Luke Dooley

Race report

A very nice race organised by the CRCC. Managed to take line honours, however because it's a Nomination Race, I made my time too long and came 8th. Great race, although had to leave straight afterwards to attend Slalom WA rolling session at Riverton Leisurplex and so couldn't hang round for presentations.

Race report

My first time doing the Bridgetown weekend turned out to be an extremely great trip. Although I didn't have the fastest of runs, I certainly enjoyed my time on the new river to me.

Race report

An excellent race and another great practice run for myself. Paddled a team with Ben Pope and myself in a DR with Kris Smith in his wavehopper. Kris pushed very hard and I was very impressed with our second place.

Race report

Another not so good run down Bells. Will certainly need to practice the fastest lines before next year's race! Had fun nevertheless and paddled up to Walyunga afterwards against the 1.3m water currents which was well worth doing. Thanks to Jenny Vogel for giving me a lif on the day!

Race report

Not the best of runs throu Bells as it's not a section I've practiced a lot. Water levels were quite exciting, being around 1.3m. Didn't take the best of lines, as my slightly slower times reflected.

Race report

An excellent Avon Descent for me this year paddling my kayak centre K1. No swims throughout the entire event. Did some damage to the foot bar, leaving my foot pumps unusable for most of day 2 and costing me several places. Also need to think through my food plans next year for the final flat water push to the finish. Very glad in my choice of boat. Finished 8th overall and 4th K1 on day 1 and 15th overall and the 5th K1 on day 2 which was still pleasing. Didn't quite manage to beat Darryl Long on day 2 which will mean I've got even more training to do next year! Pretty good going however for my second Avon at the age of 17. Race report in full can be found in the CDU newsletter, Kalbarri Towntalk or by emailing Luke_Dooley@hotmail.com.

Race report

Race turned out to be a scouting mission before the Descent in a couples of weeks. Water levels were quite poor and the damage done to my poor paddle displayed just how low the water was. Thankfully my boat held out okay. Not a very fast paddle from me, but thoroughly enjoyed the trip and no major issues over the distance gives me some good confidence for the Avon not too far away now! Thanks again of course to Peter G for always offering me a lift, really appreciate it! Went to the bakery aerwards as well which always makes the trip worth it.

Race report

Another excellent race organised by the WW committee. Thanks also to Peter Gigengack who, once again, was kind enough to chauffeur me to the race, bakery, other bakery and then back home. The race this year was the first time it had been run after the change from the Walyunga race. It was an awesome event and great to practice a fairly technical section of river usually neglected in the lead up to Avon. The race went very well for me and I was extremely glad I'd chosen to do a practice run beforehand. Unfortunately I finished about 34 seconds behind Dave Worthy and had to settle for second once again. Thoroughly enjoyed the day and especially the double bakery run!

Race report

Very low water levels in the area (.3) made for a very challenging race. It really payed to know the course today and that's where my laziness showed. I hadn't seen that section of course since the Avon Descent nearly a full year ago, meaning I had no idea where any of the channels were going to be. I took every wrong turn you could possibly make and spent most of the race either going backwards or dragging the boat through the mud or gravel on my knuckles.

*Photo is not of the actual race (DR Drain Race a few weeks beforehand) as there was nobody taking photos on the day (that I saw).

Thankfully Patrick Irwin had organised pumpkin soup at the finish which made it all worth it. Thanks also to Peter G for giving me a lift and Bonnie who went back home for a spare PFD after I left mine at the house door- again!

Race report

Paddled the club Evo K2 with Max Smith. Unfortunately we had a bent rudder shaft very early on in the race and were forced to complete the remaining 25 kilometres paddling in a zig-zag pattern. We were unable to stay on any wash as the boat was too much of a handful, but used the K3 as a pacing boat so that we'd have motivation to get to the finish. A major dissapointment after we'd sorted out our other problems and were looking forward to having a good race. Just turned out not to be our day but we will make sure we are ready to go hard for the next race.

Race report

A very close race again between myself and the mighty Dave Worthy. I thought for sure I had him this week, but the results showed that only 1.9 seconds separated us after a 3.5 kilometre race! A thoroughly enjoyable day again thanks to the wild water team. Had some great photos and then enjoyed testing my skills at the slalom race immediately afterwards.

Race report

Very exciting to be racing back at home, this time in Terry's marathon boat. Managed to stay with Brendan and Will for most of the race, but was dropped just over a kilometre from the finish. It was a very enjoyable race and I was very pleased with my result, especially considering I'd completed the full Ultra Kalbarri Adventurethon the day beforehand.

*Photo is actually of the paddle leg of the Adventurethon the day beforehand as there were no photos for the Dash that I could easily find.

Race report

What an amazing race it was this year! After completing the ride leg of the ultra as part of a team last year, I made it my mission to complete the full course solo this year at the age of 16. It was a great challenge and I was very pleased with my performance and results. The run leg went much, much better than expected and I was back in town before I knew it. Paddle was great fun in 2.8m swells on my V14 red nose ski. Unfortunately the lack of rain meant the ride leg featured soft sand for most of it, costing me the second place and making me work uncomfortably hard. It was a very proud moment crossing the finish line and an awesome event again thanks to Joel Savage and his amazing team!

Race report

Anther hit out in the K2 with my worlds 2017 partner, Max Smith. We paddled very well, but were unfortunately not able to keep up with the immense pace of the winning K2. Paddled very nicely, but were very glad to get out afterwards as our bums became a little sore after such a long race.
The K4 championships were also on at the same time, making for some amazing racing on the day with 11 of the 14 K4's in the state manned and out on the water racing.

Race report

Not the best of races for Max and myself. It was a very uncomfortable 18 kilometres. Started off very well, but soon developed a lean as we near the Ascot Kayak Club. The K4 passed us a few kilometres later and unfortunately clipped our rudder with one of their paddles as a result of some confusion/ miscommunication. We pulled over to the bank to bend our rudder back into shape and set about catching back up to the K4 fill with a bit of rage. We managed to catch back up and beat them, but unfortunately had a bad lean for the entire 18 kilometres and I felt like pulling out at the 12 kilometre mark. We were sure glad to get our of the boat after that one! A good effort, but a lot of work is still to be done before the world championships in September.

Race report

Run 2:
Dave was kind enough to let me borrow his DR for the second run. Is called a crest I think and was much faster on the straights than the Avenger. Did not turn anywhere near as well though which really showed on the 7th turn when I ended up in the bank. Nearly missed a marker as well, meaning I had to backtrack quickly. The few mistakes meant I was still ten seconds behind the mighty Dave Worthy. Awesome day for such a great event and was amazed at the amount of entries.

Race report

Run 1:
Had a near perfect run with no mistakes on any of the turns. Powered the straights and made up as much time as possible. Still unfortunately 20 seconds behind Dave Worthy; not sure how he did that!

Race report

In the K2 with Max Smith. We had a good run, although were not quite fast enough to keep onto the wash of the other very strong teams.

Race report

Another excellent race organised by the marathon committee. Pretty tight at the start, but after the two kilometre mark it was just myself with Josh out of sight to power through the wash. Was caught at the 12km mark by the Greed K2 and the pack which followed, however I was still feeling very strong at that point and managed to get a wash ride, while dropping all my competition off the pack. Continued the final 4 kilometres easily with no huge hassles to come home with second in div 1 and third overall.
Our first sausage sizzle as part of Max and my fundraising to get to the upcoming world championships went very smoothly thanks to the Smith family.

Race report

What an experience! Spent all week in Pemberton fly fishing and Mt biking and was considering whether or not to compete. Very glad I did. Was probably the hardest challenge I've done to date; much harder than the Avon Descent. After just 15kms I felt I'd have to pull out, but I kept pushing and made the whole 100kms. Once I got past the 85km mark, I'd properly had enough, however I knew I had to keep going.
I was filled with an amazing sense that I'd properly achieved something. Just goes to show what can be achieved with a little bit of fitness and a lot of determination!
Thanks also to Mark Hudson for being kind enough to chauffeur me around to and from Northcliffe for the race. It's such an amazing community in pretty much all sporting disciplines with every helping each other out. Really appreciate it!

Race report

Race was an awesome event and the sorter distance made for an easy, enjoyable event. Powerboats made some great wash. Unfortunately we we not able to hitch a ride; however some waves may have 'accidentally' been caught as they were had to avoid. Was really out there to have fun in the more exciting conditions than the usual flatwater conditions.
Paddled back home after the race (Fremantle to Ascot) which meant I clocked up nearly forty kilometres for the day; pretty good start to Avon training! Won a thermal flask for coming second in the open section which I was wrapped with!
A great event thanks to the Swan Canoe Club.

Race report

Mixed K2 Open in the 2017 CWA State Championships. Paddled with Tyler Armenti who paddled beautifully all day. Unfortunately, we were just pipped to the line by our competitors, Mark and Bronwyn. Was a very good race and we did very well considering the gusty winds and the fact that we'd never paddled together before.

Race report

Paddling Terry's epic, managed to keep up with a relaxed Josh Kippin for my race, leaving me with a huge margin over my competitors. Were absolutely beautiful conditions for racing.

Race report

Paddled in the Ascot Kayak Club K2 with Max Smith. We paddled very well the whole way round, but weren't strong enough to beat the mighty team of Mitchell Cronin and Daniel Mole. We were however very strong and got within four minutes of their race time, so we were happy with our performance. Max paddled with perfect synchronism the whole way round, as shown in the photo. Thanks Max, you're a legend!

Race report

Competition was much stronger this year. I was paddling an Epic Legacy L this year leant to me by Terry Bolland of Canoeing Down Under who also sponsored me a brand new race paddle. He made sure I had no excuses!
Pontoon portages and the 6 lap 5 portage course combined with the competition this year made for a much tougher race this year. Managed to keep on the lead pack for the first half of the race, but was dropped later in lap 4 to a very strong pair of Daniel Mole and Mitchell Cronin. Well done boys, you paddled really well!
Thanks to Terry Bolland (Canoeing Down Under) for your support before and during the race. Thanks also to Mum who made the trip over this year and got some great photos. Well done to the rest of the state team. You've done WA proud!

Race report

Paddled in a K2 with Max Smith. We had a disaster of a race! Just before the race, the rudder cables were fiddled with, meaning I couldn't have my left leg on the bar or the tiller would get in the way. We had a spray deck only on the front, meaning the boat quickly filled with water as soon as the power boats came along. And just to add to it all, we stopped several times to empty out, got nearly all the weed in the river around our rudder and were bogged down in the smelly Canning River mud. Despite all this, we kept going, had fun and learnt a few lessons! Especially well done to Luke Egger and Tom Green for getting the big boys! *photo is not of the race, however does feature the same boat and arrangements to which we had in the race.

Race report

What a great race! Thanks to Mike Myers for giving me a lift all the way to Mandurah and letting me have a drive on the way. Conditions were a little smaller than perfect, but certainly nothing to complain about. Getting closer to Kris Plain each race we are in which is a good sign. Paddled my Epic V14 ski from Terry Bolland of Canoeing Down Under.