Hong Kong Surprises

A quick visit to Hong Kong to visit our younger daughter who has been working there, was a week full of surprises.  There is the constant rush of the urban area but with a bit of effort it was easy to find a different side to this region.

Our first excursion was to the island of Cheung Chau, reached easily by ferry from the Central Piers, on Hong Kong island.  The 10 kilometre crossing taking about 30 minutes.  The central part of the island is well developed and appeared pretty crowded so we made our way to the east coast beaches, with the intention of doing some paddle boarding.

 The first surprise was the presence of shark nets, they can be seen running out to sea from near the rocks.  In 1995 3 swimmers were killed by sharks in 10 days so the Hong Kong authorities installed shark nets on a large number of beaches.  There have been no fatalities since.  This was the area that Hong Kong's only Olympic Gold medalist trained.  Lee Lai Shan won gold in windsurfing at the 1996 Olympics. 

 The southern and northern portions of the island consist of granite hills, just like paddling in Jersey, just the sea was a bit warmer.

 Taking a break with the main urban area of Hong Kong visible behind, hopefully the sharks have taken a day off as we dangled feet in the water.

On another day we visited Lantau Island to see the statue of Buddha at Ngong Ping, the cable car ride is nearly 6 kilometres long and gives great views.  After seeing the statue we dropped down to the village of Tai O, which many people also do.  After a walk around the village we left the crowds behind and headed into the hills, for the Tai O infinity pools.

The first section of the walk followed the coast west and south, fortunately most of the route was in the shade but it was still very hot.

After several kilometres of reasonably flat walking, the trail headed upwards.  Every now and again there were distant glimpses of some waterfalls.  On the walk in we only saw 4 other people.

On arrival at the waterfalls it was obvious that quite a few people had made the effort to walk to this delightful spot.

 The pools provided a great place to cool off, following the heat of the walk in from Tai O.  Technically you are not supposed to swim here, there is a sign saying that swimming is not allowed but I think in reality it can be ignored.

Looking over the lip of the dam.  The water behind is part of the Pearl River estuary
 and it was possible to see the building works for the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge link, which went it opens in 2016 will be 50 kilomtres long.

Stand Up Paddle Boarding

I can't believe that it has been nearly 18 months since I entered my last stand up paddle board race, I am not sure where the intervening months have gone. After a Saturday of bright sunshine and light winds Sunday dawned somewhat differently. Overcast with a penetrating southerly wind of about Force 5.  It would have been easy to bail out but I had committed myself to going.

Bonne Nuit looked calm when we arrived but the cats paws moving across the water was an indication that there was a bit of wind about and so it wasn't going to be that easy a morning.

Wet suits and racing vests on we were ready to go.  The events are organized by the Jersey Paddle Club, which has a really active membership with people out on the water most days.

As a sea kayaker I have considered what are the advantages of getting out on a paddle board and in no particular order the reasons include:

1. General fitness
2. Balance
3. Paddle and blade awareness
4. Better understanding of the dynamics of waves
5. Ease of access.  30  minutes on a SUP is worth it whereas kayaking seems to need longer.

So as the next few months pass and we head towards summer why not consider giving it a go besides being really enjoyable it may have benefits for your general sea kayaking

 Myself and Chester from Absolute Adventures getting ready to race.  I was naively relaxed at this point.

 The start was just under the pier entrance at Bonne Nuit

 Some of the paddlers heading east towards Giffard Bay and the first turn

 The first leg was to the rocks on the far side of the bay, complete a short leg out to sea followed by a long run back to Bonne Nuit, a short leg back towards the pier and then start lap 2!

 At the end of lap 2 there was a shorter circuit around the Cheval Rock before returning back to Bonne Nuit.  This addition meant that although we were quite spread out, it was possible to see many of the other paddlers.  Somehow being out there didn't seem quite as lonely.

5.5 kilometres completed in about 50 minutes, pretty satisfied considering it had been 18 months since my last race.  What is clear is how fast the board designs have evolved in that time.  Entering races again may have some serious cost implications

A downwind run

It is hard to believe that it is May, low cloud, heavy rain and a cold northerly wind, gusting up to 21 knots.  So there are limited choices of activities, but a downwind run, across St Ouen's Bay seemed a real possibility.  Launching from L'Etacq it was just under 4 miles to La Pulente, ideally the northerly wind was going to assist the journey down the bay.

 Leaving L'Etacq at the start of the down wind run.  Our destination is lost somewhere in the murk.

 It was important to settle into a steady rhythm and to try and use the following wind.  There were 11 of us on stand up paddleboards, a pretty good turn out considering the conditions.

 La Rocco Tower appearing.  Our route would take us in between the tower and the shore.

La Pulente appearing out of the gloom. I had only taken 4 swims up to this point.  Not far to the first pint!

OK the pictures aren't great but it was a thoroughly miserable day and I think we made the most of it.  It's hard to imagine an alternative activity which would have been as enjoyable on such an afternoon.  Stand up paddleboarding is a great way to train for sea kayaking, it maintains fitness but more importantly it improves balance and gives a better understanding of motion in the water and the effect of waves.  The other advantage of SUP is that it is not so demanding with time, we were only out for 45 minutes but I can't remember the last time I felt this tired as a consequence of paddlesport. 

Give it a go you won't be disappointed.

Stand up Paddleboard

To take advantage of the first week day evening after the clocks switched to British Summer Time, we headed down to Petit Port, a reef break just to the north of Corbiere, to take play on the swell.  My paddling partner was Chester from Absolute Jersey who is considerably more competent than me, its always good to know that there will be somebody looking out for you!

It was only my third go on a SUP but I feel that as sea kayaker I have a number of the skills necessary to control the board, for example, being able to J-stroke but I lack the ability to move my feet around with any degree of confidence.  Its something to work on.
I did manage to catch a number of waves but next time I head out on the boards it might be better to choose a non-surfing venue and get some miles in.

Paddling out at the start of the session.  The breaking wave at the front is the normal Petit Port break, used by surfers when the tide is higher.

 Climbing back on after catching the previous wave.  I didn't make it through the break!

If you haven't tried stand up paddleboarding then look for an opportunity  during the coming months.  It is great fun and surprisingly hard work.  An hour on the board seems to be much harder work than an hour in the gym and its certainly a more pleasant environment in which to train.