Published in Wild Magazine, January 2017
The trick is to not allow yourself to get turned sideways. From our boat we can’t tell if there’s anyone in the kayak up ahead, bobbing parallel to the waves. It’s day three of the Massive Murray Paddle, about 15 kilometres from the port of Echuca, and things are about to get desperate.
Surging wind gusts rake the normally benign Murray into a mean chop. Paddling is like riding a pushbike uphill over a severely corrugated road. From the front seat of our Mirage 730 kayak I take the full force as we rush over to assist. My partner Mark Thornthwaite sits behind and shouts at the back of my head, “Dig in, Ricky! Dig in!”
Tired as I am, I do what Mark says. Mark is the reason I’m here. In fact, he’s the reason every one of the 340 paddlers is here. But now’s not the time to consider history, there’s a boat to get to…