Island Hopping

Yep, it's been a while between updates, because it's been a while between paddles - Sydney's un-summer-like weather and Christmas commitments have meant oportunites for a kayak have been few!
Yesterday saw a bit of a break in the windy conditions we've been experiencing of late and while the southerly was still blowing at around 20kmh it was much safer then the 30kmh conditions of the preceding days.
We cancelled a planned paddle on the 27th after checking the weather report - not only were strong winds predicted but also huge swells all along the NSW coast. While the area we intended to paddle wouldn't be effected by swell the wind would certainly make it uncomfortable - not to mention dangerous.
Disappointingly an article in the following day's newspaper outlined five rescues involving kayakers - seriously people? It's one thing to put your own life in danger, but just days after a paramedic lost his life rescuing others you still find it appropriate to take these risks? One guy even had his two young children on board the kayak, all three had to be rescued.

Anyway, I'll get off my soapbox now :)

A quick paddle yesterday from Rodd Point at Drummoyne, this is a favourite launching spot for me, especially if I'm paddling alone. It's only 15-20min drive from home, has a lovely sheltered beach to launch from and free parking - pretty rare around the harbour!
It was still pretty blowy yesterday so I figured if it was too uncomfortable I could stay within the confines of Iron Cove. As I headed out under the bridges I decided it was okay and that I'd do a little island hopping.

To get to the open harbour I paddle past Birkenhead Point Marina and notice a mast towering over everything else. It's Wild Thing, no doubt mourning her early departure from this year's Sydney to Hobart. I've stood alongside maxi yachts on jetties before but never been near one in the kayak - this thing is massive!

First I swing by Snapper Island, the smallest Island in Sydney Harbour. Apparently not much of its original form remains today - it was added to and had sections taken away to make it look like a ship - go figure. In the 1930s it was used as a nautical training base for boys.

You can read more about Snapper Island here: http://www.harbourtrust.gov.au/visit-our-sites/snapper-island/history/

I'd intended to circumnavigate Cockatoo Island anti-clockwise and then head over to Spectacle Island but after a moment of indecision (check out my Sports Tracker path below) I went clockwise...don't know why, I just did!
I really enjoy paddling around Cockatoo, there's so much of Sydney's history contained on this small block of land. I say small but Cockatoo is Sydney Harbour's largest Island.
You can paddle right into the old ship docks, this one was built by convicts in 1857.

You can camp on Cockatoo Island and there's usually at least a dozen families settling in there on the weekend but by the ferry load that arrived as I went past it looks like space will be at a premium for New Years Eve, not surprisingly as Cockatoo provides uninterrupted views of the Harbour Bridge.
The paddle along the eastern edge of the island was interesting, the headwind and waves whipped up by the large boat traffic made it hard work. This shoreline is a concrete wall so the wave action is something like a giant washing machine!
More about Cockatoo Island here:
http://www.cockatooisland.gov.au/about/index.html

There's a saying in the TKBs that the Royal Australian Navy owns all the best land around Sydney Harbour and Spectacle Island is no exception. Back in the day Spectacle Island was home to an explosives manufacturing complex. Today it houses some of the RAN's heritage collection as well as being a training base for cadets. It sounds pretty harmless so I'm not sure why the 100m exclusion zone to all vessels. It's a shame really as there are some wonderful old buildings on the island that I'd love to have a closer look at. Apparently it even has it's own (very) small railway system! There's even a lovely little beach on the southern shoreline that would be perfect for landing a kayak on.
I didn't get a chance to take a photo of Spectacle, I was busy navigating the chop and paddling into the headwind.
The paddle home into the southerly made me realise my decision not to paddle on the previous days was well and truly justified, it was a great morning on the water but I was exhausted when I got back to Rodd Point.
Here's the route:
http://www.sports-tracker.com/#/workout/TraceyJohns/b6rvtmtvc4oue071

A weekend of Discovery

A twice kayaking weekend is a good weekend!
Saturday morning was overcast and cool but four members of the TKBs rocked up to our usual departure point at The Spit; myself, Ian, Rod and Quiggy.
We paddled out to Balmoral against a reasonable swell, Ian was struggling in a crappy hire kayak - not usually an issue from Sydney Harbour Kayaks, they usually provide excellent equipment.
We cut across to the north shore of Middle Harbour and pulled into Castle Rock Beach for a break and a swim - I forgot my camera so these were the only shots I got with the Iphone:

Ian and Rod swapped kayaks for the run home, we hugged the beaches with our last stop being Fisher Bay to have a sticky beak at a permanently moored houseboat - one of the last four on the harbour.

On Sunday morning I headed for Taren Point, this would be my first solo voyage with the new kayak and also my first venture into the Georges River/Botany Bay body of water.
I'd read about the Towra Point Nature Reserve and the wetlands around Quibray Bay, so that was where I was headed.
When I arrived at the Hawkesbury Reserve boat ramp I had a few reservations, I'd never launched at a boat ramp before and for the first time I was hauling my 21kg kayak around on my own. It actually turned out to be very easy, the high tide helped as did the well maintained boat ramp that isn't slippery at all. I rested the kayak on top of the wall running parallel to the boat ramp, stood on the ramp in knee deep water and dragged the kayak in...too easy :)
Keeping an eye on the storms forming to the south I headed off!
The first thing that struck me as I paddled under Captain Cook Bridge (Taren Point Rd) was the scream of jet skis, I hate to whinge, but there were dozens of them and they were incredibly noisy and racing around in a fairly reckless manner. I'm glad I didn't have to pass too close to them or I would have been seriously concerned for my safety.
Anyway, thankfully, once I turned to head towards Quibray Bay I left the jet skis behind, their screams dulling to a mosquito-like background drone...hmmm.
About now I decided that the next purchase of equipment would need to be a waterproof housing for the Iphone - I really wasn't sure where Quibray Bay was and it would have been great to have a gander at Google Maps right about now!
Safely dry in the rear hatch of my kayak the Iphone was recording my route on my new sports tracker app, great lot of good it was doing back there! As you will see from this pretty little map it produced I'd missed Quibray Bay rather substantially!

But I had still managed to find some great mangroves to explore

Birds spotted in the mangroves included pelicans (of course), Little Pied Cormorants, Little Black Cormorants, an Osprey (I think - it was flying pretty high - then again maybe it was just a 747 on final to Mascot) and a little flock of what I believe were sandpipers of some kind, most likely the Common Sandpiper. And, one of my favourites, a couple of White Faced Herons

Time on the water on your own is great thinking time and a name for my new kayak has been long overdue - for some reason known only to my brain cells I started thinking about the space shuttle. It's been a sad year for us fans of NASA and space travel with the retirement of the shuttles - for me they will always be symbols of my childhood imagination and dreams - so I decided to christen the kayak Discovery after the shuttle, which in turn was named after the four great British ships of exploration. It seemed appropriate.

How it all started

So after almost a year of kayaking I've decided it might be fun to keep a blog, but first a quick recap of the year that was.
When we moved to Sydney a few years ago I vowed to get involved in a water sport, it'd be crazy to be living on the coast with the magnificent Sydney Harbour so close and not make the most of it. Plus I've always enjoyed 'messing about in boats'.
I had thought it would be sailing getting me on the water but I quickly realised that a kayak would be a much cheaper and easier way to get wet. I wouldn't need to rely on anyone else to go for a paddle - or alternatively there was potential to go paddling with as many other people as I liked!
So in January 2011 I bought my first kayak. Not really sure whether I'd stick with this new sport or how adventurous I'd get I decided on a sit-on-top. And while it didn't take long to realise that my ambitions and enthusiasm for kayaking would quickly out grow 'Vikel' (long story, for another post perhaps) I'm glad I started with this basic kayak, she is a steady boat in all conditions and a great confidence builder for a beginner.
We had many great days on Sydney Harbour together:

It wasn't long before we'd found some fellow kayakers (ironically in our immediate group of friends) and the TKBs were born - Tracey's Kayaking Buddies (I did NOT name the group).

Um, yes, Ian is in that kayak backwards...


Anyway, after months of saving I put a deposit on this:

So there was a final solo voyage with Vikel, from Rodd Point Drummoyne all the way around to Gladesville Bridge:

Then a quick dip (and Vikel's first freshwater outing) at Lake Canobolas in Orange, a test drive for the new owner, my sister Kelly.

And finally the first voyage of the yet-unnamed new kayak. A TKBs outing that included guest stars mum and dad and my friend Shannon, all three came all the way from Oberon!

More voyages followed:

After this particular paddle I decided I'd like to try to find the tipping point of my new kayak...found it!

Kell and Vikel on their first TKBs outing together:

A particularly interesting day because of the sea fog on the coast, behind this wall of white is the southern shore of Sydney Harbour:

And, to bring us up to date, last weekend's TKBs voyage, with usual members myself and Rod, Quiggy and his new boat and guest Jen!

We found a fantastic old house:

And this awesome creek:

So that brings you up to date on my adventures so far. My next update, coming very soon, will be a report from this weekend - a two-kayak-trips weekend, GPS tracking and a video!

[Insert witty sign-off here] (I'll think of something - 'wet oars'? hmm, no, I'll keep thinking!)