Laurie Ford's sea
kayak
page - Tasmania - Australia (Kermit Tracker)
(Sea kayaking is 80% mental and 20% physical)
I used to have a large
website in the past,
mainly about sea kayaking. I have since closed that as I was doing very
little kayaking. But somehow I have been dragged kicking and
screaming into paddling again so am starting
my own site again to put mainly recent reports on, but I WILL NOT
be re-creating my old website. I am dedicating this site to
two
remarkable women in the hope that they may inspire current female owners
of sea kayaks. (The old website is available on CD).
Elli
Tappan
(an American grandmother) did not take up sea kayaking till she was over 60 years old. She could
not roll or brace into surf waves - but paddled to Flinders Island from
NE Tasmania 3 times - crossing Banks Strait 6 times, sometimes in
darkness. She also paddled in the Hunter Island area, and the South
Coast of Tasmania, and Macquarie Harbour. She also paddled extensively
in America. She just loved being in a kayak on the water with some wind
and waves.
Cecily Butorac
took up kayaking as a middle aged mum, and went on to represent
Tasmania in slalom and down river racing - and was obviously a very
competent paddler. She turned her attention to sea kayaking and was a
founding member of the Tas Sea Canoeing Club, and later the Maatsuyker
Canoe Club. She was the first woman to paddle to Flinders Island, the
first woman to circumnavigate Flinders Island, the first woman to
paddle to Maatsuyker Island. Cecily paddled in Japan for 2 months, and
Fiji for 2 months, and the Greek Islands for 6 weeks.
Elli
off Maria Island in her Greenlander (Designed by Adrian
Dean - Hobart)
Cecily
in Japan in her Sea Leopard (Designed by Adrian
Dean - Hobart)
