After my last post Alex and I went through the protracted process of moving interstate. As such the partly finished boat has been in storage for the past 8 months or so.
We've now moved into an older cottage on 20 acres in rural NSW and while it has more space, less of it is covered and suitable for boat-building. For my workshop I've commandeered what I imagine used to be the garage which has a semi-leaking roof and dirt floor. The boat is still in its storage packaging to protect it from any rain etc, and over the next few weeks I'll continue unpacking all the components, epoxy etc and also putting some road base or similar on the floor so it's not as dusty.
One upside of the delay I thought of last week was that the slow curing epoxy that I got in the kit because I was going to be working in summer will now be suitable again as we're already into the first month of spring.
Incidentally, the Hawkesbury Classic is due to start next weekend (22nd October 2011), so if anyone is still reading this who is competing this year, good luck! All going to plan I'll see you on the water for next year's event.
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Showing posts with label Hawkesbury. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hawkesbury. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Hawkesbury wrapup
In what was an extraordinary Hawkesbury, we started with warnings of bad weather, which were then cancelled only to then have the bad weather come in when we were all at our most vulnerable. 30km/h + headwinds, a fast incoming tide, rain and some pretty heavy 2-3 foot chop meant the last 10km took an eternity. We couldn't stop for a break as it meant we'd end up going backwards and/or end up capsizing, and with driving rain coming at our faces, it was generally an unpleasant place to be.
A stop at Wisemans to have some strapping put on my hands due to blisters, plus troubles with my right wrist were troubles I'd not encountered before, and slowed us down a little, but it was a reasonably pleasant night up until the weather doing what it did.
At one stage we got caught up in a barbed wire fence which got interesting. We were hugging the bank in the incoming tide, when we dodged a star picket which happened to have a trailing string of barbed wire underwater attached to another star picket. We were stuck fast as the wire got lodged in the rudder system and sat the for a good 5 mins trying to get free. Another paddler stopped to help but couldn't budge us, and we ended up being helped by a nice fella and his mates who were having a few beers up the river a little and waded into the thigh deep water in the darkness to lift us off. Thanks mystery man!
We made it in a time of 14 hours 39 mins, which was slower than we'd hoped, but still pretty good considering the circumstances.
Eventually the race committee made the decision to cancel the race for everyone who hadn't made it past the Spencer's checkpoint, which was both good and bad. The conditions were really ordinary, the worst I've seen yet, but it would have been such a shame to have been pulled out after so much work to get to Spencer's.
A stop at Wisemans to have some strapping put on my hands due to blisters, plus troubles with my right wrist were troubles I'd not encountered before, and slowed us down a little, but it was a reasonably pleasant night up until the weather doing what it did.
At one stage we got caught up in a barbed wire fence which got interesting. We were hugging the bank in the incoming tide, when we dodged a star picket which happened to have a trailing string of barbed wire underwater attached to another star picket. We were stuck fast as the wire got lodged in the rudder system and sat the for a good 5 mins trying to get free. Another paddler stopped to help but couldn't budge us, and we ended up being helped by a nice fella and his mates who were having a few beers up the river a little and waded into the thigh deep water in the darkness to lift us off. Thanks mystery man!
We made it in a time of 14 hours 39 mins, which was slower than we'd hoped, but still pretty good considering the circumstances.
Eventually the race committee made the decision to cancel the race for everyone who hadn't made it past the Spencer's checkpoint, which was both good and bad. The conditions were really ordinary, the worst I've seen yet, but it would have been such a shame to have been pulled out after so much work to get to Spencer's.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Hawkesbury Classic Countdown - It's gonna be a wet one!
mSo the Hawkesbury Classic is on this Saturday 23rd of October. Over the next 2 days I'll be using this as an excuse to eat a ton of food, mainly carbs (he says with a cheese and bacon roll in his hand) and generally being a layabout while building up my energy stocks.
According to the Bureau of Meteorology forecast for the weekend, they've gone from yesterday's forecast for the weekend of a few showers, to thunderstorms from midday and 35km/h winds.At least at with a top of 29 degrees it won't be too cold until the sun goes down but by the sound of it once that happens it's going to be a pretty ordinary night on the water. On the bright side, we might get a bit of flow in the river that could reduce the impact of an incoming tide? Wishful thinking perhaps...
In terms of preparation it's meant I've had to change from preparing for the cold to preparing for being wet all night. While it's important to have a beanie (woolen) of some sort to stop the loss of heat through your head, now it's also going to be important to somehow keep my head dry too. Wool is the order of the day, because it still retains warmth when wet so I've got a few old woolen jumpers and thermal too, for the midnight 'till dawn shift.
Because of the cloud there's not going to be much moonlight, so I've also got a head torch so we can minimise the number of times we end up in trees or reeds by wandering too close to the bank. I say minimise, because this always happens at least once or twice regardless of how much you look for them.
I've also got my standard compulsory emergency gear - a space blanket, compass, small torch, whistle etc and a few disposable ponchos. PFD's get tested on the day, and mine is a handy type with a few pockets on the front to stash some nibbles and a few essentials like painkillers and Vaseline for my hands. I've gone for the sans-gloves option this year. I'll have them with me in case I get blisters, but will coat my hands in Vaso to stop them getting too waterlogged during the night.
In terms of food for the night, we'll fed soup and pasta during the night, but I also have a stash of bananas, glucose lollies, muesli bars, nuts and a few energy bars for the latter stages/early morning. I've been experimenting with Coca Cola during training, and while I know you're supposed to avoid caffeinated drinks as they are a diuretic I think one small can's sugar hit can should help push me through the "wee" hours (yep, that's a diuretic joke, who would have thought I'd manage it?) where I have struggled in the past.
My tendency to vomit about two hours into the race on the same corner is expected to continue, and so I'll limit what I eat in the two or so hours before the race to avoid having too many things come back up. I can have a few bits of ready to go once my body has had it's little tantrum so I don't lose too much energy.
Lastly, if anyone reading this is feeling particularly generous, feel free to sponsor me for the race. All donations over $2 are tax deductible and proceeds go directly to the Arrow Bone Marrow Foundation at St Vincent's Hospital to do their top notch research into Leukemia and other blood cancers & disorders such as Lymphoma and Myeloma. This is something particularly close to my heart as I was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins's Diffuse large B-Cell Lymphoma in 1999 when I was 16. I'm sound as a pound now after a fair whack of chemo, but I know personally how generally sh*thouse these diseases are. Get in there and throw 'em some coin!
Edit: We're looking for a time under 13 hours, which is reasonable. Last time I did this race in a double it took us 12 hrs 50 mins, so beating that time is the target. Last year was just over 15 hours solo.
According to the Bureau of Meteorology forecast for the weekend, they've gone from yesterday's forecast for the weekend of a few showers, to thunderstorms from midday and 35km/h winds.At least at with a top of 29 degrees it won't be too cold until the sun goes down but by the sound of it once that happens it's going to be a pretty ordinary night on the water. On the bright side, we might get a bit of flow in the river that could reduce the impact of an incoming tide? Wishful thinking perhaps...
In terms of preparation it's meant I've had to change from preparing for the cold to preparing for being wet all night. While it's important to have a beanie (woolen) of some sort to stop the loss of heat through your head, now it's also going to be important to somehow keep my head dry too. Wool is the order of the day, because it still retains warmth when wet so I've got a few old woolen jumpers and thermal too, for the midnight 'till dawn shift.
Because of the cloud there's not going to be much moonlight, so I've also got a head torch so we can minimise the number of times we end up in trees or reeds by wandering too close to the bank. I say minimise, because this always happens at least once or twice regardless of how much you look for them.
I've also got my standard compulsory emergency gear - a space blanket, compass, small torch, whistle etc and a few disposable ponchos. PFD's get tested on the day, and mine is a handy type with a few pockets on the front to stash some nibbles and a few essentials like painkillers and Vaseline for my hands. I've gone for the sans-gloves option this year. I'll have them with me in case I get blisters, but will coat my hands in Vaso to stop them getting too waterlogged during the night.
In terms of food for the night, we'll fed soup and pasta during the night, but I also have a stash of bananas, glucose lollies, muesli bars, nuts and a few energy bars for the latter stages/early morning. I've been experimenting with Coca Cola during training, and while I know you're supposed to avoid caffeinated drinks as they are a diuretic I think one small can's sugar hit can should help push me through the "wee" hours (yep, that's a diuretic joke, who would have thought I'd manage it?) where I have struggled in the past.
My tendency to vomit about two hours into the race on the same corner is expected to continue, and so I'll limit what I eat in the two or so hours before the race to avoid having too many things come back up. I can have a few bits of ready to go once my body has had it's little tantrum so I don't lose too much energy.
Lastly, if anyone reading this is feeling particularly generous, feel free to sponsor me for the race. All donations over $2 are tax deductible and proceeds go directly to the Arrow Bone Marrow Foundation at St Vincent's Hospital to do their top notch research into Leukemia and other blood cancers & disorders such as Lymphoma and Myeloma. This is something particularly close to my heart as I was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins's Diffuse large B-Cell Lymphoma in 1999 when I was 16. I'm sound as a pound now after a fair whack of chemo, but I know personally how generally sh*thouse these diseases are. Get in there and throw 'em some coin!
Edit: We're looking for a time under 13 hours, which is reasonable. Last time I did this race in a double it took us 12 hrs 50 mins, so beating that time is the target. Last year was just over 15 hours solo.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Touchdown!
After a hiatus in Honolulu, according to FedEx's tracking system has told me that my kayak package has touched down in Sydney. Not sure how long it will take to clear Australian Customs and for the duty & GST (10% sales tax payable on imports over AUD$1000) to be processed, but I guess we'll wait and see.
I also managed to find a picture of me paddling the Hawkesbury Classic last year in Dad's Coho - I'd forgotten how beautiful the boat is!
The wait continues...
UPDATE: Got a call from a blocked number on my mobile this afternoon which turned out to be someone from FedEx, somewhere in the world (because of the delay on the line I'm pretty sure it wasn't Aust) asking for my credit card details to pay the customs duty. I took a leap of faith and assumed it wasn't someone trying to scam me and handed them over, and sure enough, the fedex tracker shows my kayak has cleared Australian Customs and has been released from International Shipment. I can only assume this means my package is in the domestic courier network and will arrive in the next day or so!
I also managed to find a picture of me paddling the Hawkesbury Classic last year in Dad's Coho - I'd forgotten how beautiful the boat is!
The wait continues...
UPDATE: Got a call from a blocked number on my mobile this afternoon which turned out to be someone from FedEx, somewhere in the world (because of the delay on the line I'm pretty sure it wasn't Aust) asking for my credit card details to pay the customs duty. I took a leap of faith and assumed it wasn't someone trying to scam me and handed them over, and sure enough, the fedex tracker shows my kayak has cleared Australian Customs and has been released from International Shipment. I can only assume this means my package is in the domestic courier network and will arrive in the next day or so!
Monday, October 11, 2010
In the beginning...
,After deciding a few weeks ago to buy a kit and build my own kayak, I found there were only a few online sites showing the whole process so now that I've decided to go ahead, I'll document it here with some juicy photos and a bit of a timeline.
As a background, I live in Canberra, Australia and have been kayaking on and off since I was at school 10 years ago. They had a pretty good outdoors program and I guess it stuck with me from there. Also, they compete in an annual event held outside Sydney called the Hawkesbury Canoe Classic - a 111km overnight marathon from Windsor to Brooklyn down the Hawkesbury river to raise funds for cancer research.
Last year in preparation for the race, I bought my first kayak at late notice and was quickly restricted by what I could get my hands on, a K1 flatwater kayak (Elliott Extreme) built by Elliott Kayaks north of Sydney. This was initially to do the race in but I quickly found myself in a boat too unstable to do the race and with a seat that sent my legs to sleep after 30 mins in the boat. It was ok to train in but I was able to get my hands on my Dad's Pygmy Coho to compete in.
Fast forward 12 months and I'm back in training for this year's race and the kayak bug has bitten again as the weather warms up. I'm doing the race this year in a double Mirage 730 sea kayak with my Dad but having to train again in the Elliott has made me yearn for a more comfortable boat more suited to open waters. And hence the search begins!
My initial criteria above (ie. comfortable and capable in choppy water) I found quickly limited by the price I could pay. Most fibreglass sea kayaks were in excess of AUD$2,500 and I couldn't justify spending this much coin on a new toy. My mind then quickly went back to the kayak my Dad built 3 years ago and a build-your-own kit quickly became an option for me. This, combined with an Australian Dollar/US Dollar exchange rate at all time highs and my project was beginning.
As a background, I live in Canberra, Australia and have been kayaking on and off since I was at school 10 years ago. They had a pretty good outdoors program and I guess it stuck with me from there. Also, they compete in an annual event held outside Sydney called the Hawkesbury Canoe Classic - a 111km overnight marathon from Windsor to Brooklyn down the Hawkesbury river to raise funds for cancer research.
Last year in preparation for the race, I bought my first kayak at late notice and was quickly restricted by what I could get my hands on, a K1 flatwater kayak (Elliott Extreme) built by Elliott Kayaks north of Sydney. This was initially to do the race in but I quickly found myself in a boat too unstable to do the race and with a seat that sent my legs to sleep after 30 mins in the boat. It was ok to train in but I was able to get my hands on my Dad's Pygmy Coho to compete in.
Fast forward 12 months and I'm back in training for this year's race and the kayak bug has bitten again as the weather warms up. I'm doing the race this year in a double Mirage 730 sea kayak with my Dad but having to train again in the Elliott has made me yearn for a more comfortable boat more suited to open waters. And hence the search begins!
My initial criteria above (ie. comfortable and capable in choppy water) I found quickly limited by the price I could pay. Most fibreglass sea kayaks were in excess of AUD$2,500 and I couldn't justify spending this much coin on a new toy. My mind then quickly went back to the kayak my Dad built 3 years ago and a build-your-own kit quickly became an option for me. This, combined with an Australian Dollar/US Dollar exchange rate at all time highs and my project was beginning.
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