Just came back from an amazing one month trip to Oz, great trip which ended up with a keen focus on training as I’d been selected for Team GB for the World Champs in Mexico this May.
Here’s the highlights of the diary I kept (with photos!!) for your consumption!
Paddleboarding:
10 sessions
• Distance 36.12 miles
• Time 10:13:20 hrs
• Calories 5,007 C
• Elev Gain 1,803 ft(?)
Climbing/Walking (Noosa National Park, Mt. Coolum, Emu Mt., Natural Arch, pub and back!) Numerous sessions..
• Distance 28.39 mil
• Time 15.41.29 hrs
• Calories 5,007 C
• Elev Gain 3, 870 ft
Surfing (prone and SUP) 27 Sessions
• Time 31 hrs
• Calories 14,502 C
27 Jan: Swam in the only outdoor swimming pool in an Airport! Changi, Singapore
- 28 Jan: The first jet lagged surf at Noosa a guy smashed his head and board on the rocks-blood everywhere! Then proceeded to smash my (mates-luckily!)board too, legrope failure.
- 29 Jan: 1st Paddle board, in hot afternoon @ 75% MHR for 40 minutes: used 1 1/2 litre of water and nearly collapsed. Don’t underestimate the effects of jetlag and going from mid-winter UK to tropical summer!
- Feb: Hit the best month of swell Queensland’s had in a year.
7 Feb: Surfed a right hand point somewhere near Fraser Island and got a 48 second ride!
Feb: Surfed Noosa consistently, 2-5 ft. Epic rocky Boilers to Nationals and dredging sand barrels tubetastic at Tea Trees
Feb 10: Stood on and got stung by a stingray (luckily not this one with over a 2 foot tail)!!!
Wed 11: Great hour and a half training out along the sound, across the lions park out through the surf to boiling pot, then down winded and reversed-awesome! SUPed up to tea trees awesome wave too! Flat water, Surf, open ocean and downwinding in one sesh-epic!!
Thurs 12: Guy on a 5’4″ normal short board laughing to me about not making some take offs………..over dry rock at 3ft boiling point! Aussie’s are amazing waterfolk….
Fri 13: Got backhand 7ft single fin riding wired:) dolphins, rainbows and big smiles with Mick-great feeling!!! Lucky for some:-)
Tue/Wed 17-18: went out at epic 4-6ft superbank……….and got waves!!
Fri 20: Drove towards Cyclone Marcia, torrential downpour and cars sliding off the roads. The main highway was nearly flooded just North of Brisbane as we went through. It was closed 2 hours after that!!!
Sat 21: Noosa lumpy but 3-4ft- loads of waves with a dropping big spring tide. Powerful and hollow! Pulled a floater at nationals, bounced the landing and board rail slipped upwards and smashed my left elbow and ribs! Lots of ice that night:(
Tue 24: Climbed Mt Coolum 2nd largest geological monolith (one rock, like Uluru) in Oz, maybe world?
In closing
Swum in 24 degree temp water on Thursday, arrived back home on Friday night after a 14 hour flight and 3 hours of diabolical M25 to Dorset traffic, went on a flood relief course on Saturday morning, ended up in Poole Harbour……. in 7 degree water. Welcome back!!
