Round Ireland Underway

Jeff Allen & Harry Whelan have begun their Round Ireland record attempt. Both are paddling Rockpool Tarans, using Epic Mid Wing paddles, in a formula we have been eyeing for an upcoming trip with some long crossings. We've been bouncing feedback across the globe as they have tested & tried out their boats, and we have been doing liekwise, so we're very interested to see how they get on, on such a challenging trip.
You can follow their progress HERE.
Good luck Jeff & Harry!

Vicki McAuley 'Solo' Back in stock

Just a quick note to let everyone know that we have stock back on the shelf of Vicki McAuley's highly acclaimed book Solo.
Every cent of the book's sale price goes directly back to Vicki & Finlay, which isn't the case if you buy from a book shop, so if you've been looking around for a copy, we've now got 'em again.
Here's a review of the book from Australian Bookseller & Publisher Magazine:
"Wow. What a rollercoaster of emotions. Solo is the story of adventurer Andrew McAuley and his dream to cross the Tasman Sea by kayak. This book was also a dream of Andrew’s, but after his tragic death during the Tasman Sea crossing, it was left to his wife Vicki to complete. Andrew’s story is told from several points of view—Vicki’s, Andrew’s, and friends who helped the couple plan this epic voyage. Vicki discovered files and film footage that Andrew had written and filmed during his 30 days at sea, and with much heartache she has pieced together a story that will tear at your heart. Her story takes us into her husband’s world and helps us understand why he chose to leave his wife and son behind as he attempted to become the first man to reach New Zealand from Australia by kayak. I had so many mixed emotions reading this book. Knowing Andrew’s fate before I began the book filled me with a sense of sadness, but many, many times throughout the story, I found myself inspired, awe-struck and laughing at things he was able to achieve. This book is also about Vicki and her son Finlay—the support crew who helped to keep Andrew’s dream alive for many years. This is an inspiring read and McAuley has done a wonderful job in re-telling a story that has so much happiness and grief."

This review from Australian Bookseller & Publisher magazine (September 2010, Vol 90, No. 2)

Next UK Container - Valley & Rockpool

Our next shipment from the Valley & Rockpool stable lands in about 3 weeks. Due to a slight delay in Valley getting the new Etain ready for us, there are very few boats left for sale, that haven't been pre-ordered. We're finalising our next Valley order shortly so shouldn't be without the ever popular Nordkapp LV's and the new Etain LV for too long.
Our Kayak Prices & Stock page, with all colours, models and pricing available from stock is now up to date with what is coming.

Rock & Roll 2011

Rock & Roll 2011 has been run & won, with a bumper attendance of more than 160 paddlers enjoying bright sunshine, enough variable wind to produce some exciting seas, and the unmistakeable goodwill that radiates from gathering of this ilk with people who share a passion.
The weekend began a day early for me, as I met WA paddling legend Les Allen & his good mate & accomplished expeditioner Ian Pexton at the airport late Thursday. We headed south as far as Ulladulla, and becuase I always do my best to go 5 star with interstate guests, I booked us in at the salubrious Marlin Hotel. We adjourned to the local Italian & then back to the pub to share a beer & swap tall stories. Les & Ian do their paddling in a very different way to my style. They specialise in big loads, massive distance, unbelievably hard coastline, and the big boats that align to that bee-line expeditioning school. They were both here primarily to test out the Wind 585, after hearing good things.

The Marlin, the Waldorf Astoria of the South.

We rose surprisingly early Friday & shot down to Bateman's to set up the sprawling EK display. Even at 9.30am there were still plenty of early arrivals at RnR, showing what a highlight it has become for paddlers.
By the time our traditional Beer & Pizza welcome party was in full swing the crowd had swelled to over 100 & everyone was having a great time. Kayaking celebrities like Mick MacRobb from Flat Earth Sails, continental circumnavigator Stu Trueman (flown back for the RnR from FNQ to give a presentation), Les Allen, Capricornia Keys expeditioner Gary Forrest and solo female Bass Strait crosser Shaan Gresser mixed it up with their clubmates in a very friendly opening ceremony. 

In a new RnR record, 40 large pizzas were dispatched in a frenzied 27 minute, 22 second burst that would have done the local Gannet colony proud. The dozen cartons of beer lasted about another 45 minutes, with several of us getting well more than our share.

On a personal note, I'd like to thank Paul Loker for hauling me out of a bush at 1am, what is it about that guy being in the right place whenever an idiot makes a bad mistake? Thanks Paul…..
I ran a clinic on Saturday morning based around the skills required to chase down following seas, and Neptune delivered in the morning with a freshening southerly which had kicked up steep little wind waves & chop. With a short flat-water session centring around acceleration as a skill & how to go about developing it under our belts, we headed out into the bay to have a crack, with everyone managing a screaming ride at some point. I think this sort of paddling is the ultimate for a sea kayaker, where essentially we're harnessing the power of ocean to make ground & also, of course, have a ball tearing amount of fun, so it was good to get a keen & aggressive group out to see how a structured lesson might work.

Saturday evening's event dinner was headlined by canoeist Richard Barnes, a chap with a 'just do it' attitude. Stu Trueman then finished off the evening with a brilliantly delivered grab of tales from his epic voyage thus far from Broome to Cairns. If you get the opportunity to hear Stu speak, take it. In his understated way he mixes his own special brand of humour with some very raw descriptions of calculated expeditioning at the outer edge of our sport.

Stuart Trueman

Sunday dawned with a mixed weather report but southern observations suggesting the worst predictions were likely overestimates, so in small groups pretty much everyone who wanted to get out & experience the sea got a trip leader, guide or instructor to accompany them west. 

I took a group out to the iconic Tollgate Islands, a special little volcanic outcrop 6km offshore which reveals something different every time you head out there.

With little sea experience in the group, it was good to have a skilled paddler like Vincent Weafer along to 2IC, and we headed across to the islands at a good clip.

Vincent Weafer

There is a shallow gap between the islands which can be a bit hairy in a big sea, but with a group plan we picked bit of a lull & one at a time threaded our way through. The exposed western coast of the islands provided some wide eyed moments for a couple of paddlers, but it was only a short skip around the lee of the south shore where a perfect little rock garden presented itself. Once again we devised a plan, set up a paddler with towline at the ready, then shot across a small surging platform into the safety of a deep gully. Everyone managed to manoeuvre in, turn in the tight confines of the gully & then trace their line back out again. Well, almost everyone… Last to go through, Helen charged across the platform, got a surging wave at the exact wrong moment & wound up high & dry on an adjacent platform. Just as I was weighing the options of how best to fetch her from her predicament, another wave flooded the platform & she gracefully slid off the back & away into deep water. Full marks from the instructor!

By the time we were ready to head back the wind had built so we headed further across the sea in order to get all lined up for the 8km or so back to HQ. The great little following sea almost got us back to shore, running out of puff as we rounded Snapper Island.
Sunday night featured Captain Jim Kakuk from the Tsunami Rangers and his truly staggering collection of big water photos gathered over more than 20 years of close-quarter adventuring around the east coast of the US. Forget the hype, these guys are calculating risk managers who thoroughly reconnoitre their rock garden targets before unleashing some imposing skills to produce the thrills. Don't try it at home if you think they're just brave, there is way more science involved, not to mention some XXXL sized audacity.
On Monday I went for a blast with Ian Pexton, with Ian trying out the Taran & me in the Epic V8, which concluded with a great surf off the Bateman's Bar where we both clocked long, long runs at high speed. My GPS recorded one run in the V8 at 84 seconds, where I didn't dip below 16kmh, and twice hit over 20kmh. I also managed to 3/4 endo the V8 on a slightly steeper one, and can report that these skis are made a little stronger than some give them credit for!
The event concluded about midday Monday, and was once again an unconditional success.
At Rock & Roll paddlers new to the sport, if they so wish, can get proper sea exposure in the hands of competent paddlers trained to look after them. The social side of the event has reached a new level, with everyone getting into the spirit.

Team Hairy Racing Snakes trying out some boats.

Our own commercial side is well represented with Mirage making a welcome return to the event with their beautiful boats & new range of Stellar skis, Nadgee Kayaks exhibited as well as Andre from Hybrid & superstar Mick MacRobb with his peerless sails. The buzz from our boats was squarely centred around the broadly appealing Zegul 520 range, as well as the Taran, which pretty much excites everyone who jumps in for a paddle.
Thanks especially to RnR Co-ordinator Claus Busseler for the overall organisation & also to Matty Bezzina for getting it all together on the water.

Hides H2O, a Sunglass Retainer

One of Rob's clients, Dave Rowan, bought Rob a brilliant pair of sunglass retainers a few months back as a thank you, called Hides H20. We reckon they were clearly designed by a kayaker who has committed untold expensive pairs of shades to the depths, because in a lovely compact little package, they pretty much cover all the bases familiar to every single paddler with a lamenting look on their face as their prize Oakleys disappear into the harbour. 
Yes, yes, I can hear everyone saying, there isn't an invention out there to stop me being stupid enough to lose yet another pair, but check out these features.

Firstly, these things float, with a removable float that doubles as a thin neoprene glass case. If you're heading to the bar afterwards & don't want to look like a dork with your floatie flapping around off the back of your head you can take the float off. The strap then clips together to give you a solid, fitted strap, in the mould of Croakies or Chums that most of you will be familiar with. When it gets dark or you want to stow your glasses in the day hatch, the float unravels to form a protective case. Sayonara to the mystery scratches on your lenses after paddling, that were caused when you blindly put the sunnies in the hatch next to your multi tool. 
We sought out the manufacturer & have now got them in stock in red, blue, high vis. orange & groovy inner city black, for $17.00 including postage nationally. You can order them through our online store. We can now lay claim to the most expensive sunglass straps on the planet, but are happy in the knowledge that our expensive Maui Jims or Kavu glasses stand a much higher chance of seeing out the season! 

Demo Paddles

What happens on a demo paddle? How do you paddle a couple of boats over a short period & get some semblance of an idea of what it will be like, before committing a substantial amount of your hard earned towards a purchase? What do you look for if you're not an experienced paddler & seriously don't have much of a clue about the nuance of hull designs? How are you supposed to know what's going to happen to you & your new boat the first time you get into challenging water, if your test paddle is in controlled & calm conditions? How about your general skills, what's going on when the best reviewed boat on earth feels difficult on the water. Is it a crook boat, or are you desperately in need of some instant on-water feedback from a skilled paddler to maybe help you correct your own technical problem, which is perhaps giving you the wrong responses from the hull?
Buying a kayak is always a bit of a leap of faith. We try to minimise this by providing demo paddles in real conditions - at least as real as the paddler is comfortable with - and being alongside to offer technical advice on general paddling so you can get a proper understanding of what a particular boat is capable of.

Tim in the Zegul 520LV

This morning I took Tim out for a paddle in blustery conditions just inside Botany Bay, with 15knot winds generating short, sharp, uncomfortable wind waves. He'd expressed an interest in the Zegul 520, & the Nordkapp LV, neither of which are true novice boats, both of which offer rough water performance, but very, very different boats both in concept and on the water. We spent two hours paddling into, across, & downwind, stopped in the lee of Frenchman' Bay a couple of times to get a feel for some of the chine performance of the boats, & generally messed around trying to test & push both Tim & the hulls of two very different designs.

An aerial GPS Track of the demo paddle. Wind was 15-18kn from the SSW corner

Tim had a fantastic go. He pushed hard on the following seas, fell in more than once in his efforts, paddled across the wind in the uncomfortable chop & challenged himself beyond tipping point. He's a novice, but he's fit, brave & prepared to learn the skills required to become a sea kayaker. It was a brilliant morning, and Tim went away with a very good understanding of what boats shaped like the Nordkapp LV do, as opposed to what boats shaped like the Zegul 520 can do.
I love these sorts of test paddles because, well, hell I don't get on the water that often & we had fun. I love seeing people have a go, face the cruel reality that it's not easy to get good, but it's a brilliant thing to commit to something & begin the long & enjoyable process of attaining skills.
Sure not everyone aims so high, and more power to those with milder ambitions with their paddling - all paddling is good paddling. I just thought I'd share a nice story I had this morning from the perspective of an instructor, with the concept of a real demo paddle at it's heart.
Next time you go to buy a boat, ask about the style of demo paddle that is available, & then see if you can't get a bit more than just a solo paddle on a flat stretch of water, without any advice from a skilled instructor or guide. You will make a better choice if you're better informed.

Tuesday Night Paddle from the Deck

Here's a short video Rob shot from his Lumix FT10, mounted on the Ram Locking Camera Mount, set on the the deck of the Rockpool Taran. It shows his Tuesday night crew rounding North Head, and features some nice footage he captured while paddling backwards, of Wendy Stevenson & Shaan Gresser. These guys are good, note their terrific rotation & assured boat handling in the steep little meter or so seas, great to watch. I guess you'd expect Shaan to be in decent nick after just becoming the first woman to cross Bass Strait solo, here she shows a little of the poise & form that propelled her across to Tassie.