The Before Work paddles are a 5 week series of paddles where we meet on the same day each week for a 1 hour paddle. The first session is mostly instruction and after that we aim to paddle to a different location each week. We start out with relatively short paddles and increase the distance slightly each week. The group is limited to 8 people
Next series (depending on any weather delays with the current series) will start:
* Saturday, Feb 25th
* Thursday, March 1st
The current series that are running started
* Tuesday, Feg 14th 2012 (2 places available)
* Thursday, Jan 12th 2012 (Booked out)
* Friday, Jan 20th 2012 (Booked out)
* Saturday, Jan 14th 2012 (Booked out)
Here's a gallery of photos from the Thursday groups in 2010 when we paddled east from Lavender Bay.
We either paddles routes heading east or west from Lavender Bay. The routes heading west are generally easier so groups that are mostly new paddlers will do those routes. If those signed up have been before then we might do the paddles heading east from Lavender Bay. Sometimes we do a mixture of the two if weather conditions mean it's better to change the route.
When we paddle west from Lavender Bay the plan is:
| 1) Nearly all instruction with a short paddle
| (1.5 km)
|
| 2) Berrys Bay
| (5.5 km)
|
| 3) Balls Head Bay
| (6.5 km)
|
| 4) Gore Cove
| (7.0 km)
|
| 5) Mort Bay, Balmain and Snails Bay, Birchgrove
| (7.6 km)
| |
When we do the paddles east from Lavender Bay the plan is:
| 1) Nearly all instruction with a short paddle
| (1.5 km)
|
| 2) Careening Cove
| (5.7 km)
|
| 3) Neutral Bay
| (5.8 km)
|
| 4) Shell Cove
| (6.6 km)
|
| 5) Mosman Bay
| (7.8 km)
| |
We more or less stick follow this plan so distances gradually increase. Sometimes we might leave a little earlier for the longer paddles so it's an easier pace. Sometimes we might take it a bit easier if that's what suits the group on the day.
After the first session which is mostly instruction we try to meet 6:20 so we are on the water at 6:30 am. We aim to finish our paddles at 7:30am that can be a little later sometimes but it shouldn't be later than 7:45am.
If you've already done the instruction on a previous series then you can skip the first instructional session and the first of your five paddles will start from the following week.
I usually take pictures on each paddle and email these to everyone within a day.
You can view some photos I've taken on some of these paddles via this gallery:
