Sunday 14th May was the Westlakes Classic – which is another good lead-up event to the RPM.

The Classic consists of a choice of 3 events – 6, 12 or 18km on Westlakes.

Conditions were pretty good, with temperature in the high teens and the wind around the 15km/h mark from the S/W.

As usual there was a reasonable number of boats on the water – and this alone makes for a good bit of practice – in terms of a start and also in terms of dealing with the wash.

It was a bit much for some and a couple of other paddlers took an unscheduled swim within the first 500M for just that reason.

I have been trying to solve the issues with my seating (again) and yesterday managed the whole 2 hours in the boat without any issues – so looking good in readiness for the RPM in only 4 weeks time,

Not sure of the actual time, but I completed the 18km in about  2h 4m or so at an avg speed of 8.7km/h

I have my eye on a record in the RPM and this time puts me within  reach of it!

That is Back 2 Back, not Border2Beach!

This weekend just gone was the Back2Back a 2 day event that leads up to the RPM.

The Weather was not brilliant with fairly strong winds – yeah Saturday saw us battle winds up to about 45km/h – not so bad when it is at your back, but not so much fun in your face!

This year, on the Sunday we moved from our usual location at Murray Bridge up to Mannum and ran day 2 in conjunction with the Paddlefest. We were hoping for better conditions, but they were similar! not quite as strong, but still 30+km/h winds to deal with.

All in all, a fun weekend out paddling!