Welly Paddlers and the new Think Ion surf ski in Sydney

Just spent Monday and Tuesday in Sydney with Stewart O'Regan from Think Kayaks Australia. The purpose was to give the new Think Ion surf ski a whirl as I have one arriving in NZ in September as part of Fergs Kayaks yearly order, but this trip was all about trying the ski out and being the first New Zealander to paddle it.

Apart from trying out the ski and enjoying a couple of sessions from Rose Bay (which is between the City and Bondi on the South side of Sydney Harbour) it was good to catch up with Stew live in person.

Stew is an expat Irishman, he's a former K1 paddler who spent a lot of his early years on the Liffey River in Dublin. The past 13 years he has lived in Sydney and

developed a wealth of knowledge, his former Business Quantum Kayaks, morphed into the now Think Kayaks Australia. He is currently busy doing just about everything that go's with running a Business of this type, and spending a good amount of time out on the water also. He is also off for his 3 rd tilt at the great Molokai Ocean surf ski race in 2 weeks time.

For me I had a session on the Ion on the Monday and an easy jaunt on the Think Evo 2 across the other side of the Harbour taking photos as you can see.

About Rose Bay............well a few of the Think surf skis are based there at the Woollahra Sailing Club which is based in Lyne Park which is a huge public park space where the Sailing Club, the Cranbrook School Boat House (rowing), Tennis Club and Scouts are all based. Rose Bay also has plenty of yacht moorings a recently added marina as well as plenty of golden sand and green areas to enjoy and relax on after your paddle.

Just out from Rose Bay about 1 km out, there's Shark Island then another 1 km to Clark Island which you pass on the way to the Harbour Bridge. It's only a 2 km paddle across to Bradley's Head directly across from Rose Bay on the Northern side of the Harbour, where I took photos of the Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House in the distance.

On the water it's also about 5 km to the Ocean, 6 km to the Harbour Bridge and about 7 km to Manly.
The area has a good mix of shallow and deep water, shelter and wind it's kinda like being in Wellington but the air and water temperatures are warmer............but hey coldness is all relative to what you wear while you're out in the elements

That's Greg Tobin on the water on the Think Ion, he's been one of the top Sydney paddlers this Season. He's talking here to Stew, they both paddle Think Uno Max skis for Ocean racing events.

Click on any photo to enlarge