Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park, a jewel of northern Sydney
A visitor from the UK gave us the perfect excuse to head out to Sydney’s beautiful Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park for an early morning paddle. With Grumm and his Father-in-Law Keith in my Wenonah Minnesota II canoe, the Riddler in my Aquanaut sea kayak and me in the Stellar SR surfski, we looked like a motley bunch heading up into the hills of the National Park. Regardless, we had a lovely time paddling our way through the pristine wilderness of the park before heading back for a bacon & egg roll breakfast – lovely! Cheers, FP
Paddlers of any physical condition can enjoy the outdoors in a canoe
Paddling is a great way for family members to bond. If they don't kill each other!
Exploring rock pools by boat, going places normal hikers can't reach
Paddling with friends is a wonderful shared experience
Grumm gives the Stellar SR surfski a go. A touch tippy perhaps Grumm??
Flat water is a good chance to work on the initial stability required for ski paddling
Feel a part of the great outdoors with a boat. Perspective is everything!
Everyday on the water is a good day. Get outside and have some fun.
The Stellar SR surfski - a mighty vehicle even for a fat man
With next year’s challenge looming in the background, it’s been time to switch my paddling from playing in the rocks to surfski training. This flavour of paddling is almost completely different from the yakking I’m used to, and time in a ski is critical. Fortunately the good folks at Slipstream Surf and Stellar Kayaks came to the party and lent me a Stellar SR surfski to train on, so over the past few days I’ve put in around 20km on the gentle inland waters of Berowra and Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park.
Of course it’s been a little shakey, as my body tries to adapt to the stability needs of a ski. I also don’t have the paddle of choice for skis (wing paddle) and have been using a traditional Aleut paddle instead. But over time I’ve already started to feel my stability increasing and as I do so, the true joy of paddling a ski has already become apparent. Despite the fact I’ve not taken the surfski out in anything lumpy yet, I can see why my pal Nat from SydneySurfSki.com loves skis so much.
With that, here’s a little video of my first sessions on the Stellar SR. Nothing spectacular, just a gentle orientation on the ski through some of the spectacular waterways of Sydney’s Hawkesbury River river district. With some kicking Aussie beats of course! Cheers, FP
Tags: Berowra Waters, ocean ski, Slipstream Surf, Stellar Kayaks, Stellar SR, Stellar surkski, surf ski, surfski
What will the fat man bring YOU this Christmas??
2011 has been an amazing year. From the two visits to Canada this year, to paddling the cliffs of Los Angeles, my final days paddle with Gelo, the incredible Hawkesbury Canoe Classic and of course the release of my book. And not forgetting the interstate & international expansion of Team Fat Paddler, with a whole raft of awesome people coming onboard.
But it’s important to remember not everyone is as fortunate as we are. The poor, the injured, the homeless, and the plain old lonely will have a difficult day this Christmas. So always be thankful for what you have and the joy you get to experience every day in your lives – take time to look at magnificent orange clouds at sunset, smile at a passing child on the street, embrace the wonderful world that is around us all.
May you all have a wonderful time this season, enjoy the time with loved ones and maybe, just maybe, Santa will drop a new kayak down the chimney!! Cheers, and many happy returns, FP
Tags: christmas
Will the Stellar SR surf ski hold the Fat Paddler upright? Only one way to find out....
I often get asked after any major adventure, “So FP, what’s next?”. This year, with the help of a few major commercial supporters, Team Fat Paddler has put together a challenge of a lifetime. A few of us are going to train our butts off on surf skis for six months, then get on a plane and fly to the tropical paradise that is Mauritius and attempt to take part in the Island Shamaal, the Mauritius leg of the Surfski World Series.
If you haven’t heard of it let me paint a picture. Mauritius is a tropical island a fair distance to the east of Madagascar, Africa. It’s a small island surrounded by coral reefs and lagoons, which protect the island from ocean swell coming off the Indian Ocean. The Island Shamaal takes paddlers out cross the reef, through surf breaks and out into the ocean swell, where they have to paddle 28kms in the hot tropical sun before attempting to finish the race via a small channel through the reef that likes to throw up waves of up to 18 feet (well, give or take!). Some years the race is relatively gentle, but at 28kms its no walk in the part. Interested in more? Check the video of the 2010 race.
Of course, I don’t even paddle a surfski. I’m a fat boy in a comfortable whitewater boat that shuns distance and speed for fast and furious excitement amongst the rocks and surf. So for me this is a huge challenge, one which I have no idea if I’m even capable of achieving. Of course, that’s never stopped me before, so it’ll be onto training and see how we go!
I wont of course be doing it alone. Team Fat Paddler is yet to finalise numbers but my old mate Nat from sydneysurfski.com will be coming, as will a new member of Team Fat Paddler, Brian from Adelaide. Nat and Brian already paddle skis so they are at a huge advantage, but I’m a competitive bastard so they better watch out!
Fortunately Stellar Kayaks and Slipstream Surf have come to the party to lend me a Stellar SR surfski to start my training on, and as of today I have a shiny new ski sitting in my kayak rack. It looks beautiful… but then I haven’t had the joy of falling off it yet!! Needless to say I’m looking forward to getting her out for a burn (or swim!) this Christmas!
If you haven’t heard of Stellar Kayaks or their surf skis, here’s a short vid of some Stellar paddlers catching some runs up north in Queensland.
As nervous as I am, I must admit it looks like fun! I guess the next few paddle sessions will let me know whether its fun or just wet – ha! Our training progress and our trip to Mauritius will all be lovingly captured on a dedicated site for the event (MauritiusPaddlers.com) or via our aptly named twitter account @PaddleOrDrown. Cheers, FP
Tags: Island Shamaal, Mauritius, Shamaal, Stellar SR Advantage, Stellar surf ski, World Surfski Series
The Summer Series is an inclusive race for all paddlers, regardless of craft
Last weekend Team Fat Paddler took part in the 2nd race of the 2011 Summer Series at Rose Bay. This great Sydney-based series is different to many of the races out there – where else can you have a start line with elite ski paddlers chatting casually to SUP paddlers, kayakers on sit on top fishing kayaks and hefty fellas on outriggers? Its an event that defines what paddling is about – friendly folks competing for the class win on beautiful waterways and then sharing a sausage sandwich at the end with race organisers, sponsors and fellow paddlers.
Dez from Blast Paddlers giving the pre-race briefing, course details etc
Team Fat Paddler has enjoyed it’s involvement in this series and were excited to get another couple of podium places on the day. A huge thanks to Dez and the crew from Blast Paddlers for putting the series together as well as the brilliant involvement from sponsors including Carbonology, Stellar Kayaks, Prokayaks, SUP Love and Oz Standup who bring their boats/boards along on the day for people to try out. And of course ASN – Neutral Bay for the turbo-charged performance drinks at the start – haha!
Sexy boats to drool over and even test, especially the Stellar and Carbonology skis
We can’t wait for the next few races, and if you feel like taking part in a race event without the competitive pressures of other events, then this is the series for you. We’d love to see you out on the water (and at the bbq afterwards of course!). Cheers, FP
Rose Bay at 5.30am. A spectacular sunrise for the Summer Series Race 2
Team Fat Paddler's Commander Alan lines up at the start of Race 2
A locally made Bladerunner OC1. It's captain had been paddling for a whole 2 weeks!
And some bigger boats too - a full blown OC6 ready to charge!
Alan gets a 2nd in the Mens Kayak class, beaten by the slightly older fella on the right!
Lt Cmdr Nat got his first surf ski podium place as well. Congrats Nat!
Meg, good friend of TFP, takes out the Womens Kayak div for the 2nd time. Congrats!
Tags: ASN Neutral Bay, Blast Paddlers, Carbonology, OZ Standup, ProKayaks, Stellar Kayaks, Summer Series, SUP Love
