PDs now have a few more names against a record on the Hawkesbury list…
Geoff Eldridge and I joined Claire Tingey, Sandra Simms, James Fuda and Shaz Lockett in DSA to bring a Mixed OC6 across the line in a time of 10:42:05 shaving 48 minutes off the old non-PD record. Geoff was a last minute substitute for Deb Harding who hurt herself. He had only done three OC sessions since the Ausquad DB campaign and put in like a trooper.
Thanks to everyone for their support of us over the last month. All of the encouragement and the training together in the months before is really what the Hawkesbury is all about.
Along the way we:
– almost ran over a Ski who decided to veer across our path at Sackville. I can now add swearing like a sailor to my list of steering skills. Somehow managed not to t-bone him but he wasn’t very happy. He must have been part Bogong. Our Ipod speakers attracted quite a lot of unsuspecting craft in front of our ama all night.
– battled with a masters 40+ open OC6 crew from Five Islands and beat them by 18 minutes. Very odd feeling being 70 km from the finish line and wondering if I should call ‘passing’. Very nice feeling standing at the finish line and seeing them pull in beside our parked OC6. Given what we were wearing at the start line, I’m sure they were scratching their heads.
– realised that the only thing that got us over the last leg was panadeine forte and horse gel linament. James shoulder blew out early on so I ended up paddling from Dargle with my bad back and he put in a heroic effort to steer and only paddle on the left side. The girls were hurting just as bad. Even then we somehow clocked over 13kmph at one point on the tidal run in the last leg.
– Almost got lost in the pea soup fog around Spencer. Given our faster time, we saw the bridge just on sunrise and we were paddling under a full moon most of the night.
– lost two kilos on the night to be under 80kg for the first time in 14 years despite three days of carb loading. Now I have a coke addiction after spending my last 3 hours fantasizing about sweet fizzy caffeine.
We’ve all solemnly vowed never to do it again…however, we were crazy enough to do it in the first place so who knows? I’ve already blacked half of it out in my recovery anyway.
Good to see Gav there supporting a ski friend and Claire-Dy, Zeus, the Professor, KT and James Whisker (Tsunami), and Tan White and Lysa Peters (Sloths /ex DSA) all out there having a go. You’re all completely bonkers!
Results summary:
Mixed OC6 10:42:05 Mark Hall, Geoff Eldridge, Claire Tingey, James Fuda, Sharon Lockett, Sandra Simms, Deb Harding (honourable mention)
Claire Hosegood 14:37:15 Ski? (PD)
Richard Thompson 14:10:40 OC1 (Port Hacking)
Zeus & Gordon Kirkby 13:13:31 two person bathtub (Sloths)
Karen Taylor & James Whisker 13:29:39 OC2 (Tsunami)
Tan White 14:48:02 solo kayak (Sloths)
Lysa Peters 6:00:00 (40.8 km) solo kayak (Sloths)
See ya at training on Thursday.
Mark Hall
