Sunday, December 21, 2008

Ebb Tide

the last kayak-related post i promise (well for a while anyway).
so i learnt what an ebb tide was the other day.
i decided to paddle along the brissie river under the gateway bridge to the bulimba creek and back.
so i get back to near the bridge and suddenly i am not moving other than going up and down and a bit sideways.
i paddle harder and harder and move maybe a foot.
i knew i would have the tide with me one way and against the other but this is ridiculous!
kept cracking (no other choice really) then got to the really tough bit.
they are building a duplicate gateway bridge and there are a few massive foot pods in the river which greatly reduce the width available for flow.
it was really cracking now and i am sure i provided great enterainment for the bridge workers sweating and toilng against the tide.

finally made it the other side of the bridge and into much calmer water and back to the car.
met another kayak dude when i got there and he seem somewhat impressed by my effort and yet mystified by my extreme stupidity.
'hey yeah look at the white water out there' was his comment.
in the end it only took about 25mins longer to get back than go out so i dont know what i was worried about.
apart from the few brief thoughts of ditching the 'craft' and walking back to the car :)

when TOH got home that night i tested her mariners knowledge (she has her boating licence) by asking her about tides and when they are the worst.
she asked me when high and low tide was and basically the worst time to go against it is midway between high and low which i of course had.
after she stopped laughing she then asked me when full moon was as this is the bad time as well.
oh dear.
more laughter ensued.
wont make that mistake again.
at least it felt like i had 'an adventure'.
later that week went from the other end of bulimba creek and had a much nicer time with the tides.

tuesday: 2.5hr paddle
wednesday: nothing
thursday: golf
friday: massage
saturday: away
sunday: away gentle swim
monday: nothing
tuesday: 2.5hr paddle and 15min gentle bike
thursday: 30min gentle bike, pilates and massage
friday: nothing
saturday: 30min gentle bike
sunday: nothing

3 more sleeps until i can run :)

posted by undercover brother at 9:14 PM 2 comments 14 days

geeeeeee i am keen to get back running.
my other layoffs this year havent been so hard.
guess its the alpine running season and i am damn keen to get going again.
was commenting the other night at cr drinks that all the kayaking and swimming was nearly keeping me sane .... nearly.
have done some nice exploring down norman creek though and will have a look at bulimba creek tomorrow.
got TOH her kayak last week so we have 2 singles.
and have finally 'solved' the roofrack thing: going with the kayak cradle/roofrack holding 1 then the second in the boot.
just cant fit TOH and 2 kayaks in the one car without risking seeing one kayak fly off down the road.
we have quite a few river/creek access points close by so TOH can follow in her car.
we did discuss simply buying a new car to fit the two $700 kayaks in ;)
or maybe we should just buy a house on the riverfront? :)

tuesday: 1.5km swim
thursday: 1km swim (couldnt be assed)
friday: 2hr kayak and pilates and massage and cr drinks!
saturday: 1.5hr kayak (easy)
monday: 1.5km swim

nice to catch up with the gang on friday.

posted by undercover brother at 4:00 PM 1 comments 1st photo is for tesso: inside of my car is 2.85m long. kayak is 2.82m long.
2nd photo according to vegie is me running away for the circus. and yes yvette i am happy to drop you off to cirque in my new kayak!

tuesday: 1000m swim (a bit buggered!)
wednesday: off
thursday: pilates, massage and 2hr paddle (a bit rainy!)
friday: off
saturday: 1500m swim
sunday: gentle paddle with TOH and the dogs. the bichon got a little scared when i started heading towards a flock of pelicans with her in the boat!
monday: golf. scored under 50 for 9 holes for first time in a while. playing 3 times a year has finally caught up with me :)
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