AGM Weekend at Windang
October 11 to 12, 2025

This year, the Club AGM is at Windang, a small beach side community about 1.5 hours south of Sydney with abundant paddling opportunities. To the south is Bass Point, picturesque Bushranger Bay, and an abundance of sea caves including the well known Kiama blowhole; while to the north is Red Point and the Five Islands. Lake Illawarra provides more protected paddling. 

We will be based at Windang Beach Tourist Resort which is right on Lake Illawarra and an easy paddle out to sea via Tom Thumb Entrance. Book early to reserve your camping site or cabin as this is the final weekend of the October school holidays.

The AGM will be held at 4:00 pm in the Windang Senior Citizens Centre, a short walk from Windang Beach Tourist Resort. After the meeting, we can socialise over dinner at Club Windang which is also within easy walking distance.

See you there.

You can renew your membership by clicking on your name once you are logged on at the top right corner. You can see the instructions by clicking HERE

AGM 2022 has been held at 5.00 pm on Saturday 15 October at the Patonga Community Hall. It was a great weekend, thanks for all the participants.  You can read the AGM Minutes here

Trips and training are on again

Our Leaders have leapt out of lockdown and there are currently ten events listed, PLUS the regular weekly trips.  Make sure that you are logged in and go to the ‘Events’ page on our website to see all the details for ‘Current’ and ‘Regular’ (weekly) events.  If your preferred trip is listed as full be sure to put yourself down for the waitlist as openings often occur closer to the date.  Note that waiting lists may also apply to weekly trips, as the leaders will explain if you email them directly as required.

Membership renewal

Membership renewals for 2022 are open.  All memberships started or renewed from 1 November 21 are active up until 31 December 2022.  Please get this done early as unrenewed memberships are automatically cancelled in January and it always creates hassles where members intend to renew but don’t get it done in time. You want to renew your membership, click HERE

AGM outcome

Thank you to the thirty or so members who attended the AGM last month.  Due to Covid it was a low-key Zoom affair, but it is important that we hold the AGM properly for the ongoing running of the Club.  The minutes of the meeting, including reports, can now be found on our website.  I was delighted that all of the incumbent Committee members from last year chose to re-nominate for this year.  There were no other nominations.  As such, the Committee is unchanged, namely:

• Caoimhin Ardren – Training and Trips Coordinator
• Ken Collins – Social Coordinator
• Mark Fuller – Vice President
• Paul Thomas - President
• Sandy McGuinness - Secretary/Treasurer
• Selim Tezcan – Internet Coordinator
• Simon Swifte – Rock’n’Roll Coordinator
• William Verity – Salt Editor

Kayaking magazine collections looking for a home

We are currently housing a whole swag of kayaking magazines that have been donated to the Club from various sources. Regrettably, the Club does not have the resources to make these magazines available to its members in an efficient and lawful (i.e. respecting copyright) fashion so the decision has been made to give them away.  Included in the collection are 116 issues of the US Sea Kayak magazine extending from August 1983 until December 2013 (just before the magazine ceased publication).  Also included in the collection are 73 near sequential issues of the glossy UK publication Ocean Paddler starting from the first issue. There are also issues of the US Canoe and Kayak magazine and UK Paddler magazine.  The collection represents a great source of reference material from trip reports from all over the world, instructional articles over a broad range of subjects (including boat building), kayak reviews, book reviews, incident reports, etc. Ocean Paddler magazine is visually a splendid mag.  If interested, contact Adrian Clayton (gclayton[at]bigpond.com) for more information. First in first served!

Don’t forget to book your campsite for Rock’n’Roll 2022

RnR is on at Reflections Holiday Park at Jimmys Beach from Friday 4 March to Monday 7 March 2022.  Registrations won’t open until February but accommodation at these sorts of places is currently in high demand so don’t leave booking your campsite until too late.  If you are interested in sharing a campsite then you could use the Club Facebook Group to find someone to share with.  If you book by calling them (4997 0466) then ask for the 10% discount for Club members.

Richard Barnes sets off across the ditch

Club member Richard Barnes is planning to set off from Sydney any day now on his solo crossing of the Tasman in Blue Moon, his incredible self-built kayak.  We wish him luck on this inspirational adventure and I really hope he will regale us with stories on his return.  According to the Blue Moon FB group it will be possible to track his journey on the following websites:

http://lcrk.org.au/pmwiki/pmwiki.php?n=Main.2021Richard

https://maps.findmespot.com/s/J51Q (currently showing someone’s Hawkesbury Classic warmup)

Inaugural yearbook is on its way

The first Club yearbook is well and truly on its way – I’ve seen it!  By now it might even be at the printers.  So look out for it in your letter box and enjoy the read once it arrives.  Thanks again William for your efforts in getting this launched.

How to use Paddle log

Paddle log is the online log book made available by Paddle Australia.  It is necessary to use Paddle log to record the training and experience required to gain and renew PA qualifications such as Sea Skills and leader qualifications.  On Tuesday 16 November at 10.30 Paddle NSW are holding a webinar on how to use Paddle log, functions such as producing and backing up your log, finding and renewing qualifications etc.  It will also be recorded and available afterwards.  To register please go to:  https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/7417811634653721871

Kayakasia making bags from kayaks

Finally….a little story about what one adventure tourism company in the Philippines did when the tourists stopped coming due to Covid.  To keep their staff employed they recycled their inflatable kayaks into kayak-themed bags, which they are now selling online.  A Christmas present idea for the kayaker that has everything?  See it all on YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5vIMC_jMcw

Regards, Paul

This Year's AGM was held in Patonga Public Hall.
You can read the AGM Minutes here.

Thanks for those registered for the AGM Zoom meeting at 5.00 pm on Saturday 25 July 2020.

The link to the meeting is as follows:

https://zoom.us/j/98727852346

Please leave your video off initially.  It may need to be turned on for voting reasons but we will see how we go with numbers on the ground at Patonga – and bandwidth through my mobile phone during the meeting.

Notice of 2020 NSWSKC Annual General Meeting and

Call for Committee Nominations

AGM will be held on Sat 25 Jul 2020 at Patonga Community Hall and via Zoom. Below are the Agenda and details.

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Saturday 25 July 2020

Community Hall, Address 6 Brisk St, Patonga, and remotely via Zoom

The AGM will commence at 5pm

BYO for a drink and refreshments to share before the meeting

Meeting Agenda

1. Present

2. Apologies

3. Previous Minutes – AGM 2019

4. Committee Reports:

·   President

·   Vice president

·   Secretary/Treasurer and presentation of accounts

·   Training Co-ordinator

·   Trips Co-ordinator

·   Internet Co-ordinator

·   RnR Co-ordinator

·   Editor

5. Special Business:

‘That Campbell Tiley be appointed as a Life Member in recognition of his service to the Club’

6. Election of the 2020/2021 Committee

We will then adjourn to the pub for dinner – no booked space but there should be options mid-winter.

Camping is available at Patonga, ring 43791287 to book.  Weekend bookings need to be for two days.  Cost will be minimised by booking Saturday and Sunday nights or sharing a site. Make it a social weekend by staying for the night and paddling on Sunday.

If you are interested in nominating for a position on the Committee please do so by email to either the President or Secretary.  Details of the responsibilities of the Committee members are available at https://www.nswseakayaker.asn.au/page-18296.  Note that the Training and Trips Coordinator positions will now be combined, and a new position of Social Coordinator has been created (see below).  Nominations close seven days prior to the meeting.

In the coming days the AGM will be listed as a Club event – both in person at Patonga and remotely via Zoom.  Please register your intention so that we can plan around the Covid-19 restrictions.  There will be paddling options on both Saturday and Sunday

New Committee Position: Social Coordinator

This position is intended to promote the social aspects of the Club, including the effective use of social media.  The role of this position is:

·   Initiate, coordinate and manage events to promote and maintain the social benefits offered by the Club

·   Provide oversight and direction of social media platforms formally used by the Club

As of 15 May 2020 COVID-19 restrictions in NSW were eased such that groups of up to 10 people can congregate outside.  This has allowed the NSW SKC to resume offering Club trips for groups up to that size.

Whilst this is great news it doesn't mean we are back to where we were before the restrictions - we need to still manage within the health guidelines.  So maximum group size is 10 (including leaders), and social distancing should be planned for and practised on trips, both on and off the water.

The Club requests that you do the following:

• At launch and on return to cars please maintain social distancing, and efficiently get organised and move off.  This is both about keeping our members safe and about public perception 
• For group briefings/de-briefings select a quiet location (away from the water?) where you will be able to maintain distancing whilst conducting the briefing
• When on the water if you need to raft up think about doing it in a way that maintains a distance of 1.5m between people

Of course you should also download the COVIDSafe app if you haven’t done so already.  We want to make sure we can do effective contact tracing if the need arises.

So keep an eye on the website for a return to (semi) social paddling opportunities!

IMPORTANT NOTICE!
from the Committee of the NSW Sea Kayak Club

Owing to the federal and state government restrictions now in place to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus, all NSW Sea Kayak Club group activities (i.e. trips, training and social gatherings) have been suspended until further notice.

Your committee is working on some off water activities during these times and they will be announced in coming weeks.

Keep safe and Stay tuned.

07 / Apr / 2020

With only nine days left before we gather in Batemans Bay for  the 2020 Rock and Roll, final preparations are being made for the event by your committee. Registrations will close on the 6th March, which will provide just enough time to assemble your registration packs, advise the caterers at the Catalina Club of our final dinner numbers and finalise our shopping lists for breakfasts and the Saturday BBQ. Remember to use the On-line shop to purchase extra raffle tickets, extra dinners for non-paddling family members and guests, and any special needs (e.g. vegetarian)  meals. Have a safe trip to Batemans Bay. If you are getting hungry on the way down, stop for a pie at the East Lynne shop, for although the building was (just) saved from the bushfires, the business was closed for 8 weeks because of fire damage and loss of power and communications with consequent loss of income. 

Neil Gow

RNR20 Co-ordinator