Summer Series Race 3 - Botany Bay, Sydney Australia

On a wet, cloudy summer’s day (!!) Team Fat Paddler and a bunch of other paddlers arrived at Sydney’s Botany Bay for the third race of the Summer Series. For many, it was a fast affair in relatively benign conditions, but for a few of us (myself included) it was simply about trying to race a surf ski for the first time. Only four weeks ago I started trying to paddle a ski, and for fellow Team Fat paddler member Mogo, he had even less experience still. Regardless, with the brilliant support of Slipstream Surf who lent us both a couple of Stellar SR surf skis, we hit the water with three other TFP mates and “raced” through the chop and boat wake that had cut up the bay. Bigger story to come, but here’s my video highlights (and yes, I know my forward stroke is rubbish and needs help!!). Cheers, FP

Tags: Slipstream Surf, Stellar Kayaks, Stellar SR, Summer Series, surf ski

What better place to celebrate Australia Day than by getting on Sydney Harbour

Australia Day represents many different things for Australians, and we all have our own way of celebrating living in this beautiful country. Whether it’s a picnic in the park, a concert in the city or a BBQ on the beach with family. Sun, good food, family and friends are important! Sydneysiders especially know that the Harbour and our beaches go hand in hand with Sydney life. This Australia Day the lads at Benefit Active would like you to enjoy all that Manly has to offer by inviting you to join them.

Benefit Active - kayaking and Fitness, based at the beautiful Manly

Kayaks will launch from Manly OceanWorld at 9am this Thursday 26th. You can look forward to a leisurely paddle around Sydney Harbour passing Fairlight Beach, North Harbour Reserve, 40 Baskets Beach and then onto Reef Beach where we will have a swim. Following a swim at Reef everyone will paddle onto Grotto Point to take in the best view of the historic Crater Cove Huts that date back to the early 1930′s.

The team from Benefit Active ready to hit Sydney Harbour for exercise and site-seeing

From the huts you’ll paddle back to OceanWorld passing the dramatic Heads that lead into Sydney Harbour. Back at Manly you will enjoy a breakfast of fresh fruit salad, home made muesli (Mumsli) and muffins freshly baked in the wee hours of Australia Day morning! If all of this wasn’t enough, Benefit Active will provide Australia Day tattoos and bucket hats to help everyone get into the spirit of the day.

To book your spot, call ben on 0402 190 400 or drop him an email: ben@benstephens.com.au

Tags: Australia Day, Australia Day Paddle, Ben Stephens, Benefit Active, Kayak Manly

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

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 crew at Benefit Active all smiles after another on-harbour session

As the Holiday Season approaches many of us will be thinking about all the paddling time we’ll get to have… and will NEED after several servings of roast turkey and pudding. In Sydney there’s always a bunch of activities going on over this period, and none more exciting than the start of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race.

Sydney Harbour comes alive at the start of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race

There are many great places to watch the start from, but few as good as North Head at the entrance to the Harbour, with its sweeping views of both the Harbour and Sydney’s coastline. My friends at Benefit Active have put together a combined paddle and picnic to showcase the best the Harbour has this coming Boxing Day.

Friends, food, and time by the beautiful Sydney Harbour. Yes please!!

Here’s the official blurb:

The Benefit Active team is excited to invite you to join us on Boxing Day this Monday 26th December. We will be launching from Manly OceanWorld at 11am, then kayaking through the Harbour and making our way to Quarantine beach. We will then walk through Q Station to North Head where we will have a picnic set up with amazing views that capture the yachts and power boats as they make their way through the heads.

A healthy picnic lunch and kayaks will be provided, all you have to do is book in and meet us on the day. Cost per person: $50 (Max Capacity 20)

For more information or to book in, call or SMS Ben on 0402 190 400 or email ben@benefitactive.com

We wish everyone a happy and safe holiday season and look forward to a kayak filled 2012!

Benefit Active - combining exercise with the great outdoors and great people

So there you have it! Whatever you get up to this holiday break, have a great and safe holiday and enjoy your time on the water. Cheers, FP

Tags: Ben Stephens, Benefit Active, Boxing Day, Boxing Day Picnic, Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race