With a busy weekend coming up and a busy week behind, Marty and I decided to sneak out for a paddle on Friday evening. We put in at Tuggerawong at 5:15 and paddled across to the Entrance. There was a noreaster blowing as usual for this time of year and a well developed two to three foot wind wave was on our stern quarter on the way across.
I'm in the market for a spare paddle to compliment my beautiful Werner Cyprus so I had a go with Marty's spare carbon fibre Skee paddle. These are a locally made paddle which has a fairly large blade area and are very popular with Mirage paddlers due to their strong catch and light weight. This one was adjustable and the shortest I could get it was 214 cm, just a bit long for me in my narrow beamed boat. I certainly found it delivered with the powerful catch but it felt awkward to me whenever I tried a sweep stroke or blended strokes together. After 5km I had a blister and a sore tendon in my elbow so I swapped back to the Cyprus. A nice light paddle in a ruddered boat but perhaps not suited to a more traditional skegged design where a wider variety of strokes are used. Maybe I'm just spoilled, but the search continues.
We spent a while in the channel, playing in the calmer waters, edging and generally goofing around with draw strokes and rudder strokes. We ran the gauntlet of fishing lines down to the channel entrance, but the tide was very low and we decided not to try and go out into the open ocean.
As the sun was setting, we headed back across the lake and made it back to Tuggerawong in the last of the light. The wind had dropped and the lake had calmed down nicely. My new kayalite did it's job well and kept us very visible to any other boat traffic. Thanks for your company and the loan of the paddle Marty.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Spoon Rocks.
Marty organised this trip and once again we were joined by some fellow paddlers from the Central Coast Canoe Club. Nick Geoff and Dave joined myself and fellow Klan members, Marty, Selim, Brad, Ben and Shawn for a 7am start at Catherine Hill Bay.
Catherine Hill Bay is a nice quiet retired mining village just north of Munmorah State Recreation Area and just south of Swansea. Most of the homes there are old miners cottages and the mine and its associated coal washery were the life's blood of the town. Coal ships were loaded from the wharf, which is still standing and the subject of a petition by the locals to save it from demolition. It could be a nice asset for the village, I could see it with a promenade and maybe a cafe, lots of room for fishing and so on. Of course it's a steel jetty in the ocean, so there would be a continuing cost to keep it in a safe state of repair.
Catherine Hill Bay is also the target of developers who want to develop the old coal washery, which would bring in a wave of new residents and a big increase in population and traffic. The locals don't want it or need it and have been vocal in their opposition to it, but the powers that be have ridden over the top of them roughshod so far.
Conditions were very calm, bearing little resemblance to the predictions from BOM. The sky was blue and the ocean warm and a gentle half metre of swell caressed the beach like a child stroking a kitten. The forecast southerly change with its thirty-five knot wind speed and 2 metre waves was still hours away and we would be off the water long before it hit. We still kept a wary eye to the south though.
Off the beach and on the water. Shawn generously provided the rescue practice for the day after getting surprised by a quick one-two combination of waves from the left and right. He was back in his boat and paddling with no further excitement.
We headed up the coast poking our noses into every cleft, cranny and sea cave we came to. The shark hole is a beautiful circular hole surrounded by cliff lines with a deep cleft at the back that goes some distance back into the headland. On this morning I was the only one who seemed to want to go in and I spent a few quiet moments in the shade checking out the multicoloured growth encrusting the walls below the water line. I came back out and met Selim and cracked a couple of rolls for his video camera. They weren't very tidy ones, but the water was really nice. You can't beat rotary cooling on a hot day.
A little further up the coast is a largish sea cave. You could park a couple of tennis courts in there quite easily and only the very highest defensive lob would hit the ceiling. Even with half a dozen five metre plus kayaks in there, it didn't feel crowded. The roof is beautifully sculpted by centuries of big swell pounding into the rock. Looking up at that roof, one is struck by the power of the sea and how small and fragile we are. The cave is best entered at high tide as there is more depth over the rocks and the water inside tends to be calmer.
We continued up the coast and paused for some morning tea at Spoon Rocks, a break wall that provides good protection for a safe landing. Spoon rocks is just south of Caves Beach and the caves can be seen from the beach. A nice swim, and a snack to keep the energy levels up and we were off again, heading back down the coast to Catho, coffee and a Sno-Cone. The surf was up a little higher when we got back but everyone landed safely but a little sad to have to cut the trip short to avoid the approaching weather.
Thanks All for your good company and another great paddle. Photos can be found on the Klan site.
http://www.hunterpaddler.ning.com/
Catherine Hill Bay is a nice quiet retired mining village just north of Munmorah State Recreation Area and just south of Swansea. Most of the homes there are old miners cottages and the mine and its associated coal washery were the life's blood of the town. Coal ships were loaded from the wharf, which is still standing and the subject of a petition by the locals to save it from demolition. It could be a nice asset for the village, I could see it with a promenade and maybe a cafe, lots of room for fishing and so on. Of course it's a steel jetty in the ocean, so there would be a continuing cost to keep it in a safe state of repair.
Catherine Hill Bay is also the target of developers who want to develop the old coal washery, which would bring in a wave of new residents and a big increase in population and traffic. The locals don't want it or need it and have been vocal in their opposition to it, but the powers that be have ridden over the top of them roughshod so far.
Conditions were very calm, bearing little resemblance to the predictions from BOM. The sky was blue and the ocean warm and a gentle half metre of swell caressed the beach like a child stroking a kitten. The forecast southerly change with its thirty-five knot wind speed and 2 metre waves was still hours away and we would be off the water long before it hit. We still kept a wary eye to the south though.
Off the beach and on the water. Shawn generously provided the rescue practice for the day after getting surprised by a quick one-two combination of waves from the left and right. He was back in his boat and paddling with no further excitement.
We headed up the coast poking our noses into every cleft, cranny and sea cave we came to. The shark hole is a beautiful circular hole surrounded by cliff lines with a deep cleft at the back that goes some distance back into the headland. On this morning I was the only one who seemed to want to go in and I spent a few quiet moments in the shade checking out the multicoloured growth encrusting the walls below the water line. I came back out and met Selim and cracked a couple of rolls for his video camera. They weren't very tidy ones, but the water was really nice. You can't beat rotary cooling on a hot day.
A little further up the coast is a largish sea cave. You could park a couple of tennis courts in there quite easily and only the very highest defensive lob would hit the ceiling. Even with half a dozen five metre plus kayaks in there, it didn't feel crowded. The roof is beautifully sculpted by centuries of big swell pounding into the rock. Looking up at that roof, one is struck by the power of the sea and how small and fragile we are. The cave is best entered at high tide as there is more depth over the rocks and the water inside tends to be calmer.
We continued up the coast and paused for some morning tea at Spoon Rocks, a break wall that provides good protection for a safe landing. Spoon rocks is just south of Caves Beach and the caves can be seen from the beach. A nice swim, and a snack to keep the energy levels up and we were off again, heading back down the coast to Catho, coffee and a Sno-Cone. The surf was up a little higher when we got back but everyone landed safely but a little sad to have to cut the trip short to avoid the approaching weather.
Thanks All for your good company and another great paddle. Photos can be found on the Klan site.
http://www.hunterpaddler.ning.com/
Bird Island
This was Marty's first event. An early morning paddle, starting at 7am. Crack of dawn for most on a Saturday morning. Early or not we still had a great turnout, from both the Klan and the Central Coast Canoe Club. It was a perfect day, flat calm with just a hint of swell and just a breath of wind. We launched off the beach at Cabbage Tree Bay, on the northern side of Norah Head. This is a nice little beach with good protection from the prevailing southerly swells. In a Noreaster the exposure is far greater and in conjunction with the steeply shelving profile of the beach, there can be a nasty shore dump, especially at low tide. This can provide hours of entertainment watching the poor souls trying to get their boats back on their trailers, but I digress.
We paddled out and just inshore of the bomborah. Most of us took a prudent line where the energy of the break had dissipated, but Geoff showed his skill and confidence and ploughed straight through the middle. I was tempted to follow him, but thought better of it, he's a better paddler than I will ever be. We continued on along the beach for a while before cutting out and heading around the island. This little rocky island has no easy landing spots on it. It was used for bombing practice in the second world war resulting in extensive rocky rubble on the sea bed around the island. Above water there is little sign of this abuse after a few decades of constant erosion from wind and waves.
The water was crystal clear and I kicked myself for leaving my mask behind. Next time I'll spend some quiet time checking out the underwater scenery better. After a loop of the Island, the bulk of the group headed back over to the big bommie just east of cabbage tree. Unfortunately I had chores to do with the pool being installed the next day, so I took the direct line back to the beach. Another perfect outing, just too short.
Video of the trip can be found here:
http://www.hunterpaddler.ning.com/
We paddled out and just inshore of the bomborah. Most of us took a prudent line where the energy of the break had dissipated, but Geoff showed his skill and confidence and ploughed straight through the middle. I was tempted to follow him, but thought better of it, he's a better paddler than I will ever be. We continued on along the beach for a while before cutting out and heading around the island. This little rocky island has no easy landing spots on it. It was used for bombing practice in the second world war resulting in extensive rocky rubble on the sea bed around the island. Above water there is little sign of this abuse after a few decades of constant erosion from wind and waves.
The water was crystal clear and I kicked myself for leaving my mask behind. Next time I'll spend some quiet time checking out the underwater scenery better. After a loop of the Island, the bulk of the group headed back over to the big bommie just east of cabbage tree. Unfortunately I had chores to do with the pool being installed the next day, so I took the direct line back to the beach. Another perfect outing, just too short.
Video of the trip can be found here:
http://www.hunterpaddler.ning.com/
Monday, February 7, 2011
Stohlquist Contact Gloves - Good Kit, get yourself a pair.
There are some bits of kit that really impress you. The first time I picked up my Werner Cyprus paddle was one of them. The first time I paddled a Nordkapp was another. This time it was a simple pair of gloves. In the summertime my hands get fried. No matter how much sun block and zinc cream I plaster on, it just comes off and the backs of my hands end up looking like the Chinese flag.
Most gloves I've worn have either left me feeling clumsy with no real feel of the paddle. There are some sun protection gloves that just cover the back of your hand but these feel awkward to me, loose and floppy. They're held on by little elastic loops and I feel them all the time between my fingers. I still end up with sunscreen all over my hands and that makes the paddle slippery and feels awkward. These gloves though were a revelation to me.
You can't really see it in the picture but the whole palm is a thin rubber membrane with no bulk at all. This and the fingerless design gives a great grip on the paddle and yet remains completely unobtrusive. You forget that you're wearing them. Skulling, bracing, rolling it doesn't matter, paddle control is not compromised at all. They let you do the paddling as if they weren't there.
The back of the glove is thin stretchy neoprene protected by a nylon gauze and the index finger is topped with a little terry towelling patch for absorbing stray moisture or that drop of sunscreen and salt that just ran into your eye. The Contact gloves are also comfortably pre-bent to reduce hand fatigue, you don't have to exert effort to keep the fingers curled around the paddle. They're well made and good value for money.
Highly recommended.
Most gloves I've worn have either left me feeling clumsy with no real feel of the paddle. There are some sun protection gloves that just cover the back of your hand but these feel awkward to me, loose and floppy. They're held on by little elastic loops and I feel them all the time between my fingers. I still end up with sunscreen all over my hands and that makes the paddle slippery and feels awkward. These gloves though were a revelation to me.
The back of the glove is thin stretchy neoprene protected by a nylon gauze and the index finger is topped with a little terry towelling patch for absorbing stray moisture or that drop of sunscreen and salt that just ran into your eye. The Contact gloves are also comfortably pre-bent to reduce hand fatigue, you don't have to exert effort to keep the fingers curled around the paddle. They're well made and good value for money.
Highly recommended.
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