First Aid Refresher

Rob & I need to have up-to-date first aid qualifications as part of our Australian Canoeing Sea Instructor qualifications, and by coincidence our current certificates were both due to expire this month.
Sharon managed to find a little gem in Eden Findlay, a local emergency & first aid trainer who runs his Senior First Aid course out of a legendary local watering hole of which I have particularly warm & hazy memories, the Clovelly Hotel.
I've heard long & mournful whining over the years about the folly of us sea paddlers having to update our ticket every three years, and it's generally the single factor that causes people to allow their leader, guide or instructor qualifications to lapse.
I have a more cheerful view on it all, having had to use my first aid skills in two life threatening situations over the past few years. The first (link HERE) was a successful resuscitation of a poor dude who had stopped breathing and was for all money as dead as Julius Cesar. The second was just last year in Melbourne helping a young girl out of an horrific car crash and making sure she didn't lapse into shock.
Both experiences left me feeling very empowered, in stark contrast to the onlookers present who were mostly in a state of shock themselves, with a few admitting afterwards to their shame that they 'just wouldn't have known what to do'.

Eden was brilliant, tuning into the water-specific emergencies with which we are most likely to deal & tailoring the day to our needs, whilst still running through the full range of the First Aid spectrum. As always, in three years since my last refresher things have changed. It's now optional to perform the 'mouth to mouth' part of CPR, with chest compressions the overwhelmingly more important element of the first aid. We got to play with Epi Pens, and will now carry them in our first aid kits in the kayak. We'll probably also invest in a resuscitation bag. Jellyfish sting treatment has changed (again…!)
To top off all of the great info Eden provided he also shouts you a ripper of a counter lunch & a cold schooner. It was the most lucid & enjoyable day I've spent in the Cloey Hotel ever!
If you're thinking about doing a first aid course or a refresher with some mates, please consider Eden's services. His company is EFI Training & you can contact him at bodyburner@bigpond.com.
And finally, don't just consider it, do it. A community full of first aid trained citizens would be a safer place.

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.

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

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

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.

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."

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.