Adventure Paddle

For members who do not know me well, I began paddling in Ceduna (on the west coast of SA) with the Ceduna branch of Sea Dragons. We paddled on Murat Bay and occasionally did an “adventure paddle” across to Denial Bay and back (approximately 20 km round trip).

Although I enjoy the training paddles around Delphin Island and on the Port River, I am interested in paddling in other locations. And so the first of the “adventure paddles” happened on Saturday 18th July. Twelve ASD paddlers headed down the Port River to Barker Inlet. We paddled for about 1.25 hours which took us up into the St Kilda channel. The weather was perfect. The tide right for what we were doing. Winds less than 5 knots. Sun shining.

For most of us this was a brand new experience. For a few – John, Lee and Sandy, it was paddling a dragon boat versus a kayak/canoe. Gary chose to sit in the front of the boat for half the trip and worked well leading with Tracy. Rachel and I stroked the return journey and Tracy swept. It was great having John on board and he guided Tracy and I as to the best route around corners, what we might see.

The ship graveyard, mangroves, stingray, dolphins, the marinas and the slipways gave us plenty to look at.

Sitting in different seats and chatting with fellow paddlers, and sharing this experience was special. This was not a race. The paddle provided an opportunity for each us to work as hard or as easy as each of us wanted – one rule – stay in time.

My thanks to Rachel, Lee, Gary, Lynn, Beth, Robyn, Susan, Tracy, Lee, Sandy, Sarah for helping to realise the opportunity for ASD to be a part of competitions but also to have “adventures”.

Where to next?

Trish Jenner