Still stoked

Catching waves

The coastal community of Lewisham has been part of Rachael Joy’s life for almost five decades – first as a childhood holiday spot, and now as her home.

“Back in the 1970s, my family rented a little fibro shack near Park Beach,” she says. “My twin uncles would leave their surfboards on the beach, so I started off just playing around with their boards, teaching myself how to surf.”

Now living a short drive from Park Beach, which remains a popular and family-friendly surf spot, Rachael surfs as often as her schedule allows.

“I’ve passed along my old shortboard – the style of high-performance board you’d use in competition,” she says. “I’ve switched to an 8ft foamy, and it’s so much fun. There’s a lot of volume to the board – which makes it easier to stand up – and you don’t need so many waves to head out surfing. You can just get in the water and enjoy it.”

While undergoing treatment for breast cancer two years ago, Rachael found that spending time in the water was an important coping mechanism and a way for her to start regaining a sense of power and control as she healed.

“The water is everything to me,” she says. “It’s a place of connection, beauty and empowerment – where all sorts of weird and wonderful things can happen. The good feelings I get from being in the ocean last for hours after I’ve been for a swim or a surf.”

Rachael says the surfing community has become more inclusive in recent years – especially since COVID lockdowns inspired people to enjoy the outdoors – and she is pleased to see more women and surfers with disabilities enjoying the sport.

“Surfing is becoming available to all people now, as it should be,” she says. “Life is about experience, not performance.”

A passion for paddling

Sandy Bay resident Cas Pitt also grew up in the north of the state, but it was kayaking rather than swimming that first drew him to the water.

“My family weren’t kayakers, but my father was always interested in woodwork,” says Cas. “He had all the tools, so when I was 13, I built my first skin-on-frame kayak – a 14-footer made from canvas and King Billy pine. It was a good entry point for developing my skills.”

Cas held onto that first kayak until he started university, at which point he stepped away from the sport for several years. But when he moved to Hobart in 1980 and saw there was an active paddling community along the Derwent, he was inspired to build his second kayak – an 18ft red cedar night heron – and also joined a group for the first time.

“When I met some of the guys from the Tasmanian Sea Canoeing Club, I wished I’d signed up a lot earlier,” Cas says. “It makes such a difference sharing the experience with other people. You go to more adventurous places, it’s safer and you can draw on all the resources and knowledge of the group.”

That sentiment is shared by Paul Wilkinson, another kayak enthusiast who organises day paddles through Hobart Walking Club, as well as multi-day group expeditions to locations including the Tasman Peninsula and Maria Island.

“For day paddles, it’s generally an older group, and kayaking is great for that,” says Paul. “If people can’t bushwalk because they struggle with the weight of a pack, they can still get a workout without straining anything. There’s also a nice social element; some people describe it as a men’s shed on water.”

Longer trips can be more challenging, especially in remote parts of Tasmania like the Southwest wilderness. Paul recalls one occasion when the conditions forced his group to shelter for five days at Clayton’s Corner – a small cottage tucked among the trees on the banks of Melaleuca Inlet.

“It tends to be salt-of-the-earth people who can cope with a bit of adversity that take up kayaking, so we were fine,” says Paul. “We bunkered down and had a very social time, playing games and singing songs until the weather cleared.”

The dragon's roar

You might not expect dragon-boat racing – a traditional 2000-year-old Chinese water sport – to be a popular activity in Tasmania, but in fact the state is home to seven teams.

Brendan Breen, a member of the Derwent Storms, recently returned from Italy, where the Senior C team (rowers aged 60 and over) competed in the IDBF 14th World Club Crew Championships.

“The Storms have been around for almost 20 years,” says Brendan. “My wife and I lived at Rose Bay, overlooking the water, and we’d often watch the rowers go past. When you see all that activity on the river, it inspires you to get involved yourselves.”

Travel to events and competitions is an important part of dragon boating – Brendan notes that fellow Tasmanians may have seen the distinctive 10m and 12m boats being transported up the Midland Highway to Lake Barrington, where it takes 16 people to carefully unload them from the custom-built trailer into the water.

However, Brendan is also keen to highlight that dragon boating is an accessible option for people seeking a team sport that doesn’t require a lot of lower-body strength.

“If you’ve had a life of crook knees from playing netball or football, dragon boats are ideal,” he says. “It’s the ultimate team sport because you’ve all got to be in sync to paddle efficiently. If one person’s a bit out, then it just doesn’t work.”