Surfskiing in Nelligan

John has taken up a sport called surfskiing. One of his colleagues at school surfskiis and asked John the first week we were here if he would like to join him on a Saturday morning. The first day they went out from Corrigan's Beach, near Batemans Bay to surfski at the mouth of the river, and from then on every Saturday morning they have gone up river about 20 km to a little town called Nelligan to surfski in the river. A surfski is a long narrow kayak-like boat, about 5 metres long and 50 cm wide. There is a shallow depression to sit on, and two levers for one's feet to activate the rudder. You don't sit in the boat like a kayak, but on it. John says they are very tippy until you get the handle of it (I should be getting him to blog this...) The paddle has a blade at either end, like a kayak paddle.
On Saturday, 23 February, there was a series of races in Nelligan, for surfskiis, kayaks, double kayaks, and other self-propelled watercraft. There were some Olypmic-calibre racers here qualifying for state finales and amateurs like John (#31) and Pete. It was another gorgeous day here on the south coast of New South Wales, and the girls and I went out to watch the races. We had some french fries and slurpies from the local cafe and then sat on the grassy riverbank. The different categories all started a few minutes apart, and it was down the river for 3 km and back again.