Tuesday 15th April

Last Tuesday delivered some real Autumn weather with the occasional larger wave off Sydney recorded in the 4 metre range and a solid SE breeze to keep every one busy.


Matt decided to give the fishing a miss as soon as we saw the open water. Once we rounded South Head he knew he would be 'busy' enough without the line .





As you can see in the photo below Terry did a fair bit of 'rudderless' paddling.





Meanwhile Keith took a 'short cut' in his new Aquanaut and got a surprisingly steep refracted wave before we even got 'outside'.




South of 'The Gap' the sea and swell evened out into a longer, cleaner pattern and I was able to snap some more pics while sitting in the troughs out of the wind.

Back in the shelter of South Head there was a chance to catch a couple more shots of Keith in his new boat before we hit the flat water.

Thanks to the Tuesday night crew for paddling as a cohesive team and thanks to fellow instructor Keith Oakford for adding some extra strength to the group.

Surf Last Sunday

I looked out over Umina Beach in the failing light, satisfied that another surf day was safely completed. It had been a great group with everyone giving it their best shot. Early morning jitters gave way to some good surf skills interspersed with a fair bit of 'swimming'.
First up, teamwork and good humour saw us off the beach and moving North parallel with shore.




We checked out the larger breaks from seaward: where were the rips, surfers and swimmers? and could we locate the shore dump from a distance rather than learning the "hard way"?
We selected a potential landing during a lull. With everyone at at a safe distance offshore, I went for closer look and disappeared into a larger set for some minutes. My boat was almost airborne as I punched out. Most of the time this part of the beach was O.K for kayaks but every four or five minutes this zone was transformed into a nasty place to paddle. It was a great example of just how long the 'lulls' can be and how much bigger the sets can be - in this case at least twice the height of the regular break.
With a heavy shore dump and an offshore bar picking up the bigger ones we gladly headed back to the smaller spilling waves in the corner.

Our first challenge was to practice landing on the back of the wave i.e. non-surfing. Then we progressed to punching out, bracing and ruddering. The main aim of this was to develop a feel for edge control and familiarity with moving water.

Our day ended with coffee and a video review of the action. I believe learning to kayak is about knowing, feeling and seeing, so the video is always a good way to finish the day. It reinforces lessons learnt and with surfing always creates some grimaces and some laughter.

Learning to deal with breaking waves sharpens boat handling skills, adds meaning to techniques which are less effective on flatwater, and is fun.

Jacqui heading out for "one last wave"

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Belated Rock n Roll Report

When my camera picture card 'died' at the RnR dinner I thought I would never see these photos.

Thanks to Ernie and Natasha at 'datadetect' I have salvaged some rock n roll images for a belated posting.

I have attended the last 10 'rock n roll' weekends and from my point of view, 2008 was one of the best.

The fair weather and low swells allowed most paddlers the opportunity to circumnavigate the rugged volcanic shoreline of the Tollgate Islands and/or Three Island Point. (Below Stuart and Sally paddle one of the chanells that cut their way through the point.)

Back at the camp the small creek provided the main training venue as Nigel Dennis patiently applied his vast experience to help kayakers find the correct paddle to suit their stature, strength, boat and technique. (photo below;Kate in the Rapier20 participating in Nigel's paddle selection workshop. Lendal 4pce paddles allow a vast number of blade, shaft, length and feather options to suit.)

Social activities included a fully catered evening meal. Two brilliant guest speakers (Nigel Dennis and John Kirk-Anderson) and the beer and pizza welcome party at the Expedition Kayaks Tent.

As a professional instructor there were a number of opportunities to compare notes with skilled local paddlers and learn from our overseas and interstate guests.

Best of all it was a chance to catch up with many like minded people who I only get to see at "the Rock'n' Roll"

Many thanks to the Stephan and Rob R and all the other volunteers for making the weekend happen.

Since My Last Posting.....

Below are some recent pics taken around Sydney during training sessions over the last fortnight.

Cronulla Beach had a gentle spilling wave ideal for learning to surf.

Tony caught this wave a little early and discovered what happens after the bow disappears.

He handled the resulting vertical manouver nicely landing in a compact braced position complete with grin.

Just wish I had managed the camera as well.

A smaller wave and more speed - this time Tony avoids the 'endo'.

But only just.

Tim tries a roll off Jibbon beach.
Note that although the boat is almost upright Tim's head is just leaving the water.

A successful roll with out resorting to brute strength

Behind this mysterious mask is a big grin because Terry has just passed his Australian Canoeing 'Sea Skills' award.

Congratulations TJ!

Fellow instructor Mark Sundin on a recent NSWSKC trip to Little Bay and return with some rescue training and a picnic lunch.

Mark always looks so happy in his boat.

Seated in a kayak, with the sea breeze in your face, it is hard to imagine there is a major capital city just around the corner.

Kate enjoys the scene as she waits for the group to catch up.

Ian turns his back on the big end of town.
Nice boat.













Cruising in on the back of a wave for a well earned lunch, cuppa and debrief.

Another hard day at "the office".

A late afternoon shower to wash the salt away
Cags and lights are going on earlier each week.

The days when the orthodox approach to sea kayaking required long paddles with slender flat blades are behind us.

Chris uses a relatively short 'wing' paddle whether he is paddling his racing K1 on flatwater or a sea kayak in open water.
Note: torso rotation and posture.

After a surprise capsize, Alan sets up for a reenter and roll.

As the Bureau says:"waves may be up to twice the height of averages given here."

(And this happens even on the 'flat' days.)

waiting for the next adventure?.

The Royal Training Paddle

Sunday morning: boats are packed, charts consulted, forecasts reviewed and decisions made.

The possibility of a hard slog into a building headwind is accepted as a manageable risk. If conditions get too strong too early our "plan b"will involve a downwind run into Wattamolla.

Our first break is just after rounding Jibbon Head. From here we can see the bombora seething occasionally. Today we can safely run the gap between the cliffs and reef, and head south down the cliffs to Marley.

We check out the surf at Big Marley before a soft landing at Little Marley for lunch.

On the way home we practice rescues, rolling, and controlling our boats in the building breeze.

The group have never paddled the seacliffs of "The Royal" before and they are suitably impressed with the backdrop for today's training.

Surf and Sunsets

After recent heavy swells and cloudy conditions this week has been a welcome change of pace with blue skies and small, playful waves.

I have included a couple of images from this week's local adventures:

Matt Bezzina paddling a Valley Aquanaut through kinder waves than the monsters that "chundered" him a couple of weeks ago.

He was still a bit shaky yesterday so I think he will start reading Marine Charts and swell forecasts before deciding to take any "shortcuts" in the future. I am glad he "got back on the (sea) horse".

Early evening checking for shipping traffic before crossing Sydney Heads.


Alan is pointing towards the city skyline.


This is about as good as it gets...........

Rolling Part 1

It is easy to do but sometimes tricky to learn. How many other times in your life have you been required to solve a three dimensional puzzle while sitting upside down, underwater on one breath? Until you can do it, rolling has a Houdini like quality. In reality it is just another stroke, but without it, the whole busines of paddling rough water is riskier and less fun.

Last week I taught The "C to C" and "layback" as well as my usual "Sweep and Brace" Technique.
The age range and physical attributes of people wanting to roll has increased so it makes sense to 'customise techniques to suit the paddler.
Chris and Rob are doing the "C toC ", Matt, Terry and Donne are doing the "Sweep", John is doing the extended paddle or "pawlata" roll and Daniel and Tim are doing the "layback".
The cold weather and rain didnt stop a single lesson and they are all rolling!