Geographe Regatta - February 2012

Long Boat Run Bunbury to Busselton

Crew 1 below...

Crew 2 to the right....

We left the Yacht Club in Busselton at 5 am, rigged in Bunbury and paddled out of Casuarina Harbour at 6:45 on a chilly Sunday morning in February. 3 hours and 45 minutes later we changed crews at Peppermint Grove and Pai Hoe Waka continued south to Busselton. She arrived at the end of a 52 km paddle 6 hours and 12 minutes after leaving Bunbury. We spent the rest of the afternoon under the tent on the beach quaffing a few coldies from Kim and Marnie's wedding, enjoying a sausage sizzle, Gail's cherry cheese cake, old lies about outrigging and each other's company.

Much thanks to Anita and Barb for transporting sleepy people and lengthy trailers very, very early in the morning. Stay tuned for our next Long Boat adventure in the surf.

On Land or Water... Anita's Speedy!

After a Saturday morning training session in the outriggers last week Anita competed in the annual Busselton 5 km fun run. She finished in a blistering 24 minutes and 38 seconds - coming first in her category, 8th out of all 96 female competitors and 31st out of all 183 who ran that morning. Congrats Anita!

Mandurah Duel 2012

Sunday 15th January, Pat, John, Dave, Tony,Vic, Bill with Anita & Jill (the support crew) drove to Mandurah to compete in the Ocean vs Estuary Duel. This was their first year competing as last year this race had to be rescheduled 3 times due to weather conditions. They eventually found the rigging area which was in the canals near the Dawsville Cut. Space was tight as not only were there OC6's but sea kayakers as well. With not much time to spare the boys headed out to the start line.
7 OC6's were competing in 2 divisions (mixed & men's). Once the flags went up a group headed along the coast while the Geo crew decided to follow the Mandurah crews (local knowledge?) out to sea. The conditions were fairly trying with a fresh sea breeze running and choppy waters. Bill had to fight to prevent the canoe from capsizing while there were numerous times when the other paddlers had no water to pull due to the swell.
As the canoes were converging at Halls Head to head into the Estuary the boys were putting in to chase down the Mandurah's mens team while Cottesloe were closing in fast on Geographe. It was a hard slog to the finish line but even though they weren't able to catch Manduarh they were able to keep Cottesloe at bay.
Finishing 2nd in the mens division by 8 seconds and 5th overall in a time of 1hr 16min 39secs was a tremendous effort by the boys!!

Busselton Jetty Races 2012

Meelup Long Boat Run - 2 January 2012

The first Long Boat of the season launched from Meelup Beach early yesterday morning and the battle started almost immediately. A solid swell and strong winds prevented us from taking the direct route across the Bay; instead we opted for a dog-leg to Dunsborough and on to Quinalup and up the coast for home. Four hours of challenging conditions with a strong and determined crew - a great mixture for an early season training run.

Total Lunar Eclipse Paddle - December 2011

A beautiful night to be on the Bay - a paddle to the Jetty under the full moon, drifting offshore watching the full lunar eclipse and then a glass of wine on the beach. It doesn't get much better than that!

2011 Bay to Beach

27 November 2011
The Bay to Beach was once again our first race for the season. This year the team consisted of 3 new members Louise Coffey, Nick Taylor and Luke Cresswell as well as Bill Parsons (steerer), Dave Botting and Tony Johansen. The early conditions were good, a light SE. The number of OC6's was down on last year with 5 teams competing, 2 from Mandurah, Wavemasters from Bunbury, Cottesloe and ourselves.
OC6's were 1st to go this year which made it easier for the steerers not having to dodge kayakers. It was a smooth paddle along the river until the wind started to pick up (SW) once we got out of the heads. We crossed the line in increasing wind and seas in 1hour 38 minutes (unofficial), 10 minutes quicker than last year. This was a great effort especially as it was a 17km paddle and the first event for our newies.

Official Shed Opening and Canoe Naming & Blessing Ceremony

Dec 4th 2010. It was a significant day in the history of the Geographe Outriggers as firstly the club's canoe shed was officially opened and secondly two of the club's OC6s were named and blessed.
The day began with club President Anita Parsons welcoming everyone including local MLA Troy Buswell, WA Zone President Norman Lewis and Mandurah OCC members Colin and Julie Bartley. Club stalwart Laurie Haynes then gave a brief history of the club and how the shed came into being. Troy Buswell performed the ceremonial duties of cutting the ribbon.
The party then moved to the beach where a modified traditional canoe Naming and Blessing ceremony was conducted by club member Bill Parsons. The two canoes named were Makani Kai (ocean spirit) and Pai Hoe Waka (good paddling canoe). The ceremony concluded with both canoes being paddled a short distance off shore and floral wreaths were placed in the water.

2010 Mainpeak Bay to Beach Canoe Race

28 Nov 2010. The Geographe Outriggers entered a crew in the Mainpeak Bay to Beach canoe race. The 17km race started at Freshwater Bay Yacht Club, proceeded down the Swan River, through Fremantle Harbour and along the coast to Cottesloe Beach. The conditions were windy but the seas were flat. We finished 7th in the OC6 category in 1hr 48mins which was 16 mins behind the winners Mandurah.

30-01-2010 Geographe Regatta

9-01-2010 Wavemasters Regatta

1-01-2010 Moonlight Paddle

Voila... an Outrigger Canoe Shed!

Lock-up stage with a few of the proud workers. Great effort to everyone who has contributed to the shed construction which is ahead of schedule. There are still a number of small jobs ahead, so let's keep at it while the energy is there.

Shed Construction

Having a shed to house the canoes and a place we can call home was a dream - now closer to reality... pictures show the off-the-water teamwork.

Thanks Dave for managing the team and to everyone who has pitched in so far. This is Dave placing the first shovel of concrete into the footings. Sheer concentration prevents him from looking at the camera!

2009/10 season under way

Welcome to the 2009/10 season. We have four OC6 canoes rigged up and ready to go. New members are welcome to come and try out and have some fun on the water whilst getting fit.

Training sessions are on Saturday mornings from 9.00 am and Wednesday evenings from 5.15 pm.

Paddle the beautiful blue waters of Geographe Bay.

Training starts Mid October

The season is about to start...
Men's, Women's, Mixed Teams.
Join us for a paddle:
Wednesday's 5.15pm sharp and Saturday's 9.00-11am at the yacht club.

The first goal is to get time in the canoes to build up paddle fitness.
Paddlers will need to work on timing and correct technique.
The club has bought a video camera for stroke analysis.

If you are new to outrigging bring a rashie, shorts, footwear and a water bottle.The first session will involve learning about the culture of outrigging and the basics of paddling.

See you on the water...
Laurie
Club Coach

2009 Geographe Crossing - the big one!

This year's crossing - 57km from Bunbury to Busselton was into a gruelling headwind and slowed the field. Our mixed team completed the race in 7hrs 20mins - about 1.5hrs slower than usual!

Mandurah Regatta - 7/03/09

Paddle to Meelup - 28/02/09