My brother's dog Sasha

A couple of weeks ago, Sasha passed away at the grand old age of 16. Sasha was three parts border collie and one part kelpie and came from a farm in Spring Hill, near Orange, NSW. I gave her to my brother for Christmas in 1996. She was small enough to sit in her food bowl.

She lived with him in Newtown for five years. Although she wasn't really trained, she did learn 'kill him', which meant attacking Digger (my old dog) and play fighting. 

Because the neighbourhood cats liked to parade around the top of the backyard fence, taunting Sasha, she was taught 'Where's the pussycat?', which was her cue to run around in circles, looking up and barking. She still did this long after leaving Newtown.

Sasha didn't last in the city and she went to live with mum on her property in Bowral. Digger joined her in 2003. They became fast friends, with Digger religiously checking under her tail every day to see if she was in season (she was desexed).

Sasha wasn't convinced she was a dog - she always identified much more closely with humans. Digger was really the only dog she bonded with.

Sasha was never satisfied with just a stick. She collected the logs from mum's wood pile and brought them to the back door to chew on. If you threw her a ball or a stick, she'd come back to you, but dance a short distance away from you, refusing to give up her prize.

The thing I most loved about Sasha was that she talked to you. It drove my mum crazy that I talked back, which just encouraged her to talk louder. She also barked at vehicles, just long enough to ensure they started. This included cars, tractors, mowers, and vacuum cleaners. She got terribly excited when we played pool, barking and running circles around the house whenever she heard the clinking of balls.

In the end, mum couldn't quite work out when Sasha was going to go. She was completely deaf, so never came when she was called, which caused a few scares. Mum was so convinced that Sasha was on her last legs in the last few weeks that she dug a hole ready for her burial. Maybe that was what finished her off - she realised that everyone else had given up on her, Digger was recently gone, so she was on her own for the first time since 2003, and she thought, well, it was time to go.

I finished a 100km kayak event!

Happy and smiling at the beginning of the 2012 Hawkesbury Canoe Classic

I am very proud to say that I finished the 2012 Hawkesbury Canoe Classic this weekend. Read about it in my blog entry last week. There were many times during the race when I considered the option of pulling out, or wondered how I could summon the energy to finish, but my stubborness got me to the finish line.

I started paddling at Windsor at 4.15pm. I made good progress in the first 30 km stage to Sackville. I maintained an average speed of 7.9 km/hr and arrived at Sackville 15 minutes before my predicted time. I was starting to feel tired, but still felt well and truly good enough to continue. 30 km is the longest distance I had ever paddled before entering this race.

The sun set while I was at Sackville on my 15 minute break. I changed into a thermal top, put on dry pants, changed my sunglasses to clear glasses (for the bugs and splash), had a bite to eat, stocked up on bananas and then jumped back in my kayak.

I set off from Sackville in the dark. Despite there being a full moon, there was complete cloud cover. While it wasn't too dark at this point, later in the night it was pitch black, and I had to rely completely on my GPS (as did a few other paddlers who had only taken maps). Once again I made good time on the 30 km from Sackville to Wiseman's Ferry. This is generally regarded as the hardest part of the race, because you're paddling at the time when your body normally goes to sleep. I struggled with cramps in my upper arms, and my bum had started to ache. When you use the correct technique, you swivel your bum on your seat, so that you can use body rotation to help pull the paddle back in the water. I had padding on my seat, but either I haven't got it exactly right yet, or it just takes some getting used to.

The thing that saved me on this stretch was wash riding. This is where you sit with the nose of your boat right on the tail of someone else's boat and benefit from their wash. You save up to 30% of your energy and can also pick up speed with less effort. As an example, I picked up my top speed of 11.7 km/hr while wash riding. I was following a karaoke boat (they had music playing), which made it even more pleasant. I don't think I could have finished this section as easily without this help. Once again I arrived at my next rest spot about half an hour ahead of program.

Still happy and smiling at 1am during a
clothing and food stop at Wisemans Ferry

I was in great spirits at Wiseman's Ferry. I stopped for 45 minutes and mainly rested and took advantage of the toilets. Some people pee in their boats, but I just can't bring myself to do that. I hadn't eaten much on the last stretch because I was feeling nauseus, and only managed to eat one sausage during my break (not enough).

I had a great start out of Wiseman's, paddling at 8 km/hr for an hour. Then I crashed. I was tired, my arms, wrist and bum were aching, my neck was tight, and my heels had blistered. After another hour of reasonable speed but a regular sensation of wanting to nod off to sleep, I couldn't resist the call of the sirens at the Low Tide Pit Stop. This stop is a low island that gets completely covered at high tide, so is a mud pit at low tide. The service at this stop is excellent though. They pull you and your boat up over the deep mud, so you can stay relatively clean, then serve you with tea/coffee, scones and other sweet treats and provide a fantastic fire to warm you up. It's a great pick-me-up and people sometimes find it hard to leave. Unfortunately as I left, the action of my kayak sliding slowly back on the mud, then rapidly gaining speed as it hit the water (backwards), resulted in me half falling in the water. Not good at 3 am, when it was around 10 degrees and there was a cool breeze.

Fortunately I dried off pretty quickly. I handled the first 5 km at a good speed; partly to stay warm. That burst of speed died off and I found myself facing my final 15 km with zero energy, severe body aches and insufficient mental energy to push me through. I had to keep going though, and that painful 15 km took me three hours, paddling against the tide and wind.

As I approached the finish line, paddling at about 3 km/hr, I began crying. I think it was from relief, but I got some funny looks from spectators. I needed help to get out of my boat, as I had no strength left in my arms or my legs but I survived the race with very little damage. No major blisters, abrasions from things rubbing against your skin for hours while you are wet, and my tennis elbow hasn't flared up. I am just exhausted and sore, and I'm sure I'll forget all about that in a week or two.

I arrived at Mooney Mooney at 8.05am, giving me a total time of 15 hours and 50 minutes, which apparantly is respectable for a first-timer. That time includes my stops that totalled about 1 hour 20 minutes, leaving a paddling time of 14 hours 30 minutes (6.9 km/hr).

Hopefully this blog will remind me how hard the Classic is, when someone tries to convince me to enter it in 2013.

A big thankyou to everyone that sponsored me in this event. The Classic raised over $200,000 for the Arrow Bone Marrow Transplant Foundation. A special thanks also goes to my landcrew (she knows who she is). I couldn't have done the race without her.




Training for the Hawkesbury Canoe Classic

How does one train for a 111 km paddle? Especially when one gets tennis elbow and can't paddle for a month immediately prior to the race?

I was doing so well up until the beginning of September. I was cycling about two hours a week, climbing about 1.5 hours a week, walking my dog every day, and had just started stepping up the distance I was kayaking, with a 12 km paddle on the Wednesday night and then a 20 km paddle on the following Monday. On Tuesday 4 September my training came to a crashing halt, with the pain in my arm preventing me from picking up my teapot.

I spent a month getting physiotherapy, which in addition to resting my arm and switching to using my computer mouse with my left hand, made a big difference. To maintain my fitness, I did a little cycling, and took up running regularly. I hate running, but cycling wasn't the best for my arm, and I needed the cardio. My dog didn't mind! Very nice Physio as well, which made enduring the pain much easier ;)



Paddling on the Lane Cove River in Sydney at sunset



Since the beginning of October I've been back in my boat, starting with a 2 km paddle (not worth getting the kayak out for this distance normally), then gradually increasing that by increments. I completed 4 km, then 7 km, then 9 km, then 11 km, gradually decreasing the number of days between each paddle. In the last week I paddled 12.5 km on Wednesday night, 12 km on Friday morning, and 24 km on Sunday night, and am pleased that my arm didn't flare up. I've also noticed that my cardiovascular fitness is excellent, thanks to running with my dog; if only my arms were strong enough to push me along faster (and yes, for the paddlers out there, I am rotating but you still need arm strength in the end).

My plan is to do another 12 km paddle on Tuesday morning, with an easy going 6 km on Wednesday night. After that I might just stick to walking the dog and making sure I sleep well.

I'm told that if you can paddle 30 km, you can finish the race because you've just got to do it twice more. Seems a furphy to me because I was pretty sore after the 24 km, but we'll see...

The Hawkesbury Canoe Classic

The Hawkesbury Canoe Classic first ran in 1977 and involves a paddle of 111 km from Windsor to Mooney Mooney, NSW. This year 535 paddlers have registered so far, paddling in 352 canoes. There could be up to four people in a canoe/kayak and up to six people in an outrigger. Unbelievably, since 2008, there have been people doing the course on stand up paddle boards!

Each year, the race raises money for medical research, with the Arrow Bone Marrow Transplant Foundation this years beneficiary. Each paddler is required to raise at least $200 through sponsorship. If they don't; they have to make up the difference.

Please help me raise money for the Arrow Bone Marrow Transplant Foundation by going to my sponsorship page. You'll get a receipt for your tax refund and a big thankyou from me!

The paddlers start between 4–6 pm and can take anywhere from under 9 hours to over 18 hours. I think I'll take about 15–16 hours including one hour for breaks. The race is run overnight on the last weekend of October to take advantage of calmer conditions and less boat traffic. I regularly paddle at night and it's a wonderful feeling once you get over not being able to see the banks and work out where the corners are. It's quiet, calm, the water shines, and the occasional fish jumps out of the water. Fortunately this year there is a full moon.

So why on earth do people want to do a 111 km paddle at night? Some people are pretty serious about paddling and are looking to win one of the divisions, some like a challenge, some are joining in because they want to support the selected charity, and others are just nuts. I think I fit into the challenge category. I started paddling at the beginning of the year, so I have no idea whether I can even finish the thing, but I figure that if I just keep plugging on, I'll make it!

There is no requirement at all to finish the race. Some choose to paddle to the first major checkpoint at Sackville, others choose to paddle to Wiseman's Ferry, and others pull out for a variety of reasons along the way. If you make it as far as Wiseman's you get one point for your club (if you belong to one). I am a member of the Lane Cove River Kayakers, who have won the cup for the most points 18 times since 1990 and hold multiple records in different divisions. By far the largest division is the Brooklyn or Bust group, who leave first and often finish last. This is considered the social group, but there are still some serious paddlers.

We can't forget the land crew and volunteers who make it all possible. Volunteers run the start area and scrutineering, they man the checkpoints, some of which are on a boat in the middle of the river, and they man the finish. Every person that enters the race must have a land crew to support them, even if there are six people in one craft. The land crew bring your car from the start to the finish, and make sure their paddler stays alive by providing them with changes of clothing, food, water, medication, and whatever else they need. If they're unlucky, they have to clean out a boat that may have wee in it (some people don't hold it and don't stop). A big thankyou to Leita for agreeing to be my land crew :)

Letting my dog Digger go

A dog is so much more than a pet to me. They are a companion, comforter, foot-warmer, they amuse, they keep you fit. Digger was with me through some major events in my life, and I was very sad to see him go last month. At the age of 12 years, he had an average innings for a spaniel, but longer than any of us expected considering his health issues.

Digger was a Welsh Springer Spaniel. He started out life a rich red colour, full of beans and with his nose permanently attached to the ground (it was rather a big nose). As a puppy he was forever trying to keep up with working dogs, but was most remembered for walking straight into tanks and walls when he was on a scent. 

From the age of six months he saw me through a pretty hard year, which would have been a lot harder without him. We had some good moments though. He got lots of runs on the beach chasing seagulls, and had regular walks in the hills. He would sit on my balcony, watching people play AFL in the park below, and watch his ball bounce down the stairs before fetching it again. My favourite memory is our road trip around Queensland and New South Wales, camping in state forests, reserves or campgrounds. He learnt to 'look', which led to much excitement when he jumped up to look out the front windscreen at emus and kangaroos.

After that year I went overseas, and stayed over there on and off for a long time. Digger went to live with my mum on the farm, which was the end of his being well-groomed and trained. After he buried a few of the neighbour's chooks in shallow graves (he didn't eat them), mum had to put chicken wire around her entire 10 acre block. He then happily resigned himself to chasing the wild ducks on the dams, which he never caught.

Digger was a quiet dog. He never really barked until he went to live with my mum and her dog Sasha. Sasha is a Border Collie who thinks that any form of machinery won't start unless she barks. Once it has started she trots off satisfied. Digger just barked at Sasha. While they were still both young, they rumbled all the time. He checked under Sasha's tail every day, always in hope, even though they were both desexed.

At about six years old, Digger started losing the hair on his stomach, his red hair started going white, and he lost all his energy. He had an underactive thyroid and spent the rest of his life on medication. From the age of nine he had to take steroids to take away the pain of pinched nerves due to lost cartilage between the vertebrae in his neck and arthritis in his knees.

My new pup Bailey adored Digger, much to Digger's annoyance, who didn't hesitate to put him in his place. Digger went out with a bang, spending the day running around the farm following the tractor. He passed away during the night, we suspect due to a heart attack. Even though he lived with mum for longer than he lived with me, he holds a special place in my memories, and I hope he's much more comfortable now.

Desktop Publishing

Layout of a postcard incorporating photo montage, reflections, conversion to grayscale and transparency.



Most who know me, will know that I haven't been around much this year, as I've been off to class every Saturday. I'm doing a Certificate in Desktop Publishing at Technical and Further Education (TAFE).

My interest in this course stemmed from taking on responsibility for laying out the newsletter for my outdoors club. I had done a newsletter in Adobe InDesign, but found it onerous, despite working through various tutorials. Even though it was hard work, I really enjoyed it and wanted to learn more. I found the course I was looking for through TAFE.

TAFE courses are varied, interesting and great value for money. In the first semester I had six hours of 'face' time, and in the second four and a half hours a week. All this for less than $500 for the year. An added bonus was being able to buy software at student prices (and with discounts of up to 80% off I think you almost get your course fees back).

We've mostly worked in Adobe InDesign, but have also been introduced to various aspects of Photoshop and Illustrator. I feel more than confident enough now to try out new things in each of these software packages. On top of that we've learnt a lot about colour and fonts, and the design and printing industries. We had to do a client project, and we're expected to produce output to industry standard.

I've had great fun laying out magazine and DVD covers, product catalogues, posters and information sheets, tables, and creating pictures with text.

I may have lost my Saturdays for the year, but I've certainly gained a lot of new skills and had fun doing it.

Reading the Man Booker list

I read a lot, but always found walking into a bookshop a bewildering experience because there were just too many choices to make.

This situation changed while on a holiday in Italy. I had a few days to fill and with high heats outside, I needed a book to fill in the long afternoon siesta in the refuge of my air-conditioned room. Being Italy, there was only a limited choice of books in English. I found a selection of three interesting books, took them back to my room, and couldn't put them down.

I don't know whether it was happenstance that all three books were either winners of or shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, but my curiousity was aroused. Given that all three books I had just read were excellent, I had to be on to something.

The Man Booker Prize for Fiction started as the Booker McConnell Prize in 1968, set up by the company of the same name. It is a literary prize that is awarded once a year to the best original full-length novel, written in English by a citizen of the Commonwealth, Ireland or Zimbabwe. In 2002 the Booker Prize Foundation took over, sponsored by the Man Group. Each year they select a longlist, which is then narrowed down to a shortlist of between four and seven novels, from which they select a winner.

I have now read thirteen winning or shortlisted novels of the Man Booker Prize, with the oldest so far being from the 2001 list. I have yet to strike a novel that hasn't been a good read, with some of them so gripping that all else in my life has been sidelined until the novel was finished. One or two left me a little undecided, and as I intend to review them as I finish them, you'll soon find out why.

Never again will I have to suffer indecision as I enter a bookshop (or shop for a book online). I have my list of Man Booker prizewinners handy, and my decision is made. With nearly 300 books in the list so far, it should keep me busy for a while.