nsri

Chasing 3m breaking waves in 35kt gusts is the best fun you can have outside of tangled sheets – but gear failure can be a much bigger issue.  You have to be mentally and physically prepared for things to go wrong…

Sea Rescue – National – Wednesday, 18 August, 2010. WARNING – Shark activity close inshore.

The NSRI and Save Our Seas foundation are warning bathers, paddlers and surfers to be acutely aware that at this time of year sharks migrate towards the shoreline in search of food.

A respected paddler died last night of a suspected heart attack during a weekly ocean race in False Bay, despite a co-ordinated rescue effort by lifesavers and the NSRI to save him.

3 September 2009, Port Elizabeth, South Africa: The body of 37-year-old Barry Guy Marshall was recovered from the sea 10nm off Port Elizabeth according to NSRI spokesman Craig Lambinon.

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ABC News, Austrlalia: Police hold grave fears for a man who has been missing since telling his mother he was going for a quick paddle on his surf kayak on the New South Wales Central Coast.

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I watched the ski roll downwind, and knew that I'd blown it - big time.  Not only was I faced with a 300m swim to the beach but the wind was blowing it offshore - with my paddle and my GPS.  And I'd just started advertising the ski for sale.  DAMNATION!

[Editor: Steve Price from Hobart, Tasmania contributed this salutory tale of a less than pleasant experience.  I know of at least three paddles that have broken in the last couple of weeks - are you prepared for this?]

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[Editor: Six weeks ago, David Scheen disappeared during a paddle near his home town Peterborough in Victoria, Australia.  Some of his gear, along with his smashed ski, was found the next day.  Here's a follow up report from The Standard online.]

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Editor: It's with a heavy heart that we publish this story - David Scheen from Victoria, Australia is missing after setting out on a training paddle yesterday.  I met David in Hawaii earlier this year where he paddled the Molokai Challenge - he's a strong paddler, but the story looks grim.  Keep him in your thoughts and let's hope for a positive outcome...

David Scheen, pictured in Hawaii in May this year