- CDU Social Paddle Report

Well what a great social paddle we had the other night. There was a beautiful sunset, calm waters, warm temperatures and a full moon so beautiful watching it rise could only lift your spirit. Sorry about getting a little carried away but when all this happened we were actually racing from Riverton Bridge to Ascot kayak Club a distance of 31kms.

The Race was called the Canoeing Down Under 'City Lights Race'. The idea was to paddle in pairs and start at Riverton Bridge, the home of Canning Kayak Club, and paddle towards the city as the sun was setting. Then as paddlers passed the city you could look at the pretty lights and paddle the last part to Ascot Kayak Club in the dark. All exciting stuff, straight out of a boys own comic.

The day was hot so it was perfect to be paddling in the late afternoon. This was the first race to be held on that course so it was particularly exciting for competitors, well it was for me. I chose to paddle with Alaine so that meant I didn't have to paddle too hard and it gave her the opportunity to lose some w….t!! There was a good turnout despite it being a long race (31kms) and also despite it being a long weekend. We were started in three packs, fifteen minutes apart, the plastics first, the intermediate second (that was us), and the guns last. This was to ensure the guns didn't finish before the rest of the field had paddled by the city.

All went well, no sightings of the illusive bull shark that was said to be roaming the waters of Shelley, few power boats and water skiers chopping up the water before Canning Bridge and no strong westerly winds. The calm waters however were a disadvantage to us because we chose to paddle a boat that would perform better in rough conditions so our advantage of blitzing the field on that first section was dashed. This did mean that three of our main competitors in the K2s managed to get ahead and we were only keeping Tony and Vince at bay. At Canning Bridge just as they were sneaking up on us from behind the river began to chop up and they started to feel unstable and slowed. We could also see Lawrence and Rosie ahead of us wobbling as well and we were dying to see them wobble upside down into the water but to our dismay they kept upright and ahead of us. I'm a bit like that Aussie ice skater who won a gold medal because everyone else fell down. It's the only way I can win nowadays.

At the Narrows Bridge check point every one in front of us were still upright and still in front, bugger! The water was calm so we couldn't expect any spills from here onwards, we would have to paddle our way to victory. As the sun was setting and the lights of the city were beginning to shine we moved to the right of Heirisson Island where kangaroos were grazing and fishermen were casting lines. Unfortunately for two teams who hadn't read the briefing notes or listened to the briefing at the start, took a short cut to the left side and were disqualified as a result. I didn't mind, it meant that we went up two places.

Just after Windan Bridge the huge moon peered through the trees as it ascended from behind the hills. It was an awesome sight, even though we were beginning to tire. I remember Alaine saying "oo aaah isn't that beautiful". At first I thought she was talking about the back of my head but then I realised she was talking about the moon. As I glanced back to see the last of the city, I noticed the WACA lights or was it the lights at the trots blazing away.

Just before Maylands boat ramp, another check point, we passed a couple of single teams and found out that Lawrence and Rosie were just ahead. That was all we, or should I say I, needed to increase the pace. It was virtually at the same time that Alaine said that she was so tired and that she didn't want to do a long race again. "I have a blister on my finger and a blister on my bum and I just want to be at the end".
I let her finish whining and then upped the pace, apart from a slightly sore back I was getting my second wind and feeling good. Every few minutes we slowed to catch our breath and then pick up the pace again. I knew Alaine was hurting but I didn't want to ask her too many times how she was feeling or she might want to stop. Instead I gave her a compliment, which was unusual for me, and said she was doing really well. I was even quite proud of myself for giving her a compliment and gave myself a pat on the back and with that, I increased the pace again. By now we were paddling through Ascot Waters and it was so still and beautiful. There were light reflections from the houses, lamp posts and the snaking line of lights from other kayakers ahead. I almost forgot that we were racing.

By Garrett Road Bridge we were ready to fly along the last long straight home. I cranked it up a notch hoping that Alaine was still hanging in there and wasn't about to grizzle about the pain she was in. For a while we were going well, and then the boat started to shift around as Alaine moved about in her seat. Hang in there old girl I thought, not far now. We started passing more single pairs and paddled under Tonkin Highway Bridge when momentum was interrupted as Alaine missed a paddle stroke. I looked back thinking now what's going on, has she decided to paddle on one side only. Sorry she said, but the paddle keeps slipping through my hand and doesn't connect with the water. We were less than 500 metres away from the finish so it didn't really matter if Alaine decided to skip a paddle stroke now and then. But then in the last 300 metres it all came together, Alaine woke up, we got our timing right and just flew along the island and to the finish line where other paddlers support crews and volunteers were cheering or cooking or eating hamburgers. We were pleased to see Lawrence and Rosie two veterans of racing paddling to the shore just in front of us, they had beaten us by slightly over 2 minutes, but we were happy with that.

We had done it and though I hate giving compliments to Alaine, she had done so well. Even when she was in pain she kept paddling at my speed. With a blistered backside and blistered finger she struggled from the kayak, happy but with words along the lines of….. I never want to paddle that far ever again. Since doing the Avon Descent a few years ago this was her longest race.

All in all it was a fantastic race, the organisers had done a great job. The weather was perfect although the heat made a couple people suffer from dehydration and even vomit, while others lost the feeling in their legs after sitting for so long and some got blisters on their backsides.

It was good to see a few of our Saturday morning training crew take part they were, Dave Tupling and Neil Hannett, Stuart Moriaty, Alan Morby, John Breed, Murray Corp, Marcus Mass, and Patrick Irwin.

Sincere thanks to the rescue crews, the cooks, the volunteers at checkpoints and the timers,
without all the volunteers, events like these cannot take place.