Merry Xmas. We hope you have a great holiday season and look forward to a more normal 2021.
Here’s a wave from us.
Merry Xmas. We hope you have a great holiday season and look forward to a more normal 2021.
Here’s a wave from us.
My Physiotherapist said my hip injury was coming along nicely and I was given the all clear to try a little gentle kayaking. The COVID lockdown has been lifted and we are allowed to travel so it was an early start on this warm Wednesday morning, heading for the South Coast.
I was invited by James Fishers and Steve (King of England) to join them for a short surf kayak session. There were some big, fat waves on offer so the youngsters were burning off excess energy for a couple of hours, but I would restrict my water time to under an hour.
My long suffering photographer, Robyn, was trying hand held photos with a Tamron 400 lens. Her best vantage point was standing on a park bench above the beach and I think she did a great job of balancing that lens that normally resides on a tripod.
Now that the body is holding together I can get back in the Sea Kayak for some longer paddles. Anyway, here’s a few photos of our gentle session.
Have a great Wednesday. Stay safe.
I was on the treatment table with the Physio trying to prove that he could indeed push his fingers right through my hip joint. He smiled and exclaimed “yep, that’s the spot”.
My body has been squeezed into a small “Playboat” for the last 10 years as well as various other surf kayaks, sea kayaks, polo kayaks and marathon craft over the years, so it was no surprise that eventually I would strike a problem.
What did come as a surprise was the fact that he said it was probably “age related”. Cheeky Bugger I thought, it’s not like I’m pushing 70 or something and I expect to keep paddling surf kayaks and sea kayaks for at least another 20 years.
I told him it’s ok, I have a friend called Rexy who will fix this problem.
“Exo Rexy” arrived at my place and we were soon on our way to a local surf spot. Rexy the somewhat larger WW playboat, my new friend, from Exo kayaks of Italy is imported by Roy Farrance at Canoes Plus.
We hit the waves, which although sort of smallish, gave me a good idea of how Rexy would handle. Plenty of leg and foot room, easy rolling, fast down a wave and most importantly comfortable. Here’s a few photos.
Of course with a clean wave and a photographer around you will likely get a visit from another retiree paddler. Yep, Steve (King of England) paddled out to join me. You just can’t have a photographer around without him knowing and getting in the frame. I think he haunts this coast looking for opportunities to paddle.
Eventually it was time to call it quits so we both surfed back to shore. Happy that Rexy had come to the rescue.
After the session we heard that Covid 19 had raised it’s ugly head again and the whole state was in a 6 day total lock down probably extending to 14 days. Stay home, no paddling, no exercise outside your home. I guess it’s back to home Guitar sessions and polishing up the “Lockdown Blues” and “All by myself” songs.
I hope to see you on the water again soon-ish. Stay safe.
The water was glassy calm. That sort of calm that makes the horizon hard to distinguish and gives you a strange feeling of imbalance. The only sound was that of birds passing overhead and the swish of the paddle as we glided along the coastline, cutting through the crystal clear water.
We found our way through the reefy shallows to a quiet beach to stretch our legs and observe the local bird life.
We then headed along the coast towards the entrance to the bay, investigating oyster beds and having a conversation with the local Black Faced Cormorants.
Pointing seaward we sensed an approaching weather change. There was no change in the water conditions but there was a warning in the sky.
Many, many years ago I was told by Peter Carter, a Senior Sea Kayak Instructor, to look up and observe the sky where you will find many answers to the weather. Peter has been around for a long time, some say since the Jurassic Period, and certainly he knows his weather patterns for Southern Australia.
The first indicator of an impending change was in the sky. Streaky Cirrus clouds fanning out across the horizon.
With Peter’s good advice in mind we headed to a safe shore and explored the ocean side of Streaky Bay on foot.
The ocean side is spectacular, rugged and unforgiving.
I saw a sign that said “Pearly Gates” 1 km ahead, but I’m not sure if these are the ones.
Streaky Bay is said to be “Heaven” for surfers and Sea kayakers and for Carcharadon carcharias. (Great White Shark)
As I write this the wind is registering over 30knots and increasing. Looks like it will be quite a night in this gale. Cheers Ian Pope.
P.S. I should give Peter Carter his correct title.
Peter Carter BA, BEd, Dip Ed, MACS (Snr), OAM. The last one is the Medal of the Order of Australia received for “services to Canoeing”. Also, a long list of canoe and kayak instructor awards and Life Memberships should be noted. Plus he’s one the few sea kayakers that are older than me. 😊
I vote we jump straight to Summer. Forget about Spring; do we really need it? Winter was tough with lots of time spent mountain biking in the Flinders Ranges and snow falling to blanket the trails. I hate the cold.
But I knew how to raise the temperature almost immediately. I bought myself a kayaking drysuit from Liquid Life and Canoes Plus in Melbourne. Not only did I have instant body heat but during the first use at rolling training it reached 30 degrees Celsuis. I nearly cooked. What a strange sight it must have been with me flopping about in a pillar box red drysuit while others strolled past in board shorts and bikinis.
However, I was able to put it to good use today during an enjoyable surf session . The water is still cold or so I was told by the others.
Joined by Steve (King of England) and Gianni (the Italian Greyhound) we gave the Jackson Rockstar and Jackson Fun kayaks a good work out.
Here’s a sequence of photos of Gianni.
…and Steve attacked many good rides
…and here’s a few more photos to make you wish you joined us.
Of course the old guy just picks the best waves.
Have a great day. Stay Safe. Stay Healthy.