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29th May 2020
CDU Newsletter 653
We now have a New Epic V9 demo for paddlers to try.
It is more maneuverable than the V10 Sport and the V8Pro and would be ideal for the intermediate to experienced paddlers on the ocean and the less experienced on the flat water.
I will be at Ascot Kayak Club on Saturday morning from 7.15 am to 10.30 am if you want to give it a try.
Or at another time contact:
Terry 0417 977 330 terry@canoeingdownunder.com.au
See ski details below.
Some of the AKC Progressive Racing Group paddlers on Tuesday evening.
Warm up before the handicapped race.
With Nowhere To Go Overseas This Year
Why not enter the Avon Descent
Coran and Trevor Longwood at Championships 2012.
I think it was Coran's first Avon and he was in charge of the K2!!
Trevor looks a bit concerned.
Bells Rapid back a few years. CDU whitewater course but I forget the paddler's name.
The Avon River near Toodyay early this week. Photo Simon Shailes
Chris Fry and friends along the cliffs of West Cape Howe near Albany.
Photo Chris Fry.
Canoeing Down Under Sandy Beach Training 2006
In 2006 most paddlers paddled plastic kayaks or skis or Down River kayaks as most of the paddlers back then entered the Avon Descent.
Alan Moreby being left behind.
Anthony Clarke takes the new Epic V9 for a spin and for a kilometre he was leading some of the top K1 paddlers. The ski has had lots of praise from paddlers all around Australia and the world for being an exceptional ski for downwind paddling giving the less experienced to experienced paddlers a chance to paddle well on the ocean.
I will be at Ascot Kayak Club on Saturday morning if you want to give it a try.
Or at another time contact:
Terry 0417 977 330 terry@canoeingdownunder.com.au
Danny Moreton back in the water after a bit of a break. Danny is a great guy and I always enjoy meeting him on the water. He has taken part in a few Avon Descents and a couple of his early ones his double 515 and a K1 didn't make it down. He has had more success more recently. I can't remember if it was last year or the year before but I met him on the river two weeks
before the Avon Descent and he was out training for the first time for months and was far from fit but he put a late entry in and finished the race.
Danny's son Luke is a very good paddler being a top junior paddler who has been overseas several times with the Australian junior team in sprint racing. Unfortunately medical issues cut his paddling career short.
Danny is a busy man. He commenced as a horse trainer in 2003 and is now firmly established as one of the leading racing stables in WA.
Working closely with each horse and with his background as a professional jockey, Danny often rides track work in their preparation, giving him an advantage of knowing where horses are at heading into a race. Together, Danny and his father Len have over 50 years of experience in the racing industry and lead a dedicated and talented team who bring their ‘best of breed’ skills, knowledge and love of horses from many countries around the world.
Morton Racing’s success is very much attributed to the family contribution. Danny’s immediate family, wife Carol, son Luke and daughter, Meghan are all involved in the business and have been since he stepped up to take over the reigns from Len.
Danny attributes his success not only to family, but also to his loyal band of staff headed up by stable foreman, Vince Collica. He thoughtfully hand picks exceptional staff with the same passion and drive and it is very much a team effort amongst the Morton team.
New Epic V9
Would you like to try the New Epic V9.
I will have a demo Epic V9 to try this Saturday morning at
Ascot Kayak Club 7.15am - 10.30am.
If you can't make it on Saturday morning and you would like to try another time please let me know and we can organise a time and place.
Terry 0417 977 330 or terry@canoeingdownunder.com.au
Colin tries the Epic V9 and he was extremely pleased with its performance.
SPECIFICATIONS
Length: 5.79m (19'0")
Width: 49 cm (19'3")
Depth: 32 cm (12'6")
Capacity: 120 kg (265lb)
The V9 was designed to fill a sweet spot between the V8 Pro and V10 Sport
The V9 has been optimized for downwind surfing, with increased rocker, and stability.
The seat ergonomics of the V9 are superb, incorporating the shape of the Gen 3 V10 seat, with a lower “hump” under the knees for improved leg power.
The cockpit configuration, with the fully adjustable Epic footboard, accommodates paddlers from 4’11 to 6’6” tall (1.5 to 1.99 m).
Side carry handles make it a breeze to carry solo. Also includes bow and stern carry handles.
The V9 also comes with Epic’s revolutionary high-volume bailer system. The bailer can be completely closed for flat or cold water environments.
Rudder moved forward for increased steering sensitivity.
The Mississippi River Expedition continued
Part 11
Tuesday 21st July
With less current it was getting more important to get up earlier and to paddle longer to make up the mileage so it was 5.15am and dark when I crawled out of the tent to a stiff breeze. I needed to paddle over 100kms. Twenty seven kilometres downstream I stopped at a campground at the head of
Greenville Channel to ask where the nearest shop was. It was too far to detour, a distance of 18kms there and back so I didn’t bother going but a couple at the camp gave me bread, a tin of sausages and water before I left.
I moved around a wide bend and under a bridge where the current started to speed up for a short time but my gain was soon stifled by a thunderstorm and strong winds which turned the river into a washing machine. I placed the two foam outriggers on the kayak to give me more stability and to help me to
keep paddling on.
After 105 kilometres I was level with the town of Lake Providence but I couldn’t see it from the river as it was just over a kilometre inland and fronted by forest and a channel. Nothing much happened today, the scenery was much the same so I just kept paddling willing away the
day.
The river was calmer near the shore, but it was riddled with eddies and swirls. Eventually the sun dipped behind the trees and darkness engulfed me. I kept paddling keeping clear of the barge traffic by hugging the bank but the shadows cast by the trees kept me guessing and straining to see what was ahead. A shadow often
looked like an object and startled me so it was quite unsettling and eventually I did hit something, I got tangled with a tree branch sitting in the water about 10 metres from shore which looked like an antler. Luckily I was able to steady myself and keep afloat.
A little further a boil erupted and gave me a fright, then a fish jumped giving me another one. By 10.40pm I had found a campsite where a racoon and 2 deer visited me.
Day 28 - only 7 days to go.
When the river got rough I placed the make-shift outriggers on the kayak for more stability.
Wednesday 22nd July.
It was annoying to find ants had got into my kayak overnight and were crawling among my nuts. They were all over and inside the kayak which took several minutes to clean them all out. It was hot and a bit of a slog to get to Vicksburg. Not only that I nearly paddled passed the 2 kilometre
off-shoot channel to town. Having no current assistance at all in the channel and with the extreme heat the paddle towards town was demoralizing. You can’t believe how much harder it was to paddle without any current at all. I passed several barges unloading along the channel and finally reached the town boat ramp arriving at 10.45am. There was a Casino nearby with a fake paddle steamer sitting on concrete blocks on the river fronting it. Then there was a Mississippi River tour boat anchored
nearby that looked more like a boat from a poor part of African.
I felt totally exhausted, I had pushed myself to my limit to get here and the heat was unbearable. I walked over to the public phone, but it wasn’t working. An old local man was sitting in his aged truck in the shade of a high wall drinking beer. I started talking to him and he gave me a beer, but it
was probably not the best liquid to drink as I’m sure I was a little dehydrated and would have been better drinking water.
After our chat I walked into town feeling a bit light headed, first to the post office and then to the supermarket which ended up being over 2 kilometres away. I ate 6 sticky buns and filled my water containers at the tourist office and rang Joey in New Orleans to tell him I was getting closer. Joey
was looking after my bicycle which I sent to New Orleans. I also rang the insurance company to tell them about the damaged my kayak sustained on its way to the US. I had sent the kayak from Australia, but when I picked it up in New York it had over 10 cracks in the hull. I spent 3 days in a New York Canoe Club when I first arrived trying to fix it. It ended up having lots of patches all over it.
The shopping was heavy, the day was amazingly hot and I was feeling a little dizzy as I was walking back. I was happy to have reached the kayak but the heat had knocked me around. Not only that I had a problem trying to load all my extra food and water into the kayak, but somehow I crammed it in. The
Mississippi tour boat, which only leaves the jetty with a minimum of 10 people still had 8 more people to go, so I imagine it will be there for a while.
It was hot and paddling out of the channel into the Mississippi was slow and after drinking 1 beer, 2 litres of coke, some water and eating 6 sticky buns I was feeling bloated and lethargic. I had arrived at 10.45 and left at 2.00pm, so I had no chance of breaking any records today. I passed two more
casinos, a worksite with lots of cranes working and moved under two great bridges spanning the wide river.
Back in the country, there were no buildings, but a river still twisting around like a huge python snake and its banks lined with trees. Above a black sky blew in bringing with it a mega thunderstorm, lightning and heavy rain which encouraged me to move towards shore and into slightly calmer waters and
stopped paddling. The rain was so heavy it really didn’t matter if I was stopped or not as the rain was still stinging like hailstones were hitting me. I moved on trying to avoid the rougher parts of the river and rounded a corner and saw a man sitting in a chair like he was suspended above the water. Was it Jesus? For a moment I didn’t see or realise he was sitting on a chair in a small dingy fishing and drifting with the current.
The rain continued to pelt down. I came across a father and son combination fishing, and further along I met another guy TJ in a dingy who gave me a beer. To meet people who shared their food or drink made me happy and confirmed that most people were good. Normally I wouldn’t drink beer when
paddling at home but this was more like a celebration and an experience of drinking a beer in the middle of the Mississippi River in an amazingly heavy rainstorm. It also gave me a bit of a lift up.
When the rain eased the wind was icy cold and a barge went by with a fire contained on the back of it with men standing around it keeping warm. As I paddled into the night a barge sneaked up from behind doing a similar speed and another came towards me so I had to keep alert as I didn’t want running
down. The current created swirls that whirled me around, but it turned out being a beautiful night. It was another big day as I paddled until 11.15pm when I found a beach to camp but I didn’t get to bed until 1.30am.
Thursday 23rd July (480 mile mark)
The lapping water from a passing barge woke me up at 5.50am. This was the day I had hoped to have finished the Mississippi so despite doing some good distances every day, time lost at locks, shopping and with the current being slower than I had hoped I still had around 600 kilometres to
go.
The current didn’t do me any favours heading into Natchez where a casino boat and a smaller boat were anchored to the wharf. I checked out the gift shop and bought some postcards and had a visit to the pub for water and it really did look Mississippian. The row of shops looked as if they had been
there for hundreds of years. The area was full of character and I really did feel I was in the south. I suppose that’s why the casino boats anchor there, to experience the southern atmosphere and history and to do a bit of shopping as well as gambling. Across the narrow road close to the Casino boat, American-African women were selling their wares to the tourists. There were lots of old people coming and going on and off the casino boat which had a gang plank resting on the concrete boat
ramp.
Natchez is the oldest town on the Mississippi and was founded in 1716 by French fur traders. Because of its rich soils, plantations were established there and slaves were introduced by the French colonists. The area has some of the finest historical houses, mansions and because Netchez surrendered to
General Grant’s army without a fight over 500 hundred elegant buildings survived the US Civil War. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to do a sightseeing tour or see them from the river because of the levee bank.
Although it was mega hot I didn’t buy a coke or anything else and just as I was leaving a couple came to talk. It was difficult to be enthused to talk as I was melting in the sun. I finally paddled off moving under a splendid double bridge but I was totally buggered and I knew my body needed some good
food and lots of water. After an hour I just had to stop. I found a sandbar and had a pee and just walked into the water to cool off. It was unusual for me to take a dip in the middle of the day, but it was so hot. I felt a lot better when I carried on. I found out later it was over 40 degrees.
A thunderstorm threatened but it didn’t eventuate. The current picked up and big eddies and swirls developed at a big sweeping turn which had very disturbed water as two barges passed by. By sunset I was getting closer to a diversion channel where a barge was hugging the left shore so I moved across
the river. When I turned the last corner before the Atchafalaya diversion channel it was near dark. It is at this point where a percentage of the Mississippi River is diverted into the Atchafalaya River by a channel. This 12km man-made channel joins the waters from the Red River and the Black River which forms the Atchafalaya River.
Although I couldn’t see a current because of it being dark I did feel that the current was trying to pull me towards the intake valves of the diversion channel and it was because of the barges being on the other side of the river I was forced to paddle on the same side as the diversion channel. I
paddled as hard as I could to get away from the intake current remembering what Joey said, “you have to watch out when you get to the Atchafalaya as you might get sucked down the channel”.
I managed to clear the diversion channels and move around a corner to meet two barges with their ultra-bright spot lights searching the waters. There were also a million cicadas around the next bend making one hell of a racket. It was hard to hear anything above the distinctive vibrating sound.
By 10.00pm I had found a beach, washed, dried out the tent fly and cooked tea before lying down and relaxing under the stars and nearly falling to sleep. It was a beautiful warm night. I moved inside the tent and managed to get to bed at 12.05am having seen 2 deer and 2 eagles today.
The river becoming shallower creating big sandbars.
Less water means less current, means slower speed,
means less kilometres paddled in a day so I paddled longer.
Having a break on a sand bar.
Friday 24th July
I was off by 7.15am but it was scorching by 9.00am and no wind. By 11.00am I had a lack of energy and was feeling the strain. By lunch time the heat was unbearable so I took a dip in the water to cool off. It revived me for a while. I met a power boat and the guy gave me a powerade drink and warned me
what was ahead and the ferry crossing.
A thunderstorm hit and the rain was so hard I decided to stop and wait till it passed over. As soon as it did I cooled off and had to put a thermal on. The water roughened and a long jetty unloading coal to a power plant stuck out into the river making me to detour around it. The river became more
disturbed with small standing waves and big eddies between the islands and the mainland. I saw several deer.
I stopped about 10kms from Baton Rouge camping just before a row of barges tethered to the shore. There weren’t many mosquitoes which was a nice surprise. A pole broke on my tent but I had a repair kit so I made do. A fox visited before I hit the sack at 11.10am after paddling 105kms. There were a few tugs working during the night but I didn't have any problem sleeping.
Baton Rouge just around the next corner is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana and from there the industry increases along the river and where I will be paddling next to big ships as well as barges. I could see tomorrow was going to be an interesting day.
Only 4 days left to go to the end.
The day after the big storm I thought it best to paddle my sea kayak instead of my K1 so I didn't get blown over.
It was high tide so the disable ramp at Ascot Kayak Club was a little underwater.
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