J-Dogg cruising past the marina at The Spit

A good mate of mine who has been living in the Middle East recently returned to Sydney for a few weeks and we organised to head out for a paddle on Middle Harbour.  We both rented matching BD Epsilons (a P300 for me, a P200 for him) from Sydney Harbour Kayaks and since the tide was in I thought I’d take him for a burn up to Scotts Creek, Bantry Bay and back to The Spit.

At the start of the paddle my mate Jeremy (or J-Dogg as I like to call him) took off at a fairly cracking pace, pushing his slightly smaller kayak with his euro blade pretty quickly through the water. As a bigger lazy guy, I need a good 3-4km to warm up so I was struggling a little to keep up with my greenland paddle and bigger boat. Of course, by the time we’d paddled about 2km he was starting to slow down and I was starting to speed up, so our pace levelled out to an uneasy equal!

Turning into Sugar Loaf Bay I guided J-Dogg into Scotts Creek, my anticipated highlight for the morning. Unfortunately an overnight deluge had carried all sorts of rubbish amongst the storm water into the creek, so my once pristine secret was looking pretty dirty. Still, it is a magical place and as we slowly cruised amongst the mangroves and palms, it was hard not to appreciate this little secret spot. A kangaroo breaking cover and hopping alongside us through the scrub just added to the charm.

The J-Dogg on Scotts Creek

Once we left Scotts Creek it was only a few minutes before I spotted the Coffee Boat chugging past in the distance, and not wanting to be deprived of my morning paddle-coffee, I left the J-Dogg behind and put in the big strokes to race after my water-borne caffeine dealer. Fortunately I was able to catch him, so we got to relax on Sugar Loaf Bay sipping skim lattés on the water.

After the coffee I was fired up for a decent paddle, so I led J-Dogg north into Bantry Bay (against a northerly wind). At this stage I started to notice my matey drifting behind me, and was having to slow down every few minutes so he could catch up.  Could it be that J-Dogg had broken the gate a bit hard earlier in the morning *grin*?

J-Dogg "powering" along the shore of Middle harbour. Until he grounded himself on rocks - haha!

After a quick stop in Bantry Bay we realised we needed to get the boats back within 30 minutes so set off for a fast paddle back to The Spit. We set off at a firm pace and cruised back along the Seaforth shoreline, discussing the various merits of house design along this expensive strip, before I took off to sprint the final km or so to the beach in front of Sydney Harbour Kayaks.  A few minutes behind the J-Dogg rolled up on the beach also, looking a little out of breath and somewhat flustered, but in general pretty happy with the experience. All up a nice little morning paddle, made even more fun by doing it with a friend. Cheers! – FP

Ella's Pink Lady at The Spit, Sydney Harbour

One of the reasons I love paddling Sydney Harbour so much is there is always something cool to see. On this particular paddle, it was the bright pink yacht “Ella’s Pink Lady“.

If you haven’t heard about this yacht, then let me fill you in. It’s skipper is about to attempt a world-record solo non-stop unassisted sailing journey around the world. And it will be a record because the skipper, Jessica Watson, will be at 16 years old the youngest person to have ever done it.

Barely seems any bigger than Fat Paddler's kayak!

This attempt is of course not without controversy. Seasoned sailors have claimed she has a 1 in 3 chance of losing the yacht in rough seas, and a further 1 in 3 chance of losing her life. Many have argued that it is irresponsible to let a 16 year old attempt something of such a risky nature. Furthermore the fact she recently crashed her yacht into the side of a tanker after falling asleep at the helm has fuelled the fire of detractors.

Regardless of the controversy, it was great to see her in her yacht on Middle Harbour and I most certainly wish her all the very best of luck on her adventure. Go get ‘em girl! 

Drifting through mangroves, Scotts Creek, Sydney

The fantastic thing about paddling in Sydney is that there are so many secrets to be found.  On my usual paddling spot (Middle Harbour) there are all types of areas to be discovered, and one of these secrets is Scotts Creek.

At the end of Sugar Loaf Bay, about midway up Middle Harbour, is a set of mangroves that seem inpenetrable at low to middle tide.  I’d heard about this area from other paddlers but had never had the chance to explore it with the right tide. On this particular day, I’d managed to get there on a very high tide, paddling through the high winds and constant rain that have been buffeting Sydney for the past few weeks.

A meandering creek narrows and passes deep into the mangroves, an enchanting paddle through skeletal trees that seems a million miles from civilisation. Then the creek turns and passes under a huge rock overhang, which on this particular day was a thousand dripping channels caused by the rain.

Rock overhang seen through the mangroves

As you pass the rock the creek narrows further (at times to little more than a kayak width), with the folliage changes suddenly to sub-tropical bamboo and palms along the banks. This is an incredible change in flora as you move deeper and deeper into the creek system.

Scotts Creek - flora changing to sub-tropical

At this stage I was starting to scrape both my kayak and my paddles on the rocky bottom and had to turn and head back through the incredible serenity of this secret spot. With the gentle patter of rain falling through the silent ghostly mangrove trees I couldn’t help but feel enchanted by this incredible part of Sydney. Love this city!

Clear water and beaches, you have to love Sydney

Spring in Sydney is a sensational thing, and there’s no better way to experience it than getting out on Sydney Harbour.  As soon as I got the kayak onto the water I could sense the day was going to offer something special, and that came in the form of crystal-clear waters soaked in sunshine. And I certainly wasn’t alone, with the Harbour littered with other kayaks, yachts, cruisers, catamarans and wind-surfers. Sydney-siders love spring days on the water, myself included. Good times!

Clear green waters on Middle Harbour

Coral and seaweed beds, near Chinaman's Beach

Deeper waters and yachts a plenty. Sydney at play!