First Training for the Hawkesbury Canoe Classic 2010

Two crazy men in a canoe - bring it!

Two crazy men in a canoe - bring it!

With the team now finalised for this years Hawkesbury Canoe Classic, I thought it time to hang up the kayak for a month and start getting some kms in with my Mad River canoe. With new Team Fat Paddler member Gelo joining me, we took the canoe up to the Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park with Grumm.

C'mon Gelo, I didn't just bring you along to look pretty, paddle dammit!

C'mon Gelo, I didn't just bring you along to look pretty, paddle dammit!

With the two of us in the canoe we struggled a little with steering and synchronising our paddling but as we made our way into the beautiful wilderness of the National Park it slowly came together. In fact, despite the short boat length and incredible width, the boat seemed to manage a fair pace when we got our paddling working well together.

Nice pink paddle Gelo. Really, errr, nice!

Nice pink paddle Gelo. Really, errr, nice!

Of course as we worked on our paddling together the scenery around us went from beautiful to stunning. Banks of mangroves changed to rocky pools and overhanging trees as we worked our way further and further up into the Park. With Sydney having put on a magnificent Spring day for us, it was hard to treat this as training!

Drifitng amongst the rock pools.

Drifitng amongst the rock pools.

Turning around, we now had the run of the retreating tide and found that the canoe would get some real pace once running with the water. We were having some real fun now and started experimenting, with me trying out using the canoe as a SUP a few times, paddling down stream whilst standing in the back.

A canoe, or a SUP?? Who cares, as long as we're having fun!

A canoe, or a SUP?? Who cares, as long as we're having fun!

And lastly, I wanted to test out how easy it would be to sleep in the back of the canoe with Gelo paddling, since this would be a core FP strategy during the Hawkesbury Canoe Classic! So with him straining away on his pink paddle, I gently lay back and enjoyed the ride for a while. This could definitely be the secret to enjoying the Classic in a few weeks time!! Cheers – FP

Ahhh, now THIS is the way to travel!

Ahhh, now THIS is the way to travel!

The Fat Paddler by Sean Smith