Packraft safety refresher this weekend - SYDNEY/ CANBERRA

Hi Guys,

This weekend I am running a refresher safety weekend on the Shoalhaven - Long Point section near Marulan.

Most of the discussion is happening on the facebook pages:

But the details are:

Summary:
Location - Shoalhaven River, between Long Point Track and Badgerry’s Track
Day 1 - Skills building and camp at the bottom of Long Point (in the river bend)
Day 2 - Paddle to Badgerry’s Track - reading and running river features along the way

The most important part of a packrafting trip is getting home safely, the second most important is having as much fun as possible. The aims of this weekend are to get our safety practices up to scratch for the upcoming season, perfect our technique and laze around on one of my favourite rivers.

The weekend will be split over two days, and you can come for both or either. They are however at the bottom of a very big hill, which you will need to schlep all of your stuff down!

The first day will revolve around safety and skills building including:

Recommended safety equipment
Throw rope 101
Swimming in rapids
Ferrying and eddying
Basic strokes and techniques

After a probable cold night of huddling around a fire drinking port, day 2 will involve floating down the river (Gr II+) for about 9km’s. On this stretch we will check out some river features and practice our suite of paddle strokes.

As for gear, you will need:

Packraft
Paddle
Type III PFD
Helmet
Cold water gear (full length wetsuits/ drysuit)
Throw rope (if you have one)
River knife (if you have one)

Camping gear (if you are staying overnight) + a way to keep it dry

As for actual logistics, let’s work that out through the week, but the plan is to get to the Long Point trackhead fairly early on Saturday.

A BIG DISCLAIMER:
I am not qualified in any outdoors pursuit (whitewater, hiking etc). This is a skills share and not a formal course and I take no responsibility for the well being of any participants. After we start floating on Sunday, we cannot turn back, so please make sure you assess your competency and the risks before taking part.

Having said all this, it should be a winning weekend and look forward to hanging out with some packrafters!