Enoy the CDU Newsletter
Published: Fri, 06/24/16
509
22nd June 2016
Message Bank
Well with the arrival of the new Epic V8Pro it's been an
exciting week, not just un-wrapping such a beautiful ski but
being able to paddle it several times. It's not going to be
a ski for the most experienced but it's going to appeal to
those paddlers who want to feel safe on the ocean and have
a good time.
********************************
For Products and Training
As the shop phone will soon be cut off
please call 0417 977 330 or terry@canoeingdownunder.com.au
********************************
On The River This Week
What a way to get your kayak to the river
Brian dismounts his sidecar and gets ready
to go fishing in his Jackson Cuda.
Another Canoeing Down Under kayak hits the
water
The mist rises between Ron Courtney Island
and Garvey Park
A Great Egret perches on a dead trees only
100 metres from home
Training
One on One
If you or you and a friend
want to learn how to paddle or better your flatwater skills
just give me a call on
0417 977 330 or terry@canoeingdownunder.com.au
Featured Products
Epic V8Pro -
My First Impressions
I finally received the
new V8pro and it didn't take me long to un-wrap it and see
what all the fuss was about. Like all the other Epic Skis
it looks slick, elegant and stylish. Just to look at it even
if you don't paddle it, it can get you excited as it has such
a classy finish and design. Epic have really kept up with
the times.
The V8Pro is 5.79m in length and 50.5cm in width, 30cm longer
and 4cm narrower than the V8 and 30cm shorter and 2.5cm wider
than the V10 Sport. Like all other Epics it has the amazing
bailer which I love, water bottle holder, leg leash attachment
point and end and side handles. I love the side handles as
they are so easy to carry.
The V8Pro
On my first trial on Tuesday
I cruised up the river not trying to break any records and
although I forgot my GPS I could see the trees on the bank
were flying by. I noticed it didn't quite slide through the
water like a V10 or V14 that I was more used to, but just
sitting in it, with its great stability it was still a luxury.
It was so stable I could take photos of the wildlife without
worrying about capsizing.
What was really so different from the V8, apart from the extra
speed, was its turning ability. The V8 turns well, but the
V8 Pro spun around with ease and although I wasn't on the
ocean I could feel it was going to be one hell of a great
ride surfing the swells. Being that little bit narrower than
the V8 it meant I could tilt it over and hold it there which
helped it to turn ever better. Whow, I could feel the V8pro
was going to be a frisky, fun ski on those downwind runs.
I paddled home quite excited.
In the V8Pro Thursday
morning. So stable its easy to take photos, so fast you will
be able to out paddle the fastest dolphin - well maybe not!
You will fly like a Pelican and dodge other boats like a Cormorant.
What more could you want!
Later that day I thought I would take it out for another test
run. The guys at Ascot Kayak Club were doing their usual sprints
so I thought I would join them and see how it would go. They
were all in faster boats, V10s, V10 Sports, long Multisport
boats so I knew I would have quite a task trying to keep up
with them. The group took off on the first sprint and for
a few moments I was taking them on, although it wasn't long
before their boat speed started to get an edge, but I wasn't
lying down and as long as I kept on a wash they couldn't shake
me. Luckily the sprints were only about 250 metres long, nevertheless
after 5-6 sprints I was pretty pleased with my efforts considering
I was 65 and in a slower boat. I left them pretty happy.
The next day I had the chance to see how fast it was on a
longer run by taking part in the Ascot Kayak Club Wednesday
evening race. I wasn't the fastest paddler off the line so
I didn't whiz away but I kept up with several paddlers around
me. Mark Sedgwick who was several metres ahead was my target.
Mark is a much faster paddler than me (and a lot younger).
He was paddling a Paddling Perfection Excalibur which is a
similar length to the V8 Pro so it was going to be a good
test to see if I could keep up with him. After about 600 metres
I managed to pass many of the other paddlers and claw onto
Mark's wash. And that's where I stayed over the entire race.
I was very impressed with the speed of the ski because like
I said Mark is much faster than me.
So the V8Pros performance so far was very encouraging although
I still have to test it on the ocean but I could feel it was
going to be an amazing ski for a lot of paddlers. I was never
expecting it to be as fast as a V14, and I didn't expect it
to be a popular ski for an Olympian, but I could see it would
be a great ski for a beginner in flattest waters, a fantastic
ski for the intermediate paddler in a lively ocean and a really
fun, frisky ski in a spirited, dynamic ocean for the intermediate
and experienced paddler.
The V8Pro is optimized to fit paddlers from 147cm (4'9")
to 196cm (6'4") in height. The cockpit has been designed
with a slightly reduced "hump" under the paddler's
knees, a feature which will be appreciated by smaller paddlers
and I loved it. I can see all paddlers with different experience
and skills will enjoy the V8Pro.
Call me for a demo on 0417 977 330
All other Epic
Skis and kayaks available
********************
Special
Comes with a paddle bag
****************
Rola Kayak Cradles
A multi-pivot system
to mould to a wide range of hull shapes
Cradles tilt outwards to facilitate the loading and unloading
of the craft
Contains all the pieces required to fit to the channel of
all popular sports roof rack systems
Includes two straps for the hull of the watercraft and two
to secure the bow and stern
Fits, Rola, Thule, Rhino
and other roof rack systems
Recommended Retail $189.00
Special $160.00
Call 0417 977 330 or
terry@canoeingdownunder.com.au
Stories
Upper Swan Marathon
Race 2016
I was hoping to race the new V8Pro but
it hadn't arrived due to slow freight across the Nullabor.
So I thought the Time Bandit kayak was the way to go as the
weather was supposed to be a bit wet and it would be warmer.
When you have 30 different boats in your garage to choose
from its always hard to which one to choose, so sometimes
it comes down to Eenie, meenie, miney, moe. Last year I used
my V14.
There was no car shuffle for me this year as Jenny agreed
to drive me to the start and I just paddled home after presentation
as it was only 400 metres from the finish. As soon as we had
finished the usual registration, chatting to other paddlers,
the briefing and the trip to the toilet the race was under
way with the slower paddlers going off first. I had missed
the last 4 races due to a cold and closing the shop but today
I was eager to do well. Division 3 was next to go and being
squeezed between Warren Southwell and Bonnie Metze I knew
they would fly ahead. It was supposed to be a cold wet day
so I was going to wear my thermal and Epic rashie, but I decided
to wear my Epic rashie only, as it wasn't as cold as I thought
and I would keep dry. How wrong I was. When Warren and Bonnie
took off I received several paddle scoops of water and within
3 seconds I was totally drenched.
Taking off. Photo Lawrence
Greed
Warren Southwell taking
off. Photo Lawrence Greed
15 year old Thomas Green
off the line. Photo Lawrence Greed
16 year old Max Smith
2.19.21 winner of Div 3. Photo Lawrence Greed
The faster paddlers took off but I managed
to keep behind Mark Sedgwick, Warren Southwell and Brett Young.
I thought that if I could keep up with this group I would
be doing okay. Eventually Mark managed to break ahead and
I never saw him after that so Warren was now our pacemaker.
Despite the faster paddlers coming up from behind, ruffling
the waters and sometimes taking risks and paddling too close
as they passed I still managed to keep behind Brett. Most
of the paddlers passing were from the grid behind but then
I noticed Bruce McWhirter was trying to pass who was on our
grid, but with the turn buoy up ahead we kept him at bay.
Bronwyn Martin, Peter
Gigengack, and Ray & Ray Smith in Division 2 take off.
Photo Lawrence Greed
The buoy at the upstream
turn was hanging from the footbridge by a rope which really
wasn't ideal when you have about 15 paddlers trying to get
around it all at once, as it swung back and forth. It was
just chaos, we all came to a stand-still but I managed to
get around it as good if not better than the rest of the mob.
Warren and Brett were just ahead but I was able to get back
behind them. A flood of paddlers from the faster grids started
passing us stirring up the water. Warren tried to take advantage
of the passing paddlers and sped ahead. I didn't want to lose
him so I made a real effort, passed Brett and caught Warren
back up. I was happy about that, not just catching Warren,
but passing Brett and leaving him behind. Soon after Bruce
caught up and passed me taking his place next to his paddling
partner Warren.
Faster paddlers continued to pass with Warren increasing his
speed in the hope to get a ride. This didn't do me any good
though as I then had to work harder than I really wanted to
work and I had the awful risk of falling behind and losing
them. We passed our start point at Middle Swan Bridge so we
had done about 10kms, only 17 kms left which didn't seem too
bad.
Warren and Bruce were working together, one would take the
lead and the other would wash-ride and then they would change
over. I had to be alert to when they changed because the pace
increased as soon as they changed lead. It sounds easy to
wash-ride but when you are not as strong as the paddlers you
are wash-riding it can be very tiring. It's much easier to
wash-ride one boat, when there are two or more the wash from
the other boats can often be a pain and ruffle up the wash
you are riding.
We caught up with Chris
Hollier and Hugh Trivett who started 2 minutes in front. I
knew they had a good pace and they would try to catch our
wash. They did and the wave disturbance made it harder for
me but I managed to keep my place and they eventually fell
off. I must say I was happy, paddling was easier without them.We
then passed James Irwin, Patrick's son in his DR kayak. He
tried to keep up with us and he did for a while but he eventually
dropped off. (He beat his dad by 11 minutes.)
James Irwin in a DR kayak.
Photo Lawrence Greed
There were about 5 paddlers in formation
when Peter Liddle, another paddler and then Kevin and Wendy
White came by. I thought they would split the group but they
didn't and they eventually eased away from us.
I heard voices from behind and it was Rob Jarrad and Chris
Watson in a double coming by. They had dragged Brett back
to us. I'm not sure how far Brett had been behind but now
he was leading our pack and I felt our speed lifted a little.
Michael Liddle passed us yet again. He had to get out a couple
of times to stretch. At the Fishmarket Reserve corner my ride
was lost because when the water shallowed I wasn't close enough
to Bruce to keep on his wash. I was heart-broken, I had lost
my buddies and I knew it was going to be even tougher on my
own but then I received a stroke of luck, Bruce had slowed
and I managed to catch up and get back on his wash. Bruce
brought us back to Warren and Brett again. There had been
two other paddlers in our group but they had fallen by the
way side, the pace was too fast for them.
Rob Jarrett and Chris
Watson. Photo Lawrence Greed
Brendan Rice wins the race in 1.57.35 with Josh Kippin 1.57.39
and William Lee 1.58.01. Photo Lawrence Greed
Passing Ascot Kayak Club
and our eventual finish line and where the winners had finished
I was finding it hard to keep on a wash. As I rounded the
island the shallow water on the north-western corner bogged
me down and not being close enough to Bruce's boat I lost
the wash and the other three steamed ahead leaving me floundering.
I saw Bruce look back a couple of times and he seemed to appear
to wait but talking to him later, he said he was just buggered.
Brett Young surges to
the finish. Photo Lawrence Greed
Bruce McWhirter. Photo
Lawrence Greed
This is where I slowed
in last years' race and let others catch up. I was determined
not to let that happen this year so I paddled hard and although
I felt that I was really putting in a strong stroke, yet my
group was slowly getting away as they headed to the turning
point at the old Ascot Inn. I thought I was doing okay until
I turned at the spit post to head home and I saw Phil Edwards
in his DR kayak with Ann Harris beside him. Oh shit I thought,
I can't let Ann beat me. I paddled my heart out but Phil and
Ann were catching and they finally passed me with less than
600 metres to go. I didn't have the strength to stay on Ann's
wash so I just watched them ease away from me and felt sorry
for myself.
I crossed the finish line alone but I was still quite happy
with my race.
Phil Edwards paddling
a DR kayak. Photo Lawrence Greed
Ann Harris and Phil pass
me need the end. Photo Lawrence Greed
Photo Lawrence Greed
Determination. Photo
Lawrence Greed
When the results came out Erica McKnight who was in a V10
was only 37 seconds behind me. If she had been on the same
grid she might and found the energy to beat me. She was first
in Division 4.
Baillee Liddle paddling
a plastic Fury. Photo Lawrence Greed
At least I beat senior
paddlers Louis Botes and John Van Maanen. Photo Lawrence Greed
Results
here: http://wa.canoe.org.au/2016-results/ [ http://wa.canoe.org.au/2016-results/ ]
Race of the Week
Kalbarri Adventurethon
and Canoe Cray Carnival 2016
Luke Dooley
While many other paddlers
were slogging it out in Ravenswood over the weekend in the
Peel Paddle 50, a few made the 600km trip up to Kalbarri for
the weekend. Peter Tomczak and his family made the annual
trip up which is always delightful when they do. Lawrence
Greed and his sons, Nicholas and Matthew also made an appearance
for the first time and entered the Murchison dash.
After running out of funding and lacking organisation last
year, the 2016 Canoe and Cray was a very good and welcome
come back. This year, Adventurethon Australia changed the
date of their Kalbarri competition from the Australia Day
weekend to run in conjunction with the Canoe and Cray Carnival.
This turned out to be a major success with many athletes from
around Australia turning up in Kalbarri to compete.
The original idea was that we were going to enter the Ultra
Adventurethon as a team of three; consisting of Mark Lawson
for the 22km run from the cliffs into town, Peter Tomczak
doing the 16km paddle out the river mouth, around a buoy 4kms
south, back in and around another buoy 4kms up river and me
doing the 35km mountain bike ride from town, out to Murchison
House Station, down the highway for a bit, up a track to Meanarra
Hill and back into town. Unfortunately, Mark came down with
flu and was unable to come up. Thankfully at one of the meetings,
Mum was able to make a plan to accommodate the loss of Mark.
What we did was get one of the athletes who was doing it solo
and add his time onto our team's for the run leg. So the race
was on!
After a near perfect week weatherwise leading up to the weekend,
it was a shame to have a downpour during the race. Nevertheless,
the race went on and made for some very challenging conditions.
Chris, who was our runner, got us off to a very good start,
managing to come in second for the run leg. Peter was borrowing
the V14 lent to me by Terry which he found a little light
and unstable for the 2m swells pounding the reef. Anyway,
off he went. He started strongly, struggling a little through
the mouth, but making some decent progress in once he was
out there. Meanwhile, I had parked my bike in the bay and
walked to Chinamans Point to overlook the mouth and watch
the paddlers go through. After meeting Lawrence, Nicholas
and Matthew, we walked up to the look-out and were waiting
for Peter to return. We didn't have to wait long. As Peter
was just starting his run through the mouth, he was tipped
over by some of the rebound waves coming off the reef. He
then spent ten minutes trying to remount the ski, but was
unable to. It was extremely nerve racking for me because I
was stood on the lookout watching Terry's borrowed ski inch
closer and to the pounding reef. During the briefing, paddlers
were advised to leave the boat which could be salvaged later
and make sure they were safely on board the jet ski responsible
for rescuing paddlers. Thankfully, after ten bottom clenching
minutes, Peter was picked up by the Jet Ski and towed back
in with the ski. Phew!
After readying my bike, stretching and going to the toilet
hundreds of times, I was all ready to set off on my ride after
Peter handed me the timing belt. I was off! After seeing the
entire short course competitors return with bikes covered
completely in mud, I wasn't expecting an easy ride. I sure
was right! I set off, bumping at 35kms/hr. along the grass
and before I knew it, I was at the start of the river road
as it's called locally.
The course was marked by
a series of blue and pink ribbons in trees and a few signs
indicating turns and course alterations along the way. Thankfully,
the course had been set almost exactly where I had been riding
previously, which meant I knew every turn. The ride from town
to the station was not too bad. There were several mud pools
and much of the track had been chopped up by four wheel drives,
but it was still very good. The rain held off for most of
my race which was great news. Also, the rain had dampened
the sand which meant it was much harder and easier to ride
over. Just before the barbeque area 14kms in, the track suddenly
veered towards the river. The high tide and huge rains had
made it extremely muddy. My back wheel started spinning and
sliding down the bank. This problem was replaced when the
mud became so thick it jammed the wheels of the bike. I was
forced to carry the bike on my shoulder which weighed three
times as much from all the mud stuck to it, while trying not
to slip down the muddy bank. After passing another competitor
who pulled out at that point, I continued on for another few
hundred metres until I finally returned to the track which
was hard enough to actually ride on. Mud became a huge problem
from there on, especially when I ran out of spots on my body
to wipe my muddy hands on, meaning the handlebars became very
slippery.
After I had slid my way to the bottom of the station road,
it was time for the always dreaded climb to the top. It is
about three kilometres of mud, road surface like corrugated
iron and 10% gradients. Not the most fun part of any bike
ride, but it is always a great feeling reaching the smooth
tarmac of the highway at the top. I set off, setting a slightly
slower pace so that I was able to eat a few mandarins and
have a drink of water on the fly. After being cheered on by
Rosalie Evans and Jason who were dropping off a boat in the
car, I picked up the pace and slogged it up to the top.
I always start that section of the track with a good mind
set saying: "come on, it can't be that hard" and
I always prove myself wrong when I reach the top. This time
was no exception. Thank god I made it to the top and was able
to just roll down the smooth highway! After what felt like
30 seconds, I was at the bottom of the Meanarra Hill track
which is the same as the station road, but a little shorter
and a little steeper. That is usually the last climb before
the downhill run all the way into town. I set off again, waving
to the race martial. Soon, a car decided it wanted to go to
Meanarra Hill and wanted to watch me all the way to the top.
Unfortunately, I really wasn't in the mood to have a car stick
up my backside as I dug in deep up to the top. So I pulled
over to the side and politely as I could be bothered at that
moment, asked him to overtake and drive on. Thankfully, he
understood and moved along. A few seconds later, another car
does the same thing. Luckily this time, all I had to do was
pull over and he went past. The whole way up, I was imagining
the beautiful wind in my face as I came over the hill and
raced home.
Finally, I reached the
top. A woman at the top was very nice and gave me a handful
of lollies and a refill of water which I was very thankful
for. So off I went, down the hill and ready to fly into town
and be in a warm shower in just moments. At least that was
the plan! I got about 100 meters, when I hit mud. The track
is usually dusty with brown soil, a place where a good mountain
bike can reach nearly 50 going down. Unfortunately today,
the rain had turned the beautiful surface into clay. I tried
for a few moments to ride through it, but the wheels instantly
jammed before I could even get a pedal rotation. I then dismounted
the bike and tried to push it along; also no good. The clay
was so bad I couldn't even push it along the surface. So picked
the bike up, which weighed three times as much as usual from
all the mud on it, and carried it. Trying not to swear too
loudly or slip over, I marched through 2 kilometres of clay
with a one tonne bike on my shoulders.
Finally, I hit some harder ground and was able to ride! What
a relief!!! I rode along what felt like red carpet, flicking
clay all the way into town. I finally came in with a time
of 2:10:58 to do 33 kilometres with an average speed of 15.2kph.
More stats can be found on Garmin Connect under Luke Dooley
(Luke_Dooley@hotmail.com). After a massive photo shoot, it
was time for a good chat with the other competitors and a
nice rest.
That night, we wandered down to the local pub for the results.
Our team ended up coming in second for the 2016 Kalbarri Ultra
Adventurethon which we were rapt with. I got a medal for completing
it when I finished, a silver one for the result, a box of
chocolates and a bottle of wine for mum.
The event went very smoothly and was a credit to the organisers,
especially in the tougher conditions. Just about everyone
I talked to have a great time and we were no exception! A
few people suggested I give it a go solo next year. It would
be very nice to do so. A bit more training and hopefully I
might be in with a chance of finishing it solo next year.
More to look forward to!
Luke Dooley
***********************************
On The River
This Week
Three Egrets perch on
a tree at the end of Moojebing Street, Ashfield
The beauty of a black
swan
In the bright early morning
light two black Swans pace the waters upstream of Snady Beach,
Bassendean
The pelicans and cormorants
were very active early in the week but they have disappeared
over the last five days
A leaf floats on the
surface of water
I noticed a few jellyfish
in the river yesterday in the area between Sandy Beach and
old Olive Farm. Then after Sandy Beach I didn't see any. It
seems un-usual that there are jellyfish in the upper reaches
of the river in winter. I'm just wondering if a boat had brought
them up this way and thrown them overboard. Or do you know
if jellyfish do swim up to Bassendean in the winter?
Race of the Week
Wild Water Racing
#3
Sunday 26th June
Location Walyunga
******************************
Slalom Winter
Series#2
Sunday 3rd July
Avon River; Walyunga National Park or Canning River: Hester
Park, Langford
******************************
Wild Water Racing
#4
Sunday 10th July
Location TBC
*****************************
2016 Be Active Northam to Toodyay Race
Date Sunday, 17th July 2016
Time
Registration 7.30-8.30am
Briefing 8.30-8.45am
Start 9am
Race start Broome Terrace, Northam
Race finish Duidgee Park near Toodyay Bridge
Registrations close Thursday 14th July at 10am (WST)
Food provided for each paddler and presentations at finish
line
Cost
CWA members $10
Non CWA members $20
Age
Participants must be 16 years and over on the day of the race
to be able to enter the open category.
Enter here:
http://wa.canoe.org.au/2016/06/07/2016-be-active-northam-to-toodyay/?mc_cid=306ffd5dc7&mc_eid=453a6335e8
2nd Hand Boats
Ultra V12 -
Used
Length: 6.4m
Width: 43.5cm
Depth: 33 cm
Capacity: 136kg
Weight 12.5 kg*
Nomex honeycomb core
Woven Kevlar fabric
Vacuum bagged, heat-cured epoxy
Red nose
Excellent condition
New Price $4700.00
Used Price $1990.00