Byron To Burleigh

Byron Bay to Burleigh Heads Paddle - Friday 27th Feb 09

After months of preparation waiting for the right conditions and right opportunity, Dale & Mike finally got the chance to start their paddle from Byron to Burleigh. Starting from Main Beach at Byron just on sunrise, Dale & Mike started their paddle and would eventually arrive at Burleigh, some 8 hours later. Reaching speeds of up to 16.2km/hr, with an average speed of 8.3km/hr, (a total distance of 67.5km), a paddle such as this is something that you need to be prepared for physically, mentally and safety wise. Below is an in-depth view of what equipment and procedures Dale & Mike used and followed, for safety & communication purposes. No matter how fit you are, paddling this far out to sea is very dangerous and all due care should be taken as accidents will happen.

1. Leg Ropes - We used standard surfboard leg ropes (4-6mm is fine so there’s not too much drag) attached to the leash plug at the tail. If you fall off in a big downwind and get separated from your board it can end up cart wheeling away from you and you will be in a bit of trouble.
2. Visibility - We made both of our boards as brightly colored as possible. I would advise at least making some part of your board (eg Nose and tail) as bright as possible, just in case you need rescuing. Mike had his board sprayed safety orange but Day-Glo orange is probably a more preferred color. We also spray painted the back of our paddle blades orange which can then be used to attract attention (again use Day-Glo orange). When any paddler got too far ahead of the other (we kept this to a minimum 100m) the front paddler would kneel down with the paddle upright. The orange paddle blade faced the lagging paddler and doubled up as a mini sail. Our clothing was also pretty bright and we will use high reflective attachments next time. It's no good if the rescue people cannot see you. So whatever you come up with make it as easy as possible for these guys to find you.
3. Rescue Services - We contacted all of the relevant VMR (Volunteer Marine Rescue) agencies ahead of our paddle and discussed our route plan with them. On the day we phoned in every few hours (on our mobiles) so that they could monitor our progress. They were very helpful and appreciative of the fact that we tried to make their job of rescuing us as easy as possible.
4. Communication – We had mobile phones for both of the Jet Skis, our land support crew and also 1 for the paddlers. We would probably carry 1 mobile each next time as well as get waterproof VHS radios. Whistles were carried for attracting attention. Mike was going to bring some kind of high reflective surface (mirror) for attracting attention but did not get around to it – next time for sure.
5. EPIRB - We did not take these (why are they so expensive?) as we did not expect to be far enough offshore to need them. We will probably need to start using them in future. The local law is that you have to use these if more than 2 nautical miles from shore. Our max distance offshore was about 5km which is just on the limit.
6. Support Crews – We had 2 jet skis and 1 land based vehicle. The Jet Skis were very handy as we did not want to have to carry our extra fluids that we figured we would need. They also helped us keep an eye on unwanted friends from the deep, one of which followed us for a while, but later swam off. We had experimented with a shark shield prior to the paddle, though we have not quite worked out how to use it efficiently. Once we get these worked out we will probably start using these on the longer paddles through sharky waters.
7. Medical Kit – This is a must have item. Ours included a tourniquet, trauma packs, bandages, a safety blanket, gloves, pain killers and anti histamine.
8. Flares - I would also advise each paddler to carry at least 1 flare (rocket or smoke) but 2 is better. If anyone gets separated from the group and they run into trouble they need to be able to get spotted by the rest of the group or rescue people.
9. Spare Paddle – Mike fell near Cook Island and actually broke his paddle handle (with about 20km to go). As we had support Jet Skis with us they carried a spare paddle, which was available if needed.
10. Tool kit – This contained a few important tools that could come in handy out to sea, including duck tape. We actually duck taped Mikes broken paddle handle back together which was used rather than the spare.
11. Fluids - You should have at least a 3ltr backpack which should last you 6hrs of paddling (1/2 litre per hour). We carried 3 x 3 litre packs each. If you don’t like the back pack type get yourself the bum bag type. Mike and I used different liquids as it is important to find out what works for you. I used Powerade whereas Mike has been using Endura Electrolyte mix and also Endura Optimizer for recovery (pre and post paddles) assistance.
12. Skins – We both used long leg and long arm “skins”. These are really good for paddling and double up as sun protection clothing. The long legs keep the legs warm and work like a charm. Mike used the white “Ice” top which is great for keeping you cool (which helps in the hot climate up here) and keeps the sun out.
13. Sun Protection – We used total block out zinc on all of our exposed parts, especially the tops of our feet and face. We tried surfing booties for our feet but did not like them. If we do not find a better system we will stick to the zinc.

Dale & Mike at Main Beach Byron