Hawkesbury Canoe Classic

Outriggers - Out There in the Classic

Plenty of outriggers will be lining up in this year's Hawkesbury Classic Paddle on the 24th October.
Join your paddling mates at canoeclassic.asn.au

Fundraising Hits $25,000

Fundraising for this year’s Classic has hit the $25,000 mark and it‘s time to spread the word amongst family, friends and business associates telling them that you are challenging yourself in taking on the mighty Hawkesbury River and at the same time raising funds for much needed medical research.

Not paddling this year ? You can still support the cause by going to our official page on GiveNow at https://www.givenow.com.au/hawkesburyclassicpaddle26

Paddle the Mighty Hawkesbury
October 24 / 25

On Sydney's doorstep is the mighty Hawkesbury River. This is your chance to challenge yourself and experience nature at its best. Leaving Windsor late afternoon and paddling into the night, it's an experience you won't forget.
30km, 60km and the Classic 100km distances on offer.
More information and enter at canoeclassic.asn.au

Presentation Night

A date for your calendar...
Date : Saturday 31st October
Time : 6.00pm
Venue : 2nd Gordon Scout Hall, 32c Rosedale Rd, Gordon
$10 pay at the door. Enjoy pizza BYO refreshments.
No need to book, just turn up and enjoy catching up with fellow paddlers and hear tales of the mighty Hawkesbury.

Hawkesbury to the Rescue

Marine Rescue (Hawkesbury) will again be supporting us in the lower reaches of the river. Pictured are vessels HW22 and HW30. HW22 is named in honour of the late Jill McGrath. Jill, a long time supporter of Marine Rescue and wife of former Hawkesbury Canoe Classic Association Race Chairman, Barry McGrath. HW30, carries the name “Dyarubbin” which is the traditional indigenous name for the Hawkesbury River.
Thank you to the members of MR Hawkesbury for your support.

A Class of Your Own - Expedition Kayak / Sea Kayak Class
Following the lead of Paddle NSW, we have introduced an Expedition Kayak (i.e. Sea Kayak) category for this year's Classic. This recognises the class of kayaks that were the mainstay of the Classic for many years until sleeker, lighter and faster boats started to dominate the Rec categories. The specifications for the Expedition Kayak (EK) class are not based on weight, length or width. Rather the craft must simply be a commercially available Sea Kayak designed for genuine expedition paddling. Examples include the Expedition Kayaks Audax/Azure/Aurora/Nadgee, Mirage 580/530, Epic 18X, Rockpool Taran, P&H Valkyrie, Pace 17, , Valley Etain/Nordkapp, Arctic Raider, Ocean Raider, and Raider X. If your boat is not on this list, please contact [email protected] for clarification before you enter the EK class. We encourage paddlers considering the EK class to abide by the intention and spirit of the category; our decision on your boat’s eligibility will be final.
Re the photo.....if you know, you know

The EK class is for single boats only and is available across the 30km, 60km and 100km distances. Records will be open for all distances this year for Men and Women across open, 40+, 50+ and 60+ years.

Fat Paddler Most Festive Craft Trophy
It’s back !!! This is a much sought after trophy introduced by the The Fat Paddler himself, Sean Smith, back in 2011. It was last awarded to Classic legend, Tom Simmat, back in 2018. It’s very doubtful that our friends in the photo would pass scrutineering
More information to follow but put on your creative thinking caps and see. what you can come up with. Think paddler dress-up and craft decoration.
Might we see a comeback from the mighty “Fat Paddler” ?

Checkpoint F Owner Badly Injured - Please help if you can

Darren Osmotherly, the very generous owner of the Paradise Cafe at Lower Portland (aka our Checkpoint F), has been badly injured (broken back etc) in a race boat accident on the Hawkesbury River. Darren very kindly allows us the use of his property for this safety checkpoint.

A GoFundMe page has been set-up to help Darren in what will be a long road to recovery. Every dollar will count.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/please-help-oz-get-back-on-his-feet

Outward Bound / HCC Fund Raising Award
A real blast from the past is this trophy still held safely in our storage facility at McGraths Hill (Windsor). It shows that B McNulty was the first recipient, back in 1977
The individual fund raising amounts are impressive, to say the least. Back in 1989, John Dean raised $7,866.73, equivalent to a whopping $21,100.00 !
Will we see that number bettered this year ??

A huge THANK YOU to these three support organisations who have again come onboard to support the Hawkesbury Classic Paddle.