Paddlers dress up in colorful regalia on their way into Moama as part of ‘Be Bright, Be Seen’ day, promoting water safety.
Photo by
JORDAN TOWNROW
The annual odyssey of paddle-powered crafts is making its way back to Moama next week.
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The 57th edition of the Massive Murray Paddle kicks off on Monday, November 16 in Yarrawonga, and the long-range voyage will make its stop at Moama beach on Wednesday afternoon.
Any paddle-based craft is welcome at the event, and there is the option to take on the journey alone or in teams.
Event director Shannon O’Brien from Sydney Harbour Kayaks said the Murray looked to be conducive to fast times for participants.
“I think the river's in good shape,” he said.
“The farmers seem like they're getting a good amount of water so that means the Yarrawonga Weir is releasing 10,500 megalitres a day and that equals about a 2-3 km/h flow, so that's a really fast extra push that's encouraging for our teams.”
From a day one start in Yarrawonga, paddlers will begin their 415km voyage, heading first to Tocumwal.
Tuesday sees the competitors reach Picnic Point, before heading into Moama Beach on day three.
On Thursday morning, the paddlers resume the journey from Moama, heading to Torrumbarry before rounding out the race with a leg from Gunbower to Koondrook on Friday.
There are some concerns around accompanying vehicles navigating conditions in Gunbower Forest on day five, but otherwise O’Brien hopes it should be smooth sailing for competitors and volunteers.
The event experienced a nice uptick in numbers last year to almost 400 paddlers, and has held firm around that number this year, but O’Brien said the make-up of the field was quite different.
“We've got more first-timers than ever before, so that's really positive,” he said.
“We may have dropped off some people, but brand newbies have come on in a really big capacity, so I see that as something that's great for the future.”
A significant portion of the overall number represents a growing partnership with Indigenous youth groups, who participate in teams alongside NSW or Victoria police.
Fundraising is an important aspect of the annual paddle, which allows each individual or team to support the cause of their choice.
“I think sometimes when you tell people that they must give money to certain causes which may not touch at their heart they may not be as fanatical,” O’Brien said.
“But if it's something really important to them, people just become crazy and the amounts of money that they get is really good.
“We've got a team this year, one of the Indigenous teams, who are bringing a coffee cart with them and that's going to follow closely with the paddlers and crew and that's their fundraising mechanism for the week.”
Riley Hobbs took to last year’s event like a duck to water.
The event has raised more than $1.2 million since 2016.
For O’Brien and wife Kate, this year marks the 10th event since they took over operations (it didn’t run in 2020), and they have no plans to give it up any time soon.
The pair was originally offered sponsorship around 12 years ago by then-organisers YMCA Victoria.
“We weren't in a financial position to do anything, but we were able to bring some paddlers, and we were able to bring some kayaks for people to rent and just be around,” O’Brien said.
“We started hearing that the management of YMCA were a bit over it, and they were going to get rid of it.
“We went through a bit of a process to make sure that we had the resources to do it and then it just happened.
“As long as we're able to make a difference to people by using the race and the charity component, then we'll just keep continuing to do it.
“We think our formula is right and while we have a lot of enthusiasm for it, it's easy to just keep going.
“I can easily see that we just keep going for another 10 and see what happens.”
Paddlers will begin filtering into Moama Beach from around noon on Wednesday.
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