Enjoy the CDU Newsletter
Published: Wed, 07/29/15
Issue
473
24th July 2015
Message Bank
Avon Descent Special
The Avon Descent race is like no other. What other race in
the world would have competitors guessing at what height the
river is going to be. Will we have to walk the shallows, will
that log or that rock be covered or uncovered and will we
need to portage them? Our strategies change weekly with the
ebb and flow of the river. Which boat do we use, a lightweight
one so we can carry around the rocky rapids or an old one
because it's going to be beaten up, so why wreck a good boat.
Whatever happens it's going to be a challenge.
Good luck to all paddlers in this years Avon
Descent.
Sorry to say we are closed
this Saturday
(going paddling or walking)
and from 12.00 to 2.00pm on Monday
(going for lunch)
*************************
Did you know that Canoeing
Down Under is sponsoring the Single Craft in the
Avon Descent?
*************************
Happy 60th birthday Alan.
Alan Moreby started paddling with CDU about
13 years ago. I have enjoyed immensely being part of his paddling
life and we have certainly have had some good fun over the
years especially when Alaine and I used to paddle against
Alan and Steve in our 515s. Our duels used to be amazing and
it was especially rewarding when we used to beat them, which
was a lot of the time! Then the following year they started
training harder, probably because they didn't like being beaten
by a little old man and a women.
Training & Courses
We have now finished our Saturday
morning training for the next few weeks.
Featured Products
More Epic V7s are arriving
this week. Get ready for the summer season. Great ski for
the Blackwood Marathon, the Adventure Races, ocean paddling
, flat water racing and touring and even the Avon Descent.
A fantastic all round ski which will stand up to the knocks.
************************
Don't forget your energy
bars and gells. It's going to be a hard race so you will need
something to keep you going.
Stories
This Year I
Celebrate 25 Avon Descents
The Avon Descent has been a big part
of my life. If I'm not paddling it, I'm teaching others to
paddle it, or escorting them down the rapids, running skills
and Safety Competency courses or I'm presenting information
sessions or writing books to help paddlers understand what
is it all about as well as being an Avon Descent sponsor.
Few people would have been so involved in the Avon Descent
in so many different facets of the event.
Although it has been 37 years since
I did my first Avon Descent and I have only done 25 in that
time I have had many bigger, longer challenges that I have
successfully completed which have clashed with the time the
Avon Descent was held.
Every Avon Descent is different and
I can't remember any of them that I haven't enjoyed. It's
not all about high water, it's about the journey and how you
cope with it mentally and physically. It's about getting to
know yourself and how you cope with the stresses and strains.
It's about taking part and gaining confidence, which helps
when you deal with other parts of your life. It's about meeting
people, sharing the training, having fun and talking about
it afterwards. The Avon Descent can be tough, real tough,
but when you have completed it you know in yourself that you
are now ready to take on something even tougher. We need to
keep challenging ourselves, if we stop the challenges we start
to sink, our determination fades, our fitness fades and we
grow old.
Growing old can be devastating for some.
I'm 64 but because I have been challenging myself all my life
I physically don't feel 64 and I would have no hesitation
in going on another 4000km paddle next week. So if you start
to feel old, paddle more.
In the Avon Descent I've had some great
fun, I've had some great tussles and met a lot of good people
over the years and when I first started and I was keen as
mustard, I had some good results coming 2nd single in 1979,
3rd single in 1980, and being in the top ten kayak placing
many times following as well as several wins in my age group.
The most challenging was when I paddled a single Canadian
canoe, it's a bit more difficult being on your knees and using
one paddle blade. I came 2nd place in 1984 and 2nd place in
1985. I even won the DR class in 2014. That's a good thing
about having a small class. Nowadays I do it because I really
love the event and I love the challenge and all the paddlers
who say hi to me on the way down. I like it even better when
they say hi when I'm passing them, rather than when they are
passing me!
It doesn't seem that long since I paddled my first Avon Descent
back in 1978, 37 years ago and although I had been paddling
since 1974 I hadn't raced before, only paddled socially in
many different parts of Australia. In 1978 I paired up with
a young guy who hadn't been paddling long. The water level
was good and it was such an exciting ride navigating the rapids
and wondering where the hell we were and what we were doing.
When you have no idea where you are in the Avon Valley, it
just feels as if you are in this big wilderness in the middle
of nowhere.
A year later, in 1979 I paired up with Steve Pilton and after
a good year of skills and flat water training and becoming
more familiar with the rapids we came 2nd in the single craft.
Chris Ward and Lindsay Binning won that year. Chris had won
it the previous 3 years so he was hard to beat and they were
the first to paddle lightweight kevlar kayaks. That year was
quite low water and the race finished at the Causeway in Perth
and it was a year when the kayaks were faster than the powerboats.
In the same year, 1979 I became an Australian White Water
Kayak Instructor and started my 36 years of teaching people
to paddle and I also set a world record by paddling 220.8km
in 24 hours.
In 1980 I paired up with
Steve Pilton again and although we were a lot more experienced
we were the 3rd single craft over the line, unfortunately
one place down rather than one place up. In 1981 I missed
the Avon as I was in Wales to watch the World Slalom Championships
and then I took part in Commonwealth Slalom Championships
in Scotland.
Up until 1983 the Avon Descent was paddled
in pairs but when the international rules came into effect,
paddlers then paddled solo. It had to happen, but it spoiled
the camaraderie.
In the 80s, although I continued to
train young paddlers like Neil and Darryl Long and had a great
fondness for slalom and down river paddling, my focus shifted
to wilderness sea kayaking, choosing the Kimberley coastline
as my favourite place to explore. Paddling the Kimberley Coast
was adventure at its best, especially the trips I did solo.
Being in the Kimberley in four Perth winters meant that I
missed the 1982, 1983, 1987 and 1988 Avon Descents and in
1989 I kayaked, cycled, backpacked and walked 24,000kms around
Australia taking a year to complete. The 80s were probably
the best and most exciting time of my life, but unfortunately
I missed a few Avon Descents.
In the 70s & 80s
one of my goals was teaching juniors to paddle
In the 1990s the Avon Descent was back
on my radar. After my 24,000km trip around Australia I set
out to write a canoeing and kayaking book which became a bigger
and harder task than the Australian expedition itself as there
was so much information in it about how to kayak. In the book
I also included diagrams that I sketched freehand of every
rapid on the Avon River, which was another huge task, but
the book was a real success as it helped a lot of paddlers
to improve their skills and Avon Descenter's to get to know
the river more intimately.
It was also in the 90s that I started
doing things a little difference leading up to the race.
* One year I ran up to the start line
from Bayswater and then paddled the Avon Descent in a C1.
* Another year I paddled upstream against
the current from Bayswater to Northam and then completed
the Avon Descent the following day. The river was high that
year.
* Another year I started as far upstream
as I could on the Avon River and paddled to the start at
Northam before competing in the Avon Descent and continuing
past the finish line to end the paddle in Fremantle.
All three of these bizarre challenges
created publicity for the Avon Descent and no one as yet
as replicated these challenges.
It was in the 90s that I started running
Avon Descent courses, first on nights at Garrett Road Bridge
which was exceptionally good fun and later on Saturdays at
Sandy Beach Reserve, which we still do today which I just
love, as the group of paddlers are just a great bunch of people
and I get to challenge a lot of new paddlers. It would be
hard to estimate how many people have been on my courses but
there would have easily been over a thousand paddlers, maybe
two thousand, a reward for me was seeing them enjoy paddling,
increase their skills and fitness and then meeting them years
later and they tell me it was one of the best times of their
life.
Some people have been in
more Avon Descents than me, 19 paddlers altogether but I would
have competed in many more Avon Descents if I hadn't have
loved doing big expeditions in the Perth winter. I have only
completed in 25 Avon Descents because of these big trips below.
1982 Paddled from Broome to Mitchell Plateau on a 100 days
solo trip.
1983 Paddled from Lake Argyle, Wyndham to Mitchell Plateau
54 days solo.
1985 Paddled the Drysdale River.
1987 Paddled from Derby to Prince Regent River and return
to Broome 65 days.
1988 Around the Kimberley Expedition, (by kayak, mountain
bike, run 3500kms) 91 days.
1989-90 Paddled, cycled and walked
24,000kms around Australia which included paddling the entire
2500km Murray River.
1998 Paddled, cycled and walked 14,500 kms around the USA
which included paddling the entire length of the 4000km Mississippi
River.
2004 Paddled the entire length of the Yukon River 3300kms
and entered a 750km race
2006 Paddled the entire length of the Missouri River 4000kms
2008 Paddled the Athabasca, the Slave and the Mackenzie Rivers
4000kms
2011 Paddled almost 4000kms across Canada using rivers and
lakes
2011-12 paddled 6000kms on my 60th birthday year as well as
paddling the 2012 Avon Descent.
Race of the Week
Getting Ready
for the Avon Descent
The CDU Pathway
Since 1979 I have been
teaching people to paddle and in that time I have seen thousands
of paddlers enjoy the sport. Many faded away quickly whilst
others continued to paddle for many years to eventually give
it up for family or work reasons, although many of the paddlers
I taught in the last 15 years are still very active. In the
70s & 80s I took a lot of juniors under my wing and some
of those paddlers are still paddling today like Darryl and
Neil Long, and Ian Kinnimonth but most of the juniors have
started families and have other priorities. Being an instructor
for Ascot Kayak Club and the WA Board of Canoe Education and
for many years running instructor courses for Canoe WA in
the 80s and 90s I saw a lot of paddlers come into the sport.
It was in the 90s when
I started running Avon Descent type courses and most of my
pupils were kayak paddlers. I love to teach paddlers to paddle
in kayaks as there are a lot more skills that you can teach
in a kayak. And when they get better than me, I know I have
done my job.
To train people on flat
water is one thing but the responsibility is enhanced when
we move into whitewater so it was always important for me
to try and get the participants as skilled as we could on
flatwater before moving to whitewater. When you have the safety
of other people in your hands in a fluid environment, in a
rapid river that can show no mercy, when one small mistake
could could mean life or death, so arriving home at the end
of the day with no incidents was such a relief. Luckily over
the many years of running courses on the white water the biggest
accident we have had to cope with was hypothermia, a discolated
shoulder and a broken finger.
A group of kayak paddlers
in the late 90s. Peter Tomzcak closest is still paddling strongly
today. Some of the others are more social paddlers.
CDU continue to run a
Saturday morning fitness and skills training session 10 months
of the year. Steve Pilton is the main instructor and keep
the paddlers on their toes. Most Saturday mornings we can
have 20 to 38 paddlers taking part. The craft nowadays are
much longer, faster but tippier than 15 years ago.
To help with their fitness
and to ensure they are ready for a big race we start every
session with a 4km race
Every person has their
times recorded and they can see how much they have improved
over the weeks
After the race Steve
will vary the training, it could be a skill session one week
and interval training the next. It's all part in getting paddlers
prepared for different types of racing. Without skills the
Avon Descent is so much harder.
To compliment the fitness sessions I
run DR training in kayaks without rudders. This training improves
the paddlers skills and gives them an advantage over paddlers
without these skills. Most useful in whitewater.
I also think it is important to take
the skills training a little further so we use shorter more
manoeuvrable kayaks and you can really see the impovement
once they have mastered them. I believe this is the best track
to take if you want to be a better paddler. Slalom kayaking
is also a great sport to increase your skills. I did it for
many years when we had the Harvey white water course.
At the end of the flatwater
season we usually have a get together. Here T2, Alaine and
myself enjoy sharing a barbq with some of our students. Alaine,
Steve Pilton, T2 and Guy Power have been the real workers
for CDU over the last 13 years. Pam Riordan, Sam Pilton, John
Dinucci, Josh Kippin, James Earl, Lawrence Greed, Steve Welman,
have always been there for me when I have needed
instructors.
When the whitewater season
starts we usually start running whitewater courses on the
Avon River
Paddlers learn how to
ferry glide, how to get in and out of eddies, to read the
water and all the safety aspects about white water paddling.
Of course many need rescuing so we are there to make sure
everyone is safe.
There have been an incredible
amount of paddlers learn their white water skills on our courses.
Over 55 masters world marathon champion Mark Lawson was one
of those paddlers.
Once participants have
some white water skills we used to do Walyunga to Bells runs.
Here the group is checking out Bells Rapid and are given advice
on the correct way to go down
It looks as if most of
the paddlers were not listening. Not quite the way I told
them!
Once paddlers have increased
their skills on the section between Walyunga to Bells Rapid
or the Lookout to Bells we then started to do 32km Avon Valley
trips. Trailers and cars were loaded up and sometimes a mini
bus carried paddlers up to Posselts Ford near Toodyay.
Posselt Ford. Before
every trip we had a briefing before we left.
The group is off. The
valley section is very pretty if you have time to look. It's
32kms to Walyunga National Park so lots of things can happen
along the way to delay the group. Whenever you paddle this
section made sure you have plenty of warm clothing and start
the journey early in the morning because it takes several
hours and even longer as a novice.
Our instructors are always
there to rescue you. Here John Dinucci is on rescue.
The days of old before
the long boats. It's always a pleasure to have Emu Falls behind
us. This is the last point before Walyunga that a track is
accessible. On this trip we have instructors Pam Riordan,
John Dinucci, Ed Vaneer and myself.
Lunch halfway down the
valley. On this trip were instructors Lawrence Greed , John
Dinucci, Pam Riordan, James Earl and myself
For every 3 or 4 participants
we had 1 instructor. On this trip we had 5 instructors. Joss
Kippin, T2, James Earl, Steve Welman and myself. On some trips
we have had 3 groups of 10-11 participants and 9 instuctors
on the water.
Reaching Walyunga National
Park was always a relief for me. It meant we got the group
home safely and I could relax. When you have the safety of
other people in your hands in a fluid environment, one small
mistake could could mean life or death. Luckily over the years
the biggest accident we have had to cope with was a discolated
shoulder and a broken finger. On this trip our instructors
were Guy Power, Pam Riordan, John Dinnuci and myself.
Before every Avon Descent
I have briefing nights letting paddlers know what they are
in for. We also had Support Crew presentations.
On the day of the Avon
Descent it's always a challenge but it's always worth all
the training.
If you haven't done
the Avon Descent there is always next year. To make it easier
- Start training now.
2nd Hand Boats