The annual White Cloud Foundation "Wivenhoe to Gateway" Paddle was run again on 8,9,10 Aug. We had 3 excellent days of paddling which included the usual paddling culprits: tailwinds, headwinds, chop, tidal assistance/resistance, platypus. We covered just over 115km over the 3 days with craft including SUPs (an array of home made wooden 12'6 SUP, a 14 ft Gerry Lopez, 12'6 and 14' carbon race boards and 11ft Takayamas), sea kayaks and surf skis. This paddle is a fundraising event and not a race.
Day 1 started at Lowood Bend on the water at 6:15am with a chilly 3 degrees, which saw steam rising off the water making for some spectacular scenery. In the first 10 minutes, of a 9hr 45min day (including breaks) on the water, we had 2 SUP paddlers hit submerged logs ending up in the water for an early, very chilly, swim.
A quick lunch break at the 25km mark saw us wrapping up the day at Kholo with a total distance covered of 43.6km averaging 5.7km/hr, including 26 sets of rapids.
Day 2 started at a more leisurely time of 9am, to accommodate the tides, at Colleges Crossing (Karana Downs). There were some sore muscles from Day 1 but everyone powered through to Moggill Ferry at the 15km mark for lunch. The final 24km involved some beautiful stretches of windless water followed by some heinous stretches of headwinds, repeated over and over again. The final 5km stretch to Fig Tree Pocket boat ramp was into a roaring southerly headwind just to let everyone know that they were alive!! The end result was a total distance of 39.2 km completed at a speed of 6.9km/hr.
Day 3 started at 9am at Fig Tree Pocket boat ramp with a grand total of 17 paddlers (10 SUPs). A quick morning tea stop at the Indooroopilly Golf Course boat ramp and we were on our way, with the tide, towards UQ and the city. The adventures began at the Green Bridge at UQ with plenty of speed boats, city cats and jet skis testing our balancing skills and trying to split the pack up. We had 2 SUPers decide that the temp was a bit hot and that it was time to take a dip in the river as we passed through the middle of the city, it had nothing to do with the tippy boards and waves created by all the boats and backwash.
Our lunchtime location was at the 24km mark at the Storey Bridge. We had a great outgoing tide for the final 9km past New Farm Park, the powerhouse and Bulimba.
We were greeted at Hamilton by the P&O cruise ship which was imminently about to depart according to the friendly 'Port Authority' boat which rapidly came over to tell us to "paddle like the wind" to get past it. The final approach to the Northshore Riverside Cafe saw us greeted by an awesome crew of friends and family. A total distance of 33.8km covered at a speed of 6.8km/hr.
The beers, cake and chips flowed freely as well as a spot of blood from one of the paddlers who decided to spice up the finish by standing on something extremely sharp in the water which resulted in an ambulance and 8 stitches!!
The fundraising result was spectacular!! A whopping total of $25,500 was raised by the paddlers:
This paddle was an amazing fundraising and endurance effort. All funds go directly into the provision of 'free' treatment in a clinic set up by the White Cloud Foundation to provide multi-disciplinary support (Psychology, Exercise Physiology, Dietetics, Social Work) to people who are living with, or at risk of developing, anxiety and/or depression.
Special thanks must go to our families and friends who put up with the tired, cranky bodies at the end of each day. A big shout out to our support team of Christopher Scott Photography (Amazing photography!!), the crew at Rosco Canoes & Kayaks who have been outstanding in supporting this event each year, the team at Big Hit Teamwear who did a great job producing the high quality shirts, Thank You!!
Heaps of pics on the White Cloud Foundation Facebook page if you are interested.
