Golden sunrise over glassy Pittwater

I recently heard from Scott Rawstorne from Global Paddler that he was passing through Sydney on his way to Tasmania and was keen for a paddle. Scott is the co-author of the paddle guide Paddling Around NSW and runs paddle tours both in Australia and soon abroad.

The Global Paddler enjoying the early morning from my Folbot Cooper

We decided on Pittwater in Sydney’s north and Scott also requested I bring the Folbot Cooper I used in Alaska, since he was looking for a folder for an upcoming paddle tour of Europe. So in the pre-dawn darkness we met up at McCarrs Creek and pushed off heading into the still waters of Pittwater.

It's hard not to stop and stare - sunrise paints the water gold

The paddle was cruisy with Scott getting a feel for the boat. The sunrise was beautiful as usual and we chatted away casually about all things paddling. Eventually our conversations turned to book publishing, since Scott is already a successful self-published author and I have a book currently in production for release later in the year. We compared stories regarding the different processes we’d taken – Scott doing it all himself and the harsh lessons he learnt along the way, and me doing it through a publishing house with a mix of extra editorial support but the tension of creative directional difference.

As the cloud cover closed in, Scott demonstrated his instructor paddling skills

As so often happens whilst paddling, the stresses of the world slipped away as two strangers with a shared joy for the water enjoyed each others company for a few hours. We talked about travel, kayaking, canoeing, marketing, business, writing, touring and more as the kilometres slipped by in the early morning. Then once finished I demo’d dismantling the Folbot before taking us both to a local hang-out for coffee and egg & bacon rolls.

Hmm, what to do today?? The Global Mobile and the Fatmobile ready for action

I love the way paddling brings people together. I’ve met more interesting people over the last few years through paddling than I had in the many years prior.  It’s a great sport and a brilliant thing to be a part of – cheers, FP