Sunrise from the sea..... could there be anything more magical?
You just never know when an adventure might befall you, but one thing for sure is that you have to put yourself out there in case it does. On this particular morning Grumm, Nat and I arrived at The Spit at 5am, with the temperature having already climbed to 30C degrees. We set up in the dark, with me getting a chance to try out my new Kayalite lighting system, before pushing off headed for South Head.
South Head in the distance - as seen from Nat's ski
The run out to the Heads was pretty uneventful, other than being ridiculously hot. I’d decided to paddle topless, with only my PFD for cover, but I was soon shining with a layer of perspiration as we paddled against the tide towards the ocean. The other lads were feeling it too and whined a little about the heat. Then out of nowhere, Nat screamed like a little girl and his ski seemed to almost tip over before righting itself again. It seemed a tiny little fish had jumped into his boat, scaring the pants off him until if freed itself by plopping back overboard. With a good laugh, we all continued on our way.
The marine forecast had the sea state dropping from a 2-3m swell down to less than half a metre, but it seemed we’d hit the water before this was due to happen, because as we paddled past South Head a series of two and three metre waves came through, throwing us around a bit before smashing against the sea-side of the Head. Then as I was looking behind me at the waves crashing, Nat suddenly called out “SHARK” and started pointing to a spot ten metres in front of our boats.
I peered through the early morning light at where he was pointing. Then sure enough, a dorsal fin rose up through a wave, trailing a tail fin behind it, and slowly cruised past us all, missing Grumm by just a few metres. The dark-tipped fin was about 4 feet in front of the tail, so at my guess she was about 6 feet long, and most likely a Bull Shark. As we watched it cruise on into the Harbour, we were both ecstatic and edgy about the experience. One thing for sure, none of us felt like falling in now, and we paid a little more attention to bracing though the incoming waves.
FP coasting in a small lull between the bigger swell, minutes after the shark sighting
Grumm hung on for dear life as his tippy boat made life in the waves hard
Nat walking on water.... ok, you just can't see his boat
The sky was now starting to burn. As the sunrise grew closer, the horizon turned a firey red, painting the cliffs of Sydney and three paddlers a brilliant reddish orange. I sat staring breathlessly at the horizon, humbled by the incredible experience we were having out on the bumpy water.
Oh yeah, this is why we come out at sunrise!
By now some bigger boats were making their way out of Harbour heading for deeper waters, and the mixture of swell and criss-crossing boat wake started to make our time a little more difficult. Grumm had been struggling in his narrow boat, a little nervous after seeing the noah cruising past earlier, and the added lumpiness was making him more and more nervous on this, his first time out of the Heads. Eventually he decided he’d had enough and turned to ride the swell back into the Harbour. Nat hung around for a while but decided to follow him, leaving me on my own out at sea. Looking back at the horizon however, I was almost glad that they’d left me here to enjoy the incredible view of the breaking day. It was just me, the waves and the sharks. Beautiful.
What a magnificent world we live in. You just need to get outdoors to experience her!
Once the sun was up I turned and tried to find the other boys. They were a good way into the Harbour now, about 1.5-2 kms away, so I started riding the swell runners, bracing and giggling to make sure I stayed out of the sharky waters. After 15 minutes of sprinting down waves, I finally caught them up half a km from the Grotto Point Reserve. It was still early, before 7am, so we turned and head into a little beach in Manly to stretch our legs, have a swim, and tell tall tales about the now “massive” shark we’d seen!
After a relaxing 30 minutes swimming, we climbed back into our boats and followed the cliff line back to The Spit, in the now very gentle waters which had calmed down considerably since we were outside the Heads. We cruised right up against the cliff face, enjoying the movement of gentle waves rolling in, before finishing the final few kms back to where we’d started.
A very relaxing paddle past Grotto Point Reserve
We arrived back at the put in at 9am, our paddling done for the day. After packing the boats up, there was really only one thing left to do, and that was to wander down to the Middle Harbour Yacht Club for egg/bacon or egg/sausage rolls for breakfast! A great way to wrap up an awesome paddle. Cheers – FP
Breakfast for three please. Woohoo!
Good morning Sydney! And welcome 2011.
For my first real paddle of 2011 I wanted to get back to the scene of the amazing NYE Fireworks, Sydney Harbour. Grumm and I made the early morning trek a little after 5am to get down for that magical time of the morning, sunrise. And what a morning it was, with glassy waters and incredible light as we paddled amongst the early morning ship traffic. I don’t think words can really do it justice though, so I’m going to let the photos tell the story!
The sun starting to rise in the distance, somewhere over Bondi Beach
Our first ship of the morning. Only a little bigger than Grumm, on the right
Grumm getting in the way of the camera (again). Stop ruining my shot!
Our second ship of the morning. And not a bad sunrise!
Fat Paddler's turn to get in the way of the camera. Such a media whore!
The poles of Goat Island, right in the middle of the Harbour
Finished back where we started. There are worse places to paddle!
Since we’d started so early, we also finished in time for breakfast, and had worked up quite an appetite splashing about the Harbour. So we made a quick stop to Wrapido, one of my favourite brekky spots, for some fresh coffee and a decent feed. Seriously, could we start the day (and the year) any better? Somehow, I don’t think so! Cheers – FP
Grumm's brekky - The Egg and Bacon Sarny!
FP's brekky - TexMex Eggs with sausages on the side - yum!
Tags: Grumm, sunrise, sydney harbour
Bring on the sunrise! Pittwater, looking north-east.
Cold, dark and quiet. This is how we found the put-in at the southern end of Pittwater this winter’s morning. Grumm, The Famous Tim Kennings and myself had met up around 5.30am for a Pittwater paddle, and despite our enthusiasm, we struggled to get ready in the pitch black and icy conditions of this winter’s morning. The water, although much colder now than in recent weeks, felt balmy compared to the cold air around us. But despite all this, we pushed off and head north for Scotland Island and the impending sunrise.
Sunrise. Worth the early start in the cold.
Despite the incoming tide, a blustery southerly wind was pushing us along as well as whipping up some steady wind waves. Us usual, Grumm was fighting to turn his boat more than 5 degrees, and you could see him gritting his teeth in the cold air. But I had found that my boat was starting to ride the wind waves, and with a bit of a burst here and there I found myself racing ahead on the steep little waves.
Grumm and Timbo in the early light
Finally we got the sunrise which we all stopped to watch (it never ceases to leave me stunned!). Then we settled in with the wind behind and quickly made our way up the waterway. By now we were all feeling the need for coffee, so we paddled onto a secluded little spot called Portugese Beach.
Kayaks at rest, Portugese Beach, Pittwater
Portugese Beach, looking south
I whipped out the Trangia and put it to use to make coffee for us all. The Famous Tim Kennings had brought his own coffee cup (as had I), but it appeared Grumm hadn’t received the memo. Rustling around in my dry-bag, I managed to find a spare for him so we could all enjoy a cuppa. And a good laugh at Grumm’s expense.
Coffee kit - a necessity when there's no coffee boat around!
Grumm's coffee cup. Nice mug, ya mug!
We were joined by a very friendly Magpie as we finished our coffee, and then a large Kookaburra flew in for a closer look too. We’d also seen a white-bellied sea eagle earlier, so the birdlife display was adding to a quite magical morning.
The friendly Magpie, who was keen to get into Timbo's muesli bar
The curious Kookaburra who flew over to check us out
Just a random artsy shot I took from the beach
With us all feeling warm from the sun and hot coffee, we set of from the beach hugging the western shoreline for a closer look. Timbo and I paddled between the rocks, adding a few bumps and scratches to our kayaks, but Grumm paddled out to deeper waters as he continued to struggle with the steering of his fast, straight rocket. Finally Timbo had a quick look and suggested Grumm stop using his skeg. The look on his face was priceless as he realised the answer was so simple, and with that his skeg was up and for the first time, he approached the rocky shore and cut through a little gauntlet.
Exploring rocks with Grumm holding off in deeper water
Grumm finally gets amongst it!
With Grumm now in tow we hugged the rocky shores for a while until we came across a fairly hidden mangrove area. Looking closer, we found a channel throught the mangroves that opened up into a beautiful little lagoon, complete with crystal-clear water, a gently flowing waterfall and lush green forest. For a while we just drifted on the lagoon, enjoying the peaceful ambience of this hidden gem.
Timbo in the hidden lagoon
Finally we head off for the final push home. Paddling into 10 knot winds and against the tide, we pushed on with Grumm racing ahead in his faster boat. Pittwater was starting to get busy with numerous big cruisers getting out on the water, giving The Famous Tim Kennings and I a few final surfing opportunities, before making the final run into McCarrs Creek where we had started.
Ordinarily this would be the end of the adventure, except Grumm had one more treat in store for us. He reached the shore a good 30 metres in front of us and to my surprise, looked to attempt a roll right on the beach. Except I realised it wasn’t a roll, but just a brilliant stack into the water as he’d tried to get out. Both Timbo and I cruised into the beach with tears of laughter in our eyes as the now very wet and embarrassed Grumm grinned at his misfortune. A brilliant giggle at the end of the paddle!
Finally, as we packed our kayaks onto our respective cars, we had one final spectacle as a lovingly restored old Ford cruised past us all. Not something you see everyday! Cheers – FP
An old classic
A labour of love
Breaking light and breaking waves
The Famous Tim Kennings and I pushed off into the darkness, hunting the sunrise over North Head. The morning was proving to be the first really cold one for the season, with a biting 15 knot wind and the water temperature having dropped several degrees over the past week. The wind was supposed to be the same as the 2-3 metre ocean swell, coming from the south east, but despite all predictions, was blowing in from the west. All was adding up to a nervous paddle in the dark riding over big swell whilst being broadsided by big nasty chop.
The Famous Tim Kennings bobbing around in the dark at Middle Head
We pulled in on the safe side of Middle Head to stay out of the swell whilst we waited for the sun, but a fast outgoing tide kept sweeping us alongside the rocky shore and out towards the Heads. Timbo had his helmet firmly in place as he played amongst the rocks in the darkness, whilst I impatiently circled around waiting for the elusive sunrise photo.
Timbo, and things that go "bump" in the night!
The Famous Tim Kennings of course is never completely happy unless doing something crazy near rocks, so it was only fitting that after a decent wave rolled past, a huge trough opened up showing a jagged rock that had been hiding beneath. Too late for Tim unfortunately, who’s kayak slid into the trough and clipped the emerging monster with enough force to give him a bit of a rise, but not enough to do any lasting damage. Naturally, I laughed my head off, as Timbo circled around looking back at his stern like a puppy chasing his tail!
Getting light, but still no sunrise
Meanwhile a front coming up from the south had placed a lovely dark curtain in the way of the sunrise, and begrudgingly I accepted the fact I wouldn’t get a decent shot. So paddling out into the swell, we turned and paddled towards Balmoral, catching slow runs down the faces of the building swell. All up it was a pretty disappointing start to the day, until a chance glance over my shoulder and I could see that although late, the sun was finally about to break through the clouds.
At last! The sun emerges.
With the shot finally done, Timbo and enjoyed the rest of the paddle with a gentle ride up to Bantry Bay followed by a couple of coffees at Sydney Harbour Kayaks. Another lovely start to a Sunday. Cheers – FP.
Paddle done, boats ready to be packed up. Lovely!
Tags: dawn, sunrise, Tim Kennings
Grotto Point Reserve, viewed from Middle Head
Sometimes life’s pressures build up and force us to seek therapy. For some, that might involve relying on a friendly shoulder to cry on. For others, it may be a retail session maxing out the credit cards. For me however, it involves time alone outdoors to clear the mind.
On this particular day I’d taken the kayak out for a solo sunrise mission after a week of incessant work, family and other stresses. Pushing off from The Spit at 5.30am in the darkness, I cruised along the shoreline keeping well clear of fishing boats as I made my way to Grotto Point. The swell coming through the Heads was sitting around the 2 metre mark and pushing up a sensational left-hander that was barely visible in the limited light as I passed the Grotto lighthouse, heading towards Middle Head. Decent-sized fishing cruisers were heading out to sea and the water in the sound was nice and confused as I tried to find a good spot to watch the sunrise.
Early morning light over North Head
Sitting just off to the side of Middle Head I got to watch some good sized waves battering its cliffs, and in the distance I could see the southern cliffs of North Head taking a pounding. The wind was icy but the water balmy, and I relaxed in the messy waves with my Adanac paddle held over the side as an outrigger to keep me stable. As the sun started to rise the colours around me took on pink and orange hues which reflected off the moving water creating rippling firey effects about the kayak. In this mesmerising start to the day, I could feel my mind unwinding and the stresses ebbing away with the tide.
The sky is on fire over North Head
Only the day before of course, these waters were chaotic. The 16 year old Jessica Watson had completed her incredible solo sail around the world by passing through the Heads and onwards to Sydney to meet 50,000 odd fans. But she’d done it surrounded by a flotilla of boats escorting her in, which had churned up the Harbour into a giant washing-machine. But now, there was hardly a boat out here to be worried about and I could just enjoy the moment alone on the water.
Dawn's first rays of sunlight
Finally, after about 45 minutes bobbing around Middle Head, I turned back and paddled off into Middle Harbour. With a clear head and a semblance of peace found, I indulged in a little rock-hopping and a fast cruise up to Sugar Loaf Bay before pulling back into The Spit for a coffee with the team at Sydney Harbour Kayaks.
Sometimes modern life throws you a few curve balls and it’s easy to get beaten down by stresses that pile up on each other. Fortunately the outdoors is a great leveller, putting the world into perspective and reminding you that you’re alive. It may not remove the stresses from your life, but it does let you know that they are just little tiny things in the big wide wonder that is life. Cheers – FP
Tags: dawn, Ella's Pink Lady, grotto point, Jessica Watson, Middle Head, North Head, stress, sunrise
