Enjoy the CDU Newsletter
Published: Thu, 03/23/17
537
24th March 2017
Message Bank
What happened to summer! I feel cheated. We are already experiencing
cool, chilly evenings and the dark nights are drawing in and
it's back to wearing thermals and lights on our evening sessions.
At a time in my life when I need time to slow down, it seems
to be speeding up.
******************************
It's the state marathon championships this weekend and if
you take part in any marathon races, you should be taking
part in these, so put your name down and support the event.
There is also a ski and multisport kayak division so there
is a class for everyone. Ski's, Multisport kayaks, over 60
years, under 14s, mixed doubles don't have to portage.
There seems to be a lot of paddlers missing
from the listt.
Enteries close tonight
https://www.webscorer.com/register?raceid=95076
******************************
We had several WA paddlers go to the Australian
Spint Championships in Penrith
Ooops Nicholas & Matthew Greed try to
take off before the starting blocks allow them to! False start.
**************************
Andrew Hayden
a sprint coach for many years is retiring from his position
to pursue other interests
Canoeing WA and Bayswater PaddleSports Club
invite you to join us on Saturday 8th April for a Breakfast
BBQ to say Thank You and Goodbye to Andrew Hayden
Breakfast of Bacon & Egg Rolls will be
served at 7.30am
Breakfast will be at Bayswater PaddleSports
Club, AP Hinds Park, Bayswater
Andrew will surely be missed as I have only
heard good things about him
**************************
Siobhan Martin & River Armenti under
16 K2
Gary Clarke at the Australian Spint Titles.
Silver Over 45 200m. Bronze Over 45 K1 5000. Bronze Over 45
K1 500 . 4th Over 45 K1 1000
**************************
It appears that the
COME AND TRY KAYAK PADDLING
OPEN DAY FOR JUNIORS
at Ascot Kayak Club last Sunday was a great success
There were over 25 young juniors that took
part in the Come & Try
All Boys and Girls from 7 to 16 were invited
to experience Slalom Canoeing and Flat-Water Racing boats
Many of the young slalom paddlers were helping
out
**************************
Enter the State Marathon Champs
today
Closes tonight
https://www.webscorer.com/register?raceid=95076
**************************
Rod Fry Race
Sunday, 3rd 2016.
Meet at Swan Canoe Club, Johnson Parade, Mosman Park, for
this annual 10.5km race to Fremantle and return. There's a
short course of 3km for guppies and casuals as well. Cash
prize $250 for the winners of the two most contested kayaking
or ski classes. Other prizes from many sponsors as usual.
Training & Courses
Monday Night
Training
Ascot Kayak Club 5.45pm
Featured Products
The Alchemist
K1
I love my Epic K1 but
the Alchemist is a joy to paddle in the rougher conditions.
Not as tippy as the sprint K1s but it does mean I can put
all my power into the stroke rather than trying to keep upright
in all the boat wash or small wind waves.
The Alchemist K1. Photo
Lawrence Greed
The Alchemist K1. This
is a no compromise kayak that has all the speed of a top flight
K1 with superior ease of handling.
The Alchemist is good for paddlers above 80 kg and we also
have a small version called the Alchemist SV for paddlers
under 60 Kg and a mid sized model , the Alchemist MV, for
55 to 85 Kg.
Originally designed as a masters kayak by Jan Horak it's out
right speed has seen it gain acceptance across all ages, genders
and disciplines.
Fast and stable?
Cost: Depends on construction
Weight: 10 - 11.5kgs
*****************************
Epic V8
The V8 is a great all-round
ski, comfortable, stable, easy to paddle and relatively fast.
With a hull design featuring
specs of 5.5 m x 53.9 cm, the V8 is unique in its class. Fast,
yet extremely stable, this is a surfski that most kayakers
should be able to hop right onto and paddle off.
The deck features all the surfski simplicity of the V10 and
V12, the main components being a fully adjustable footbrace
and rear deck bungees. The V8 also incorporates some new features
that add to its user friendly appeal: molded in bow, stern
and now centre carry handles, and a water bottle holder in
the cockpit. Venturi drain, breather tube and Epic surfski
rudder configurations are standard.
Our goal with the V8 is to provide a boat that bridges the
gap between sea kayaks and surfskis. By blending speed, high
stability and a performance oriented deck & outfitting,
the V8 offers new levels of accessibility and opportunity.
Fitness paddlers and racers who want extra emphasis on stability,
touring kayakers looking to make the transition to high performance
surfskis, or cruisers looking for a simple, efficient boat
for a day on the water. The V8 will take you there.
This would be an excellent ski for those multisport athletes
who race on the ocean and don't have the time to get used
to a more unstable ski.
Weight:
Club: 17.5 kg
Performance: 16 kg
Ultra: 12.3 kg
Price:
Club: Blue Nose: $3195.00
Performance: Black Nose: Special $3600.00
Ultra: Red Nose: Special $4600.00
Length: 5.5 m
Beam: 53.9 cm
Capacity: 140 kg
Stories
2017 Australian
National Canoe Marathon Championships
Penrith, Sydney
U/18 K1
Luke Dooley
It had been a long couple of weeks leading up to the national
titles, especially as I had done every training session with
my heavy boat, sometimes with my Occy strap on the back. It
sure was nice to be back in Terry's Epic K1 which felt feather
weight because of the 6 kilogram weight difference between
that and my mustang. Terry had also leant me a brand new $550
carbon mid-wing for the weekend; so with that and the 8.5
kg boat, I really had no excuses! It took a little while to
wear off the slipperiness of the brand new paddle, but the
few short sessions we had in the days before the race were
enough to sort that out. It was just so incredible to be doing
13.5 kilometres an hour and hardly be working, compared to
being out of breath at 13km/hr in my boat.
Nice to be practicing
in the light boat again!
The course was really beautiful
with what looked like the Swiss Hills in the background on
the leg back to the grandstand. As we arrived a few days before
the event, we were able to see the last day of the sprints
which had cold and miserable weather, but the paddlers, particularly
the K4's, looked very strong. Although I think many of them
were more than ready to be heading home after having been
there for 5 days already.
Race day came and because I was staying with Terry and mum,
we had to be down there quite early for Terry's 0800 start.
We picked up Mark in the hire car and were greeted at the
course by a beautiful golden sunrise which was perfectly positioned
beaming straight across from the far end of the lake. It was
as flat as a millpond and looked absolutely beautiful with
the morning mist rolling across the Swiss Hills. I was actually
getting quite worried I wouldn't be able to paddle because
it was too flat compared to the 35 knot winds I train in every
afternoon in Kalbarri.
As I wasn't paddling until 1100 when the selection races were
on, I was able to watch some of the morning races. Brett McDonald
had his work cut out for him much more this year and managed
to earn himself a second place after looking strong in the
fierce race. Mark Lawson came back with a bronze medal, but
looked a little tired after the much stronger competition
this year, compared to last year. The juniors in the K2 (Luke
Egger and Tom Green) didn't look at all worried at any stage
of the race and powered home in near perfect synchronism with
a gold medal, a very good start to what I believe is their
first nationals. Terry had a surprisingly strong start and
managed to controversially get a bit of wash for the first
lap or two before leading the second battle for the last few
laps. Fortunately for Terry, the paddler who'd been leading
the whole way for more than a minute thought the finish line
was in the same place as the start line and missed the finish,
dropping him back from 1st to 3rd. Terry performed much better
than I think he was expecting to, however he didn't quite
have a fast enough sprint and came home with a silver medal
being one second slower. Unfortunately for Terry, the race
was only 15 kilometres so he couldn't use his stamina to his
advantage. I'm sure if the race was a 750 kilometre one, rather
than 15 kilometres, he would likely have been the fastest
in the open section. Terry says he's probably going again
next year, so I'll be able to make sure he trains properly
and can take home the gold next year.
Finally it was time to fire up the engines and take to the
water for my race. I had only six paddlers in my grid, three
of which (including me), were from WA. I lined up next to
Matthew Greed as I had a fair idea that he would take off
at the start and then drop off after his long week at the
sprints. Max Smith was the furthest out to the right which
was the worst position to be in, especially as the first turn
was a very long right hander with a sharp exit. He also was
a little further back compared to the rest of the pack which
made it worse. I was about to tell him to move to a different
spot, but the start was too soon and I didn't want him to
be still turning around when the rest of the grid was powering
away. The start gave a little more warning than last year,
but still not much at all. There were, as always, many people
complaining about the start procedure and the lack of warning
it allowed for, but I didn't mind it too much.
We're off! 22.5kms to
go
And so we were off. Matthew
powered off exactly as I knew he would and I was able to hand
on his wash until the pack began to eventually slow back to
about 13.3 km/hr. There were the three in the lead with Matthew
and myself both trying to fit into the diamond. I clipped
his paddle several times with the front of my boat in an effort
to stay on the wash, but not be filled with water from the
other paddler's spray. This move was a bit poor on my part,
especially doing it to a team member, but I was desperate
to get the best start I could and I wasn't able to find any
other wash without having to take the lead or drop off completely,
catch up and take the 5th wash. Matthew dropped off before
the first turn which I felt quite bad about, but he really
didn't seem to mind as he was very tired after a full on week
at the sprints.
The next couple of turns were quite hot with mates Mitchell
Cronin (NSW) and Daniel Mole (QLD) putting on some tight turns,
followed by huge sprinting efforts to separate the leaders
from the rest of the field. I was able to stay on the wash,
while the other paddler who I think came 4th in Gold Coast
last year dropped off and wasn't able to catch back up at
all afterwards. After his shaky start, Max Smith was paddling
strong, but unfortunately he wasn't able to catch up and ended
up coming fourth, two minutes behind me.
For the next few laps, the other two were making agreements
that we were all to stay together until the finish straight;
however I used the force and was able to sense that they were
plotting to overthrow me. They worked together, rotating very
well, leaving me either taking the lead with both paddlers
either side or one of them in the lead with me on the fifth
wash. They did however make a bit of a mistake and leave the
entire pontoon completely for me to choose where I wanted
to go. I hopped out, being extremely careful not to scrape
Terry's brand new paddle on the concrete and took off up the
hill. I was back in my boat and heading off by the time they
were just arriving at the entry pontoon. This shook them a
bit, but I couldn't use the lead I had as I knew I wasn't
going to be able to keep them behind me for another 18.5 kilometres.
I put in a bit of power, making it slightly uncomfortable
for them to catch up, but didn't take off completely. The
next lap, they worked together very well. Once again, I was
either leading or on the 5th wash. I was always on the outside
of the turns, no matter what I did, meaning I was putting
in much more effort than the other two to keep up. They were
very skilful with their working together and boat positioning,
all the while pretending we were still all working together.
It pretty much stayed this way for the next couple of 4 kilometre
laps. Every time we passed a boat in a different category,
I was continually being pushed uncomfortably close to their
paddle. I was puzzled however that they continued to let me
have a completely clear runway for the pontoon portage when
every time I was much faster than them.
Being
out skilled by the others and forced to lead
It was at the portage leading
into the forth out of six laps that they made their moves.
This time, I had to fight a little more for my position on
the pontoon; however I still had a reasonably clear runway.
There were another couple of girls already in the portage
area. I got out very cleanly, still managing not to scrape
my paddle. I ran up, trying to empty my boat, but failed and
was stuck with quite a bit sloshing around in the bottom.
I ran through the feeding area where mum was waiting with
my water pouches and did a perfect but very nervous throw
over my neck. Any onlookers would have been tricked into believing
we'd practiced beforehand! As I was running onto the entry
pontoon, the other two were level with me and trying to squeeze
me out. The girls were at the far end of the jetty, just about
to take off, so I ran past Mitchel and put my boat in at the
end, alongside the girls. Unfortunately, the girls were much
slower at taking off than I'd expected so I had to wait a
few seconds before I could get my paddle in the water. These
two seconds were exactly what Mitch had been waiting for.
He took off, went around the outside of the girls, causing
them to turn left in front of me, and made a decent gap. By
the time I'd got around the girls and was in the clear, he
was powering away and in with the pack furthest back in the
U/23 section. This was pretty much it for me. I gave it almost
everything I had left in the tank and got painfully near to
getting back onto his wash. Just as it looked like I might
just get back, he took a very tight turn, leaving me in the
shallows, tangled with the U/23s and took close for comfort
to the concrete walls of the bridge. He got around the turn
and took off and that was that. Daniel came up less than a
minute later, but he came up on the opposite side of the pack
so I wasn't able to catch his wash, especially as I didn't
have enough left to keep up. I continued to put the power
down, but after spending the next three kilometres at near
full strength and not catching up at all, I had a feeling
that I wasn't going to be able to catch them.
Bracing hard to align
the boat for the pontoon entry
At the portage, they were
putting the boat back in at the same time as I was just getting
onto the first pontoon, meaning that they already had a 30
second advantage. For the final 8 kilometres, I gave it as
much as I could muster, but I hadn't been able to drink anything
so far so I was beginning to cramp and get a very sore bum.
The drink system I was using was new to me. Brendan Rice was
also staying with us at the Western Sydney University and
had a couple of extra drink pouches which he very kindly gave
to me and showed me how to make them up. Unfortunately, I
had taped the drink tube too high so when the pouch sat lower,
the tube was almost completely around my neck, meaning that
I couldn't get to it and every time I pulled it to my mouth,
it kinked and nothing would come out. It was a little disappointing
that I couldn't manage to get it to work, but it was still
a very nice gesture on Brendan's part to show me a brand new
system which would usually have worked if I'd set it up properly.
Time to run
Running the portages
I tried my best to keep
the margin under 4 minutes so that I would still be eligible
for selection in the International team, but after each lap
they seemed to be gaining a minute on me. I was however very
glad that I'd chosen to leave my watch ashore as I usually
have a habit of knocking it off when portaging and fiddling
with it at starts, jeopardising my races. It has nice to know
that I didn't have it on board to add another variable which
is always good, especially in a national level race.
After completing the final portage, I knew that I only had
four kilometres to go and gave it anything I had left. I was
right on point every turn and powered down the straights,
but was unfortunately outside the magical four minutes behind
the leader. After I'd crossed the line, I stood up and jumped
out of the boat and both of my legs instantly cramped in the
colder water, sending horrible pains pretty much everywhere.
I swam over to the front of my boat, trying to keep my head
above the water. I had to wait another couple of minutes for
the pain to minimise enough for me to be able to waddle up
the rocky bank. Daniel and Mitchell congratulated me after
the race which was nice.
Relief after the race
I had mixed feeling about
my race. I was a little disappointed with bronze in the U/18s
after gold in the U/16s last year, but I was at least glad
to have a medal to bring home. I was very disappointed with
myself that I didn't manage to get within four minutes, but
I was glad at the same time as if I'd been selected having
been nearly 750 metres behind the leaders, I would have felt
a little as if I'd cheated my way into the team. I was able
to hold my head quite high though because I'd given it everything
I had which gave me the satisfaction of knowing that I didn't
leave anything out there. I'd also raced very strongly in
the first 3.5 laps and only been let down but a slight lack
of power stemming from me being more than a full year younger
and my lack of experience against very skilful strategists.
Overall, I was pleased with my performance. Terry was very
kind in letting me use all of his most expensive gear and
looked after me as per usual. And he did make it very clear
that I had no excuses this time which I knew full well as
well. It was also fantastic having mum over for the trip this
time as we always had dinner sorted for us and she did a wonderful
job with the drink pouch throwing at the portages. It was
also absolutely wonderful having someone there to take photographs
which we don't always get in the races.
The team was very well organised this year with Brett McDonald
as leader and his live streams on Facebook were definitely
something new and greatly appreciated by those following back
home and the competitors as a post-race review. The team this
year was very strong and having six times the amount of juniors
was a huge step forward. Hopefully next year, the closer venue
will draw even more paddlers over, particularly in the women's
section which could do with a few stronger teams. It really
is a fantastic thing to head over to represent your state,
even if you are support crew and well worth the trip.
Luke Dooley
A paddle down
the Danube
By Markus Maas
Last year was the 61st time the Tour
International Danubien, or TID in short, was held. The TID
is an organized paddle down the Danube from Ingolstadt in
Germany to the Black Sea in Rumania, some 2400 km. The main
organizer is the German Kayak Organisation. As the river takes
you through Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia,
Serbia, Bulgaria and Rumania the local national kayak organizations
take over. I can report all was very well organized. Over
100 people from 15 nations enrolled. The oldest man was 78
yeas old and a 74 year old lady was also in the group. The
daily average was 43km. On some days we paddled 60km or more.
You don't have to paddle the whole distance if you don't want
to or time constraints won't allow it.
In Germany
In a few selected cities is the opportunity
to catch a bus to take you and your kayak back to the starting
line in Germany. Every evening was a briefing about the next
days distance, weather forecast, campsite, historical or cultural
sites to visit along the river, sometimes even good restaurants
for an enjoyable lunch break and expected obstacles. If my
memory is correct we portaged 19 times around locks. Campsites
were usually grounds of local Kayak clubs. The cost is very
reasonable considering local clubs provide evening meals.
You get to know the main cuisine of each country you paddle
through. I had no idea there are so many different ways how
to make potato salad or the many different ingredients one
can chew on in a goulash. If you don't like bean or fish soup
you will always find a restaurant of some sort if you look
hard enough. Often the local kayak clubs provide entertainment
for the evening with music and dance.
In a lock
Unfortunately in some places the local
musicians enjoyed themselves so much they could not stop playing
until well past midnight which made sleeping somewhat difficult.
In some places local dignitaries like the mayor or chief of
the fire brigade would give a welcome speech emphasizing how
the river brings nations and its people together. I can understand
this given that it is barely 20 years since the bitter civil
war in Yugoslavia. In major cities are rest days and opportunities
for sightseeing and restocking of food essentials or repairs.
You have to be prepared for all kinds of weather. In Passau,
on the German-Austrian border, a severe summer storm caught
us all by surprise. Many tents were flooded. A wind gust picked
up a kayak which landed on my tent breaking all the carbon
fiber support poles. In Hungary, it was after Budapest, we
encountered another massive wet weather front. It rained all
night, it rained as we packed up our tents, it rained all
day with winds up to 70 km/hr and it still rained as we pitched
up our tents after a 53 km paddle. Nobody was dry and everybody
was cold that day and it still rained the next day.
Parliament house in Budapest
We also encountered one morning with
thick fog with nil visibility that left no option as to wait
two hours for the fog to lift. But we also had many beautiful
sonny hot days. These are the days when paddling along lonely,
quiet and uninhabited landscape is just so rewarding.
At the start of the paddle the river
is approximately 80 meter wide, relatively fast flowing and
one has to be alert as there is international shipping now
the Rhein-Danube canal is operating. In this part of the paddle
the river takes you through gorges and along vineyards, castles
and monasteries hundreds of years old. After Vienna the river
is getting gradually wider and slower. At times the Danube
is two km wide and paddling becomes hard work, especially
when it's into the wind. After Belgrade the construction of
the Iron Gate Hydro-Dam between Serbia and Rumania created
a 130 km long lake and up to 80 meters deep. This stretch
of the river is well known for strong winds, sometimes so
severe that the gates of the lochs can't be operated. Here
the river cuts trough the lower hills of the Carpathian Mountains.
At the narrowest point the river is only 40 meters wide and
that creates something similar to a wind tunnel. We had one
such windy day and many of us decided not to paddle. I was
one of them after seeing one paddler who paddled the TID before
return.
Towards the Iron Gates
The day we had to go through the locks
of the Iron Gate was also windy and 4 people capsized. The
Iron Gate is the biggest Hydroelectric Dam in Europe. Its
1.5 km from one side of the river to the other and lochs are
on the Serbian and Rumanian side of the river. One has to
go through two lochs each dropping 30 meters.
Iron Gate Lock
Shortly after the Iron Gate is the city
of Kladovo near the Serbian-Bulgarian border. Here is were
my Danube paddle ended after 1500 km. There are logistical
reasons for that. A limited number of seats are available
for paddlers and kayaks on the return bus trip to Germany.
So if you think of participating in the TID enroll as soon
as it's open in January to be able to finish the remaining
900 km into the delta or you miss out like me; unless you
organize private arrangements. There is another thing you
have to get used to: the further into the Balkan the more
different, difficult and doggy the ablution facilities become.
All in all the TID is a very enjoyable paddle in good company.
By Markus Maas
Check it out: www. Tour International
Danubien
***********************
Race of the Week
Rod Fry Race
Sunday, 3rd 2016.
Meet at Swan Canoe Club, Johnson Parade,
Mosman Park, for this annual 10.5km race to Fremantle and
return. There's a short course of 3km for guppies and casuals
as well. Cash prize $250 for the winners of the two most contested
kayaking or ski classes. Other prizes from many sponsors as
usual.
Race classes are: K1, K2, Ocean Skis
OS1 & OS2, Multisport, Spec Surf Skis, Plastics and Sundries
& Recreational. Age groups are Guppy, Under 18, Open,
35+, 45+ and 55+. Female and Male. Classes and age groupings
with insufficient entries will be combined with other related
groupings.
K2 & OS2 - enter as a Team, then
place your two paddler names in the "(Teams only) Member
Names" field.
Note the "Recreational" class
again this year - to encourage our non-competitive members
to come and enjoy the day without feeling any pressure to
win - paddle 3km. Special prizes in this class!
ON THE DAY:
Registration confirmation: 7:00am-8:00am
SHARP (please confirm your Class and age group!)
Briefing: 8:30am
First grid away: 9:00am
Join in the socialising afterwards with
a sausage sizzle. Cakes and light refreshments available as
well as the raffle and handing out of spot prizes whilst results
are being worked out.
NO late entries will be accepted on
the day after 8:00am.
NAMING OF THE RACE:
The race is named after the late Rod
Fry who was a long-time member of our Club and a keen and
nationally successful C1 and C2 slalom paddler. He was sadly
killed in a car accident whilst returning from a paddling
holiday at Yallingup. There are photos of him at the Club.
Questions: please call Lee on 0458 720
038 or email rodfryrace@swancanoeclub.org.au
****************************
2nd Hand Boats
Ace 415
One of the most popular
kayaks in the Avon Descent several years ago.
Great for white water touring or general paddling.
$350.00 each
*********************
Kayak Stands
These portable self suppoting
kayak stands are easy to put up and take apart. No need to
bolt them to the wall.
Kayak Stands: Carry 4
craft. $100.00 a set