"The Coat Hanger".... aka the Sydney Harbour Bridge

I don’t often paddle in the heart of the city of Sydney because of excessive boat, ship and ferry traffic, but every now and then I do just to see our magnificent city from the Harbour. My completely biased view is that Sydney is the most beautiful city in the world, and exploring her waters is always a pleasure.

The Famous Tim Kennings and I met up at Blues Point and set off into the darkness at 6am, enjoying the view of the city lights reflecting off the water before sunrise lightened the sky. For the rest of the morning we explored her shores, stopped for coffee in Chowder Bay, surfed wind chop and ferry wake, paddled & surfed under the Luna Park boardwalk and generally had a blast as the wind and chop built up over the morning.

Needless to say I’ll let the photos tell the story. Cheers – FP

TFTK in the early morning amber light at sunrise, the Sydney Opera House in background.

Exploring the Harbour's northern shoreline

The world's most beautiful harbour.... well, I think so!

Even harbour's get swell and waves. Good fun to play in!

The iconic Sydney Opera House. As seen from the water!

Kirribilli House, the official Sydney residence of Australia's Prime Minister

Paddling under Luna Park. Timbo surfed through this lane!

Style. Poise. Grace. The Famous Tim Kennings in his North Shore Atlantic!

Tags: Kirribilli House, Sydney, sydney harbour, Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney Opera House, Tim Kennings

Paddling out to sea in the darkness

All the weather and marine forecasts said the same thing – small waves and an even smaller ocean swell. Despite weeks of big seas and high winds, here was a one-day window of opportunity that was too good to ignore. It was time to head to sea.

Leaving home around 5am, the temperature gauge read 2 degrees C, a very chilly start to the day. With all my winter paddling layers on, I finally pushed off from The Spit and paddled past Balmoral Beach, then Middle Head, across the shipping lane and finally to Sydney Harbour’s South Head. With a final look back, I paddled past the rocky headland and out to sea.

Breaking light over the Tasman Sea. Beautiful.

With half an hour to go before sunrise, I turned south and paddled along Sydney’s cliffs for a kilometre or so, admiring their ruggedness in the early light. Motor boats were steadily leaving the Harbour and heading to sea, with fishing, diving and whale-watching  boats taking advantage of the calm conditions. I was sitting a little under half a kilometre out to sea waiting for the sunrise, and quietly hoping to see migrating whales. And then I get to enjoy the sunrise, with the cliffs of Sydney bathed in the mornings first orange glow.

Sunrise over calm seas.

Early morning cliffs

With the sun now up, I turned and paddled back in towards the cliffs before slowly paddling back towards South Head, and its candy-striped Lighthouse. As I got closer, I could just make out a lone paddler rounding the head, with the unmistakable blue Atlantic signaling that it was the The Famous Tim Kennings.

The South Head lighthouse

After a quick hello, we paddled up to North Head’s impressive southern cliff where we watched divers, fishermen and ski paddlers frolicking close to the cliff-line. Then with a wave, Timbo headed south for a burn along the cliffs whilst I paddled back into the Harbour to finish off the morning’s paddle and get a hot coffee into me. Cheers – FP

FP with Sydney's cliffs in the background.

Tags: North Head, South Head, Sydney, Sydney's Cliffs, tasman sea, Tim Kennings

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

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

Kayaks prepped and ready to set off into the darkness

There is something magical about paddling at night. The lights of civilisation reflecting off inky water,  the incredible array of stars overhead, and the tension of not being able to see what is in the water below all add up to an exhilarating experience. For my mate Tim, it was something he’d never done before, so I convinced him to come along for the experience.

As we pushed off from The Spit, the first thing we noticed was our old friend “Ouchie”, seemingly non-plussed at our invasion of his night-time sleeping spot. We manouvered our boats over him for a better look, before paddling off into the darkness of Middle Harbour.

Ouchie the stingray cruising along underneath us

I could tell that Tim was tense as he tried to make jokes about fishies with big teeth beneath us. Paddling at night, you simply cannot see what is in the water around you, and it is a fair fear for us knowing that we have Bull Sharks and the odd Hammerhead in these waters. To help put his mind at ease, I quietly hummed the theme to JAWS as I paddled. He pretended to be amused.

Once we passed under the The Spit Bridge and into Middle Harbour proper, the real beauty of paddling in the dark became apparent. Tim was mesmerised by the beauty of lights reflecting off the water, of the Harbour-side mansions lit up with flood lights, and of the odd party going on already at the early stages of the evening.

Once we paddled past the houses we found ourselves heading towards Bantry Bay in almost complete darkness. With only the distant twinkling lights of cruisers in Bantry Bay to guide us, we could lie back on our boats and stare up at the stars, now looking spectacularly bright above us.

There were very few boats on the water, but occasionally we’d hear a motor boat speeding towards us. I had cyalumes taped to the stern and bow, and Timbo had some small marine lights on his boat, but strapped to my deck were two powerful waterproof torches which I’d turn on at the faintest hint of a motor to make sure we were clearly lit up. They were also within easy reach in case I needed to shine them towards any boats heading our way.

The kayak's front deck lit up by my headlights

Without being able to see movement in the water, your feel for your kayak becomes far more intuitive as you adjust and balance purely on  feel alone. This becomes a little more nerve-racking when there are waves about as you can’t see them coming to be able to prepare to brace. As a speeding cruiser passed us, we knew there was the inevitable bow wave streaking out towards us, and as we paddled we barely had a seconds notice before the waves caught us. With a sudden burst of paddling, I felt the stern lift up and then I was off, surfing the wave in the dark purely by feel and loving the incredible sense of speed as I sliced through the black water.

As I started to drop off the wave, I turned to look for Timbo. As I did he too latched onto a wave and I had the incredible view of his boat seemingly flying across the water with a churning wave rolling along behind him. When he finished his wave, he looked both excited and relieved that he’d kept his boat upright for his first night-time surf.

From there we continued a very cruisy pace up towards Bantry Bay, heading for a small landing spot known as Flat Rock Beach. At this part of the harbour we had only the flashing red lights of distant channel markers to guide us, as the hills and water were now completely shrouded in darkness. As we approached the beach however the water came to life around us, as fish skipped alongside us and from time to time directly into the sides of the kayaks.

We eventually found the right approach into Flat Rock Beach and slowly drifted in across it’s very shallow shores.  Then we hopped out of our kayaks and wandered up the beach, taking in the sounds of the bushland and the beauty of the starry sky as I unloaded my dry-bag. Then sitting on a rock, I unpacked the Trangia and put the kettle on.

The orange glow of the Trangia at night.

Now with a hot steaming cups of coffee, and a few muesli bars, we sat on the beach and enjoyed the vision of stars and lights reflecting off the water.  Timbo was almost speechless at the beauty of being on the water at night but quietly moaned about all the wasted nights he could have spent in his boat.

Once we finished the coffee we packed up the Trangia and started the gentle paddle back to The Spit. Once underway Timbo started laughing at the reflective tape lighting up my boat like a Christmas tree under his torchlight, but I got my revenge by firing off the camera in his direction blinding him with the flash. Despite our amusement, the boats looked incredible as they slid quietly through the darkness.

Timbo - a splash of colour in the black night

As we neared civilisation again we could hear the raucous laughter of parties going on in waterfront houses. As we silently slipped past we chuckled at the drunken revelry going on in the houses above us, oblivious to the two paddlers cruising below. Houses were lit up with disco lights and strobes as Saturday night in Sydney got properly underway.

Approaching lights of civilisation on Middle Harbour

Finally we made our way under The Spit Bridge and back into the beach we’re we’d launched. Once out of our boats, we turned to check the waters for Ouchie, who as expected was waiting for us in the shallows. Not that he was quite so keen on having my torch shone in his eyes, so he turned his barbed-tail and slowly cruised off into deeper waters. Sticking the camera into the water I managed to capture one final photo him as he swam away from us.

Bye bye and sweet dreams Ouchie!

With that we packed our boats away and each head off for home and a warm bed after the nights beautiful paddle.  Tim will no doubt be up for more night paddles, and I can’t recommend it enough to paddlers looking to experience something a little different. Cheers – FP

Tags: coffee, Flat Rock Beach, night paddle, Ouchie, Sting Ray, Tim Kennings, Timbo, Trangia