Scarlett Woman ready for dawn action
This weekend’s paddle marked the welcome return of two misssing (feared lost) Team Fat Paddler characters. The inimitable Grumm (aka The Whinging Pom) and the Unknown Greenland Paddler, recently renamed “The Famous Tim Kennings” (as he was referred to in a forum last week).
Grumm had 5 weeks earlier bought himself a Boréal Design Labrador from Sydney Harbour Kayaks and then promptly gone down like the proverbial lead zeppelin with some ghastly virus. I’d all but given up on him when he announced he was back and ready to get wet, and it was exciting to see him emerge from his house in the dark at 5.45am ready for the morning’s paddle. I also had the joy of listening to him attempting to sneak quietly out of the house but instead crash into furniture and open the world’s noisiest roller door, waking not only his household but most of the street at the same time.
Grumm, pondering his wife's reaction to his noisy house-exit....
“The Famous Tim Kennings” had not been seen since recent “controversies” where he was rumoured to have gone underground to escape the wrath of Sydney’s paparazzi. Cautiously emerging from his safe-house, Timbo had appeared in a new stealthy boat (sans Fat Paddler stickers) with a new method of hiding his identity.
Is that The Famous Tim Kennings? No, that's just some random bloke with a paddle for a head...
Without another word, our motley threesome set off under an amber sunrise heading away from the crazy storm swell coming into Sydney Harbour and towards the calm glassy waters of Bantry Bay, where the fabled Coffee Boat was likely to arrive. Timbo had remembered to bring his Greenland paddle and the two of us cruised along the shore of Middle Harbour, keeping a careful eye on Grumm who was powering his “No Rocker Rocket” through the still waters without any hope of steering it whatsoever.
On our eventual arrival at Bantry Bay we didn’t have long to wait before Garry and The Coffee Boat arrived, supplying us all with hot buckets of frothy milky coffee. We chatted away watching the white-bellied sea-eagles circling above as we sipped our coffee, before seeing the eventual arrival of the amazing Yukon Buddies crew who I’d met just the week before. Like us, they were also seeking Garry’s services.
Yukon Buddies - survivors on an amazing mission
Paddling over to them, we had a quick chat about how they were going, their training and the last minute prep for the Yukon River Quest that is now just weeks away. Then we were politely told off by their steersman for interrupting their training (can you call coffee-drinking “training”??) so we paddled off towards Roseville and left them to their training session.
A fairly urgent need was by now gripping a couple of us, so we pulled into Flat Rock Beach for a quick nature call. Looking back at our kayaks, we thought it might be cool to swap boats, so Grumm climbed into my Aquanaut, and I squished myself into his Labrador, discovering quickly that I am simply too bloody big for this sleek, fast boat. Nevertheless, I settled into the rocket and paddled off towards Roseville.
The Three Muskateers - Flat Rock beach
Grumm was thoroughly enjoying the secondary stability of the Aquanaut and the fact it can actually be turned. He was edging and paddling and generally having a ball in my fun little play boat. I on the other hand was trying desperately not to tip his rocket over into the drink, its narrow beam and hard chines twitching away as I tried to settle into the feel of it. Eventually the boat settled beneath me and I found that with the right leg-drive and body rotation, I could power it along at incredible speeds, quickly losing the other fellas behind me.
Grumm enjoying the Fat Paddler's boat. I felt instantly jealous!
The Famous Tim Kennings however was still paddling along the edge of the shore hiding his face from the prying public. As he did so, the Yukon Buddies crept up behind him in their red outrigger, giving him a quick nudge to get out of the way.
Ramming speed!!
As they passed by, we tagged along behind them giving them a kayak escort towards Roseville Bridge, where we eventually pulled over for another round of boat swaps.
Grumm in escort. He's such a gentleman....
For the final boat swap I had a quick play in The Famous Tim Kenning’s North Shore Atlantic, a beautiful boat designed for paddlers considerably smaller than myself. The Famous One in turn had a paddle in my Aquanaut, it’s HV configuration feeling like a small air-craft carrier to him as he got lost in its roomy cockpit. Grumm meanwhile spent about ten minutes trying to seal launch backwards off the beach – a very funny thing to watch indeed!
The Famous Tim Kennnings back in his own boat. Hiding behind his dark sunnies still.
After we finished our boat comparisons, we all returned to our own kayaks and cruised our way back to the Yacht Club at The Spit for a civilised bacon and egg sandwich to end the mornings paddle. A great way to finish up the re-union of the Team Fat Paddler triumvirate. Until next time – cheers! – FP
A final look at Grumm's BD Labrador. Fast lines!
Tags: Boreal Design Labrador, coffee boat, Grumm, North Shore Atlantic, Tim Kennings, Yukon Buddies
Two very different paddle craft sharing the water - Valley Aquanaut and SUP
One of the great aspects of paddling is all the different flavours that are available. White water, flat water, ocean paddling, ski paddling, Greenland paddling, kayak polo, canoeing and of course the Stand Up Paddle (SUP) to name but a few. And there’s no reason why you can’t mix up the paddling types when you share the water, other than the obvious challenges of differential speed.
I was keen on an early paddle and invited SUP afficionado Rand to join me at the unreasonable put in time of 5.30am. He’d mentioned that he was considering doing the Hawkesbury Canoe Classic 111km paddle marathon on his SUP and needed training, so what better than pushing off into the dark for a paddle up Middle Harbour?
As I waited for him to get ready, I wandered around the shallows of The Spit with my torch looking for Ouchie. He was nowhere to be seen, but I did count several hand-sized baby stingrays in the area instead, sitting on the bottom like perfect miniatures of their bigger full-grown cousins. They were like little toys lined up in the water – my girls would have loved them!
FP lazily slip-streaming Rand on his SUP - haha!
Finally, and despite Rand’s nerves at pushing off into the dark, we set off north heading for the Roseville Bridge. He soon settled into the pace and enjoyed the lights on the water as very gradually the sky turned from black to a gentle grey glow. His fears now gone, we chatted away as the kilometres slipped behind us and we found ourselves at the Roseville boat-ramp.
Turning around, we paddled back to Flat Rock Beach where we strategically placed ourselves ready to catch The Coffee Boat on it’s trip to Bantry Bay. With Rand unable to stop his SUP, he paddled in circles until eventually he decided to head into the beach to wait for his coffee.
A lone SUP heading into Flat Rock Beach
The important arrival of The Coffee Boat
Within minutes Garry arrived in his little golden tug and brewed up a couple of fresh capuccinos for us, before chugging off into the distance. I paddled in and delivered the coffees to the beach where we enjoying the early morning light over our hot buckets of caffeine.
Setting off again, we paddled barely a kilometre when we came across a funny sight. Up ahead an outrigger canoe had also flagged down the Coffee Boat, with Garry furiously making coffees for the whole crew.
Hello, what have we got here then?
The girls from Yukon Buddies keeping Garry very busy
Rand and I pulled up for a chat and were amazed to hear that this crew of lady dragon-boat paddlers, know as the Yukon Buddies, were training to do the Yukon River Quest, a 746km paddle down the Yukon River in Canada that will take them around 65hours to complete! Just the week before they’d done the 111km Hawkesbury Classic course as training and were on track for their mammoth paddle task ahead.
After saying goodbye and wishing the girls good luck, we paddled back to the The Spit just as the weather cracked open with a deluge of rain. We packed our gear into our respective cars and then went our separate ways, smiling after our fun morning’s paddle with our two radically different craft.
Lastly, recently I made a donation to the Bridge City Paddling Club from Portland, Oregon (USA) who are doing a 12hour paddle to raise money for the Blue Planet Run Foundation, a non-profit that is working to ensure that safe drinking water is available to those in the world that need it. For my donation I also received a tshirt, which I promised I’d get a photo of here in Oz. So to all the dragon-boat paddlers from Bridge City, here it is. Cheers! – FP
FP meets the Bridge City Paddling Club at Sydney Harbour Kayaks
Tags: Bridge City Paddling Club, coffee boat, SUP, Yukon Buddies, Yukon River Quest
Guy enjoying the very British weather he brought with him
I love the fact that as a paddler, all it takes to get a decent paddle in anywhere in the world is to simply jump online and ask someone. Which is exactly what British paddler Guy Smith did whilst visiting Sydney on a business trip.
Of course, had I known that the day we’d organised to paddle was going to be the same day a Tsunami warning closed down Australia’s entire East Coast, I might have reconsidered. But as it was the Tsunami was a bit of a non-event and the only down side was the fact that Guy had brought the grey wet weather of Blighty with him!
Paddling Sydney's Middle Harbour in the rain. Still beautiful!
Of course rain hardly matters when you’re paddling and it was still a hot and humid 34 degrees, so we meandered up Middle Harbour comparing notes on paddling and life in general as the rain gentle fell about us.
Cruising up in Bantry Bay - with coffee!
As luck would have it, Garry arrived in his coffee boat so we rafted up in the rain and enjoyed a relaxing cuppa amongst the misty green hills before starting the gentle paddle back into ever increasing rain as an electric storm broke over Sydney. This just added to the afternoon, with crashing thunder and flashes of lightning over the hills to the north of the Harbour adding a little atmosphere to our jokes and laughter as we paddled through the driving rain.
Still smiling despite the building storm
When we finally got back to Sydney Harbour Kayaks at The Spit, Guy took the opportunity for a quick try out in my Valley Aquanaut, enjoying being back in a skeg boat and the feel of edging and control. But as the rain got really heavy, we decided to call it a day and after packing up our gear, I drove Guy back to his hotel in the city.
Playing in the Valley Aquanaut (Part I)
Playing in the Valley Aquanaut (Part II)
Finally, I handed Guy a goodie bag with a few Fat Paddler bits and pieces, and in true marine-tradition Guy gifted me a serious bottle of rum care of the kind people at Duty Free!
Yo ho ho, and a bottle of rum!
As I said at the beginning, you gotta love the global friendships that paddling enables. Thanks for a fun afternoon Guy and I hope you enjoy the rest of your trip Down Under. Cheers – FP
P.s. Guy, as promised I didn’t ONCE mention how twice I caught you with your paddle upside down! Muhahaha!
Tags: Bantry Bay, coffee boat, Poms, storms, Tsunami, valley aquanaut
Team Fat Paddler - Grumm, @BigYahu, @SachaWard
The members of Team Fat paddler got together this morning, on a hot fine Australia Day, for a first paddle together. Alan and Sacha had a little experience under their belt, but Grumm was losing his paddling virginity, so it augered for a fun (but slow) morning!
We head off onto Middle Harbour, giving Grumm tips along the way before sighting the Coffee Boat chugging towards Sugar Loaf Bay, so we took of to intercept the good ship Vittorio in the search of black gold. Rafting up, we got a chance to catch our breath and savour the morning with fresh coffees in hand.
Team Fat Paddler with coffee - woohoo!
Finishing up, we took off for Bantry Bay as our final destination. By now, Grumm had worked out the kayak and was handling the boat waves well, but was also starting to whine (as only a Pom can) about his sore shoulders… and arms… and back… etc etc! So once we got close, I asked Grumm if he’d like to try my Greenland paddle, which he accepted. I switched to my spare GP, a split Mitchell Horizon, for the cruise into Bantry Bay.
Grumm with euro paddle
Grumm having taken my GP and refusing to give it back
Once there, I took off for a fast sprint, and during a particularly powerful sliding stroke, felt my paddle buckle and fold in my hands! Unbelievably, I’d just smashed my third GP (honestly, I’ve now broken them all!). To the laughter of the other lads, I now had to revert to a canoe-stroke with half of the GP!
Smashed paddle - bugger!
After realising I couldn’t keep up with the other boys (even Grumm!), I had to revert to the Euro blade, for the first time in about 6 months. Casting grumpy looks back at Grumm, by now firmly refusing to give my GP back, we limped back to The Spit. Then, after a quick roll, and a quick failed roll attempt and a swim (!!), we called the morning done and each head off for our respective Australia Day activities.
Of course, for me and Grumm (we live on the same street), that is going to involve beer, prawns and lamb on the barbie. But to start off, I found this little number at the local pub, which I thought I’d dedicate to my Kiwi mates (that means you, Darryl). Cheers and happy Australia Day everyone! – FP
Sheepshaggers Gold - Kiwis love it!
Tags: Bantry Bay, coffee boat, Team Fat Paddler
Anne Marie in front of big-boys' toys at The Spit
A visiting work colleague from our Chicago office, Anne Marie has been a fan of FatPaddler.com for quite some time. It only made sense then that I should take her out to see Sydney Harbour from a kayak, even though she’d never been kayaking before.
We kitted her up with a BD Epsilon P100 from Sydney Harbour Kayaks and set off up into Middle Harbour, stopping occassionally to discuss paddle technique and how to make her go a little faster and more efficiently. After a short while however she was up to speed and motoring along quite nicely.
Anne Marie powering along up Middle Harbour
Oi!! Watch where you're going!
Once underway I had to make a quick decision on where to go, but that decision was made easier as the “World-Famous” coffee boat appeared on the horizon and chugged its way into Sugar Loaf Bay. Now I’d already determined Anne Marie was a coffee lover, and knowing just how crap American-made coffee is I knew we’d have to chase Garry the coffee-man down for a relaxing cuppa on the Harbour.
Garry passing a cup of black-gold to Anne Marie
It doesn't get much better than this!
After enjoying a few minutes of post-coffee bliss I realised our time was almost up and it was time to get Anne Marie back to The Spit, so we commenced the return leg home through the building boat-traffic.
Look at that catch! Paddling style got much better as the morning progressed.
For visitors to Sydney, it can be all to easy to stick to the standard sights, so it was good to get Anne Marie out on the water to experience the real Sydney as we paddlers know it. When she returns to the cold snows of Chicago next week, she’ll remember this cracking morning on our beautiful Harbour much more than her quick look at the Harbour Bridge.
Hope you enjoyed yourself Anne Marie, perhaps we’ll show you another part of the Harbour next time to make it to Sydney. Cheers – FP
Get out on the water people, life's too short to miss out!
Tags: coffee, coffee boat
