 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
 Toronto Winterfest Paddle (14/08/11) - By Pam Dean-Jones Thank you to all the harbour racing paddlers who joined the Rotary Club of Toronto Sunrise on Lake Macquarie for this race, showcasing the pleasures of open water racing on our beautiful lake. We hope you’ll be back in force for Paddlefest in March and continue to help us raise funds to support local homeless people. In the mean time, one or two local Rotarians are now thinking about new or upgraded boats so that they can really be part of the action. A great outcome all round for friendship, fitness and fund raising. Here is a brief reflection on the race, from a local perspective. On a grey and threatening winter morning, Lake Macquarie glimmered like steel as around 35 paddlers assembled on the foreshore, sniffing the low breeze and the bacon and eggs on the BBQ. The briefing – three legs of open water and one back along the shoreline for the first circuit and around again for those tackling the long course. I heard one paddler complaining that it looked pretty flat – no excitement in that.
|
|
Then just a few minutes after 9.30am, we were off – most in beautiful sleek craft that slice through the water, one stand up paddler and one in a little yellow plastic tub. Right on cue, the wind started to pick up from the south, with a rising chop. Typical Lake Macquarie conditions really. By the time the plastic tub reached the end of first leg across to Bolton Point, the lead paddlers were already at Valentine Point and turning for the big leg across the middle of the lake, as the wind picked up a notch or two more, the sky darkened and the odd white cap appeared on the crest of the chop. Lake Macquarie is a beautiful waterway, big water and big sky. The paddle across the middle is a great opportunity to get into your stride and power along. I think this is where the main part of the field would really have been sorting out positions, based on who could best manage the cross wind and chop. From the yellow tub perspective, I got to chat with the SES who kindly kept me company all the way. Then the final leg along the Coal Point and Toronto waterfront – past the homes of friends, reduced wind and chop running behind, but still rolling the little tub around. And finally across the finish line, just 37 seconds in front of the first of the awesome 16km paddlers. Very pleased to have finished and even more pleased to have just avoided being lapped. Pam Dean-Jones |
|
||||
|
|
|
|
|
|||
 |
||||
|
 |
 |
 |
|
|
||||