

Paddling Norway

Ascot Kayak Club Kate Crossing having a whale of a time in Norway.

She joined a tour group and explored the Sognefjord with lots of waterfalls.

Photos Chris Fry.

Photos Chris Fry

Albany Sea Kayak Club of WA | Facebook

Sea Kayak Club of Western Australia – Sea Kayak Club of Western Australia (seakayakwa.asn.au).

Coming Events

• 7th July 2024 - Wild Water Race
• 14th July 2024 - Northam to Toodyay
• 20th July 2024 - IOP Downwind Winter race #2
• 28th July 2024 - Walyunga N/P to Middle Swan

Northam to Toodyay 

DETAILS

Start Line:           Broome Terrace, Northam

Finish Line:         Duidgee Park, Toodyay

Race check in:   08:00am-08:30am

Briefing:              08:30am

Race Start:          08:45am

Course - 30km:

The race starts 500 metres above Northam Weir

More details/Enter here:-

https://www.webscorer.com/register?pid=1&raceid=349463

Winner of the 70 plus class - Ron Clarke.