At 10am on Oct 13, Anne and Simon Langsford started 8 boats from the makeshift start/finish line between the beach and a yellow channel marker near  the Garden Island Boat Ramp.  The course was anti clockwise heading up Barker Inlet to the cutting and then out onto Port River and through the North Arm back to the boat ramp.  The distance was about 16.5km depending on how close you paddled to the mangroves.

The Start

The race started in overcast conditions with a light Easterly wind blowing enough to make a slight chop on the starboard beam as paddlers tried to find deep water near the channel markers heading up to the cutting.  Pavel had streaked ahead out of the starting blocks so he gave everyone something to aim for.  The rescue boat manned by Jim Murphy and Ian Hume stationed itself outside of the cutting and even with low tide still a half hour away it was a slog to paddle through the bar at the entrance to the cutting.  Once through and out the other side onto the Port River, paddlers had the advantage of the light breeze coming in behind them and soon the tide changed to give an extra boost.  Great racing conditions.

Tug Boats

Half way along the Port River paddlers watched two tugs shepherd a huge grain ship out of the Port, a reminder that we were paddling on a working river.  The tug captains were very respectful and the leading tug even slowed a little as the lead boats approached it.  Most boats stuck to the left hand edge of the channel so while they were technically on the wrong side of the channel they weren’t in the channel so not hindering other traffic.  As the paddlers turned into the North arm the tide was giving a reasonable push to those out in the channel, until paddlers reached Swan Alley where the tide coming down Barker Inlet met the tide coming in the North arm and all assistance was negated. Paddlers had to paddle the last 1000m with no assistance apart from the adrenalin rush that seeing the finish line provided.

Finish Line

Pavel finished the race in 1 hour and 45 minutes followed closely by Hugh S and Hugh M in their sea kayaks and then Phil and Marina in their double not far behind.  Greg just managed to pip Charlie on the line and then Mark and Berny crossed together a few minutes later. All boats were back on the beach by 12.05 so all negotiated the race at good speed.

Once the paddlers  were changed and boats away, they gathered under the shelter and marquee provided by Paddle SA.  Simon had the BBQ going, effortlessly grilling sausages organised by Greg Adams and Phil provided the coffee.  Anne then presented her ‘medals’ which were delicious.  We finished the BBQ watching 3 dolphins cruising out in the passage.

Next Year

Next year we hope to have the event integrated into the Paddle SA long distance race calendar and have a few more paddlers attending, but we agreed that the ‘inaugural’ Torrens Island Race was a worthwhile and fun event. Thanks go the race organisers Greg Adams, Phil Doddridge and Hugh Stewart, Starter Anne Langsford, Scrutineer Simon Langsford, rescue boaters Peter Drewry, Jim Murphy, Ian Hume and Mark Bulmer and all those who participated.

Race Results

Name	Boat	Time
Pavel Berdashkevich	Stellar Ocean Ski	1hour 45m 05secs
Hugh Stewart	Mirage 580 Sea Kayak	1: 45: 29
Hugh MacMillan	Audax Sea Kayak	1 : 53: 00
Phil Doddridge and Marina Walker	Mirage 730 Double Sea Kayak	1 :54:00
Greg Adams	Audax Sea Kayak	1: 55:05
Charles Walker	Petrel Sea Kayak	1:55:10
Mark Loram	Prijon Sea Kayak	2:06:03
Berny Lohmann	Ecohezhig Sea Kayak	2:06:14