Lifestart Kayak for kids on March 30 2008

Zoe thought it would be heaps of fun and the chance to kayak around the harbour in an event like this was definitely to be jumped at. So all sounded good, Zoe even had time to get more paddling in than she had done in a while with the Jindabyne multisport paddles she did. Though still having only done a few paddles in the last year or so and non over 10 KM she was a little worried, but looking forward to the lifestart event anyway. I was still fairly sick 2 weeks after doing Jindabyne with a cold and thus not keen to try to race hard or really go for it so hopefully that would keep me in check and stop me from going so hard Zoe would wear herself out.

So I got to Sydney on Saturday morning and headed over to say hi to my cousins and see Jack and Mia's almost 2 year old son. Then other cousin Nick and I headed over to Rose Bay so I could take him out for a paddle. We headed over to Shark Island and had a quick wander there, then across to Shark Bay and pulled in on the beach to grab some lunch (which took 35 minutes for them to make some sandwiches, somewhat busy and understaffed, but still too slow) then back to Rose Bay. Nick has not done any paddling before really so was fairly sore within the first 600 metres, oops, have to relax and take more of a breather doing this. However on the whole he really had fun paddling and it was a nice introduction to Sydney Harbour paddling for me. (a map from my GPS is online, though I forgot to start and stop it at all the right times).

Then Sunday morning was upon us with some gorgeous sunny weather on offer we headed over to Manly to do the Lifestart Kayak for Kids. It was a heck of a lot of fun, Zoe and I both were blown away by how good the scenery was and the great weather. We were also well chuffed to finish in around 2h6m for the 20 KM (measured on my GPS) considering Zoe had not paddled much and I was a bit sick. We were the second sea kayak to finish and the first mixed team so we got some cool prizes too. Tom's sense of humour only got the better of him once when he put a turning buoy about 20 metres off shore from the Nudist beach thus ensuring all the competitors got a god eyefull there. Paddling on Sydney harbour really is special, it is not as rough or exhilarating as being out on big seas on the ocean, however it is still not calm like a lake (as Adrian can attest to when he panicked once or twice on his surf ski while racing, though he kept it upright so did well there).

The scenery and just getting my sea kayak into the sea were enough to convince me this is a race that is worth travelling for after all, highly recommended, just check out the photos for a hint of how good it was. Thanks to Jane for support, thanks to Zoe for paddling with me, thanks to Matilda for carrying us for the 20 KM with such effortless flair thanks to AROC and lifestart for getting this event happening and we should see you all there next year. My GPS Map and HR Detailed data are online if you want to see them.

fullsize Nick at Shark Island. fullsize Steve at Shark Island. fullsize Waiting for the start of the teams on AROC Toyboys. fullsize And off they go. fullsize They sure are hard to steer. fullsize Steve and Zoe about to hop in the water. fullsize Sitting on the water for 10 minutes waiting for the start.

fullsize Zoe. fullsize Steve. fullsize A photo we took a short while after the first checkpoint. fullsize Zoe still smiling and enjoying the paddle. fullsize In fact she seemed to enjoy the whole thing, even if she is doing a Vizzini face here. fullsize Blues Point after crossing the finish line.

fullsize The harbour bridge under which we had just paddled. fullsize A better shot of Zoe with harbour bridge background. fullsize Zoe saw a hand built wooden strip kayak she wanted some photos of. fullsize They really are pretty. fullsize I am keen to build one myself. fullsize We even got a prize. fullsize So Ado took photos of us accepting it.