The Spice of Life - Autumn Winter 2012

Challenging and erratic weather enjoyed with paddling companions new and old; special overseas guests; a diverse training calendar; a weekend away and some interesting local wildlife.

These are just a few of the many reasons why paddling on the New South Wales coast is a year round endeavour.

 What the water loses in degrees it makes up for with variety. 

Matt and Chris about to climb a very steep hill ( wind SE 22-28 swell to 4m)

Matt and Chris about to hit the crest and lose the windbreak created in the trough.

Matt taking a picture of me......

 Josh enjoying the lively deep water that runs close to the cliffs at The Gap.  

Ken and the rest of the crew light up on the way out of Sydney Heads

Megan braves the elements for a cold and swelly Tuesday night. 

Rae and her trusty Nordkapp LV reflect the setting sun

Megan testing the Nordkapp LV around North Head

Chris enjoying the sunset during a lull

Wade watches on as South Head disappears in the mist, only Dunbar Head is visible

This is the third consecutive year that we have been privileged to have overseas instructors  visit Sydney and share their skills and knowledge. This year it was Turner Wilson and Cheri Perry; The dyanamic duo of  Greenland rolling.  As you can see from above image of Cheri presenting to a class at Watsons Bay, the emphasis is on graceful movement and effortless execution.

Cheri in Tuilik part way through demonstrating the entire Greenland competition list. Nothing is more persuasive to a  group of aspirants than a coach who can really show how its done. Cheri and Turner's ability to demonstrate all the moves with such elegant precision was a key part of their success.  

Land exercises and demonstrations allowed for a different perspective and lots of  opportunity for questions.

Teamwork also played a big part in keeping the pace of training brisk and engaging.

I personally learnt a lot about Greenland techniques and also developed a real liking for the storm roll with my euro blade     but the biggest personal benefit was being able to watch Cheri and Turner over an extended period and pick up some new presentation and coaching techniques that I can adapt to the more general sea kayaking skillset.  

After a record four attempts to align a suitable time with an acceptable weather window  Tony   (pictured above) and  Mark  guided  a group of New South Sea Kayak Club members on a two day return  trip from Sydney to Bundeena. I was attending in my role as assessor and despite the mischief that the group was able to create under my direction, both Tony and Mark were successful on two counts: They achieved their AC Guides Award and  also ensured we all had a safe, enjoyable couple of days on the water. 

Mark Sundin with a couple of ski enthusiasts trying out the Epic V10sport and V8 on Sydney Harbour .

Sharon enjoying the cool waters and scenery around Mystery Bay on the South Coast.

Monatgue Island, a tantalising view of this great one day paddling destination

Eastern Fiddler Ray. A resident of the shallow waters of Vaucluse Bay , totally unconcerned as I drift  overhead .

A very Cheeky penguin that I spotted chasing fish around my legs while I was  teaching rolling  a couple of weeks ago.