Saturday, 25 May 2013

I'm not crying....



....it's that bloke with the bucket throwing litres of water into my eyes.....

Rob, Greg & I met 'Katriana & Simon' down at Bundeena yesterday with some promising bar conditions in the offing.
 Greg in front of the pile
 Greg on top of the pile...
A steep southerly swell, and the prospect of a stiff breeze swinging offshore, lured all five of us down for a dip.
Simon & Katriana Danson (not their real names)
What transpired was a wacky afternoon surfing in amongst the chop and waves. Wave faces lifted by the wind had plenty of steepness but very little drive - my top speed all arvo just broached 10kmh.
The part of the Bay cut up most by the wind opposing the flooding spring tide was right in the middle of the fastest part of the ride, so you'd hook into a steep face and then 'mogul' your way through a maze of whitecaps and bumps, all the while copping a torrent of cold salt water in the chops.
The volume of spray made it almost impossible to see what you were doing, which kind of underlined how important some semblance of vision is when you're surfing.


I can just the see the pitiful expressions on the faces of readers who sat in front of the weekly budget reports all Friday arvo while we were out suffering....
Enjoy the video of Rob busting some moves in the Gemini SP.

Thursday, 16 May 2013

Rob's Pics

Rob is forever experimenting with cameras, angles, techniques for shooting paddlers in rough water, & sent me through a few pics from his paddles on Saturday & Tuesday. Enjoy them….
 Tuesday crew head back into the harbour
 Bound for North Head
 Paul in front of the Hornby Light
 Rescue practice
 Matt framed through the arc of water lifted by Rob's roll
 Steve & Kate head for the Gap
 TK taking a shower
 Sydney cliffs
Late arvo outside the Heads

Wednesday, 15 May 2013

Rob Schumacher Exhibition

Paddling mate Rob Schumacher has been busy putting together a body of work for an upcoming art exhibition on the edge of Sydney Harbour. A few of the paintings being exhibited are expansions on snapshots Rob has taken from his kayak, paddling around & outside the Sydney area.
We're heading along to the opening on May 25, & encourage paddlers to get down to the Landship Gallery at Mosman & have a look for themselves. It's a great venue overlooking Camp Cove and the Heads.
You can read more about Rob's art on his website - www.robschumacher.com.au

Wednesday, 8 May 2013

When the Planets Align….


So the theory goes, mid ebb + long period swell with some east or otherwise very big from the south + offshore wind = perfect runs on our favourite bar surf spot.
On a clear Tuesday morning, with conditions kinda shaping that way, we paddled across from Wally's Wharf hopeful but not too convinced, taking fast boats in case there was some tiny ingredient that Poseidon had left on the shelf.
Happily, the bar was right on song, a fleeting but seemingly more frequent event in the current wacky Sydney weather patterns, and we had a ripper of a time.
Rob got to spend a couple of hours sussing out the Pace 17 in the surf, while I went looking for steeper & steeper sections in my V10, with mixed success!
We also tested out a couple of camera mounts which change-up the well worn angles a bit.
All done, of course, in the name of product research.

Tuesday, 7 May 2013

Chris' First 400km in the Tiderace Pace 17



Chris is an Illawarra paddler who came up to Sydney to meet me for a test paddle a couple of months back. He was interested in the two Pace models, so we went out from Port Hacking & around to Cronulla, swapping over boats & giving them boat a good workout. The day was one of my favourite all time paddles out around my now local waters in Southern Sydney, and I wrote a brief blog with a video HERE. Besides the perfect weather there was also the spectacle of the shipwrecked trawler stuck on the rocks at Cronulla Point.
Chris penned this lovely short review of the boat and emailed it over earlier in the week:


"After trial paddling both the Tiderace Pace 18 and Pace Tour 17, I decided that the 17 was the kayak with the characteristics I was looking for.

I discovered kayaking in 2003 at the age of 51 and have paddled mostly sea kayaks since then (the Pace 17 is my 7th kayak and I also paddle a Mega surf kayak). 

Recently having paddled a much loved 5.80m fast stable touring kayak  I was looking for a lighter, faster and more nimble, but still genuine touring sea kayak. 

Since purchasing the Tiderace Pace Tour 17 (late Feb. 2013), I've now paddled it (GPS readings) almost 400 klms. and in all conditions possibly encountered by most regular ocean paddlers (including some days when I  probably shouldn't have ventured out). 

I've loaded it with 40kg. of touring equipment and food for a three day trip and paddled in and out through 1.5 m surf . Its fast (10.5 kph. flat water), stable, rolls, surfs and turns easily responding readily to paddle commands.
In short for two months I've given this boat an absolute caning and can report that its a pleasure to paddle and fulfils everything I want in a touring sea kayak.

I would readily recommend this kayak to sea kayakers with moderate to advanced skills who are looking for a fast and responsive genuine touring sea kayak.

In addition, I purchased the Tiderace Pace Tour 17 from Expedition Kayaks at Marrickville in Sydney and must say that the purchasing process was possibly the most helpful and informative that I've ever encountered. 

This is what should happen when good kayakers sell good kayaks and equipment. Highly recommended. Thanks again Expedition Kayaks."

Monday, 6 May 2013

Here Comes the Xtra

We've just placed our first order for the play-oriented Tiderace Xtra, they should be here in the middle of July.
Here's a cracker of a video of designer Aled Williams shredding it in the Xtra, having a ball in this brilliant surfing sea kayak.

The Velocimiser Sea Kayak Foil Rudder

After two solid years of R&D, we can finally announce a series of successful sea trials of our new foiling sea kayak rudder, The Velocim...