Grotto Point bubbles and froth

As Sydney-siders flocked to the eastern suburbs for the annual City to Surf running event, I decided to slip down to the water for a quiet solo paddle to Manly. The seas were fairly calm with a 1-2 metre southerly swell curling in through the Heads to pummel the rocks and cliffs from Grotto Point to Dobroyd Head. After the fun of my recent paddle at Umina, I thought it might be nice to get in amongst the moving water again so I paddled alongside the cliff-face, rising and falling with the swell and enjoying the spray and the bouncy ride. Heading off alongside Grotto Point I paddled in the swell around the bommy at Dobroyd Head (which was working hard with the southern swell) up to Manly before turning around and paddling back. Once back at Grotto Point I slid close to the rocks and just sat there, bobbing about in the wash and waves, before setting off back to the Spit for a coffee at Sydney Harbour Kayaks. A short but exciting paddle to finish up my holidays! Cheers – FP

Water rushing back across the rock edges

Scarlett Woman at the end of the paddle, glistening and happy

The calm waters of Ettalong Beach. Perfect for kayak launching.

Towards the end of the family holiday I’d taken off from Avoca looking for a decent paddle. Driving around the Brisbane Water looking for somewhere interesting to paddle, I somehow ended up at Umina Beach, which was being pounded by some decent sized surf rolling in on the southern swell. I couldn’t see anywhere to safely to launch under the conditions, so I continued to drive around the point and into Ettalong Beach, a picturesque spot tucked away out of the surf zone. I quickly unloaded the boat and within a few minutes, head off across the channel to the inside coastline of Box Head in Bouddi National Park.

All set for some fun. A couple of Greenland paddles and some safety kit.

The inside coastline of Box Head is a beautiful spot to paddle, with plenty of  rocks to paddle amongst and the safety of a deep water channel keeping the surf at bay. As I pottered about amongst the rocks, the occassional swell would roll in washing through the small gauntlets, creating some fun moving water for me to explore.  On one occassion, the surge lifted me up and deposited me on a lone rockie outcrop, where I teetered uncontrollably until the next surge lifted me away.

Fun little surges amongst the rocks.

In general the deep channel protected the shoreline from anything too adventurous and apart from the odd big surge, I was left to explore in relatively calm waters, with just the local wildlife to keep me company and the feel of the warm sun on my face.

Gentle paddles amongst the rocks.

The locals were enjoying the mid-winter sunshine too.

Then a funny thing happened. As I got to the western point, the waters started to change as the swell hammered against the southern facing shoreline. The water I was paddling started to churn and bubble as swell and breakers started to roll in. My serene paddle started to get exciting, as I moved in closer to the breakers and big lumps of the southern swell.

Breakers starting to create a LOT more fun!

I could feel my grin growing as I bobbed about in the shifting waters, and before I long my gaze started to shift to the surf rolling into Umina beach. I was about a kilometre and a half out from the beach watching the surf roll in from the side, with big swell curling over and breaking over a kilometre out from the beach.  I could see all sorts of interesting turbulence, and before long I paddled across the channel  for a closer look at the churning maelstrom caused by a receding tide hitting incoming swell and all above a nice shallow sandbar!

The lumps were starting to getting a bit bumpy and as I hadn’t mounted my camera on the kayak, I was having to whip it out during calmer moments for a pic. The turbulance was mesmerising me though and I wanted to get close to bump around in it, so after taking a final shot, I put the camera away and paddled into the mess.

Final shot before paddling into the mess.

And then I was away, bouncing around as waves and outgoing tide surges met in a frothy mess out on the sandbar. Heading in for Ettalong, I paddled amongst the mess, catching the odd run on bigger swell, whilst bracing constantly as the criss-crossing lumps hit from different angles. By now I was yelling and laughing at the incredible fun this had become, barely in control with my kayak being tossed about under the warm winter sunshine.

With all that moving water the ride in was over much quicker than I had anticipated. As I reached the entrance to Ettalong the waters calmed again and I rode a couple of smaller surges back into the beach, still with a smile from ear to ear at the incredible fun I’d just had.

And with that my paddle, and my holiday up the coast, came to an end. I packed up the boat, had a last look at the coastline, and then drove off smiling and content. Cheers – FP

The Fatmobile packed and ready to go. Bye Ettalong!

Mrs FP captures FP's kayak during a dawn raid

My wife Bec used to paddle in Sydney quite often until a paddling friend told her that Middle Harbour, her usual paddle spot, is a Bull Shark breeding ground. Since then, she has refused to get behind the paddle, with a fairly healthy fear of the ocean critters that inhabit Australia’s waters.

One morning during our family holiday in Avoca, Bec surprised me by asking to take my kayak out for a paddle. I honestly thought she was trying to be funny, before I realised she was serious. So with that, I rushed the family down to Avoca Lake, launched the boat, gave Bec some last minute tips, and pushed her out into the Lake.

Bec in the kayak with a Greenland paddle in hand

I admittedly was a little worried. My boat is designed for big heavy loads, and she is but a little bitty thing. It is also has a moderate V hull which can be tippy for some. And with the unconventional paddle to top it off, I was expecting her to take a little swim. But instead, with rock-steady balance, she paddled out into the lake and easily steered the boat around without so much as an awkward lean.

Once she’d had enough, she then handed the boat to me for a quick burn around the lake. This is an old favourite paddle spot for me, and the place where I did my initial training when I first started paddling, so it is always nice to cruise amongst its trees and birdlife.

The serenity of Lake Avoca... rudely interrupted by a fat bloke in a boat!

Such a lovely part of the world

When I finally got back to the shore, by wife had just returned from the butcher with a couple of steaks and a few sausages for dinner. I mean, seriously, what an awsome woman?? I’m such a lucky man! Cheers – FP

Mrs FP - like a sparrow on the deck of an aircraft carrier!

Morning glory at Avoca Beach

Over the past week I’ve had the good fortune to grab a much-needed holiday in the sleepy town of Avoca Beach with my family. On this particular morning I awoke to head the call of nature and, walking past the window saw the above scene greet me. I quickly took a photo and posted it online and immediately got the “Red sky in morning, sailors warning” response from a few different paddlers around the world.

Over the next day I did a number of fun things with my wife and kids, all the while watching the sea state to see if there was evidence of a storm or front approaching, as per the weather forecast. But as the day progressed, all I could see were calm waters and a regular surf set coming through. Watching my interest, my wife eventually suggested I head out for a paddle.

Paddling out to the breakwater at Terrigal's southern headland

I quickly got the boat ready and launched at the southern end of Terrigal beach, alongside numerous ocean ski paddlers out for their afternoon session. Paddling up to the point, I sat and watched as surf sets rolled through, curling around the breakwater and into the small bay. For a while I rode runners from the breakwater to the beach, before deciding I’d head out to sea and paddle around the point for a better look.

Terrigal Point from the north. Calm and a little lumpy.

As I paddled out to see I was stuck by, well, the boredom of it. Paddling further around the point, I watched the waves rolling against it, breaking into white plumes of froth, but otherwise I wasn’t really finding it too exciting, so decided to head back in for more of a surf.

Small breaking waves.

Paddling back to the point, I enjoyed a few more curling waves as I surfed between the boats moored off the boat ramp. For about another 30 minutes I caught runners and a few breakers, before moving into the breakwater for a closer look at the churning froth washing through it.

Froth and rocks.

And with my paddling fix now achieved, I head into the beach and packed up, ready for a new day and a new paddle adventure. Ideally, something a fraction more exciting! Cheers – FP

Looking from the point back to Avoca.

Yukon Buddies training run on the Yukon River

A few months back I had the pleasure of meeting the Yukon Buddies on Middle Harbour. These amazing women are survivors of breast cancer and were inspired by a team called Paddlers Abreast to take on the Yukon Quest, a 740km marathon paddle down the Yukon River in the north west of Canada. To say I was impressed with their drive and training would be an understatement.

Yukon Buddies at the start of the Yukon River Quest

The women had taken on a number of marathon paddles as training, including 100km+ training runs on the Hawkesbury, the 404km Murray Marathon, and numerous night endurance paddles. When I met them they were plying Middle Harbour in an outrigger canoe putting in the final kilometres before their trip across the world and into Canada.

Our Aussie paddlers in their voyager canoe

At the end of June the Yukon Buddies set off for Canada, making their way up to the town of Whitehorse to get familiarised with their hired voyager canoe, customising her with their own logo before taking her out for test paddling. Then it was time to set off on their epic journey through the wilds of the Canadian wilderness.

A few hundred kilometres down, a few hundred to go. The Aussie flag flying proudly at the stern!

The race itself takes more than 60 hours to complete and is one of the longest paddle races in the world. The wilderness is vast and largely uninhabited (unless you count the moose and the bears!) and the paddlers can travel great distances without seeing another human being.

Yukon Buddies taking on Five Finger Rapids

About half way down the river, the Yukon Buddies met the famous formation known as Five Finger Rapids.  Fortunately the girls followed intructions and kept to the “safer” right hand route, avoiding the treacherous rapids of the other approaches.

Yukon Buddies - awesome effort!

In a race where 30% of paddlers fail to finish, the Yukon Buddies finally came across the finish line in a very respectable 68hours, a spectacular effort for a first time team. These girls not only did themselves proud, but represented their country with grace and honour.

So to Deb Hirst, Wilma Kippers, Rosie O’Donnell, Liz Trenam, Ruth Turnell, Tracey Bowne, Sue McClelland, Angie Aston and Vicki McLean – awesome job and a heartfelt congratulations from the Fat Paddler! You are truly an inspiration to us “normal” paddlers!

And finally, there is a longer version known as the Yukon 1000, a 1600km paddle that tracks all the way to Fairbanks in Alaska. This was held around the same time, and it is my great pleasure to announce the top four across the line were all Aussies! Steve Pizzey & Tom Simmat (both from NSW) came across the line in their solo kayaks in equal first in a time of 7 days, 1 hour, 27 minutes. In third place Rod Spinks and Greg Lennox (both from QLD) crossed the line in their tandem canoe in a time of 7 days, 2 hours, 58 minutes. Great to see so many Aussies beating the competition in this remote part of the world. More importantly, its great to finally see NSW beat QLD in something this year!

Congrats to these lads and the Yukon Buddies for doing Australia proud. Cheers – FP

UPDATE: A special congrats to the Yukon Buddies support crew from the paddlers:  For the Yukon River Quest they got our boat organised at the start of the race, and were there waving from every vantage point until we were out of reach in the wilderness. They were there at Carmacks to ferry us to our hotel and while we slept for those precious few hours, they washed and dried our clothes, made and packed sandwiches (according to our orders), cleaned and reprovisioned the boat, and faced our bleary and sometimes cranky looks when they dragged us out of bed and sent us back onto the river. At the finish line they were just as emotional as we were, but swung into action to get our boat out of the water, stripped and ready to be loaded on the trailer straight away. We couldn’t have done it without them and will be forever grateful that they helped us fulfill our dream!

Behind every great all-female paddling team, are a team of great men!