Sale to Sea- packing

After a very tense fortnight, imagining all sorts of disappointing scenarios, I am finally packing for the big week.

With a smile on my face, and a normal pulse rate.

I say tense because I had a person indicate to me that I would not make the distance and I was not training enough. Suffice to say the words must have acted on some sort of level, and despite being a confident person in general I began to have irrational self doubt. The sort that can really destroy strong mental preparedness.

Having said all that, I am most certainly unsure how I will go across such distances as we will attempt particularly in the first two days (Wednesday 48 kms, Thursday 40 kms). But it is one thing to be open to the fact that a goal should be shifted from "I will get to the end' to "I will have a rockin time" and another for you to expect not to make it. This is what negative dialogue does to mental preparedness.

And so I reflect on the reason why I am participating in the first place.

Imagine a world where every day people focus on what you can't do rather than what you can. Imagine that the physical world around you (sidewalks, shops), people around you (those that pass you with a wide berth, or look disparagingly or worse with pity) all tell the same story. You can't do that, you can't come in here. You don't belong.

This is what some people with a disability face every day of their lives.

Frankly, that is all BS. Large stinking piles of it. We, meaning all of us, can do something if we put our mind to it. And even if we don't succeed in that way we should bloody well be given the encouragement to try. The Sale to Sea challenge is an opportunity for people of all abilities to try and that is a blessed thing.

So thanks to all my beautiful friends who responded to my request to send me quotes that inspire them. I have compiled a double sided laminated board that will sit in the deck pocket of my kayak. Like a little pulsing positive energy source! I have not used everyone's offerings, but I certainly read all of them, and in combination there was some healing power helping me to erase the stupid off the cuff comments of someone who didn't realise their own toxicity.

To trying, and seeing what happens next! See you on the other side, this chick is off paddling.

Sale to Sea Challenge 2013

Photo courtesy of Rohan at East Coast Kayaking

In a few short days I and many others will embark on a marvellous challenge, to kayak 120 kilometres from the Port of Sale to Lakes Entrance in Victoria across 4 days.

The event is called Sale to Sea and is a kayak challenge for people of all abilities.The event also raises money for Limbs4life, and for those living with disabilities, some who want to attend the next Paralympic Games.

I came to know about the challenge as a school friend, Mary spoke about the event and her wishing to participate in celebration of her beautiful daughter. Was there someone out there who wanted to come?

Hell yeah, that was all the encouragement I needed. Who would not want to paddle with a group of people, all wanting to enjoy the beauty of the Gippsland Lakes? I should explain that not having been in a sea kayak or having any concept of the skill involved was no barrier, I just said yes, the detail I would work out later I reasoned. Sometimes you just have to jump......

For all particpants the challenge will be exactly that- a personal challenge. I know that I will struggle with the distance having tested my endurance only to 20 kilometres and being at novice level. I am hopeful my enthusiasm will compensate for a lack of technique. But for me this is more about hanging out with like minded people who appreciate the value of life and feel a tremendous sense of wonder when in the natural world. All this in an organised event run by Andrew Bedggood and Sale to Sea leaders who understand safety and have every contigency in place.

So I signed up for a Sea Starter course with East Coast Kayaking. Simon and Peter my instructors were fabulous and even in the first couple of hours I was racking up mental tips to help me sort out the bad habits I had so quickly developed. Then I jumped into Beyond Basics with East Coast a week later and a trip with instructors Rohan and Raia from Mushroom Reef to Gunnamatta Beach. And it was on this trip that I realised the distance I was about to attempt. Insert healthy dose of respect!

So while I passionately hope that I make the distance and can motivate others to, for me the real goal is to breathe, and immerse myself in this amazing treasure in our backyard. I want to re-connect and hopefully life will slow down and simplify for four blissful days and I will find myself smiling and surprised by what I can achieve.

I will keep you posted!


"The cure for anything is salt water- sweat, tears or the sea." Isak Dinesan

We push on

It has been a difficult week.

I know it has because I feel as if there is a rock sitting in the pit of my gutt, wishing it would pass, knowing it will and trying to be patient.

It has to become a stone and then a pebble and then a grain of sand, and therefore not such a load to carry.



"What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside of you."
Ralph Waldo Emerson, American Poet 1803- 1882

Looking forward

The close of a year and start of the next always makes me vaguely nostalgic.

There is a little reflection on world events, some personal tragedies and triumphs and inevitably a statement along the lines of 'I will find the time to do more next year'.

And that is about as close as I come to making a New Year's Resolution.

In fact I have never made one...oh...that is a lie, there was a half hearted attempt at not swearing which failed at about 4am on New Year's Day.

So it is always a surprise to me that so many people do. Research suggests that around 45% of the population start the New Year with one or more resolutions.

For some it is an opportunity to clean the slate and set a goal that will change their life for the better, others prefer to be more...whimsical. I asked some brave friends to share what they were looking forward to in 2013.

Wendy- "I am looking forward to being challenged at work in a new role."

Jack- "I will not ask google everytime I have a question. I will try and figure it out myself."

Peter- "I want do less laundry and use less deodarant, and keep my girlfriend."

Deanne- "To find my inner athlete."

Mary- "I look forward to completing the Sale to Sea (Kayak Challenge) and being more present in the moment."

Linda- "I want a balance: life, children,work."

Claire- "I will stop having an affair with chocolate and go on a date with a man."

And me, well in the spirit of trying new things....here is mine.

I look forward to, with those keen to join in, much more self propelled play time in the great outdoors, oh and not being embarassed to wear lycra in public.
Happy 2013. May it be your year.

To be lost to the flow of the river

"Study how water flows in a valley stream, smoothly and freely between the rocks. Also learn from holy books and wise people. Everything - even mountains, rivers, plants and trees - should be your teacher."

Morihei Ueshiba, 1883-1969

The Toller scream

Chris decided fishing was in order and the subsequent serenity that comes when the line in cast into the blue and the fisherman can sit and ponder nothing or something.

For those who do not know the Toller screams when excited. While Smudge does not quite get into the full scream (below) she in definitely warming up.

Chris can be seen on the rocks trying to find that serenity.

Kayaking on Cup Day

I would like to be sipping a glass of champagne on cup day, but my little red Dancer has not been out on the water for 4 weeks. Too long!

With support crew in tow (husband and Smudge with lunch packed) we travelled to Fairfield to a small canoe entry point. I then paddled upstream on the Yarra River past Fairfield Boathouse towards Clifton Hill Boathouse. I never quite made it all the way, too many things to stop and see (and arms leaden and needing a break). 

I did have a Huckleberry Finn moment while looking at this pontoon, imagining drifting off down the river chased by Injun Joe. My head is thoroughly stuck in books.

This Coot was very tolerant of me siddling up to it's makeshift nest on a fallen tree that was half across the river.

After 45 minutes I came upon the Grey-headed Flying Fox colony at Yarra Bend Park. They are incredibly noisy and I spent some time gazing into the trees watching them chatter to each other. There was a storm approaching so despite being 2:30 in the afternoon they were moving around quite a bit. These little guys have a conservation status of 'vulnerable' and are crucial for regeneration of native hardwood forests as they feed they disperse seeds around the forest.

It was not all wonderous with an ugly reminder of how plastic bags never quite leave us. Reason to always remember to take green bags!