The Northern Epic Continues...

When it became obvious to me that I wasn't going to make it to the starting line for this adventure I offered myself as weather monitor and land contact. It is not the same as being there, but I feel privileged to be offering forecasts and plotting their progress. This way I can share some of the adventure vicariously as the boys island hop through this remarkable chain of coral cays.

At Lady Elliot Island they were happy to stay put through a cycle of weather changes that included moderate to strong nor-easters and assorted offshore winds. With no need to force the pace to catch another weather window they used this time wisely, swimming with Manta Rays and reef fish in the pristine waters, refuelling and reflecting on the lessons learnt from their first big crossing.

When I spoke to Gary about the relatively ''short'' 40km hop to Lady Musgrave I could tell that he had really started to live and breath with the rhythm of the outer reef environment and was very tuned into weather shifts and how they would affect conditions.

On Sunday afternoon they easily made this crossing to Lady Musgrave and settled down to a couple of days of fishing, snorkelling and chilling out.

Last call was at lunchtime today from tiny Hoskyn Island where they had stopped for a break.

It is possible to visit this remote archipelago just by jumping on a charter boat for a day or to take your tent and camp for a while, or even to hit the resort with nothing but a few clothes and a credit card; but I reckon there is something special about arriving and leaving by kayak, in your own time, on your own terms, with a sense of freedom and adventure worthy of such a place.

Autumn/Winter.

Sea Kayakers around Sydney are getting tougher or the clothing is getting better. Just last week I had an 8.00am rolling lesson with air temp at 7deg C and water temp 19deg C; and the Tuesday night paddling contingent continue to stop for a few deep water rolls in the inky dark waters off the cliffs of Sydney and Botany Bay.
Warm water and cold air are a great combination for Autumn/Winter surf training; the cold air keeps the swimmers away and the warm water reduces that slap in the face feeling when punching out. The lack of competition for small surf gives sea kayakers a chance to stretch out a bit.
With a clear and wide line to the beach I snapped the self portrait above practising reverse endos at lunchtime at a surf training day.
Why is it whenever I pull this stunt everyone is looking the other way?

This shot of Neil was taken the same day using a one handed low brace with camera in the other hand.

A couple of resilient Kiwis in OZ just to test boats. "We never get weather like this back home."
In the last few months I have hosted visits from USA, Canada, New Zealand, Western Australia, Queensland, Tasmania,Victoria and from regional New South Wales. Some have come along to try boats but most have been here for tuition or some guided paddling in warm open water. It is very rewarding to be part of the global paddling community, to share ideas and proudly show off
the waterways that make up my "office"

Sharon leads the way around Point Perpendicular, The Beecroft Peninsula. On my day off from kayaking commercially I often find myself drawn to this part of the coast and when I get there I cant resist going for a paddle.

Sharon's Saturday morning paddle, rain hail or shine. This paddle has become a regular fixture for Sydney kayakers. I think the success of this paddle lies in the simple formula of regular exercise, supportive environment, friendly crew and fresh coffee.

Seals are where you find them, and this one was happy to stay put regardless of interlopers in kayaks. The cool conditions have brought a number of these Southern visitors up to the city for winter.

Around Sydney the urban paddler can expect to see more dolphins, whales, seals, sharks, fish and seabirds than ever before, there is even a couple of turtles if you know where to look. To find a time of more abundance in the waters around Sydney would probably predate our use of sea kayaks in the area. Maybe the seasonal visitors of my childhood including, hairtail and slimy mackerel will return in due course.
I know we can never do enough as a community to protect our natural heritage but we need look no further than the way sea life has bounced back as evidence that recent initiatives to manage the city fishery and water quality are helping. Imagine if we all did a little more....

Photo by Eddie Safarik of me checking out a rock garden just north of Sydney Heads. I can't wait to see Eddies pics from the Bunker/Capricorn Expedition when they have successfully returned. (see last blog)

Rae about to be engulfed in the soup. Another fun day with a small group and gentle waves on the Central Coast.

Gina surfs across the edge of the rock platform at Malabar. Things to remember when kayak surfing at Malabar:

• Wear a helmet.



• Tuck if you capsize.



• Don't broach right.



• Don't drink the water.

Colour photo of a monochromatic day.

Paul demonstrates some of his Greenland skills. This is a growing niche with more and more paddlers enjoying the physical and technical challenges of traditional techniques. The low volume Greenland style boats are great for getting the feel for these skills.

The boat and the paddle: just add water - If rolling is on the agenda these are the right tools for the job.

No, this isn't world renowned kayak instructor Ginni Callahan directing traffic while Ian takes a nap.

This is part of a workshop on Greenland Rolling and Ginni is describing the relative angle of the boat to the water surface. Meanwhile, Ian is showing how it works when your back bends the right way. (don't try this at home)

Ginni shows how it is done. Her flexibility and finesse were inspiring. Although her visit coincided with the end of the really warm weather many of us have persevered through the cooler months so I am expecting there will be some noticeable improvements in the gentle art of Greenland rolling by the end of this summer.

Gina backs into a sea cave off the Toll Gate Islands. With the occasional bigger set coming through backing in was a good strategy. As with many rocky play spots, good control forwards, backwards and sideways make the whole activity safer and more fun.

Sometimes your forward stroke is your best defence. Gina running a tight gap off Gorilla Bay, South Coast, NSW.

This is Danny Blackwell heading out with the Tuesday night group for one last paddle before heading off to Africa to paddle across Lake Victoria with a couple of his mates. Since this photo was taken the trip has been successfully completed.

Well done Danny. A big adventure to raise money for a very worthwhile charity.

Part of Sharon's Saturday group off Bradley's Head. The historic lighthouse marks the big left turn that all shipping has to make after on its way to Sydney Heads from port facilities further up stream. Kayakers get one last look for heavy traffic before heading North towards the outer Harbour.

Days are finally getting longer again and the city skyline is often still illuminated by the afternoon sun as we leave for our evening paddle.

The winter southerlies have provided some great opportunities for getting out in the breeze, riding the waves and practising skills in open and moving water. As local paddlers get more skilled and keener to advance they are realising that Sea Kayaking can be year round sport and there is no need to lose all that hard earned paddle fitness and skills just waiting around for summer.

Northern Epic

At 7.24pm on Tuesday I received the phone call I had been waiting for all day as a very relieved Gary Forest, Eddie Safarik and Paul Wilton recounted the travails of their big crossing from Sandy Cape to Lady Elliot Island.

In a straight line this is 85kms of open water and about the same distance paralleling the coast. Apart from the likelihood that this is a kayaking ''first", the group were initially drawn to it because of the unique paddling environment to be found at the maritime crossroads between Fraser Island and the southern tip of the Great Barrier Reef.

Like many other points of convergence between major geographical features around the world, the turbulent waters filling the void between the worlds largest sand island and the world's largest reef system are notorious among mariners for producing difficult conditions. To this you need to add the 35kms of shifting bars and shoaling water known as the Breaksea Spit that runs North of Fraser. In his famous guide for cruising yachts Alan Lucas says of the area to the north of Sandy Cape: "the most predictable currents on this chart are those setting across the Breaksea Spit. It is dangerous to underestimate their strength which easily reach 2.5knots in places and will cause a heavy break against an easterly swell."

The boys were well prepared but challenged by the intensity and relentlessness of the conditions. As well as a 2-3m easterly swell they had winds at the upper end of the forecast with ESE gusting 20-32knots all day (Lady Elliot AWS). The resulting sea worked across the swell and currents to kick up a churning surface with breaking waves and almost constant clapotis. To make matters worse, rain reduced visibility and robbed them of the moonlight they were relying on for a visual horizon before sunrise. As a group they battled with: seasickness, exhaustion, an extremely inquisitive 4 metre Mako shark, another that tried to rip the paddle from Gary's hands in the darkness, and a trawler that almost ran over them on dusk.

The final tally on their GPS was 95kms in just under 17 grueling hours. When I asked Gary about the extra 10kms he said most of it was the aggregation of short detours as they were broached off course by breaking swells and intersecting wave patterns.

These are committed sea kayakers who trained diligently to prepare for their trip through the Bunker Group. I know they have done some long days in bumpy conditions and some serious technical paddling in big surf and on turbulent river bars, so when they talk of numerous capsizes and frequent support strokes it is very clear to me that this is an extremely difficult stretch of water and it is not just the sheer distance offshore that has kept Lady Elliot out of reach of kayaks for so long.

When I spoke to the team yesterday after a good nights rest they spoke in awe of the heavy conditions and relentless white water. Eddie spoke of the wild beauty of the seascape and the images of boats perched high on steep and twisting wave faces; images not captured on film in such difficult circumstances but vivid in his words, but the overwhelming feeling they all shared was pride and relief that the group stuck together and helped one another through this epic day on the water.

They intend to head off in light conditions for a comparatively "short" 40km crossing to Lady Musgrave Island tomorrow as they work their way north through the Bunker Group.

This trip is shaping up to be a classic Aussie adventure and this begs the question; Have these guys discovered another paddling icon? Is this the Queensland answer to Bass Strait?

Summer Paddling - Sydney

Commodore Steinfeld beating into a steady Sou'Easter.

Tim paddling along the golden cliffs of the Royal National Park in the twilight.

Freshly hatched Cicada drying wings in time for the early morning wake up call

Bob with clifftop audience.

Wattle Bird trying to get some shuteye despite noisy campers.

Sad discovery - a dead Sea Dragon with eggs.

Paul in new boat on open water, all smiles.

Tracy's test paddle. Sunset over the Sydney skyline.

No room for kayaks - the weekly Laser invasion begins.

Grey sea, Grey boats, Grey sky.

Tuesday paddlers heading south past Macquarie Lighthouse.

Surfing in warm water in warm rain. A pleasant contrast from the intensity of the sun.

Matt in the hat. Real kayakers wear real hats.

Cape Banks

I snapped this photo last Thursday; it shows Gina paddling north and about .5nm seaward of Cape Banks. The forecast was for 15 to 20 SE . Records for the local weather station at Little Bay indicated 19 to 27 for most of the time we were on the water but at sea level 20 knots seemed about right.

Paddling from La Perouse into the breeze was pretty heavy going but the ebbing tide assisted our outward progress until it collided with the onshore wind. After we turned north, wave reflection and these opposing forces of wind and tide provided a fast bumpy ride up the coast.

Low cloud and misty rain completed a dramatic picture.

There were no real surprises; if you look at a chart of the area you will see that aspect and topography make Cape Banks a magnet for current, sea and swell.

Even around Sydney self sufficiency is pretty important, although it is still the holiday season, the cooler weather and light rain kept everyone inside and we saw no other boats beyond the Bay.

Simon and Adrain - Congratulations!

When I first met Simon Maguire in March this year he told me about his plans to paddle from Byron Bay to Newcastle and I knew he was serious. Although he had very little sea experience it was obvious that he was committed and his mental and physical preparations were underway.

That is not to say that Simon and his mate Adrian were making a fuss, in fact I suspect that without a good cause to promote and support they just would have quietly gone about their preparations and launched with as little fanfare as possible.

So after a few months to hone skills and fine tune equipment they set off on a 600km open water paddle facing sea from every quarter, headwinds, landing heavy boats through surf and crunching out the miles when they really needed to.

The hardest part is often making the plan, setting the date and pushing your heavy boat off the beach. I reckon taking that first stroke on day one is a victory in itself because so much needs to be done before this can happen and it is always so much easier to find yet another reason to leave it until next year....

So congratulations Simon and Adrian! An open coastal voyage of this scale is a credit to you and one that you can always view with satisfaction,whilst raising money for a cause and taking a stand in support of victims of crime broadens the significance of your acheivment.

After a 600klm paddle you might be excused for thinking that Simon would want to give himself a break from kayaking? Not according to an SMS he sent yesterday in which he says:'''Keener than ever to paddle and increase my skill level"


For those who would like to know more about Simons and Adrains paddle or VOCAL (Victims
of Crime Assistance League) you can go to: the Manning Kayak Klan and/or the Hunter Kayak Klan websites

Skill Session/Whale Cruise

Above: TJ and Whale checking one another out with North Head and Bluefish Point in the background. (photo by Matt Bezzina)

We are always trying to do a little something extra on the Tuesday night paddles.

It is one of the few groups I know of that goes out regardless of the weather and we work on skills, rescues and safety all year round. It is not uncommon to see a few upturned hulls as a wave of spontaneous rolling seizes the group. Within this group there is a rare sense of playfulness that co exists with a healthy respect for the sea. Sometimes we just paddle for the fun of paddling, other times we incorporate a group activity somewhere exposed to the prevailing wind, sea and swell.

This week for example, we decided to head out about .5 to 1 nm off Sydneys North Head in a gentle 10-15knot noreaster. As I looked around the group I realised that all twelve participants had a roll, re entry and roll and good support strokes.

At the agreed point offshore we split into pairs and one from each pair threw their paddle a boat length or so away from them, then capsized, tried to swim while still seated in their boat to retreive their paddle and then roll up. If unssuccessful they wet exited, swam leading the boat to the paddle and performed a reentry and roll.The whole time buddies waiting their turn were keeping a watchful eye and ready to lend a hand.

Some paddlers got it right the first or second time and all the rest managed a reentry and roll before they started working on personal skills in pairs.

Standard rolls, exotic rolls,hand rolls, sculling braces and a range of assisted and unassisted rescues followed when, suddenly, Matt let out one of his legendary blood curdling yells. By the time we had regained our composure we realised that this wasnt a shark sighting or any threat to our safety but instead, a very playful humpback calf having an afternoon frolic under the watchful eye of its very large Mum.

There is an unwritten law that whale watching takes precedence over skills practice and the group moved off following at a respectful distance in awe of one the finest shows of Whale acrobatics I have ever seen. It is a truly a joy to witness these huge and gentle animals launch themselves into the air with such effortless power and a sense of playfulness.

I consider sightings like this as one of the rewards of being competent and willing to extend your range. The better your skills, the more options you have to paddle at sea, and the more you paddle at sea, the more you see.