Where the bloody hell are you? (with apologies to Tourism Australia)
What a fantastic week it has been weather-wise. Ideal paddling conditions, warm and dry with small tides and no wind; almost perfect conditions but they must be perfect for something else as well because the bit of river I informally monitor has been almost empty compared with previous weeks.
I know the school term has started (my wife and a daughter are teachers so we tend to notice) and the Easter holiday period is almost over but with another long weekend coming up I would have expected a few more people, both hirers and owner-kayakers, to be making the most of the opportunity. Most schools who used the Boatshed last term have elected not to canoe this term; I realise students have to choose a sport for the entire term and most will be thinking it will be a tad cooler in 10 week’s time, but, boy, what are they missing in the meantime?
A wet boat in any weather
I used to sail a laser dinghy in the UK, with the frostbite series kicking off on Boxing Day. To come to Australia and discover that people still have a hibernation instinct in Winter was unexpected, to say the least. We arrived in September 1986 and rented on the Woronora for a while, and I can still recall the surprised voices of the neighbours saying “who’s swimming in the river at this time of year? Oh, it’s those mad Poms!”
So all you Northern hemisphere people either here or planning to be here between now and next September, basking in the relative warmth of an Australian “cold season”, come on down to The Boatshed At Woronora and “Make Spray while the Sun Shines”.