12th June 2020                                                    CDU Newsletter 655
 

Terry 0417 977 330

terry@canoeingdownunder.com.au (email)

https://canoeingdownunder.wordpress.com/  (website)

https://www.facebook.com/canoeingdownunder/ (facebook)

https://terrybolland.wordpress.com/ (trips & achievements)

Most of the kayakers that get injured are done by riding a bike rather than from paddling. In the last few weeks, 4 paddlers, 2 being this week and 3 of them from the Ascot Kayak Club have had accidents whilst mountain biking.

Even my neighbour had a bike accident on Monday and landed in hospital but he was on a cycleway and was dodging a magpie.
The magpie survived but he wasn't so lucky. 
So be careful out there.

 

On Monday I found out that Josh Singleton, who I have covered in this newsletter recently about his white water exploits, had a accident whilst mountain biking at the weekend.

His words: Mountain biking in Bright is awesome! Until you go over the handle bars and it's not.
My femur got slammed through the back of my pelvis and broke it. Got the femur relocated 2 nights ago and gong for surgery to clean it up and get my pelvis put back together this arvo.
Sounds like a long recovery imprint of me.
Special thanks to Harry Creed, Morgin Jaymz, Tom, Mel and Nath for a ripper weekend away and more importantly taking great care of me!
 

Josh an extreme paddler, paddling a big waterfall.
 

Josh after the mountain bike accident.
 

Diagram of a pelvis and femur.

Laurent is a member of the AKC Progressive Racing Group and he really enjoys the competition and the social aspect of the group. But at the weekend he came a cropper on his mountain bike.

Laurent's words: With some regrets I won't be seeing you all for a while; Sunday saw me flying long and fast off my mountain bike and I made landfall on my shoulder. Clavicle broken and at least 3 months out of the boat. Damn, and I just bought that nice boat (that's purgatory!). Happy paddling everyone and don't go mtbiking!

Diagram of a broken clavicle.

Isabel is crazy about paddling and is a member of the AKC Progressive Racing Group. She also loves mountain biking.

Diagram of ligaments in the knee.

Diagram of a Clavicle (collarbone).

Extremely sad news.

Gareth Wright has recently passed away, suffering from depression.

Always smiling, always paddling hard, and a true gent.

Once a member of Ascot Kayak Club and a current member of Indian Ocean Paddlers was enjoying his downwind paddles.

On the other side!

Julie McDonald

I was talking with one of my ultra fit friends at work, letting him know I was going to be paddling through winter and how nervous I was about that, not keen on cold weather and getting wet. He reminded me what it will look like “on the other side of winter” feeling fit healthy and all going well a little faster in my ski.

Post tight Western Australia restrictions due to COVID19, today we could meet in a group of 300 and complete our first paddle race after 10 weeks of not racing. It’s called Paddle challenge at Bayswater.

Oh whoa! What absolute joy.
Plenty of our Progressive Group at the start line for 18km and 11km. Loved seeing Isabel Combe, Kate Martin, Jane Dooley, Jo Ward, David Brown, Veronica Haarmann, Peter Ward, Josh, Jayden, Geraint and Anthony and those other names I’ve forgotten to mention. I did keep looking for Terry but still his presence was felt.

Plenty of nerves and you could feel an excitement in the air. Paddler Brett and I talking tactics on the 50 minute drive to Bayswater and what we thought may or may not happen today.

11km start for me in my beautiful yellow Stellar oh he”s smooth on the water and just such a treat to paddle.

Rosalie said go - as usual girls get close to each other Veronica Haarmann Jo Ward. My third time in my ski and oh feels good, still unsteady at times, tippy at times but I know those nerves will go eventually.

Jo and Veronica just increased the pace, I couldn’t hold on unfortunately. I do think my head gets in the way but that will calm over more time in it.

I’m sort of getting used to seeing them both in front of me. I do say in my head though “not for long with an evil laugh he he” . I did have plenty of flat water not to much chop which did make the ride smoother.

It’s crazy to think that just last October 2019 I couldn’t paddle one or two laps of Terry Bolland's course and now I can paddle 11km.

BRING the YEAR On on I say and let’s see what the other side of winter really looks like.

Big thanks to Ascot Club for welcoming me and especially all those paddle chicks.

Today we were mixing with many Olympians and if you know me I am very proud of Australia and I am very proud of them. Go Aussie’s 🇦

The double kayaks and skis. Leanne Smith/Garth Civil beat Luc Jacob/Matthew Jacob by 13 seconds and Mark Sedgwick/Kate Martin by 28 seconds.
Photo Lawrence Greed.
 

The top K1 paddlers. Jesse Phillips beat Lachlan Armstrong by .5 of a second and Luke Egger by 3 seconds. Photo Lawrence Greed.
 

Peter Pawlow would definitely be the Over 65 World Champion if he ever took part in the Masters World Championships. With a time of 1.31.26 Peter was 10 minutes faster than Ron Clarke and 14 minutes faster than John Dinucci in the 65 class. If I had raced he would have been at least 10-14 minutes faster than me. He is a powerhouse for his age. He was a very fast paddler back in the 1980-90s and hasn't lost his touch.

Photo Lawrence Greed.
 

Geraint Maddison trying to keep Anne Harris at bay. Photo Lawrence Greed.
 

Andy Heartcliffe and Dave Burglund fight it out at the finish. Andy won by a second. Photo Lawrence Greed.
 

Jane Dooley having a great time paddling 18.5kms. 
Photo Lawrence Greed.
 

Results Here: https://www.webscorer.com/race?raceid=214938&fbclid=IwAR3S1UfzDlz5zdhiE8A1JSBjFDuKIm3jD-SZXfkoMxRKR0J6xUMUw19uOuU

The Mississippi River Expedition continued

Part 13

Monday 27^th July

At 6.45am just before the sun came up I left camp and headed towards New Orleans wondering how busy the river was going to be. I was told I wasn’t allowed to paddle through New Orleans but it’s hard to believe what some people say. The left side of the river was lined with anchored barges and as I approached the Avondale Shipyard where many big ships were anchored it was quiet so I paddled by it without any trouble, probably because it was early in the morning.

My next landmark was paddling under one of America’s highest and longest steel bridges, the Huey P Long Bridge which supported six vehicle lanes and two tracks of rail traffic. A train was going over it as I was going under and it was long and slow. The rail line on the south east side looped around in a big semi-circle and it gradually ascended to the bridge from ground level starting 3.5kms away.

The sun rises on the Avondale Shipyard.

Clearing the bridge the river then did a north/south U turn and as I passed a large grain loading facility a barge coming up from behind honked its horn. A ship also came from behind but I was so close to the shore and old jetties, wharfs and posts by then that I was well away from its path. Two work boats crossed my path and I talked to two workers on a barge who wished me luck and a safe journey.

I had imagined the river was going to be hugely busy as I moved through New Orleans but it wasn’t that busy at all, so I was quite disappointed. The river changed direction and wrapped around the city in a long U and as I approached the main city bridge, a big ship cruised by. The city looked interesting. Half the city is below sea level but a levee bank or flood wall protects the city from flooding. It was strange looking down on the city as I was paddling at a higher elevation than the roads of the city centre.

Going under my last bridge on the river - New Orleans.
 

New Orleans.

I approach a right hand bend opposite the city centre as a long pod of barges were angled to get around the corner. I said hello to a family on shore and to another man who was listening to a marine radio who told me that a barge had reported me to the coast guard for paddling through the city. Apparently the coast guard weren’t interested in chasing me. He wished me luck and said no-one will bother you now.

A little further some workmen asked me where I had come from. They were impressed when I told them. There were several abandoned wharfs that continued to line the left bank as I moved around the corner but then a line of navy boats were anchored on both sides of the river.

I was dwarfed by the navy ships, but even more so when I started passing several cargo ships that were anchored in the middle of the river. It was interesting passing so many ships. As I moved out of the city there was less industry and activity and I could see some impressive looking houses over the levy bank.

The US Navy at anchor.
 

Dwarfed by a big ship.
 

Ships lay at anchor.

As the houses faded out and the river twisted yet again a chemical plant was on the left side of the river and further around another corner at Belle Chasse I came across a ferry terminal on the right side. I stopped and some young guys on shore filled my water containers whilst I sat in my kayak. They then left on the ferry which stirred up the water.

I continued on to the next corner and had lunch sitting in my kayak. It wasn’t much of a lunch. Ships were at anchor further along and when the river widened the current eased, another late night was coming on. Three work barges passed and one guy angrily shouted through the glass for me to get off the river. It made me feel a little guilty about being there.

Industrial areas, mainly fuel, oil or the likes kept popping up along the way as well as two coal shipping terminals, one each side of the river.   

Industrial Plant.

Ships continued to head up and down the river and eventually the sun started setting and what a fantastic sunset it was and it only got better. When darkness set in I paddled closer to shore and next to the barges that were intermittently anchored along it. At one point I got too close to a tree branch and just avoided being hit in the face. The moon was giving me a little light but it wasn’t enough to see and when a ship came towards me I tried to get closer to the trees. It wasn’t that I was in its path I just wanted to be as far away as possible. A few minutes later a group of waves from the ship hit me bouncing me around for a few minutes. 

It was such a beautiful sunset.

There were lights from industry on the west, right side of the river, bright spotlights from a barge coming up the river and another ship coming up from behind. I moved into an eddy and got so close to the bank I started hearing water flowing like rapids down a channel. The next thing I knew a current started sucking me down the channel. It was 11.00pm I couldn’t see what was happening, but I knew I had to fight to get back towards the middle of the river. When the pull of the current ceased I stopped and sat in an eddy, caught my breath and watched more barge spotlights coming up the river. I noticed a flat spot on shore, so when another two barges passed I pulled up to the rocks and started clambering up them.  The rugged rocks were slippery so lifting my gear from the kayak to the grassed area was a challenge and full of cattle turds and mosquitoes. I sat happy to be on shore watching 4 more barges and a ship pass before erecting my tent.

The ground was far from level with cow pads and steel cables littered around my tent site. I was in bed by 12.45am listening to the water lapping up the rocks. I had paddled 125 kms and I was happy to be camped on the river for the last night.

One more day to go.

Ed loves his 14X
 

A great kayak for just going for a social paddle or a week away camping.
 

Medium Trolley. $140.00 normally $169.00

SEA TO SUMMIT 

Constructed using puncture proof solid wheels and oversized anodised 25mm aluminium alloy tubing for strength these collapsible carts can withstand the roughest terrain.

FEATURES

• Durable, lightweight and compact construction
• Hypalon tension straps last longer than traditional webbing
• Oversized anodised 6063-T6 alloy tubing for added strength and longevity
• Medium: 46cm wide - Canoes
• Each cart has a capacity of 70kg and includes a high quality UV stabilised polyester tie down with silicone buckle bumper

The Buoys Race
 

The 1st of 6 races for the 2020 Wild Water Season.

Sunday 14th June
Location: Ascot Kayak Club, Garvey Park

Registration: 10:00am-10:30am

Briefing: 10:45am

Race start: 11:00am

Enter here:
https://paddleaustralia.azolve.com/workbench/public/events?ref=E3CA63E6310B61CA3D5ECB1EE645F517E412FCFD

Sunday 21st June.
Great course options: 26km for Avon training, 13km for a hit-out or the 6km Guppy and Novice course.

See you all there, tell your mates !!
 

Only 26kms to go.

Swan Canoe Club‎ 

Junior Surf Ski & Sprint Paddling Winter 2020

Registrations now Open
NCSLSC and SCC Collaboration

Swan Canoe Club‎ 

Reminder that the Winter Time Trials have moved to Thursday Night - same time, same place. There are 35 registered participants across the 3, 6, 9 and 12 km course. Registration is one off, attend individual trials when you can - your top 3 times count towards your series result. Come challenge yourself, or race a friend or foe.

Registrations via Webscorer
https://www.webscorer.com/register?raceid=214134