22/12/2010
It was a beautiful evening, the lake was mirror calm, it's surface untouched by wind or current. I put in at 6 pm and paddled around to Buff Point where I met up with Martin and we continued over to Gorokan to meet up with Phil. We headed south into Tuggerah Lake and headed towards the Entrance. All the way down we lamented the lack of breeze and waves, but on the bright side my forward stroke seems to have come good with my new paddle and I was cruising comfortably with two Mirage 580s. Phil even mentioned that Clementine seemed "a pretty fast boat", high praise indeed from a Mirage paddler with four Hawkesbury Classics under his belt. She is a fast boat for the type that she is, I'm quite sure that if the pedals had been to the metal on the flat water the Mirages would have left me bobbing in their wakes, but the Nordkapp was never designed for racing. Of course, at present she's a fast boat with a slow paddler and a fairly flabby one at that.
Shortly before the first channel marker at the Entrance, we turned west and headed across the lake to Tuggerawong, the plant being to head North again to Gorokan. No sooner had we turned for Gorokan than the evening Noreaster kicked in at a solid 15 knots. Within 20 minutes the waves we had wanted on the way down were smacking us in the teeth on the way back. Pretty soon my abs were telling me that my paddling has been sporadic at best for the last few months and Phil and Martin started to pull ahead in their Mirages.
Just before Gorokan, Martin left us to paddle back down to Tuggerawong. Turning to see him off I was greeted by a magnificent sunset display of pastel pinks and purples. Quite a treat. Phil and I kept heading north and at Gorokan I dropped Phil off before heading off over Budgewoi Lake to Buff Point.
It was now dark and the wind had increased to a solid 20 knots. I turned on my light and set off. There was just the glimmer of a moon behind the clouds and while it was breezy, there was only a few kilometres of fetch and the wind and waves were full on the bow and presented no problems. It was a slow crossing with my flabby abs burning and just plugging away against the wind, but the feel of the water moving under the boat was an absolute joy and put a smile on my face all the way across.
Once I passed Buff Point the wind was broken by the land and the conditions were flat and boring again but my abs didn't complain about that at all. I had a little rest, lying on the back deck and then headed on round the boat channel. Several of the channel markers were out but I only strayed into the shallows a couple of times and got back to my car at 10pm, almost exactly four hours after I left. Approximately 20 km, 4 hours. Not bad for a mid week evening paddle. Thanks Phil and Martin for your company.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Wednesday Evening Paddle.
15/12/2010
It was a beautiful evening, and Owen, Graeme, Dobbo and I set out from Budgewoi Channel for a gentle cob-web clearing paddle and a few gentle rolls. Owen had his Avocet, Graeme was test paddling a P&H Delphin and Dobbo was in his shiny new yellow Aquanaut. The wind was no more than a breath and we headed up into Lake Munmorah where Owen demonstrated a re-enter and roll with his wing paddle. I tried a roll, expecting to wind up in the drink as I hadn't been in the boat for months but pulled it off. The muscle memory hasn't deserted me completely.
Graeme managed to roll the unfamiliar Delphin very gracefully and gave us a good look at the underside in the process. There's a really clearly defined flat section that looks as if it might make the boat catch waves well. There is a distinctly high volume raised prow, which looks a little odd and a low flat back deck which look like they make the boat a good roller. I'd have to say that the looks of the boat didn't appeal to me but you can't always judge a book by it's cover. I'll have to wait and see how Graeme finds the boat with a longer paddle and some open water.
We continued up to the point and then turned for home, as a light North-easter came up and gently pushed us home. Still struggling to get my forward stroke working well with my new paddle though. A very pleasant evening and thanks all for joining me.
It was a beautiful evening, and Owen, Graeme, Dobbo and I set out from Budgewoi Channel for a gentle cob-web clearing paddle and a few gentle rolls. Owen had his Avocet, Graeme was test paddling a P&H Delphin and Dobbo was in his shiny new yellow Aquanaut. The wind was no more than a breath and we headed up into Lake Munmorah where Owen demonstrated a re-enter and roll with his wing paddle. I tried a roll, expecting to wind up in the drink as I hadn't been in the boat for months but pulled it off. The muscle memory hasn't deserted me completely.
Graeme managed to roll the unfamiliar Delphin very gracefully and gave us a good look at the underside in the process. There's a really clearly defined flat section that looks as if it might make the boat catch waves well. There is a distinctly high volume raised prow, which looks a little odd and a low flat back deck which look like they make the boat a good roller. I'd have to say that the looks of the boat didn't appeal to me but you can't always judge a book by it's cover. I'll have to wait and see how Graeme finds the boat with a longer paddle and some open water.
We continued up to the point and then turned for home, as a light North-easter came up and gently pushed us home. Still struggling to get my forward stroke working well with my new paddle though. A very pleasant evening and thanks all for joining me.
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