Enjoy the CDU Newsletter
Published: Fri, 03/03/17
534
3rd February 2017
Message Bank
On the 10th of March I and several other WA paddlers will
be competing in the Australian Canoe Marathon Championships.
I will be competing in the over 65 class. I was hoping that
most of the over 65 year olds would be dithery and doddery
but having looked at last years results it doesn't seem to
be the case. One 65 year old paddled 15kms in 1.14.43, another
did it in 1.18.52 so it seems that I will have my work cut
out to get close to them.
The Marathon Squad.
Josh Kippin, Brendan Rice, Thomas Paul Rogan, Gary Clarke,
Mark Lawson, Brett McDonald, Matthew Greed
Nicholas Greed, Luke Dooley, Max Smith, Tom Green, Luke Egger,
Tim Hyde, Stuart Hyde and Terry Bolland.
The Sprint Championships are a few days before the marathon
so several sprint paddlers will be competing including some
of the above.
*************************
In 1995 when the Avon River was high I thought it would
be a good opportunity to paddle from Bayswater to Northam
upstream against the current in my DR kayak and then a couple
of days later turn around and race back to Bayswater. It took
just under 26 hours to paddle upstream trying to use as many
eddies and slack water as I could. It was one of those mad
things I used to do, but it also tested my skills, endurance
and the will to complete something quite difficult. I'm surprized
that no one has given it a go in this last few weeks while
the river was high.
A year or two previous I ran up to the start of the Avon
Descent and raced back in a C1.
Ran to the start of the Avon descent and raced
back in a C1
Then I thought what else can I do, so a year
or two later I decided to kayak from the furthest upstream
point of the Avon River where there was enough water to float
the kayak and then paddle down to Northam, enter the race
and then instead of finishing at Bayswater I paddled on to
Fremantle.
*************************
The high water has come at the right time
for Kieran Simpson as it has given him some good white watre
practice he normally wouldn't have got. Kieran has been selected
to represent Australia in the under 23 wildwater team competing
in Austria in late July so the practice he has been getting
has been invaluable. Rapids in Austria can be big.
Kieran attacking Syd's Waterfall at 1 metre
at Walyunga National Park
Oh well it looks easy. Photo John Hilton
Oh hell where am I? Photo John Hilton
Please lord don't let me get sucked back into
the hole. Photo John Hilton
See guys it was easy. Photo John Hilton
*******************************
Three weeks ago I mentioned that Luke Dooley
who had only been in a small playboat once before could soon
be teaching me a thing or two. That time has nearly come.
This week and only his third time in a playboat and 1 metre
at the park he was confident, more skilful and not afraid
to tackle the bigger waves. He was also so pleased with his
first perfect roll in whitewater. He passed his driver's test
on Thursday.
Luke Dooley surfing the Walyunga Chute last
Sunday at 1 metre.
**********************************************
This Old Tree Has Been Washed away
This tree marking the shallows 200 metres
upstream from Pickering Park boatramp, Bassendean is no longer
there. It was was washed away with the flood waters. There
could be a few changes in the Avon river as well.
The two spit posts that were flattened have
now been near here have been replaced.
********************************
The Tree Stump at Bolland's Elbow has been
washed away.
Bolland's Elbow with and without the tree
The Tree Stump has gone
With the floods other parts of the river may
have changed, especially the tree sections.
********************************
Training & Courses
Saturday
Morning Training
7.15am for a 7.30am start
Sandy Beach Reserve,
West Road,
Bassendean
*******************
Monday Night Training
Ascot Kayak Club 5.45pm
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Stories
Talking About
Floods
A Mini Flood
on the North Saskatchewan River, Canada
Leaving the Rocky Mountains
Day 4
Friday 17th June:
It was raining yet again, so I just
stayed in my sleeping bag until it eased. I was camped in
a pine forest and as well as the rain, water was dripping
from the trees and onto the tent. When I crawled out and checked
my surrounds I was surprised to see the river had risen at
least 2 metres, even more. The previous night I was able to
walk along the stony river bed carrying the kayak to the forest,
but now there was only water from one high bank to the other.
The water had nearly crept above the banks and was only inches
from spilling onto the forest floor.
The river rose several
metres in the night
Not only was the river swollen but there
were a large number of huge trees, large logs and debris floating
by. It was like a highway for floating trees. It was easy
to believe that the river level could rise in such a short
time, but it was much harder to believe that so many huge
trees would be floating by. Seeing them I couldn’t imagine
what my paddling day was going to be like.
I packed as fast as I could which was
pretty slow. When I was ready to leave I said goodbye to the
old dead pine tree that I thought may have fallen on me in
the night. As you can imagine I was pretty pleased it hadn’t.
My problems though were just starting as I realised that it
was going to be difficult task to get the kayak in the water
and safely away. There was only a metre gap between the trees,
and with the water flowing swiftly through them, I was wondering
how I would get my 5 metre kayak positioned parallel to the
shore with only a one metre gap and a swift current, and then
get in it and paddle away. It looked impossible. I tried lowering
the kayak down the bank between the small gap but the current
grabbed the bow, whipped it downstream onto a tree and nearly
from my grasp. Well that wasn’t going to work so I immediately
pulled it out.
I saw a very narrow gap a few metres
away between some scrubby trees. It looked near impossible
but more feasible so I dragged the kayak along the ground
and wedged it between some small trees and the bank. There
wasn’t much room to squeeze into the cockpit but I managed
to fight through the branches and get in. That was the easy
bit, now I had to paddle away from the bank through the immediate
bushes in the hope I wouldn’t get jammed in the other
branches, which the current was flowing through, further downstream.
I knew if I capsized at that point I could get tangled in
the branches. If I capsized further out, I would have to deal
with the cold icy melt water, and as there were no eddies
along the bank the likelihood of getting out of the river
would be very slim, so I didn’t want to capsize to prove
a point.
I always carried my Epirb distress beacon
and my Spot Locator in my PFD but today I decided to carry
my satellite phone on me as well, just in case I did get separated
from my kayak! The thing about risks is that you have to prepare
for them in advance so if anything did happened you had the
means to save yourself. Although the satellite phone was bulky
having it on me would be much more useful to get help straight
away.
As soon as I paddled through the trees
and away from the bank and into the main flow I was joined
by a large number of big trees, lots of branches and a multitude
of smaller pieces of timber. I was happy though and what an
amazing sight it was. Some of the trees were going faster
than I was. They must have been in a faster current or just
fitter than me. The water was running quick, real quick and
at the bends where there were waves, standing waves, boils
and swirls, the logs were travelling even quicker. I tried
skirting the bigger waves, but it was near impossible. I had
thought this section was going to be easy!
The heavy rain caused
flash floods washing down huge logs and trees
I soon found myself dodging a big tree,
I missed it, but I hit a few minor branches as there were
too many of them to avoid. The floating branches and logs
seemed to be in the same part of the river where I wanted
to be.
Brett who shuttled me to the start said
it had been a big snow year and the snow was still melting
and with all the rain, the river is higher than normal. So
with the storm we had the previous day it was now in flood.
I could hear the rumblings of the rapids
from a long way off. It was always a sign to get ready for
some big waves, although some times the sound was created
by the water rushing through branches or the water hitting
rock ledges along the shoreline. It was still a scary sound.
Moments later I saw a mass of waves ahead with several trees
bobbing up and down. It was certainly time for me to give
it my full concentration. I managed to skirt the worst of
the waves and move around the bend into less turbulent water
where it felt much safer.
It was a little concerning
at times trying to avoid the logs
Some of the faster water appeared to
be closer to the shoreline, especially on the bends and it
was where I wanted to be to gain the fastest speed, but it
wasn’t the safest place to be as I had to contend with
the floating debris as well as landslides and trees falling
into the river. To make matters worse, it was raining hard
and was extremely cold and the only way to keep warm was to
keep paddling.
So my day was somewhat different from
my normal day of paddling but I soon became accustomed to
the continual swerving to miss the trees. I couldn’t
miss all the smaller bits of timber and branches as there
were too many of them. Sometimes it was as if I was running
over a mine field. As I moved over them I listened and felt
the timbers and branches scrape underneath along my hull and
eventually hit my rudder.
The branches, trees and driftwood were
just like me floating down the river having a good ride. They
had probably been jammed up somewhere for years and now they
had a chance to go places. For just being pieces of timber
they were actually quite bright as sometimes they would take
a different route around an island to myself and beat me to
the bottom.
I tried to keep my distance from the
bigger logs, especially near the bank and in the shallows
as the trees could hit the bank rebound and get pushed out
or get turned quickly and hit me. Other trees and branches
often hit the shallows then they would spring up into the
air, which was quite spectacular, but dangerous. Some went
underwater and played hide and seek for a while, and then
popped up in places downstream where I wasn’t expecting
them to appear.
At some spots where the river was divided
by an island the logs would jam up against the island and
create one big mess of tangled logs and a mass of whitewater.
If I was to get tangled up in a log jam with the swift current
pushing against them I would certainly die, it was as simple
as that. Thank god I could read whitewater and had the knowledge
and skills to recognize the best route and keep away from
such dangerous places. So it was a day of high drama and so
different from any other day. At times it had been quite frightening,
but really it was quite fun.
I had a late start so I started looking
for a camp at 7.00pm but I needed a spot that was high enough
to keep me well away from the rising water. It was too dangerous
to camp on a lower elevation. Eventually after scouring the
bank on both sides I managed to find a suitable place which
was over 2 metres higher than the water level, although I
still didn’t know if that was high enough.
A beaver greeted me to my new campsite.
It happily allowed me to get very close to it before it moved
away. It later nibbled at the young tree shoots which were
lined along the bank. I watched on. With the rising water
level I was concerned that I just might have selected a spot
that might get swamped in the night, so having mobile phone
reception I texted Alaine and asked her to ring me at 3.00am
in the morning my time. I didn’t tell her why I wanted
her to call me at that time, as I didn’t want to concern
her, but it was so I would wake up and be able to check the
water level in the night. If need be I could pack up quickly
and get back on the river.
At 3.00am the phone rang. I fumbled
in the dark and hit the wrong button and switched it off instead
of answering it. I sent Alaine a text to tell her that I had
received it. With torch in hand I climbed out of the tent
and checked the water level. The river had risen quite a lot
and although it was getting close I was confident it wouldn’t
reach me before 6.00am when I would check it again. With little
cloud I could see the moon for the first time since arriving
in Canada.
With nothing to fear, except maybe being
washed off my island, I went back to sleep pretty quickly.
When I woke at 6.00am it was raining yet again so I stayed
in bed a little longer as I didn’t see the sense in getting
wet. By the time I was up and ready to leave, the water was
within half a metre of my tent. I had judged my departure
perfectly.
There didn’t seem as many logs
for the first hour but then I started catching up with them.
The river was raging and not too far downstream, encircled
by a small forest of trees I noticed a caravan besieged by
rushing flood waters. An elderly couple was standing anxiously
in knee deep water waiting for a rubber duck rescue boat to
rescue them. There was fear on their face but the rescue boat
was on hand trying to manoeuvrer between the rocks and trees
towards them. It looked a tricky task as the swift flood waters
played havoc. The crew was all decked out in rescue gear and
helmets, but they had a tough job working the current and
trying to get around the trees and avoid the flooded rocky
shallows as well as trying to find a safe place to land to
pick up the couple. I couldn’t help as the current was
too strong, even for my skill and fitness level. I was soon
swept away downstream.............................
You can read the full
story here:
https://terrybolland.com/across-canada-expedition-stage-1-north-saskatchewan-river/
*******************************************
Some of you may have
been sent this story by Robyn but I thought it was worth putting
in my newsletter
Paddling Tasmanian
Wilderness World Heritage Area
Robyn Khorshid
Here are a few pics of a wonderful paddle in this Tasmanian
Wilderness World Heritage Area. It was such a special experience.
There are no roads here so one flies
or boats, in our case, to Melaleuca. It's a well worn path
for adventurer-type kayakers and hikers. Our kayaks had been
stored here beside Melaleuca Creek.
After a short paddle down Melaleuca
Inlet to Forest Lagoon our first night was spent in rather
comfortable
circumstances in a forest dripping with the day's rain. These
comfy canvas cabins were nestled in the bush together with
a kitchen and dining area and luxury loos, Tasmanian wilderness
style (they flushed!), all connected by these walkways.
Sunshine greeted us for the day's paddle
past Bathurst Harbour, Mount Rugby and down the Bathurst Channel
to
Schooner Cove and Port Davey.
Another sunny day for the stunning paddle
past the verdant Breaksea Islands. Balmy conditions indeed
for the SW of Tassie.
Exploring a sea cave. The
geology of the area is most interesting: here one can see
the folding of the layers of the quartzite which is what most
of this area consists of.
Our camp for this next night was at
Spain Bay. There was time for a hike over the headland to
Stephens Bay, below, at
the far end of which is a gigantic midden, full of the shells,
some animal bones and stone tools of the indigenous peoples
who lived here for tens of thousands of years. The foreground
is button grass which is the predominant covering of the
boggy, peaty soils here.
Another day of paddling in sunshine.
Calm on this eastern side of Shanks Islands.
A paddle past the steep, striated, western
cliffs of the Breaksea Islands, not so green and lush on this
western side! We
had an hour or so of swell, backwash from the cliffs, choppy
wind waves from strong head winds on the rest of this paddle,
closer to the cliffs, but I was too busy to take photos!
We kept meeting a group
of other Port Davey sea kayakers who had all chartered a boat
for the trip south to Port Davey. They were just leaving as
we arrived at our favourite camp spot, Bramble Cove, where
we spent two nights.
Arrival at Bramble Cove.
Warm enough for a swim. Note the gathering cloud which indicated
the coming of another front and yes it rained heavily during
the evening.
Then after more exploration
on another day we retraced our steps, with different stops
for morning tea and lunch, with a
special stop at the old home of one of the original pioneering
families in the area, the Claytons.
The small outpost at Melaleuca
also originates from early pioneers who had an interest in
tin mining here.The airstrip was built by them. There are
also reminders of them in the small museum and the preserved
hikers' hut, built to accomodate visitors in this hiking (and
kayaking) paradise.
My trip was a commercial
one, organised by Roaring 40s Kayaking. They provided most
of the gear, great food and expertise.
Robyn Khorshid
**********************
A Lazy Hot Day
on the Avon
Me, Luke and Caren. 1
metre on the park gauge behind us.
Caren taking on Walyunga
Chute. Caren is T2s partner
T2, Caren and Luke
The water was warm
Race of the Week
My First Few
Years
As an 8 year old, I didn't
know that it wasn't the norm to be driving a tractor in the
fields, to be working on the land, bean pulling, pea pulling,
potato picking, to look after the cows, chickens and pigs,
to be riding horses and to have the freedom to roam the countryside.
Although I can't remember much before being 8 years old I
know my favourite job was driving tractors. I look back and
I can't believe that my dad trusted me to drive the tractor
from one end of the field to the other, with him sitting and
steering an implement behind the tractor. I had to steer the
tractor straight down the rows to avoid mangling the crop
and with my feet hardly touching the pedals I had to stop
at each end of the field and turn it around and avoid driving
it into the deep ditches.
My dad and my sister
before tractors
I suppose it was quite
a responsibility for an 8 year old but that was life on a
farm in the 1950s and it was a huge benefit as I grew into
a teenager as I became very independent and self reliant.
My parents split when I was about 10, my mum leaving to come
back a few years later to give it another go on condition
we sold the farm and start a new life in another area. My
sister and I were extremely sad and angry to leave the farm,
my brother spent more time with my mum so he wasn't too bothered.
Me at 10
Our new life was in Shirebrook,
a coal mining village in Nottinghamshire, completely opposite
to the farming countryside of Lincolnshire. Our new business
was a grocery shop which wasn't the best thing to take on
as my dad being a farmer at an early age couldn't read or
write. To make matters worse my mum left us again a month
later and all the responsibility of running to shop was left
in the hands of my sister who was only 18 years old. My dad
worked in the background and I helped in the shop when not
at school.
Eventually we had to close
the shop as it was losing money. So my dad went from the highs
of living and working on his own farm, like generations before
him, in a beautiful clean living part of the country to the
lows of losing the shop in a most depressing part of England.
Having no money, no education and being over 50 he could only
get jobs as a gardener or a toilet cleaner so it was a sad
end to my dad's career. He did however meet a nice lady who
he spent several happy years with before he died in 1978 at
the age of 61. For my sister she found the love of her life,
had a child and worked most of her life in Marks & Spencers.
My brother who was nearly 2 years younger than me mainly lived
with my mum.
When the shop was closed I was 15 and old enough to leave
school and work so I moved back to Lincolnshire and lived
with my Aunty and Uncle. I got a job on a local farm as a
tractor driver and in my spare time I enjoyed riding a friend's
horse, going to gymkhanas and playing soccer. I also enjoyed
going to the local pub with friends to dart matches or nights
out. On two birthday celebrations I drank whisky which didn't
sit well with me when sleeping. After the second time of vomiting
on the bed clothes, my aunty gave me an ultimatum. If you
go to the darts match tonight your suitcase will be left on
the doorstep.
Of course I went to the
dart match and cycled home in the bright moonlight happy as
Larry but when I reached home at 11.30pm and found my suitcase
on the doorstep I had to find a place to sleep. With limited
options I cycled to the farm I worked at and made my bed on
a flower bulb sorting machine. It had a flat surface and off
the ground away from the rodents, so what more could a young
man ask for!
About three days later my uncle came to ask me home. I didn't
want to give in and if I had a car I probably wouldn't have
but it was a little chilly at night without the proper sleeping
gear so I returned home.
With my dog Paddy
At the age of 16 I passed
my tractor driving test and my car driving test at 17 but
as soon as I received my car licence I gave up drinking altogether.
I just didn't want the responsibility of drinking and driving
and causing an accident or killing someone. (Apart from drinking
once or twice on my travels I stopped drinking for about 25
years.)
At 18 I was searching for something different, travel perhaps
but no one in our region travels or goes to university unless
they have a rich family. I then decided to sell my car. No
other 18 year old would be silly enough to sell his car and
the benefits of taking girls to a dance or the movies but
I did. I decided that if I wanted to save money and go travelling
I couldn't have a car, so I sold it and I just had to run
or cycled everywhere. But having no car didn't stop me from
going to the local dance hall on a Saturday night. It was
only 10kms to town so I ran there and ran 10kms back after
the dance, that's if a girl hadn't picked me up and took me
home which did happen too often.
Running and cycling everywhere
became the norm and I felt so fit that no distance was too
hard to do. It became, why drive when you can run or cycle.
To add to my varying lifestyle I decided to live in a tent
on the farm I worked at during the summer months. I think
locals were now realising I was a little different from all
other teenagers in the area. I had a nice piece of grass to
pitch the tent on next to rows of glass frames that were used
to grow seed to plants. With a work toilet and wash basin
not that far away my home was complete. My address was 1 Frame
Lane. As months passed by new ideas were cropping up in my
head all the time. I was always wondering 'what's next to
do in life'.
Home for several months
of the year
Just before I left on
my travels
Although I was happy at
work and had fun working with the people I worked with it
didn't seem enough, I wanted more adventure so I sent for
information on Australia. It looked hot, dusty and different
but it was somewhere to head to. So now my goal was to hitch
hike across Europe, the Middle East, Asia to Australia.
Race of the Week