Lake Macquarie Paddlers.

Waking up to a clear cool morning on the banks of Lake Macquarie - it was the perfect way to prepare for a weekend of solid training with the Lake Macquarie Paddlers.....

Across a wide age range and from many walks of life, this group were one of the friendliest and most enthusiastic that I have met.

Injury prevention and efficiency were hot topics. Who wants to give up paddling due to strain injuries?.... and who doesn't want to go little quicker?

(Photo Chris B)

Regardless of how well Sharon paddled, the playground equipment wouldn't budge......!

(photo Chris B)

With the aims of the morning session explained we hit the water to refine the forward stroke. After a series of exercises and challenges, we finished the morning with a "peer review".

I believe there is lot to learn about your own stroke by developing a constructively critical eye for other peoples technique.

Having your mates analyse your paddling is sometimes a real test of diplomacy and with some paddlers, I feel more like a referee than a coach during this activity.

Fortunately, with this group, humour prevailed and by lunchtime, many could not only feel the difference in their own paddling but could see the difference in their buddies.

(photo Chris B)

We proceeded from boat control skills to wet exits (planned and unplanned).

Along the way we found out what happens when you tilt your boat and what happens when you tilt it too far.
Initial apprehension about capsize was soon forgotten and people started to relax with the idea of edging their boats and bracing.
I made my usual pronouncement :" If you don't fall in you aren't trying hard enough!" and the group rose to the challenge. John even declared himself the "unbalanced boater"after stalling during some very committed turns and braces!

It was a warm weekend so it was easy to promote kayaking as an immersion sport.

With practice and a little more training I think The Lake Macquarie Paddlers will be adding some coastal trips to their calendar.
There is an adventurous spirit in this group and the skills and knowledge they are acquiring will soon see them crossing the Swansea Bar and extending their range to the open sea. When they paddle out of their beautiful sheltered Lake onto the ocean swells for the first time, their preparation and teamwork will make a real difference.

Special thanks to:

Alan and Ingrid for organising the weekend and valuable advice on how to tailor the training.

Owen and Anne for hosting a hearty barbecue on Saturday night.

John for his enthusiasm and positive write up of the weekends events.

Chris for his excellent photographs and the artistic images of a kayaker.

And; Alan, Anne, Chris, Don, Frank, Ingrid, John, Malcolm, Neil, Owen, Peter, Ray and Wayne for giving the weekend their full commitment and enthusiasm.

Sea Skills. Port Stephens

As last week progressed and the forecasts for strong offshore winds became more strident it also became obvious to all concerned that Broughton Island was not going to be a suitable destination for Sea Skills Assessments.

Karen Dallas from the Skee Kayak Centre had been tracking forecast trends and liasing with the Port Stephens VMR to produce a viable floatplan that kept us near shore and with accessible bail out points if the winds strengthened ahead of the forecast.

After logging on with the Coastal Patrol, Karen went through the safety briefing and finished with a reminder about surf signals and ettiquette.

I first met Karen and her Coffs Harbour sea kayak group a couple of years ago and was immediately impressed with their positive attitude to surf, which is just as well, because up around "Coffs" you run out of options if you don't develop the skills to handle beach landings.

Above: Shane and Mick demonstrate good form catching small waves. This session lasted about an hour during which time the whole crew put on a good display while we worked towards the bigger end of the beach. There was a number of rolls but no swimmers. Well done guys!

Regular practice even in small surf really sharpens up bracing and edge control and it was refreshing to see a group with none of the "surf phobia" I often see with Sydney paddlers. Those quiet North Coast beaches seem to provide a great training ground and with Karen as a leader and mentor these kayakers are learning fast.

We reluctantly left the surf looking for new assessment challenges. Here Terry leads the way as we follow the Tomaree headland out of the breeze.

(above) We decide to try out a few rescues out of the wind. Then we added a little more exposure and a sense of urgency courtesy of an "unexpected" capsize close to the rocks.(below)

Deck carries, swimmer rescues and all sorts of variations were demonstrated in all sorts of conditions throughtout the weekend.

(below) A series of huge sea caves provided some shelter and a chance to practice turning and manouvering in a dramatic setting.

Below: The sea skilled team - Terry, Karen (Sea Leader), Peter, Shane and Mick.

Special thanks to Karen for excellent organisational skills on and off the water. You can see her below taking a rare break to explore a short cut while I keep an eye on things. Even Leaders need a break sometimes!

NSWSKC at the Royal National Park.

The lure of a paddle along the cliffs to Little Marley was only part of the reason we assembled at Bonnie Vale last Sunday.
For Adrian it was a chance to practice his instructing skills and pick up a few tricks of the trade.
For some of the group it was a last minute practice before upcoming sea skills assessments.
For Cathy, a first paddle on the sea.
And for everyone a chance to apply their skills to the open waters of the "Royal Coast".



We kicked off the day with a paddling workshop. Sharon showed us how to do it and Adrian added a detailed commentary before we headed off ,eager to put theory into practice.
We offered corrections on posture, hand position and general fwd technique before leaving the shelter of Port Hacking.
Once we turned the corner at Jibbon Point it became abvious that everyone would get to test the efficiency of their stroke punching into the steady 8-12knot headwind.
I also realised some towing practice would be necessary if we were to get to Little Marley for lunch.


Above you can see the adventurous Cathie on her first paddle on the sea. She chose a good day with just enough wave action to "keep it real"

We land at 1.00pm due to the headwinds and a leisurely start. An easy landing and smiles all round with the promise of lunch in the sun.

(above) After lunch, Adrian and Sharon paddling past the disinctive peaked dune that rises out of the Lagoon behind Big Marley.

On the way home Jan decided the rebound off the cliffs would provide a great opportunity for her to try a re-enter and roll. ( I may have given a little bit of encouragement)

Ian is holding station nearby just in case she needs help.

Success! Jan rolls and Ian rafts up while she attaches the spray deck and has a break.

With the sun about to dissappear behind the cliffs we decide everyone is wet enough and tired enough to head back to the calmer, busier waters of the bay.

Thanks to all who paddled for working as a team to make this a safe and friendly day and to Sharon and Adrian for Sharing their skills and knowledge.

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?.