River Canoe Club - SPLASH May 2016

80 years - same dreams - same rivers - new and old paddlers

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SPLASH - May 2016
Monthly magazine of the River Canoe Club www.rivercanoeclub.org

Kayaking with Wheels

Expeditionary Kayaking

Hello [*firstname*],

Over the last months, your club committee has been working hard to provide a better platform for the club to renew and grow. These effort take shape in eight projects.

The first is our application and winning of a local sports grant from the NSW government to purchase a new trailer. This is a fantastic result for the club. Along with modifications to the old trailer, our expeditionary carrying capacity will increase to 16 boats (2 x 8). My personal trailer will go back to domestic duties but can still be used as a reserve.

The second is the agreement to improve our club equipment - this will see the sale and disposal of some old kayaks, and the purchase of additional boats, and better accessories including paddles and skirts. The whitewater, flat water and open water coordinators are developing buying and selling lists.

The third project is to further align our boat storage policy to support a dynamic club environment. Our goal is to have boat storage for those members who are actively engaged in club activities. Sadly our kayak racks have too many boats which have not touched water for years. Part of this process will involve asking some members to remove their boats from the clubhouse.

The fourth project is the review of boat storage charges. Woollahra Sailing Club charges $400 pa for boat storage, the Spit charges $999 and Birkenhead Point slugs $1000. Our paltry charge of $100 neither does justice to the costs and effort required to maintain the club and clubhouse. Consequently we will increase boat storage fees from $100 to $200 over a two year period - still a bargain any way you look at it.

The fifth project is to build the leadership capacity within the club. Currently there are too few members leading trips, leaving a disproportionate burden on a small number of individuals. Most trip leaders are also committee members, so there is a double burden. The committee believes it is not unreasonable to ask members storing their boats in the clubs, to lead one trip a year. We have already commenced a 'club trip leadership program' to support members who want to lead.

The sixth project is to improve access to the club house. A vibrant club involves a vibrant club house, driven by easy and frequent access for members, without undermining security. This will see the installation of an entry member which provides access for all members.

A seventh project will see improvements to the club house amenities, especially the kitchen. Here part of the challenge is our relationship with the club house owner, the newly created mega council - inner west council. As the southern most building in the council, I am not expecting the club house to be on the top of their priority list. Still Nell and Dee have visions of painting, cleaning and repairing large areas of the clubhouse.

The eighth project sees the continuation of the beginners program. This year's program brought in 45 new club members, and swelled the numbers of paddlers on every trip. Planning is underway for another program in November.

Aside from these eight project, our business as usual activities continue - white water trips, flat water trips, open water trips, marathon training, safety training, social paddles, and environmental paddles.

A few weekends back provided a vision for what the club could be - a weekend training trip down south for the white water, a Saturday afternoon flat water trip on the Cooks followed by schnitzel at the Germans, and then on Sunday, a marathon training paddle down the Hawkesbury.

The second vision, is of the club house sitting on the edge of one of Sydney's largest urban renewal project, with thousands of new residents, many new migrants, joining a club committed to the enjoyment of our waterways, both near and far.

Membership renewal is just around the corner. If any member has ideas which create greater value from their membership, please contact me.

Regards

Andy

TRIP REPORTS

Paddling in Open Water - Two open water trips were run in April and May, both along the same La Perouse to Malabar route. All up 13 club members participated, and I only lost two to seasickness. Dee only managed to hit one scuba diver with her paddle. The cafes at Malabar and La Perouse both thanked us for our generous patronage. All up it was a great result to introduce new members to open water, and drag out some of the more experienced hands out as well.

Learning to Rescue - Four Rivers members, Simon, John, Ben and Katie received their Rescue 2 Award after some very hard work and a commitment to swim (not once but many times) in the cold Goobarragandra river. Chris James is familiar to the Club, having delivered Rescue Courses to our members in the past. Chris is an exceptional leader on the river and he had his work cut out as he demonstrated river safety as we made the run from Flat Rock to the Thomas Boyd Campsite. Unfortunately the river didn’t hold its good mid week level, leaving the Shute as the only rapid for some real fun and excitement. The course was organised by our Vice President Lynn Parker in her role as PNSW Education Coordinator.

Family Day Out - Cooks River
Rob, our Flatwater Convener took his whole family out, and most of his household possessions for a trip up the Cook River. What a day for a paddle, Sydney autumn weather was at its best clear blue skies and light winds made for a pleasant day on the water. The tide was high just after 3pm so we set of just after 12pm to be as far up stream as we could on the high tide. Click here to read more.

How to lead a club trip You do not need to be the most experienced or most skilled to be an effective trip leader - most of the work is done well before you see water. Its about having a vision and desire to paddle somewhere, creating a plan, assessing risk and sharing it with others. Last month Rob organised a "How to lead a club trip" information session. As homework, members were asked to identify a kayaking trip they wanted to complete. At the information session, we worked through club policies and practices. Our intention is for a number of trips over the next six months will be organised by members leading their first trip. We will also be using the Winter Coffee Series as opportunity for paddlers to act in an assistant leader capacity. Leadership is a skill practiced and developed like any other, there is no mystery to it, only vision, commitment and a bit of work. Other members who were unable to attend this session, but are keen to develop leadership skills please click here.

Sports Grant for our new Club Trailer - Tracy and Simon accept our Community Sports Grant from Jo Halyen, local member for Summer Hill. The grant of $4500 will be used to purchase a new trailer capable of carrying long kayaks.

Windsor to Sackville
Andy, Dee and Michael pounded down the Hawkesbury River - a good first 29 kms of training - for members interested in NSW's most iconic kayaking event, but fear the longer distance, this year there is the Windsor to Wisemans 65 km short course. Thanks to Veronique for land support.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Sunday 29th May 2016
Clubhouse Working Bee from 9am - WAKE UP now and get down to the club house

Sunday 5th June 2016 Hawkesbury Classic Training Sackville to Wisemans
Here we go again - the second leg of the race - approximately 30 kms of good flat water paddling. Train for the 111km or 65km race. Click here for more information.

Saturday 11th to Monday 13th June 2016 - Tumut to Gundagai
Saturday will be paddling from the dam to Tumut. Sunday is Tumut to Brungle Bridge. Sunday its on to Gundagai. This is fast flowing grade 1 rivers using long recreational kayaks - camping at Tumut and Brungle. This was the original plan - but with low river levels on the western side of the range - Plan B is under active consideration - if you like long boat river paddling, camping and maybe a bit of poddy duffing - Contact Andy

Sunday 26th June 2016 - Return to Muddy Creek
Rob's planning another trip into the Royal National Park. The big stags are watching and I hear banjos playing. Fix your skirts and remember your bracing strokes. Click here for more information.

Sunday 10th July 2016
Winter Cafe Trip: Patonga Fish'n Chips
Launching from Parsely Bay, Brooklyn, we will paddle into Broken Bay and then into the Patonga Creek for high tide. Lunch will be on the beach at Patonga Beach Seafood. Estimated return distance is 20kms with limited exposure to open water - Good transition from rivers to open water. Click here for more information.

Saturday 16th July 2016 - Lake Parramatta - Rob will be leading this trip, and he will be providing more details soon. Let him know if you are interested.

Saturday 30th July 2016 - ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING - The AGM is a high point of the club's social calendar - It usually involves getting the formalities over and done with asap, and getting on with some good cheer. Our plans for the evening are still yet to be finalised - so put aside the date in your calendar. For members living beyond the 5km club radius, bring a sleeping bag and set about having too much fun - join the winter coffee paddle the next day. There are no restrictions on members joining the committee - beginners, women, disabled, CALD members are all members.

Sunday 31st July 2016
Winter Cafe Trip: Little Manly Beach
Launching from Rose Bay, we will paddle down the middle of the harbour and cross the heads. Timing will allow for kayaks to greet the cruise ships entering the heads. Then we will continue on to one of Sydney's best beach cafes Little Manly Beach Cafe - enjoy coffee and some breakfast looking down the world's best harbour. Return trip will include the Quarantine Station and Old Mans Hat. Estimated return distance is 20kms with exposure to open water - Click here for more information.

Sunday 7th August 2016
Winter Cafe Trip: Chowder Bay
Launching from Rose Bay, we cruise through the lifestyle of the rich and famous and the bays and coves of the Eastern Suburbs, before heading over to Chowder Bay. Bacino cafe is a favourite with locals, sunning themselves with dogs in tow, reading the finance pages of the weekend paper looking for cheap companies to buy. Return trip will be past Taronga Zoo. Estimated return distance is 20kms with exposure to harbour swells - Click here for more information.

Saturday 20th August 2016 Hawkesbury Classic Training NIGHT PADDLE Wisemans to Spencer
Stage three of the race and tonight we are going to hone our night padding skills - approximately 30 kms of good flat water paddling. Train for the 111km or 65km race. Click here for more information.

20th & 21 August 2016 - Weekend Camping Trip - Hawkesbury River - Kayak overnight camp, either Marramurra Creek or Gentleman's Halt on the Hawkesbury River. Touring kayaks 4+m minimum. All your camping gear, food, drink, etc. will be carried in your in kayak. Partly open waters in the passage to Barr Island.

Sunday 16th October 2016 Hawkesbury Classic Training Mooney to Spencer (return)
Getting the finish right - don't have much memory of paddling this section on the night, so it will be good to do it during the day - Spencer does a good breakfast. - approximately 30 kms of good flat water paddling. Train for the 111km or 65km race. Click here for more information.

24th - 27th November 2016 WomDomNom
The gold medal event for recreational kayakers - four days down the gentle Macquarie River, 150 kms - fully supported by the local volunteers - This bring glamping and kayaking together in a single event. Options for Wednesday pre-paddle trip. Click here for more information.

Sunday 11th December 2016 - The Sydney Circle
This is an aspirational gold level trip for all recreational paddlers. Here is the basic plan - sleep at the club house and hit the water very early - paddle 5 kms up the Alexandria canals, then the kayaks go onto our trolleys, and we walk 5kms to the fish markets - back on the water, then we'll stop at Chowder Bay for a recharge before paddling out the heads, then right turn and we head south for 20 kms before entering Botany Bay. The last leg will take us back up the Cooks River to our club house. Total paddle distance 50kms.Could it get any better? Contact Andy if you are interested.

COMPETITION

7th to 11th August 2016 Kayak Slalom Rio Olympics
Watch the Gold Medal finals (Sydney time 1am - 5am) 12th August - who is up for a slumber party at the club house?

Saturday 17th September 2016
Myall Classic
Tea Gardens is a great place to paddle, so why not see 47 kms quickly. The Myall Classic is a great way of spending a day. Stay for the weekend. Click here for more information.

Sunday 29th October 2016 Hawkesbury Classic The Race
40th anniversary race - introducing a 65 km race for the first time - or the classic 111 kms - this is night racing at its very best. Click here for more information.

BEST BUYS (Maybe)

Boreal Design $1300
This was a set of kayaks, of which one has sold. At 29 kgs it is not the lightest kayaks. If you are looking for a kayak to drag across the 5 kms of the Sydney Circle, this might not be the one - view the ad on ebay.

$980 Q-Kayak Penguin

This Penguin lives in Queensland and is for sale for $980 - but it is being sold with paddle, skirt and other accessories - Click here to view the kayak

Barracuda - 17 kgs - $1750 - These kayaks are popular of one very important reason - At 17 kgs they are probably the lightest plastic kayak on the market. What it gives you in a light weight, it takes away with its handling, if online reviews are to be believed. View the posting.

Club Information

2015-16 Club Committee

President - Andy Singh 0414922979

Vice President - Lynn Parker - 0406428331

Secretary - Tracy Hudson - 0411024088

Treasurer - Scott Button - 0412392839

Flat Water Convener - Rob Walker 0408446017

Social - Dee Taylor - 0423831497

Splash Editor - Deborah Doherty - 0418243527

House Officer - Nell Graham - 0402267246

Deputy Treasurer - Simon Wilkes 0423779631

White Water Convenor - Will Stone 0468745736

Club Enquiries

New Member Contact
Andy Singh
0414 922 979
president@rivercanoeclub.org

CLUB MEETINGS– held periodically at either the Clubhouse, situated at Richardsons Crescent Marrickville (opposite Tempe Railway Station and next to the Concordia Club), or depending on trips away by a river somewhere. Check calendar for the dates & venue.

This Magazine is copyright to River Canoe Club. No part may be reproduced without permission. Non-profit canoeing clubs may reproduce any article without permission, as long as the source and copyright is acknowledged.

Kayak Hire

Evening hire: $5
Single day hire: $30
Weekend hire: $50

Hire price includes:

boat
PFD
spray deck
paddle

Helmets: Club policy requires all members to provide their own helmet that fits comfortably and meets relevant standards. Helmets are required for whitewater and surf trips.

Kayaks Available

WhiteWater
Necky Jive x 1
Dagger RPM x 2
Dagger GTX x 1
Nomads x 4
Bliss Stick mini
Pyranha Burn
Pyranha Fusion
Jackson Rogue
Feelfree – literally feel free
Eskimo Topo (Double) The Torvill/Dean of WW

Recreational
Barker Nymph
Perception Minnow
Perception Spectrum
Australis Platypus x 2
Q-Kayak Tui x 2

Open Water
Wilderness Zypher 16
Q-Kayak Penguin
Winner Double

Kayak Hire Booking:
Discuss with trip leader well before the day of the trip.
Access to the club can be arranged through committee members (see contact list)

Payment Options

Cash to Trip Leader at commencement

Payment via Electronic Funds Transfer:

Account Name: River Canoe Club of NSW
Bank: St George
BSB: 112 879
Account No: 017455888

Advise the trip leader if paying via EFT
Include surname and reason eg:‘marqueJones’ or ‘boatJones’ in the payment comment.

Next Splash Edition - Late May 2016

Please send photographs, stories, videos, internet links to splash@rivercanoeclub.org

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NSW River Canoe Club · PO Box 251 · Canterbury, Nsw 2193 · Australia