7.11.07
SEX, DRUGS, ROCK N ROLL
Well the past 2 years have been interesting to say the least. As Im sure most of you are aware, Ive had more than my fair share of ordeals going on lately but Im hoping that they are all behind me now. Ive served a 2 year suspension which is now completed. It was a difficult 2 years which left me with a lot of time on my hands and unfortunately led me to making some bad decisions and probably to much partying also. I could go on with a lot more stories but I will finish up by stating that although there is a lot of speculation and rumor circulating about my troubles with the law, I am confident that they will be resolved in the very near future and that it will turn out favorably for me and more importantly, that I will be back racing at an elite level very soon.
So that leaves just one thing to do…..and that’s try and get back into shape and train hard. In all honesty I did try and stay fit and in some sort of shape during my time off. It was extremely hard to stay motivated and push myself when I didn’t have any short term goals or races to aim for. I did get through it though and after a solid 6 weeks of training I feel I am in decent shape. In fact I feel I am in good enough shape to get out and race internationally at the upcoming international long distance ocean racing surf ski events and world cups in Hong Kong, Dubai and then Perth in 2 weeks. My preparation has been ok but you could imagine its still been difficult to focus on training with court cases still waiting to be heard and what used to be the simple task of traveling overseas is now quite a complicated and lengthy procedure for me. Im getting there though and am confident that when the race day comes around I will be in the right frame of mind to race and hopefully have been able to put together enough training to get me back to a level that I am used to racing at. Its not going to be easy though as a world class field is lining up for the big prize money and after having not raced, not had a coach or any assistance at all for the past 2 years, it will be a tough race for me. For those that know me though, I have always loved challenges and this will be my greatest one and I am excited about getting out there and seeing just how much I can push myself and challenge myself against the worlds best paddlers.
The next you will hear from me will be once I am away competing. I hope to be able to upload photos, results and stories from these races.
I will also be uploading information about my court cases once I have received a date or any new information. The hardest thing throughout all of this is that I have to sit silently and let rumors and false stories circulate as I am not permitted to make statements until after the trial. I can say once again that I am confident that I will get a favorable result and that hopefully my sporting federations will recognize these outcomes along with my combined efforts of seeking weekly drug tests and counseling in an effort to show that I am committed to correcting my past mistakes and move forward in life with a positive direction.
I will now give you a glimpse of what the past 2 years have had in store for me. As mentioned there has been a fair bit of partying. Some of the photos include a 70’s party night out with some of my friends. I also got a new dog. Then finally is some photos of starting back training.



28.08.05

WORLD TITLE NUMBER 3!!!!
I have just finished racing here at the world titles in Croatia and successfully defended my world K1 500m title and made it number 3 in a row. The conditions were very still so the time of 1:36.9 was extremely quick. 2nd was Lutz Altepost of Germany in 1:37 and Adam Van Koeverden of Canada was 3rd. I am extremely happy with this result especially as I have been training and racing for the last 8 weeks with a broken finger.
My K1 1000m was also very good. I also medalled here and finished 3rd 0.9sec behind the winner and 0.3sec behind 2nd. I was very happy with this race but still think I can race it much better.
I am now celebrating and fly home to Australia tomorrow, but after I have a short holiday in Thailand. When I get home I have to try and stay fit for another month and not party to much as I have the world marathon titles to compete in.
I have attached some photos of me and my medals and also a photo with the winner of the K1 1000m Eiric Veraas Larsen and myself at the Nelo tent. Both the K1 winners used Nelo boats!!!


26.08.05

Racing has finally started here at the world sprint kayak titles. The weather here in Croatia is very hot and sunny. Today I started with the heats of my 3 events the K1 1000m, K1 500m and the K4 1000m. I had been feeling very good in training but I still had the doubt and uncertainty of racing with my broken finger. I wasn’t sure how I would go holding my paddle during racing. Im very happy to say that I had a very good start to racing. I won both the K1 1000m and the K1 500m and also recorded the fastest qualifying time in both events going into the semi finals. In the K4 1000m, it was our very first race together. We suffered from inexperience on the start but once we got going we felt really strong and paddled back to finish 4th. We are happy with this as we can race much better in our semi final. I have included a photo from the opening ceremony for the world titles. I was the flag carrier for Australia. The photo shown is of my fellow friends from my home town of Byron Bay. They are of Craig Rodgers who is in the K4 with me and of one of my best friends who is travelling through Europe and who has come to watch me compete, Dan McCabe. It just so happens that Dan is celebrating his 30th birthday today also so that was great to catch up with him and also celebrate together after competing. To follow all the results of the world titles, CLICK HERE for the official website.


13.08.05

Finally another week of training has finished here in Switzerland. Our training has been going really well but it still has been extremely hard. Next week we start to finally freshen up a little for the world titles in 2 weeks. This afternoon we had a recovery session using an ice cold plunge pool and hot showers. In case you haven’t realised by now, I hate the cold. The idea of jumping into freezing water for a minute isn’t my idea of fun. We spent a minute in the freezing water and then a minute in a really hot shower. In the photos you can see a picture of Craig standing next to the freezing cold plunge pool. It doesn’t look to bad, but trust me, it is so cold. There are some pictures of me standing next to the plunge pool, before going in and screaming at the coldness. Finally is a picture of the relief of finally getting in a really hot shower. We did this continuously for 10 minutes.



26.07.05

I have finally arrived in Europe and am preparing for the world titles. It took me 40hrs to reach my destination but it was finally worth it. I am training in Switzerland in the Swiss Alps. This place is unbelievable. The scenery is breathtaking and the weather is actually really warm. We have a huge lake to train on and lots of mountains surrounding us with snow still on the peaks. We arrived here but have had a few dramas. Our federation forgot to register the trailer for our boats so our coach had to drive the boats on a car with the squeezed on the roof. The trouble is they also forgot to organise a car with roof racks. It was a nightmare for our coach as he arrived in Europe after the huge flight 2 days before us but federation didn’t organise a car to be ready for him on time. He had to spend a whole day sitting and waiting for a car. When he finally got it, it then didn’t have roof racks. In the end he ran out of time as he had to drive from Belgium to Zurich, Switzerland to pick us up. When we arrived our coach was obviously running late so we had to wait several hours for him. Finally we made it to our hotel in the alps at 1am. It was a very long trip but tis great to be here, even though the other guys still don’t have boats to train in.
We decided to spend our first day here doing a bit of exploring and cross training. We went climbing up a huge mountain that is behind our hotel. It didn’t look to bad from the top but we soon realised that we were seriously mistaken. The fact that we are also at 2000m altitude with very thin air didn’t help us. We were breathing hard from just walking up the steps to our hotel. The mountain was quite an adventure to say the least. We climbed for 2hrs on feet, hand and knees. There were a lot of loose rocks that made it very hard to keep your balance and to climb. All of this was made even more difficult for me as I only have one hand to use. It also proved to be dangerous as we nearly got taken out by a big rock bouncing down the mountain…….it was caused by Ken though who wanted to see how far it would roll. It bounced the wrong way and came straight at the other 3 of us. It was amazing how much speed it got so quickly and we had to dive out of the way. We finally made it to the top and enjoyed the scenery. We then realised it was actually going to be harder going back down as it was so steep and unstable. We finally made it though and we are already looking forward to the climb up a bigger mountain. I have attached some photos from our trip. They are in order with photos from the beginning of the steep part of the mountain. Then there are some photos of Craig and Luke climbing. Finally is a photo of Luke, Ken and myself on the top. Then there is a photo of the view from the top and of the lake we will train on.


27.06.05

It has been a week now since i broke my finger. It is plastered into a splint so i cant bend it at all. The final verdict was that I ripped the tendons off the top of my left index finger. The tendons ripped off taking bone with it. I now have to keep it totally straight for 8 weeks in a splint. If i try to bend it before then i will rip the tendons off again and be back to starting all over again. Its still very painful and very frustrating as I didnt realise how much i use that finger and i didnt realise how often I bump things with that finger. Im still getting used to sleeping with it as I wake up most nights after bumping it in my sleep.
It works out that i will be getting the splint off my finger one week before the world titles. It will be very hard to regain 2 months worth of lost strength in that finger in one week but im willing to try. I still have been training and am suprisingly going well. I have to paddle with that finger totally straight. It means i am paddling with only 3 fingers on my left hand which places alot of strain on my forearms. Im getting by though and have to be careful not to bump it and damage it anymore.
For those who dont know me very well, i am very impatient and couldnt help myself and had to get straight back into training and also I had to get back onto my jetski. I spent the weekend back riding my jetski again but this time i was just the driver and not doing any surfing or waterskiing or anything to hurt my finger. I have put in some photos of me and my jetski!


24.05.05

I am now finally in Europe. Its been a crazy few weeks of travel for me but I am finally here. After I left Taipei I had to fly to Hong Kong, London and then finally Brussels. I am now with the rest of the Australian team and have only several days to prepare for a world cup race this weekend. Im a little concerned as I haven’t touched a kayak in over 3 weeks and I haven’t even paddled at all since Molokai over a week ago. I also arrived with a bad cold from all the travel and airconditioning. I really don’t think my body knows what it is in for at the end of the week. Its OK though as I am here more for a guideline of where the rest of the competitors from around the world are at. I know where I am at so I am racing to see how much work I need to do before worlds and not really to win. It doesn’t mean I wont be trying though!!
I also arrived to a brand new Tiger boat from Nelo. These guys never disappoint me and I am very impressed with the new more aggressive Tiger. My Australian Tiger boat is great, but as you will see from the photos, my European Tiger boat has a lot more bite!!
I am now about to have my first paddle in 8 days in my new boat and I am looking forward to paddling it. After training I actually have to re-pack my bag……….again……..and than travel to Duisberg, Germany to prepare for the world cup this weekend. My only problem has been that my paddles have been lost in travel. Hopefully they arrive soon.


19.05.05

Im home again..........for one day!!! I have just flown back into Australia after nearly 2 weeks in Hawaii. I have just returned from competing in the World Ocean Racing title for surf skis in the Molokai crossing race. This was my first time in Hawaii and obviously my first attempt at this near 60km race. I was a little worried going into this event as i have had to train for both my upcoming world cup in sprint kayaking and this endurance event. It was very hard to train for both but i was still confident i could win in my first attempt. The biggest problem though is local knowledge. Experience in invaluable in this event as when you start on Molokai Island, you cant see the finishing Island of Oahu. In fact you can only just start to see the island you are heading for after 1.5hrs. That means until then you are paddling in what you hope is the right direction taking into account the wind, currents and tides and the swell of the ocean. It is very difficult to judge all of this if you havent done it before.
All of that aside, the race started smoothly with me taking the lead from the start. i had to keep looking over my shoulder to make sure my main opponents were following me and that i wasnt heading in the wrong direction. For the first 30mins you have to paddle side onto the wind and swell and paddle well into the channel between the islands before you turn and start going with the wind and big ocean swells. The conditions were really good with big swells and wind but there was alot of sidewind in it meaning if you didnt go up enough, you could miss the finish headland. This would be the worst possible thing you could do as you would then have to paddle back up to it and into a huge headwind and waves as well as the tide. You would lose a huge amount of time as anyone else who went the right way would have all of that going with them.
I was the first to peal away from the pack and start going down wind. My escort boat who was a local fisherman was guiding me and told me it was time to turn. I had to trust his judgement. The rest of the field continued paddling up north. I was the only person to turn then and really thought i had messed it up and gone to soon. After 1.5hrs i had not seen any other paddler at all. All i could see was their escort boats about 2km above me and behind. I knew i was in front but i was worried i would miss the headland and they would have the better line. it was to late to change now though and i had to trust my driver. All of a sudden because i had been hesitating in my direction, 10 time winner of this race Oscar Chalupsky pulled down a big swell next to me. I didnt even know that he was anywhere near me as it is so hard to see between the massive ocean swells. I knew then if Oscar was near by that he was very experienced in this race and that i wasnt going to wrong way. I picked up the pace again and pulled away to the lead once more. I then didnt see him for another hour. He then reappeared near me and again i picked up my speed and pulled away. I could now see the headland and knew we were going to right way. I had lead the race the whole way and the only threat was Oscar. I was sure i had him covered as everytime he pulled up near me i pulled away. We then arrived at the headland where the massive ocean swells hit the cliffs and then rebound off. It gets very tricky and dangerous here. Oscar had the inside run on me and managed to get a rebounding wave off the cliff that gave him about 50m on me. By this stage i was seriously cramping everytime i sprinted for a wave or swell and couldnt straighten my arms fully. I was really hurting but i could see Oscar was also. In the end it was his local knowledge around the headland that got him in front of me and he won the race with myself 2nd. I was pretty happy with this result for my first attempt but was disappointed that i came so close to winning also. We completed the race in 3.5hrs. The race went smoothly with the only close call being when i ran over a 8 foot shark. It then began to follow me after that for a while. It was a little scary as there was no land to be seen anywhere.
I have attached some photos from the race and also from some surfing i did. There is also a photo taken from the start of the race on Molokai of the pool overlooking the ocean. Hawaii is truly a beautiful place!!
I am now unpacking and repacking to leave for Europe tomorrow. I only have one day at home so it is a few crazy days of travel for me. I will arrive in Europe on monday and start competing on friday in world cup 2. I really dont know what kind of shape i will be in after all of this travel and long distance racing. I havent even touched my kayak for 2.5 weeks. I will find out soon enough though if i am in shape!



25.04.05

Its less than 2 weeks before i leave for the Molokai race in Hawaii and its just hit me how long the race actually is. I decided to join some other top paddlers for a long paddle on the weekend. I travelled 2hrs north to the Sunshine Coast to paddle with Martin Kenny, Dean Mercer and Darren Mercer who are all doing the race also. These guys have all been Australian champions in either ski events or iron man events and are extremely fit and competitive. Martin has done Molokaii many times before with a best result of 2nd. We decided on a down wind paddle similar to that of the race. We paddled from Caloundra to Noosa Heads. Thats around 70km!!! It took us 5hrs to do. I felt good for 4hrs but the last hour was very painful and i was so hungry. i had run out of food and water and it hit me hard. i wasnt sure if we were ever going to make it to Noosa as it didnt appear to be getting any closer in a hurry. I finally made it though and will be better prepared next time. It was a good paddle though and had some interesting moments like when i saw 2 sharks. i was about 3kms out to sea and by myself so it gave me a little scare.
Its now monday and i did a 40km paddle this morning which took 3.5hrs. My body doesnt know what has hit it at the moment but as the old saying goes, what doesnt kill me only makes me stronger