Making a splash amongst some Middle Harbour boat wake
The Sydney weather had turned a bit sour and I found myself paddling alone on a grey ominous day with dark clouds and rain imminent. I decided to make it a quick paddle and headed up into the glassy waters of Middle Harbour. Fairly quickly however I found myself looking for a little excitement, and it came via a slow-moving pleasure cruiser that steamed past me. On a whim, I turned and raced into the boat’s wake, jumping up the first wave and plunging my nose into the following wave, before throwing up sheets of water over myself – all whilst laughing like a maniac at the spontaneous fun of it.
Step One: Launch yourself off the first wave
Step Two: On landing, submarine that nose. Dive, Dive, Dive!!
Step Three: Get ready for the imminent soaking...
Step Four: SPLOOSH!! Hold on, grin, and enjoy the wet!!
For the rest of the morning I zig-zagged across the waterway chasing any passing boat so I could dance around in their wakes. Sometimes I’d surf them, sometimes I’d plunge into them, but all the while I was giggling like a school-kid at the silly fun of it all.
Launch as far off the first wave as possible and sink that nose.....
...and BOOYAH! Wet all over again!!!
The traditionalists might say I’m being juvenile, but this paddling caper is supposed to be all about having fun, right?? Just get out there, get wet and have a great time outdoors… I promise you’ll come home with a smile on your face. Cheers! – FP
Tags: boat wake
Keith enjoying the early morning peace on Berowra Waters
Paddle mate Grumm has had his outlaws visiting from the UK over the past few weeks, and we promised to take Keith, his 6’5″ ex-rugby player father in law, out on the water for an early morning paddle. Keith has a few old niggly injuries, not to mention a new stainless steel knee, so I decided the canoe would be the easiest boat for him to get in and out of.
Early morning waterfalls in the Berowra Gorge - mesmerising
Putting in at the Berowra Waters boat ramp, we paddled up into the gorge through the early morning mist, finally arriving at our first “checkpoint”, the secret rockpool. This amazing place is hidden at the back of a mangrove zone, and contains a deep rockpool covered on three sides by steep walls and moss, with an entrance guarded by big slippery rocks. At high tide you can just squeeze your boat in between the rocks, and Grumm and I had come here before to shower under the waterfalls fed by run-off from the surrounding hills.
Grumm himself was feeling the pain from one or two wines the night before and was keen to get under the waterfall to clear his head. As he drifted away to wipe the water from his face, he uttered a couple of rich expletives as we heard a “kaplonk” sound next to his kayak. As fate would have it, I was taking photos at that exact moment!
The face of a man who has just dropped something expensive overboard!
When we asked what was wrong, he muttered that he’d just dropped his sunglasses into the pool. My immediate laughter died away however when he told us they were worth over $300 – not an amount you can ignore and paddle away from. There was no way for him to safely exit and re-enter his sea kayak in the rockpool area however, so I offered the only option that seemed available – I’d go in after them for him and then climb back into the canoe.
Of course, despite his promise that the sunglasses were in only 3 feet of water, the water between where the sunnies were and where I was standing was more like 15 feet deep, and I realised I’d was going to have to swim across to him to help. Resigned to my fate, I stripped off and slid into the frigid waters.
Scouting out the water depth. Oh, bugger....
I can't believe I'm bloody doing this. I'm going to have to take it all off, aren't I?
Ok, in I go. Oh sh_t this is COLD!!
Ok, where are they? Just here? Ok, prepare to dive!
Sunglasses recovered! Now I'm going to take a second to reflect on how COLD it is!!
With the sunglasses now successfully saved, I climbed back up the rocks and slipped back into my shirt and PFD before climbing back aboard the canoe. Grumm took one last pass under the waterfalls, then we all manouvered our boats back out through the rocks and into the channel away from the pool.
Grumm prepares to leave, now with sunglasses firmly attached.
I was feeling pretty chilly so I paddled us over to another little creek where I knew there was access to a clearing. Pulling our boats in, I helped Keith out of the canoe before taking out the Trangia and a few folding chairs and preparing cups of tea for us all.
A very civilized way to take a break. Gotta love the stowage capacity of the canoe!
Keith gets the honour of using the Fairy Princess cup. He is English after all...
With bellies full of hot tea we realised there was only one thing missing. Egg and bacon rolls. So we packed up the boats and pushed off heading back to the Berowra Marina and its water-side café.
With Keith having some pretty significant injuries to deal with, exploring such a beautiful outdoors area would not have been possible without the right equipment and craft. But he was able to use the canoe and get outdoors for a stunning morning amongst some lush Aussie bushland – a wonderful experience for any visitor to our shores. Add in a little swimming adventure and you’ve got a heap of fun to boot! Cheers – FP
Tags: Berowra, Berowra Gorge, Berowra Waters
Epic V8 Ocean Ski - at last, a ski I can actually paddle!
In my early paddling days, I debated whether to get a sea kayak or an ocean ski, since the latter goes FAST and looks awesome. I quickly discovered however that I didn’t have the balance to stay in a ski, even a “beginners/intermediate” ski like a Fenn XT or an Epic V10 Sport. In fact, with my “additional weight” I could barely stay on an ocean ski, and would pretty much sink a surf ski!
Epic V8 Cockpit - racing lines, cutaway paddle zone, drink bottle recess, venturi drain
Epic V8 Ocean Ski - sleek, sexy, and very, very white!
So I was pretty excited to read about the new Epic V8 Ocean Ski, specifically designed with stability in mind to help new participants take up this exciting form of paddling. Epic CEO Greg Barton had the ski designed on the Epic 18X Sport sea kayak (which Freya Hoffmeister recently paddled around Autralia), utilising the swede-form hull (extra width behind the cockpit for more stability) and the Epic V12 bow with cutaways for better paddling technique.
Epic V8 Swede-form shape - sleek at the nose, wide at the hips!
Epic V8 Ocean Ski (background) next to a Maelstrom Vital Sea Kayak (foreground)
The V8 is a bit shorter than your normal ski at 5.48m (18 feet) long, and at about 56cm (22″) wide is probably a faction skinnier than many sea kayaks. The stock fibreglass model comes in around 16kg so its a piece of cake to hoist on the car, even for smaller paddlers.
Epic V8 seating area - narrowish, but still able to fit my big arse
Despite a few nerves, I was keen to get this baby out on the water for a test paddle, and if necessary, a bit of a swim. I chose a Euro paddle for my intial test run (H2O Crystal-X), eased my big bum into the deep and narrow seat, and tentatively brought my legs up into the ski. Then with only the slightest of wobbles I was away, paddling along the beach at the The Spit (in case I fell in!) before turning out into the channel and into a very nasty wind. Not only was this thing capable of speed, but even in the wind and chop I was able to stay on fairly easily!
I did a few laps fairly close in to the The Spit before deciding to swap out the paddle and try the Epic V8 with my Adanac Greenland paddle – a paddle that very few would think to couple with a ski! I like to use a pretty high angle with my Greenland paddle, and with the cutaways in the hull I was able to maintain a fantastic high angle rotational stroke (well, it felt fantastic… technique is likely to be another matter entirely!). Now I was starting to really enjoy myself, as I combined the joy of the stick with the speed of the ski.
As I paddled a noticed a few things. The Epic V8 is still a little tippy compared to a sea kayak, but if a hefty lump like me can keep it upright, anyone should be able to. My weight did lower the ski somewhat and I found a fair bit of water would settle into the cockpit around my feet, but this was hardly a bother and more of an observation. As a paddler of skeg boats, I had real problems coming to terms with the rudder, and kept finding myself taking corrective strokes to steer! Once I eventually got the hang of the pedals, I was able to steer the boat quite easily by feet alone.
Epic V8 Ocean Ski with a Greenland paddle. A trend unlikely to take off!
The Verdict
When I finally returned the V8 to the beach, I only really had one comment – Epic is going to sell a million of them. This fast performance boat coupled with brilliant stability is going to open up ski paddling to a whole new audience – it will turbo-charge the sport by easing the barriers to entry for everyday people.
I couldn’t help but think this would be an absolutely awesome boat for marathon events like the Hawkesbury Canoe Classic, with the additional stability being a real asset over long exhausting sessions on the paddle. It’s light, fast, and easy to ride – an incredibly sexy combination. I’d happily add one to my collection (if the Minister for War and Finance permitted it).
Sydney Harbour Kayaks now has one sitting with its hire fleet on the beach at The Spit, so anyone can come along and give this great new craft a test paddle any day of the week. If you’ve been thinking about skis but been worried you’re too fat, weak, old, or just hopeless – this is the one to try! And if you do, write to me and let me know how you found it! Cheers – FP
Tags: epic ocean ski, epic v8, ocean ski, Reviews
Where are all the paddle lovers out there??
A few weeks ago I ran a “Paddle Lovers of the World” competition on the FatPaddler.com Facebook Page. The rules were simple – tell me in 25 words or less why you want to win, tag yourself on the FP World Map, include your location, and make me laugh!
The competition is now closed and I wanted to share a few stats with you. Number of comments on the FP Map of the World – 141. Countries the entries came from – 7. Number of individuals who entered – 29. In terms of the most active country for entries, here’s the graph.
Entries by country - easily taken out by the paddle-mad Canadians!
The Facebook commentary went from funny entries to epic poems and finally degraded into promises of nudity, latex body-painting, threats to puppies, threats to Fat Paddlers and finally a Declaration of War between Canada and the USA!
There were a lot of entries that went over the 25 word limit, and these I had to cut out of the competition straight away (despite how good they were). Australia decided to largely ignore the rules (we did start out as a penal colony after all!) and instead entered with a series of limericks and heroic poems. In fact these were pretty bloody good, especially from the Hanley husband & wife team from southern NSW. The poems were so good that despite being ruled out, I decided to publish them here (enjoy).
One day whilst browsing and surfing the net,
I found the fat paddler as it was a sure bet,
A big man like me in search of a boat,
with a similar size I hope it does float,
Following his adventures on his blog,
giving inspiration to me without… being a flog,
I am deserving of the prize I deserve to win,
because much like you I am almost thin,
Again thanks for the adventures huckleberry Tim (Sydney Australia).
Ps I know it’s more than 25 words but hey… I was on a ROLL
- Timothy Raheb (Australia)
There was a Fat Padler named Sean
From the HCC Race he was torn
He says he’ll be back
for yet another crack
Maybe next year’s shirts will be fawn.
- Wayne Hanley
On Macquarie Park we all descend,
Charity …funds on us depend.
Join the que, sign the forms,
Pay no heed to impending storms.
Lined up for the start, see lightning flicker,
No worries mate, we’ll just paddle quicker.
The race begins, so does the rain,
Push on through the night, ignore the pain.
Waves in the darkness, wind in your face,
Checkpoint approaching, pick up the pace.
Why keep paddling FP you implore?
There’s SAUSAGES waiting. Need I say More?
- Mel Hanley
Fantastic stuff! But with those out of the running, I had to judge the remaining entries for a winner and found the task pretty hard, so I enlisted the services of my household’s Minister for War and Finance to give her advice. Over a chocolate and a cup of tea we debated the merits, and came up with the following winners:
GRAND PRIZE WINNER – Jim Walton (Bradford, Canada)
“I want the FP t-shirt so I can have a bib when I eat my favorite FP meal… SAUSAGES!!”
This entry was simple but true to the ethos of Fat Paddler. Simple, yet beautiful. Simple, yet honest. Simple, yet…. hmmm, sausages!!! Congrats to you Jim, drop me an email and we’ll sort out your Grand Prize – Team Fat Paddler HCC10 tshirt, kayak stickers, “Crossing the Ditch” book, and Badger Paddle Sock.
SECOND PRIZE WINNER – C Medina (Portland, USA)
“I’m nekkid and need a shirt. The end.”
This comment started the slide into sleaze, with more women following Medina’s lead by jumping in and stating that they too were naked, wet, cold, in the snow, painted in latex and so on. Frankly it disgusted me. Yet, so compelling. And as we say in marketing circles = “sex sells”. Medina started it all and wins the second prize – Team Fat Paddler HCC10 tshirt, Fat Paddler kayak stickers and a Badger Paddle Sock – drop me an email to claim your prize.
Prize Packs - a few goodies for the paddlers out there!
BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE – BONUS CONSOLATION PRIZES!
I really was uber impressed with the quality of the entries, and have decided to issue SEVEN consolation prizes to the following people:
1. Tracy Seffers (Charles Town, USA) – first entry in, and the first person to comment on the orientation of the map.
2. Daren Parfitt (Blaina, Sth Wales, UK) – for having a Mo in Movember, and for the awesome statement “This face that tshirt,WINNER”
3. Andy Bilham (Lanner, Cornwall, UK) – For needing conversation starters in the cold wet land of Old Blighty.
4. Mike Ormbsy (near Toronto, Canada) – for claiming a Fat Paddler tshirt would make him sexier! (Yeah babee!!)
5. Chris Johnston (Thunder Bay, Canada) – for wanting an FP tshirt to cover her “ass ets” – haha!
6. Lee Gilbert (Petawawa, Canada) – because I really don’t want you skinning puppies to cover your SOT!
7. Mel Hanley (St Georges Basin, Australia) – for your epic Heroic Verse (shown above).
For each of you I’m going to have a Team Fat Paddler tshirt made up and sent out to you – that’s right, you’ll each be getting a TFP tshirt for your efforts! Drop me an email asap with your details and preferred tshirt sizing and I’ll place the order once I receive all your details.
To all nine winners – a big congrats and please send me a photo of you in your tshirt wherever you are in the world!!
That’s it paddlers. A huge thanks to everyone who got involved, I hope you enjoyed it and made a few new Facebook friends along the way. Cheers! FP
Tags: Competition, Team Fat Paddler, tshirts
Maelstrom Vaag up on the rack at Sydney Harbour Kayaks
SHK‘s latest shipment of boats arrived this week and I was itching to get down to see the newly arrived range of Boréal Design and Maelstromkayak boats. In particular I was interested in the Vaag, a saucy playboat designed by mad tide-racers our of Quebec, Canada.
The Vaag down on the beach. Welcome to Sydney, little Canadian kayak!
Sol and I carried the Vaag down the water’s edge where I could get a good look at her sleek lines. Her design deviates from many of the sea kayaks out there, and I was interested to see what those differences looked like. The first thing I noticed was her cockpit, which has an extended keyhole, a shaped foam cushion and a sloping bulkhead behind the seat with a thick pad on it.
Maesltrom Vaag seat set-up
The extended keyhole cockpit is great – I thought it would be hard to get into, but in fact this is the first boat I’ve tried where I could sit in the cockpit first and bring my legs in behind me. For this I was extremely impressed.
The close bulkhead is great for emptying water out (which I found out later!!) and the design allows Greenland-style paddlers to easily lay back on the rear deck. When paddling I found the seat snug, well-fitting and extremely comfortable, so I was pretty happy with that. The skeg slider is mounted at hip-level next to the cockpit and is incredibly smooth to operate – far easier and smoother than my own kayak.
Vaag from the front - nice lines and finish
Note the loop on the front of the bow - great for slipping your Greenland paddle into!
The front deck is low and has a hatch for small items. The rear day hatch is different from most other sea kayak set-ups in that it is centred rather than offset to one side. I initially thought this would be a bit of a problem, but in fact it was easy and accessible to get into, and even easier to close than the off-set types, since you can just lean your weight back onto it without upsetting the balance of the boat.
Maelstrom Vaag cockpit, skeg control and hatch setup
Lastly, I noted that the Vaag has an interesting hull shape, quite different from the moderate V hull of my British sea kayak. The hull is quite flat with a distinct curved chine, which looked like it would be sensational surfing down the face of a wave (or I suppose tide-race, if we had any!).
I couldn’t wait to get into her and head out into Middle Harbour. The only problem was there was an enormous North-Easterly blowing which was making kayaking extremely difficult, with confused chop mixing with boat wake to create some nasty patches out in the channel. I started using my GP and found the boat to be extremely twitchy in the confused water, making me hesitant to edge it too far in case I fell into the drink. The Vaag tracks straight as an arrow however, and without plenty of edge can be pretty difficult to turn, especially in strong quartering winds.
With the twitchiness in the winds making me nervous, I swapped over to my H2O Crystal-X Euro paddle to see if it helped me with bracing. This enabled me to get plenty of speed which helped bed the Vaag down into the water, gaining stability as well as plenty of steam to get on waves. In fact, with the flat bottom of the boat I’d find even the slightest wave behind me would pick the boat up and throw it down its face. Simply, this thing surfs like you wouldn’t believe!
However, despite the power the Euro provides, I was still feeling less comfortable than I had with my Adanac GP. I decided to get out of the wind, find a little beach to pull into, and swap my paddle over. Then as I cruised towards the shoreline, out of nowhere the boat suddenly tipped me out!
Funnily enough I didn’t even realise my GoPro camera was running, but it certainly gave me a laugh later when I noticed how good my underwater hat retrieval skills were – haha!
Anyway, I got the Vaag into the beach and emptied the water out of the cockpit (made very easy by the rear sloping bulhead) before swapping my paddles over for the return leg. Then I was back out amongst the wind again, bouncing around in the waves but enjoying the great speed the kayak is capable of – even with my stick.
The Verdict
The Maelstrom Vaag is a beautiful performance kayak designed for play. For someone of my size (127kg/280lbs) I found the boat a touch small, especially around the legs due to the low front deck. This also means it has a lower volume and I dare say I was sitting pretty low in the water – in fact on many occassions where I had a little edge going I found my paddle hand immersed in water.
The boat tracks incredibly well but does need to be pushed right onto edge to turn, making it best left to more experienced paddlers. It felt very twitchy to me in the strong winds, but a lighter paddler with more experience in narrow boats such as Nordkapps or Nadgees would not find this a problem. On waves the Vaag takes off, and for the coastal surfers this boat would be an absolute blast.
The fit out is excellent and I particularly liked the entire cockpit design. The keyhole makes entry/exit a breeze (yes, even wet-exits – haha!), the seat is very firm and comfortable, and I loved the sloping back bulkhead with padding which makes laying back on the deck a breeze (although paddlers who prefer back-bands on their seats may not agree). The skeg control is out of the way and I didnt once knock it with my knuckles, something I seem to do regularly with my Brit skeg boat.
Maelstrom Vaag on the beach after having thrown me out. Still beautiful though!
I liked the day-hatch set-up although I’ve heard a few people say they don’t like its position. I dare say if the knockers were shown how easy it is to use they may change their tune. Lastly, the Vaag comes with a paddle loop on its nose which seems made for slipping your Greenland paddle into – a feature which for obvious reasons gets top marks from me!
I’m going to try a few more test paddles in this boat in varying conditions to see if the twitchiness improves as I get used to her. With a little more stability I think I could fall in love with this playful design – time will tell. Cheers – FP
Tags: Kayak Review, Maelstrom Kayaks, Maelstrom Vaag, Reviews
