Island Paddler

Plans that go astray

2007-10-12T19:53:00.001+13:00

Yikes! Just realised how long it has been since the last entry. I have to put it down to winteritis since I haven't been out much at all over the last few months, just a couple of short paddles. But I have just got back from a 7 day break on the mainland.

This holiday was going to be a packed one. For the first part of the week the plan was to drive down and then paddle around Lake Waikaremoana, this would have taken from Saturday to Tuesday. Then a long long drive up to Russell in the Bay of Islands, launch from Rawhiti on Thurdsay and camp out at Urupukpuka Island. Explore the islands I missed out on last time and with a group of other kayakers paddle out to Deepwater Cove on Saturday to watch the sinking of the HMNZS Canterbury. Action packed, all planned out - and none of it was to be.

The previous week I was stressed out at work and feeling very under the weather so when it came to drive to Waikaremoana on Saturday I ran out of steam 100km before getting there and pulled into a camp site at Lake Rerewhakaaitu. The next morning I woke early to the sound of Tui's holding a ruckus party in the Tree Fuchsias that surrounds the site. I couldn't face the drive to Wakare so instead launched the kayak & did a round of Rerewhakaaitu to clear my head. In the afternoon I launched again but this time with the fly rod and picked up a nice 1.5kg Rainbow trout, once again the lake didn't let me down.

The following day a change of scenery and a site that wasn't full of drunken Tui's was in order so I zipped up the road to Lake Aniwhenua. You are allowed to camp for free on the domain near the dam and although it is fairly exposed it is a beautiful spot.

Once the Jeep was set up I grabbed the spinning road and walked down the canal flinging the lure out every few yards. A sub 1kg trout fell for it and after a short but very aerial fight I managed to get it up the bank of the canal to unhook and release it so it will be around the next time I head down there.

Monday I woke to a strong wind but the lake was still fairly smooth so I hopped into Kekeno and circumnavigated the lake for a bit of fitness training. The long break from paddling had not been kind to me and although it was only 10km I could feel that I had a workout. For a man made lake the scenery was terrific. Between powering it up I paddled into Azolla & Duckweed covered bays, up a crystal clear side stream and watched a couple of hundred swans take off in unison at the main inlet.

There were some trout jumping around the lake so after a lengthy lunch I grabbed the fly rod and headed out in the kayak again. A couple of hours of harling along the edge of the weed banks saw 3 nice trout fall to the fly. A short break and then out again for another 3 Rainbows, all between 1 to 1.5kg. Not being too fond of trout unless smoked they all got released to provide more of a challenge next time.

That night the rain hit with a vengeance and only let up late the next morning. Feed-up of being stuck in the Jeep reading, as soon as the rain stopped I headed back down the canal but this time fished all the way to the penstocks and back up the river where ever I could find access. At the hydroelectric plant there is a tremendous waterfall with a nice pool below that was very tempting, but I wasn't sure of the legalities of climbing down the side of the complex so gave it a miss.

That evening I headed out once again for some more fishing in the kayak. The annual licence had just cost me $96 so I figured I might as well get my monies worth! For some reason though the trout just weren't playing ball. Just before it started to get dark I decided to give in when I spotted a dorsal and tail fin sticking up out of a patch of Azolla (red weed). Not only that there was a healthy distance between the 2 fins! So I grounded Kekeno on another weed bed and began casting into the channel between the two beds. Pretty soon the fins disappeared and my reel started screaming. This was more like it! After a long fight which was hindered by my net refusing to open for me without a struggle, I managed to land it. Estimated at 5lbs it was the the biggest one I had caught for a while.
Wednesday was a day for a long drive. The weather forecast for the next few days was not good, but I wanted to be up north just incase the sinking was going to go ahead. By the time I got past Auckland I received a text from Dawn advising that a meeting was being held and things weren't looking good. When I got to Whangarei a decision still hadn't been made so instead of Russell I crossed over the the Kia Iwi lakes for the night. I checked the emails when I got there and received confirmation that the Canterbury will be afloat for another few weeks - Bugger.

Spent the following day at Kia Iwi with only an eight inch trout to show for it. With the wind expected to get worse paddling was out, and I hadn't packed any salt water fishing gear so on Friday I decided to head home and have the weekend to unpack and sort things out.

So not the holiday I had planned but still relaxing and very enjoyable.

Bay of Islands Holiday

2007-06-10T18:24:00.000+12:00

After lugging all the gear up to the house and looking at the mountain of wet / smelly junk piled up in the lounge I start to wonder if the holiday was worth it. Then I mentally slap myself and think back over the last week - you bet it was worth it!

Saturday
It all started when Tony & Kate told our email group that they were planning a trip up to the Bay of Islands. It wasn't long before 5 more of us put up our hands as well. As time progressed Steve & Linda had to pull out because of work commitments and Paul & Natasha came down with the flu. Thus it was only me that drove into the Puriri DOC camp in the Whangaruru Harbour to meet Tony & Kate. They weren't hard to pick out with their multi room mansion of a tent and being only one of the 2 couples camped there.

Puriri Bay Doc Camp

After setting up the Jeep for sleeping we had an enjoyable evening catching up and I tried for some luck fishing from the camp site as the tide came in. Unfortunately the small pickers were about and my bait didn't last long each cast, so soon gave up.

Sunday
The weather forecast for Queens Birthday weekend was meant to be crap. But once again they had it wrong with Sunday dawning bright and beautiful with 10 to 15knt SW winds. We couldn't ask for better conditions so soon had the kayaks in the water and headed around North Head of the harbour. The coastline on the eastern side is very rugged with (luckily small) oceanic swells slowly rocking the kayak. Zipping in and out of the rocks kept us entertained as we made our way to Bland Bay.

Kate North Point Whangaruru

Once there the day was so good that we cut across to the far point of Bland Bay to check out the Pink Cave, a destination I had been trying to get to for at least 6 years but had been put off by the size of the swells rolling in each time. This area is even more rugged then North Pt with lots of nooks and crannies to stick the kayak into and scratch the bottom with. The point with the main cave is almost an island by itself. Tony and Kate stayed on the near side of it but since the cave looked like it narrowed considerably on the far side I paddled around in "juggley seas" to approach it from this angle. The cave entrance narrowed so much that I had trouble finding it, poking my bow into likely looking holes until I saw one that showed sky and sea through it.

The narrow part lived up to its name with pink coralline growth on the rock faces. The swell was rolling through this entrance quite a bit but I managed to get through without any problems. Once inside it opened up to a nice roomy hole, well worth trying for 6 years for. I spotted Tony out from the entrance and thought they were just waiting for me, but Kate had attempted the cave as well only to have a swell roll in at the wrong time and force the stern of her immaculate Sea Spirit into the rock and scuffing it up. Well Kate, its been christened - you can now call it a real kayak!

After having lunch on a small beach b4 the point we headed back into Bland Bay. For a bit different scenery instead of paddling back round the way we came we portaged the kayaks over the camping ground and road to the harbour. One trolley meant 3 trips (the Sea Spirit was carried while Kekeno and Tony's ChuckyIV trollyied). Then as Kate was suffering from "What'saroundthecorneritis" we headed inland up the harbour for a while before turning back and paddling to camp.

Tony & Kate Bland Bay

Monday

Another beautiful morning greeted me when I poked my nose out of the Jeep. The forecast was for stronger winds later on in the day but the morning was just crying out "Paddle!". It is so good to be able to launch the kayaks without the hassle of sorting gear or loading it onto the Jeep, just a matter of hopping in and paddling away! This time we headed south,island hopping past Oakura and Helena Bays to the headland just before Mimwhangata Peninsula. By this time the wind had suddenly got up so we thought it prudent to start heading back.

Tony hunting for the nearest public amenity

After stopping for a bite to eat in a small bay sheltered by an island we made our way back by hugging the coast. This area of the shoreline consists of rugged cliffs and secluded sheltered bays tucked away between them. The odd rock garden gave us the opportunity to put more scratches and gorges in the hulls of our beloved ones. All during this paddle we were looking forward to a feed of fish & chips from the Oakuru Takeaways. After landing there we found out that the owner had only just closed up until the evening so we laid on the public domain and tucked into the food we had brought with us instead. Then it was a short paddle across the harbour and back to the camp.

Tuesday
Kate and Tony were headed to Russell so I took the opportunity of fulfilling another ambition of mine by exploring Urupukapuka Island. After a leisurely pack up and a pleasant drive around the coast I arrived at Rawhiti at about 1pm. It was overcast and windy but the island is only a couple of kilometres out so I wasn't too worried. I knew you could leave vehicles on private property there, but couldn't find anybody. So I got the kayak packed and changed into paddling clothes when a guy came down with a wheel barrow full of fishing gear and directed me to his missus. With the Jeep parked insight of their house I head out into the channel and a rough beam on chop. I was pleasantly surprised with how well a fully laden Kekeno handled the conditions, not once worried about capsizing with the kayak dancing over the waves and I could almost hear it shouting "Give me more!"

I had heard of 2 camp sites on the island Urupukapuka and Cable Bays (there is actually another one - Sunset Bay further around). When I beached at Urupukapuka Bay it looked very nice, sheltered with a couple of groves of trees to tuck the tent against. But there were also 1001 sheep grazing the sites! Nothing worse then a flock of sheep sleeping around your tent at night making strange stomach noises, so I paddled around the point to Cable Bay. Slightly more exposed to the weather conditions but very peaceful.

Camp site at Cable Bay

Right, I found the perfect spot, set up the tent & tarp, unpacked all the gear, time for a cup of coffee. Well no :( Sitting back in the Jeep 3km away was my pot! Bugger..... Decision time - shall I paddle back to get it or is there a way to make do without one. Luckily I had thrown in a can of creamed rice into the food back as emergency food. After scoffing cold creamed rice (I had tried to heat it on the stove but it wasn't very successful) I cleaned out the can, filled it with water, popped it onto the gas stove and boiled enough for a small cuppa. At least it kept my caffine addiction going.

View from Urupakupaku looking towards Cape Wikiwiki

Just before dusk I stretched the legs by going for a walk over the hills behind the camp. A 360 deg view greeted me highlighting why the Bay of Islands got its name. With a bit more time Ururpakupaku would be an ideal base to explore them all from. Back at the tent I was faced with the problem of how to cook a boil in the bag dinner in a small tin can - I don't think I could face eating cold chilli concarn. The solution turned out to be putting the dinner bag into the plastic container used to protect the lantern, filling it up with hot water from the tin can and leaving it wrapped in some thermals for 10 minutes. Who needs the luxury of a pot and the best part - no dishes!

Wednesday
Next morning saw me packed up and headed clockwise around the island. The wind had decreased during the night so I had great paddling conditions again. Ururpakupaku can be likened to a condensed Waiheke. Little sheltered sandy bays hidden away with the nor-east part of the island full of towering cliffs and caves. The water was crystal clear and fish live abounded. Unfortunately the swell made caving a no go so I could only look and promise myself another trip back there to explore further. The forecast for the next day was not good at all so instead of staying another night on the island, after rounding it I headed back to the Jeep just in time to miss a squall coming through that would have made paddling hard work. I did take a small detour on the way back and explored the area north of Rawhiti, again a fantastic rock gardening / caving area.

Rawhiti Coastline

After that it was a trip into Russell and civilisation. When trying to decide whether to camp there the night or not I popped over the hill to the beach to gather my thoughts only to find Tony & Kate's car parked there. Out in the distance I could see 2 kayaks making their way in so I waited till they beached. Turns out that they had also been to Cable Bay but via Russell and the intervening islands. They would have missed me by about an hour or so, but weren't lucky enough to miss the squall and struck some hard paddling.

Thursday
The forecast was for 25knt SW winds so I decided to spend the day driving and exploring. I crossed over to the west coast to the Hokianga then followed the road south through the Waipoua forest. Feeling a bit travel weary I stopped at one of the main tourist walks and stretched my legs by walking to the Yakas Kauri (about 1.5hrs return). Being the 7th largest it was well worth visiting and a very pleasant bush stroll.

Yakas Kauri

Friday

By the time I reached Kaiiwi Lakes it was getting dark so I made camp in the domain. Unlike previous times I had been there this time around I was the only person in either camping areas. The next morning I got up late despite all intentions of an early start, and put together the fly rod for a spot of harling on the main lake. The wind was still blowing its guts out but the western area of the lake was fairly sheltered. Just my luck though that despite seeing a couple of nice sized fish broach I had no takes on the fly after 2 hours of paddling. Still it was enjoyable just being out there.

Lake Taharoa

At about lunchtime I packed up and drove further down south. I had always been meaning to check out the North Head of the Kaipara Harbour so was determined to see it while I was in the area. It is a long, long drive..... I got to Pouto at around 3pm only to find the tide in and unable to drive along the beach back up to Dargaville. A very interesting place which requires further exploration when I have a bit more time during the day. Heading back I couldn't decide where to spend the night so just drove until I saw a Top Ten sign at Matakohe, it was dark when I arrived but they are normally good camps and this one didn't look busy so booked myself in and after a hot shower hit the sack.

Saturday
Up bright and early I headed off with a plan. The marine reserve at Leigh is a classic sea kayaking destination and one I had never done. With only 15 knots forecast I launched at Matheson Bay and headed up the coast past Leigh Harbour and around Cape Rodney to Goat Island. The area here is fantastic with sea caves galore, all of which I could poke the kayak into without fear of being crushed by a swell rolling in.

Goat Island & Cape Rodney caves

One paddle I highly recommend anybody do, with the added bonus of tame Snapper and other fish to keep you company! Not wanting to stay at another commercial camp, after the paddle I headed back down south to the Tawharanui Regional Park. A bit of a drive getting to it but well worth staying there. Its a pity the Auckland Regional Council has such a difficult booking in process. I had to 1st ring the central office using one of the phones supplied then wait for 5 minutes until the park warden rang me back with the camp sites padlock combination. Then fiddle with the said lock before setting up. It makes for secure camping without boy racers tearing it up at night I suppose, but DOC's honesty box system is much easier (never saw the park warden, left money in a slot in the door of the house instead so its still a honesty system).

Sunday
Bugger, last day!!! I could easily stretch the holiday out for another week, or two, or three.... This morning I hit the road at around 8am and tried to find my way to Paul and Natasha's. Hospitality Plus!, almost as soon as I got there Natasha had shoved a coffee in my hand and started to get busy baking fresh scones while the 3 of us yakked about holidays, boat designs, paddles, web sites...... All too soon I noticed that time had flown and I had better get moving if I wanted to get home that night. I didn't, but figured I better carry on working for a living at some stage. So after getting very lost trying to find my way back to the motorway (I don't know where I ended up - but being surrounded by farm land meant I was not in Auckland!) I headed to the barge just in time to line up and board.

Another holiday been and gone. But the memories of some fantastic paddling, great camping and even better friends will stay with me while I lug away for another few months of work until the next break.

Qajaq Aotearoa

2007-05-23T21:42:00.000+12:00

At long last its done!!
After almost 2 months of brain drain and trying to learn new concepts the Qajaq Aotearoa website is up and running. I still have some cleaning up to do and minor bits and pieces but its in a condition where it can go live.

The site came about when an e-group I belong to were talking about how to continue to promote Greenland paddling here in NZ. A site was suggested and Steve even grabbed a google Qajaqnz URL address. A forum will help people enourmously but "free" web hosts do not have MySQL or PHP available, both of which a forum needs. Since I had an old computer laying around at work I decided to try and set up a home server for the site. This will be almost free to run and have all the bits and pieces needed for a good site.

Unfortunately the old computer was just too old and didn't work. I was planning to update my home computer at this time as well so brought a new one on Trademe and worked on my old one turning it into the server. Thus over the last 2 months I have had to learn all the inside and outs of setting up a home server, learn a new operating system (Vista), and learn about MySQL, PHP, and CSS. All this made for an extremely steep learning curve and many headaches!

But its now done! Yipee!!!

It can be seen at: http://qajaqnz.org

The site is open to overseas paddlers as well as Kiwi's so if you have any advise to contribute or questions to ask please feel free to join.

Backyard Paddling

2007-04-10T21:37:00.000+12:00

For the last couple of weeks I have been stuck inside setting up the old computer as a server for a Qajaq Aotearoa web site. Its been fun, a challenge, I've been learning heaps and it left my brain felling like a pile of mashed potatoes! I had to get out but knew I didn't feel fit enough for a long paddle.

So on Easter Sunday I trundled the yak down the road to the beach and tossed a mental coin as to what direction to take. Ended up going east to the Whakanewha Regional Park.

I paddled point to point to get there and just out of Rocky Bay I managed to add another pic to my collection of "Unusual objects in the Gulf" Seats are quite common around some rocky points but this one is on Koi Island which requires boat access. After a bit to eat I hugged the coast for my paddle back.

Surprisingly for an area that is so close it could be considered just out of the back door I really enjoyed the paddle. Every twist and turn brought out a new sight or experience. Sometimes it pays to look out at an area you take for granted with different eyes. Only 16km in total but a feature packed 16km.

For the hell of it I went out the next day to grab a snapper for dinner and met up with Dawn who was hunting for her uncles mooring bouy. Since the tide was in we paddled back up hugging the coast. Again it was an eye opener, and this is an area only 1 km away which I can see from the desk I'm sitting at!

Surf Sea & Sand Dunes

2007-03-18T17:25:00.000+12:00

The Far North: Wind swept beaches, sand dunes and BIG fish! This time every year I try to head up to the very top of NZ for a week. It is the type of place that you have to experience to appreciate, although there is a constant stream of tourist buses heading to Cape Reinga to see the false top of NZ (North Cape to the right of Cape Reinga is the real furthest point) the poor buggers in their large air conditioned aluminium boxes never really get to see the area.

This holiday started with catching the 7am barge from Waiheke. I had planned to break the 9 hr trip by overnighting on the way but I was in the driving mood so found myself at Spirits Bay after only one break to do some 4wding in some bush before Kaitaia. Spirits Bay is a large ocean beach with not a house in sight. There is a DOC camp at one end which is luckily close to a couple of famous land based gamefishing ledges.

Because you can only walk to these ledges 3hrs either side of low tide I made an early start the next morning to try my luck on a Kingi. As I rockhopped in the dark I could just make out Buck's ledge and noticed the occasional white breaker climbing the cliffs around it. Buck's is normally my favourite spot but I didn't want to risk it today so settled for Rod Holders which is closer to the beach. After setting up I realised it was just too dark at 5.30am to do much so contented myself with trying to spin up a Kahawai for a livie. Daylight saw a livie swimming around towing a balloon waiting to be eaten, this summed up the rest of the morning till 10.30 when I thought it prudent to make my way back before being cut off by the tide.

The next morning I tried again with the same lack of luck. Although there were plenty of Kahawai and other bait fish around I never saw that long patch of yellow and green cruise past the ledge that marks a Kingi. Oh well, time for a change of scenery so I headed further up to Tapotupotu Bay just below Cape Reinga to stay at another DOC camp.

Next morning I stuffed the pack with fishing gear, lunch and water for a tramp to Cape Maria Van Diemen. Being 1 1/2 hours hard walk in, not many people fish here and I had high hopes.

The walk starts out from a carpark on the main Cape Reinga road, crosses some farm land through some Manuka scrub, across a swamp, more scrub, more swamp, more scrub then sand dunes!

Once over the dunes I arrived at Te Werahi Beach. Although hundreds of tourists look over it from the Cape I couldn't find a single footprint on the beach.

From Te Werahi I made my way over a hill at the end of the bay and started to hit the desert of Cape Maria Van Diemen. This place is surreal, there is the odd patch of scrubby plant but most of it is just bare sand and wind shaped rock. The area is littered with shells from the NZ Flax snail that make their home under the rare patch of scrub only to find the sand shifts to cover their homes.

Once down at the Cape proper I was disappointed to find that the swell had followed me around and was once again covering up the ledges I envisioned fishing. The only likely looking place was off a small island but the incoming tide was already circling it so I fished of some sheltered rocks near the end of the western beach. Once again the heaps of bait fish but no elusive Kingi :(

The walk back up was helped by a strong wind pushing me up the dunes. Unfortunately this wind was also blasting me with gritty sand and I got to the top with the backs of my legs red and sore. At the top I discovered some Sand Coprosma which is a small shrub with tiny edible fruits, so I carried on to Te Werahi scoffing on the miniature grapes. Another hour saw me back at the Jeep with aching legs and tired shoulders but a head filled with the great scenery I had tramped through.

When going on trips like this I normally take everything I can just in case.... But this time I forgot a chair! Sitting without a back rest for a week can be tiring so I normally have one of those folding camp chairs to relax on, after the walk I decided to drive down to Houhora to see if the store there has one available. Well they did for $52, considering the Warehouse sells similar ones for $7 I left it sitting in the store. That night I stayed at Spirits again and again unsuccessfully tried fishing off Rod Holders the next morning.

Ok that does it! No Kingi's and the swell was getting up again so I drove around to Te Hapua to see if anything was happening there. There was an old couple fishing off the wharf and since they were spread out a bit I carried on around to Paua. Here the wharf was crowded with other fishermen, one had just lost a 35 pound Kingi and they had scored a couple of small ones so I hanged around for a while then when the wharf cleared a bit had a go myself. No luck but at least I knew they are in the area.

It was too late to get a key to camp there so I headed down to Rarawa Beach DOC camp for the night and got a key from the Te Kao Store on my way back up the next morning. Paua is a flat and almost featureless headland pointing out into the Parengarenga Harbour. The biggest structures on it are a old derelict shed and a nice new modern complex that was meant to be a King fish farm but which is now closed down after $25 mil was spent on it. The camping area is a reserve at the very tip, just one large flat area devoid of trees or any other features. No fresh water, no toilets nothing. Sounds like a miserable place to camp but it is fantastic. What makes it is that the harbour the surrounds 3 sides of the reserve with views over startlingly white sand dunes.

After fishing from the wharf again the next morning and picking up a 90cm Kingi (small but at least its a Kingi!) I launched the kayak and paddled up the harbour. Crystal clear water with Kahawai and mullet swimming in pure glass, the occasional black shape under the hull sprouting wings and taking off at high speed, and schools of piper airborne in front of the bow doing their best dolphin impersonation. I reached a fellow camper who was fishing from a tinny at one of the points and had a chat while watching him hook, play and eventually loose a nice Kingi. On the way back I stopped on the sandspit for lunch. Couldn't be bothered walking to the dunes but once again the area had a surreal feel to it. The sand is unbelievably fine and white.

The next day I packed up and started the journey back down. Stayed at Ruakaka that night in a crowded DOC camp then onto Auckland in time to catch the 12 o'clock barge. My main aims for this holiday was to catch a Kingi and to do some paddling, although the Kingi was small and the paddle was only for 1/2 a day I did manage to fulfil these aims. More importantly I got to explore one of the most beautiful areas of the North Island.

NZKBGT'07

2007-02-13T20:49:00.000+13:00

Yep that stands for "New Zealand Kayak Builders Get Together 2007". A mouthful maybe but for want of a better name.....

The 2nd bi-annual Get Together was held at the Blue Lake in Rotorua last weekend. Like the first one the weather was fantastic, the scenery great and the company couldn't have been better. For me the weekend started early as I took some time off work and travelled down on Thursday. With any gathering like this one there is always the danger of rushing there, around and back again, getting tired and stressed which takes some of the gloss of the event. I wanted to avoid this so for the 1st night I headed to a DOC camp at Lake Rerewhakaaitu Although not the prettiest of lakes it has a few hidden gems and more importantly I have only failed a couple of times in picking up a trout from its waters.

So after setting up the tent I headed out in the kayak with the fly rod harling behind me. One stroke, two strokes, count slowly to five, one stroke, two strokes....... it is so tempting to paddle faster but a speed slightly slower then walking is the secret of trout in the kayak. After 2 hours I started to give up. It was only because the lake was so calm and idyllic that I had lasted this long. The problem was the water temperature which felt equal to the air (a good 20C). So after a game of dragonfly tennis (the air was thick with them) I headed back for an early night.

After a sleep in the following morning I headed out again at 8am. Despite the water being just as warm, the air temp was much lower and I noticed a bunch of large bubbles floating on a patch of lake. Knowing something caused them I harled through in time to see a trout rise, within minutes my rod started to dance and I was on!. Some trout are jumpers and others are sloggers. This was one of the later, keeping down deep with the occasional scream of the reel. It wasn't till much later when it tired and I managed some headway that I glimpse of it on the surface. Yep, that one will do for the smoker!

Within 1/2hr of leaving I was back at camp cleaning the fish and packing up the tent. Heading to Rotorua I killed sometime having an early lunch then drove around to the Blue Lake. When entering the camp I noticed Graeme Bruce's tent already up and figured he would be doing laps of the lake, sure enough an hour later he waltzes up carrying his kayak. This guy doesn't feel like he has paddled unless he has broken the speed record - the one he set the previous time!

Slowly the area given to us was starting to fill. Knowing that I will soon be caught up yakking about kayaks I decided to grab Kekeno and head out for my own lap of the lake while I had a chance. Graeme not being satisfied with his previous 3 laps came out again and meet up with me 1/2 way round. Now the Blue Lake is only a small one being just under 5km around but the majority is surrounded by bush and the water is very clear. This makes for an enjoyable if short paddle.

Once back at camp it was all on with the majority of attendees already setting up tents. The range and variety of homebuilt kayaks driving in was amasing. Heaven! The talking started, the beers came out and good time was had catching up with old friends and meeting new faces. I had advertised a BBQ on the site but realised afterward I didn't have one! So I brought a small one to use only to find the hose leaked gas when setting it up. Luckily Robin had come to the rescue, after previously asking if he should bring his I gaped when he brought out a 3 burner complete with trolley from back of the van. The trout went into the smoker, the steak & sausages flung onto the barbie and the beers flowed until 10.

The next day at 8am Graeme gave us a talk, filling everybody in on what was happening the next couple of days, then we piled the yaks back onto the cars and drove around to Lake Rotoma. The day couldn't have been better with minimal wind and clear water. I spent the 1st part of the paddle admiring the waterlines of some of the home built yaks while talking to Gerry Maire about the history of sea kayaking in NZ (hopefully more of this to come). Amongst our group where 2 kids - Hannah (10) and Geoffrey (8), I'm sure they are part seal since if they weren't on the water in their own homebuilt kayak they were in it swimming. I have to hand it to them, despite being in a group of 30 adults of various ability they held their own on the paddle.

A pit stop at one of the beaches then we continued around for lunch on the far end of the lake. Ben (our Greenland Guru) grabbed Geoffrey for rolling tuition, some played around in their or others yaks and the rest of us lazed on the beach talking about building, paddling or live in general. All too soon it was time to move again. The wind had got up to 20 knots on the way back but it was reasonably sheltered and a friend of Graeme's was hovering around in a safety boat just in case anybody needed a lift. Back at the camp it was a repeat of the previous night with a BBQ, good company and lots of laughter. As part of the entertainment, Paul and Natasha transformed a pile of sticks and canvas into a Klepper double. Very interesting how it went together.

Sunday rolled around and we took all the homebuilts down to the beach for a photo shoot from Rotorua's local paper. It also allowed me a chance to take a photo of just about every homebuilt kayak there.

Once the cameras stopped clicking (or is it beeping now?) we headed to the far end of the Blue Lake for kayak trials. I had decided to take the Sea Through Rover so headed straight across rather then around the long way like the others with Brent in my Night Heron to watch over me in case I sunk since I had noticed my coaming was coming apart (prob caused by using unprotected Gorilla glue). Once there it was all on with everybody trying out the kayaks that caught their eye. I managed a go in Paul's Mystery to experience speed in its purest sense. Despite not being a racer it got me thinking that a kayak built for speed would be fun..... One kayak I did miss out on was Sue's Black Yak, a low volume SOF that was crying out "Roll Me!!" But I was helping Cameron with his rolls when it took off back across the lake, so wasn't too disappointed since seeing Cameron getting his roll more then made up for it.

Around lunch time people started to leave in drips and drabs for their long drive home. Pretty soon it was just Paul, Natasha and me having a late lunch back at an empty camp. When they left silence descended and it was time for a snooze before getting everything packed up and ready for an early start back to Waiheke the next morning.

What made it such a great weekend? The organising?, Nah since it was informal and didn't take much. The location? Beautiful and great weather but that wasn't it either. No what made the weekend was the people there. So to all those that attended, thank you and I hope to see you at NZKBGT 2009.

Motutapu Island

2007-02-04T19:38:00.000+13:00

5 km off Waiheke is a large island called Motutapu, what makes it unusual was that 600 years ago it acquired a neighbour - Rangatoto. This new neighbour had no respect for boundaries (most volcano's don't) and tried to encroach onto Motutapu. But being sensible islands a compromise was reached and now at low tide both islands are joined, but at high tide a small channel forms between them to give each island "Time out".

I have often kayaked to various parts of Motutapu but never gone through this channel or circumnavigated the island as a whole. My chance came when a few days ago Natasha sent me an email inviting me to join a group at Home Bay (the DOC camp on the island). After humming and harring, weighing it up against everything else I had to do, I thought "Bugger it" and found myself trollying a loaded kayak down the road at 8am Sat morning.

The forecast was for 15 knot SW winds but it would have been well over 20 - approaching 25. Not the best way to start but it gave me a chance to try out a loaded Kekeno in rough head on conditions. Pleased to say it passed with flying colours - no bouncing like it does when empty. After beating into the head wind I rounded Park Pt and found calmer conditions. By the time I got to Crusoe Rock the wind had faded down to what was forecasted and after crossing from Motuihe to Emu Pt on Motutapu it had all but disappeared.

From Motutapu Island

Approaching Islington Bay (affectionately known as Issie Bay) I was starting to feel slightly drained and "cockpit feverish" after being so long in the kayak, a sure sign that I haven't been paddling as much as I should have. So I floated about and munched a muesli bar while trying to work out where exactly Gardeners Gap was. Because it was an hour after high tide and the gap is only navigable 1/2 hr each side I figured I could stretch my legs while portaging across.

I managed to find the start of the gap ok and although the water level was very low I managed to "knuckle paddle" my way through the shallowest places and slide stroke the rest. Gardeners Gap is very much like a small estuary that turns into a stream apart from the fact that there is no fresh water flowing through it. Under the bridge that connects the 2 islands the current was fair humming through but luckily the right direction for me so all I had to do was steer the kayak with the paddle.

Once through it opened up to a very serene bay without a breath of wind and beautiful clear water. I spent my time curving around the island to the ocean proper drifting over Porae and small schools of Piper set in glass.

Once out of the bay I spotted 2 kayak hulls in the distance. Knowing Christine & Natasha left Takapuna at 9am I thought that there would be a good chance it was was them. I couldn't resist using the transmit button on the VHF for the 1st time and called them up. They were heading into Administration Bay for lunch so I put on a bit of speed and caught up to them just after they had landed.

Oh it felt good to be able to stretch the legs and the muffin & cup of coffee was just what I needed! It wasn't long before 2 other kayaks appeared around the rocks. David and Jackie are the instigators of the weekend and plan on staying until Tuesday.

Back on the water again we carried on up the northern coast and rounded Billy Goat Pt where the WW II gun emplacements are. Amazed what effort my grand parents generation went through for security that was never put to the test, but I suppose they were scary times in those days. Once around the point we started rock gardening and playing "Follow the Leader".

A couple more scratches got added to Kekenos bum and a couple of tricky episodes eventuated but nothing like Christine. She had been looking forward to a hidden archway that you can paddle through. Unfortunately the tide was further out then the last time she attempted it and an exit eventuated to be able to maneuver the kayak out of the rocks. Of course I didn't laugh - much :)

It wasn't long before we landed at Home Bay, our camp for the night. I was pleasently surprised that there weren't as many other campers there as I expected. We soon had the tents up and kayaks unpacked. Another paddler called Greg had arrived the night before so we spend a pleasent afternoon swimming (or in my case trying out some rolls in Kekeno) and talking till the sun went down.

The next morning I woke to the sound of boats passing the bay for a early morning fish just in time to watch the sunrise. It felt weird looking over Waiheke with home just over the hill but I wouldn't have swapped places for anything. After some leisurely morning chores the tent was packed up, kayak loaded and I launched at 9 am. Navigation wasn't a problem since it was slack tide I only needed to point the kayak at the far end of Waiheke and paddle. What was a problem was the amount of traffic on the water, quite a few stops were needed to avoid ferrys and launches. I rounded Park Pt and headed into Surfdale paddling in perfect conditions with schools of Kawahai crashing around the kayak. A short trolley up the road to the house and the trip was over :(

Saturday: 27 km
Sunday: 12 km

UFO's - Unusual Floating Objects

2007-01-27T20:15:00.000+13:00

Today was one of those stereotypical summer days with hardly a breath of wind, sun beating down and every man and his dog either on the beach or playing around in boats. I decided to join them but instead of throwing the kayak onto the jeep I just threw it onto the trolley and trundled it down to the beach below the house.

Huruhi Bay is very shallow and although the tide was half way in it still required "knuckle paddling" for some distance before it was deep enough to use a sliding stroke. Once I managed to get going the paddle across to Park Pt was very pleasant with penguins, terns, jumping schools of piper and working schools of kahawai to keep me company. One yacht heading out of the bay and under motor turned to avoid me, the poor bugger should have known better as I put on some speed and closed onto his transom for a free ride for part of the way. Got a cheery wave as we parted company.

Once around Park Pt I started to pay for leaving when I did. The currents around here are fairly strong and with an incoming tide I was paddling against it. Keeping close to shore helped take advantage of any eddies but once I approached Church Bay there where no eddies to be found. Still made reasonable time and estimate that my speed only dropped by about a 1/4.

Once I reached the end of Church Bay I decided to stop and have a bite to eat, stretch the legs and empty the bladder. The last one required a scramble around the rocks to find some privacy. Not because there was anybody on the pebbly beach but because there was a steady throng of people walking along the track above it.

One of the many events being held on Waiheke this weekend is the annual Sculpture on the Gulf. This is a display of weird objects along the walking track from Matiatia to Church Bay. Despite coming from a family of artists, I have real problems coming to grips with the term "Art Appreciation" especially when it comes to modern sculpture. Just can't see the purpose of somebody spending so much money on something with so little practical use. But then again when I paddled around the corner an Unusual Floating Object caught my eye and as I recognised it I have to admit to a chuckle.

The giant plug was well done and even included the triangle shaped metal pull on top. Couldn't resist paddling up to it and making a "pulling the plug" sign to the spectators on the hill above. Heard somebody shout out "No don't do that!" Probably would have ended up in a whirlpool anyway :)

A bit further on I came across another UFO. This one was also fairly well done although I consider the title "A drop on the ocean" to be a misnomer since if it represents a water drop it is upside down!

I couldn't resist a close up shot of Kekeno reflected in it. After waiting for the ferry and some other boats to pass (the rule of mass applies here) I crossed Matiatia Bay and paddled around the more scenic area of this coastline. Without the tidal current I was enjoying the rhythmic feel of paddling and gliding along when I came across a group of kayakers. Now one of the few negatives of paddling a wooden kayak is that people want to talk about it. Normally I am more then pleased to oblige but this time when one paddler said "What a beautiful kayak" I just answered "Thank you" and carried on. My apologies mate if you ever read this! The rest of the trip around to Oneroa was fairly uneventful with a bit of rock gardening and the compulsory dive bombing of Black Back Gulls at Hakaimano Pt thrown in.

Once Oneroa came into view I headed straight to Little Oneroa Beach, dodging launches and yachts as I headed in. Landing at Little O was a bit of a problem since it was crowded with people and kids and it was hard to find a clear area so as not to run anybody over. Once on the beach I attached the trolley and pulled the yak up onto the carpark. Thank god I choose the wide wheels when buying the trolley since they made it pulling through the loose sand much easier then expected. After talking to a mate at the carpark I headed along the path then up the hill beside the road to home.
Total distance 16km

Mud & Mangroves

2006-12-29T20:55:00.000+13:00

Hope everybody had a great Xmas break.

Myself, I headed to Whitianga on the Coromandel Peninsula to do the family thing but I managed to get out in Kekeno on Sunday. Although the wind was only 15 knots the swell was up around Hahei and Hotwater Beach so sea caving was out. Instead I decided to do the local pub crawl by kayak. Both ends of the Whitianga Harbour has a pub - the local hotel near the marina and another at Coroglen which is the last of the navigable water. Never ended up actually entering the pubs since parking was a problem in Whitianga so I launched further down and I forgot to take my wallet for the paddle to Coroglen, but too bad it was a great day anyway.

It made for a change from rocks and beaches. The following pics should explain it better then words can describe.

Kaitoke Reserve

Photo does not do it justice since its very much like L Tarawera with the trees hanging in the water, hidden crevices etc.

Mangrove forest

There are large islands dotted around the harbour that are flooded at high tide. Making way through the mangroves are a feat and a half since you think you have a way through only to find a dead end and have to back out part way to try another channel or gap. Environmentalists say that they are the nurseries of the sea and I readily believe them with large schools of inch long fish swimming amongst the breather roots.

Freshwater at last

The Mangroves gave way to swamp then to farm land. With each stage the water changed from salt, brackish to fresh. Of course with my luck when I tasted the swamp area water I didn't spot the dead sheep 10m in front of the kayak until afterwards, Ah well, what doesn't kill ya must make ya stronger....

End of the road

Well as far up as I could paddle without hopping out of the cockpit. The bridge is on State Highway 25 with the Coroglen Tavern just out of shot. Lunch was on the rocks watching all the Aucklanders driving over the bridge and invading my childhood home.

Google image of the course paddled - total 24km return

Coming back was a bit of a challenge. The harbour has a very large tidal flow and I left things a bit late by launching at high tide, this meant ferry gliding was a must when crossing the channels but I found myself crossing only to be confronted by very little water of over most of the bars. Many K's where spent using a shallow angled sliding stroke and pushing with my hands to get to the next deep channel. A few stingrays took exception to me running them over and caused my heart to jump into my mouth when they took off from the front of the yak.

The final channel before the jeep is used by boats heading to and from the new waterway subdivision. Because of the current those headed upstream were making very slow head way so I spent some time sitting in an eddy waiting for a break so I could ferry glide across. One place where a pedestrian crossing is needed!

Catching up

2006-12-27T21:19:00.000+13:00

Well its been a long time since the last post. What have I been doing in the meantime? Rolling with the STR has gone well although the scarfing at the gunwales came apart because I was lazy and used Gorilla glue instead of epoxy (Gorilla glue can weaken when soaked in water). Repaired those but some of the stations also broke because of the extra strain from the broken gunwales, currently repairing and reinforcing them where I notice a breakage.

Labour weekend saw me take of down to Rotorua for a week - bush and trout featured highly. Pics are here. Then a paddle around Lake Tarawera with Steve, Linda, Tony & Kate who came up from Wellington. A great weekend with fantastic company. Pics of L Tarawera are here.

Money has been spent updating the kayaking equipment. Notably a Pentax Opito W20 camera replaced my older Pentax digital. So far I have found very little to complain about the W20 with clear images, slim profile (no more bulky waterproof case) and great video capabilities. Also I splashed out on a VHF. The Uniden Voyager is waterproof as is and small enough to mount on my pfd shoulder. I have been meaning to get one for years but kept putting it off, no call sign or licence yet but will get one of those once the course dates coincide with my ability to get to Auckland.

To help pay for all the above my 1st home built kayak the WR180 is no longer mine. I sold it to a guy for a Xmas present for his wife. Previously I had turned down 3 other offers because I did not consider the person suitable for a large kayak like the WR180, but it turns out the wive is as tall as me and a competition swimmer so I had no worries about her handling it. It went on Xmas day while I was on holiday, depressing coming back and seeing the kayak rack minus 1 but I hadn't used it for a year and its gone to a good home.

Sea Through Rover - Launch!

2006-09-24T17:02:00.000+12:00

Launching a new kayak is an exciting event. The anticipation of seeing months of work finally on the water, the worry about whether it will perform ok or end up being a dog.... Because of this I always try to launch on the quiet and never tell any locals when or where. In the STR's case being the first SOF I had built there was an additional worry - will it leak? All joins under the rub rail where glued and coated in silicon sealant so logic would say "no chance" but who's logical at times like this!

In the end my fears where unfounded. I loaded the yak onto the jeep and headed to the bay below the house for a photo shoot on a tree stump there, then took it to Enclosure Bay on the other side of the island for the launch.

Not wanting to scratch the new skin I carefully carried the kayak into the water and sat on the back deck so I could slide my legs in - wrong move! The aft deck and coaming is so low that water immediately rushed into the cockpit. Bugger, haven't even launched and I've sunk! With a solid coaming rim it wouldn't have been a problem, but I had built it so the coaming can press down below deck level. After emptying the kayak, I left the stern on the sand and squeezed myself in again. Stretching the tuilik on I pushed myself of the sand and was afloat. Sea Through Rover launched!

With my weight in it (78kg) the aft deck is just above water level by approx 1.5cm. Any slight lean puts the gunwales underwater and moving at speed has water wash over the back deck. But it didn't spring a leak and with the tuilik sealed around the coaming it didn't matter that the water was sometimes at that level.

Its not the most stable kayak which I think is a combination of low freeboard and the 18" beam, but I soon got used to it and consider it more physiological then design. The speed took me by surprise. Being a Greenland design it has a lowish top hull speed but it moves up to this with ease and the acceleration was great!

There is a term going around now on the Qajaqusa forum referring to cheater kayaks for rolling. Well this defiantly fits that term! Rolling is very easy, you just have to think about coming up and the yak virtually does it by itself. For example with balance braces on the Night Heron I have to struggle to get the hull any more then right angles with the water line, with this one I can just about lay it flat. After trying a few different rolls I started continuous hand rolling - not once did I have to give my hand a 2nd flick in the water. Soon became confident enough to try a straight jacket roll. I didn't survive this one but after a few attempts it was close and I think doable with the STR and a bit more practice.

One negative with a clear kayak is that on the water its not very clear. The moment you hop in the pvc mists up on the inside turning the kayak white. If I unsealed the tuilik the pvc should clear itself, but with such a low volume yak I would also soon find myself under water. Instead by putting my hand in the cockpit and wiping the mist off I could see for a short time unfortunately the water was not as clear as it could be.

As a summary its not my first choice of the fleet to take for a long paddle but as a rolling yak I can't see how it could be beaten!

Sea Through Rover part 4

2006-09-23T21:29:00.000+12:00

Learnt from Tom Yost during the week that the clear PVC I am using is the same stuff as the vinyl referred to in Tom's site. Different terminology between countries maybe, but no wonder I found its qualities very similar!

The STR is now finished!!! During the week I managed to coat the inner rim with urethane sealant and peg it all together permantly. Its as solid as I could wish and have no worries about it falling apart on me now.

Another job done was the deck rigging. I hummed and harred for awhile about what system to use but in the end decided on 2 strings behind the cockpit and 3 in front. The rigging is held to the hull by pvc shapes that have been folded over, glued and stapled to the shearline. No D rings where available on the island so I just did without and threaded the cord directly through the pvc loops.

The adjusters are made from the same rimu used for the chines. I made the 3rd forward one with a hook in it to give me more choices in string tension.The bow and stern loops caused some more head scratching. The cord was too floppy to stand up itself so I had to come up with some idea to lift it above the deck for the paddle to slide under. Tried various wooden shapes but they either looked too large or had the cord to close to the deck. In the end I pulled out the center strands from the braided cord and replaced them with a couple of lengths of 18 gauge copper wire. By crimping it through the pvc loops and sewing the braid together I ended up with bow and stern loops that stand up by themselves without any wooden fittings.Next on the list was the rub rails. Previously I had scarfed some cedar strips together so today I planned and smoothed off the edges then stained and varnished them. To attach to the kayak I put them in place with some straps then working a metre at a time ran some silicon seal along the rail and nailed it to the shear with brass panel pins. When I came close to the ends I cut the rail to the same angle bow or stern, sanded and stained / varnished then nailed into position.Last thing to do was the backrest. Although the ultra low aft deck didn't really need one I thought it would be worth making the STR as comfortable as possible. Carved out of mini-cell foam the backrest is attached with velcro and has a recess cut into the top to allow the coaming to press down below deck level.

So all done apart from the most important part - its launch!

Sea Through Rover part 3

2006-09-17T19:53:00.000+12:00

When do I know if I've got the building buzz bad? When I look at the sea from the deck and think "paddling? - Nah" and turn back to the kayak. That's what it has been like the last couple of weekends, I'm finding the Tom Yost building method fascinating.

The frame was completely sanded and all corners rounded off. This took close to a week's worth of spare time since I couldn't cheat and use the electric sander. Started off with 60 grit, then 120 and finished off with 180. After that the patches on the stations where I had accidentally sanded were recoated with gel stain.

Next on the list was the coaming rim. I wanted a floating coaming which will press down during laybacks but still wanted a wooden coaming!. My solution was to form an outer coaming consisting of 2 lengths of Mangeao and a inner ring of 1 length. Planned on sandwiching the pvc rim between them. Mangeao is our best native wood for steam bending and I had some 1/2 width strips of it stashed away under the house which I was going to incorporate into a strip yak but never did. Not wanting to build a steamer I left it out in the rain for a few days and was going to hit it with the hot air gun. To get the right shape I made a jig out of MDF.

So everything was set up, leather belt attached as a brace for the back of the wood and hot air gun out and ready for action in my left hand. Then I clamped one end of a strip to the jig and slowly started to bend it around - surprise it bent with ease and there was no need for any heat or the belt at all! After the 1st one was on the jig I coated the 2nd piece with Gorilla glue, attached it and bent that as well by slowly moving clamps around the jig. The next day after the wood and glued had dried I bent the inner rim the same way.

I moved the yak into the lounge so I could work at night and coated the rest of the frame with Mahogany Sikkens Cetol HLS. This stuff is a cross between a stain, a oil and a varnish. It also contains anti-fungal ingredient that I hope will preserve the wood for a long time. A couple of coats of this stuff then a final coat of HLS mixed with varnish brought out a fantastic colouring in the wood.

Raiding my backpacking mattress supply I chopped up one and glued it onto the floorboards. This will be all the seat that's needed since its comfortable enough for rolling practice but still keeps the centre of gravity low. Also tried the kayak for fit and found that I can barely get in. The tightest area was station 3 which I had to force my feet under. I couldn't use it as a foot brace (recommended way) since it was too close for my long legs. Instead of doing the logical thing by cutting it out and moving it forward, thinned the inside top of the station by approx 1cm and lined it with foam. It might still be uncomfortable but it should be effective.

This weekend was the fun bit. I got to turn the kayak into a giant soap bubble! After unrolling 6m of clear PVC I layed it on top of the hull and started to scratch my head as to where to start. Luckily I had an email from Tom Yost outlining the procedure, but I was using pvc and not vinyl so was unsure if things would work out. After slicing the pvc in half length wise I shot some stainless steel staples into the middle of the gunwale. No going back now! Pulling it tight as I went I stapled every foot on alternative sides leaving a foot free at the bow and stern. As per Tom's instructions I then filled in the gaps until there was a staple every 3" or so.

The bow and stern where sliced so the material meet up nicely then I coated it and a 2cm wide strip with Marley PVC solvent. Not the glue recommended, but its what was available here on the island and I was working with PVC. Once dried the strip was taped to one side and the solvent reactivated with the heat gun. It instantly stuck so I stretched it over to meet the other side and again reactivated the glue.

After trimming off the excess hull material and coating it with solvent I proceeded with the deck in a similar manner although the radical angle of the cockpit area caused me a few headaches but by going over it with the hot air gun the wrinkles disappeared as I stapled. The worse part was joining the deck to the hull at the bow and stern tips. Never got it right but at least its waterproof if unsightly compared to the rest of the skin.

Now I had that giant soap bubble! :) Today I moved the kayak to the front deck then scratched my head again over making the coaming rim. Before skinning I had put the bending jig in place as a temporary base board for cutting out the rim. After studying Tom Yosts wooden coaming page I decided to follow it in a similar fashion but leaving out the velcro part. Cutting out the cockpit was nerve wrecking since I had visions of the skin suddenly "relaxing" but it worked well. After cutting 2" sections around the coaming I bent them up, taped them in place and glued a strip around on the inside. When this had cooled I removed the wooden coaming then glued another strip on the outside of the 2" sections. This made the rim semi flexible - stiff enough to stand by itself by still able to squish down during laybacks. As a temporary measure I used some contact adhesive to glue the outer coaming into position then coated the inner rim with urethane sealant and clamped in place. I'm leaving this for the night to set and hopefully glue the inner rim in place. Next I will drill and peg the coamings on permently.

The STR is close to finished now. Just got to make up some deck rigging and peg the coaming and rub rails. Of course the quick build I had originally anticipated has turned out to be a major project so these few jobs may end up being a bigger feat then expected.

Sea Through Rover part 2

2006-09-04T06:18:00.000+12:00

Another weekend playing around with the Rover. The frame is now pegged at the joins and a floor has been added in the cockpit area. I didn't have any thin ply large enough for the floor so ended up slicing a wooded wine box top in half then framing it to cover any gaps. The top of the floor looks fairly rough but this will be covered with some mini-cell foam so am not worried about it.

Also recessed the deck plates into the bow and stern then bevelled the tops of the gunwales flat. I have now started the tedious job of sanding the frame, but couldn't resist staining part of the bow to see how it will turn out.

Sea Through Rover part 1

2006-09-01T20:31:00.000+12:00

It's been a month since the last entry and only a couple of short paddles have been done. A cold put paid to paddling for a couple of weeks, then I caught another bug - the Building Bug. I can normally fight of the draw of kayak building for a couple of years but Tom Yost's clear skin wood framed Sea Rider was too much to resist. In a tucked away corner at work a 15m roll of clear PVC had been gathering dust for the last 4 years - perfect!

I went for the Sea Rover instead of the Rider since I wanted a kayak solely for rolling and the Rover had less volume. First stage was to transfer the offsets for the stations onto paper. This was fairly straight forward, the most difficult part being the conversion of imperial feet into the metric that I can understand. A spreadsheet helped here. Once on paper I transferred the offsets onto some 18mm untreated construction ply I had laying around then cut out the stations. All apart from the front cockpit station (3) and the one ahead of that (2) I beefed up the depth by 1cm more then the plans called for to add strength (some aft ply stations of similar kayaks have broken). 2 and 3 were left according to plans so that I could fit into them.

A strongback was made up from the remains of the one used for Kekeno. To save money on the coach bolts I just clamped the pieces together - this worked fairly well but wouldn't do it with a stripper that requires a lengthy period of time on the strongback.the made up a strongback from the remains of the one used for Kekeno. This worked fairly well but wouldn't do it with a stripper that requires a lengthy period of time on the strongback. After ripping my remaining board of Western Red Cedar into gunwales and scarfing them together I realised that I had badly underestimated the amount of wood I had. WRC is impossible to get on the island but I found some nice Rimu moldings just the right thickness and 6m long at the local Timber World. $50 saw me with more then I needed. The 8 stations were sanded down and stained for aesthetics. If I was covering with a coloured fabric then a quick sand and a coat of epoxy would have done them. After that it was a simple matter of measuring out on the strongback where the stations go, mounting station 1 and 8 on to it and inserting the keel "moulding" into them. The other stations just sit on top of the keel and the chines and gunwales held in place with a couple of bungies.

Once I was happy with the shape I
glued it all together with thickened epoxy and "clamped" it with cable ties until the epoxy set. The deck stringers where next, I wasn't fond of how traditional kayaks had these stringers end suddenly after what would be station 3 and 6 so these were continued right up to the bow and stern until they naturally met with the gunwales and planed to fit.

Next job was to peg all the joins in case the epoxy wasn't up to the job. Since it was starting to get cold and windy outside I removed the yak from the strongback and brought it into the lounge to work on over the week. Instead of buying a length of dowel I used some kebab skewers from the pantry and glued them in with Gorilla glue. Just finished all the drilling and pegging tonight, so taking a break and will get stuck into sanding the frame tomorrow. One word sums up this ultra low volume yak - Sleek! I tried it for fit when I removed it from the strongback and I can only just get in. This is one kayak where the saying "You don't sit in it - you wear it" is taken to the extreme.

Gannet Rock

2006-07-29T17:11:00.000+12:00

Today was one of those winter days where the sea is flat calm, the sun is shining and the water refreshing. Too good a day not to take advantage of it and head out in the kayak. After about 2 seconds of deliberation I threw the gear into the jeep and headed to Onetangi. The area from Onetangi to Thumb Point (the most eastern end of the island) is the most scenic part of the island for paddling.

After paddling out from the bay to Rooster Pt I caught sight of Gannet Rock and decided to paddle directly out to it. This island holds a small but steady colony of these majestic birds, and the island itself is fascinating itself being made up almost entirely of red jasper.

These Gannets are a friendly bunch and didn't even ruffle a feather with a kayak drifting just below them. Since all the high priced condo's on top of the rock were taken some had spread down the sides of the cliffs and I managed to get within 10 feet from them. Drifting around in the kayak watching them dance and preen with the sky above full of swooping birds was one of the highlights of the day. Of course munching a museli bar with the overpowering smell of guano wasn't the most pleasant experience! I took it that the gannets were at the stage of pairing up and renewing old romances since there were quite a few flying around with bits of seaweed etc in their mouths and others where doing complicated head dances.
After a while the stench of the colony became to much so I headed into shore and landed at Thumb Pt for lunch. The water was very clear but I didn't manage to spot any of the stingrays that normally cruise around this sheltered bay. After a bit to eat and a leg stretch I headed back and kept to the coastline for a bit of rock gardening. A couple of sea caves and some rock weaving gave me enough confidence to attempt the Grator. This gap narrows down to approx 30 inches near the end and the last time I went through it I was in a 24" plastic boat that got nicely scratched. Since paddling wooden kayaks I have been too chicken to give it a go. But there was no swell this time so I managed to slip through with ease.

I continued along the coast weaving in and out of rocks all the way back to Rooster Pt outside Onetangi. All in all another very enjoyable day. Total distance 25km.

Rakino & The Noises

2006-07-02T16:46:00.000+12:00

A forecast of 10knt southerly dying out at midday was to good to ignore. Launching from Oneroa at 10.30am I headed out on the 10km crossing to Rakino. Being out in a kayak is never boring but crossings come close. A radio helps break the monotony but an hour of open water seems to take much longer then an hour following the coastline.

I landed at Sandy Bay where the wharf is located at 11.45 so grabbed a muffin from the hatch and went for a wander. Rakino is probably the only place left in NZ where car registration and warrants aren't required. Its not very easy for the residents to book their car into the garage every 6 months with 10km of water separating them from the nearest one. I made a game of guessing which cars went and which had been abandoned - it was nearly impossible to tell :)

After a bit of indecision of which way circumnavigate, I headed up the western side. There were a huge number of boats out for this time of year and I found myself weaving through rocks and fishing boats as I worked up the coast. This side of the island is very much like a condensed version of Waiheke with long points jutting out and nice little bays tucked away. Soon I was at the end of the island and stopped to take a break. One hazard I didn't expect being close to the rocks are container ships. I had been watching one a few k's out steam past and thought nothing off it until when taking the break near the rocks I looked behind me and saw a set of humongus waves appear from nowhere. Oh Sh_t! I dropped the muesli bar, grabbed the paddle and swung the kayak around to face them. Luckily they decided to break on the shallow reef between me and the shore and I managed to ride over them, but it took awhile for the old heart to settle down. Some fishermen in deeper water gave me a clap for providing them with the entertainment!

Once I rounded the island I still felt pretty good so figured The Noises were doable and headed the couple of k's out to them. Skimming the 1st one (Motuhoropapa) I decided to land and have some more lunch on the largest island in the group, Otata. This one has 2 main beaches on it. One is a steep pebbley beach which has a hut hidden away on it and the other is a nice but small sandy beach. Not wanting to put more scratches on the hull I decided on the sand beach only to find a group there with a fire going and walking around with bottles of beer in their hands. Not the seclusion I wanted so I risked finding a landing spot on the eastern end. The majority of this island is fairly rugged with some nice rock formations to explore. No caves but the clear water and scenery made up for it.

The eastern end only had one beach I could land on, and again it was fairly steep and pebbley. But I was hungry by now so worked the kayak sideways to the beach and let the waves wash me up. A quick exit and I was on dry land again. The Noises weren't living up to their name today, I sat on a log dining to the sounds of the waves on the pebbles and a Tui singing above me. To get back off the beach requried a seal launch that skidded me down into an outgoing wave with ease.

To complete my island hopping I skirted the David Rocks and the edge of Maria Island then made the long crossing back to Waiheke. All in all a very enjoyable day visiting islands I hadn't been to for 5 years. Total distance = 30km.

Rocks & Wood

2006-06-25T17:22:00.000+12:00

Don't go together! Went out for a short paddle from Oneroa to Onetangi today and got carried away with rock gardening again. Despite squeezing through narrow gaps and trying the impossible I didn't damage the hull until paddling back and found myself stranded on a rock in the middle of nowhere! Nice clear water for 15m all around and I end up on top of a rock. :( Kekeno now sports another 1m long gorge on her hull, I don't think its gone into the wood but will need to be repaired at some stage.

While out there I was also experimenting with camera setup and placement for videos. An example can be found by clicking on the photo below:

Short Rockgardening Video

Unfortunately the camera only records 30 seconds at a time and it cut off just as I was about to make way over the fall. Yes I did manage it but had to back out soon after since the tide was to far out to go all the way through the arch.

Wild, Wet, & Windy

2006-06-17T17:03:00.000+12:00

The title sums up the last week I have had on holiday at the Coromandel Peninsula. Despite the wind and rain I managed to stay reasonably dry and on 2 feet. I left Saturday on the 9am barge wondering what the hell I was up to going camping with thunderstorms and gale force winds forecast! But even if I ended up tent bound for the week it must be better then working. I had packed the kayak and surfcasting just in case the weather let up at some stage.

Being in the holiday mode I did the shopping at Thames then headed up the Kauaeranga Valley for the 1st night in the bush and found a nice little site tucked away from the forecasted winds. During summer the valley can get pretty crowded, but at this time of year I was the only person camping there.

The next day was forecast for 25knt winds so instead of racing up the peninsula to go paddling I decided to stay where I was and go rock hounding. The rivers around here are renowned for petrified wood and agates so I walked up the track from Road End till it separated from the river then bush bashed down to the stream and made my way back. Luckily despite the rain the area has had the water level was still low so I only had to get wet feet twice. Tramping down a rocky stream bed may not be everybodies cup of tea but it was a very enjoyable day. There is always something new around the next corner and the scenery in places was breath taking. Despite ending up empty handed I ended up back on the road with smile on my face.

The next morning the wind had got up to 70knts I drove up the coast with the wind shaking the jeep and the kayak bouncing around on the roof rack. Over the radio came the news that Auckland was suffering from a power cut, causing chaos on the roads etc. Oh what a shame I wasn't at work (a freight company) Couldn't help but chuckle to myself! Latter on in the afternoon the wind got the better of me though when near the top of the Peninsula I came across a huge Macrocarpa that had decided it had enough and laid itself to rest across the narrow gravel road. Some local council workers and a grader were soon there to clear it away and the next 1hr saw myself and a couple of other bystanders sipping beer in the howling wind and cheering the grader on as it tried to drag 8 tonne sections of log along the road. Because of the wind I set up camp that night at Fantail Bay tucked away in the bush but well away from any overhanging Pohutakawa's and falling branches.

Tuesday dawned still windy but nowhere near as bad. I headed back over the Peninsula to Stony Bay - another DOC camp. Some time was spent exploring the area surrounding Colvile and at last had some success rock hounding ending up with a few peices of chalcedony and carnelian from walking around the coast. The campsite at Stony Bay felt like déjà vu with the tent set up in exactly the same site as some years ago when I was literally stuck there for a few days when a "Weather bomb" hit the peninsula. This time I was better equiped with a 4wd to get out through the muddy paddocks.

Wednesday's forecast was much better. 10knts in the morning increasing to 20 later on in the afternoon. To take advantage of it I headed around to Sandy Bay and launched the kayak at 9am. The sea was dead flat with hardly a ripple on the water - beautiful paddling! I rounded the point and headed SE of Port Charles aiming for Waikawau Bay. The coastline around here is as wild as you can get. Rugged cliffs towering above, hidden bouldery bays and the only sign of human life is a cray fisherman working his pots. Surprisingly I only came across one cave which was well hidden at the end of a L shaped crevice.

A couple of hours into the paddle I noticed that the wind at my back had increased. Since there was no landing till Waikawau Bay which I could see in the distance I decided it was prudent to turn back while I still could. It was something I should have done much sooner. The further I got the stronger the wind pushed back. By the time I approached the far end of the point before Port Charles it was blowing a good 25knts. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, but the tide was still headed out and a very strong rip had developed around this point. The standing waves were higher enough to dwarf me sitting in my little kayak, and would have made good footage for one of Justine's "This is the Sea" DVD's. Would be great fun if I was going with it but unfortunatly I had to battle against it somehow. Looking out to sea I could see that I would have no joy going wide since the whitecaps looked worse out there so I decided to stick hard against the land where it was slightly flater and just power through it. It was probably one of the hardest hours paddling I have had, it seemed that although no way was lost, I wasn't gaining any either. There was no way I could stop or even let up slightly without loosing ground, an hour to cover under 2 km! A sliding stroke with the Greenland paddle helped but by the time I rounded the point and headed beam on to the chop I was buggered. Once back on dry land at Sandy Bay I looked out to sea and the devious bay gave the impression of being as tranquil as it was when I left. After pigging out on much food as I dared to spare, I pulled out the camp chair and dozed in the sun still dressed in my pfd and spray skirt to the amusement of the locals walking along the beach.

Later that afternoon I headed back around to Fletchers Bay near the northern most point of the peninsula to set up camp. The next day was still blowy with the odd shower passing by. No paddling today so instead I sorted out the fishing gear and tramped around the coastline to whats known as the "Sugar Loafs". These are 2 amazing pinicles joined to the mainland by a rocky spit. The end of the smallest one gave me shelter from the wind and offered deep water to cast into. Only Leather Jackets and MaoMao kept me company for the 1st hour then some small snapper started showing up in the berley trail. Casting over their heads I managed to start hooking into some nice pan sized (35-40cm) snapper. Kept one for dinner and released the others to get bigger and await for my return. The tide had gone out by 3pm so I packed up and started scouring the boulders in the bay. No disappointment there either and 3 legal sized paua were soon in my bag. Prouncing around in 10 deg C water only dressed in my underwear was not the most pleasent of experiances though! A dinner of as much couscous, fresh snapper and paua as I could eat summed up another great day.

The weather was only going to get worse so Friday saw me heading back down the peninsula to the Kauaeranga Valley again. That night was the wettest for the whole week. The rumbling of thunder and flashes of lightning kept me company during the evening and I went to sleep with the drumming of heavy rain on the tent. I realised then that every night of the holiday I had gone to sleep to the sound of water - either the crash of the surf, burble of a stream or the sound of rain. Something I'm going to miss back in reality.

Saturday was a day of travel and shopping while I was in town. An enjoyable holiday? You bet! Despite the wind and rain I can't think of a better way to spend a week off.

Surf and Sharkskin

2006-05-27T17:01:00.000+12:00

Almost perfect surf conditions today at Oneroa so had to go out with the Night Heron for a play. Spent just over 2 hours of pure adrenalin buzz. Most waves had a nicely formed tube that enabled me ride along the wave just in front of it. Great fun!

Gear Review
Extreme Adventure Sharkskin Long sleeve shirt

But another reason for heading out today was to try out my new "Sharkskin" shirt. I have always found paddle jackets uncomfortable and have been on the look out for something I could wear when it was too hot for a Tuilik but still too cold for poly's or nylon shirt. Previously I just worn a 0.5mm neoprene surfers shirt but this was starting to wear out and I wanted something that "breathed" so I didn't end up swimming in sweat after a paddle. From the web I learnt about a fabric called Aqua Shell from Polartec that sounded like it would fit the bill.

While taking a call at work from Warren of the Auckland Canoe Centre I mentioned this and he advised a rep had just been there with a product called Sharkskin that sounded like what I was after. A bit more research that night then I placed the order the next day.

This material is meant to be a replacement to neoprene, but it shares very little in common apart from the warmth and stretch. It is Comfortable with a capital C! The outer layer is waterproof (not just resistant) and very wind proof. I assume it gets it's name from the feel of this outer which is slightly grippy like 340 grit sand paper when rubbed in one direction but smooth when rubbed the other way. The inner is a very plush pile that beats neoprene or polys hands down against the skin.

I ended up doing some combat rolls when surfing today which allowed water to seep through the collar and cuffs, soaking the insides. Despite this I was still as warm as I was previously, what amased me was that I didn't feel wet. Infact when I took it off afterwards the pile still felt dry despite being able to wring water from the shirt. Also unlike neoprene or poly's and spray jackets I didn't chill down once I was out of the water and in the wind. For the shirt itself the quailty is OK, only let down by a crummy finish at the seam on top of the collar (neoprene). Nothing that will effect it's life span, just not up to the standard of the rest of the shirt. The fit is good, I'm tall and lanky so its often hard to find clothing long enough that isn't baggy. This shirt fits me well.

Its not a dry jacket with gaskets on the cuffs and neck so I didn't expect it to be waterproof in these areas but when the water does get in there's no worries about getting cold. Being breathable it also drys out fast. Like most modern insulation wear, you don't over heat in it either. Almost self regulating.

For those looking for an alternative to stiff uncomfortable paddle jackets, sweaty neoprene or poly's that wind whistles straight through, I highly recommend the Sharkskin.

Around and around I go....

2006-05-06T17:29:00.000+12:00

Enclosure Bay

With winds at 25 knots gusting 35 I had to put of the planned circumnavigation of Rangitoto till another weekend, and headed out for some rolling practice instead. One advantage of living on the Island is that there is nearly always sheltered water somewhere to play in. Enclosure Bay is protected from southerly winds and has a couple of reefs cutting off the entrance. The closest thing we have to a public swimming pool. Tucked away out of the wind it was like a summers day on the beach but without the crowds. Today the water was crystal clear, unlike a couple of weeks ago when it was the colour of calf scours and I got attacked by sea lice...

Rolling progressed steadily. I divided the time between fine tuning the Norsaq and hand rolls and getting comfortable on my off side. One other thing I tried was paddling upside down. Not sure how much forward progress I made but it seemed simple enough to do and a lot of fun!

Tarahiki (Shag) Island

2006-04-30T15:46:00.000+12:00

Tarahiki Island from Pakatoa

This is my 13th year on Waiheke, and since I started kayaking when I first arrived here it is getting hard to find somewhere different to go. I had only been out to Shag Isl once before so figured it will be a good paddle for today. Because this island is 3km out from its nearest neighbor - Pakatoa - its normally not worth paddling out to when island hopping in the Waiheke Channel thus is rarely visited by kayaks. A shame since Shag Island is full of hidden treasures for those who don't mind a few scratches on their hull.

Being in a lazy mood I decided to launch from Man'O'War Bay which has the closest road access. I aimed straight out in a direct line for the 6km paddle to the island. About 1/2 way across I looked behind me and realized that I had just failed Kayak Navigation 101. Wind + Current = Must Ferry Glide! Instead of a straight line I had curved around to the NE and just added an extra km to the distance. Bugger. After adjusting my heading to allow for the strengthening outgoing tide I made landfall on the islands only beach 3/4 of an hour from launch.

Archway Shag Isl

A quick muesli bar and cig, then it was time for some serious exploring. From a distance Shag Island looks just like a normal island, but when you get close to it you realise that in the past a trainee chief must have taken a giant meat cleaver and sliced and diced it. The Isl is full of nooks and crannies, its really one big rock garden. Amazingly there are no caves to explore but I counted 7 arches, 5 of which I managed to squeeze through. One part is like a maze where you go through one arch, around a pinnacle, between a crevice, through another arch, etc, all just wider then the kayak. Great fun!

Just through here, then around there......

Shag Island gets its common name from the population of Spotted Shag s that roost there. I counted 2 main roosts on the island and unlike the common shag, these ones let you glide up beneath them without being spooked. A majestic bird when seen close up.

Small Spotted Shag colony

After touching back onto the beach (just to say I circumnavigated it) I headed across to Pakatoa Island. This resort has suffered the fate of many others. On paper it looks like a really good investment but in reality it has never done very well. Currently the island is for sale at a bargain price of $33 million NZ. So if any reader is interested my finders fee is only a measly 1%. The beaches are nice though, and I had lunch sitting on a log looking out to the tip of the Coromandel Peninsula on a perfect day.

On the paddle back to the Jeep, I counted 24 penguins in the 3km stretch. On the local news they are reporting a record number of dead or starving penguins being found on the beaches. This was put down to a shortage of small fish (one newspaper even saying the cause of this is pollution from storm water run off). I differ here, this year was a record breeding year. The amount of fledging birds was phenomenal. With a huge increase of population of course food is going to be scarce for all of them and some will die off. Just a matter of a balance being found. Certainly not because of pollution! With 24 penguins in a 3km stretch of water - I really don't think they are going to be endangered soon. Rant over.

The trip ended too soon, but was very enjoyable. Shag Island has just moved up my list of favorite Waiheke paddles.

Tuilik Modifications

2006-04-24T19:48:00.000+12:00

Over the last couple of weeks I have added a couple of modifications to the neoprene tuilik:

1st mod is a set of wrist bands.
The tuilik is made from 1.5mm neoprene which does not produce as much pressure around the wrists as Shawn's Penguin Suit did. This lack of pressure allows more water to dribble up the arms during rolling practice. After seeing the wrist bands on the Brook Tuiliks that Cheri and Turner brought with them to Coastbusters I decided to copy the idea. A lack of velcro on the island forced me to use some double sided velcro computer cord ties. The wide end was cut off and sewn onto a 10cm long piece of elastic ribbon. This was repeated on the other end with the fluffy side reversed. One velcro tab was then glued onto the top of the wrist area about 1cm in from the end of the sleeve. Other sleeve was done the same way.

Verdict? Well it does help. There is definitely less water running down my arm, but there is still some. I'm happy with the outcome since this amount of water is very minimal.

2nd mod is draw cord reinforcing.
Overtime the draw cords on both the penguin Suit and Touring Tuilik have ended up ripping the neoprene around the hole in the hood hem. Despite being fairly new I noticed some "stretch marks" in this area on the 1.5mm tuilik. To stop the rips before they happened I reinforced the area with webbing.

Using a soldering iron I melted a hole though a strip of webbing then glued it from the outside edge of the mesh skin drawcord hem to the inside edge and over the existing hole. Once the aquaseal had set the drawcord was threaded through the holes as normal. Changed the drawcord from black to a thicker white one mainly for looks.

To soon to see if it solves the problem but there was no leak in this area during Sunday's rolling session.

Talking about Tuilik modifications; Steve Dorrington from Wellington is currently sewing his one up from Shawn's plans but has used a 3 piece hood from the Qajaq.nl website From all accounts the tuilik is a professional job with a very close fitting and comfortable hood - no rooster crown. This is also the same way Brooks do theirs.

First Hand Roll !

2006-04-23T16:17:00.000+12:00

I was having a lazy weekend setting up this blog and doing - well bugger all, so once the tide was in at 3pm I grabbed the Night Heron and headed to the beach below the house for some rolling practise.

I've been learning to roll the Greenland way for a few years now, but progress has been in fits and starts. Despite having learnt 9 of them one thing I was having real trouble with was rolling on my off side (going over on the left and up on the right). No matter how much I tried I could not get into the mind frame needed to come up on the right. At Coastbusters last month Freya Hoffmeister helped break that barrier and I did my 1st off side standard roll. Today the aim was to pick up another off side roll.

But I wasn't successful. :( Infact I was starting to get frustrated and pissed off with myself. The standard roll was down pat but no way could I do any of the others. As a break I grabbed the Norsaq which I hadn't used for over 6 months and tried rolling (on my good side) with that. No worries at all with the Norsaq layback. After awhile I started to get cocky and stuck the norsaq under the bungee's to try a hand roll.

Shock! I came up right away! For the next 10 trys I came up everytime, only slapping the water for extra purchase twice. I can hand roll! Still buzzing, but next time out I better concentrate on those offsiders...

What's all this Blogging Buzz?

2006-04-22T20:41:00.000+12:00

Hi there,
Welcome to my personal blog site. Hopefully this will lead you through the journey of my kayaking and allow you to share the places and experiances I've gone through.