Enjoy the CDU Newsletter
Published: Fri, 03/31/17
538
31st March 2017
Message Bank
The State Marathon Championships is one of those races that
many paddlers avoid, probably because they think they aren't
good enough or because they have to portage if paddling a
K1 (5.2m). Portaging doesn't apply to paddlers over 60 years
or those paddlers paddling skis or long multisport kayaks.
Somehow we need to change people's perception of the race
because it is a great event and paddlers that don't want to
portage can paddle a ski or a long multisport kayak. What
makes it so different and fun is the fact that K1s do portage.
It brings a new element to the race, new strategies. It's
not just a standard race where you just slog it out. The portage
gives you time to stretch your legs, to be caught up by others
if you are not nimble on your feet, or to beat others and
you can even make a fool of yourself when trying to run with
your kayak. So think of the race as a good challenge and get
into the spirit of it because it is a fantastic race and it
does need more paddlers.
So next year why not take part.
There was a certainly a decrease in numbers
in the open men's and open women's categories this year, which
is really concerning for the future of marathon paddling.
There has to be something done to increase paddling participation
in all races and paddling in general or the sport will turn
out being an all Master's Paddling Sport.
***************************
WA Marathon Championships
Bonnie Metzke. The only open lady paddler
in the State Marathon Championships. Bonnie was one of only
6 female paddlers that took part in the adult singles races.
Photo Jane Hilton
The guppys & junior paddlers take off.
Photo John O'Sullivan
The doubles take off. Photo John O'Sullivan
*****************************
Australian Canoeing 2017 Olympic
Hopes Canoe Sprint Team
Congratulations to those WA Paddlers who have
been selected in the
U17 Team: WOMEN: Shania Smee (WA) Caitlyn
Ribbons (WA)
U16 Team: MEN: Kobe Wilson (WA) WOMEN: Yasemin
Ray (WA)
U15 Team: Luke Eggar (WA)
**************************
Sprint Team Selection
WA Athletes Selected
Senior Squad: Jaime Roberts (26)
U23 Squad: Shannon Reynolds (22)
Junior Squad: Luke Morton (18) | Monique Carbone (17)
- See more at: http://www.paddlewa.asn.au/2017/03/13/australian-canoeing-2017-sprint-team-announcement/#sthash.4LhD7H5F.dpuf
************************************
John Breed and I training around the Penguin
Island Point Peron area on Wednesday
Come closer - we would love a meal!
************************
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
***************
Saturday Morning
Fitness Training
7.15am for a 7.30am start
Sandy Beach Reserve, West Road,
Bassendean
*******************
Ascot Kayak
Club School Holiday Programs
The club next has 3 school
holiday programs running during the April school holidays.
Saturday 8th to Sunday 23 April 2017.
1. School Holiday Program — Monday 10th April to Thursday
13 or Friday 14 April — for 8 to 14 year olds and even
15 & 16 year olds .. Would be great if you can swim 50
metres with or without a lifejacket. Means we don’t have
to give swimming lessons before you can hop in a kayak.
During this week we will endeavor to teach you the basics
of paddling Flat-Water craft and Slalom craft and have some
fun on the way. Certificate for all that make progress.
Sessions will run from 8:30 to 12 noon each day with a morning
tea break. The Friday session will be a fun day with an Easter
Egg Hunt and other fun and games. We are good at fun and games.
Cost will be $70 for 4 days or $80 for 5 days.
The link to register is here :– the 4 day program http://bookeo.com/akcintrocourse?type=233KML74U15AF9D60864
the 5 day program http://bookeo.com/akcintrocourse?type=233MWWARW15AF998F4F1
Further enquires to akcjunior@gmail.com
2. Bronze Medallion Course — Tuesday and Wednesday 18
– 19 April 2017 — This course is ran by the Royal
Life Saving Society, using our fantastic clubhouse. Please
contact the Royal Live Saving Society direct on 9383 8200
3. Slalom Kayaking — Wednesday
19 April to Friday 21 April — a 2 hour session each day,
9:30 to 11:30am to learn basic and advanced skills of paddling
Slalom kayak and canoes .. Further enquires to akcslalom@gmail.com
or 0427 449 824
Ascot Kayak Club has a strong tradition of developing the
skills of all its members both Junior and Adult. Members over
the years have represented the club at State level, Western
Australia at National level and Australia at World and Olympic
level, while many club members just come along and join to
paddle the scenic Swan River and watch its many residents,
feathered and finned.
- See more at: http://www.paddlewa.asn.au/2017/03/24/ascot-kayak-club-school-holiday-program/#sthash.0WvnRv8d.dpuf [ http://www.canoeingdownunder.com.au/EMAIL_images/ ]
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Stories
WA State Marathon
Championships
It was such a perfect day for the WA
State Marathon Champs. Organisers were busily getting things
ready and Thomas Rogan and Mark Lawson had built a ramp the
day before to allow paddlers to run down a ramp on the portage
rather than jumping down off the wall. So by 7.30am everything
was in place.
Paddlers start arriving
Skis were welcome to take part in the championships. Ski paddlers
and Multisport paddlers, (kayaks longer than 5.2m) didn't
have to portage.
Once briefing was over
we were on the water. I, like a few others headed upstream
about 400 metres to warm up and when I turned I saw the first
grid shoot off. Bugger I thought I had two minutes to get
back to the line before my grid was gone. I didn't know if
to race back and exhaust myself or take it easy and hope they
don't start before I reached the line. But two minutes wasn't
long and being so far away I decided I had to hurry. Attila
Kaplan a C1 paddler was heading upstream and being on my grid
I told him they were starting so he started to turn.
My pace got quicker and quicker the
closer I got to the start. Then I heard the starter tell paddlers
to come up to the line and my heart beat was certainly beating
faster than I wanted it to at the beginning of a race. Lucky
for me I arrived on the line and less than a second later
the starter shouted go. Phew that was close but Attila in
the C1 wouldn't have made it, nor did Chris Watson who was
on the line but facing the wrong way.
John Dinucci and Jerry Alderson my rivals were beside me.
At least I knew where they were but I hadn't got my breath
back so when John shot off in front all I could do was to
scamper after him. It wasn't a good moment seeing him get
away from me and my thoughts at that particular time were,
'well now I'm fighting for second or third place', then Jerry
gained a few metres and he was in front rather than behind.
My next thought, well now it looks as if it is 3rd place.
I know it was a bit of a defeatist thought when I had only
paddled 50 metres but I seemed to be in a bit of a daze and
wasn't as switched on as when racing on a Saturday morning
and on other years John had beaten me. Having paddled my Epic
V10 for the last few weeks as my race boat had spent a few
weeks going and coming back from Sydney I was wishing I was
paddling it today as all the wash from the boats were making
it a little more difficult to steer the kayak with a T bar
instead of pedals.
By the time I got around the west and shallow side of Ron
Courtney Island I was feeling much more in control of the
kayak and started to get into a rhythm. John though was getting
further away and had passed Ray Smith who is always faster
than me which wasn't a good sign. Jerry was slightly ahead
and so was Steve Coffee in his multisport kayak. Having Steve
ahead of me wasn't good for my confidence either but he has
stepped up his training and he is pretty fast now, so I shouldn't
be so hard on myself.
Coming to the first set of turning buoys Jerry was at least
3 boat lengths ahead but then something happened on the turn,
I think a clash with Steve and he lost speed and I was able
to go around him, straighten up and be beside him as we headed
back to the club behind Steve. A few hundred metres later
I felt as if I could overtake Steve so I put on the pressure,
got over his wash and sat beside him leaving Jerry behind
my tail.
John was still paddling well and by the first lap it didn't
look like I stood a chance of catching up. Then as I rounded
Ron Courtney Island for the second time Chris Watson came
beside me. He had missed the start so he had some catching
up to do. For the next 500 metres I kept pace with him but
when we turned at the buoys I managed to get in front and
stay in front. John was still leading Ray and they were probably
40- 50 metres or more ahead. We were nearly half way through
the race so I knew I had to get going or come second. I had
come second at the Nationals so I really needed to win to
show that I was an Australian contender. I was hoping that
Chris would pass me again so we could work together to catch
them, but he didn't so I had to go alone.
I sprinted then rested a few moments, sprinted again and rested
again. Eventually I was on the third wash, then their second
wash and by the time I reached the south end of Ron Courtney
Island I had caught Ray and was on his wash. I was pretty
pleased with myself not just because I caught up without help
but it gave me a chance of winning the race.
Ray was on John's wash, I was on Ray's wash and Chris was
on my wash so we were four abreast as we paddled passed the
start line. The race was back on and as we approached the
first of the top filter buoys I took the lead so I didn't
get pushed and squeezed into them. I led around the main turn
buoys but I couldn't shake John and Ray so I settled in for
the next 2 kilometres. At the bottom turn John who was slightly
behind moved over to the left side of me which was a good
tactic and the better side to be for the rest of the course.
We again passed the start line three abreast but I didn't
realise that Chris was still hanging at the back.
It was time to get serious
and for me to try to pass Ray Smith (ski) and John Dinucci
K1. I was hoping that Chris Watson ski 222 would overtake
and give me a ride. No such luck.
Being the last half lap
the race was now getting interesting with me being on the
outside and in the worst position. Ray who was doing an extra
lap than we were, being younger, offered to drop back and
let us fight it out over the last 600 metres which was nice
of him. John who was on the inside managed to turn better,
taking the shorter route, which had me falling back onto his
rear wash. This wasn't good for me, and although John had
said he was coming off a cold he was still paddling very well.
Over the next 50 metres I increased my pace and got back on
John's side wash and it was then the race was back on. I didn't
know how much he had left in him and at what time I should
start sprinting to the finish line but John didn't seem to
be in any hurry to go any faster so I decided to go earlier
rather than later hoping I had enough energy to keep sprinting
right to the line.
I took off and to my surprise John wasn't there beside me.
He was dropping back and although it was still a long way
to the finish line I had hope. Getting closer and closer to
the line I couldn't see his bow in my side vision so I was
having some really good thoughts. After coming second in the
Australian Championships, I really needed to win at home.
I crossed the line and looked back to see John was a lot further
back than I would have thought he would be. In other years
John usually beats me but I have had a better year this year.
Yippee I crossed the line and beat John by 9 seconds.
Many of the singles were
still paddling after we had finish as being younger they had
more laps to do. Josh had less competition than last year
so he easily won the open class. Luke Dooley had some good
competition in the under 18 class but he won by 3.09 minutes.
Results
Senior Single Results:
https://www.webscorer.com/race?raceid=96104
Junior Doubles: https://www.webscorer.com/race?raceid=96105
Doubles Race
John Breed and I teamed up to paddle
doubles. We were scheduled to paddle in the 65+ doing 12 kms
with no portages but I was disappointed that we only paddled
12kms in our 65+ singles race so we decided to go in the 55+
which was a 20km paddle with 4 portages. At the Australian
Championships 65+ paddle 15kms. What organisers have to understand,
is that 65+ kayak paddlers are not all heading for the grave
and if they didn't feel up to it they would either not enter
of go into the ski/multisport class.
John Breed & I at
the portage
John and I hadn't paddled together for
many months or was it years, being old my memory is not what
it used to be! We paddled together in the champs about three
years ago so we probably weren't at our best but it didn't
matter it's all about competing, having fun (I might rephrase
that) and challenging ourselves. If you stop challenging yourself
you virtually stop living.
We did three brilliant portages and
at the last lap we saw Warren Southwell and Peter Liddle behind
us. They were in front but capsized near Sandy Beach without
us realising. We raced to our 4th portage tried emptying the
kayak without much success, our race number fell off and we
were wanting to get going as the boys were close behind so
we were fumbling. Then as we carried up the slope all the
water in the kayak ran to the rear making the kayak extra
heavy for John to lift. I tried putting the nose down to bring
the water back to the front but instead we fumbled further
and were acting like two 65 year olds ready for the old people's
home.
Peter & Warren chasing.
Photo John O'Sullivan
By now Warren and Peter had passed us
and they were off as we were trying to get in. They were now
at least 25 metres or more ahead and it seemed impossible
for us to catch up as they were the faster team before the
swim. John and I however have the same 'don't give in attitude'
so we chased them. We sprinted then eased off and sprinted
again. We did it again and again until we caught up with their
minor washes. By that time we were only a few boat lengths
behind and it now seemed possible to catcch them. As the washes
got bigger though it was harder for us to climb over them
but everytime we did we rested before giving it our all again.
With 200 metres to go we were sitting
right behind them. I had thoughts of a big upset, us beating
them but we had the hardest wash to paddle over and then we
would have to sprint to the line. We went for it, no holes
barred and we were soon over the wash and fighting for the
finish line. We were so close but the line was getting closer
and they just beat us across the line by a couple of seconds.
Although we came third in the over 55s we felt we had won
the race as we gave it our all. Daryl and John Hilton did
beat us by 10 minutes but we won't talk about that.
The weekends racing turned out to be
great fun. It all went well thanks to the organisers and volunteers
and the food supplied by Kieran who was fundraising for his
overseas trip to Austria with the Australian team was great.
I loved the Chilly con carne with Nachos.
I donated a carbon paddle and it was
raffled off, the money going to Kieran. It raised over $300.00
********************
Results
K2 & Junior singles
results: https://www.webscorer.com/race?pid=1&raceid=96215 [ https://www.webscorer.com/race?raceid=96105 ]
Race of the Week
The State Marathon
Championships
Josh Kippin runs away
from Luke Egger, Brett McDonald and luke Dooley at the portage.
Josh won the open K1,
Brett second & Michael Liddle third. Luke Dooley won the
under 18 with Luke Egger second.
Michael Liddle. When
you are in the same class as Josh and have nearly 30 kms to
paddle and 6 portages it can't get much harder.
Joe Dowse fights it out
with Gary Clarke. Gary beat Joe by one second coming second
behind Peter Tomczak who came 1st in the over 45+
Attila Kaplan C1 and
Danny Moreton who has had limited training recently deserve
a medal just for taking part
Max Smith trying to get
away from Tom Green. Max beat Tom by a second. Max was third
under 18
Under 16 River Armenti
runs the portage. Photo John O'Sullivan
Mark Lawson tries to
avoid a rogue paddler at the portage. Mark lawson won the
55+ by 2 minutes
************************
Australian Canoeing
2017 Olympic Hopes Canoe Sprint Team
U17 Team:
MEN:
Harrison, Armstrong (NSW) Thomas Hughes (NSW) MacGregor, Doyle
(VIC) Daniel Peacock (NSW) Byron Chadwick (NSW)
WOMEN: Shania Smee (WA)
Caitlyn Ribbons (WA) Sophie Butler (QLD)
U16 Team:
MEN:
Tasman Farrell (NSW) Daniel Kucharski (SA) Kobe Wilson (WA)
Lachlan Bancroft (QLD) Carter Broadhurst-Hill (QLD) Sebastian
Kucharski (SA)
WOMEN: Anthea Warne (QLD)
Alicia Fay (QLD) Yasemin Ray (WA)
U15 Team:
MEN:
Luke Eggar (WA) Fletcher Armstrong (NSW)
WOMEN: Chelsea Beale
(VIC) Nicci Vesely (NSW)
************************
John Breed checking out
the birds. Seal Island.
The chatter of three
galahs bring the morning to life as a storm passes over
******************
5,000 miles
on $37: the incredible journey of ‘Adventure Aaron’
With little money and less experience, Aaron Carotta completes
a 5,000-mile canoe solo with help from a few riverside angels
canoekayak.magazine
By Jeff Moag
Images courtesy Aaron Carotta
It’s fair to say that Aaron Carotta was in a bad place
last June.
After a cancer diagnosis in 2008 he’d remade himself
as “Adventure Aaron,” traveling to more than 80
countries, sharing his travels on social media and parlaying
them into self-produced television programs in New Zealand
and the United States. Along the way he beat the cancer, and
met a girl.
“I stopped doing what I love and tried to domesticate
myself,” says Carotta, 39. “We got married and she
left 14 days later. That just blew up my world.”
His friends advised him to get professional help, but Carotta
had other ideas. “I knew deep down inside what I was
passionate about, and what travel and adventures do for me,”
he says. He began to fixate on a plan he’d developed
in 2013, before he met the girl: to paddle the length of the
Missouri and Mississippi Rivers and set a new Guinness World
Record for the longest solo paddling journey. One day in June,
2016, he got in his car and started driving north, to the
headwaters of the Missouri.
A good talker, Carotta worked the phones as he drove. He didn’t
have a canoe or money to buy one, and he couldn’t very
well paddle 5,000 miles from Montana to Florida without a
boat.
That’s when the first of many so-called River Angels
came to his aid. Joe Kirchner at Big Boys Toys in Bozeman,
Montana listened to his story and decided on the spot to give
him a weather-worn Old Town canoe. It had no seats, and the
yellow plastic paddle that came with it was about three times
heavier than anything an experienced canoeist would choose
to paddle the length of North America’s longest river
system, plus a few hundred miles on the Gulf of Mexico.
Carotta didn’t know that. He didn’t know anything
about canoeing. “I wasn’t a paddler,” he says.
“I actually was gifted the book The Complete Paddler
on Day 42. I open the book and the first thing was ‘Do
not go down the Missouri in an open-top canoe.’”
Carotta bought a kid’s tent at
WalMart and stocked up on provisions. He would live the next
eight months on Chef Boyardee and instant oatmeal, stopping
occasionally to obliterate an all-you-can-eat buffet.
He launched on June 30 with $37 in his pocket. He learned
to paddle by trial and error. He learned to survive by putting
his trust in others.
“I was down to one can of food. I paddled around the
corner and there was a group of people sitting in lawn chairs,”
Carotta recalls. “I asked if this was the campground
and they said, ‘It is now.’” The group took
him in and fed him as much fresh-caught catfish as he could
eat. “They called themselves The Kathmandu River Rat
Community. I wrote them a letter that said ‘You guys
aren’t rats to me. You’re river angels.’”
Later he learned the term is in common use among distance
through-paddlers. All along his journey, Carotta would connect
with dozens of people who would help with food, gear or logistics,
and ask nothing in return. They would tell him what to expect
on the river, and often introduced him to the next river angel
downstream.
“I learned to accept the help people offered, and use
the little money I had to go to the Dollar General and buy
a six-pack of thank you cards,” he said. As part of his
trip, Carotta worked to raise money for imadopted.org, an
online community for adoptees and their families. “It
came full-circle, and I realized on Day 88 that I’m being
adopted by people on a daily basis.”
Carotta never developed a proper J stroke, but he learned
to swing that plastic paddle, laying down three big powerful
strokes then switching sides, hour after hour, day after day.
He chewed through miles by the hundreds, becoming leaner and
more seasoned with every passing week. On a diet of canned
meatballs and boxed wine, his 6-foot-4-inch frame went from
240 pounds to less than 200.
“I had four vices—red wine at night, coffee and
music. It just really kept me in rhythm,” he says. “I
started really holding on to the meanings of songs. I’d
hear Simple Man or Freebird—which I never really knew
the lyrics to before—and it would just make sense.”
That’s not to say he didn’t have his trials. On
Day 22, in the isolated country around the Montana-North Dakota
border, he flipped on an eddyline and lost all of his gear.
Utterly defeated, he walked five miles to the nearest hotel,
determined to quit. But when he called friends to come get
him, nobody picked up. Carotta walked back to the canoe and
kept going.
Later, out of provisions on Lake Owyhee in North Dakota, he
battled fierce headwinds for three days. He pulled a fishing
lure off a snag and tied it to the thwart of his canoe. Miraculously,
he caught a striper. “Striped bass is what I used to
catch with my grandfather, so then it became spiritual,”
he says. “I ended up catching one fish each day for three
days and I made it to Mobridge [South Dakota].” There
a river angel calling himself Ghost Rider treated him to an
all-you-can-eat buffet.
Carotta vowed to quit twice more but somehow always kept going.
Near the confluence with the Mississippi he paddled more than
100 miles in 24 hours. He made a brief detour up the Ohio,
thinking that it might be a better route to the Atlantic,
but thought better of it and returned to the Mississippi.
He later portaged to the Amite River, avoiding the lower Mississippi’s
heavy barge traffic by using a route once taken by the explorer
Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville.
He reached the Gulf of Mexico and turned left, following the
coast toward Florida. Crossing Mobile Bay, he went seven miles
offshore in his open canoe—something, we should note,
that no one should attempt.
“I had a scary moment when I what
I thought were barrier islands turned out to be barges, and
they were coming right into my line,” he says. “If
I knew what I know now I probably wouldn’t do that again.”
On February 17, Carotta finished his journey on the Atlantic
Coast of Florida, after crossing the peninsula via the Suwannee
and St. Mary’s rivers. He’d traveled about 5,000
miles in 233 days. He still hasn’t calculated the precise
mileage, recorded on a pair of Spot devices.
Throughout his journey, Carotta kept careful records and collected
affidavits from the people he met along the way—required
by the Guinness organization to document his claim for the
“longest solo canoe journey.” Carotta says Guinness
is eager for him to apply for the record, which was vacated
late last year after C&K exposed the previous record holder
as a fraud and pointed out that many paddlers have finished
longer expeditions without seeking the Guinness record.
Carotta says the record attempt opened doors for him and the
charity his expedition supported, but he has decided not to
seek the record. Along the way he realized his journey wasn’t
about the record. It was just about the journey. He’s
settled, for now at least, in Destin, Fla., where he works
as a kayak fishing guide. He made the connection through a
pair of Gulf Angels he met during his trip.
His expedition is a lesson for everyone who dreams big. It
shows that you don’t need an adventure pedigree, expensive
gear, or even much experience to embark on a trip that can
change your life and the life of others. It’s a reminder
that sometimes, the best plan is to trust in the goodness
of others and not to get bogged down in the details.
Read more at http://www.canoekayak.com/adventure-2/5000-miles-37-incredible-journey-adventure-aaron/#KlHRMVKP8rRpRdFy.99
Race of the Week
Unite on the
Swan
Event Information
Date: Sunday, 9 April 2017
Time: 7-9 am
Cost: Adults: $10.00 and Children: $5.00
Location: Claisebrook Cove, East Perth - Swan River
Being early on a Sunday there shouldn't be to much motor boat
traffic, but still be vigilant.
We won't be corralling or rafting in the motor boat channel
or the No Go Zone. If you do drift into the channel or no
zone please paddle out of there and move another spot on the
river.
Accepted Craft
Canoes, skis and kayaks are accepted under the Guinness World
Record regulations. This includes peddle and paddle propelled
kayaks.
*****************
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
*********************