Safety

[Editor: Here's a story just in from Sydney, Australia, that illustrates just how important it can be to carry a communications device when paddling offshore.  Well done to Dale Jackson and Steve Randall for having a mobile phone that they could summon help with when they got into trouble.]

 

No matter how many times I've rounded Cape Recife - and I've been going there all my life - I feel a mixture of respect and fear; if you don't it will eat you. -Richard von Wildemann

Richard 'Chopper' von Wildeman rides a biggie near Cape Recife - Dec 22, 2008

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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The surf only cranks seriously at Bikini Beach a few times a year. So when the forecast came in late last week we started to dribble with excitement.

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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!

The GPS track showing the ski's last moments as it dived for the rocks at 15kph

[Editor: Paul Rosenquist took part in the recent Dubai Shamaal race.  He's from Sweden and is one of a small but rapidly expanding group of Swedish surfski enthusiasts.]

After Dubai I headed home with even higher levels of enthusiasm for the sport of Surfski Paddling - the game of using superior strength to catch waves which gives one even more superior speed.

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[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...

Having had one or two close scrapes in my time I've had opportunity to reflect on them (with relief) and learn something (like not repeating said stints again), but my most recent (repeat act) has bothered me sufficiently to feel the need to share it with you. Who knows, it might help prevent someone from being as complacent (stupid) as I was recently...