Paddling 250km for BMT patients

Can we all just agree that 250km is a long way to paddle? Most of us would be so daunted by the thought of paddling that far that we would choose to do something else over our summer break, like watch the cricket, perhaps. Not so Wennie van Lint. Wennie is a long-term supporter of Arrow, and prone to take on big challenges, like paddling 250km for BMT patients… but this time he hit a bit of a snag along the way.
The challenge
Wennie took on the challenge over Christmas:
He was to paddle 250km along the Murray River from Brigenbrong Bridge to Union Bridge as a fundraising event for Arrow. It’s his own version of the “bridge to bridge” that runs on the Hawkesbury River in NSW each year, albeit at quite a different pace.
Wennie called for people to sponsor him 10 cents per kilometer, with a promise that if he didn’t start, or if he failed to do the distance, he would contribute $4 out of his own pocket for each kilometre not completed.
Did he make it? Well not quite, or should we say, not just yet! A few set-backs were encountered as Wennie details in his story below.
Wennie’s “Bridge to Bridge” story
“What I should have done was to go to the Boxing Day Test, have a few beers and send $4,000 directly to the Arrow Foundation.
I failed to take my own advice, which was to take two boats and decide which one to use once I saw the water level at Bringenbrong Bridge. I should have been paddling a TK1 with a trailing rudder rather than the K1 with a fixed rudder (or I should have borrowed a K1 with a trailing rudder). The water level was 80cm lower than it was three weeks ago.
The first 13 km to Towong went well, averaging better than 10 k/h even though I had to walk the boat through gravel rushes on 5 or 6 occasions – no damage done to the rudder.
But moving along well in deeper water I struck a something — a log or a rock? — that bent the shaft badly and shattered the rudder. At this point I did think about the Mighty Murray event in 2003, when I paddled with Neil Greison. Neil brought two spare rudders and by the end of day three we had used both of them. He drove 40 kms at the end of the day’s paddle to a friend’s place so he could repair the two damaged rudders. We had no damage on day four and five, but felt comfortable to go as hard as we could knowing that we had spares. Neil was a better planner than I was. We were also going a bit faster having done the 404 km in 30 hours.
Without a rudder I found it difficult to keep a line, which made it more difficult to paddle – but I did manage another 30 km, until I got caught in some fast-flowing water after taking the wrong route around a small island. I was dragged into the current under some trees. Going along sideways without the rudder, it was hard to get the boat to turn. I went under the tree with the boat forced under water when it hit a branch – I saw my escape route 5 seconds before it was activated – a branch in the tree that would hold me.
There I was standing on a branch up to my waist in water and my kayak at my feet being forced further underwater and the two ends gradually getting closer to each other as the force of the water caused the boat to fold in the middle.
Not much more to do there! I couldn’t move the boat, so I moved myself out through the branches and jumped into the water and floated down to the next gravel rush. I rang Tricia (my land support) to update her on my progress. This disaster happened on the NSW side of the river, so I had to swim across the Murray to get back to Victoria. The walk along the river wasn’t easy and I did worry about snakes. I even met one, but we agreed to go our separate ways.
No boat put an end to the paddle, so we headed for our hotel at Walwa, had a nice meal a few drinks and stayed the night”.
Highlights of the trip
Despite the early end to his paddle, Wennie did reflect on the highlights of the trip listing the following “pluses to his adventure'”
- Two platypuses swimming next to the boat for about 45 seconds.
- Saw plenty of herons (night and blue).
- Saw the largest pelican I have ever seen- it was majestic in take-off.
- Plenty of riverside camping spots – never know when you might need one.
- Nice bush-walk along the river – but don’t do it in paddling booties.
- A beautiful river, but it could do with more water.
Amazing. And Wennie should also add to his list of pluses the $4,062 in funding that he has raised for stem cell transplant patients.
Wennie is still determined to complete the challenge. On his way back to Albury, in a debrief with Tricia of the previous day’s events, a few decisions were made and Wennie’s plan is:
- Day 2 and Day 3 of the challenge to be done over the Easter long weekend.
- Use a TK1 for both days.
- Appeal to your (ie. Arrow and is donors) ‘mercy’ to allow me to extend the completion date to the end of April, with the hope of limiting the ‘distance not done’ to just 40km.
- Add a donation of $160 for missing the Tintaldra to Walwa leg.
We wish Wennie all the best in “Take 2” of his paddling adventure and give a big thank you to Wennie and Tricia for their generous support of our work.
If you would like to help Wennie continue his fundraising efforts and support him in the second half of his paddling adventure over the Easter long weekend, you can visit his fundraising page here.