2011 Lifestart Kayak for Kids - not quite as sunny as last year

This year Team Fat Paddler managed to hand over $8,000 to the Lifestart charity (due in large part to the amazing efforts of a certain Ned Stephenson) before we even arrived. Which was a good thing, since the day was dark, wet and ominous. We set-up in the rain, we launched in the rain, and for a fair while we paddled in the rain. When the weather cleared a little we then were hit with chaotic conditions at Middle Head where 1.5-2m swell was bouncing off the head. The mix of rebound, swell, wind waves and boat wake combined to create a very difficult passage for all paddlers, with two members (lets just call them Alan and Nat) coming off and out of their boats for a bit of a swim.

But easy conditions are boring conditions, and the lads all relished the stories of near misses (or actual dunkings) once we’d finished and had a hot sausage sandwich in hand. Despite the exhaustion, near-drowning, and some serious blisters, everyone was stoked to have had a good paddle with friends for such a great cause. And just to give everyone a taste, we put together a short video of the event for you.

We also initiated a new tradition for Team Fat Paddler at the end of the event – the Passing Out Parade, where teamsters were awarded a rank based on the number of times they’ve represented TFP. Badges of Rank were awarded to each member, and a register of officers was created on this site HERE to record it. All just a bit of fun really, but then that’s the TFP way!

Rank of Commander - need at least 7 events in the bag for this bad boy!

Lastly, we wanted to thank a few people: the organisers – Lifestart, BLAST Paddlers and AROC – for putting on such a great event, and especially to all the people that supported the work of Lifestart with their kind and generous donations. Cheers – FP

Tags: K4K, K4K11, K4K2011, Kayak for Kids, Kayak for Kids 2011, Lifestart

The sun rises over the Pacific Ocean and North Head (Image: P. Grummett)

With another relatively calm weather forecast, the lads of Team Fat Paddler (Nat, Grumm and yours truly) decided it was time for another run down the cliff  line from South Head, heading for a bit of a play down at The Gap. Setting off from the beautiful Balmoral Beach, we paddled out past Middle Head and into the major shipping lane, where we did a little wake-jumping with the Manly Ferry.

Hunting the ferry, with Nat on his V8 and Grumm a few waves back

There she is, the Manly Ferry. Surf's up! (Image: P. Grummett)

Riding a little ferry bump out towards South Head

After the fun of punching through walls of water and bumping around in the ferry turbulance, we made our way out to South Head, passing by the spot where we’d had our little meet-up with a shark a few weeks earlier. Little breakers were rolling in across its submerged rocks and the early morning sun painted the cliffs in beautiful orange hues. It was simply beautiful.

Grumm and FP rounding South Head (Image: N. Bradford)

Having a good look at the candy-striped lighthouse on South Head (Image: N. Bradford)

As we pushed on a little further out to sea, the swell seemed to get a little bigger and some choppy wind waves started mixing it up a little. As I stayed a few hundred metres off the cliff line for a good look, Nat and Grumm pushed on out a good 500 metres to try to get out of the nearly-breaking waves that were rolling in. In fact, I think I almost heard a little girlie squeal from Grumm as a decent wall of water took him broadside and he wavered in the tippy rocket that is his boat.

Travelling down the coast heading for The Gap.

Not to say I wasn’t struggling a little too. Running perpendicular to the steep swell was giving me plenty to think about, as I seemed to spend more time bracing than actually paddling. I managed to slowly make my way down the coast until I finally lost site of Grumm and Nat, which worried me a bit. So I turned out to sea and a few minutes later met up with Nat who’d been hidden in the swell. As it turned out, Grumm had had enough of trying to stay in his tippy boat and was turning back for the Harbour. After a quick conference, Nat and I decided to follow him in and enjoy a somewhat more leisurely cruise in calmer waters.

A whole lotta bracing going on! On the run back from The Gap.

Once back in the Harbour we dropped into Watsons Bay for a relaxing coffee, and got to watch Andre Janecki playing with his Hybrid 550. Then we zoomed across the Harbour (via a newly discovered little rock garden), before heading for a little play in the rebound off the cliffs of Middle Head to finish up the day.

Love discovering new things, like this lumpy little rock zone in the middle of the Harbour

Lots of bouncing around off Middle Head. And MORE bracing!

All up a fun little adventure – it had action, it had coffee, and best of all, it had time with mates. And people wonder why we love this paddle caper so much?? Cheers – FP

Tags: cliffs, Middle Head, South Head, The Gap

Members of Team Fat Paddler at the 2010 K4K

It’s that time of year again! Yes, the Lifestart Kayak for Kids 2011 is a mere days away and the team is all set to paddle across Sydney Harbour in order to raise funds for special children.

This year Team Fat Paddler will be putting a record six paddlers on the water – four “old hands” (FP, Ned, Alan and Grumm) plus two first time rookies (Simon and Nat).  With an eclectic mix of boats (two slow Tupperware sea kayaks, two fast composite sea kayaks, an Epic V8 ocean ski and one mystery boat!) we should look suitably ridiculous. And watch out for our water cannons.

It’s not too late to register and have a crack at the 18km race yourself of course, with registrations still being taken on the Lifestart Kayak for Kids site. Or if you’d rather throw a few rubles down in support instead, you can do so here on my fund-raising page.

Remember, we’re all doing it for the kiddies!! Hope to see you there. Cheers – FP

Lifestart Kayak for Kids - good fun for a good cause. Get onboard!

Tags: K4K, K4K11, K4K2011, Kayak for Kids, Lifestart, Lifestart Kayak for Kids, Team Fat Paddler

Andre in his new sea kayak design, the Hybrid 550

After recently leading Team Fat Paddler on a mission out at sea, we snuck back into the Harbour and  stopped in at Watsons Bay for a sneaky coffee break. Whilst enjoying my coffee I spied some distance away a paddler inspecting a rather sexy looking kayak out in a few metres of water. Looking closely, I spied an interesting design feature of the boat, an integrated rudder much like a Mirage but with a quite radical angle to it. The only boat that came to mind was the newly designed and released Hybrid 550, a boat that had only months before been released to the public, so I jumped back into my boat and paddled over for a closer look. When I got there I found the boats designer, Andre Janecki, flipping the boat from side to side and generally having a  blast.

Andre Janecki - more smiles than a room full of kids at Christmas!

Andre kindly let me have a good look at the Hybrid 550 and explained first hand the many design features he’d added to the boat. These included the radical cockpit design with raised sides offering heaps of room for big legs as well as creating a more stable platform on edge, the hull shaping he’d done under the waterline to improve handling on big seas, and of course the interesting integrated rudder which digs in the back of the boat and lifts the bow when needed amongst the waves. Of course a designer I am not, but his energetic enthusiasm for design innovation left me feeling inspired and curious to see more of what the boat could do. With that, Andre put the boat through its paces, flipping it from side to side to demonstrate it’s incredible primary and secondary stability characteristics.

With all of the Team Fat Paddler lads now ridiculously impressed, we talked a little more about his aims for the boat, which are fundamentally to help raise money and awareness for another of Andre’s projects, the “Unlimited“. This is a personal design project that Andre has been leading for many years, to design and produce a recreational kayak for double-leg amputees and paraplegics. Andre has designed an award winning craft but desperately needs funding to get prototypes built for testing. So for the bankers, CEOs and major charities out there who may be interested in supporting this worthy project, drop me an email and I’ll make sure it gets through to Andre.

I get the impression Andre is having TOO much fun with this boat! Over he goes again...

....and he's in, with the boat now passing the 90 degree plane....

...and then straight back up again. Nice work Andre!

Whether or not you’re interested in this unique sea kayak or in Andre’s Unlimited project, the one thing you have to say is that his enthusiasm for paddling is absolutely inspirational.  It was truly wonderful to see a paddler out there with a grin from ear to ear having so much fun out on the water. I truly wish him loads of success in his boat designing ventures. Cheers – FP

Tags: Andre Janecki, Hybrid 550, Hybrid Foundation, Hybrid Unlimited, sea kayak design

Kids in a canoe in the Great Outdoors - how could they not have fun?

My two daughters, aged 3 and 4, are already digital natives. They can use my iPhone with ease, program the cable TV and work the DVD player. I don’t even think this is a bad thing, because they need to be equiped for the rapid technological changes that are occuring around us. I do however want to make sure they balance this digital prowess with a love, respect and understanding of the natural world around us. With this in mind, I took the opportunity to take them on their first camping trip to the Lane Cove National Park, complete with the family canoe to explore the beautiful Lane Cove River.

A first.. sleeping outdoors in a tent. So much fun!!

What followed was a fun night with friends, hours spent rolling around giggling in the dirt, dashes into the tent when it rained, torch games at night, and then an incredible morning canoeing the Lane Cove River with its teeming population of Water Dragons. All in all the girls had a brilliant weekend and have been demanding to know when we’re going again. Mission accomplished! Cheers – FP

Let's go Daddy let's go let's go let's go let's go let's go!!

Daddy! Look, on the branch! It's a lizard, a great big lizard!

Ooooh, its a Water Dragon! Look how big it is Daddy!

Wow Daddy, the river is so pretty. Will we find anymore dragons? Will we?

DADDY!!!!!!!!! Over there, look! Look! Another dragon!!

Over here Daddy! Look, that dragon is hiding in the water!

There Daddy, there he is. He must be hot, that's why he's having a little swim.

Lastly, a little paddling lesson for Miss4. With her Badger Paddle in hand, she quickly learnt how to paddle the canoe forward down the river. Well done sweety, Daddy is proud of you!

Tags: camping, Canoeing, kids, Water Dragons