Newsletter 42
Southland Sea Kayakers
Dear Southland Sea Kayakers
This newsletter is well overdue but we’ve been away for an expedition during the winter and have been catching up on work since we got back. I enclose trip reports by Mike Dunn on his kayaking trip in Tonga and my Mackenzie journal ( short version).
I am always keen to hear of your kayaking adventures and will publish them in this newsletter.
News
Winter rolling clinics by Jacqui and Tim Anderson:
Over the past few months the club ran rolling clinics at the Invercargill pool for 5 two hour sessions on Sunday afternoons. The first 2 sessions saw coast to coast wannabes mastering their first few rolls, with instruction from Tim And Jacqui .The trainees did very well, initially in play boats then trying out their racing boats, and some heading out to Riverton for follow up paddling on the Aparima and Pourakino rivers.
The three later series were well attended with up to 12 people rolling, learning ,or teaching in the pool.(quite crowded at times).Mike and Adele helped out with instruction in rolling and added some timely hints on paddle strokes and technique as well.
David Luoni from Gore brought several new paddlers, and introduced them to the joys of learning to roll.
The Riverton pool opens in late October and we hope to have a follow up session there as well, possibly followed by a surf or sea paddle.
Max Grant Presentation on 11/10/07:
Max Grant had a presentation at the Mulvanys house of his great kayaking trip in May 2007 from Jackson’s Bay to Milford with a ‘Hells” portage from Big Bay to the Pyke. They kayaked down to Lake Alabaster/ Lake McKerrow and back to the open sea and on to Milford arriving on the heels of a storm. The article was published in the KASK magazine recently.
Upcoming Events:
On Tuesday evening 20th November there is a combined evening of the Southland Sea Kayaking Network and the Southland Section of the New Zealand Alpine Club at 7.30 PM at SIT (Southern Institute of Technology, Tay St., Invercargill) at 7.30 PM Room B1:10
Stanley will be giving a presentation of the Mackenzie River expedition with stunning photography.
We meet in room 10 on the ground floor of B Block. B Block is on the right when you walk in off Tay Street through the main entrance, with B1:10 at the end of the block last entrance on the right. If you come in off the Forth Street entrance, go up one flight of stairs and turn left. There is a door donation of $3.00 per person.
New Zealand Auckland Coastbusters 2008 Symposium/International Kayak Week.
29th February to 9th March. Novice to advanced Sea Kayakers.
The program:
The outcomes:
Information and registration http://www.coastbusters.org.nz
COASTBUSTERS 2008
Sea Kayak Symposium
Milford (Auckland) & Sullivans Bay
29 February to 2 March 2008
Coastbusters is a great weekend, full of fun, knowledge, demonstrations, and on-the-water adventures. From novice to expert in experience, you can enjoy interaction with New Zealand’s best sea kayakers and some of the world’s finest who we’ve flown in to add some a little extra flavour.
The last event filled up quickly so please don’t delay in booking.
See: http://www.coastbusters.org.nz
Not internet connected? Don’t worry, mail any queries to the address below, and you will receive an answer:
Coastbusters, POB 101-257, NSMC
Guest Presenters include:
Display of Cedar-Strip, Stitch & Glue and Fabric-on-Frame kayaks - examine these interesting and beautiful boats and discuss them with their builders. You'll get an opportunity to try one out on Sunday afternoon.
Sunday morning’s justly famous, on-the-water, ‘pod’ session - don’t leave your boat at home!
Sunday’s BBQ, Saturday’s lunch and buffet dinner are included in the price. You look after fine wine & camping / accommodation (see website for suggestions).
Sunday afternoon on-the-water workshops - a range of try it activities - and hands-on-the-water experiences.
Plus - this year we're continuing the fun for the weekdays - to link into the New Zealand Kayak Builder’s Get-Together on the Rotorua Lakes. Shift to Martin's Bay Camp (just north of Sullivan's) on Sunday evening and use that as a laid-back base. Day & night paddles, special events and sessions will allow local paddlers to extend their CB experience and help introduce overseas visitors to some of NZ's finest waters. At the end of the week, pack up and head down to the Blue Lake camp for the NZKBGT's lazy weekend of paddles on the lakes, sharing tips and kayaks and socialising.
How could you better spend 10 days? http://www.coastbusters.org.nz
Paddling Partner Wanted
I received this email from Denmark from Tim Hasenfuss [email protected]
hello, I am in fjordland from 23nd of november on and I would love to do at least one kayak trip in dusky or whereever! I have about 10days experience and I was just wondering if you can help me to find a partner or if I can join an organised event!
Cheers, Tim
Safety in Kayaking
Paul Caffyn asked me to reprint this article by Hamish Blanch
SAFETY
Marine Searches
By Hamish Blanch
How Search and Rescue works, and some thoughts on being visible on the water.
(Hamish Blanch, a keen kayaker, is a Police member based in Nelson and has been on Police Search and Rescue squads for the past 27 years. He has also been a crewman/winch operator on the Nelson based Rescue Helicopter for the past 16 years)
The following is how the search process works. Search and Rescue (SAR) in New Zealand is divided into two parts, firstly Land and secondly Marine. Responsibility for Land SAR rests with the Police while Marine SAR rests with both Police and Rescue Co-ordination Centre New Zealand (RCC (NZ)).
Marine searching is split up into three classes with differing area's of responsibility:
RCC (NZ) is based in Avalon, Wellington and is a relatively new organization, being set up and operational from July 2004. It replaces what was previously known as the National Rescue Co-ordination Centre (RCC). The change came about largely as result of a Government report and recommendations into marine search and rescue after a fatal boating incident off the coast of Oamaru.
A greater degree of co-operation and liaison now exists between the two organizations, RCC(NZ) and the Police. Since July 2005, Police in all districts now have a Marine Search incident controller on call 24 hours a day for class 1 and 2 searches.
Searches may start as a Class 2, and be upgraded to 3, in which case control would change from Police to RCC (NZ) and vice versa.
There must always be clarity as to who is running a search at any one time. A formal hand over must take place if a search is upgraded, or downgraded, so that it is clear as to who is in control, and ultimately responsible.
(At the time of writing the Government is looking at the overall control of Marine Search and Rescue incidents, and several proposals regarding different structures are currently being investigated).
As to how a Class 1 or 2 search is run, will largely depend on the resources/set up by local Police. In the area that I work (Tasman Police District), Marine Search and Rescue is managed utilizing a system adopted nationally by Land Search and Rescue, and is known as CIMS…Co-ordinated Incident management system.
Under CIMS, the search management has several components:
An Incident Controller, (Police member) oversees the whole operation and co-ordinates the search effort. In the initial stages, a search may be run and managed by one person who is managing all three components, however as it scales up, several people may be called in and the roles separated. As a search progresses, a time period will be allocated to the first phase, and forward planning done so that the search can then be run in shifts 24 hours a day, if necessary, and proper handovers completed from one shift to the next.
Resources used in the field may be any of those previously mentioned regarding Class 2 searches.
There will be regional variations as to how a search is run, and how local resources are used.
In some areas for example, Surf Rescue may patrol beaches and effect rescues as situations occur. Coastguard may patrol waterways and also effect rescues/tows as required. Police involvement in these situations is minimal.
A simple rescue, involving for example a kayaker in a sheltered bay who cannot affect a re-entry and is floating with his kayak, may require no more than a call on the local marine radio channel to get someone to assist.
If however a kayaker has failed to return from a trip, or is overdue and a search to locate is required, Police will be advised. The initial call to Police will probably be logged at a Police Communications centre, and an event number created. At that stage the on-duty Police Marine search incident controller will be advised, and decide a course of action. A search urgency assessment is then made.
Initial action may involve a Police member making some enquiry as to details of the missing party, description of persons/kayak/trip details and physically checking boat ramps etc. to ensure that the missing person simply hasn't simply gone elsewhere after a paddle.
Decisions are made based on the information known at the time, and the incident controller making those decisions takes responsibility for the result. Quite often, when with the benefit of hindsight, persons may be critical of those decisions but they are made with the best information at the time, not with all the information known at a later date.
For example, to recall a recent incident in Nelson, on 2 March about mid-day, I was the on-duty incident controller and was advised of a second hand message that some-one had passed onto another person. The information simply was that a woman, walking on back beach at Tahunanui Beach, had been watching a kayak with two paddlers in an area known as the ‘Blind Channel’ - the channel that fills/empties Waimea Estuary - and the kayak had disappeared. This had been about an hour or so prior, and the identity of the original informant was not known at the time. The information therefore was not particularly good, and at the time of receiving, could not be verified or any other details obtained.
No one had been reported missing/overdue; no other reports were received, and it was a nice warm summer's day, (about 22�C).
It was basically a decision to either:
1. search, or 2. further investigate/wait for any more information.
There was no Surf Rescue on duty -it was a weekday - and to get a unit on the water would have required a callout from work of surf members.
What would you do?
A call was made to the airport control tower (Blind Channel is on the flight path of the Nelson airport) to advise aircraft to be on the lookout, and then erring on the side of caution, activated Surf Rescue.
Surf Rescue was short staffed, and so I then arranged for a Police member to crew/observe, and they were on the water within 20 minutes.
They headed out of Nelson Harbour into Tasman Bay and about 1.5 kilometres from shore, they chance sighted a person with a lifejacket on in choppy seas. He indicated that there was second person in the water requiring immediate assistance who was located about 70m away. The second person was obviously suffering from hypothermia and both were immediately recovered to Surf Base and an ambulance called.
This second person, a male aged 41 years, when treated recorded a body temp of 33.5 degrees and was moderately hypothermic.
The kayak was neither located at the time, nor were there any sightings by aircraft. (It later washed up that evening in Blind Channel - partially submerged as the back hatch and cockpit were full of water).
The kayakers, one aged 24 and the other 41, had launched their lime green/yellow Contour double kayak at Tahunanui Beach, paddled across the Blind Channel to Rabbit Island, then returned. During the return trip, they tipped out and they were unable to reenter the kayak.
Both were relatively new to kayaking; neither man had sought instruction or practiced getting back into the kayak. They carried no bailer or pump, thus no means to empty the kayak, and carried no emergency communication equipment, (no flares, radio, cell phone etc). No one had been informed of their intentions, thus no one was going to raise the alarm in the event of a mishap.
Both men were swimming coaches, (good swimmers) and had decided to swim for it. They later said that they had even discussed taking their lifejackets and booties off but thought better of it.
After about two hours in the water (water temp about 20�C) it was apparent that they could not swim against the ebbing tidal flow, and they were simply getting swept out to sea.
So on a nice sunny and warm Nelson day they were both in the 'brown stuff' floating out into Tasman Bay. If it not been for that one phone call from someone who had spoken to some-one else I am certain that this would have been another fatality. Things are not always what they initially seem.
Back to searching - if a kayaker for example is missing offshore, a search would commence after having established the likely search area, taking into account sea (currents and sea state) and wind conditions. A search pattern would be decided upon depending on what information is available that is the last known position/timing and, what resources are available/what resources can be used with the weather conditions, and available light.
If a fixed wing is used it would typically search from approx 150m, now this gets to the part that starts to make you think a bit; if you're in the water, you have to be visible. Someone in the plane has to see you. (It is possible that either heat seeking or infra red gear could be carried, but that would depend on local resources and cannot be guaranteed.)
A kayaker in the water, separated from their kayak, does not present a particularly big target - less than half a square metre - and the only part that is going to be seen from 150m up in the air is the head and shoulders. The kayaker in the water has probably capsized because of the sea state, so chances are there is going to be a sizable swell/choppy sea conditions.
If you are that kayaker, your chances of being found are hugely increased if you have a fluoro-coloured hat on, tied to your fluoro-coloured PFD.
You're going kayaking, so you're going to wear a sun hat and a PFD - why wear something that's not going to be seen? It doesn't cost any more to be visible and your life may depend on it.
Your chances are again hugely increased if you stay with the kayak (now several square metres of target) and even better if the kayak is a bright colour, red/yellow/orange. (It doesn't cost any more to buy a bright coloured boat).
I can recall two recent searches for kayakers, one in Tasman Bay, the other in Golden Bay, both fatalities, that have resulted with the kayaker becoming separated from the kayak. The search then was for two targets, kayak and paddler, not one. THINK BRIGHT COLOURS - BE SEEN.
Thought I'd drop you a line with some details of a recent sea kayaking trip, which may be of interest to Southland Sea Kayak network members. We flew up to Tonga, spent a few days on the main island of Tongatapu then flew north to Neiafu, the principal town of the Vava'u Islands. The Vava'u group is well known by yachties, offering sheltered anchorages and pleasant sailing around a scattering of forested limestone islands. The area is also known for viewing Humpback Whales, mainly in the period July to October.
Kayaking in Tonga by Mike Dunn
We rented kayaks in Neiafu. They also supplied us a VHF radio and a sea anchor. The latter item gave us more options when snorkelling off shore. We brought our own paddles, paddle leashes and buoyancy aids from NZ.
Our route took us from the Port of Neiafu past a few larger islands (Pangaimotu and Kapa) to the southern part of Vava'u where the islands are small and separated by a few km of open ocean. We toured around this southern area, visiting numerous islands with encircling coral reefs, beaches with golden sand and delightful camping. Water is not available on any islands therefore must be carried on the kayaks. Yachties, especially the larger yachts with desalinisation units were happy to top up our water containers. Local villagers have limited rainwater supplies. Any water obtained from a village would need treatment before drinking anyway. The supermarkets in Neiafu have a very limited range of goods. We brought a lot of tramping food from New Zealand. The prevailing wind is from the south east and blows at 15 to 20 knots. At the beginning of the trip we experienced a day of strong nor'west conditions with heavy tropical rain and 30 knot winds. We were glad to have our mountaineering tent, with two vestibules. Temperatures varied from 25 to 30 degrees during the day but dropped low enough to need a light sleeping bag on several nights.
We did not see any other sea kayakers. The campsites we used were in obvious spots but did not appear to have been recently used. It seems this area is off the beaten track for sea kayaking. One commercial company runs guided trips in the area but these are expensive. This company will not hire out their kayaks.
Mackenzie River Paddle
In July this year Belinda and Stanley kayaked down the Mackenzie River in the Northwest Territories of Canada from Hay River to the Arctic Ocean, a distance of nearly 2000 kilometres. The Mackenzie is the second largest river in North America after the Mississippi River and drains about one fifth of Canada. It is more like a large skinny lake 2000 kilometres long and generally does not have a lot of current which equates to a lot of paddling. It is estimated you will do three quarter of a million paddle strokes going down the river! That sounds like a lot of pain so had lots of appeal.
In early July B and I flew from Invercargill to Hay River where we picked up our rental kayaks. The first day and a half was spent paddling along the south shore of Great Slave Lake to the mouth of the Mackenzie. Our second camp was on an island at the mouth of the Mackenzie. This was at an old campsite in the forest. Next morning at breakfast while Belinda was in the tent I heard a branch snap while I was down on the river bank and walking back into camp came face to face with a large black bear. After recovering from the shock I reached for an airhorn and after a few blasts it moved off slowly. Then there was a mad dash to pack up and leave.
The start of the Mackenzie was picturesque with lots of large islands and birds. The shores were reed beds for many kilometres and we found nowhere to land for 7 hours. We were very stiff and sore on this stretch. We arrived at Fort Providence, an attractive Dene community on a high bank on the right side. There was a park at the southern end of town with a boat ramp and we camped on the bank there. We walked into town and bought a buffalo burger. Buffalo feed on grass so its just a concentrated vegetarian burger so I reasoned! We felt knackered and we’d only come 121 kilometres from Hay River and 65 that day. My hands were full of blisters.
Next day we paddled down to Mills Lake in a fast current and around the south shore to the next section of the Mackenzie. It took us three days to reach Trout River where we stopped for lunch near some deserted cabins. I were just getting ready to fire up my cooker on a table near a cabin when my gaze locked onto a familiar face swimming across to us_ my friend Smokey!! I could not believe it. When I told Belinda who was down by the kayaks about our lunch guest she did a Haka and scared the poor thing which fled back into the reeds. What a meanie! Later that day we reached Jean Marie and camped in an old sawmill just downstream from the settlement.
It was now scorching hot so we were glad of the shade in the attic of the old sawmill. We went swimming in the river to cool down. The flies were bad too including ‘bulldogs’ and mosquitoes. We spend the next day resting there and left in the evening for an overnight paddle to Fort Simpson. At this latitude there is only a twilight but its cooler at night and very enjoyable paddling. Fort Simpson lies at the junction of the Liard and Mackenzie Rivers and is situated on a high bank. The information centre was the best part and we only stopped there for several hours.
It was a three day paddle to Wrigley around Camsell Bend. This part of the river is very picturesque and is known as the ‘River between the Mountains’. Nearing Wrigley the weather deteriorated with a northerly wind and rain. We camped across the river from the 350 metre Roche qui Trempe a l’Eau where there were reputed to be hot springs but these were not evident from our campsite. We now had a week of headwinds and it took us 4 hard days to reach Tulita or Fort Norman. This is a small Indian community at the junction of Great Bear River and the Mackenzie. Across the Great Bear River is Bear Mountain. Here we befriended Rod Hardy who offered to let us camp on his extensive lawn overlooking the river. Rod is an amazing man, a retired oil company executive who has had an extraordinary life and an intriguing family history. On the wall of his lounge are a number of acknowledgments from various First Nations for the work he did in crafting treaties between them and the Federal Government in Ottawa. He was an advisor to Prime Minister Mulroney.
Our next run was to Fort Norman where there is an oil field under the Mackenzie. The information centre had great staff and an extensive display of books and crafts for sale. That night we camped in a deserted hunters camp we found further on. This was a large canvas tent on a platform surrounded by plywood walls with lots of nails poking outwards no doubt to discourage bears. Inside were some mattresses but best of all there were no bugs and it was semi-dark at night so we slept well. The rapids now lay just ahead of us as well as the Arctic Circle. Ahead lay the San Sault Rapids. We could not find them possibly because the river was unusually high. I spotted the famous metal tepee on a rise on the left bank and pulled in. It was a bit of a bush bash up to it and obviously not many people come this way. It was a small tepee with barely enough room to camp inside. The ‘hut book’ had only 3 entries this year and dated from 1960. It was a memorial to a young man called Hugh Lockhart who drowned in the San Sault Rapids in 1961. It was quite moving really looking at his photograph and reading the account. We made an entry and carried on.
Next day we came to the Rampart Canyon which was spectacular with crumbing sandstone cliffs towering rising 80 metres straight out of the water topped with spruce forest. We went down on the right side and the water was fast but hardly a rapid. It is about 12 kilometres long and coming out of it we spotted the statue of the Virgin Mary high on a cliff on the right side. Just below this was Fort Good Hope. The most imposing building was Our Lady of Good Hope Church built in 1860’s by the Oblate Missionaries. The mission was founded here in 1859 by Fr Grollier, a taciturn Frenchman who was described as “difficult” and who had a “perpetual scowl on both his face and personality”. He is reputed to have said that Englishman and savages ( I assume he meant the locals) were perfectly identical and that the Indians were faithless and impossible to convert. A later missionary Fr Emile Petitot painted the striking murals in the church. Unfortunately this was locked so we did not have a chance to see them. In the cemetery behind the church we found the graves of Marie Fisher Gaudet who was Rod Hardy’s grandmother and also Fr Grollier and Brother Kearney of the Oblate mission.
It is 350 kilometres to Tsiigetghetic also know as Arctic Red and this is some of the most remote country on the Mackenzie. Just past the Ontaratue River we came to Grandview. We found a red aluminium boat with a large outboard pulled up on the beach and a driveway went back into the bush where we could see a tall aerial. This opened out into a large clearing with several buildings. This was the Sorenson camp. It was very quiet. The main house was boarded up and the others were unlocked. In one I found a note on the table dated the previous year inviting travellers to make themselves comfortable and to leave them a note. Only one entry was on the sheet of paper from the previous month. The house was spacious and clean. The two bedrooms had the beds made up as though we were expected. We had a look around and nearby were two graves of Irene and Fred Sorenson. Irene has passed on in 1998 and Fred in 2001. It was a shock to realise that it was only in 1993 that Victoria Jason had called visited and wrote in her book about all the happiness she found at Grandview. Now it was deserted and deadly quiet and all the main characters of that time have left us including Victoria. We would have loved to stay a day or two but the weather was fine and there was no wind. We spent the morning looking around. There were several old tractors parked in the clearing and at the back the old sawmill. It looked like someone had taken a teabreak and you expected to see someone bounding down the clearing. It was like a picture frozen in time.
Two days later we arrived at a trapper’s cabin north of the Travaillant River and met a young man called Daniel Andre. He invited us up for a cup of tea. First though he shot off to check his fish nets on a nearby creek. We strolled up to his cabin and met his father. We sat outside by an open fire where he brewed up a jug of tea. Daniel is a trapper hunting Lynx, Martin and other fur bearing animals. He told us about his trap line along the Travaillant River to the lake up stream. We would have like to stay but the need to kill more Ks forced us on. Next day we reached Tsiigetghetic which has a run down appearance and sullen folk. We were glad to leave after buying a few stores.
Our next run was to the Point of Separation where the Mackenzie Dealt starts and then on to the East Channel and Inuvik. Here we stayed with the Falsnes at Arctic Chalets for a very enjoyable few days before pushing on to Tuktoyaktuk out in the Beaufort Sea. We kayaked to Reindeer Station on the right bank near the Caribou Hills. All that remained was an abandoned two story house and nearby several empty and partly derelict cabins. It was established as a base for the Alaskan Reindeer herd. In the 1920’s the traditional migration routes of wild caribou changed causing a crisis of Inuvialuit survival. The Canadian government brought in Sami reindeer herders from Lapland to drive a herd of Alaskan reindeer from Alaska to the Tuktoyaktuk region to provide food and employment for the locals. It took them 4 years and 2000 miles to drive the herd across from Alaska and apparently none of the original animals made it only their offspring. The herd is apparently still on the Tuk Peninsula.
We camped about 20 kilometres further on but that evening a northerly storm settled in and we struggled in vain forwards to camp about 20 kilometres short of Tununuk. We huddled down on the river bank behind some scrub for a few days and basically ran out of time. I then set my sail and with Belinda hooked on behind we sailed back upstream to Inuvik 80 kilometres in a day. We then flew to Tuktoyaktuk, dipped our toes in the Arctic Ocean and called it a day.
This is a short version of my extensive journal which will be published shortly.
Stanley Mulvany
Invercargill
Safe paddling
Stanley
Dear Southland Sea Kayakers
This newsletter is well overdue but we’ve been away for an expedition during the winter and have been catching up on work since we got back. I enclose trip reports by Mike Dunn on his kayaking trip in Tonga and my Mackenzie journal ( short version).
I am always keen to hear of your kayaking adventures and will publish them in this newsletter.
News
Winter rolling clinics by Jacqui and Tim Anderson:
Over the past few months the club ran rolling clinics at the Invercargill pool for 5 two hour sessions on Sunday afternoons. The first 2 sessions saw coast to coast wannabes mastering their first few rolls, with instruction from Tim And Jacqui .The trainees did very well, initially in play boats then trying out their racing boats, and some heading out to Riverton for follow up paddling on the Aparima and Pourakino rivers.
The three later series were well attended with up to 12 people rolling, learning ,or teaching in the pool.(quite crowded at times).Mike and Adele helped out with instruction in rolling and added some timely hints on paddle strokes and technique as well.
David Luoni from Gore brought several new paddlers, and introduced them to the joys of learning to roll.
The Riverton pool opens in late October and we hope to have a follow up session there as well, possibly followed by a surf or sea paddle.
Max Grant Presentation on 11/10/07:
Max Grant had a presentation at the Mulvanys house of his great kayaking trip in May 2007 from Jackson’s Bay to Milford with a ‘Hells” portage from Big Bay to the Pyke. They kayaked down to Lake Alabaster/ Lake McKerrow and back to the open sea and on to Milford arriving on the heels of a storm. The article was published in the KASK magazine recently.
Upcoming Events:
On Tuesday evening 20th November there is a combined evening of the Southland Sea Kayaking Network and the Southland Section of the New Zealand Alpine Club at 7.30 PM at SIT (Southern Institute of Technology, Tay St., Invercargill) at 7.30 PM Room B1:10
Stanley will be giving a presentation of the Mackenzie River expedition with stunning photography.
We meet in room 10 on the ground floor of B Block. B Block is on the right when you walk in off Tay Street through the main entrance, with B1:10 at the end of the block last entrance on the right. If you come in off the Forth Street entrance, go up one flight of stairs and turn left. There is a door donation of $3.00 per person.
New Zealand Auckland Coastbusters 2008 Symposium/International Kayak Week.
29th February to 9th March. Novice to advanced Sea Kayakers.
The program:
- Local & international key note speakers
- Seminars, workshops & panel discussions covering all facets of sea kayaking
- Demonstrations & practical sessions on paddling skills & techniques
- On water activities to develop skills & competency
- Day trips exploring the beautiful Hauraki Gulf & surrounding areas
- Leisure time to network & socialize with fun like minded paddlers
The outcomes:
- Increased knowledge of the Auckland Hauraki Gulf & surrounding facilities
- Kayaking network increased with local & international paddlers
- Improved kayaking knowledge & skill base
- Entertaining fun social event
Information and registration http://www.coastbusters.org.nz
COASTBUSTERS 2008
Sea Kayak Symposium
Milford (Auckland) & Sullivans Bay
29 February to 2 March 2008
Coastbusters is a great weekend, full of fun, knowledge, demonstrations, and on-the-water adventures. From novice to expert in experience, you can enjoy interaction with New Zealand’s best sea kayakers and some of the world’s finest who we’ve flown in to add some a little extra flavour.
The last event filled up quickly so please don’t delay in booking.
See: http://www.coastbusters.org.nz
Not internet connected? Don’t worry, mail any queries to the address below, and you will receive an answer:
Coastbusters, POB 101-257, NSMC
Guest Presenters include:
- Sandy Robson who gave herself a year to get round Australia - solo. An outdoor pursuits educator from West Australia, she's already completed an amazing amount of the 14,000 km journey since launching away from Queenscliff in January 2007. After 166 days, nearing the northernmost tip of the continent, her courage met its sternest challenge. A 5m crocodile attack on her kayak stern caused Sandy to postpone her trip in North Queensland. So, she's skipped to the wild coast of Western Australia. Sandy has a wealth of experiences to draw on for her after-dinner talk. Take a look at: https://netstorage.penrhos.wa.edu.au/slap/index.html
- Paul Caffyn should need no introduction. Amongst other achievements, it's his footsteps that Sandy is treading as she attempts to circumnavigate Australia - a feat Paul pioneered exactly 25 years ago. Fresh from his latest expedition along Greenland's icy, exposed east coast in August, Paul will continue to inspire and inform.
- Mark Jones is one of the Adventure Philosophy trio who have set themselves mighty challenges - Antarctica, Tierra del Fuego and South Georgia. Mark will tempt us to stretch our horizons.
- John Kirk-Anderson - one of our regular and most popular speakers - returns with another thought provoking and amusing workshop. John is not only a kayaker of great skill and experience, but he is New Zealand’s highest qualified instructor.
- New Zealand experts on a host of topics. Get ready for some hard choices, as you won’t fit them all in! Trips and Expeditions - local & esoteric - why & how, Technology for fun and safety, History & Tradition, Yak Maintenance, Be-Kind-to-Your-Body Physio, Foodie Frenzies - sensible and extreme, make your own kayak - would you enjoy the challenge? A return of DoC, for an update on their plans for kayaking resources. Keep an eye on the Coastbustesr website for updates.
Display of Cedar-Strip, Stitch & Glue and Fabric-on-Frame kayaks - examine these interesting and beautiful boats and discuss them with their builders. You'll get an opportunity to try one out on Sunday afternoon.
Sunday morning’s justly famous, on-the-water, ‘pod’ session - don’t leave your boat at home!
Sunday’s BBQ, Saturday’s lunch and buffet dinner are included in the price. You look after fine wine & camping / accommodation (see website for suggestions).
Sunday afternoon on-the-water workshops - a range of try it activities - and hands-on-the-water experiences.
Plus - this year we're continuing the fun for the weekdays - to link into the New Zealand Kayak Builder’s Get-Together on the Rotorua Lakes. Shift to Martin's Bay Camp (just north of Sullivan's) on Sunday evening and use that as a laid-back base. Day & night paddles, special events and sessions will allow local paddlers to extend their CB experience and help introduce overseas visitors to some of NZ's finest waters. At the end of the week, pack up and head down to the Blue Lake camp for the NZKBGT's lazy weekend of paddles on the lakes, sharing tips and kayaks and socialising.
How could you better spend 10 days? http://www.coastbusters.org.nz
Paddling Partner Wanted
I received this email from Denmark from Tim Hasenfuss [email protected]
hello, I am in fjordland from 23nd of november on and I would love to do at least one kayak trip in dusky or whereever! I have about 10days experience and I was just wondering if you can help me to find a partner or if I can join an organised event!
Cheers, Tim
Safety in Kayaking
Paul Caffyn asked me to reprint this article by Hamish Blanch
SAFETY
Marine Searches
By Hamish Blanch
How Search and Rescue works, and some thoughts on being visible on the water.
(Hamish Blanch, a keen kayaker, is a Police member based in Nelson and has been on Police Search and Rescue squads for the past 27 years. He has also been a crewman/winch operator on the Nelson based Rescue Helicopter for the past 16 years)
The following is how the search process works. Search and Rescue (SAR) in New Zealand is divided into two parts, firstly Land and secondly Marine. Responsibility for Land SAR rests with the Police while Marine SAR rests with both Police and Rescue Co-ordination Centre New Zealand (RCC (NZ)).
Marine searching is split up into three classes with differing area's of responsibility:
- Class 1search, run by the Police using Police resources.
- Class 2 search, run by Police using other resources such as, Coastguard, Surf Rescue, fixed wing planes (coastal air patrols), helicopter search and water rescue teams, Coast-watch personal, Marine radio, and local resources such as fishermen and recreational boaties. These searches are usually coastal rather than offshore, and are typical of what would normally be used for a missing kayaker.
- Class 3 search run by RCC (NZ). These searches are usually off-shore and may require the utilization of resources not available to Police such as Airforce Orion's etc, and includes all emergency locator beacon activations, (land, marine and aviation).
RCC (NZ) is based in Avalon, Wellington and is a relatively new organization, being set up and operational from July 2004. It replaces what was previously known as the National Rescue Co-ordination Centre (RCC). The change came about largely as result of a Government report and recommendations into marine search and rescue after a fatal boating incident off the coast of Oamaru.
A greater degree of co-operation and liaison now exists between the two organizations, RCC(NZ) and the Police. Since July 2005, Police in all districts now have a Marine Search incident controller on call 24 hours a day for class 1 and 2 searches.
Searches may start as a Class 2, and be upgraded to 3, in which case control would change from Police to RCC (NZ) and vice versa.
There must always be clarity as to who is running a search at any one time. A formal hand over must take place if a search is upgraded, or downgraded, so that it is clear as to who is in control, and ultimately responsible.
(At the time of writing the Government is looking at the overall control of Marine Search and Rescue incidents, and several proposals regarding different structures are currently being investigated).
As to how a Class 1 or 2 search is run, will largely depend on the resources/set up by local Police. In the area that I work (Tasman Police District), Marine Search and Rescue is managed utilizing a system adopted nationally by Land Search and Rescue, and is known as CIMS…Co-ordinated Incident management system.
Under CIMS, the search management has several components:
- Intelligence and planning, (plan the search provide taskings, and process information that comes to hand as the search progresses)
- Operations (make the search happen, brief and debrief search teams etc)
- Logistics (provide the means to run a search).
An Incident Controller, (Police member) oversees the whole operation and co-ordinates the search effort. In the initial stages, a search may be run and managed by one person who is managing all three components, however as it scales up, several people may be called in and the roles separated. As a search progresses, a time period will be allocated to the first phase, and forward planning done so that the search can then be run in shifts 24 hours a day, if necessary, and proper handovers completed from one shift to the next.
Resources used in the field may be any of those previously mentioned regarding Class 2 searches.
There will be regional variations as to how a search is run, and how local resources are used.
In some areas for example, Surf Rescue may patrol beaches and effect rescues as situations occur. Coastguard may patrol waterways and also effect rescues/tows as required. Police involvement in these situations is minimal.
A simple rescue, involving for example a kayaker in a sheltered bay who cannot affect a re-entry and is floating with his kayak, may require no more than a call on the local marine radio channel to get someone to assist.
If however a kayaker has failed to return from a trip, or is overdue and a search to locate is required, Police will be advised. The initial call to Police will probably be logged at a Police Communications centre, and an event number created. At that stage the on-duty Police Marine search incident controller will be advised, and decide a course of action. A search urgency assessment is then made.
Initial action may involve a Police member making some enquiry as to details of the missing party, description of persons/kayak/trip details and physically checking boat ramps etc. to ensure that the missing person simply hasn't simply gone elsewhere after a paddle.
Decisions are made based on the information known at the time, and the incident controller making those decisions takes responsibility for the result. Quite often, when with the benefit of hindsight, persons may be critical of those decisions but they are made with the best information at the time, not with all the information known at a later date.
For example, to recall a recent incident in Nelson, on 2 March about mid-day, I was the on-duty incident controller and was advised of a second hand message that some-one had passed onto another person. The information simply was that a woman, walking on back beach at Tahunanui Beach, had been watching a kayak with two paddlers in an area known as the ‘Blind Channel’ - the channel that fills/empties Waimea Estuary - and the kayak had disappeared. This had been about an hour or so prior, and the identity of the original informant was not known at the time. The information therefore was not particularly good, and at the time of receiving, could not be verified or any other details obtained.
No one had been reported missing/overdue; no other reports were received, and it was a nice warm summer's day, (about 22�C).
It was basically a decision to either:
1. search, or 2. further investigate/wait for any more information.
There was no Surf Rescue on duty -it was a weekday - and to get a unit on the water would have required a callout from work of surf members.
What would you do?
A call was made to the airport control tower (Blind Channel is on the flight path of the Nelson airport) to advise aircraft to be on the lookout, and then erring on the side of caution, activated Surf Rescue.
Surf Rescue was short staffed, and so I then arranged for a Police member to crew/observe, and they were on the water within 20 minutes.
They headed out of Nelson Harbour into Tasman Bay and about 1.5 kilometres from shore, they chance sighted a person with a lifejacket on in choppy seas. He indicated that there was second person in the water requiring immediate assistance who was located about 70m away. The second person was obviously suffering from hypothermia and both were immediately recovered to Surf Base and an ambulance called.
This second person, a male aged 41 years, when treated recorded a body temp of 33.5 degrees and was moderately hypothermic.
The kayak was neither located at the time, nor were there any sightings by aircraft. (It later washed up that evening in Blind Channel - partially submerged as the back hatch and cockpit were full of water).
The kayakers, one aged 24 and the other 41, had launched their lime green/yellow Contour double kayak at Tahunanui Beach, paddled across the Blind Channel to Rabbit Island, then returned. During the return trip, they tipped out and they were unable to reenter the kayak.
Both were relatively new to kayaking; neither man had sought instruction or practiced getting back into the kayak. They carried no bailer or pump, thus no means to empty the kayak, and carried no emergency communication equipment, (no flares, radio, cell phone etc). No one had been informed of their intentions, thus no one was going to raise the alarm in the event of a mishap.
Both men were swimming coaches, (good swimmers) and had decided to swim for it. They later said that they had even discussed taking their lifejackets and booties off but thought better of it.
After about two hours in the water (water temp about 20�C) it was apparent that they could not swim against the ebbing tidal flow, and they were simply getting swept out to sea.
So on a nice sunny and warm Nelson day they were both in the 'brown stuff' floating out into Tasman Bay. If it not been for that one phone call from someone who had spoken to some-one else I am certain that this would have been another fatality. Things are not always what they initially seem.
Back to searching - if a kayaker for example is missing offshore, a search would commence after having established the likely search area, taking into account sea (currents and sea state) and wind conditions. A search pattern would be decided upon depending on what information is available that is the last known position/timing and, what resources are available/what resources can be used with the weather conditions, and available light.
If a fixed wing is used it would typically search from approx 150m, now this gets to the part that starts to make you think a bit; if you're in the water, you have to be visible. Someone in the plane has to see you. (It is possible that either heat seeking or infra red gear could be carried, but that would depend on local resources and cannot be guaranteed.)
A kayaker in the water, separated from their kayak, does not present a particularly big target - less than half a square metre - and the only part that is going to be seen from 150m up in the air is the head and shoulders. The kayaker in the water has probably capsized because of the sea state, so chances are there is going to be a sizable swell/choppy sea conditions.
If you are that kayaker, your chances of being found are hugely increased if you have a fluoro-coloured hat on, tied to your fluoro-coloured PFD.
You're going kayaking, so you're going to wear a sun hat and a PFD - why wear something that's not going to be seen? It doesn't cost any more to be visible and your life may depend on it.
Your chances are again hugely increased if you stay with the kayak (now several square metres of target) and even better if the kayak is a bright colour, red/yellow/orange. (It doesn't cost any more to buy a bright coloured boat).
I can recall two recent searches for kayakers, one in Tasman Bay, the other in Golden Bay, both fatalities, that have resulted with the kayaker becoming separated from the kayak. The search then was for two targets, kayak and paddler, not one. THINK BRIGHT COLOURS - BE SEEN.
Thought I'd drop you a line with some details of a recent sea kayaking trip, which may be of interest to Southland Sea Kayak network members. We flew up to Tonga, spent a few days on the main island of Tongatapu then flew north to Neiafu, the principal town of the Vava'u Islands. The Vava'u group is well known by yachties, offering sheltered anchorages and pleasant sailing around a scattering of forested limestone islands. The area is also known for viewing Humpback Whales, mainly in the period July to October.
Kayaking in Tonga by Mike Dunn
We rented kayaks in Neiafu. They also supplied us a VHF radio and a sea anchor. The latter item gave us more options when snorkelling off shore. We brought our own paddles, paddle leashes and buoyancy aids from NZ.
Our route took us from the Port of Neiafu past a few larger islands (Pangaimotu and Kapa) to the southern part of Vava'u where the islands are small and separated by a few km of open ocean. We toured around this southern area, visiting numerous islands with encircling coral reefs, beaches with golden sand and delightful camping. Water is not available on any islands therefore must be carried on the kayaks. Yachties, especially the larger yachts with desalinisation units were happy to top up our water containers. Local villagers have limited rainwater supplies. Any water obtained from a village would need treatment before drinking anyway. The supermarkets in Neiafu have a very limited range of goods. We brought a lot of tramping food from New Zealand. The prevailing wind is from the south east and blows at 15 to 20 knots. At the beginning of the trip we experienced a day of strong nor'west conditions with heavy tropical rain and 30 knot winds. We were glad to have our mountaineering tent, with two vestibules. Temperatures varied from 25 to 30 degrees during the day but dropped low enough to need a light sleeping bag on several nights.
We did not see any other sea kayakers. The campsites we used were in obvious spots but did not appear to have been recently used. It seems this area is off the beaten track for sea kayaking. One commercial company runs guided trips in the area but these are expensive. This company will not hire out their kayaks.
Mackenzie River Paddle
In July this year Belinda and Stanley kayaked down the Mackenzie River in the Northwest Territories of Canada from Hay River to the Arctic Ocean, a distance of nearly 2000 kilometres. The Mackenzie is the second largest river in North America after the Mississippi River and drains about one fifth of Canada. It is more like a large skinny lake 2000 kilometres long and generally does not have a lot of current which equates to a lot of paddling. It is estimated you will do three quarter of a million paddle strokes going down the river! That sounds like a lot of pain so had lots of appeal.
In early July B and I flew from Invercargill to Hay River where we picked up our rental kayaks. The first day and a half was spent paddling along the south shore of Great Slave Lake to the mouth of the Mackenzie. Our second camp was on an island at the mouth of the Mackenzie. This was at an old campsite in the forest. Next morning at breakfast while Belinda was in the tent I heard a branch snap while I was down on the river bank and walking back into camp came face to face with a large black bear. After recovering from the shock I reached for an airhorn and after a few blasts it moved off slowly. Then there was a mad dash to pack up and leave.
The start of the Mackenzie was picturesque with lots of large islands and birds. The shores were reed beds for many kilometres and we found nowhere to land for 7 hours. We were very stiff and sore on this stretch. We arrived at Fort Providence, an attractive Dene community on a high bank on the right side. There was a park at the southern end of town with a boat ramp and we camped on the bank there. We walked into town and bought a buffalo burger. Buffalo feed on grass so its just a concentrated vegetarian burger so I reasoned! We felt knackered and we’d only come 121 kilometres from Hay River and 65 that day. My hands were full of blisters.
Next day we paddled down to Mills Lake in a fast current and around the south shore to the next section of the Mackenzie. It took us three days to reach Trout River where we stopped for lunch near some deserted cabins. I were just getting ready to fire up my cooker on a table near a cabin when my gaze locked onto a familiar face swimming across to us_ my friend Smokey!! I could not believe it. When I told Belinda who was down by the kayaks about our lunch guest she did a Haka and scared the poor thing which fled back into the reeds. What a meanie! Later that day we reached Jean Marie and camped in an old sawmill just downstream from the settlement.
It was now scorching hot so we were glad of the shade in the attic of the old sawmill. We went swimming in the river to cool down. The flies were bad too including ‘bulldogs’ and mosquitoes. We spend the next day resting there and left in the evening for an overnight paddle to Fort Simpson. At this latitude there is only a twilight but its cooler at night and very enjoyable paddling. Fort Simpson lies at the junction of the Liard and Mackenzie Rivers and is situated on a high bank. The information centre was the best part and we only stopped there for several hours.
It was a three day paddle to Wrigley around Camsell Bend. This part of the river is very picturesque and is known as the ‘River between the Mountains’. Nearing Wrigley the weather deteriorated with a northerly wind and rain. We camped across the river from the 350 metre Roche qui Trempe a l’Eau where there were reputed to be hot springs but these were not evident from our campsite. We now had a week of headwinds and it took us 4 hard days to reach Tulita or Fort Norman. This is a small Indian community at the junction of Great Bear River and the Mackenzie. Across the Great Bear River is Bear Mountain. Here we befriended Rod Hardy who offered to let us camp on his extensive lawn overlooking the river. Rod is an amazing man, a retired oil company executive who has had an extraordinary life and an intriguing family history. On the wall of his lounge are a number of acknowledgments from various First Nations for the work he did in crafting treaties between them and the Federal Government in Ottawa. He was an advisor to Prime Minister Mulroney.
Our next run was to Fort Norman where there is an oil field under the Mackenzie. The information centre had great staff and an extensive display of books and crafts for sale. That night we camped in a deserted hunters camp we found further on. This was a large canvas tent on a platform surrounded by plywood walls with lots of nails poking outwards no doubt to discourage bears. Inside were some mattresses but best of all there were no bugs and it was semi-dark at night so we slept well. The rapids now lay just ahead of us as well as the Arctic Circle. Ahead lay the San Sault Rapids. We could not find them possibly because the river was unusually high. I spotted the famous metal tepee on a rise on the left bank and pulled in. It was a bit of a bush bash up to it and obviously not many people come this way. It was a small tepee with barely enough room to camp inside. The ‘hut book’ had only 3 entries this year and dated from 1960. It was a memorial to a young man called Hugh Lockhart who drowned in the San Sault Rapids in 1961. It was quite moving really looking at his photograph and reading the account. We made an entry and carried on.
Next day we came to the Rampart Canyon which was spectacular with crumbing sandstone cliffs towering rising 80 metres straight out of the water topped with spruce forest. We went down on the right side and the water was fast but hardly a rapid. It is about 12 kilometres long and coming out of it we spotted the statue of the Virgin Mary high on a cliff on the right side. Just below this was Fort Good Hope. The most imposing building was Our Lady of Good Hope Church built in 1860’s by the Oblate Missionaries. The mission was founded here in 1859 by Fr Grollier, a taciturn Frenchman who was described as “difficult” and who had a “perpetual scowl on both his face and personality”. He is reputed to have said that Englishman and savages ( I assume he meant the locals) were perfectly identical and that the Indians were faithless and impossible to convert. A later missionary Fr Emile Petitot painted the striking murals in the church. Unfortunately this was locked so we did not have a chance to see them. In the cemetery behind the church we found the graves of Marie Fisher Gaudet who was Rod Hardy’s grandmother and also Fr Grollier and Brother Kearney of the Oblate mission.
It is 350 kilometres to Tsiigetghetic also know as Arctic Red and this is some of the most remote country on the Mackenzie. Just past the Ontaratue River we came to Grandview. We found a red aluminium boat with a large outboard pulled up on the beach and a driveway went back into the bush where we could see a tall aerial. This opened out into a large clearing with several buildings. This was the Sorenson camp. It was very quiet. The main house was boarded up and the others were unlocked. In one I found a note on the table dated the previous year inviting travellers to make themselves comfortable and to leave them a note. Only one entry was on the sheet of paper from the previous month. The house was spacious and clean. The two bedrooms had the beds made up as though we were expected. We had a look around and nearby were two graves of Irene and Fred Sorenson. Irene has passed on in 1998 and Fred in 2001. It was a shock to realise that it was only in 1993 that Victoria Jason had called visited and wrote in her book about all the happiness she found at Grandview. Now it was deserted and deadly quiet and all the main characters of that time have left us including Victoria. We would have loved to stay a day or two but the weather was fine and there was no wind. We spent the morning looking around. There were several old tractors parked in the clearing and at the back the old sawmill. It looked like someone had taken a teabreak and you expected to see someone bounding down the clearing. It was like a picture frozen in time.
Two days later we arrived at a trapper’s cabin north of the Travaillant River and met a young man called Daniel Andre. He invited us up for a cup of tea. First though he shot off to check his fish nets on a nearby creek. We strolled up to his cabin and met his father. We sat outside by an open fire where he brewed up a jug of tea. Daniel is a trapper hunting Lynx, Martin and other fur bearing animals. He told us about his trap line along the Travaillant River to the lake up stream. We would have like to stay but the need to kill more Ks forced us on. Next day we reached Tsiigetghetic which has a run down appearance and sullen folk. We were glad to leave after buying a few stores.
Our next run was to the Point of Separation where the Mackenzie Dealt starts and then on to the East Channel and Inuvik. Here we stayed with the Falsnes at Arctic Chalets for a very enjoyable few days before pushing on to Tuktoyaktuk out in the Beaufort Sea. We kayaked to Reindeer Station on the right bank near the Caribou Hills. All that remained was an abandoned two story house and nearby several empty and partly derelict cabins. It was established as a base for the Alaskan Reindeer herd. In the 1920’s the traditional migration routes of wild caribou changed causing a crisis of Inuvialuit survival. The Canadian government brought in Sami reindeer herders from Lapland to drive a herd of Alaskan reindeer from Alaska to the Tuktoyaktuk region to provide food and employment for the locals. It took them 4 years and 2000 miles to drive the herd across from Alaska and apparently none of the original animals made it only their offspring. The herd is apparently still on the Tuk Peninsula.
We camped about 20 kilometres further on but that evening a northerly storm settled in and we struggled in vain forwards to camp about 20 kilometres short of Tununuk. We huddled down on the river bank behind some scrub for a few days and basically ran out of time. I then set my sail and with Belinda hooked on behind we sailed back upstream to Inuvik 80 kilometres in a day. We then flew to Tuktoyaktuk, dipped our toes in the Arctic Ocean and called it a day.
This is a short version of my extensive journal which will be published shortly.
Stanley Mulvany
Invercargill
Safe paddling
Stanley