Enjoy the CDU Newsletter
Published: Fri, 03/13/15
Issue
458
13th March 2014
Message Bank
The WA Marathon Championships took place last weekend and
I took part in the K1 race on Saturday and the K2 race on
Sunday. Unfortunately things didn't go quite as planned. On
the first portage I was chasing John Dinucci and broke my
rudder blade in the shallows as I was getting back in. I didn't
like giving up and with 3 laps to go I carried on without
a rudder. It was a little bit more difficult and I lost a
little time but I finished. The following day Matthew Greed
broke his rudder and he carried on and finished.
On Sunday I paddled with Alaine in the K2 and on the 3rd
lap we noticed a dog swimming in the middle of the river.
It looked a bit distressed and with it being a good 20 metres
from the nearest bank, and with Alaine being a dog owner and
dog lover we just had to try to get it back to shore. We went
across to steer it back to the bank and after a few metres
a man shouted out that it was okay. We then returned to the
race with Alaine feeling better about continuing on.
********************************
Monday Night Training
Just one more training session at Claughton
Reserve before the Monday night training group will be moving
from Claughton Reserve to Garrett Road. So on Monday March
23rd the group will be at Garrett Road, Bayswater.
********************************
Friday Morning Training
We have one more week of the Friday 6.00am
skills training.
Be one with the kayak and you have a better
chance of staying afloat
********************************
The Avon Descent is on its Way
Winter is on it's way, the nights are drawing
in and the mornings are getting cooler. With less than 5 months
to go before the Avon Descent it's time to get your mates
to give up football and prepare for a real challenge. This
is my 25th Avon Descent and although my first one was in 1978
I have missed a few because I have been away on expeditions
at that time of year.
It's never too late for paddlers to improve
their skills
********************************
Alaine goes on holiday next week for 2-3
weeks.
She is going on a cruise to New Zealand with
her dad and husband
Alaine trying to untangle the fishing line
that she had around her paddle for 15kms on the City Lights
Race
Alaine giving Cindy some tips as she tries
out the Epic V10sport
********************************
Marathon Champs
Matthew Greed breaks his rudder on Sunday
but still paddles on to finish the race. Photo Jane Hilton
The guppy paddlers take off. Photo Jane Hilton
Christopher Greed steps it out in the junior
event . Photo Jane Hilton
********************************
Sandy Robson is currently paddling through
Thailand. She is now south of Phuket.
********************************
Australian Sprint Championships
WAs Alana Nicholls, wins the K1200 &
K1 500m
A fantastic sprint double for Alana Nicholls,
wins the K1 500 to go with the K1 200m. And she did it faster
than she's ever gone before!
WAs Stephen Bird wins the K1 200
WA's Stephen Bird who takes out the men's
K1 200, ahead of fellow sandgroper Brodie Holmes. Steve on
the PB!
******************************
Rod Fry Race
This Sunday, 15th March 2015.
This year Swan Canoe Club have introduced
a Recreational class to entice casual paddles to join in -
it's only 3km with spot prizes, so please consider this.
To register for the event go to www.webscorer.com/register?raceid=37501
******************************
Bevan Dashwood Race
Sponsored by Canoeing Down Under
Kent St Weir, WilsonSunday, 22 March 2015.
Race the scenic route along the Canning River.
There is a course for everyone;
Long Course 12km: Kent St Weir to Shelley Bridge, then to
Hester Park & back to Kent St Weir, portage at Kent St
Weir.
Short Course 6km: Kent St Weir to Shelley Bridge & return.
Slalom and Guppy Course: 3km
Bring your whole family; enjoy the beautiful surrounds at
Kent St Weir and support the Slalom Cafe.
Hamburgers and soft drinks will be available.
Registration 7:30 - 8:15
Race entry: http://wa.canoe.org.au/2015/03/12/bevan-dashwood-race/
******************************
Training & Courses
Saturday
Morning Fitness Training
Race Start 7.30am on the dot!
PFD MUST be worn
*********************************
Friday Mornings
Skills Training - for the last time
Basic to Advanced Flatwater Skills (for
kayaks under 4m no rudders)
Claughton Reserve, Katanning Street, Bayswater. 6.00am - 7.15am
To become a better skilled paddler, which is an advantage
in all types of paddling especially on white water and the
ocean, it is best to know and be able to do all the different
paddling skills. We will be looking at those skills and improving
them so you have the edge over other paddlers who don't know
how to do them.
Practise makes perfect
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Max Load: 250kg
Price: $1350.00 Special $1290.00
*********************
Want to SUSTAIN
ENERGY
32Gi, E3, Shotz &
Endura
Stories
WA Marathon
Champs
For the first time in a long time, I
didn't take part in our Saturday morning race or even work
on a Saturday morning because the Marathon Titles were on.
Many of our Saturday morning group were also taking part in
the titles, but there were still 18 paddlers at training.
Peter Martin, Mark Lawson, Jamie Ingram
and the team of volunteers were working hard to put on a good
show. With a pontoon being used for the portage it takes a
lot of work to put it together and take it down.
The open class who had to paddle 27.3kms
were off first but sadly there were only 5 paddlers in that
grid. It makes you wonder why there are so few marathon paddlers
in the open class. Have we now become a ski nation? The 35
plus class had 24.4kms to paddle and there were only 3 in
it and the over 45 plus grid, 19.6km only had 5 K1s and 7
skis. The over 55s paddled 15.6kms and the grid consisted
of 5 K1 men and 5 K1 women and 13 Multisport kayaks and skis.
I was in the 55 plus grid paddling a
K1 with 9 other K1 paddlers and 12 skis and Multisport boats.
On the line I lined up to the left of everyone to try and
get as much clean water as I could when we took off. I didn't
want to mingle and mangle with skis and the wash of the Multisports
kayaks and capsize. Paddlers like Mark Lawson, Jenny Bateman,
Martin Watson, Patrick Tullock went well ahead but I was pretty
pleased when I managed to get ahead of the slower group and
meet up with John Dinnucci before Sandy Beach. John is always
pretty quick, so if I could keep up with him I knew I would
be doing okay. The first lap went well and I was pretty proud
to keep up with John to the first portage where he was first
out. We both started running and John stayed a metre or two
in front.
Bradley with Darryl just
behind him get out at the portage but Glen in his ski doesn't
have to portage. Photo Belinda Kiss
We hit the beach together.
I put in just beside him, but the water was shallow and not
realizing my rudder was resting on the sand I jumped in and
suddenly I heard a crack. I instantly knew I had broken the
rudder. Oh shit, my race was over and I had trained in my
K1 more this year to give the championships a good crack.
I paused and then picked up the broken rudder blade and dropped
it into the kayak. I paused again and thought I can't give
up and have a DNF next to my name. I have always finished
a race that I have started, oopps I tell a lie I didn't finish
the 2010 Avon Descent when I paddled with Alaine. It was the
lowest water year ever, though and no-one in our class finished
it either.
3 laps is a long way
without a rudder. Photo Lawrence Greed
I still had 3 laps to go so I knew it
was going to a long race in an unstable K1 without a rudder,
but it had to be done. If you give up every time things don't
go your way, you just become soft.
John was now long gone. I started paddling
off and once passed the jetty I hit the wind. As the kayak
leapt off to one side I Immediately tried steering the kayak
with my tiller bar but of course nothing happened. Without
a rudder blade it couldn't. I then had to sweep and lean the
kayak to try to get it going straight. I was only paddling
for a few minutes when I thought to myself, this was definitely
going to be a long race!
The wind and the wash from other boats
didn't make my paddle any easier but as I got used to having
no rudder it did get easier and I managed to keep the kayak
straight for long distances which felt good. Then a wash would
catch up or the wind would blow and spoil my fun.
Melinda Kiss and Susan
Thomas
Paddling a down river kayak without
a rudder for nearly 40 years did give me the skill and confidence
to paddle on but a K1 doesn't have the same stability or the
same design for me to be able to lean it on it's side to keep
it straight, like a down river kayak. I saw the race as a
challenge and a pretty good one. I have never taken the easy
way out so it was another reason to keep going. When you think
things are too hard it is important to push through those
mental and physical barriers. Every time you do that, harder
things get easier and you will end up doing bigger things
in your life.
I rounded the top buoys without anyone
passing me so I was quite happy, although it was terribly
frustrating when the boat wanted to go in a different direction
to where I was headed. When the kayak speared over to the
left I automatically adjusted my tiller bar knowing too well
it wasn't going to help, but it was hard to get out of the
habit. Moving passed Sandy Beach Steve Pilton and a couple
of Saturday morning fitness paddlers were still viewing the
race from the bank. They wondered why I had lost John but
a shout, that I had no rudder helped to convince them I wasn't
on a go slow. At the same time a wash had me spearing off
and I was struggling more like a beginner to get it back on
track.
Heading back towards the kayak club
it was truly hot, there was no breeze, but I found it easier
to keep up a better momentum and keep the kayak on a straight
path . I rounded the island to do my second portage when Bonnie
started passing. Anyone but Bonnie I thought, I just can't
let her beat me. Bonnie has been paddling well so it was going
to be hard to stop her.
It's fun to portage.
Photo Lawrence Greed
Real men don't need rudders!!
Photo Lawrence Greed
Bonnie hit the pontoon just before me
but I was out pretty quick and running after her. I had spent
near on 40 years carrying a kayak on my shoulder down to the
river, so it was second nature for me, but I could see it
wasn't for Bonnie, which was good news because I managed to
pass her and I was away from the portage before her. Having
Bonnie close behind me was a little nerve-racking, I just
had to keep her at bay and the harder I tried to keep ahead,
the harder it was to keep the kayak on a straight path.
I seemed to be going really well and
for a while I did keep her at bay but when a wash ruffled
me it sent me heading to a place I didn't want to go. Eventually
Bonnie came by and so did Wendy Drok so now I had two women
to chase. That was a big incentive to paddle harder, but when
you are not quite in control of your kayak it's harder than
you think. At the upstream turn buoys I was still close behind
them, but I lost a little on the turn although minutes later
I managed to claw my way back.
I must have looked a sight from the
back as when Josh came by he was giving me advice on how to
tighten my tiller bar at the next portage so I could keep
the boat straight. He didn't realise I didn't have a rudder
blade so it wouldn't help. Josh had lost James Morfitt and
Matt Dean and Simon Roll had pulled out so he was all alone
to paddle the rest of the 27.5kms. The over 55s only had to
do 15.5kms which I felt was a little short for a marathon
because nowadays you are at your prime at 55. I must admit
though, I was glad we only had to do 15.5kms today.
Peter Martin race organiser
chasing. Photo Belinda Kiss
It was hot again heading back to the
club but I paddled well coming down the straight to the island.
People at Ascot shouted encouragement, you know the encouragement
you get when you are behind others. Come on Terry you old
bugger don't let the young chicks beat you.
The girls hit the portage just before
me, but I was able to pass Bonnie on the run and put in next
to Wendy. I didn't have to worry about breaking my rudder
so I charged away. As I passed the jetty the wind hit me sending
me scurrying towards the left bank but I managed to get it
back under control to chase Wendy.
Wendy was going strong and it looked
as if she was going to beat Bonnie but just before Sandy Beach
Bonnie was breathing down my neck. As we headed towards the
junior turn buoys opposite Sandy Beach the wind started to
blow and a wash came across the river. I started wandering
off course so I was hoping Bonnie wasn't going to get too
close or we might collide and ruin both of our races. She
passed me, but then after another 50 metres I found my composure
on the run upstream. Wendy was still leading Bonnie by 15
metres or so and just when I thought there was no point in
chasing them I got into a good rhythm and started catching
up.
It was a happy moment when I got within
2-3 boat lengths at the top turn. I even thought I might be
able to beat them, but my dream was shattered on that last
turn when I struggled to straighten up and they got away.
Now that was so frustrating.
Bonnie was soon beside Wendy so it was
going to be a great race for them to the finish, but not so
good for me. I was trying to find some clear water to get
back in a rhythm, but it wasn't working. By Sandy Beach they
had just about destroyed any chance of me beating them.
Bonnie and Wendy start
to get away from me on the last lap. Photo Belinda Kiss
Bonnie and Wendy start
to fight it out. Photo Belinda Kiss
I could now see Doug Hodson ahead on
his V10 sport and another paddler looking very tired beside
him. Doug, who was paddling a ski didn't have to portage so
he and several others had sneaked passed when we were portaging.
It was hard to know how much faster it was not to portage.
59 year old Martin Watson in his Time
Bandit was on fire being the first home. 68 year old John
Van maanan went like a rocket in his Time Bandit, and being
4 years younger I just hope I'm as fast as he is at his age.
With some paddlers portaging and others not, it was hard to
know where everyone was.
I rounded the island for the last time
watching the girls ahead stay ahead. If I wasn't old enough
to control my emotions I could have cried going around that
last corner but knowing it's only a race and not life and
death I was able to control myself. There is always next year.
I watched them both sprint to the line, but being 32 seconds
behind them I couldn't see who won. I crossed the line pretty
happy to be there and pretty encouraged having completed the
race without a rudder at nearly 64. It certainly gives me
the confidence that at 64 I'm not quite ready for the scrap
heap, well not just yet.
I moved across to the shore and found
out that Bonnie had beaten Wendy by less than 2 seconds. Mark
Lawson had won the men's 55 plus K1 which was expected being
the 55 world champ, Patrick Tullock was second, John Dinucci
third and me fourth. I was up with John on the first lap when
I broke my rudder and he beat me by 2.29 so it wasn't so bad.
Jennie Bateman was the first K1 women,
followed by Bonnie, and Wendy. In the 35 plus it was Michael
Drok, Richard Tempest, Kris Smith and In the 45 plus it was
Brett McDonald, Darryl Long and John Hilton. In the premier
open class it was Josh Kippin, James Morfitt and Matthew Dean.
Kris Smith was so confident he could
do both races he raced 4 kms before arriving at the Champs.
What he didnt expect and that was the distance he had to paddle
being in the 35 year old class. Photo Belinda Kiss
Race of the Week
Doubles Race
As my usual doubles partner for the
state champs John Breed decided it was more fun going in a
cycle event on this day, Alaine happily stepped into his shoes.
As usual Alaine had butterflies in her
stomach before the race but I'm sure they would have gone
as soon as we got away. This morning all the seniors were
in doubles and the juniors and guppies in singles.
We were pretty relaxed
at the start of the race. Photo Ray Smith
There were only 12 doubles so we all
went off together. Of course Josh and James flew ahead but
Pete Tomczak and Mark Lawson managed to keep up with them
much of the way which was pretty impressive. Bonnie was paddling
with one of our top marathon paddlers Tess Watson so we had
our work cut out, but they hadn't paddled together before
this morning so you never know we might be lucky. After 500
metres they were gone but we were up with Judy Darbyshire
and Francis Nolan.
It was a splashy start.
Photo Jane Hilton
We followed Judy and Francis around
and then tried to get to the portage first and take our favoured
right side on the pontoon but they were too fast and they
weren't going to let us through so we ended up on the left
side of the pontoon. That was quite disastrous as we were
clumsy getting out, like two whales floundering around and
a bit slow on the run. We eventually managed to get within
2 metres but they got away first and once back on the water
we lost them. We also lost part of our heart at that point
and we could do nothing but see them getting a little further
away from us.
Josh and James take on
Peter and Mark. Photo Jane Hilton
Bonnie and Tess get away
from us. Photo Jane Hilton
For the rest of the race
we were alone and I seemed to be feeling the strain of yesterdays
race more on the second lap than the third and forth. Our
portages got better but Alaine struggled a bit as it was her
first real time running over 100 metres with a kayak. We kept
plugging away as we did have boats behind us so it was important
not to get passed.
Running the portage can
be tiring. Photo Jane Hilton
On the third lap we saw a couple on
a recreational double sit on top having a difficult time paddling
it. The back was well underwater because they were paddling
it backwards. I shouted to them that they were paddling it
backwards and on our return from the top turn buoys they had
changed over and were going well. They were a bit embarrassed
when I saw them at the end. They wondered why their backsides
felt tight as they were sitting backwards with their bums
in the corrugated foot wells. They had just bought it from
super store and of course they didn't receive any advice.
Come in number 127 it's
nearly over
As we rounded the island to complete
our last lap we saw a dog swimming in the middle of the river
30 metres from the nearest bank looking lost and stressed.
We didn't know if it was okay or not but we couldn't go by
it without trying to get it back to the bank. With Alaine
being a passionate dog owner and lover she would never have
rested if we had left it.
Instead of going around the island we
went away from the race area and over to shepard the dog back
to the bank. We shouted to some people at the river's edge
who we thought were the owners to ask them if it was alright,
but they said they didn't know. It didn't look good and being
in the middle of the river with all the power boats going
by we didn't think it was a good place to be. As the dog started
dog paddling back to the bank a man shouted out that it was
okay.
We backed off and the man just walked
away and the dog swam back in the middle of the river. We
don't know if it returned to the shore safely after that.
As we returned to the race Jeff and
Mitch had now paddled by and beat us to the portage. We were
seconds behind, Mitch and Jeff were slow portaging but Alaine
was also hurting although we passed them and were away. It
was our last lap now we had Jeff and Mitch close behind and
opposite Sandy Beach Josh and James lapped us. It was now
lonely on the river as the guppies and most of the juniors
had finished paddling.
As we came up to the island Bonnie and Tess were finishing
and as we rounded it we could hear the boys behind us. We
were thinking that they were catching but they weren't and
it didn't matter anyway as they had another lap to do as they
were younger than we were.
We both were a little disappointed with
our performance but it makes it harder when you have no one
close by to race, however we enjoyed it and we will be back
next year for more.
Thanks to the organisers for doing such
a good job but we do need to encourage more paddlers to take
part next year.
***************************
An Event of this complexity is hard to put together without
a strong group of Volunteers.
Jamie Ingram – Took on the role
of Event Organiser, First Aid and overnight security of the
pontoon.
Trevor Longwood, Glen and Brad Stewart – Pontoon Engineers
Extraordinaire
Barry Feasey – Chief Official on both days
Leanne Ashby – Ipad Timer both days
Gabby and Lareesa — Both these young ladies have achieved
their First Aid and Recreational Skipper Tickets through school
and scouts. Over the week end they drove one of the power
boats and acted as check point Official ..
John Tomczak – Drove the second power boat both days.
All the many others that lent a hand or 2 to help make this
event a success.
It was great to see so many parents out on the water escorting
our younger paddlers making sure they didn’t come to
harm.
Thanks to Ascot Kayak Club for the use
of their grounds and facilities.
Around
Cape Horn
Paddler Peter
Thomson rounded Cape Horn
but on a yacht
Morning Terry, I thought
you maybe interested we just sailed around Cape Horn in a
42 foot yacht
It was touch and go for awhile but once the wind dropped we
went for it and the conditions were favourable. We did spend
a few days sheltering from strong winds in protected waters.
I just needed a little
excitement in my life.
Peter from Mandurah looking
excited, who paddles a multisport kayak decided that sailing
can be fun but have it's challenges
Cape Horn looks a bit
stormy
2nd Hand Boats
22-Mar-15 Sunday Bevan
Dashwood Dash, Canning
******************|
03-Apr-15 Friday Marathon Champs Canberra, Easter Weekend
******************
12-Apr-15 Sunday Canning Classic
******************
26 April – Pinjarra to Ravenswood
– 16.5 km
24 May – Double Barkers – 23.2 km
21 June – Middle Swan – 25.6 km
Rod Fry Race
This year Swan Canoe Club have introduced
a Recreational class to entice casual paddles to join in -
it's only 3km with spot prizes, so please consider this.
To volunteer for one of the 30 or so jobs it takes to run
this race (registration, timing, spotting, safety, food etc),
please email Lee at rodfryrace@swancanoeclub.org.au .
To register for the event go to www.webscorer.com/register?raceid=37501
EVENT DETAILS:
Sunday, 15th March 2015.
Meet at Swan Canoe Club, Johnson Parade,
Mosman Park, for this annual 10.5km race to Fremantle and
return. There's a short course of 3km for guppies as well.
Cash prize $250 for the winners of the two most contested
kayaking and ski classes. Other prizes from many sponsors
as usual.
Race classes are: K1, K2, Molokai Surf Skis, Spec Surf Skis,
Plastics and Sundries & Recreational. Age groups are Guppy,
Under 18, Open, 35+, 45+ and 55+. Female and Male. Classes
and age groupings with insufficient entries will be combined
with other related groupings.
K2 - enter as a Team, then place your two paddler names in
the "(Teams only) Member Names" field.
Note the new "Recreational" class this year - to
encourage our non-competitive members to come and enjoy the
day without feeling any pressure to win - paddle 3km. Special
prizes in this class!
ON THE DAY:
Registration confirmation: 7:00am-8:00am SHARP
Briefing: 8:30am
First grid away: 9:00am
Join in the socialising afterwards with a sausage sizzle.
Cakes and light refreshments available as well as the raffle
and handing out of spot prizes whilst results are being worked
out.
NO late entries will be accepted on the day after 8:15am.
NAMING OF THE RACE:
The race is named after the late Rod Fry who was a long-time
member of our Club and a keen and nationally successful C1
and C2 slalom paddler. He was sadly killed in a car accident
whilst returning from a paddling holiday at Yallingup. There
are lots of photos of him at the Club.
Questions: please call Lee on 0458 720 038 or email rodfryrace@swancanoeclub.org.au