Paddle Polaris 2003
On the weekend 6./7. December 2003 Claudia and Kevin participate in the Paddle Polaris 2003, a major paddling and navigation competition. Claudia's report below was published in the NSW Sea Kayak Club magazine. Also have a look at our Photo Gallery Paddle Polaris 2003 and our Monthly Report December 2003.
Too rough at Tuross? — Paddle Polaris 2003
By Claudia Schremmer
After the successful initial event in 2002, I guess that we can nickname the Paddle Polaris 2003 "Paddle Polaris Classic", according to so many other events subtitled as classic when they have just left their infancy shoes. In any case, it was my first one, and I did not quite know what to expect from this paddling, navigating, and point collecting event. A recent injury had seen me off the water just before, and I wasn't yet sure how I would manage the paddling movements. Hence, my team partner, Kevin and I decided to take it relaxed and not competitive.
Before starting the event, Kevin and I made two good decisions. Firstly, we decided to see it as a short holiday and take the Friday and the Monday off, making a total of 4 days, of which 2 were for competing on the water. Secondly, we opted for Kevin's double kayak rather than our singles due to my shoulder injury. Thus, we travelled down from Sydney to Tuross on the Friday, checked our boat through the scrutinizing process and took our time to mark the map with the potential check points for the week-end. The Australian grid system used for the location of the checkpoints allows some slackness of about 100 square meters. Thus, not all checkpoints were sharply pre-defined. Sure, a check point named "bridge" would be easy to find within the possible area, but there were check points named "river bank" or "shark"...
The rule of the game was that each team consisted of two paddlers, in either two single kayaks, or one double. Team members had to stay together at all times, paddling together as well as going to the check points together. On Saturday morning, we had to be at the start line 10 minutes before the race. The active checkpoints for that day, their value, as well as the location of the overnight camp site were given out on the water. For us, this meant that we had to paddle over to a sand bar where two helpers were waiting with a sheet of paper with the information. There, we had to decide as spontaneously as possible which check points we would go to. The overall race time on Saturday was 7 hours. Each minute late would cost points, the first ten minutes late still relatively cheap at 1 point lost per minute, but the penalty then rapidly increased so that 40 minutes late meant that you basically loose all your points collected during the day. The challenge was to find the optimal course through the Tuross Lake system that allowed us to maximize our point score while finishing in the allocated time.
There were check points in the lake system, on river banks, as well as on the ocean side. Some were on the water (e.g., attached to an oyster lease), others just on the edge of the water (e.g., lake side), and some were quite a distance inland. On our first competitive day, the surf on the ocean was huge, and only three teams challenged the open waters, the rest opted for staying in the sheltered lakes and rivers. The Tuross Lake has a twin, Lake Coila, which is only accessible by a portage either across a sand bar from the ocean, or by an even longer portage along a road. Many high scoring check points were found on this second lake, and luckily for the teams who proudly possessed wheels for their loaded boats access was feasible. We decided to do the portage, and as it turned out most other teams had decided on a different course for the Saturday morning. That left us all by ourselves on Lake Coila, it was hard to imagine that we were actually in a competition. With no-one around, we had the solitude to enjoy the landscape. The sky was overcast, the wind was calm, the water like a mirror, and the air a bit hazy, like not yet woken up for the day. In one of the creeks, paddling towards a 40-points check point, a Wedge Tailed Eagle took off 5 meters in front of us, imposing its beauty and elegance on us. It was a magnificent morning.
Back on the main lake, we finally got into the competitive feeling with kayakers all around us. Some moored to the banks on the shore to run to remote inland check points, some paddling frantically, most of them, however, simply enjoying the day on the water, the Eurobodalla National Park surrounding us and the fish jumping out of the water. The camp ground was located a long way up the Tuross River, and one hour before the finish saw many teams heading straight for the camp site. Many paddlers were tired by now, their cadence had gone down considerably, and the kilometers still to cover appeared never ending. Kevin and I finished 30 minutes early, rather than hunting the last possible 10 points. After a hard day's paddle and being covered in perspiration, it was a relief to jump into the fresh water for a swim and watch those paddlers making use of the last few minutes to collect points. It was so much nicer to relax already.
Competition-wise, the Sunday was pretty much a repeat of Saturday. The active check points and their scores were given out just after the start, the time limit for Sunday was 6 hours. The weather was impeccable, sunny and hot, only a slight breeze. Kevin and I decided to visit different check points from the first day. Later, we learned that most of the very competitive teams tended to visit the same check points both days, knowing where to find them, whilst most of the leisurely teams tried to investigate as many different check points as possible, exploring the landscape. According to this categorization, we would thus fit into the "leisurely" group... Not intended by the Event Organizer, Huw Kingston, it turned out that is was quite possible to run to several check points that were meant to be covered from the water. In the end Kevin and I also decided to spend the last 3 hours of the race exploring various check points on the south shore of the Tuross Lake by running through the bush. Stretching the legs gave a nice change to our previous propulsion, and dressed in paddling gear, we challenged the Australian wilderness. Now that the race is over and the prizes have been awarded (we came 3rd in our category of Mixed Double), we might as well admit that we would never ever have found the check point "creek junction"... On our map, there was an old fire trail leading half way down to the inland lake. We had passed this overgrown fire trail 4 times already without discovering it. We were about to abandon all hope of locating the trail when two more competitors who had visited the same check point from the other side the previous day led the way as they attempted to revisit this same high scoring check point again. Half way down the hill in dense bush they told us that they had been lost for more than 2 hours the day before at exactly this check point... Eventually, with rogaining compasses and a bit of luck we located Potato Lake. By this time, we were bitten by mosquitoes all over. When we finally reached the lake, it turned out that we were on one side of the neck of the potato-shaped lake and the control point on the other side. What did our leader do? He went straight into the water. The water was pitch dark, muddy, swampy, covered with reeds. We waded across with mud up to our knees, water to our necks and reeds high above our heads. The situation was quite surreal, becoming stuck in the mud every now and then, losing balance, splashing about in the water and trying to get back onto our feet, imagining the fresh water snakes and eels lurking for us... but is was very funny as well, I have to admit. In any case, it produced injuries not very common on paddling events, badly scratched legs.
After this incident in the wilderness, we had to cover the last kilometer of the race over water. By this time, Kevin's wrist was sore, and my shoulder was feeling weird. We were quite happy to reach the finish line. Just to prove that I hadn't done any exercise during the race, I was carried over the finish line - and it was to complete the series of photos David Whyte took of us during these two days. Everywhere, as soon as we saw David and his camera, I took off my spray skirt, put my legs up on the deck of the boat with my hands behind my head and pretended not to do anything while Kevin did all the work paddling me around...
It was a great week-end with the right mixture of both on and off water activities, allowing us to paddle hard but also to stretch our legs. The weather was very much in our favour, and many paddlers went home sun burnt. We will return next year for another exciting event.