Making The Grade

(Above: posed rolls in flat water are only the beginning. Photo: Sharon Betteridge)

During skills assessments I always take the time to remind participants of the artificial nature of certification, after all it is the skill and judgement and not the piece of paper that matter. In a tricky situation the most futile strategy would surely be to wave your nicely printed certificate at an angry sea.

Just the same, a valid assessment provides a good opportunity to demonstrate both physical and communication skills in swell, sea and surf. The best rolls happen spontaneously and effective boat control is proven during rescues or other realistic tasks at sea. It is simply not possible to second guess how paddlers with apparently solid skills on the flat will adapt to dynamic water; some paddlers who work with the waves actually look better when it is lively whilst others operate with little or no feel for the sea. To 'keep it real' I often postpone assessments because the day offers too few or too many challenges.

Last Wednesday I drove past twenty of Sydney's favourite ocean beaches through heavy traffic, en route to Barrenjoey. The reason for the extra drive was a heavy 2-3 metre southerly groundswell that was hammering the open coast producing surf way beyond the: ''surf to 1 metre" specified in the award.

The extra driving provided us with a short paddle to surrounding headlands where we worked through rescue and towing scenarios in rebound and a freshening sea breeze. These activities were intensive but not unrealistic when you consider how often rescues, self rescues and towing happen in clusters in real life. At lunch we negotiated the surf at Umina Beach and as planned, the waves were worn down to manageable size by the natural breakwaters of Broken Bay, Lion Island and the reef off the southern point.

Sitting off the point of Umina it was still hard to imagine that the two metre plus mounds rolling under our boats had really lost much power as they pounded the middle of the beach and everyone seemed pleased with the easier landing through smaller surf and reflected waves close to "kiddies corner". After lunch and a stretch we took to the surf to demonstrate support strokes,control strokes and rolls. By this time the break zone had become more erratic with onshore wind chopping up the surface and a few rips cutting across the break to add an element of surprise.

The debrief is always a tough time for me. There are clear guidelines for the assessor and all the boxes need to be ticked for a successful performance. This is easy when you are reading through the document in a comfy chair at home, but on the day, there are always many shades of grey. As always the big hurdles seem to be surf and the reentry and roll in open water. These are also the easiest ones for the assessor; a roll that doesn't finish with the paddler upright is is obviously not working no matter how you view it and support strokes that don't work in small waves are also pretty plain to see. What is harder to measure is the attitude that will make a safe sea paddler. Fellow assessor Stuart Trueman once commented that skills without judgement just increase the ability to find trouble and if we focus on self rescue as the answer to every situation then some paddlers will make their plans based on getting out of trouble rather than staying out of trouble in the first place.

At the end of a long day, despite a generally strong performance everyone still had some work to do to complete their assessment, so it was rewarding that the group viewed the exercise as a valuable learning experience in its own right and a chance to take stock of personal progress. Beyond the piece of paper it is this self awareness that will stand these paddlers in good stead as they "make the grade".

Onshore Winds

Recent winter westerlies and pulses of groundswell have created some clean and heavy surf against the coast. Serious surfers live for the alignment of these wind and swell events but for sea kayakers these conditions mean hard launch/landings on open beaches and a perilous slog across embayments or when returning from offshore islands.

In contrast, the onshore winds that shred the swells and ruin the surf, also kick up steep sided wind waves right against the coast providing hectic but often enjoyable kayaking conditions.

In deep water the rounder and more majestic swells travel far faster than we can paddle. According to the "Users Guide to Australian Coast"*, deep water swell waves with a 15 second period between crests will have a wavelength of 350metres and be travelling at 45knots! These are the impossible rides we try to catch as they roll under us at sea, and by the time they are are slow enough to catch they are in shallow water with almost vertical or barrelling faces that munch sea kayaks.

By comparison, even large wind waves of comparable height produced by a recent change will travel at only a fraction of the local wind speed thus providing steep close spaced waves that may travel within the sprint range of kayaks and other paddle craft and dissipate into foamy turbulence when they approach the beach.

Initially the new wind produces ''chop" travelling at around twenty percent of the wind speed. Over time this will approach 50percent of the wind speed as the waves reach a fully developed state, at which time they will be around 5 times as steep as swell waves of the same height.

So local winds produce waves that are steep, relatively slow, and close together even in deep water. When these winds are onshore, typically from the southeast or northeast, we are fully exposed as soon as we reach the sea and with careful planning or good luck we can often enjoy a downhill ride home at the end of our exertions.

The following shots were taken paddling into a fresh ENEaster earlier this week, there was almost no underlying swell off Sydney so almost all the wave action was the result of existing local conditions. When we had finished our workout we turned downwind and the following seas provided some excellent runners for everyone. There are no downwind images because :

1) The return paddle was over too fast.

2) I was having too much fun to take photos.

3) I was too busy listening to the skeg hum.

Hans approaching some wind driven waves .

Note the difference in elevation between Matt and I. This is a good indicator that things are getting steeper.

Henry in the foreground with the Stern of Alan's boat pointing skyward in the background

Alan about to get wet. Sooner or later the toppling crests dont break somewhere else.


*For an excellent discussion of wind, waves and swell see "The Users Guide To The Australian Coast" by Greg Laughlin, New Holland Press 1997.

Solo

This week I cancelled my Tuesday night paddle and headed to the Blue Mountains for the launch of Vicki McAuley's book, SOLO.When I returned home just on midnight I started reading and after just a few pages I was compelled to read the whole book in one long sleepless sitting, I simply couldnt put it down.

The book stands as Vicki's personal tribute to husband Andrew McAuley and a chronicle of her personal voyage as she learns to live with her loss and find the courage to keep going.

It is a powerful and honest account and through the pages you get the feeling that Andrew's spirit of optimism and passion continues to support and inspire her. It is an exploration of what drives an extreme adventurer written by the person who knew him best.

Many modern adventurers claim to be ordinary folks who just want to do extraordinary things but this book avoids this cliche to present Andrew as a gifted natural athlete driven by an impulse to explore the limits of human performance. To those of us who paddled with him at one time or another I think this is a far more honest appraisal; he really was an elite adventurer without being elitist.

Anecdotes covering earlier kayaking expeditions and climbing adventures are interwoven into the text to illuminate the bigger issues of outdoor adventure, self sufficiency, and community attitudes to risk. Also included in the book are emails and letters that cover a broad range of opinions along with Vicki's responses, but the key to the success of the book lies in her willingness to write from the heart.

It has been famously said of adventurers that if you need to ask the question then you will never understand the answer. For those who ponder these issues Vicki's brave words will help to enlighten.

If you buy a copy through the EK website, Vicki receives all the proceeds.

Tuesday Night Light

A few shots from Tuesday night.

Great location, fine company and beautiful twilight.

Lively Conditions Off Sydney Cliffs.

The two photos above are from the same general vicinity. I have included the first shot, taken on a gentler day, to give some sense of proportion for the second shot. As most paddlers know, it is difficult to convey a sense of scale when paddling in strong conditions and it never quite looks the same on a still image but I couldnt resist snapping a few shots last Friday when Chris James and I headed out for a short paddle off Sydney Heads and down to Diamond Bay.

With the ferry services cancelled due to the weather the only other watercraft was a huge tanker that bludgeoned its way through the waves and seemed to bounce around a lot more than our tiny craft as it headed for deeper water.

If you look carefully along the waterline in the left hand portion of the photo above you will see Chris's cap just above the wave.

Northern Epic - They made it.

At 6.30 last night Gary called from Gladstone - mission accomplished.
Before they even arrived back on the mainland the trio had traffic issues to negotiate, dealing with the big boats moving in and out of the Harbour. They used VHF radio to report their position to the Harbourmaster who plotted their course and relayed their position to shipping. Fortunately their communications were well received.
With the last big crossing behind them and their final destination in sight they left Facing Island after a quick break and headed into the Port in fading light for a very satisfying 65klm final day of paddling.
Last night they spoke of a day of contrasts: in the morning, surfing across coral bombies in water so clear that the well submerged reefs looked treacherously close to the surface and in the afternoon, dodging heavy shipping in a busy port.
The other notable comment from all the boys last night was how well they had been treated by the good people of Lady Elliot Island Resort and the Rangers, Marine Researchers and yachties they met along the way. I have the impression the kindness of these people will form one of the enduring memories of this big paddle.
So congratulations, to Gary, Eddie and Paul on your Unique unsupported sea kayak adventure out to the Capricorn Cays and back. I know there are many of us looking forward to hearing the whole story through your words and images sometime soon.

Northern Epic - Almost There....

One of the few mariners calculations that I remember is: "the square root of the height of an object in feet is the distance in nautical miles that it is first seen from the seat of a kayak". If the sea is flat you can add an extra three nautical miles (but this is hardly ever the case) so I just allow the extra as a margin for error.

So what has this to do with Gary, Eddie and Paul's big adventure? Well, by looking at high points on charts for the Capricorn Cays and the adjoining mainland it becomes obvious that on most days of this trip they have paddled on open ocean toward an empty horizon without the comforting visual reassurance of seeing land until their last few nautical miles.

Tomorrow however, they will be paddling to the mainland from Masthead Island. This tiny isle has only a few metres of elevation and is less than one nautical mile in length. Their destination for the day will be Facing Island off Gladstone. As they approach, the hinterland will appear as isolated high points like small islands and then slowly consolidate into the vast land mass of the East Coast.

When their boats grind up onto the sand of Facing Island and they look at the busy shipping lanes out of Gladstone Harbour what will they feel? My guess is a mixture of deep satisfaction at the adventure they have shared, relief that they have achieved their goals safely, and trepidation at how they will adjust to what we call the "real world". For a while traffic will sound louder, the air will smell heavier and everything will seem just a little too complicated. On the upside they will look forward to family and friends, and to sharing their adventure with us.

Tonight's update from Masthead Island included: another serious shark encounter for Paul; a chance meeting with a marine researcher who owns a vintage Nordkapp and lives on Heron Island; and a lunch break on Wistari Reef as the tide slowly reclaimed it for the sea. The guys were also pleased to add sea snakes to the lengthy list of wildlife that have been checking out their inaugural northern migration.

I can't wait to see the photos.