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Canoeing Down
Under AKC John Sims Race
The Canoeing Down Under, Ascot Kayak
Club, John Sims Race is one of the best supported races on
the calendar and has been for years. Like always the day was
perfect. With the guppies racing first the volunteers were
there early to get everything organized for the day.
Paddlers gather at the
Ascot Kayak Club
Young Zac Ashby was twiddling with his
seat on his new Epic K1. He had been waiting for his new kayak
for a few weeks so he was excited to race it today.
Zac testing out his new
Epic K1
The faster classes were off first. I
had decided to paddle my C1 and see if I could beat the time
I set in 2000. Back then I was fitter, younger and still a
little crazy, well that's what everyone else reckoned! I don't
really mind paddling with one blade, on my knees and getting
dead legs, it's character building, at least that's what I
think. You just have to get used to the pain and the more
you do the less painful it is. I have paddled the Avon Descent
in a C1 three times, now that's a long race and although I
am a little rustier now, I always love a different challenge.
It makes life more interesting.
I lined up with the long plastics and
Molakais. I think there were about 60 on the line, so I hugged
the right shore. The starter blew the horn and we were all
away. The wind had picked up so it was a struggle for me to
reach the first corner at Sandy Beach. I went wide to escape
all the wash but I was lonely out there so I eventually moved
over to tackle the rough and cut the corner. I was expecting
to keep up with Bonnie and Jane as at the last short races
I have done I have been up with Bonnie. They had a much better
start though and now I fretted as they were at least 100 metres
ahead. I needed to get out of the wind to gather a better
rhythm if I had any chance of catching them.
Half the field were paddlers
that attend or have attended our Saturday morning training.
Photo Anne Crouch
Up ahead the plastics were fighting
it out. The competition was good. A few paddlers that usually
paddle ocean racing skis had entered in the plastic class.
Warren Southwell was one of the favourites, but he was up
against Brett Mc Donald and he's fast and a lot younger. Then
there was Derek Amy I was expecting him to do well. Scott
Lacklison who is much younger than Derek and only a pup is
getting faster every week. On the Saturday morning race he
is now beating me by a second, so I was interested to see
how he would go. Scott is a relative of one of the very good
paddlers of the 1970s, Doug Lacklison. Doug was one of the
fastest WA K1paddlers back then. Scott finished up being 6th.
Ray Smith (centre) and
Dave Tupling (right). Photo Anne Crouch Ray's partner
Bonnie McDougall. 1st
in the womens long plastic. Photo Anne Crouch
Glen (blue ski) and Jane
Liddle (green ski) 2nd in the women's long plastic. Photo
Anne Crouch
Sharna Farquhar started to come along
side in her Epic ski. I couldn't sit around and let her pass
so I kept up the pressure. By now the wash and the wind had
reduced so I was feeling better. We started passing Cery in
his Finn Multisport as a group of long Multisport kayaks started
to pass us. Martin Watson was leading. With the absence of
Michael Leahy, who was paddling a double, Martin looked in
control of the Multisport class. Then I saw the nose of Warren
Munns who had the best chance of beating him, but behind Warren
was the superstar and exceptionally good looking Steve Coffee
and tailing Steve was Vince Linardi. If I had been in my Multisport
I would have hopefully been following them.
The long Multisport class
which is 5.2 metres and above, most being 5.7 m to 6.2 m is
becoming a very contested class especially amongst the over
50 year olds. The Time Bandit is the most popular kayak with
it being very stable, but still fast. When a paddler moves
from another craft to a Multisport things happen. Like in
Michael's and Martin's case they were unknown paddlers only
a few weeks ago, but now they are star's amongst the Multisport
paddlers.
Several minutes later Alan Moreby in
his Multisport passed us by but he was alone so it would be
difficult for him to catch up with the others. Around the
same time Glen Stewart in a shortened version of the Spirit
racer passed with none of the other short plastics in sight.
It's a shame that some paddlers are converting faster boats
to fit in a particular class as the kayaks you can buy from
shops now don't stand a chance of winning the class.
Sharna and I were duelling and eventually
she managed to get one step ahead, but there was no way I
was going to let her go. At the pipeline the first two K3s
were heading our way. They were locked in battle and the Mandurah
boys eventually won by 2 seconds. Rounding Fishmarket Reserve
we met the first K1s. Sean Rice had Josh Kippin and Simon
Roll on each side of him. They were well ahead of the next
K1 and the doubles were close behind. Shannon Sime was doing
really well in his Epic K1 considering he has only just moved
over to a K1 from a ski. He is already faster than Darryl
Long and was close to James Morfitt, so it will be interesting
to watch Shannon develop. Josh won the dual and was first
over the line, only 18 seconds off the record, which is held
by Piers Goodman back in 1995. With advances in technology,
in diet, in training principles and the fact that Olympians
have tried to break the record it really goes to show that
athletes of the past don't get the credit they deserve.
The K3s . Photo Anne
Crouch
Another young gun, U14 Luke Morton was
flying and he broke the record with a time of 59.18. Not bad
for an under 14 year old. His dad in a long Molakai ski didn't
beat him, even though he won the open Molakai class. Another
young gun Anthony Carbone was hoping to paddle but he had
a fairly serious bike accident a few days ago, had a three
hour operation and was lucky not to lose a leg. He got the
best attention and is doing great. In six weeks he will be
back paddling.
There started to be a long line of paddlers
returning from the bridge turn so from then on all I could
hear was, 'Go Terry' from just about every paddler meeting
me. I couldn't help but hear Greg and Paul who were in a double
Finn multisport! It is another kayak that had been modified,
by welding two boats together. Only the double Spirit PRS
ski, which has also a prototype modified craft is faster.
So anyone paddling the traditional kayaks that you can buy
straight from a shop, like the Ace 515 kayak has no chance
of winning the plastic class any more. Greg and Paul were
out to break the double plastic record and after seeing them
paddle last week I thought they had a good chance, but unfortunately
they missed out by two and half minutes. Dave Boldy and Dave
Stevens still hold the double plastic record.
Due to the strong wind and ruffled water
I lost a bit of rhythm on this stretch to the bridge. I had
to beat Sharna to the bridge though, to get around it first
to avoid any clash, so I moved into the middle of the river,
found some clear water and went for it. We continued passing
the odd slower paddler. The long plastics had turned and with
the big majority of them being from our Saturday morning sessions
the 'Go Terry' continued. I saw Bonnie and Jane in pink vests
turn at the bridge as I approached it.
I reached the bridge ahead of Sharna
and turned without incident. I came out from the bridge pylons
seeing the short plastic kayaks not that far behind. I didn't
want to be overtaken so I stepped up the pace. Doug Hodson
was about 20 metres ahead. I had passed him about half way
at the Pinjarra race so I knew I had a chance of catching
him.
I powered on crossing wave after wave
that Doug was leaving in his wake. A boat behind me followed
my path and at one stage hit my stern and started to push
me around. I heard a sorry as I straightened up my boat. I
eventually managed to catch Doug and at the same time, near
Fisherman's Bend, Glenn Lacklison on a PRS started to pass.
I wasn't quite sure if it was Glenn who had been following
me but I found out later that he was ahead of me at the bridge
and had capsized.
We soon passed Doug who was wearing
a pink vest and was raising money for Sarcoma. Glen seemed
to be a fraction faster so I followed. I could see the pink
vests of Bonnie and Jane up ahead. It looked as if we were
getting closer to them, but not close enough. I tried passing
Glen but I didn't have the strength to get beside him, so
I dropped back. I tried another two times without luck.
I was chasing Glen Lacklison.
He managed to beat me by 1 second. Photo Anne Crouch
I was running out of time to pass him
so about 500m before the finish line I made my move. The trouble
was Glen wasn't ready to let me beat him. We both went for
it, but Glenn managed to pip me by 1 second.
If it wasn't for the wind I could have
paddled faster, but at least I beat my 2000 time by 2 minutes
20 seconds so I haven't lost too much of my fitness in the
last 13 years.
With 20 odd class categories I had lots
of prizes to give out. To add to the place getter prizes I
had spot prizes of 3 x $100.00 gift vouchers, a $100.00 paddling
travel bag and about 15 other prizes, so most of the paddlers
present received something.
Full results here: http://www.ascot.canoe.org.au/site/canoeing/ascot/downloads/Club%20Events/John%20Sims/JS%202013%20Results%20by%20Class.pdf
There were several records broken check them out:
Sponsored by Canoeing
Down Under and Ascot Kayak Club
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John Sims Race
Murray Corp
They say a week is a long time in politics,
and I'd add that a year seems to be a remarkably short time
in kayaking. In 2012 Sharna and I had quite a tussle in the
John Sims race with me beating her over the line by about
half a minute. Later, in writing about the race, I said she'd
stuck to my rear like a barnacle, something she didn't seem
too pleased about. I tried to soften the blow of my harsh
comments by telling her that after one training session I'd
described Alan Morbey and Steve Coffey as sticking to my rear
like a haemorrhoid. But it seems kayaking hath no fury like
a woman barnacled, and Sharna has spent the past twelve months
plotting her revenge.
Sharna was in an earlier grid to mine. I was pleased I didn't
have to contend with the 60+ paddlers who started at the same
time as her. But my grid contained such luminaries of the
sport as Steve Coffey, Alan Morbey, Vince Linardi, Geoff Mullins,
John Nash and Martin Watson. What hope did I have?
Soon after the start I was passed by a couple of paddlers
competing in the short-course race but wasn't fazed by that.
In the distance I could see Donna Tatton and very slowly made
up ground on her. I offered her a wash ride which she attempted
but wasn't able to keep up with me and told me to go ahead
and forget about her. Which I did. There's no gallantry in
paddling if your offer of a wash ride comes to nought.
Around the coat-hanger the leading paddlers were heading for
home and I was feeling the effect of a lack of training. Judy
Darbyshire yelled at me to lift my hands higher, but I'm sure
there is some law in physics that says it's harder to lift
20 Kg of lead 300mm than it is to lift the same weight 200mm.
And both my arms felt like they were filled with 20 Kg of
lead. I was just pleased my hands were able to clear the height
of the deck!
Nearing Barkers, I saw Sharna heading back downriver, and
although she didn't look to be that far ahead, I still had
Barkers ahead of me. As I rounded the turn, I was surprised
how close behind Donna was.
My theme song in distance events, whether swimming or paddling
has become Gilbert O'Sullivan's "Alone Again, Naturally"
as yet again there was no-one in sight as a slogged along.
I'd worn my Garmin to attempt to maintain a constant speed,
but heading for home I noticed my speed was all over the shop.
Or river. Leaving the Point Reserve jetties behind me, I must
have mentally gone AWOL for a spell. I couldn't understand
why I hadn't passed Olive Farm and was worried about having
enough energy to get home when I eventually arrived there.
I didn't recall the boat launch area on the right bank, nor
the two motor-cruisers moored nearby. Finally I saw some kayakers
ahead and I was gaining on them, but they turned out to be
paddling Finn Griffins on a fishing trip. Then I saw a red
top worn by a paddler, but it turned out to be a mooring buoy.
But I couldn't remember seeing one in that stretch of river
before, so my confusion grew.
You can imagine my delight therefore when I saw the houseboat
at Mr Tuckey's home and I was in sight of the slalom poles!
What had happened over the previous few kilometres may never
be known.
It was great to pass the finish line; I'd passed precious
little else.
And the results are now out. Sharna beat me by around 5 minutes
so I had absolutely no chance of riding her wash and she wouldn't
have needed to ride mine. The "Barnacle Trophy"
has been relegated to the bottom of the river, where it belongs!
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New Zealander
Scott Donaldson, restarts trans-Tasman Kayak Paddle
but turns back for the
second time due to a leak
After a false start, due to getting
his satelite phone wet, New Zealander Scott Donaldson, 43,
left Port Macquarie on the NSW north coast on Monday morning
on a mission to paddle solo to Taranaki in New Zealand
Scott's three year planning adventure
was back on track and for the second time he leaves Australia
for a 70-day, 2000-kilometre journey.
The custom-built kayak carries a life
raft, survival suit and radar detectors should he run into
more trouble during the unpredictable journey.
Australian kayaker Andrew McAuley died
in 2007, within sight of the Fiordland coast, attempting to
cross the Tasman.
His capsized kayak was found, but his
body was not.
A year later two other Australians,
Justin Jones and James Castrission, successfully completed
a double kayak from Australia to New Zealand.
8/05/2013
On Monday morning I rolled out of Port
Macquarrie expecting a solid sea and solid head wind that
was supposed to diminish over the next few days but stay on
the nose. The hopeful upside would be a few days of tail wind
once into the guts of the trip. Everything was ready and double
checked. I had replaced some plumbing tube and resealed every
bolt and hose fitting [theres a lot of them].
I didnt make it far when I decided to
put the Coppins sea anchor out and settle in for the night
as conditions made it uneconomical to fight for progress and
I was keen to see how the current might hold me in place against
a decent wind and 3m tempestuous seas. The cross chop was
making a real washing machine but the mind and boat were handling
well.
Went to sleep early about 7pm and slept
pretty well considering the washing machine. At about 4am
I woke to a small fizzing sound around the cockpit/cabin bulkhead
and some water in the cabin floor storage. I couldnt locate
the source so turned on the bilge and waited for the daylight
to see what kind of ingress rate I was looking at.
It continued and was significant within
2hrs. So I tried to find the source but it wasnt appearing.
The conditions had filled the cockpit with water...which is
fine as the boat still behaved well and upright the whole
time. The force of waves breakng over the boat was putting
pressure on the cockpit water and it found its way in. This
has been tested as recently as last week I had filled the
cockpit with water and left it over night to find leaks, which
it did not.
The situation was certainly sustainable
with bilge operation and backup bilge and hand backup. The
issue is then power. A consideration that is maths but the
problem is the unknowen. Such as how long will I be out there
and what other issues may come up that require power. I expect
to have issues along the way but the aim is to at least start
the journey with the optimal kit. As issues on day two or
three occur the option is only to return to regroup. As day
four would involve a significant current East and the point
of unlikely return ablity.
In retrospect these issues are all good
to have now and not in the middle. You can call it what you
want - I see it as a need to more effectively test to attain
the optimal kit. Its a failure to get it right 1st time but
as any athlete knows that doesnt deviate the path towards
the goal. What it does mean is that the cost is much higher.
The time effort and money that famil,y sponsors and myself
have paid is already high. Now much of it will need to be
repeated to put together a better shot. Thats the part that
few are involved with once the media buzz has gone. Im not
afraid of the hard yakka [hopefully thats obvious] but Im
acutely aware of the effort others have put in.
Leak ends kayaker's Tasman dream
From: AAP
May 07, 2013 9:30AM
A leak in the cockpit has
sunk Kiwi solo kayaker Scott Donaldson's chances of crossing
the Tasman Sea this year.
The adventurer has been forced to turn back to Australia less
than 24 hours after setting out from Port Macquarie on a 2000km
paddle to Taranaki.
His first attempt was thwarted a week
ago when his dry bag leaked and soaked his satellite phone.
This latest misadventure, a "considerable
water leak in the cockpit", proved too much.
"The inevitable result being -
it is not safe to carry on with that issue present,"
his website Double Ditch says.
"That's it for this season, a real
bummer."
It explains that his power source was
working overtime to pump the water out of the cockpit, risking
the loss of power to run vital navigation and fresh water-making
systems.
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