Rock 'N' Roll Highlights
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THE MAGAZINE OF THE NSW SEA KAYAK CLUB ISSUE 101 | JUNE 2016 Rock ‘n’ Roll Highlights PLUS Four Bass Strait Crossings! AGM Notice Our N.S.W. Challenge Continues Queensland Percy Group Flotsam’s Revenge 2 Above: Tim Pearse surfing in Sydney Harbour on a recent Tuesday evening paddle (Rob Mercer) Front cover: Megan Pryke leading a trip at Rock ‘n’ Roll Jimmys Beach in March 2016. Megan is a familiar paddler with the club, organiser of the successful N.S.W. Challenge, CONTENTS and now joins the elite list of Bass Strait crossing kayakers From the President’s Deck 3 From the Editor’s Desk 4 NSW Sea Kayak Club Inc. Saltiest Article 4 AGM Notice 5 PO BOX R1302, ROYAL EXCHANGE NSW 1225 Training and Technical Trip with Scenarios 6 The NSWSKC is a voluntary organisation run by members who give their time DIY Throw-rope 8 freely to the club. Membership is offered yearly. Please see the website for details Infectious Bacteria in Sydney and application. www.nswseakayaker.asn.au Harbour 10 PRESIDENT: TRIPS CONVENOR: Rock ‘n’ Roll Highlights Campbell Tiley Shaan Gresser [email protected] [email protected] RnR Wrap-up 12 RnR An Amazing Experience 14 VICE PRESIDENT: ROCK ’N ROLL COORDINATOR: RnR An Interstate Visit 16 Tony Murphy David Linco [email protected] [email protected] RnR I’ve Found my People 17 RnR It’s Good to be Alive 18 SECRETARY/TREASURER: INTERNET COORDINATOR: RnR Photo Collage 20 Alison Curtin Stephan Meyn [email protected] [email protected] Hawkesbury Canoe Classic 22 TRAINING COORDINATOR: EDITOR: To Pee at Sea (poem) 22 Stuart Trueman Steve Hitchcock Club Trips [email protected] [email protected] NSW Recap 23 Contributions yes please! Salt the magazine of the NSW Sea Kayak Club is published three to four NSW Wattamolla to Bundeena 24 times a year by the NSW Sea Kayak Club. The NSWSKC welcomes articles relating to sea kayaking for inclusion in the Club’s magazine and website. Publication in the magazine and/or website is at the sole NSW Palm Beach to Long Reef 25 discretion of the editor. All articles submitted are subject to review by the editor who reserves the right Private Trips to reject or edit material. Please email contributions as Microsoft Word or text files. Images need to be supplied at the highest possible resolution. All material is copyright. The contributor retains underlying There and Back & There Again 26 intellectual property rights in the contribution however the contributor grants the club a global perpetual Hogan Island Paradise 30 all-media license to publish the contribution in club communications, including in print and digitally. Reproduction in whole or part is strictly forbidden without written permission from the editor, author or Hail the Sail ! 32 photographer. Advertisers must adhere to legal requirements and undertake to indemnify NSWSKC Western Bass Strait 36 against any consequences arising out of their advertisements. For further information contact the editor. A Nightmare on the Water 42 All views expressed in this magazine are those of the authors and are not necessarily those of the NSWSKC. Unfinished Business 44 IMPORTANT: Please review the Paddler Safety, Required Equipment, Grading System and Club Go west 50 Calendar sections of the club website. JUNE 2016 | SALT 3 that they are facing as well as From the initiatives that are working well. At a more basic level this contact also fosters personal links that President’s can facilitate interstate paddling. We have agreed to support a second yearly meeting involving Deck representatives of the committees of all major state sea kayak clubs who choose to attend as well as CAMPBELL TILEY KASK to maintain and expand on the momentum from the two national I would like to open by are well placed to contribute so Sea Kayak Summits held over acknowledging the plethora of don’t hold back from volunteering recent years to date. The proposal is training opportunities on the calendar for a role just because you have to alternate between the VSKC and over recent months. This reflects not been a long-term member. We NSWSKC initially, with the Victorians’ commitment by both leaders and want balanced input from a range of turn coming up next year. instructors and, in particular, the paddling perspectives so please put Thanks to the volunteers, leaders, commitment by Stuart Trueman to your hand up. instructors and to David Linco as run assessments for Sea Instructors I regularly receive requests that RnR coordinator who have pulled off and to push potential candidates to I circulate information to the yet another excellent Rock ‘n’ Roll be assessed. An increase in Sea membership about an event weekend at Jimmys Beach. Although Instructor numbers will help foster or cause. These may be very attendee numbers were down a new Sea Guides and both will fill a worthwhile fundraising endeavours little on recent years, the weather shortfall in active leaders and should or ideological causes, often with a was perfect and the Sunday video help address the rather sparse trips marine ecology angle. My general session attracted an impressive calendar. Unfortunately a number approach has been to note that selection of excellent short films. of leaders have been ‘distracted’ the members’ emails have been The support of Expedition Kayaks from running trips by involvement provided for communication in training due to forthcoming was also much appreciated and regarding Club activities and not for assessments. Thanks also to Adrian the comprehensive display of gear members to advocate for causes. As Clayton who has continued his as well as ready advice from Rob, a result of this, I refuse approaches prominent involvement in training Sharon and Mark was well received such as this. We are looking at including a recent Sea Skills as always. As for Mark’s ukulele, the the use of a Facebook page, assessment. less said the better. independent of the Club website, Megan Pryke’s ‘NSW Challenge’ and this may provide an option for Like the Norwegian Blue I continue has been a great success with communication between members. to metaphorically ‘pine for the fjords’ the majority of legs being so well We do, however, need to understand after our Tassie west coast trip supported that additional leaders the attitude of members to receiving earlier this year. I hope to provide have been needed to run the trips. unsolicited communication of a bit more detail from the trip in the No discussion of the trips calendar material unrelated to the Club but next Salt and will enjoy the inspiring is complete without thanking Sharon generally with a marine or ecological trip reports from others in this issue. Betteridge, Rob Mercer and Owen flavour and Kimberley for their weekly paddles, I intend to Waterfront camp near Melaleuca which collectively account for more seek advice Inlet, Southwest Tasmania paddlers on the water than all other at the AGM. trips combined. Informal Please come along to the AGM networking next month (see promo on page with 5 and emails nearer the time) and interstate ensure that the Committee knows clubs what you think they should be doing! provides an Please also think about any of the opportunity Committee roles not yet filled for to hear about next year. Paddlers who have been issues and members for only a couple of years challenges NSW SEA KAYAK CLUB | JUNE 2016 4 account about paddling the Percy Group of Islands between Rockhampton and Mackay, followed by Nerissa Worwood’s induction From the to the WA paddling fraternity. Plus it’s always welcoming to receive a humorous tale from Mark Pearson, Editor’s Desk about a situation most of us must contemplate whenever we hop in STEVE HITCHCOCK our kayaks. So thanks again to all those Well my season as Editor is coming Bass Strait crossings in one edition, members who have sent in material. to a close. Hard to believe I’ve but after a sharp intake of breath, I really appreciate everything I achieved this many magazines I did. All occurred early this year, receive, and it seems from your without an editing background, but and to be fair to all participants, feedback, that you enjoy reading it well worth the journey. Don’t be all deserve the accolade that too. I hope to see you on the water afraid to put up your hand at the publishing their stories bring. I’m and expect to keep reading your AGM (or before) to take on this glad to say that each report gives a stories for years to come. exciting role, you won’t regret it! different perspective and I hope, like me, you never tire of reading such Back to the important paddling great expeditions. To the Committee stories, and of course, Rock ‘n’ Roll 2016 takes front and centre stage. After Rock ‘n’ Roll, Bass Strait and What a great R&R it was What glorious weather we had, the NSW Challenge, there wasn’t this year!! And great work and for many of us Jimmys Beach too much room left for other stories. on your behalf with the virgins, what a fantastic place to So I focused on those submissions outstanding work on the paddle and explore. Thanks David from members with wider diversity magazine! for such a great weekend.I never than NSW and Tasmania. It was Cheers, Garry Mansfield thought I would ever publish four lovely to read Sharon Betteridge’s Saltiest submission WINNER I’m pleased to announce the winner of the ‘Saltiest Article’ from Salt #100 was our accomplished Adobe CS6 software specialist, Ruby Gamble.