MCC-SA enters Hawkesbury event
The Hawkesbury Canoe Classic is an annual paddling event which helps raise funds for The Arrow Bone Marrow Transplant Foundation.
Each year about 600 paddlers share the Hawkesbury experience with about half of this field being returning paddlers. The other half of the field are new to the Hawkesbury Canoe Classic and some even completely new to paddling.
The Hawkesbury Canoe Classic covers 111km and has 21 checkpoints down the Hawkesbury River in outer Sydney at the base of the Blue Mountains. The checkpoints are staffed by 400 volunteers whose main concern is to look after paddlers.
The event is held annually in October as close as possible to the full moon. The weather at this time of year is generally more stable, with reasonably long daylight hours.
Three paddlers from South Australia ventured east this year to participate in the Hawkesbury event. MCC and Onkaparinga stalwart John Hales drove over and back. Whilst David Speck and Brad Butler flew in on the Saturday morning of the event with ground crew volunteer, Renee Stanley.
The start is a flurry of activity with registrations starting at 10am for a 4pm race start. Boats are scrutineered and PFDÕs are tested under water. Torches, compasses, whistles and maps are also checked.
The Hawkesbury is a beautiful river, adjacent to the town of Windsor a sleepy hamlet and one of the oldest European settlements in Australia.
The first start is 4pm with staggered starts fifteen minutes apart until 6pm. Yes, thatÕs correct, you paddle 111km through the night.
The race was originally run overnight to take advantage of the calmer weather conditions and the lighter traffic on the river. It also allowed the slower paddlers to make those last painful strokes in daylight. What the organisers did not realise when they made this decision was that the beauty and magic of paddling beneath the full moon would far outweigh any of their practical reasons for running the event overnight.
Brad started paddling in the first start at 4pm and David & John started at 4.30pm.
At the 1 hour mark Brad had a small altercation with another boat while wash riding at the rear of a 4 boat diamond formation and as a result ended up with a short swim to shore.
Brad reached Sackville, i.e. 31.2km in good time, had a coffee & sambo, spending 15minutes on the shore. John & David arrived in good time too and took advantage of the picnic atmosphere to indulge with a coffee and snacks.
Brad arrived at Dargle (40.8km) at 8.05pm, averaging 10km/hr and waited for his South Australian mates to arrive. The three paddlers had agreed that if John & David had not caught Brad in the single prior to Dargle, he should wait there until their arrival. This ensured the team could share ground crew.
Paddling as a team the group felt good arriving together at WisemanÕs Ferry at 1.20am. There were lots of other boats on the shore and a real carnival atmosphere. However the last 46km from WisemanÕs to the finish was a tough haul for the South Australian team. Each member of the trio had their flat spots and emotional lows. Sleep deprivation was a major factor at about the 90km mark and it was only critical situations with a strong incoming tide at the 100km mark that generated enough adrenalin for everyone to get over it.
The MCC-SA team finished a lot later than expected with each member digging deep to finish at all.
David Speck & John Hales came in with an official time of 16:48:49 eclipsing Brad ButlerÕs time of 16:50:32.
Completion of the Hawkesbury Canoe Classic is a fantastic achievement. It is great to see a couple of SA paddling stalwarts complete the event accompanied by one of our newer paddlers. As you would probably expect they greatly appreciated Renee StanleyÕs helpful support, sunny disposition and smiling face at every checkpoint.
A fantastic team effort and a great weekend away.
