This Tuesday is looking good to do our mega down-winder from Port Melbourne to Frankstone.
Who's interested?
DJ
Forecast for Tuesday
Winds: North to northeasterly 15 to 20 knots tending northerly 20 to 30 knots
around dawn then tending northwesterly 30 to 40 knots around midday then
tending westerly 25 to 35 knots during the late afternoon. Seas: 0.5 to 1
metres increasing to 1 to 1.5 metres during the morning then increasing to 2
metres during the afternoon. Isolated thunderstorms in the afternoon and
evening.
What about Jonathan and Lobes.. .. big Mike B? .. John?.. Nic? .. Pete?.. Paul or Luke? ..and any girls up to it?.. Helke or Luicy?
DJ
I'm in! The forecast for Monday night/Tuesday is brutal 150km/hour winds in some areas. My kids school camp in the Otways has just been cancelled because of the wind and fire risks.
Also just want to say to people that haven't done this before, we will pace to the slowest members comfort level, or if there are enough people split into two groups. It's very easy to just sit down and rest for a while and let everyone re-group, no need to be freaked out! It's great fun.
Sorry you can't make it Oliver.. I'm lucky it on my day off.
We have five confermed at this stage.
David P
Dave H
Jonathan C
Christian (Lobes)
Pete H
I'm thinking about 930-10am start at the latest.
DJ
Dave H, why don't we drop my Landcruiser off at Frankston - it can take the five boards and all of us back in one go.
As you will be 2 or more K's off shore. I would
suggest lifejackets. I have seen that part of the
bay at its worst.... Leg ropes should be mandatory
also. Not trying to freak you out... Just really want
you to be safe, confident and having fun. A handheld
GPS would be a good idea, The stretch out from Chelsea
can be quite confusing... and GPS would give you a GO TO!
These things need to be taken by each person
Leg rope (no leash = no paddle IMHO)
water bottle or camelbak
sun protection
lil bit of money in case we have to bail out and make arrangements on the fly
life jacket I am less convinced by. While never a bad idea it would add weight and bulk. I would be willing to chance it without one.
Also between us I think we should have at least two phones, a few whistles and maybe a flare or torch. Some duct tape and possibly a spare paddle (your travel paddle Jonathon?) are things to also consider.
Handheld GPS would be great if anyone has one.
further to the GPS I might see if i can find a compass I can duct tape to the nose of my board. I used to have one of those orienteering/bushwalking ones that would do the trick. Will see if i can dig it up.
I will bring two spare paddles... One on the end of each arm..
As long as we have the sun in the sky I don't think we'll be needing a compass.
DJ
yeah I know, i know. I'm just a gear freak LoL I'll be talking eskys and camera rigs next if i dont rein myself in
but you never know, it could be too smoky to see the sun
Please make sure you all have leg ropes attached and plenty of safety gear (flares, radios/mobiles, whistles, first aid kit, high visability clothings etc. A spare paddle is also a good idea. Dale Chapman and I did a paddle from Byron Bay to Burleigh heads (70km) on Friday. I broke my paddle handle with about 20km to go. Having a spare was very worth while. We had 2 Jet-Skis as support so this was also very helpful. On the leg-rope side once the wind gets over 20kts you can easily lose your board if you fall off. Don't paddle without one.
If you want any more safety hints on how to do these long downwinders properly please let me know. We don't want any accidents out there.
Have fun!
Tip away Mikeman. This is easily the longest paddle I've ever attempted and in possibly the highest winds too.
I'd be interested to know what sort of equipment you take with you and importantly which of this equipment is the most utilised/useful
also how do you secure it to your board or do you wear a backpak or something?
Like Oliver, I will be stuck at work. I hope you guys have a great day. You won't need a compass - just keep the land on your left! I believe a paddling life jacket is a really good idea. The one I use has a water bladder in it, so it serves two purposes. Also has handy pockets for the whistle, a knife, munchy bars etc. and is not restrictive to paddle with. I also think you don't need the gps. IMO, a waterproof handheld marine radio is a more useful accessory. From memory, Jonathan C has one? We took it on the Stony Point trip.
We use standard surfboard legropes (4-6mm is fine) and attach them to the leach plug at the tail. Both Dale and I used DC16 boards which all have these as standard features. On one of our trial paddles we went out in about a 25knt day and learnt the hard way that these are essential items. If you fall off and get seperated from your board it can end up cart wheeling away from you and you will be in a bit of trouble.
We also made both of our boards as brightly coloured as possible. My board is safety orange all over (dayglow orange would be better) and Dale's has safety orange patches. I would advise at least making some part of your board as bright as you can, just in case you need rescuing. We also spray painted the back of our paddle blades orange if we needed to use this to attract attention. Our clothing was also pretty bright and we will use high reflective attachements next time. It's no good if the rescue people cannot see you. So whatever you come up with make it as easy for these guys to find you. Avoid using white as you will be the same colour as the white caps. Use dayglow with high contrast.
I don't know what kind of coastguard resources you have over there but we sent our expected progress through to all of the relevant VMR agencies on the way. We phoned in every few hours so that they could update our progress. They were very helpful and appreciative of the fact that we tried to make their job of rescuing us as easy as possible.
I would also advise each paddler to carry at least 1 flare (rocket or smoke). If anyone gets seperated from the group and they run into trouble they need to be able to get spotted by the rest of the group or rescue people.
Don't be put off by all of this emphasis on being safe. You will have a blast! You will have a lot more fun knowing that you have things well covered than you will if you leave things to chance.
Have fun!
Thanks mikeman.. Some great advise there.
It's shame John that you can't make it.. I know you'd love to do it with us.
Jonathan.. Thanks for your offer to drive us all back to St Kilda.. I'll be at Frankstone at 830-845 to pick you up.. So let's aim for a 930 start.
I think Kerford Rd pier would be a good starting point but we'll see what the exact wind is then..
..the more noreast..the more we need to start from St Kilda pier.. the more norwest..the more we need to start from Station pier.
DJ
I'll be using a 12' Naish Glide. DJ will too most likely. Jonathan has a Starboard 12'6" which i tried on a downwinder last week and was surprised how well it went.
In general the longer the better in my experience.
At the bottom of Oliver's Hill there is a boat ramp, and lots of rocks. In a northerly it gets very rough and nasty there. Best to finish on the beach between the boat ramp and the pier. It would be too easy to ding your boards getting out at the boat ramp in those conditions, and you'll be fairly stuffed after the long paddle.