Hawkesbury Canoe Classic 8-9 November 2025

The Hawkesbury Classic Paddle is a unique opportunity to pit yourself against the physical and mental hurdles thrown up by a 111km, overnight, paddle from Windsor to Mooney Mooney on Sydney's majestic Hawkesbury River. Lane Cove River Kayakers is a longstanding supporter of the HCC with substantial experience amongst our paddlers. The report below provides a perspective on the experience that was HCC 2025

Some useful links:

• 2025 HCC photos on LCRK Flickr (LCRK paddlers)
• 2025 HCC photos on LCRK Flickr (all paddlers)
• 2025 Results (via webscorer)
• Hawkesbury Canoe Classic home page

2025 LCRK Results

The table below shows the results for LCRK Paddlers - sorted by 111km vs Dash vs Sprint distance

Justin Paine - ably assisted by Tim McNamara had a mission for the night - to record the times of passing LCRKers at Sackville and Wisemans in order. This provides key information on splits and average speeds (and stop times) that give insight into paddling strategies for individual boats.

Justin reported that conditions at Sackville were difficult for timekeeping, with competitors landing at two beaches 200 metres apart, and some passing non-stop and so far out in the river it was hard to hear boat numbers when they were called out. Estimated times have been used in the chart where numbers were missed - these can be updated if there are material anomalies.

- CLICK for above table as a PDF

- CLICK for above table as a PDF

Reflections from the River: The Hawkesbury Canoe Classic - Phil Newman - 12:03:46

Each year, the Hawkesbury Canoe Classic draws a remarkable mix of paddlers—young and old, seasoned and new—each arriving with their own dreams. Some chase speed, some a personal best, and others simply the finish line. But all come to test something deeper: their resolve, their courage, their mettle.

You see it in the quiet moments before the start. The nervous smiles. The whispered doubts. The obsessive gear prep'. Each paddler carries their own story, their own fears, their own hope of becoming the best version of themselves—if only for one long, this year, moonlit night.

Some go solo, embracing the solitude and the challenge of self-reliance. Others paddle in pairs or teams, placing trust in shared rhythm and mutual strength. That trust is beautiful—and risky. One injury, one mishap, and the dream can falter. But together, they chase something faster, something greater.

And yet, beyond the individual journeys, something extraordinary emerges: a collective spirit. A river of determination. A community of grit and grace. Each stroke, each cheer, each checkpoint manned by amazing volunteers—woven into a tapestry of shared purpose.

To the organisers, the volunteers, the support crews, and the friends and families waiting at the finish: thank you. You don’t just support the paddlers—you elevate them. You turn a race into a movement. A challenge into a celebration. A river into a story worth telling.

Here’s to every paddler who dared. And to every soul who helped them dare.

HCC #1 - Geraint Jones - 14:05:31

The idea was planted in my head about 2 years ago when I noticed some Hawkesbury Classic trophies on a friend’s sideboard. He described how great it was and how he only did a bit of training beforehand (I’ll be having words with him about this). I then bought myself a sea kayak and started coming along to the LCRK Wednesday night paddles. Since most of my energy was expended carrying this tank of a kayak to the water, I swapped this for a lightweight and optimistically tippy kayak (everyone did warn me to get something stable to start with). I then spent a year wobbling and gaining valuable swimming practice. Earlier this year I ‘luckily’ cracked this kayak during the LCRK’s self-rescue training day. So, I threw in the towel and got myself a surf ski (easier to climb back onto!).

After completing the Myall Classic this year, John Duffy told me that if I can complete the Myall then the HCC is easier by comparison due to the pit stops (I’ll be having words with him about this). Hence, I signed up for my first HCC…

So, after peppering John Duffy and Duncan Johnstone with hundreds of questions: “how do I know which way to go in the dark? etc...” and finding myself a Landcrew (Thanks a million Scott & Eli Tyers!) I felt I was ready. So, with a military style checklist, scientifically measured amounts of carbohydrates etc I headed for Windsor. Unfortunately, my seat pad blew off somewhere between home and Windsor. Panic diverted, as I realised, I had a spare stability pad in my car. However, after I started paddling, I realised the stability pad had a less slippery surface* than my usual top pad and was incredibly uncomfortable for my posterior.
* I’m not sure if this slipperiness comment is factually correct, but psychologically it was definitely the problem.

At Sackville, Allana Ewin magically appeared with a sheet of Teflon (I didn’t even realise such a thing existed), and this made a huge difference to my comfort levels. I know I would never have made it to the finish without this addition to my seat.

As night fell, my race became more interesting….

An hour after leaving Sackville, I encountered a group of teenagers who were swimming in the darkness and having a great time surprising the passing kayakers. They definitely surprised me. Since, I had paddled a bit too close to a mubank, they offered to ‘help’ me get back out into deeper water. So, as one gave me a semi-helpful push, his mate decided it would be more fun to simply tip me over @#$%! In defence of the teenagers, they were equally annoyed by the antics of their one mate. I politely declined their further offers of help. I remember feeling particularly low as I was exiting the Big W, especially as I was getting my mental arithmetic wrong and thinking I still had another hour and half before I reached Wisemans Ferry. To my relief, Wisemans appeared within half an hour, and I was greeted by a fantastic firework display that was majestically reflected off the river (I’m pretty sure this happened, and I wasn’t hallucinating!).

At Wisemans, I got into some dry clothes and after a longer than planned stop, and some gentle coaxing by Scott, I continued on…

An hour after leaving Wisemans I was nearly garrotted by a fishing line from an unattended fishing rod at the end of someone's private jetty. This siren of a jetty was cunningly disguised with fairy lights to resemble a check point. That was swim number 2.

Everybody had told me not to stop at the Low Tide Pit Stop as “you will never want to leave”. However, I couldn’t resist! I was very grateful of the warm fire, the friendly chat, the cup of coffee and the encouragement that: “I was almost there”.

As I headed back out onto the river, I witnessed some spectacular shooting stars and then watched the sky get gradually lighter as dawn approached. While exhausted at this point, I at least felt that I was counting down the kms. However, as I rounded Bar Point and again within sight of the finish line, I went for two more swims. I’d like to say the waves were three feet high (they weren’t), but I think any size ripple had the potential to tip me over at this point. I was very glad I attended the self-rescue course earlier this year!! The most important lesson I remembered, was to take a breather after getting my body over the kayak before attempting to get my legs on. After umpteen attempts to remount without simply flipping over the opposite side, I was tempted to just drift with the tide, hanging onto the side of my kayak for the final 500m. I decided this would be a bit undignified, so with one final herculean effort (in my opinion) I managed to get back on board. Cue the sun rose over the horizon!

It was a wonderful feeling to reach the finish and be handed my medal. It's strange how I spent 14hrs thinking "I'm never doing this again" to now thinking "next year I must get a better glue for my seat…".

HCC Race Report - Dimi M - 8:18:58

I hadn’t seriously considered paddling the Hawkesbury Classic until last year. The idea of paddling for nine hours straight just seemed too hard — something beyond what I could do.

But after completing several ultra-marathon races over the past few years, the Hawkesbury Classic eventually found its way onto my radar. I still thought it would be incredibly tough in a K1, but when my good friend and accomplished marathon paddler James Pralija asked if I’d be interested in racing it in a double, it suddenly seemed much more achievable. So, our preparation began.

We logged plenty of long training sessions, often with our teammates Alex and Naomi, who were set to paddle the race in a K2. James decided we’d use a double ski — a bit longer and slower to accelerate, but noticeably more stable, which we’d later be thankful for.

We were also fortunate to have Peter Manley on our side. A regular participant in this event, Peter had to skip this year’s race due to a shoulder injury and generously volunteered to be our land crew instead. We arrived at the race venue early in the afternoon, got our boats scrutinized, and completed our final preparations — checking hydration bladders, gels, solid food packs, and spare warm clothes for the checkpoints.

The Start
Our race plan was to paddle strongly through the first half and cover as much distance as possible while it was still light and the tide was helping us. We started at 5 PM (in the latest group) and immediately faced a fairly strong headwind for the first half hour — not ideal for our plan. Luckily, the wind soon dropped, and we began to take full advantage of the outgoing tide, swapping leads with Alex and Naomi and maintaining an average pace of around 14 km/h.

Watching my heart rate, I realized we might be pushing a bit too hard, so I tried to conserve energy whenever I could while recovering during their turns in the lead. With James having done this race several times before, and Naomi being an experienced Hawkesbury paddler (she must’ve finished it a dozen times!), I trusted that our experienced partners knew what pace we could sustain.

Through the Night
We skipped the first big checkpoint at 30 km and continued toward Wisemans Ferry, our first planned stop. The section was fairly uneventful, apart from a brief scare when we hit our rudder while overtaking a slower boat on the inside line. By the 50 km mark, we had caught nearly all the paddlers who had started 30 to 60 minutes ahead of us, except for a couple of doubles, who reached Wisemans just minutes before we did. We covered the first 60 km in 4 hours 20 minutes, much faster than I had expected. But we knew the second half would inevitably slow down — the tide would turn against us, and we’d lose the light.

At Wisemans, Peter and Andrew Pratley (who was looking after Alex and Naomi) were ready and waiting. They helped us out of the boats, refilled our hydration packs, and handed over gels, food, and warm clothes. After a quick stop — plus a few extra minutes waiting for the ferry to cross — we set off again. For the next few kilometers, both doubles paddled together, but soon Alex and Naomi started to slow. Even at a steady pace, they were struggling to keep up. We decided to stop at the next checkpoint to check on them. Unfortunately, Alex had pushed himself beyond his limits and hit the wall. They faced a tough decision: this checkpoint was the last with road access. Continuing would mean another 30 km in the dark, against the tide, without a safety net. In hindsight, they absolutely made the right call to withdraw there.

The Long Push to the Finish
It was a setback to lose our teammates, but after a brief regroup, we decided to continue — with a key adjustment. We swapped seats so that I would take over navigation and set the tempo. It took a while to get used to steering and reading the GPS in total darkness. At one point, we even ran straight into some tree branches. Thankfully, as the moon rose, visibility improved and the river became less mysterious. With about 15 km to go, another challenge struck — James’s shoulder started giving him serious pain. Soon, he was in agony, but with no nearby roads or beaches, stopping wasn’t an option. Fortunately, the next checkpoint had painkillers, which gave him enough relief to continue. We found that lowering our arms and adjusting our paddling rhythm made the pain more bearable.

The final kilometers were brutal — choppy open water, exhaustion, and darkness all combining to test us one last time. Physically and mentally, we were spent, but this was when I truly appreciated James’s choice of craft. In a less stable K2, that final stretch could have been a nightmare.

Then, finally, we rounded the passage between the land and the island — and there it was: the Mooney Mooney Bridge, with its flashing orange light marking the finish.

It was a wonderful night — the river reflecting the full moon, lightning flashing on the horizon, stars everywhere, even a few shooting stars. But nothing compared to that orange light — the most beautiful thing I’d seen all night.

'The Finish
A few final strokes later, we crossed the finish line — the first boat to do so. As I later learned, we had even set a new Open Men’s Double record, though at that moment, none of that really mattered. Andrew was waiting to help us out of the boat and hand us some warm clothes. Moments later, Peter arrived with Alex and Naomi, offering much-needed post-race drinks. Together, we packed up and made our way home — tired, sore, but deeply satisfied.

Before the race, I’d asked several paddlers who had done both the Myall and Hawkesbury races which one they found tougher. Some said Myall was more demanding because of its higher intensity. I reserved my judgment until after finishing the Classic — and now, having done it, I believe the HCC is the harder race, at least the way we tackled it. Being more than twice as long and raced partly in the dark, there are simply more opportunities for things to go wrong, even for experienced paddlers.

A massive effort all around — and huge thanks to my teammates, our land crew, and the event organizers for making it such an unforgettable experience.

Hawkesbury Canoe Classic – A view from the sidelines - Peter Manley

I was privileged to be the support staff for 2 gun boats – James P & Dmytro and backup for Naomi & Alex. Just like when you choose your doubles partner, it’s best to select fast ones so you can get home to bed before anyone else.

It started with JP advising he was “running a little behind” and would be to my place to collect me “soon”. It did leave us running a bit tight for time, and a few panicked phone calls to anyone who would answer to confirm scrutineering would remain open for us were required. Once confirmed we could relax on the way to Windsor (though Naomi may not have been, having gone earlier). Once cleared by the officials we could all try and stay cool and catch up with the other competitors.

The last start (5:00pm doubles) saw Keg make his dash to be 1st to the bridge while my teams recognised there was a long way to go so took it relatively easy.

The trackers are great and all the landcrews could watch with interest the status of all boats though those of us with Telstra as a mobile provider had a better chance of connecting. A few landcrews went for a dip at Sackville to cool off while we waited and soon enough boats started arriving. My teams cruised by looking strong and hauling in other boats.

Then off to Wiseman’s where Steve, Selina, Elke and others had done a great job setting up the LCRK site, including quite a range of snacks. I was able to spend some time with them as those on the water were still a fair way off. That said when they did arrive it was like an F1 pitstop – change of top, drink and a sandwich, fresh bladder connected into the boat and away – all within the designated 5-minute window. At this stage Alex wasn’t feeling 100% but persevered.

I then headed earlier than other to the finish expecting some quiet time to myself where I could catch up on some reading (and finishing the LCRK monthly accounts). Alas it was not to be. A call came in from Andrew P (who was cycling the course) that Naomi and Alex were at Checkpoint K having withdrawn due to ill health. Now I was torn – I needed to collect Naomi & Alex, but my other crew would arrive while I was away. Thankfully, Richard Andrews had arrived to assume his shift at the finish, so I left bags with him and headed off.

A dark and lonely drive via Spencer and then almost missing the checkpoint land entrance but was let in and met a relieved crew. The 1st aiders had looked after them well, but a change of clothes was welcome. Then back to the finish.

Boats loaded on to the roof then a celebratory whiskey before heading for home, by 3:30am (any other landcrew jealous?).

Well done to all the paddlers.

Adrian's HCC 2025 - 13:47:02

Highlights

• Finishing the event – only the second (I know now why) 80+yo to do it solo
• The vibe of the event and the funds it’s raised this year for the Arrow Bone Marrow Transplant Foundation – approaching $100,000! Contributions to date to my fund raising efforts amount to somewhere around $1,500 (against a target of $1,000)
• The land crew support of long-time friend, Lindsay Somerville, backing up for his 4th HCC
• The sense of camaraderie on the water
• The 2 cups of hot chocolate at Low Tide Pit stop
• Massages of neck and shoulders by Jana (Sackville), Nam (Wisemans) and friend Chris Chilton at the finish
• Chris being there to greet me paddling into the finish (he was expecting me to arrive a lot earlier!)
• The conditions on the night and the lovely sunrise approaching the finish
• My age/division record (Over 70 UN1 set when I was 78 and a tad under 11:30 hours) still stands. The only participant to challenge the record was Greg Thompson of the Penrith Club (and a mere whippersnapper of 70) – he was about 15 minutes off the pace.

Lowlights

• Three swims – 2 as a result of running into overhanging branches in the Big W; a swim lasting around 25 minutes in the crossing between Bar Point and Milson Passage.
• The realisation that I did not do sufficient training for the event – a factor contributing to my third swim where my balance was severely diminished through fatigue.

My time

• A PW by almost half an hour.
• It didn’t take me long into the paddle to realise that I wasn’t going to match the goal of an average pace of 8.5kph I’d set myself. Mishap free I reckon I would have saved an hour on the time I registered at the finish.

Thoughts

• It’s good that the HCC organisers insist on paddlers having a pealess whistle in their life jacket and a waterproof torch tethered to their kayak. I only wish that they would remind us senior citizens when they might prove useful.
• I had two main concerns during my long swim in the crossing from Bar Point: i) It took place in Bull Shark alley at feeding time and ii) A DNF was on the cards

Thanks to:

• Justin Paine who encouraged me have a go at replicating his feat of paddling the event solo as an 80+yo. I was the second to do it but Justin will always be the first!
• Lindsay Somerville for backing up for the 4th time as my land crew.
• Tony Hystek for finding me a space blanket so I could look the scrutineer in the eye and say I had one.
• All who contributed to my fund raising efforts for Arrow.
• Jana Osvald for assisting Lindsay at Sackville and the neck and shoulder massage she gave me (as well as slathering Gurney Goo on a sensitive part of my lower back).
• Nam for massage and Gurney Gooing my back at Wisemans.
• The Mud Larks at Wisemans (I remember Selena, Esther, Merry and Stephen W helping me in and out my kayak, sponging out the water from the swims, etc – apologies if there were others).
• The encouragement of everyone at Wisemans Ferry as I headed off to the finish.
• The crew at Low Tide Pit Stop – my first visit there in 6 HCCs.
• The crew of the rubber duckie who dumped the water from my kayak and helped me to get back in near Milson Island.
• Richard Andrews and JD (we all know who that is) and Chris Chilton for looking after me at the finish.

Tom Simmat 13:53:22

Below is a picture of the current wife Christine land crewing for the HCC in 1991. (When the start was on the other side of the river.)

I hired a couple of SEAWASPS and did the race with my son who was then 16. Kobi competed as part of his Queen Scout award and it was signed off the then HCC race director.

Christine has land crewed for every Hawkesbury since. We only missed a few so probably about 30. I did not finish all of them for various reasons like home made Kayaks sinking. This is a bigger problem for landcrew because she had to go back and find me, often on the opposite side of the river.

I think landcrewing for 30 classics is quite an achievement, - she says landcrewing has aged her.