Instructors School

The Sea is a great teacher, very unforgiving of any complacency or poor judgement but exhilirating when you rise to the challenge. The following five photos show top local paddlers putting their skills to the test.

I have called this selection of pics " instructors school " because these skilled paddlers are "learning by doing".
They view the sea as their teacher and this attitude helps them build the confidence and competence to share their passion for kayaking with others.





Keith Oakford: rock garden Nth Head


Chris James: Heavy weather off South Head






Mark Sundin: Big Day at Botany Bay

Gary Forrest: Cruising the bar at Mooloolaba

(photo Deb Browning)

Karen Dallas: classic beach break at Arrawarra Headland (for photographer details contact Karen Dallas at the Skee Kayak Centre)

Offcuts

As my mate Matt says: "the best camera is the one in your hands". S0 I always take my humble compact along and even when it is bumpy and I have to brace with one hand and shoot with the other, I still try to take a few pictures.
This "dolphin cutlet" was taken when I wanted to identify the dark shape under my boat on a blustery morning, shame about the other bits!








Recently cuttlefish like this one, have been floating around off the Sydney coast providing fine dining for all manner of sea creatures and sea going birds.
Once the flesh is picked off the chalky core accounts for many false sightings of "sharks" with white bony dorsal fins.











A Black Browed Albatross with cuttlefish brunch on a lazy winter Sunday.
These powerful seabirds don't have the same tourist appeal as whales but from the low vantage point of a kayak you can watch them glide low and fast.
On windy days when the waves are steep their flight matches the contours of the sea, their wing tips lifting a fine spray off the surface.