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Newsletter readers will remember 13 year old Luke Dooley
who came down to Perth for a week of paddling just recently.
Well he has written a great letter to me about the Kalbarri
Canoe and Cray festival and the paddle races. It's worth a
read. It's very pleasing to see a 13 year old enthusiastic
and excited about paddling, and who is so far from the city.
It's been Luke's dream to win the Kalbarri race but with paddlers
like James Morfitt, Sean and Brendan Rice, Peter Tomczak,
Matt Smith, Peter Thomson and top surf paddlers from Geraldton
Nathan Cross and Trent Morley, taking part, Luke had his work
cut out. I don't know if he realised he was paddling against
some of WAs top paddlers. His letter further down.
Luke enjoying a DR kayak
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Don't Miss the Chance to be Coached by
Olympian Clint Robinson
20th - 22nd June 2014
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There are no laws that you have to wear safety gear whilst
paddling rapids but there is a code of practise amongst paddlers
that you never paddle rapids without a PFD, Helmet or footwear.
It is also good practise to paddle the tea trees with PFD
and helmet. (I have noticed some experienced paddlers not
doing this which is not a good example for new paddlers.)
Paddlers also have to be sensible about clothing and all paddlers
have the resonsibility to other paddlers in their group to
be well equipped which includes being warm. A cold paddler
can be a liability on a trip especially if paddling down the
valley which can take up to 8 hours to paddle. There are no
roads out of the valley so if you become hypothermic your
friends will have the responsibilty to get you out of there.
So the next time you do a whitewater trip, not only think
about yourself but think about the other people who may be
effected. If you are not prepared they can suffer the consequences
as well.
It's all smiles as Steve, Doug, Sam, Steve,
Erica, Baillee and Kris watch Graham take longer to get ready.
As Steve and Sam talk about safety and the importance
of having the right safety equipment a man to the right of
the picture stands frozen without proper clothing and safety
gear waiting for his mates, who are on the other side of the
river trying to retreive his kayak. They too were paddling
without safety gear and proper clothing.
Several minutes later, when they were all back in their boats
they paddled on down to Bells Rapid. I hate to think what
happened along the way! The only saving grace was that 3 of
the 4 boats were quite wide and more stable than the Finn
kayak that had capsized. I imagine the guy in the Finn kayak
would capsize at least another 6 times or more before reaching
the last rapid of Bells and would truely be hypothermic by
then.
Already this year the rescue services, park rangers and police
have been called out because paddlers paddling down the 32km
Valley section of the Avon are not getting to the finish point
before dark and concerned family have contacted the police.
It is not only an embarressment to have the rescue services
go looking for you it is also a waste of resources and people's
time. So you can understand why park rangers become annoyed
with paddlers after their weekend has been ruined trying to
find paddlers in the dark.
For those new paddlers who don't know, the Valley section
it is 32kms from Posselts Ford to the nearest pull-out point
at Walyunga. In low conditions it can take all day to get
through so if you start the trip after 10.00am you will never
get to Walyunga before dark or before the gate closes at the
park at 5.00pm. (If it closes your car is locked in for the
night.) In low conditions you most likely will destroy parts
of your craft. In higher conditions you still need to start
early because you might have trouble along the way and have
to walk out. Don't go alone.
So make sure you are not one of the paddlers being searched
for. Get advise from experienced paddlers before doing such
a trip.
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Sunrise at Sandy Beach last
Saturday morning
Paddlers arrived to a magnificent sunrise
last Saturday morning. This picture doesn't do it justice
as the sky was blood red before this.
I'm impressed with the Bassendean Shire or the
Swan River Trust for putting new timbers on the jetty. I hadn't
noticed it being a hazard or needing repair and we use it
every week, so when I saw workmen down there I was concerned
that they were going to knock the jetty down, as we have seen
so many jetties get demolished along the river. Instead they
had new timber planks littered along the ground and the workmen
were actually doing it up. If it wasn't solid before, it is
now, so whoever sanctioned its repair, thank you, like the
jetty's at Point Reserve, it is part of Bassendean.
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There are still paddlers paddling
on the river in the early morning in the dark without lights.
There have been many complaints by the rowers and I hear the
Transport Department might be patrolling the river by boat
in the mornings.
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