I should really start reading the challenges I'm set
before I get people voting on them.
It's come back to haunt me lately, first with the Lombard Street, San Francisco cycle challenge.
Who knew the steepest and crookedest street was single laned,
one-way down hill and I had to cycle UP it?!
The latest silliness involves a paddle board and a fishing rod.
I regularly fall off the curb so balance isn't one of my strong
points. Thankfully I'm blessed with the naïve belief that anything
I try I'll be really good at, first time, without paying too much
attention to instructions. This attitude has resulted in golf club
throwing, surfboard meltdowns and a rather nasty bikini wax rash
that really could have been avoided if I'd taken the time to read
the packet.
Jack from Sydney Scenic SUP set Seb, Sharne and I up with
all the equipment we needed and Sydney provided a stellar Sunday
morning of blue skies, no wind and a harbour as flat as a punctured
bicycle tyre.
Seb is a fellow-adventurer who is working through a dazzling
bucket-list and sharing it with the world via his website and
Sharne is the Sydney local who suggested the challenge.
When I asked Seb if he had any stand up paddleboard experience
he shrugged non-commitally, failing to mention he and Dave Cornthwaite were the first chaps to SUP the length
of Lake Geneva.
Yeah, I'd say that qualifies as experience Seb.
After a quick safety briefing from Jack (while I daydreamed
about being pulled on my board by a dolphin) we pushed out from
Mosman, starting on our knees. We progressed to a standup position
once we found our paddling mojo... so far so good. We made our way
around the point and past the Taronga Zoo ferry terminal. Why pay
$20 to go to a zoo when you can be entertained by half a dozen
idiots trying to walk on a water?
We went ashore and had a swim and then it was time for the main
event - fishing. Jack had the rod ready to go and we baited it with
white bread. I think perhaps fish prefer toast for breakfast, not
the soggy white mess that hung limply on the end of my hook.
I could see little fish cruising around but they avoided me and
my rod, probably because it was bouncing around like bungee cord as
I tried to stay above the water. Eventually I hooked a fish and
proudly posed for a photo with Seb with the spiky Sydney skyline in
the background.
Paddle boarding, tick.
Fishing, tick.
Dead fish on my hook, tick.
Being April 1st I must come clean about my pescado
prank. Frustrated with my lack of bites, I spotted a dead fish
floating by and hooked it on, ticking all the boxes of my
challenge. Is it still considered 'catching' a fish if you scoop a
dead fish out of the water with your bare hands? Ok, maybe Jack did
the scooping but that really is me holding the rod.
We couldn't have asked for better weather or a more picturesque
postcard-perfect opportunity to walk on water. Thanks to everyone
who turned up, Jack from Sydney Scenic SUP and a special mention to
my cousin Gareth who creeped around and took photos of us from the
bushes with his giant lense.
