Lavacore Elite Shorts - Unisex

Like the Elite pants, the shorts combine Merino, Polytherm and Neoprene to deliver ultimate water sports thermal protection and insulation. Also inclucing the T2B System means these shorts sperfectly match with either the Elite or Extreme tops range.

Available in Unisex Sizes: MD, ML, LG, XL, XXL, & XXXL

Special Price: $60.00

*************************************

Lavacore Elite - Pants Unisex

Part of the Elite range, these pants incorporate a Merino neoprene rear panel for greater comfort and warmth, as well as utilising Polytherm's Bi and Tri laminates in high stretch areas. The T2B connecting system makes for a perfect match to either the Elite or Extreme tops.

Available in Unisex Sizes: SM, MD, ML, LG, XL, XXL, & XXXL

Special Price: $80.00 bargain

****************************

Molokai, Clint Robinson & the Epics

Australian Olympic gold medallist Clint Robinson paddling an Epic V14 won this years Molokai Challenge surfski ultra marathon title. In Clint's footsteps paddling Epic skis were young paddlers Cory Hill (Gold Coast) 3rd, and Sam Norton (Tassie) 4th - all on V14s. Danny Topfer was top 20 again with 15th place in a hotly contested field on the new V10 and Steve Dalton and paddling partner Andrew Wheeler took first place in the Double category on the V10 Double Ultra. Great results in such gruelling conditions.

Clint Robinson in Perth

Clint Robinson takes third Molokai at age 40

Clint Robinson has claimed three Molokai World Championship titles but he rates yesterday's victory as the sweetest.

The 40-year-old Olympic gold medallist held strong to take the 51km Hawaiian event in a time of 3hrs 55.24 to somewhat appease the heartache of his 18-second loss last year.

"They've all been good but after last year's narrow loss, this one feels very special," he said.

"It is such a tough race to paddle and I took my opportunities and am ecstatic to get the win."

Robinson succumbed to debilitating cramps throughout the closing stages of last year's race, but fought on admirably to claim second place.

He said that defeat was an added incentive for him to dig deep when it mattered most.

"The latter parts of the race are toughest and that's when you find out if you can do it," he said.

"After about three-and-a-quarter hours the body's really hurting, but you have to put the pain aside and push on."

Robinson led early before South Africa's Sean Rice edged past him through the middle stages of the race.

But Robinson fought hard to reclaim the lead, putting in a determined effort to come back in testing conditions.

"I had a plan on how I wanted to race and I stuck to that and it worked," he said.

With the finish line in sight, Robinson never wavered as he paddled through three-metre swells around Hawaii's famed China Wall.

With just a six-week preparation before the race, a healthy-looking Robinson said he was in the best shape of his career.

"I feel really good at the moment and have actually never felt better," he said.

"I always keep pretty fit and you have to be to get through the race."

Having completed 10 races for a record of three wins, four seconds, a third, a fourth and a tenth, Robinson said he was yet to decide if he will return next year to defend his title.

"The kids are getting older and it's not all about me anymore, so I'll have a chat to the wife and have a think about things."

Clint Robinson first in a time of 3hrs 55.24, South African Sean Rice finished second in a time of 4hrs 00.47sec with Australia's Corey Hill claiming third in 4hrs 06.04.

Robinson won a gold medal in the K-1 1000m at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, as well as silver in Athens 2004 (K2) and bronze in Atlanta 1996 (K1).

Clint Robinson wins the Molokai Challenge
for the third time

Oscar Chalupsky's bid to claim the iconic Molokai Challenge surfski ultra marathon title in the year that the turned 50 ended with a ninth place finish in desperately tough windless conditions in Hawaii, with Australia's Clint Robinson taking the title and South African champion Sean Rice coming second in the race on debut.

Rice lead with less than two kilometres to go in the brutal 52km crossing of the Kaiwi Channel, also known as the Channel of Bones, but was beaten to the finish at the Hawaii Kai Town Centre by Australian Olympic gold medallist Clint Robinson, who took the laurels in just less than four hours.

"Congratulations to Clint (Robinson) for the win today," said Chalupsky. "It was very tough for me today, but the ninth was all I could expect in the headwind conditions."

Toughest Molokai

"I started really well but as the headwind wore on the younger guys started to come through - you can see that in the results. I was probably the toughest Molokai I have done. My average speed was 11,5km/h, when we usually average around 16km/h on a typical Molokai."

Chalupsky lead a bunch of contenders including Robinson and Rice on a northerly line from the start, staying on the rum line, while Martin Kenny spearheaded a group that went slightly further south.

Racing on flat seas in extreme heat and just a very slight northerly wind from the side, the race turned into a relentless grind with no downwind runs available to the paddlers.

Robinson gradually took the race by the scruff of the neck, sticking close to the rhum line, and an hour and a half into the race the field had strung out with Robinson leading Sam Norton, Sean Rice, Dane Sloss and Chalupsky in fifth.

Australian Miranda Davis won the women's race, with a 25th place finish overall.

Two-horse Race

As they approached Portlock Point, The race had become a two-horse affair, with Rice taking the lead over Robison, the duo well clear of the rest of the contenders.

By the time the leades approached the legendary China Wall, where the surf was breaking in a ten foot wall on the inside line close to the cliffs, Robinson was back in front, and caught a wave into the finish at Pillars and the town centre.

Written by Gameplan Media

Sean Rice and Clint Robinson

DIRK HARTOG ISLAND EXPEDITION

Anthony Mee

Since undertaking a solo two day paddle from Denham around Cape Peron to Monkey Mia last year I was eager to visit Dirk Hartog Island (DHI) on my next trip to the Shark Bay World Heritage area so I asked a paddling friend of mine, Lance Connop, whether he would be interested in joining me for a discovery paddle of the eastern side of the island.

We invited two other experienced sea-kayakers in Paul Cooper and Graham Place to join us, set the dates and booked accommodation in Denham.

Lance called around at 0430 hrs on Tuesday morning the 14th May in his ‘Landy’, as he calls his Land Rover, and we loaded up my gear. I weighed my gear before we left and it came to 85 kg. Most of the weight comprising water for the six (6) day expedition allowed consumption of four litres per day totalling 24 litres. The other guys were carrying similar amounts. Water is the single heaviest item to carry as it weighs 1 kg per litre, therefore weighing in at 24 kg – 3 kg more than the weight of my sea kayak.

The team: Lance, Graham, Paul and myself

The sea kayak that I use is the same one that Freya Hoffmeister paddled around Australia during her ‘epic’ adventure in 2009 – an Epic 18x Sport, except mine is slightly lighter than her Expedition lay-up. I had only used it previously for an overnight paddle from Mindarie to Lancelin so I was eager to see how she went loaded up to the maximum storage capacity of 173 kg.

After a long road trip we arrived in Denham ten hours later and caught up with Paul and Graham who had left Perth the previous day for a more leisurely trip to Denham.

We booked into our accommodation at the Denham Backpackers, which is just across the road from our launch site.
After a hearty meal at the local resort we retired early for the big first day paddle of 37 km across Heirisson and Bellefin Prongs to our first campsite just south of Tumbledown Point.

It took us about 90 minutes in the morning to pack and I was the last to launch after notifying Australian Coast Radio Monitors WA INC. (ACRM) in Denham of our planned route and ETA for arrival at each prong and also at DHI.
The first paddle to Heirisson Prong equates to approximately 20 km (a similar distance to Rottnest Island from Cottesloe). I was a little anxious as the whole area is teaming with everything that can bite and/or cause you harm - most notably the large Tiger Sharks that frequent these waters.

We made it to the first prong in little over three hours and had a short leg stretch before moving on to the next prong. We stopped there for some lunch and then headed over to DHI. I didn’t have a waypoint in my GPS for the first campsite so we basically guessed where it might be located. When we arrived at the island we discovered a lovely bay with good sand to land on and plenty of space to set up our tents.

Campsite near Tumbledown Point

Lance is an eager fisherman and before any of us had unpacked our kayaks and set up our tents he was off to the nearest point to throw a line in and try his luck. Needless to say it was fish for dinner. We all slept well that night, and successive ones, retiring at 1900 hrs and rising at dawn each day.

Paul and Graham wanted to spend two nights at that spot so we agreed and did a day paddle to Notch Point and Tetrodon Loop the next day. On the way north I came across a beached dugong and pulled up on the sand to investigate. The poor dugong may have been hit by a boat and some sharks have then moved in on the weakened mammal. We pushed it into the shallows and off it swam with what appeared to only be a 'flesh wound'.

Injured dugong near Meade Island

This was a relatively easy 24 km paddle to the point for lunch and return. Paul and I split up from Lance and Graham for the return paddle and when we arrived back at camp they were nowhere to be seen. Ninety minutes passed before they appeared back at the campsite much to our relief. With an empty boat that day I was averaging 10 km/hr.

On Friday 17th May we broke camp and set off southwards for Cape Ransonnet. This was an easy 16 km paddle to the next campsite which comprised a much smaller landing beach and far less clear space for setting up camp.

The paddle plan was to spend two nights there, however after having climbed the nearest hill to get coverage from the Telstra Next G network and the latest weather information it was decided to drop our planned day paddle around the South Passage, out to Surf and Steep Points and make our way back to Heirisson Prong before returning to Denham. The weather forecast was not good predicting 20-30 knot southerly winds on Monday which was scheduled to be during our 20 km return paddle across from Heirisson Prong to Denham on open water.

South Passage

It was a shame that we had to cancel that part of the trip as the landscape and beaches forming the South Passage are stunning.

We broke camp on Saturday 18th May and paddled in a south-westerly direction to Bellefin Prong over Shoal Flats to the head of Blind Inlet. Lance was keen to explore that area so Graham waited for him to return whilst Paul and I headed for the tip of Bellefin Prong.

The paddle up the western side of the prong was more like what I was accustomed to seeing in Shark Bay sighting many sharks, sea-snakes, large fish, turtles, stingrays, etc.

We waited at the tip of the prong for the others to catch up with us before departing for Heirisson Prong where we would set up our final campsite.

We arrived late in the afternoon and found a suitable campsite. The forecast weather was closing in and during the night some light rain fell.

Early Sunday morning we broke camp and made the long paddle back to Denham. The wind was light and the paddle relatively easy. Lance was keen to get back and took the pace up a notch. It seemed to me that he was wanting to race. Suddenly he slowed and I wondered whether he had run out of puff or just given up trying to surpass the speed of the Epic 18x. When we got back to Denham he exclaimed that he had broken the steel cable on his Mirage 582 Tourer and lost control of his rudder. Lucky for him that it happened only a couple of kms out from Denham.

After emptying our kayaks and listening to the accounts of the locals citing large tiger sharks spotted recently at the town beach we booked into our room again and went looking for some real food. After a week of canned and dehydrated offerings the food and pints at the resort were very refreshing.

Once again we all retired early and left for Perth at 0800 hrs on Monday morning. We all concurred that it was the right decision to return a day early as the wind had freshened and the weather outlook looked bleak. The return drive to Perth saw some heavy rain and wind squalls around Northampton and Geraldton.

Back in Perth, after having washed and stored all my gear, I was already thinking about my next trip to Shark Bay next May to paddle up to Cape Inscription and fix my own humble plastic camp plate to a broken paddle shaft there somewhere for the next generation to inspect and subject it to microscopic analysis just like the old Dutch pewter plate mounted there in 1616 by Dirk Hartog.

A couple of days later Lance suggested that we do a return paddle to Rotto. What, I thought, just a leisurely 40 km afternoon paddle so off we went on Thursday.

The Cockle 7

When I purchased the Cockle 7 it had a few holes in the hull so it really couldn't be used, but it was a great looking boat and it just needed to be perserved. Then Andre Villam came along. His was familiar with working on aluminium planes so when he said he could put a new skin on it for me, I couldn't believe my luck.

Before the repair. The two rails, one each side fill up with water, give the boat stability as well as protecting the hull from damage. With the water trapped inside the rails the kayak is heavier to push through the water though.

Andre took most of the hull off to give it a new skin

The new skin is riveted on

Andre at training. At the time he was getting used to his K1 and he's a much better paddler now!

Paddle For The Planet

When: Saturday June 1, 2013

Where: South Perth under the Narrows bridge (Classic paddle start point) at 6.45am

Paddle for the Planet is a Global Paddling Relay. Paddle for the Planet unites paddlers, creates awareness and is a movement for conservation.

The goal is to have simultaneous paddling events happening sequentially, at a specific time, in every time zone and in each country around the world.

The result will be to unite paddlers of any type of paddling craft through the Global Relay.

22,000 USD was raised last year. All funds collected with no administration fees.

Last year they managed to raise enough money to help buy a Ranger patrol boat for Raja Ampat marine protected area.

Please contact Ash Nisbet on arnesbit@iinet.net.au if you are interested in joingin in

See more information below about the event!!

http://www.facebook.com/Paddlefortheplanet

www.paddlefortheplanet.org

********************

Marathon Races

30-June- Race 7 Upper Swan

CAPEL DESCENT
DATE NOW CHANGED to the 16th June

The Capel Descent has been postponed to the 16th June as a result of the severe weather warning and in particular the forecast of lightning during our race time.
A new course for 2013. Part down river, part open ocean paddle along the Capel River and Geographe Bay to be held on SUNDAY 16th June 2013

********************

Wild Water Racing Calendar

2. 9th June - Drain Race, Thornlie
3. 23rd June - Lower Ti Trees, Upper Swan
4. 7th July - Walyunga to Bells, Walyunga
5. 18th August - Bells Sprints @ Bells Rapid, Brigadoon
6. 24th-25th August - Geegelup Cup, State Championships, Bridgetown

*************************
Slalom Racing Calendar

Winter 1 - 2 June 2013
Winter 2 - 23 June 2013
Winter 3 - 7 July 2013
Winter 4 - 21 July 2013
Winter 5 (WA State Titles) - 11 August 2013
Winter 6 (WA Schools) - 1 September 2013
Winter 7 Brevis Choate Memorial Race - 15 September
These races will all take place at either Walyunga or Hester Park depending on the water levels.

Australis Bass small 3m sit-in kayak: $300.00
Finn Molakai Mk 2: Underslung Rudder. $600.00
Australis Squid: $400.00

**********************

Lightweight Arrow Giveaway
I am giving my trusty Arrow Kayak, (built by myself in 1980) away to a junior paddler under 18 years old.
It is only suited to flatwater.