Enjoy the CDU Newsletter
Published: Fri, 05/08/15
Issue
465
8th May 2015
Message Bank
It's a lttle harder to get on the water at the moment as
we are having to spend our time cleaning, painting and moving
things from one place to another and getting ready for the
big shift across the road to our next location.
We are still looking for more customers as sales are very
slow so if you know anyone intending to buy please send them
our way.
I gave a presentation about my life to the Como Rotary Club
on Monday night and caught up with a paddler who trained with
us 12 years ago. It was great to catch up with him and talk
about our past exploits.
*********************************
A 20 Year Old Record Broken
It took 20 years to break the record but he did it. At this
weeks Ascot Kayak Club John Sims Race, Josh Kippin in a time
(47mins 4 secs) broke the course record held by Piers Goodman
set in 1995 by 40 seconds. It just shows that paddlers back
then were still very competitive as the record has taken 20
years to break.
*********************************
2015 ICF Freestyle World Championships
Joshua Singleton from WA has made the Australian Freestyle
Team in Senior K1 Men
The 15 member team has been selected to compete
in the 2015 ICF Freestyle World Championships to be held on
the Ottawa River, Canada 30 August – 5 September 2015.
http://canoe.org.au/2015/05/06/australian-freestyle-team-announcement/
*********************************
The Epic V7s will be back in
stock in 7 days time
*********************************
Last Saturday at the CDU race I thought I would give the
Epic V7 ago, it was the first week I could get my hands on
it as other people had been wanting to paddle it. It was the
perfect day to see how fast it could really go with a 63 year
old man paddling it. I usually paddle a PRS on the Saturday
morning so it meant I could race it against all the other
paddlers who were on a PRS and who were of similar speed to
me. We had 38 paddlers on the line with little space to swing
our paddles but I didn't mind because the V7 is so stable
that any skirmish when taking off would never effect my balance.
We were away after a shout from Alaine. 38 paddlers took
off and water was flying but it didn't take too long for the
faster boats to get ahead leaving the plastics to struggle
behind. Michael Liddle was instantly in front of me like always
but over distance I caught up with him and eventually got
by his side. I was pretty happy with my effort as Michael
is always faster than me especially for the first few kilometres.
I was now challenging him so I didn't know if he was feeling
his best today. There were other paddlers of similar speed
to me behind me so I realised I was doing okay.
I was still finding it hard to figure out why a shorter,
wider ski like the V7 was keeping up with the longer, narrower
PRSs, but it didn't matter, I was in front of my competitors
at this stage.
At the first turn I was on the inside of Michael and the
V7 nipped around the spit post like a young rabbit zipping
around the fields, leaving Michael to do a wider turn and
falling back. Behind Michael was Doug and Erica. Doug usually
beats me and I couldn't shake Erica off my wash two weeks
ago so my race was going well. Just trying to beat the girls
on a Saturday morning is hard to do, they have stepped it
up another notch and paddling very well.
I was now out alone with a pack of wolves behind me trying
to catch up. The V7 had such a good comfortable seating position
and foot pedals it was such a joy to get some good leg drive
and real body rotation going. I didn't really need as much
stablity as the V7 was giving me on this flat water but I
could imagine how great it would be on a rough ocean or on
the rapids.
I was pretty excited to be so far ahead but a glance or two
over my shoulder did make me a little more concerned that
the mob behind had ganged up and were chasing me down. I then
put on a spurt to try to open the gap again. As I turned the
corner at Sandy Beach I felt a paddler breathing down my neck
and it was Dallas on a Epic V10 so as I approached the spit
post turn I kept close to it so he couldn't take the inside
line. I took the turn pretty well and a few metres after the
post, Dallas rolled up beside me. Although I didn't want to
be beaten by Dallas, he was paddling a much faster boat so
I wasn't feeling too bad that if he was about to pass, at
least I had kept Michael, Doug and Erica at bay.
Dallas started moving ahead , I glanced across and saw the
grin on his face as he started pulling away eventually beating
me by 5 seconds but I also had a smile on my face as I had
beaten Doug by 11 seconds, Erica by 14 seconds and Michael
by 14 seconds. Because I had beaten them on a V7 I didn't
know if they were all having a bad day!!
I will have to do more trials to get more data on the V7s
speed but I must admit I was pretty impressed with it's performance
this morning and even if it does turn out being a fraction
slower than a PRS, it is still an impressive ski. Not only
is it faster than I imagined it would be, it is so comfortable
to paddle.
Maureen is flying.
Maureen started paddling with us about 5 weeks ago. She did
a time of 32.39 over the 4km course on the 11th April and
three weeks later she did a time of 28.05 on the 2nd May.
That's 4 minutes 34 seconds faster in 3 weeks. What an improvement.
The Epic V7 seems to suit her. Photo Peter Ashby
*******************************************
Young Dillon Spivy is determined to paddle
a sprint/marathon C1 like a professional. He's not quite ready
for the Olympics yet but give him time.
*******************************************
Across Canada
Alaine and Leonie having lunch on one of the
hundred lakes that we crossed.
Check out this video 2 minute video of a couple
and their small child doing the same route across Canada.
It will inspire you to get out there.
https://vimeo.com/126412035
*******************************************
WWR Buoys Race
9th May
Venue: Ascot Kayak Club
Rego time 12.00-12.30
Online Registration:
www.webscorer.com/register?raceid=4049 [ www.webscorer.com/register?raceid=4049 ]1
Fee: $10.00 CWA members (pay on day)
Briefing: 13.00 - 13.15hrs
Start: 13.30hrs
Race Director: Alan Moreby mob: 0411 565 283
*******************************************
If you received the Canoe WA Avon Descent
newsletter you will see it had section on the seeding races
as below:
Paddlers Seeding Races
If you're planning on being an Avon Descenter this year, don't
forget you have to complete seeding races.
It didn't mean to say you have to do the seeding
races to enter the Avon Descent. It meant to say if you want
a better grid placing on Day 1 it is best to paddle in the
seeding races.
Training & Courses
Saturday
Morning Fitness Training
Race Start 7.30am on the dot!
PFD MUST be worn
Sandy Beach Reserve, West Road, Bassendean
Please make sure you bring your PFD
$5.00 for paddlers who have bought a boat from CDU
$10.00 for other paddlers
Michael Liddle trying
The Epic V7 and paddling with an Epic Club paddle
We will have more stock
of the Epic V7 next week. A great all round ski for the river
and the ocean.
Featured Products
Epic Club Paddles
are back in stock
This weeks
Special
Normally $430.00 Special
$399.00
*********************************
Pogies
The wintry days have
arrived
Keep Your Hands Warm
These cosy fuzzy rubber
pogies are ideal for chilly mornings. The short, wide wrist
opening make it easy to put your hand in or slip out of
For cold water paddling
Keep your paddle securely in the palm of your hands
Limits windchill - keeps your hands warm and all this for
a mere $35.00
*********************************
On Special
FURY & PRS
Fury - Elite Lightweight Shell - Metal Pedals Trailing Rudder
Special $1495 .00
PRS - Elite Lightweight Shell - Metal Pedals Trailing Rudder
Special $1649.00
*********************************
EPIC SPECIALS
Epic V10L Club
Club 17.5kg Blue nose
Price: $2900.00: Special Price $1900.00
************
Epic V12 Performance
Performance Black Nose 15.5kg
Price $3700.00: Special $2995.00
************
Epic V14 Performance
Performance Black Nose 15.kg
Price $3700.00: Special $3300.00
Stories
The Franklin
Jan 2015
Part 2
by Bryan Lee
By the time we reached the start of the
Great Ravine at the end of day 4 we decided to camp at the
top of Coruscades and save the portage for the next day. Coruscades
being a rather gnarly rapid with two massive holes blocking
pretty much the full width of the river was a compulsory river
left portage for all the kayakers. We did not relish becoming
another Franklin fatality statistic as per the dozen or more
people who have perished on the Franklin in the last 30 years.
We were happy to portage any of the rapids that had previously
claimed lives and for the most part this was done with varying
degrees of difficulty on river left. However at Coruscades,
we were hopeful that we could line the two heavy gear rafts
down and save the tedious job of unpacking, portaging and
repacking them, at minimum a half day exercise. As we set
up camp against the thunderous roar of this massive rapid
the rain had by this time really set in. Sleeping under just
a single large tarp was no longer sufficiently water proof
but fortunately we had plenty of spare tarps to close in the
sides of our entire shelter perched 5m up the wall of the
Great Ravine.
Waiting for the river to drop
The next morning all the
accumulated rain in the river catchment over the last few
days had pushed the river level up another 3+m overnight,
so much so that Alby and Mal who were camped closer to the
river had a rather disturbed sleep having to shift camp to
higher ground or get washed away. No way were we going to
be able to line the rafts down Coruscades this day and indeed
not for another 2 days until the water had dropped back.
Finally the water has dropped
Finally by Day 7 the water
level had eased back enough that with an early start we were
able to line the rafts down Coruscades and set off down the
Great Ravine. The plan was to make up some time lost by getting
down the Great Ravine in one day but with one of the rafts
pinning in The Thing at the bottom of Coruscades this was
starting to look doubtful. Several hours were lost in extracting
the raft minus the collapsed aluminium frame and one of the
kitchen dry bags (later found in an eddy downstream). Fortunately,
this was one of our mostly sunny days on the river otherwise
hyperthermia could have been a real problem even in the middle
of January.
Lining the rafts down
the rapid!
Ooopps - it didn't go
quite to plan
Time pressing and with
a long way to the next available camping spot we pushed on
down through Sidewinder, the Forceit and Thunderush to the
end of the Great Ravine at the Cauldron. The Cauldron, being
a particularly treacherous rapid at any water level was another
compulsory portage but this time of the Grade VI variety!
Setting up a human chain we portaged gear and belayed kayaks
up and down 3 cliffs on river left while the rafts were lined
down a narrow gnarly slot on river right. Thankfully, this
was to be the last major portage of any difficulty on the
river. Most of the other rapids to come could be easily walked
around if so desired or paddled for those brave or foolish
enough!
Alastair and Mal in the
Livingstone Cut Grotto
Day 8 was another long day making up for time lost at the
Coruscades with highlights being Pigs Trough rapid, Rock Island
Bend and Newland Cascades. Pigs Trough looked quite runnable
but after hearing about several fatal kayak pins in this rapid
we decided on the better part of valour and easily portaged
river left. Rock Island Bend directly below was especially
picturesque being one of the iconic poster photos of the Save
the Franklin Campaign back in the 1980s. After lunch, Newland
Cascades (a 500m long series of half a dozen or so drops)
posed a bigger challenge than expected with the water still
being quite high. Taking advantage of the easily traversed
rock ledges running down river right I took a full length
reconnoitre of the rapid to see if I could pick a safe line.
River right and the middle were definitely out with one frowning
hole after another all the way down. I thought I could spot
a sneak line over on river left with a few safe eddies interspersed
between the drops so before waiting too long and possibly
changing our minds, Ali, Melzi and myself decided to take
a shot. This time however, for some reason Ali or Melzi were
not so keen to lead! Having chosen the line myself they were
more than happy to throw me out to the river trolls lurking
at the bottom of each drop! Such gratitude, I tell you, or
maybe they were learning too fast!
Alastair at Rock Island Bend
Successfully negotiating
Newlands to the cheers of a large crowd of onlookers camped
at the bottom we elected to push on even though it was already
close to 6pm. The rest of the river down to Blackmans Bend
was all flat though with a bit of a current to push us a long
as fast as the rafts could go. The river felt relatively peaceful
now in the twilight after the thunderous roar of the last
few days and added a new dimension to the Franklin experience.
Blackmans Bend was to be our last campsite on the Franklin
river before it joined up with the Gordon and the take out
at Sir John Falls. Like most of the campsites experienced
so far it was very picturesque and spotlessly clean. I was
constantly being amazed at how clean the river and all the
camps were. Not a cigarette butt or lolly wrapper anywhere
to be seen..... it really is a credit to the care people take
looking after this pristine world heritage wilderness area.
On our 9th and last day idly floating down the Franklin we
stopped at one innocuous looking notch in the cliffs which
on closer inspection turned into quite a large cave. At the
back of Pengana Cave, which if you're not watching is very
easily missed, was the entrance to a 1 m wide canyon leading
2-300m up from the river to a place very aptly named The Lost
World. This really was like something out of Narnia. All the
way up the canyon water cascaded off the walls and under our
feet. Overhanging ferns filtered the light above dappling
us in their shadows. The top the canyon opened out into another
world, a small valley full of tangled ferns, babbling brook
and temperate rain forrest. The Lost World.
Rob and Demelza Wall
in the lost world of Pengana Cave
Day 10 at Sir John Falls
although very pretty was a bit of a psychological come down.
We really were at the end of the trip along with the numerous
other parties all crowded into camp. All waiting for the yacht
charter which tomorrow morning would take us down the Gordon,
back across Macquarie Harbour to Strahan and the end of our
trip.
Many thanks to Nate Welch
and Mark Grundy of Wild Journeys for the raft support and
all the logistics.
If ever you want to paddle or raft the Franklin I can't think
of a better couple of guys to guide you.
Bryan Lee
Race of the Week
Ascot KC John
Sims Race 2015
Again we were lucky to have such good
day for the John Sims race. Sunshine, light winds although
there was a change in weather forecast a little later in the
day.
I usually paddle my DR kayak or a double
with Alaine or a C1 in this race but today I decided to paddle
my K1. There were about 45 K1s on my grid so I expected a
rough ride and a few tippy moments for the first kilometre
or so because of all the boat wash. It's much harder to keep
a super thin K1 upright than any of the other boats I paddle
so it is more of a challenge, although my sprint C1 is the
most difficult.
Briefing
I heard young Luke Dooley's mum telling
him there was a minute to go before the start so I crept up
to the line keeping close to the right side of the river.
All of a sudden and a surprise to many competitors the horn
sounded and we were away but some paddlers hadn't realised
the start was near so they were nowhere near the line. I took
to the right side of the river to avoid the first stages of
the huge mass of wash crossing the river. It worked for a
hundred metres or so but there was no stopping the ruffled
water from reaching me.
The K1s take off. Photo
Peter Ashby
I could see John Dinucci and Luke Dooley
mixed in the middle of the pack. I would have loved to have
beaten them, but I soon realised I didn't have a chance to
catch them. John was my age and Luke was 15 years. As I turned
the corner at Sandy Beach I saw Rob Roll swimming and my chances
of coming second in the over 60s was now shining brighter.
Rob though had the power and speed to get back in his kayak
and pass me within a kilometre or two so I couldn't be too
cocky. The biggest problem of paddling a very unstable kayak
is the boat wash and the paddlers around you. If someone clips
your paddle, which could have happened in Rob's case, it's
very easy to lose balance, whereas if you have a more stable
craft your chances of staying upright is a lot more certain.
The skis and multisport
kayaks take off. Photo Peter Ashby
The plastics, DRs and
doubles take off. Photo Peter Ashby
I was now chasing 3 juniors, two of
whom I soon passed and then I got beside young Timothy Feasey
and we both tried our best to get ahead of each other. I nearly
lost him though when a pack of paddlers came so close to me
that they cut me off and I had to fall back. It is a tactic
that paddlers use to get other paddlers off their wash. The
lead paddler will paddle close to a slower paddler they are
passing in the hope the paddler on their wash will have to
fall back. Many don't though and they just barge through which
happened in this case. With a bit of a sprint I soon caught
up and regained my position next to Tim.
As we paddled under Guildford Bridge
I could hear the voice of Peter Martin behind me. Oh shit
I thought I couldn't let Peter pass me as he was in the same
old man's class. I hadn't seen Rob Roll pass after his spill
but if Peter passes and beats me then I will be back down
to third place. By the time we turned the corner at Fishmarket
Reserve Peter was passing with two juniors locked in beside
him. He has been training hard over the last few months, as
he went to the national marathon championships and it was
showing. He now had me worried.
Moments later several other faster paddlers
from grid two were making a stir as they were passing. Their
wash, added with Peter's and the junior's didn't help my balance
and as the two groups passed from both sides and the wash
crept together creating a V of rough water Peter managed to
get a few boats ahead. Timothy and the two juniors that Pete
brought with him also managed to get ahead of me. I can't
believe how fast Martin Watson and Patrick Tullock are going.
Both are 60 plus and paddle Time Bandit multisport kayaks.
Martin ended up with a time of 54.54. Olympian Ramon Anderson
who is in the 45 plus did it in 54.18 and Ramon is still going
well. So if anyone thinks life stops at 60, just ask our veteran
paddlers.
I started feeling a little rejected,
I was being left behind but I caught up a little when I turned
around the bridge poles at Barkers bridge and felt a tad better
although I still had a bit of catching up to do. We were now
headed home and with an extra step in my stride I managed
to get closer to Peter and the juniors. One by one I passed
the juniors until they were all left behind. Losing them helped
as I had cleaner water to paddle in which allowed me to get
in a better rhythm and increase my speed. Eventually my persistence
paid off when I caught up with Peter and sat on his wash and
rested. Never say die!
My plan now was to stick to Peter like
glue and if the opportunity arose and I could pass him I would
but he was keeping up a good pace and when faster paddlers
passed us and he got on their wash it made me struggle until
he lost it. Luckily he couldn't keep on their wash for too
long. The wash from the other boats also churned up the water
slowing my pace.
Josh coming over the
line in record time. Photo Peter Ashby
We reached Sandy Beach and we were alone.
Ahead was flat still water and although I didn't know if I
could out sprint Peter it was time to try. Just after the
corner I pulled out and paddled wide of him and just went
for it. It was a 400 metre sprint so I was hoping Peter had
less go in him than I had. I knew my Epic kayak had better
acceleration than his older type but could I keep it together!
I started passing with ease and I seemed to have pulled ahead
but I couldn't really see how far he was behind so I just
had to keep the pace up. Luckily I crossed the line 7 seconds
ahead of him. I was happy about that but I was hoping to paddle
under the hour which I hadn't. I did it in 1:01:48.but John
Dinucci who came first in our class did it in 58:17.4 so I
still have a lot of training to do to get the top spot. I
must be getting older as in 2009 I paddled my DR kayak, which
is much slower, and shorter in a time of 1.02.32 only 44 seconds
slower than this years time. The great thing is after doing
thousands and thousands of kilometres I'm not injured and
I can still paddle.
Me finishing. Photo Peter
Ashby
Perter Martin finishing.
Photo Peter Ashby
There were 5 paddlers that were over
70 years old and John Nash was first with a time of 1.04.13.
Jeff Mullins 1.04.15 and Kerry Hughes 1.04.17 were very close.
So even when you reach 70 there is a lot of paddling to enjoy.
In the ladies plastic skis Bonnie Metzke
did extremely well and I believe it could be a record with
a time of 1.04.56 beating Erica, Jane and Bailee by nearly
2 minutes. I particularly impressed with Wendy Burdett who
I have never seen racing before she bought the Epic V7 2 weeks
ago, and she did a time of 1.10.52 not that far behind some
of the ladies who have been paddling hard for 3 years or so.
The fastest plastic was
Derek Amy with a time of 1.00.57 and Dereks' not young. Missing
the record by 11 seconds.
Josh Kippin 47mins 4 secs broke the
course record held by Piers Goodman set in 1995 by 40 seconds.
It just shows that paddlers back then were still very competitive
and it has taken 20 years to break.
For all results: http://ascot.canoe.org.au/?attachment_id=1052160
Race of the Week
WWR Buoys Race
9th May
Venue: Ascot Kayak Club
Rego time 12.00-12.30
Online Registration: www.webscorer.com/register?raceid=40491
Fee: $10.00 CWA members
(pay on day)
Briefing: 13.00 - 13.15hrs
Start: 13.30hrs
Race Director: Alan Moreby mob: 0411 565 283
Other
Races
Paddle Challenge
17th May 2015
Garret Road Bridge to Guildford Bridge and around Ascot Waters
Island
http://wa.canoe.org.au/2015/05/01/be-active-paddle-challenge-2015-entry-form/
******************
Double Barkers
Sunday 24th May Marathon # 6 --
Location Ascot Kayak
Club, Garvey Park, Barkers Bridge & Ron Courtney Island