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Newcastle royalty Margaret and Geoff Peel entertained around 100 people with their innovative paddle orienteering event at Lake Macquarie on Sunday.
The novelty three-hour score course event consisted of a paddle section to be done only by kayak, a promenade section for Foot O, and five controls that could be visited in either fashion.
There were 96 participants in 76 different paddle craft. Two 'singles' and three 'doubles' cleared the well set course, most with less than 10 minutes to spare.
One pair completed the course with a staggering 34 minutes to spare (including NSW junior squad coach Rob Bennett) but were shattered to learn they had failed to properly register at #101. This saw another Newcastle orienteer, Steven Todkill, triumph with seven 7 minutes to spare in his hi-tech single kayak.
The event was made possible thanks to a grant from Lake Macquarie City which covered the event aquatic licence, the park usage fee, SES safety boats and map printing.
The weather was sunny and rain only began to fall as the last checkpoint was withdrawn from the water.
The wind grew in intensity mid-race, presenting a bit of chop and paddling resistance mostly in the larger more open bay between Toronto and Bolton Point. Paddlers had the opportunity to explore the backwaters of Stoney, Lt & Mudd Creeks which presented some lovely sheltered areas while the promenade section took in some lovely bushland and lakeside paths.
The Peels were aghast at low tide on the morning of the event - easily the lowest of the low tides witnessed during preceding visits to the area.
"Locals have always told us it's quite unpredictable in this top end of the lake," said Geoff. "We were stunned to see a mud island which we'd never sighted before now sitting in the middle of Fennell Bay. Being rogainers they are fairly adventurous types and they took all of this in their stride and didn't mind getting a bit muddy."
You can see the results here and the map here.
A big thanks to the Peels and the Newcastle club for putting this on, and to the landowners and equipment suppliers for their support.
Our Grafton colleagues had a rare chance to 'walk on water' last Friday when their season-opening Street O event for 2019-2020 included controls on Susan Island in the middle of the Clarence River.
Four wonderful SES volunteers shuttled participants the 400m across the mighty Clarence, giving locals the opportunity to explore the island that many often view from the riverbank but have never actually been on.
Series organiser Gavin Rayward was inspired by the "53 Islands" celebrations to include the option to head over to Susan Island. The usual event limit of 45 minutes was waived in this instance!
Almost 70 people took to the course, making up 21 teams. The field was a mix of seasoned regulars and quite a few first timers (including a few celebrating birthdays!). Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with teams particularly enjoying the opportunity to explore Susan Island.
You can see a few pics, the map and a brief video of the launch arriving at the island on Grafton's Facebook page. The map is also posted here.
Special thanks to Maurice Anker from our Northern Tablelands club for doing the map work for Grafton Street-O, especially while he was preparing for the Armidale School District Championship!
Grafton Street-O is all about the local community. Local businesses donate goods and vouchers for random door prizes at the final event for the season. In return, they get their logo on every clue sheet, promotional posters put up in key locations around town, and a 3-point control at their their place of business. The clue is something that the community may not know about that business to give them a little extra advertising.
Did you miss the boat this time? Grafton's next monthly event is on Friday November 8, again starting at Memorial Park at 5pm.
A big thanks to Gavin for his hard work putting the series on each summer, and for this great story.
Our Armidale club hosted a massive 782 students for the annual New England Schools Championships at Thalgarrah Environmental Education Centre last week.
Many of the children have no previous experience, although some would have come to the schools event in previous years. Three courses are offered – a Very Easy Score, Easy line, and Moderate line. The Moderate is for High School students, while the Easy is intended for experienced Primary students and novice High School students. 
Newcastle riders claimed a remarkable 11 age class wins at the Australian MTBO champs at Maryborough in Victoria at the weekend.
Veteran Carolyn Matthews (W50) and youngster Anakin Trotter (M14) each won three of the four races, while Rhiannon Prentice was the only competitor in W20 and thus won all 4 races.
Hamish Mackie (M50, Big Foot) also took out three titles in a hotly contested age class, while Australian rookie Tim Doman (M21, NC) backed up his win in the ACT Long with another dominant performance on Sunday in a format that suits him best.
Congratulations to ONSW riders who won the following Australian MTBO titles and other classes at the weekend:
Mass start: W20 Rhiannon Prentice (NC), W50 Carolyn Matthews (NC), M50 Hamish Mackie (Big Foot), E bike Greg Bacon (NC).
Sprint: M14 Anakin Trotter (NC), W20 Rhiannon Prentice (NC), M50 Hamish Mackie (BF), E bike Tim Hackney (NC).
Middle: M14 Anakin Trotter (NC), W20 Rhiannon Prentice (NC), W50 Carolyn Matthews (NC).
Long: M14 Anakin Trotter (NC), W20 Rhiannon Prentice (NC), M21 Tim Doman (NC), W50 Carolyn Matthews (NC), M50 Hamish Mackie (BF), E bike Greg Bacon (NC). In addition, Newcastle riders also took out 3 recreational classes and 1 e-bike category.
Australia also beat NZ 18-14 in the trophy challenge conducted across the 4 events.
Big thanks to the 3 Victorian clubs and their many helpers for an outstanding carnival... it was much appreciated by the 150+ competitors.
And a reminder that our Newcastle club's next MTBO event is BOSS 2 at Wyee Point.
