Rock ‘n’ Roll 2010

It’s back! Kayaking’s premier event in Australia by the NSW Seakayak Club and I can’t wait. I love Rock n Roll. This is my fourth and it’s back at Bateman’s Bay. My first RnR there was a pretty solitary affair for me despite the numbers but I enjoyed it a whole lot and this year’s shindig will be better than ever. The main reason for this is that the Hunter Kayak Klan will be there in strength. So better watch out you City paddlers, the Hunter invasion will be on. Even good ol’ Gnarlydog from the Cane Toad state will be an honourary Hunter boy since he made the mistake of letting his curiosity get the better of him and joined the klan.

Naturally, I’ll give a thorough Post Mortem (maybe a bad choice of words) complete with loads of photos but a month out I’d like to get some feed back from readers as to how they feel about RnR and what sort of stuff they’d like to see happen. I know Henry van der Kolk had some interesting views about how beginners are treated and what he’d like to see. Many agree with him but he got short shrift from the committee when the issues were raised formally. His view is that Grade 1 paddlers should be given the opportunity to push their limits while they had access to so many top instructors but the committee seemed overly risk-averse and ensures beginners go on trips up creeks and fairly soft-on leisure cruises. This is a golden opportunity missed to bring some experience to these people and add strength to the club.

I also look forward to the trade shows and Expedition Kayaks will again be platinum sponsors. I hope there are other strong trade stands there. My fondness for EK is well known and the connection our klan shares with EK is very strong but the industry needs a vibrant commercial aspect and it’s pretty poorly developed. The last few years has seen the overwhelming dominance of Mirage shattered by the rampant onslaught of Impex and Valley boats from EK. Now EK has taken control of the market by getting all the boats we read about from oversees such as SKUK, Rockpool, Trax and Tahe. If I were Mirage I would make damned sure I had a great stand at each and every RnR. I would also ensure I had something new to unveil their. Peter Clark’s Kayaking World ought to do the same. This is the big show you guys and you are losing the retail war big time. Sure the Mirages will be well represented but a beginner paddler looking to upgrade their Prijons will almost certainly end up with a Valley once Rob and Mark get a crack at them. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for EK but as a retailer and marketer, I can’t help face-palming at the complete disregard their competition has for basic small business marketing.

Enough of business stuff, I’m looking forward to having a go at some of the new boats on offer such as the Zegul and revisiting the Rockpool GT. If I get in early enough I may not have any need for my own boat! Hmmm, no, the Assateague needs to see the Toll-gate islands as well and my new comfort mods courtesy of Clark Rubber will be very handy here.

Zegul 550

So, how about some feedback on RnR. What does everyone think? What are you going to paddle? And will the HKK party rival EK’s traditional Friday night shebang?

Updated Gear reviews

Blackwolf Mantis and North Face Vario

The Kosciuszko trip gave me the chance to evaluate my current kit in an environment that is tough and different from my normal kayaking work. Hiking the backcountry puts a different emphasis on your gear. With my kayaks, I can afford to take some luxuries. Weight is less a problem that simply fitting it in. My Eco Bezhig, for example can take 170kg load. My back can’t. So here’s some findings from the trip: Sea to Summit (Wilderness Equipment) Echo Lightweight backpack.

• Sea to Summit (Wilderness Equipment) Echo Lightweight Backpack

This 1.7kg, 75litre trekking pack delivers on all the claims. It is very tough and very adjustable. The removable satchel that fits on the back is a great feature. Its hip belt is very comfortable and after two days I finally had it adjusted right. My problem was the huge weight I crammed inside making carrying it a nightmare. This is no reflection on the pack. My only slight criticisms are with the dry-bag style opening which is OK provided you’re not packed to the brim, in which case rolling it closed is hard. Secondly, there is no decent external pockets for water bottles. The ones provided are useless and when the pack is loaded won’t take a Sigg or Camelback bottle. That is a real problem and one that would put me off buying this pack again. Otherwise, the pack is great and quality is awesome. There are even handy little zips in the side to get stuff out or put away.

• Thermarest Prolite Plus

I reviewed this earlier and found it to be excellent. Now that I have backpacked with it, I can still say I love it. It is light and comfortable with outstanding thermal properties. One small problem. It can be slippery. I pitched my tent on a slight slope, feet down. When I went to sleep, my bag slid down the Thermarest and kept me sliding into the bottom of the tent resulting in a poor night’s sleep. Mental note: pitch tent on the flat.

• Blackwolf Mantis II lightweight tent

My latest tent and this was my first outing in it. The Mantis is a 2 person 3 seasons hiking tent with a packed weight of 2.5kg. It pitches in about 10 minutes in two pieces with two poles. Like all Blackwolf tents, it has numerous features such as pockets for your small bits and loops to hang stuff although the tent is only a metre high at its maximum so you wouldn’t want to hang too much in there. The winds in the Snowy Mountains blows hard and cold and almost constantly but the Mantis took it all in its stride. The vestibules were a bit flappy and not so easy to secure but I soon corrected that with some additional loops and pegs.

I will eventually replace this tent with a super lightweight number under a kilo but as these cost stupid amounts of money, the Mantis represents outstanding value and reliability.

• Trangia

Unsurpassed excellence. It’s worth the additional weight to pack this. Kieren and Adrian were in love with its ease and flexibility. The gas converter makes it convenient but the original metho burner is still the best for economy and longevity. I guess you have to weigh up the weight of the metho versus a good sized gas canister. I think for our trip, Metho would have been more economical. I know it’s much slower but we had plenty of time.  My Trangia packs down including teapot and cleaning gear and weighs about a kilo. I have a kitchen in one parcel. I can’t live without it.

• Columbia Titanium trousers

I live in these. I have shorts and zip-off trousers. They are light, dry and comfortable with plenty of secure pockets. Be careful when you iron them, though, as you can burn them on high heat. I totally recommend Columbia gear as it is well-priced and very well made from outstanding fabrics. I guess most of the technical wear from the well known outdoor companies is of this standard but I looked at Kathmandu and just didn’t want to get ripped off by their outrageous prices. I also like Mountain Design stuff a lot and have a great MD shirt that I wore on the trip. I bought the Columbia from Mountain Designs whose staff are quality.

• Merrell Moab hiking boots

These were a last minute replacement for my Lafuma Tech Treks which didn’t fit properly. I bought the Merrells on the recommendation of Adrian and Kieren. They are certainly comfortable with Vibram soles which are great for grip. However, they have poor lateral stability and the dura-leather uppers are not up to the rigours of tough terrain. The boots kept twisting under my feet and this resulted in several blisters and considerable pain. They would be OK for trail walking but not alpine trekking. On the last day on the range the right boot blew a hole in the side. I really need a pair of boots like the Lafuma, Merrells even, but a higher grade than the Moab.

Kosciuszko, the hard way.

Kosciuszko trip day 2

After the excitement of the the first day on the range, we woke to a complete whiteout and a howling wind with a biting chill-factor. We took our time getting out of our bags but eventually set up breakfast and performed ablutions. Water was now a problem but the alpine brooks had crystal clear running water that looked so appealing to drink but needed to be boiled to prevent infection from Giardia. A small risk but one none the same. Since their was no firewood, I boiled this with the Trangia but soon ran out of gas. Oops.

Cootapatamba Hut and Swampy Creek Valley

After breaking camp, we gathered what water we had and set off toward Lake Cootapatamba. The odd thing about these landscapes is the bizarre distortion of perspective due to the large scale of everything. Features that look like they’re only 200m away are in fact 2 km away. You seem to just keep walking and things don’t get closer. It’s very fatiguing.

Our approach to Kosciuszko

We reached the lake and made the decision to cross Swampy creek and scale the Kosciusko eastern face. This was grueling in the extreme as we had to take our packs with us. Each step was an agony and we stopped every dozen steps or so for breath. Eventually, we reached the top in a pool of sweat but still not the summit which is another kilometer and a half away. I was so fatigued that I was willing my legs to move one more step at a time without even looking at the summit.  Finally, I made it to the stone summit marker surrounded by tourists who had taken the walking track to the top. No such easy route for us. The view from the top is awesome and made better by the fact we actually climbed to mountain and experienced the real conditions on offer. The sense of achievement re-energized us immediately.

To the summit

Rjimlad on Summit

Not energized enough, however, to even contemplate Mount Townsend which was supposed to be next on the list to bag. We had nothing left and Townsend loomed ominously northward only 6km away. Unfortunately, we are just not conditioned enough to do more. It was disappointing but we accepted the reality and were pleased with our achievement so far.

We bounced happily down the Main Range trail and headed off to Seaman’s Hut to camp. This took an hour to reach and we met several other hikers at the hut. We also found firewood. Camping was relaxed and around a well kept fire. There was talk and food and all was good. Tomorrow we’d go home via the Main Range trail.

Seaman's Hut

Second Camp

Lessons learnt.

1. Do better water preparation. It’s heavy to carry on your back and boiling with gas is wasteful. We resolved to buy a Steripen which is both light and effective and solves the problem in this environment.

2. Every kilo counts. Must learn to lighten up.

3. Do better research for the location. There’s no firewood above the tree line. So can’t cook and can’t boil water. The terrain is very hard to walk on so footwear is critical. Our Merrell boots were comfortable but offered poor lateral stiffness so they kept rolling under our feet and causing blisters.

4. Be physically up to the challenge. We were not. Although we did OK we were a long way from our original goal. Training would have been helpful.

Things we did good.

1. I was well prepared and I learned this from kayaking. I had good clothes, good tools and good tent and bedding. All my gear performed well except my shoes. My own food stores were adequate whereas Adrian and Keiren were hoping to live off the land. You can’t easily on these ranges so they wisely bought some food on the way there.

2. Navigation was good. Map and compass were used and we also had a Garmin e-Trex GPS which verified altitudes but we didn’t navigate with it. I also had a reasonable understanding of the area so I knew where key features were relative to each other.

So, all in all not a bad adventure. I guess I’ll never be a serious mountaineer or alpinist but I’m keen to do more back-country work to supplement my kayaking life. I enjoyed the thrill of accomplishment, the teamwork with some good lads and being well away from retail.

Kieren Williamson, Alpinist

Adrian Mok, Gryllsian disciple

Rams Head

Route from Thredbo chairlift to Ramshead

For months now, I, together with Adrian and Kieren from Domayne, have been planning to climb the ten tallest peaks in Australia. These occur along the same arc transcribed about 10km from Thredbo village and encompass a walk of about 36km. It is possible to bag all ten summits in about 3 days and we were resolved to do just that.

Now, Adrian and Kieren are both devotees of a certain Bear Grylls and were treating the undertaking as an exercise in Bear Grylls style survivalist adventure. I, on the other hand, being a kayaker and similarly disposed toward adventure, was equally resolved to be totally prepared for anything.

Finally, we prepared our annual leave from work and took the trip down to the Snowy Mountains on Friday (15th January). After taking every precaution and packing my new Sea to Summit pack, I waited for the boys to pick me up. As I did so I discovered my pack weighed in at about 40kg! There was nothing I could leave behind so I just had to put up with it. Anyway, we got to Thredbo in about 7 hours and made our way to the ski lift to the top of the escarpment. Alarm bells were ringing already as my pack was frightfully heavy but I had to soldier on.

At the top of the chairlift, we hit the road and took our first bearing. Our initial plan was to leave the tourist track and hike to the Rams Head range where we would bag North and South Rams Head peaks. It was here that problem number 2 hit us. The terrain in Kosciuszko National Park is a lot more difficult than we thought. There are no trees but the ground is covered in tufts of tough and thick grass which grows amongst the liberally strewn glacial granite rocks and boulders. There are also large patches of heath and sedge and a spiky groundcover that lives over bogs. So the going is very tough, step by step, and extremely fatiguing. By the time we got to Rams Head, we were exhausted.

At Rams Head we dropped our packs and climbed a rocky crag we assumed was North Rams Head but on reaching the top discovered that it was only a smallish pile of granite boulders and that the real Rams Head loomed about half a kilometer to the west. We sure had a lot to learn.

The wrong Ramshead

It was getting late in the afternoon so we found a great little camp site amongst the granite and set up for the night but since we still had a few hours of light, we decided to bag Rams Head and get it out of the way. This was a pretty easy scramble up a grassy and very rocky incline only made difficult by our fatigue and generally poor physical condition. On top the view was incredible. Views over the Rams Head range showed an enormous landscape of crags and strewn granite boulders. This is a massive country and even though our mountains are hills compared to the rest of the world, this landscape is still formidable and of colossal scale. To the north lie Lake Cootapatamba, a small glacial lake nestled in the eastern valley of Mount Kosciuszko. This would be our destination tomorrow but tonight I would give the other lads a demonstration in comfortable camping.

View to camp from Ramshead

View to Kosciuszko from Ramshead

The upside of a 40kg pack is the stuff inside. My Trangia and gas converter were instant hits as were my little bags of essentials like tea, coffee and sugar. Adrian and Kieren were traveling light but with firewood in the alpine zone non-existent, they were reduced to lighting a fire with dried horse dung and an old signpost. Our carried water also ran out but there is plentiful water in the little brooks that are everywhere. Giardia is a possible threat so to be sure we boiled all mountain water. I was envious of the boys light loads but I think they were just as envious of my more luxurious living. That luxury would run out tomorrow.

The Bar

Swansea Bar

Swansea Bar is a fantastic place for kayakers. Since it is only a few metres deep, it is susceptible to every wind change and since the bar itself is sand, it also presents a fluid and unpredictable environment not only for kayakers but for all types of marine craft. The last two days I’ve been paddling the bar and it has delivered a diverse range of conditions that vary from a gentle half metre swell to something like a commercial washing machine.

On Saturday, I paddled solo up the Swansea channel and onto the bar. A light nor’ easter was blowing and the conditions were bumpy but pretty easy. I went a little out to sea to avoid the cross current up the coast then into Blacksmiths Beach to do some surfing. After some play and a rest I walked onto the Blackies Breakwall to find the wind was up and the bar was now quite tumultuous. This would have left me stranded as I had to cross it to ger to my car so I had little choice but to stay or cross. I crossed and received a pretty bouncy welcome. Concentration was intense but I stayed calm and kept us a good pace until I got inside the channel and calm water. The scary thing is not so much the rough water but how exhausted you get trying to cross. One slip and you are in trouble.

Today, Dobbo and I paddled up the channel again where we caught up with Phil Thompson and Selim Teczan. Phil was finishing for the day and left so the three of us went out to Moon Island, crossing the bar again. Incoming paddlers told us the conditions were flat and they were. We rock-hopped around the Island and were met by Owen and Anne in their Mirages. The five of us sat in our boats on the bar for a chat then went off to Blacksmiths Beach for some ’surfing’. Or would have had there been any so we sat around having lunch watching a surfing school and a jet-ski clan do their stuff. After about forty minutes we left and the bar was now very savage which heightened the senses and focused the mind. Waves were breaking on us at every angle but constant paddling and feeling the sea got us through and into a horrid Westerly which made to trip home a real grind.

That’s the bar for you and we only copped it when it was messy. When it’s really angry it can take down some very large vessels and do incredible damage. For kayakers, it is a marvelous place to practice rough sea skills. If the worst happens and you are tipped out and separated from your boat you can make it to either north or south breakwall. You’d be battered and bruised but alive. Just inside the bar the conditions go from insanely violent to gentle within a couple of metres, such is the shape of the channel floor. You can sit in complete calm and then make a foray into the rough then surf back out. Jet-skis love the place and fishermen sit in their tinnies on either side of the bar so the risk of dying there is somewhat diluted. That doesn’t mean you should underestimate it just that all local kayakers should use this great gift and respect it.

Shark!

Sharks scare the hell out of me. I know the odds of getting eaten so I don’t have to be told that you’re more likely to be killed by a lightning bolt. This fear is primordial so taking up kayaking might seem an odd thing to do. Anyway, every time I paddle I scan continuously for fins or shadows in the water. Paranoid? Damn straight! But then, the paranoid are just people with acute situational awareness.

So, Last week Owen and I were doing a routine paddle on the Lake with a view to exploring suitable sites for morning tea and some idle chat. We were in the southern reaches of Lake Macquarie, around Murray’s Beach when all of a sudden out of the water popped a grey dorsal fin much like a shark’s dorsal fin. The tell tale sign was the shark attached underneath it. In fact, from my paranoid studies on sharks and a knowledge of fin profiles I deduced this was a hammerhead about 1.5 to 2.0 meters long. It was cruising slowly to our port side about 10 meters off. Clear as a bell.

Now, you might think my first reaction would be panic but no! I was calm and excited about being so close. Owen’s first reaction was to turn about and follow it but by then it had slipped away. We were thrilled to bits with Owen announcing that after 59 years of water sports on the lake this was was the first shark he’d seen there. That thrill was short lived when he realized that he’d left his camera home. Owen is one of the best equipped paddlers there is so of all days to leave it he chose this one.

Morning tea left us preoccupied with our encounter so we made our return trip hopeful of catching the shark on his. We did and Owen was right on top of him. I pursued as well and got a good enough look to confirm likely size and species. Pleased with ourselves, we finished the trip conscious of the fact that this shark will no doubt grow a meter or so with each retelling.

That’s what I love about kayaking. The stories and adventures you accumulate. I told everyone at work but it’s not the same as sharing the experience with people who totally ‘get’ it.

Sea Kayak with Gordon Brown

Gordon Brown

 

 

I got this last week from EK. I love kayak porn and I was as excited as a small boy waiting for Santa. When it came, I cleared the decks of family and chores then settled in with a snack and a nice beer (John Smiths Extra Smooth, actually) for some kayaking pleasure. To my surprise, it is much more than kayaking porn and actually full of good instruction which encourages you to go out and practice. The trip along the coast of Skye was nice and my only criticism was that it was way too short. Clearly, it sets the stage for extra volumes but they should have padded out this one with some gratuitous paddling about in boats. The production values are really nice and I’m glad I have it. The instruction is great for repeat value but the Skye trip is too short and not very action packed. Still, it’s a pretty good addition to a sound kayaking DVD library.

Hunter Kayak Klan Update

These days, I spend more time on the Hunter Kayak Klan site than I do here. That site keeps me in touch with the people I actually paddle with and the Aus Seakayak forum keeps me communicating with paddlers further afield. So this blog is getting relegated to its original intention and that’s to record the stuff I get up to on a personal level. As a retailer and marketer, I spent a lot of time trying to get this blog some readership and some influence. Motivating this was the desire to understand the blogging science so that I could use it in my ‘real’ career, such as it is. So lately I’ve been thinking about the success of my venture and where this blog now sits.

Umina Sea Skills Training

A prevailing attitude in our klan is the desire to advance our kayaking skills with a particular emphasis on Sea Skills. As a result of our determination, Rob Mercer and Mark Sundin of Expedition Kayaks sponsored a weekend of tailored tuition at Umina beach at Broken Bay. This spot is perfect for sea kayaking as it gives ready access to a wide range of conditions from rebounding heavy swell to surfing and picturesque river cruises. Our relationship with Expedition Kayaks is becoming almost symbiotic. As our klan grows, we generate business and in return we get access to great gear and awesome instructors. I’ve written before about how kayaking businesses and the paddling community are vitally interlocked and our relationship with EK is almost like a benchmark. EK is our shop. Sure we buy from other stores but when we want the elite kit we call them. In return for our business and promotion we get unbelievable service and advice as well as friendship.

Klanners at Umina

I can’t tell you how excited this weekend has made me. I don’t get away as much as I’d like and on the drive down in my fully packed Volvo I had the windows down and Kiss blaring at full volume from the iPod. The Ocean Beach Holiday Park at Umina is the perfect venue for camping as well as kayaking with great facilities and location. When Rob arrived we were disappointed to discover that the sea was as flat as a pancake with barely a ripple. So much for sea skills training. Anyhow…

On Saturday morning we all departed for Box Head, a notorious rebound site where Rob planned to drill us in a variety of skills. We were met with a gentle swell and glassy conditions. After a few assisted rescues, which we did well enough, alarm bells started ringing. Sea Sickness! In me! I’ve never been sea sick and I couldn’t believe it started now. I left the group momentarily for a quick spew. Rob was on top of this as his trained eye could see my bowed head and slow movement. I was OK for a while but after we headed back around the headland, I got worse and hosed my spray deck with a tasty melange of beans and pikelets. Yummy. Rob called us into Lobster Beach, a pretty little sandy retreat just inside Broken Bay. Here, after resting, John Anderson gave me two concentrated ginger tablets that exploded like mini nukes in my mouth causing sufficient discomfort to forget all about sea sickness. Thanks John. Worked a treat. While we were having our lunch, a pod of several dozen dolphins entertained us with some acrobatics and fish herding. Their show was enjoyed and appreciated and they left before we could get into our boats and join them.

For the rest of the afternoon, we surfed on the lengthy bar break near Ettalong and honed our skills until overcome by exhaustion. We plodded back to camp and then trotted off to the RSL club for dinner and the Bledisloe Cup which the All-Blacks won. This greatly pleased the increasingly intoxicated Sundin who annoyed everyone with his damned kiwiness. Back at camp again we sat around the campfire (Trangias) and talked shop for hours.

Sunday was even more fun as we test paddled the kayaks EK are currently selling and receive personal instruction from Mark and Rob. Being a rather large bastard, I could only fit in a couple of other boats with any chance of getting out again so I paddled the North Shore Atlantic and the Rockpool GT. Now the Rockpool is the boat of the moment with everyone raving about it and deciding to put it on their short lists. It is amazingly well fitted out but though I could fit in it easily, I found it quite uncomfortable and difficult to control as a result. This was pretty disappointing as everyone else was fighting over it and I felt like I’d missed out on something special. I’d like to have another crack at it but set up the seat and foot rest for a better fit.

North Shore Atlantic

All was not lost, however, as the North Shore fit me like a glove and performed like a dream. It’s a bit like my Impex but in a coupe version. It is tight around my hips and thighs without pinching or cramping and has amazing secondary stability. I would own this thing in a second and might yet. In fact, paddling this boat momentarily made me regret buying the Assateague and I had to get back into it to make sure. Nope. The Assateague is still my perfect boat. It has more volume than the North Shore and is not as nimble but it fits perfectly and handles nearly as well. I still love you, blue.

Exhaustion took over again and we called it a weekend. A perfect weekend. The klan bonded and improved, we heard loads of stories and just enjoyed the kayaking life. It’s why we paddle and why we got into this in the first place.

Vango Viper 750

 

Vango Viper 750

My next purchase was a new sleeping bag. For years I had a Fairydown which was awesome and had heaps of use in all sorts of conditions but eventually it rotted away and was chucked out. These days Fairydown are owned by Macpac and cost a fortune. Some research on camping forums put Oneplanet bags at the top of the list for awesomeness but like Macpac, cost a fortune. Hmm, what to do. Some Brit kayakers I know use Vango gear which is not common in Oz. The Viper series has some good ratings and good reviews and the price was certainly right at $350 delivered. It only has duck down instead of goose down which might be an issue for the Brits but in Oz duck down is probably just fine. The Viper 750 is rated at -6 degrees for comfort and -24 degrees extreme and these should make it a good bag for our conditions.

I received my new bag on time and in good order and it fits perfectly. My recent camp with it showed it to be warm and comfortable so I think it will be a good investment until such a time I can afford a Oneplanet bag. Some forum reviewers complained of their Vangos leaking down but the majority were pleased with the performance. When buying anything, you must always have the cost/benefit ratio front of mind. The Vango was half the cost of the Oneplanet or Macpac and in Australia will be just fine. The money I saved allowed me to buy other stuff I needed badly. I’m the sort of person that wants the best of whatever I’m looking for but so far my purchasing strategies have delivered quality gear within my very limited budget without actually going for the best. Except the Blackwolf Turbo tent. Now that’s the best. Oh, and the Thermarest, that’s the best too. Hey, I’m better at this than I thought!