Enjoy the CDU Newsletter
Published: Mon, 07/18/16
512
19th July 2016
Message Bank
It's been a busy week of paddling for me. Sunday week ago,
I raced in the Wild Water Race, then on the Monday night I
joined the Monday night paddling group at Garrett Road, Tuesday
I paddled the Toodyay T Trees with Luke and Jane Liddle (at
1.4+ in the trees), Wednesday I raced at Ascot, Thursday I
paddled from Walyunga to Amiens with Luke (at 0.8 at the park)
and on Friday I paddled from Posselts Ford to Bells with Luke,
Peter T, Peter L, Jane L and Warren S. I forgot to mention
the two social paddles I did Monday morning and Wednesday
morning.
Then yesterday (Sunday) I raced in the Northam to Toodyay
Race and what a race it was! I started on the same grid with
Peter Liddle, both of us were in DR kayaks, I went down Glen
Avon after him, Peter had a mishap and I left him behind,
but he caught up. I then paddled down Extracts behind him
once more but near the finish I caught back up and tried to
pass him about 200 metres before the finish and we finished
off going over the line together at full speed and there was
only a whisker in it. Unfortunately it was to Pete's advantage.
Nevertheless it was a great race. So that's why last week,
I didn't have any time to do the newsletter.
The Avon Descent scruntineering is only a week away. Is your
equipment ready to be checked. Remember to take a whistle
tied to your PFD.
Fun On The Avon This Week
Chasing Peter Liddle down Extracts Weir at
the Northam to Toodyay Race. Photo Jane Dooley.
Results here.
http://www.webscorer.com/race?raceid=74662 [ http://www.webscorer.com/race?raceid=74662 ]
Paddling the Walyunga Chute and giving some
guidence to Luke Dooley who turned 16 years old on Wednesday
and is preparing for his first Avon Descent and Northam to
Toodyay Race. Photo Jane Dooley.
Luke Dooley at Extracts Weir. He might be
only 16 but he learns very quickly and on his first Avon Valley
Run he didn't capsize, nor did he capsize in his first Northam
to Toodyay Race. He came 6th in the open event, 8th overall
in the Long Plastics and beat me by nearly 7 minutes so he
is doing okay. He will soon be teaching me how it's done.
Photo Jane Dooley.
I remember teaching Darryl and Neil Long how
to paddle 37 years ago. A year or two later they were faster
and more skilful than me. And around 16 years old Darryl won
the Avon Descent.
A group paddled the Toodyay T Trees on Thursday
and found an unusual object blocking the route at Posselts
Ford. Photo Peter Gigengack.
Oh dear... who in the right mind would drive
across a flooded ford? Photo Peter Gigengack.
Cameron Vogel having a great play. Water level
1m at Walyunga today doubled in volume after yesterdays storm.
Photo Jenny Vogel
James Irwin winner of the last Wild Water
Race from Bolland's Bend to Amiens Crescent. Photo John O'Sullivan
Avon Descent Support Unit training at Bells
Rapid - WE WANT YOU!
Join their amazing group of volunteers. ADSU
- Avon Descent Support Unit.
Me paddling down Syds Rapid in a C1 in the
Avon Descent in the 1980s. Photo Lawrence Greed collection.
Scruntineering
The Avon Descent scruntineering
is only a week away. Is your equipment ready to be checked?
Remember to take your boat, your helmet, your PFD and don't
forget to tie a whistle to your PFD.
And have your numbers
on your craft before you get there. Put them on when your
boat is dry.
Featured Products
Carbon Fibre
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$215.00 carbon/nylon/polypropylene with
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$260.00 carbon/nylon/polypropylene with
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Two piece split paddles available.
*************************
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*************************
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Stories
Wild Water Race
Bolland's Elbow to Amiens
The river was absolutely pumping (0.9m
walyunga gauge) and we had beautiful sunny conditions. Congratulations
to Fifi Tan in paddling her first wildwater race. The first
WWK1 female across the line was Sam Pilton 30m 10sec, narrowly
beating Ballie Liddle 30m 37sec. James Irwin has continued
his super quick form by taking out the WWK1 male placing 28m
31sec, with Michael Liddle second place 29m 36sec. Both these
guys are new to wildwater and are both having an unbelievable
season so far. John O'Sullivan.
Two wavehoppers - the
chase is on. Paddlers started at 30 second intervals. Photo
John O'Sullivan
No time for smiling for
the camera today. Photo John O'Sullivan
4th place Kieran Simpson
powering under the Upper Swan Bridge. Photo John O'Sullivan
Luke Dooley happy to
finish his first Wild Water Race. He hadn't been on the course
before, he was paddling with a paddle with a crooked shaft,
he was paddling one of my kayaks but the best news was I beat
him by 21 seconds but what a great paddle he had!! Luke I
beat you for the first time (and probably the last) but don't
forget it, I won't!!
Photo John O'Sullivan
Ladies winner Sam Pilton
centre. Peter L, Jane L and Brett M. Photo John O'Sullivan
Results here: https://www.webscorer.com/racedetails?raceid=74083
Race of the Week
Just when you thought
that the seagull tangled in fishing line, which was in last
weeks newsletter was bad enough look at this picture.
Paul Browne was paddling
with the sea kayak club at Point Walter when they came across
2 pelicans struggling in the water. They paddled over to them
to see if we could help.
They managed to free one of the birds on the water and it
flew away. They got the badly injured one onto the shore.
They couldn't save it and sadly it died due to a massive gang
hooks being lodged in its throat, probably blood loss and
shock.
How awful is this
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Dart-Busters
With apologies to Ray Parker Jnr who wrote the lyrics to the
Ghostbusters theme:
If there's something weird
On the riverside,
Who you gonna call? Dart-busters!
If there's something sick; that needs some help,
Who you gonna call? Dart-busters!
Those who paddled upstream from Guildford Rd Bridge recently
may have spotted a darter on the right bank which was obviously
distressed. It had failed to get a sock on while dressing
and the sock was caught on its beak. As Paul and I approached
it, it was shaking its head vigorously in a futile effort
rid itself of the sock. I managed to get within half a metre
of it, but it dived into the river, coming up amongst a lot
of branches and well out of my reach. Oh well.
I'd thought of the poor bird over the weekend, when I was
busy with other activities but decided to attempt to catch
it in my trusty (and now rusty) net. I sought assistance from
Lorraine, Ascot's resident bird whisperer and she arrived
with our Saturday morning paddling buddy Kevin.
Approaching the bird sanctuary where night herons and darters
nest, I could see the darter drying his wings on a log just
ahead. Lorraine paddled close to it and it millimetred away,
but undeterred, Lorraine managed to centimetre along, still
talking softly. She poo-pood the use of the net and got quite
close, and then, with speed that would make a cobra green
with envy, she struck and managed to catch hold of the sock.
The darter wasn't overly pleased with the outcome, and took
a shot at her eye, managing to cause a small cut under the
lower lid. I approached with my trusty scissors and with a
bit of effort was able to cut most of the sock away. Kevin
came up on the other side of Lorraine's kayak and using his
gloveless fingers picked away the remaining strands of sock.
(And for those of you who are dying to know, it was a children's
Bonds sock). As I mentioned when we removed fishing line from
a darter's beak a couple of years ago, the darter beak is
heavily serrated so it can hold onto fish, and fishing line
and threads get really caught up.
Finally freed the darter headed for deep water and, we hope,
its first decent meal in a number of days.
Murray, Lorraine and Kevin
**********************************
A wet day on the balcony
Race of the Week
Avon Descent
6th August
Standard Entry
Fees Closes very soon
Race Pack Collection
22 July 2016 8:00am - 6:00 pm Burswood on Swan
1 Camfield Drive, Burswood
Paddle Craft Scrutineering 24 July 2016 8:00am AP Hinds Reserve
Bayswater
Power Craft Scrutineering 24 July 2016 8:00am AP Hinds Reserve
Bayswater
Scrutineering Safety Briefing 24 July 2016 10:30am AP Hinds
Reserve Bayswater
*********************
Tragic death
at U.S. National Whitewater Center
sends waves through the paddling community
Taken from Canoe &
Kayak Magazine
By Sam Boykin
While visiting Charlotte, N.C., this
summer, 18-year-old Lauren Seitz, along with several other
members of the Westerville, Ohio, church choir, decided to
check out the U.S. National Whitewater Center (USNWC). The
sprawling outdoor sports complex has mountain bike trails,
rock climbing walls and ziplines. But the main attraction
is the Class IV whitewater river, a manmade closed-loop course
that uses concrete channels to recirculate 12 million gallons
of water. Seitz and her friends, on June 8, went for a guided
rafting trip, during which the raft overturned. Eleven days
later, after suffering from fever, headaches and nausea, Seitz
died. Now health officials and the USNWC are trying to determine
how and if Seitz’s death could have been prevented, and
if other paddlers around the country should be concerned for
their safety.
A slalom racer on course at the U.S.
National Whitewater Center in Charlotte. Photo by Regina Nicolardi.
Investigators say that while at the
USNWC, Seitz contracted a deadly “brain-eating amoeba”
called Naegleria fowleri that is typically found in warm freshwater
such as rivers and lakes. The amoeba causes an infection known
as primary amebic meningoencephalitis, which is rare but nearly
always fatal. According to The Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC), 138 cases of the infection have been
reported since 1962, and all but three patients died. People
can only be infected when water containing the amoeba enters
the body through the nose. The Naegleria fowleri amoeba is
very common, especially during the summer in Southern states,
and doctors don’t yet understand why relatively few people
get the infection.
On June 24, after the CDC found the
Naegleria fowleri amoeba in 11 USNWC water samples, the center
suspended all its whitewater activities. It also drained the
artificial river to dry and clean all the concrete and rock
surfaces, and publicly announced it was working with the CDC
and other health officials to address the issue. The CDC has
also indicated that there needs to be engineering and operating
modifications before the center’s whitewater channels
reopen. Even as the rest of the USNWC remains open, the center
is dealing with a serious blow to its reputation, and could
face lawsuits in the future. Moreover, Seitz’s death
has raised questions about how water quality is maintained
and tested at whitewater facilities.
First of its Kind
When the USNWC opened in 2006, it was the first facility of
its kind—pumping municipal drinking water to create an
artificial, self-contained whitewater course. Situated along
the Catawba River on some 1,100 acres, the center soon became
one of Charlotte’s most popular and high-profile attractions.
USA Canoe/Kayak chose the facility as an official Olympic
Training Center for whitewater slalom racing, and the center
hosted the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Team Trials.
But Aaron Mann, director of communications
for USA Canoe/Kayak and a former U.S. Senior National Team
Member, says that for years Olympic athletes complained of
“serious algae growth” at the USNWC. “So this
has been a recurring trend, but we’re still shocked and
saddened that it led to the death of this young woman.”
Mann added that the two USA Canoe/Kayak
Olympic athletes who live and train in Charlotte have been
in Europe for the past month or so preparing for the 2016
Olympic Games in Rio, so they haven’t been directly impacted.
Mann said he didn’t want to speculate on whether USA
Canoe/Kayak would train at the USNWC in the future, but that
the team has other options in the United States. “It’s
just a matter of people’s willingness to move,”
he says.
Bad Luck and Negligence
The USNWC filtered its water with a system of stacked discs
that trapped particles, followed by ultraviolet radiation
and chlorination that reportedly killed 99.99 percent of waterborne
amoeba. But as part of its investigation, the CDC indicated
that the center’s filtration system was inadequate to
properly clean the facility’s waters, and that health
officials detected significant levels of the amoeba they had
not previously seen in environmental samples.
Since 2007, two other whitewater centers
have opened that are similar to the USNWC. One of the main
distinctions between the USNWC and other facilities is that
it’s not regulated under public swimming pool standards.
Like the USNWC, Riversport Rapids in
Oklahoma City, which opened in May, pumps municipal drinking
water through an artificial whitewater course. But Elizabeth
Laurent, a spokesperson for Riversport Rapids, says the facility
uses a drum filter system that puts water through a gradation
of screens. It also disinfects water with ozone and chlorine
rather than ultraviolet radiation. There’s also a closed-loop
whitewater park in western Maryland, Adventure Sports Center
International, which uses water from a lake rather than municipal
water. The county inspects the water during its twice-monthly
water tests of E. coli bacteria at bathing beaches.
In a public statement posted on its
website, USNWC stated that health officials have always considered
and treated the whitewater system at the USNWC as a natural
system. The USNWC also indicated that as part of its agreement
with the county, it conducts weekly water quality tests, and
that North Carolina swimming pool standards do not call for
the testing of the Naegleria fowleri amoeba.
Bill Hearn of Massachusetts, an active
slalom racer who was on the USA Slalom and Wildwater teams
in the 1980s and ‘90s, has visited the USNWC twice. While
he didn’t go paddling, he said he noticed clumps of algae
in the water.
Hearn says he believes that the tragedy
that happened at the USNWC is a case of both devastating bad
luck and negligence. “Many of the places where I’ve
trained and paddled over the years have had fairly filthy
water,” he says. “Water quality isn’t what
it could be in most places. But in a recirculating, artificial
course like in Charlotte, it’s designed and engineered
to have controllable conditions. It’s in the best interest
of paddlers everywhere to demand accountability as far as
having clean water, and make sure the people running these
artificial courses do it right.”
This story continues to unfold as the
USNWC works with health officials to determine how to best
improve water quality and minimize risks related to the amoeba.
Many challenges remain though, as very little is known about
this potentially deadly organism. The USNWC indicates that
there will always remain a risk of exposure despite every
effort possible to change that fact. “As with all risk,
our goal at the USNWC is to manage the risk as effectively
as possible.”
The Health and Human Services Department
has some basic measures you can take to protect yourself from
infection:
• “Limit the amount of water
going up your nose. Hold your nose shut, use nose clips, or
keep your head above water when taking part in warm freshwater-related
activities.”
• “Avoid water-related activities in warm fresh
water during periods of high water temperature and low water
levels.”
• “Avoid digging in, or stirring up, the sediment
while taking part in water-related activities in shallow,
warm fresh water areas.”
• There is also a new drug on the market called miltefosine
that that has been used to successfully treat a few isolated
cases of the Primary Amebic Meningoencephalitis infection.
Until recently, the drug, known by the brand name Impavido
and approved by health officials in 2014, was available only
through the CDC and had to be shipped to hospitals in emergencies
on a case-by-case basis. The Amoeba Awareness Foundation has
been working to make the drug available across the country.
2nd Hand Boats
Mission Surge
Double sit-on
Mission Surge Double
sit-on. Can also be paddle solo from a middle seat. Very good
condition. $500.00
Please note Nikki is not for sale - not yet
anyway!
**********************
I have a number
of small sit-on tops selling from $250.00 to $400.00.