Enjoy the CDU Newsletter
Published: Tue, 08/16/16
514
4th August 2016
Message Bank
My contact number is 0417 977
330
The shop number and work mobile number is
no longer operating
Check to see if you have the right mobile
number
If you forget it, go to my website to find
the above number
*********************************
Well the Avon Descent is over for another year, my 26th.
It was a very successful event for our past Canoeing Down
Under team members, Josh Kippin took out first place, Sam
Pilton was the first lady and a once sponsored paddler Coran
Longwood who teamed up with Brea Roadley won the mixed team
of two. Not forgetting Luke Dooley (16) the youngest paddler
in the event who I have sponsored and encouraged and who took
out 15th place in the plastic division. Not bad for a first
timer and a paddler who had a hole in his ski for much of
day two.
Special congratulations also go to paddlers who train with
CDU, Baillee Liddle 3rd female, Jane Liddle and Erica McKnight
first female team, Rob Jarrett and Chris Watson who we think
won the plastic double kayaks, Peter Liddle who was 3rd in
the DR class and Brett Young who was the first plastic kayak.
Then there were the other 60 paddlers who had been regulars
of my different training and fitness sessions who reached
home. Well done to all of you.
It was also pleasing to see Peter Tomczak (2nd double kayak
with Brett McDonald) and Darryl Long (3rd double kayak with
Paul Genovesi) who, when Peter and Darryl started paddling,
I had a hand in developing their skills and interest in the
sport.
It was my 20th Avon Descent in a DR kayak, 3 times in a C1,
once in a High Deck Wizard Kayak and twice in a plastic double.
I was 2nd in the DR kayak class this year, the 15th kayak
and the 39th single craft (kayak and ski) over the line so
I was pretty pleased with my effort considering I am 65 year
old.
Congratulations to all those paddlers who entered the event,
it was yet another great weekend, hopefully I will see you
at the race next year.
Josh Kippin winner of 2016 Avon Descent
Sam Pilton female winner of the 2016 Avon
Descent
Luke Dooley leading grid 4 down Northam Weir
turned 16 two weeks before the event
Baillie Liddle last year's female winner was
one of this years faces of the 2016 Avon Descent
******************************************
LOST
Lost one light blue Finn Multisport kayak
number 376 just below Championships. Was left there by Alan
Hill after it getting wedged in trees on the Avon on day 2.
He also lost 3 paddles along the way. Name only on one of
them. If you know what happened to it please call Alan on
0413569288.
******************************************
Olympic Bronze for Australia's
Jessica Fox
Jessica Fox (bronze) and Maialen Chourraut
(gold) hug at the medal ceremony. Maialen won bronze in London
and Jessica silver. Today Maialen is the Olympic Champion!
******************************************
Wild Water Sprints
Bells Rapid
Whilst some Avon Descenters were resting or
having family time it didn't stop a group of dedicated Wild
Water paddlers taking on Bells Rapid at a speed not seen from
tired Avon Descent paddlers who would have paddled nearly
100kms by the time they reached here.
Fun at Bells
Christopher Greed blowing bubbles at Bells
Drop to create less drag. Photo Lawrence Greed
Chris Hollier trying to blow water off his
wavehopper deck for extra speed. Photo Lawrence Greed
Gavin Criddle, a paddler from the past back
in action this week and blowing up his cheeks to gain more
momentum.
Photo Lawrence Greed
I can't believe it as in the 3 months I have
had 3 colds. Is it the new house, is it my age or is it the
winter weather?
Roll on summer.
Featured Products
Epic V7
Plastic Ski
The Epic V7 is a great
ski for flatwater, white water and amazing on the ocean
Jeremy Hood at Syds Rapid.
Photo Jayden O'Brien
Another ski to try
Amazingly stable but
still extremely fast
****************************
Epic V14
The Marathon
Racing Season will soon be here
so you will
need something fast, real fast
This week's
SPECIAL $4400.00
Length: 6.4m
Width: 42.9 cm
Depth: 32cm
Capacity: 136kg
Stories
Avon Descent
2016
Day 1
Well the water in the river had been running since Easter
and I must admit I can't remember that happening before so
it was great for all those paddlers who were taking advantage
of it, which I hadn't. It looked as if it was going to be
a big year but a week before the event the level was slowly
going down and it was risking of being lower than last year
and I think it was just slightly.
This year there appeared to be a lot more hype and publicity
about the race before the event. The water level may have
helped but I think the organisers tried hard to get publicity,
which was excellent to see.
Baillie Liddle
I hadn't really taken advantage
of the Avon River running so long, I only did one Valley Run
in a Wavehopper and two Tea Tree runs in a Wavehopper and
the Epic V7. The Epic V7 was such a great boat for the trees
and I would have paddled it in the Avon if I wasn't such a
chicken about being cold. A kayak is much warmer. With all
the paddling I had done on the Avon over the years I didn't
really need to get to know it, although it would have been
an advantage for my balance and kayak control which does deteriorate
with age.
The scrutineering two weeks before the event seemed to go
well, it's then when you realise the race is so close. The
Avon Descent is just not a race, it a gathering of paddlers
who love paddling, and who love to chat about the race before
and after. New friends are often made racing down the river.
At registration on the Friday night some of the faster paddlers
got a shock when they saw that they were towards the back
of the field. Apparently the seeding grids weren't the grids
that the committee had decided on, someone on the AD committee
had changed them which, if they wanted help in the future
wasn't a good idea.
Young Luke Dooley was just so happy to be there. It was his
first Avon Descent and after turning 16, 3 weeks previously
he was probably the youngest paddler on the course, but saying
that he was more experienced than a lot of the field. Luke
was an under 16 Australian Marathon Champion and although
it was his first time in the Avon I didn't expect to beat
him, as he was just too quick.
We milled around our boats and had those last minute chats
with other paddlers and as soon as the power boats were off
paddlers on the first five grids started to warm up and took
centre stage. Not all the fast paddlers were on those five
grids the ones that had been relegated to the back grids wouldn't
be very pleased, especially the ones who did the seeding races
to get a good position.
Josh, Matthew and Brenden are way down the river and fighting
it out before we get started. Photo Jane Dooley
I was on the 4th grid paddling
next to Luke but knowing he would leave me behind straight
away. Peter Liddle my main opponent in a DR kayak was in the
3rd grid and it seemed impossible for me to catch him as he
was a quicker paddler. We were neck and neck at the Northam
to Toodyay race, however that was a shorter 30 km race and
the end was a lot closer. The Avon Descent race was so different
it was much longer and tougher and the water level was lower.
With only 8 paddlers on the grid it wasn't so hectic at the
first obstacle, the Northam Weir. Usually I have to fight
6 to 8 other paddlers on the weir at the same time but today
I only had Peter Gigengack in a Wavehopper to contend with.
I was up his bum but I wasn't fast enough to get in front
of him in the narrow channels although within 400 metres I
got my chance, passed him and I didn't see him again which
I was pleased about.
Come on Pete get out
of the way. Hey Luke (green PRS) wait for me! Photo Jane Dooley
The K2s approach the
weir. Photo Jane Dooley
Last year I had paddlers
I knew and trained with all around me but today I didn't have
the same people to chase so it was less exciting. However
the advantage of only 8 paddlers to a grid was that we had
a lot more room and there was less congestion than on other
years with no-one blocking up the channels in front. I was
a bit concerned about the K2s blundering through as they started
2 minutes behind but that was enough time to clear the weir
before they passed.
I could feel that I wasn't travelling as fast as I should
but it was hard to muster any more speed when I had no-one
I really knew in my sights. Thomas Rogan passed me in his
long composite ski. he started way behind me. Soon after Gary
Clarke flew by on a long composite ski by telling me he had
already broke one paddle not far from the start and Tomas
had given him his spare as he didn't carry one. Gary later
broke Thomas' paddle and had to wait half an hour for his
support team to get another paddle to him. He also broke two
paddles in the week leading up to the race so it was to be
an expensive race for him.
About a kilometre from Katrine Bridge Kiera Albertson started
passing me. She had started about 5-6 minutes behind so I
was pretty surprised as I was only a minute behind her in
the Northam to Toodyay Race. I took the opportunity to get
onto her wash and paddle under Katrine Bridge behind her.
I soon came to life and it was what I needed to wake up. I
managed to keep up for another kilometre before Michael Baker
came by and she took the chance and got onto his wash for
a short time and left me floundering to find the any enthusiasm.
The leading female Kiera
Albertsen passes me before Katrine Bridge. Photo Jane Dooley
The teams changeover
at Katrine Bridge. Photo Nigel Emmett
Glen Avon Rapid was approaching
and I could see about 6 paddlers ahead following each other
to the right of the weir rapid. I headed for the centre and
more direct route and was soon scaping over the jagged boulders
towards the main rapid which I soon cleared and just avoided
eddying out at the bottom where there was a low overhanging
tree and big eddy. With that rapid behind me I had no more
worries as I had decided that I was going to portage Extracts
Weir. I knew that I would lose time there because most other
paddlers especially the plastics would give it a go. I paddled
down it at the Northam to Toodyay Race but the water level
was lower and I didn't think it was worth damaging my kayak
or getting stuck on the way down.
Brett Young at Glen Avon.
Photo John O'Sullivan
Brea Roadley in a team of two with Coran Longwood tackles
Glen Avon Rapid. Photo John O'Sullivan
The long pool before the
weir really dragged the life out of me, but portaging the
weir soon woke me up. Approaching the weir Phil Edwards in
a DR kayak passed. He, I think must have been one of the faster
paddlers sent to the back. He paddled over to the right so
I don't know if he paddled the weir or not but I stood little
chance beating him.
I portaged on the left, picked up my kayak and run along the
fenced portage lane to the far end. There were hardly any
support teams along the bunting so it certainly looked as
if most were paddling the weir. Then I heard over the loud
speaker that Sam was paddling over the weir. I ran down to
the water climbed into my kayak put my spraydeck on as Jenny
came across to give me a banana. As she hurried across and
peeled it all but the tip of the banana fell to the ground.
I had no time to wait so I left with only a tiny piece of
banana in my mouth. Just ahead was Sam and Phil. Sam had got
ahead of Phil so he either had trouble coming down the weir
or he portaged on the right side which is a shorter portage
but a steeper bank.
Steve Myers & John
Hilton at Extracts Weir. Photo Jayden O'Brien
Peter Pavlinovich. Photo Jayden O'Brien
I watched on as Phil and
Sam fled ahead towards Toodyay which wasn't that far. The
crowd in Toodyay cheered me on as I passed by. Although I
reached Toodyay where it seemed that everybody were having
fun and team members were getting ready to overtake me somewhere
down the river.
Apart from the tiny piece of banana I hadn't eaten anything
since starting so after Toodyay Rapid I opened my tube of
rice I had packed and sealed the night before and had in my
pocket.
Toodyay Rapid was pretty easy but the section to West Toodyay
Bridge seemed to drag on although it was on this section that
I caught up with Brett Young who started 1 minute ahead of
me so that cheered me up. Then the double kayak of Steve Bolger
and Jason Gardner caught us up and the race was on. We started
trying to outshine each other but Jason and Steve had the
extra speed and got ahead for a moment or two, hit the shallows
got in our way and the fight was on again to get the lead.
Jason Gardener &
Steve Bolger powering by. Photo John Williams
At the West Toodyay Bridge,
Brett went over to the right which has a deeper but windier
channel but Steve and Jason went straight on taking a shorter
but shallower section. I chased the double but I was concerned
that Brett would be ahead when the river joined again, but
he wasn't, in fact he lost quite a bit of ground. We passed
the teams change over point with cheers from the paddlers
waiting. I was trying my hardest to get back in front but
the boys kept me at bay. Brett eventually caught up so it
was another 3 way tussle. We were getting closer to the Tea
Tree section and I was praying that the double wouldn't enter
the trees before me as I knew they would just get in the way.
As luck should have it the boys crossed a shallow section
and bogged down to a standstill which gave me the opportunity
to pass. I was 'pleased as punch' but I couldn't dilly-dally
once in front as I wanted to reach the trees before them.
A few minutes later Grant Pepper and his two mates in a K3
sped by cheekily shouting out to me if I wanted to know the
way, follow them!
Grant Pepper, Tim Sikma
and Paul Burke in a K3. Photo John Williams
The tea trees were my favourite
part of the race. It's a section that wakes me up and also
gives me an opportunity to rest as a slower pace is needed
to thread yourself through the channels and canopy of trees.
I know the way through but concentration is still extremely
important especially if you are following others. The risk
of following others down the wrong channel is quite high.
Unlike other years there were less paddlers in the trees when
I entered which is always a good sign but you only need one
slower paddler to be in front to slow you down.
The K3 was travelling well, Brett had caught up and I could
see Danny Moreton ahead. A faster paddler from Queensland
passed us on one of the pools but before passing me Brett
told him to follow me. He didn't and caught up with Danny
who really didn't know where he was going so the Queenslander
followed him into an overgrown channel and I never saw him
again until after I had finished that was. That meant Brett
and I had a clearer run.
Danny Moreton in a team
of two with his son Luke who returned from competition in
Europe 3 days before the Avon. Photo John Williams
We were making good time
and eventually Brett passed me in a long pool, he stumbled
soon after in the trees and I passed him again. He passed
me again before reaching Jimperding Brook at Lovers Lane and
where a little downstream one of the trickiest tea tree sections
were. I was hoping to be in the lead as at the end of the
narrow channel you have to claw over tree roots through a
small gap. The K3 was portaging this section when we got there
which was understandable. In high water there is a channel
on the right where the K3 was portaging.
Brett led through the narrow channel and for some reason decided
to take the right route once we got inside the trees but hesitated
and got caught broadside against some tree roots. I was quite
pleased as it meant that I could negotiate the tricky channel
first without a boat in front of me. I weaved my way around
the obstacles taking it carefully and being attentive as I
didn't want to mess this one up. A group of spectators and
photographers like vultures were standing at the bottom where
the carnage would happen, I'm sure waiting for the unexpected
to crash and bang. I was hoping that I wasn't one.
The current took me wide around the last corner as I knew
it would but I managed to straighten up and hit the closest
gap. The tree roots stopped me but after grabbing other tree
roots with my left hand I was able to drag myself across the
obstacles. I left the worst part of the trees happy, I knew
now that there was going to be nothing ahead that could ruin
my day.
Happy to be out of the
tricky tea tree section. Photo John O'Sullivan
Michael Laloli taking
a break. Photo John O'Sullivan
Michael Edmondson & Nathaniel Edmondson. Photo John O'Sullivan
Brett chased me out of
the tree section and passed me again and at the next section
which started off with a rapid he spun out allowing me to
get ahead again. Once around a few obstacles and down a narrow
fairly swift channel and that was another tricky section done.
I now was feeling good and so I lifted my pace keeping Brett
at bay. We flew through a few more sections of trees, passed
the level pole that indicated it was just under .8 and then
soared at great speed along the last long pool. I was feeling
great.
Once out of the last set of trees before the finish I noticed
Mark Lawson, who was also paddling a DR kayak just ahead at
Leatherhead Rapid. We had caught him up which was pleasing
but he did start behind us so he was still much faster. People
on the left bank were shouting for him to take the left route.
I saw him hesitate and then take it. They then shouted to
me but I veered right and down the drop which was longer but
safer route. It must have also been quicker as when the two
channels joined Mark wasn't to be seen.
Once in the pool I dashed towards the line with as much power
as I could muster and several seconds ahead of Brett. At Extracts
Weir I was told I was 4-5 minutes behind Peter Liddle but
at the finished of day one I was only 1 minute and 3 seconds
so I had made up a few minutes on that last section which
I was pretty pleased about.
Josh was sitting first
in the men's and Sam Pilton had managed to pass Kiera in the
tea trees to beat her by seconds. I must admit when Kiera
passed I didn't think the other girls would catch her. This
is the great thing about the Avon Descent there are so many
variables and different sections on the course you never know
until the end.
Sam Pilton & Kiera Albertsen chatting at the finish of
day one. Sam manged to pass Kiera and be 2 minutes 41 seconds
faster. Photo Jane Dooley
The volunteers helped lift
my kayak out, I placed it in the line of boats and checked
for damage before turning it over to keep the water out. It
was ready for day 2. The rain started so Jenny and I hurried
back to the car for me to get changed. With raincoats on we
went back to the start to see who else had finished and then
to the food van for some delicious chips. It was then time
to head for home and have a nice hot relaxing bath.
End of day one. Photo
Jane Dooley
Race of the Week
Avon Descent
2016
Day 1
Luke Dooley
After a week of training
doing valley runs and t trees, I was much more confident for
the big race. We headed on down to Perth on Thursday to allow
plenty of time for registration and rest.
Friday morning, we met up with Terry and Aline and headed
up to Northam via Toodyay and Extracts Weir for registrations.
We loaded my newly fixed PRS onto the roof and left. We looked
around Extracts, noticing how much the water had dropped since
the Northam to Toodyay race a few weeks ago. Peter Tomczak
and Brett McDonald had a go at shooting it in their K2 which
ended up being quite a spectacle. They lined up their run
almost perfect, but did not have nearly enough speed going
over and were barely moving. They then got stuck and after
several minutes, both Brett and Peter had to get out and lift
the boat back to the top of the weir.
Pete and Brett discussing
tactics in practice when things didn't go quite to plan. Photo
Jane Dooley
We then headed across to
Northam for the registration. Although there seemed to be
hundreds of people there, it did not take long at all, leaving
us plenty of time to look over and discuss the grids for Day
1. We then dropped off our boats to the start line and headed
home to rest and eat.
The next morning, we rose at some time before 0600, I didn't
quite look at the clock that well. By 0745, we were at Northam
looking over the festivities in full swing. The power boats
were roaring up and down the river, warming up their engines
and making some last minutes preparations. I ducked back to
the car and got all of my clothes on. I had my wetsuit top,
my cag, my long thermal pants and much to everyone's surprise,
my booties.
Luke all geared up and
ready to go. Photos Jane Dooley
Hey old man do you need a lift to the river!!!
Eventually the time came
to get onto the water. I hopped on and did a few laps of the
warm up area before it was time to line up alongside Terry
Bolland in his DR boat. It was a little worrying lining up
on the same grid as Terry. Obviously I could easily beat him
over 15kms of flat water, but this time I was in his territory
and he sounded quite determined to beat me over the 125 kilometers
of white water. Finally the hooter went and gird four was
off and racing. I knew the doubles were on grid five and would
be right on my tail going over Northam weir if I didn't get
a move on, so I put some power down. It was a little weird
doing a big sprint off the start fully dressed in my white
water gear and being in the big, heavy PRS. It didn't quite
have the acceleration off the line like my K1, but it did
better than expected and I was leading my grid smoothly down
the weir in no time.
Luke leading grid 4 down
the weir. Terry no-where to be seen!
A few minutes later, I spotted Peter
Liddle ahead who started on grid three. He was about two hundred
meters ahead. Surprisingly, it took four kilometers to finally
catch and overtake him. Once I did though, he was lost in
the distance and I didn't see him until the finish. Next in
my sights was Warren Southwell in his returned red molokai.
I soon caught and overtook him, gaining about 100 metres.
Next, a few doubles came through and gave Warren a bit of
wash which allowed him to catch up to me, where he stayed
until Glen Avon rapid. I followed Warren down, but got swamped
by a standing wave near the bottom. This filled up my foot
well, making the boat quite heavy. At the bottom, I came down
at a slight angle towards the right and got the nose caught
in an eddy. As the boat was so heavy, I got spun around and
took a few seconds to spin around again. This allowed Warren
to pull away and gain 100 meters. I didn't quite have the
enthusiasm to hunt him down again as we still had just under
40 kilometers to go, so I just cruised.
Peter Liddle
Warren Southwell
I decided to portage Extracts Weir as I
wanted to stop and fill my water bladder up and get some food.
I pulled in and ran all the way through the portage, looking
for mum the whole way. The man on the speaker was announcing
all of the people coming through and mentioned my trip to Gold
Coast which was nice. Finally I found Mum right at the end and
quickly came to a halt. I swallowed as many cashews and mandarins
as I could find while mum fiddled around with my water bladder.
It took quite about thirty seconds which felt like ages. I was
quite annoyed it took so long, but I got my water and she also
untangled my drink hose which made things much easier. I was
off again, this time nowhere in sight of Warren as he didn't
portage. That night, I looked on the news and saw that Warren
got on for going down Extracts. It was quite disappointing as
I only missed out by a few seconds, but I did need a stop.
The next 10 kilometers seemed to take an age. It was just pool
after pool after pool with a current, but I didn't think it
helped too much as it was all so shallow. I passed Michael Liddle
as he was stopping for his support crew. He later passed me
and I just sat behind, keeping him from getting too far ahead.
Finally, I reached the t trees. It was
quite a relief as that meant I only had 11 kilometers to go.
I was also pleased that I had Michael to follow through as
I'd only done the trees once. It turned out I didn't need
Michael to follow as the water was much lower than the time
I did it and I could just paddle through and the routes were
fairly obvious. Just over half way through, Michael must have
had a lapse in concentration and got flicked out under a tree.
He headed for the bank and quickly got going again, although
was not at all happy about swimming having already done forty
kilometers of shallow water.
Just before Leatherhead, I missed a sharp right hand turn
and ended up sideways being pushed against a tree. Thankfully
it wasn't too bad and I was on a ski so I could get it out
and jump back on before many people could see.
Nearly there
The Avon River distance
guide sticker I picked up from registrations helped heaps
along with my GPS watch so I knew exactly how far I had to
go. I became quite frustrated before the end as the sticker
said day 1 was 52 kilometers, but I ended up doing 53.2. I
sure was happy to cruise over the line after completing day
1 of my first Avon Descent at 16.
I looked over the results
that night and saw that I was in front of Terry by 12 minutes,
so I had a bit of an advantage the next day.
That night I was very sore in my lower back, lower shoulder
blades, knees, bum, hands and blistered fingers. I was nearly
sick when I cut open one of my blood blisters and blood erupted
everywhere, but soon got over that. We had some lovely pasta
cooked by mum and went to bed a little tired!
Race of the Week
Slalom Winter Series #5 State Titles
Event Start Date
21-08-2016
Event Start Time 09:00:00
Location
Avon River; Walyunga National Park
*********************
White Water Racing State Titles Geegelup Cup
Event Start Date
27 & 28th August 2016
Location
Blackwood River, Bridgetown
*********************
Nanga Challenge
17-09-2016
Kayak - Cycle - Run
Location
Murray River, Dwelingup