Circumnavigating Erakor Island - almost....

Just back from a nice break with the family on the stunning Erakor Island in Vanuatu. One of my aims over 12 days spent building sandcastles & chasing hermit crabs with my daughters was to take on the significant challenge of rounding the island - a feat not before successfully acheived by an Australian sea kayaker. My vehicle of choice was the sturdy Ocean kayak sit on top (below) - a well rockered 13ft demon of a machine with few redeeming qualities, barring limpet-like stability.I had three attempt to do the circumnavigation, paddling out past local fishermen on their bark canoes inside the lagoon.

Each attempt was thwarted by a particularly irresistable reef break sitting 40m off the eastern edge of the island, which just had to be given a go. So, after riding the break for an hour at a time on each of my first three attempts, I had to forego the odyssey & hopefully return another day to tick this milestone of a paddlers career.For those of you hoping to train for such a feat, the stats are below:
Erakor Island, Vanuatu
Circumnavigation distance - 1.8km
Dangers - Relaxation induced apathy, dodgy sit on tops, paddles with one blade on backwards, sunburn.
First acheived - 704AD by Midou Tiki in timber, coconut hulled Valley Native Canoe (VNC)

Keith Oakford in the Aquanaut RM

NSWSKC Sea Instructor Keith Oakford recently graced the institution of the Tuesday Night Sydney Harbour & Beyond paddle with his prescence in his new Valley Aquanaut RM. In typical Keith style, he waited for a night when there was a 25 knot plus southerly blowing a confused 3m+ sea around to join in, & in doing so find out what his new boat was capable of, in some difficult conditions.

The slideshow above shows a small slice of the action, on a night where most of the group were wide eyed. Keith had a hell of good time in his boat, as evidenced by his play in the mess, & is stoked with the Aquanaut.
Keith is a Bass Strait veteran, & a very active sea instructor with the NSWSKC.

Valley Composites

Chris James showing picture-perfect forward-paddle poise in the Aquanaut RM, off Sydney, April 2008.

We are finalising our order of the next shipment of Valley kayaks, after a phenomenal response to this brand again being available in Australia. If you’re interested in custom-ordering a colour or layup for delivery in late August, please let either Rob or I know. We’re aiming to cut-off on Friday, April 18. Browse through the links page in the left menu to the Valley UK site for options. I'm personally ordering an Aquanaut in ultra kevlar (all kevlar, hull & deck), with a clear hull (like the Rapier those of you lucky enough to be at Rock & Roll would have noticed) & some sort of funky deck colourway. I can't wait........

Rock & Roll 2008

View from the Norkapp

Another Rock & Roll weekend has been & gone, my 6th all up, & what a great event. For me it began on the Thursday driving our 3 Valley RM boats down to set up the Expedition Kayaks display, & finished on the Monday arvo with Bob from Rafta Kayaks towing me around the campground trying to jump start my car! Hopefully that's the last time a Rafta has to tow an EK! Thanks Bob, you're a legend....

Ian Fletcher heading for Black Rock

With special guests Nigel Dennis from the UK & John Kirk Anderson from NZ, there was enough good advice being passed around to make everyone stop & think about how we do things. Nigel in particular was a revelation. I've heard things about his boats, often not too complimentary, but having met the the guy I can't imagine that they're anything other than terrific. The number of good paddlers around the world that paddle them has to bear testimony to that. It was interesting to hear that he & his group of 4 circumnavigated South Georgia in 5.4m boats - considered long in the world context yet too short in the general philosophy of Australian kayakers. Nigel's advice on forward stroke & rescues have made me a more thoughtful, less dogmatic sea instructor. One thing in particular stands out - if you're having trouble with your paddle stroke, be sure to have a good hard look at the length of your paddle! Chances are it's way too long.

Ian Fletcher & Alan Hale playing off the southern reef of Black Rock.

John Kirk Anderson drew a direct relationship between the general lack of skills in NZ Sea Kayaking with the absolute preponderance of rudders, which served to remind me of the virtues to be gained from developing proper sea skills, independent of an overbearing tracking aid.

As for trips, I led a group including our 2 Queenslanders, Silvio Testa & Damiano Visocnik, as well as WA visitor Alan Hale out to Black Rock, an 18km return trip which featured dolphins & millpond seas. We were able to get a couple of people out on the sea who had never ventured past a headland - well done Lauren & Kaye! Day two began with a superb trip out to the Tollgates, with a large group of 14, again including some real novices. The forecast of benign weather allowed us to get these guys out to a tricky destination safely, with just a small taste of the joys of paddling on a heaving sea. We were lucky enough to spend 15 minutes with a sleeping 2.5m fur seal, as well as spotting dolphins & a few fairy penguins. I checked a sea cave on the southern edge of the Tollgates to see if we might be able to guide a few people in for a go at this up-close thrill, but a sudden 6 foot wave made me think twice about taking a risk like that! Having Paul Loker out there helping to lead the trip was a real pleasure, Paul being one of the most experienced kayakers in the country, blessed with great judgement in moving water.

From the perspective of our business, Expedition Kayaks, Rob & I were thrilled that so many people took the chance to test paddle our Valley & Impex kayaks. Even if they're not intending to buy one, it can only help our sport if people can begin to believe that it is possible to competently handle a kayak without the need for a rudder. All up, the best weekend you could imagine for someone new to the sport, or looking for some like minded souls with whom to share knowledge & experience, while having a hell of a lot of fun. Congratulations to the NSWSKC, especially Stephan Meyn & Rob Richmond on such a great event.

Gary Forrest Endo...!

Queensland sea instructor Gary Forrest has been putting his Force 5 K-Lite through it's paces on the famous Mooloolooba Beach break, with dramatic effect.

He's managed to turn the endo into an artform, with practiced landings & a technique which allows him to actually have fun with this most unsettling of kayak manouvres. Click on the video link of Gary carving up a 6 footer on the bar, to see the slideshow of this awesome endo sequence. Superb stuff.

Instruction Paddle to Little Bay

Alan Thurman shows off his todger

Easter Sunday, 2008, Rob Mercer led a terrific NSWSKC club trip from La Perouse on Sydney's southern tip, to Little Bay & back. The group was a reasonably experienced one (John Pitrowski, Sharon Betteridge, Rod Cutting, Alan Thurman, Terry Walsh, Stuart Morgan, Sally Jacobs, Rob & I), with very mild conditions (10 knot breeze, 2m of south swell on a small sea), & the weather was nothing short of spectacular. We concentrated on a few advanced drills, including a great V-tow exercise where four paddlers rotate from tower to support paddler to victim to tower, & some rescues involving deck carries from both the bow & rear deck. At Little Bay Rob & I caught a few little waves of the reef, & then had a shot at the assisted rescue technique suggested by renowned British paddler Gordon Brown. The best of these was a 'capsize' assisted boat empty, whereby the rescuer grabs the bow toggle of the victim's boat & brings it over the gunwale to empty the cockpit, partially capsizing in the process, then simply rotates the boat back into position once it's drained. Very fast, very simple, & with a little practice a most valuable skill for any paddlers' rescue armoury.

On the return to La Perouse we practiced some rolling, with virtually all of the group managing a roll of sorts, & those yet to crack the skill at least giving it a shot.

Coffee & cakes at the Boat Shed cafe rounded off a beaut day on the water. John Piotrowski has shot a nice photo record of the day - you can see it HERE.

The author punching out a few K's

View from the Assateague

Rob Mercer entering Botany Bay

Big Blokes Boats

I just got back from a test paddle on a wild & wooly morning with one of my oldest mates, Stacka. He is an ex-rugby player, Tamarama Beach Inspector, Eastern Suburbs personality, & prospective sea kayaker. Tipping the scales at around 100kg (like me) our paddle offered the opportunity to take out the two 'big blokes' boats in the EK range, the Assateague from Impex & the Aquanaut HV from Valley. Conditions were at the er... 'less safe' end of the safety spectrum, with 15-20knots blowing hard from the south, with a 3m swell bedding down a very confused 2m sea. Suffice to say it's the first time I've ever caught waves off the point at Frenchman's Bay.

Assateague

Head to head, there wasn't much to separate these two kayaks in performance, with the Aquanaut HV a little more close-fitting, with slightly less initial stability. The Assateague really is a big guy, big hauling dream of a kayak; plenty of room for big trips but a narrow enough beam to ensure performance that other large boats can only dream of. It has enough waterline length to be reasonably quick, but retains the great performance of it's smaller clone, the Currituck. Both held a good track with 20 knots on the beam, both rode effortlessly over the oncoming chop giving a very dry ride, but it was down sea that there were a couple of differences. 

Aquanaut RM HV

The HV is exceptionally fast once the hull begins to plane in a following sea, regularly blasting past 13-15kmh on surf rides - like the Nordkapp that's quick enough to ride onto the wave in front of the one you're initially riding, which is about as much fun as you can have in a kayak. The Assateague in the same following seas isn't quite as quick, but the spongy secondary stability allows you to carve around as you ride along, which is very satisfying. Both boats roll superbly & turn tightly, considering they are in the 5 & a half metre range, & importantly, they stay true to the concept of reacting predictably & truly to correctly applied technique. There's not a lot of point having a design that rewards a good sharp edged turn with a swim!

Without the experience of paddling these boats in challenging conditions, as were lucky enough to have presented today, you couldn't possibly know how they are going to perform. I'm constantly amazed that folks are prepared to part with thousands of dollars on a kayak that they aspire to paddle in the sea, when all they're able to do is test paddle it on a mirror calm stretch of water. Most of the kayaks around would have scared the cr*p out of a prospective buyer in the wind chop & confusion of today's paddle, yet this is precisely the stuff in which the Valley & Impex boats shine. 

As for Stacka, even after a big blokes coffee & a BLT for brekkie post-paddle, he can't make up his mind between the boats, but then he is about the most indecisive bloke you could ever meet......