Staff Newsletter October 2019

Staff Newsletter October 2019

ASK Staff Newsletter October 2019

 

Hello Team,

 

Welcome to the second edition of Auckland Sea Kayaks internal Newsletter!

What’s New

  • We have 2 Karakia (Maori prayers or incantations) for our guided tours. Which are attached at the end for you to learn and introduce from the start of November.

 

Staff Training 23/24th

General plan is:

    • Meet 7am at base. Patrick,Tom, Eric, Dan, Ben-?, Brad-?
    • Meet 9am at office. Garren, Ocean, Nic. 3.5 hours
    • Lunch
    • Afternoon Guide’s take off for overnight training mission to Motuihe
    • On training mission we will cover how to run ½ day, day tour, multi-day tours. NZOIA SK leader training, interpretation, LNT 7 Principles, DoE expeditions, rescue training, towing.

 

  • Come prepared with a notepad and pen, a good attitude, energised, focussed and ready to learn

 

  • We aim to be finished around 6pm on Day 2 all going well.

 

Staff

  • Competition time! Coming in hot in November 
    • Ocean is offering up prizes for the best ASK and MBW social posts each month. Seen dolphins? Had a client do something random on a trip worth videoing? Best sunset of the year? Share it on our accounts (let us know if you need access).
    • The posts with the best likes/comments/shares each month will be up for mystery prizes (they’ll change each month).

 

  • Eric “the snowman” Webster is back 
  • Patrick “the waterman” Coleman will arrive on October 22nd and will be joining us on 23/24th “
  • Lara “born again kayaker” Hudson will be here in early December 

ASK

  • We have a lot of new gear this year from flares, first aid kits to pfds and two belts. Each guide has been assigned their own guide gear. On each of your kit you will have a unique coloured cable tie to know its yours.
    • Eric = Yellow
    • Nic = Green
    • Tom = Red
    • Lara = White
    • Dan = Blue
    • Guest guide 1 = Black
    • Guest guide 2 = Double Black
  • Guides are responsible for their gear. If it breaks, is lost and/or is mistreated then the guide will be responsible for the repair/replacement of the item. Normal wear and tear is of course to be expected and acceptable.
  • VHF radio’s need to be cleaned with fresh water after each trip. We have had issues due to corrosion building up on radios. Instructions posted in base

 

MBW

  • Is up and running and into the swing of things thanks to Garren and Nic. 
  • We are going paperless this year! Clients are signing in on i-pads as opposed to the paper sheets we used last year. The daily operations report is also online.
  • Auckland Paddlefest is fast approaching and Garren is working on creating an awesome teaching plan for the future SUP racers of NZ. First event November 7th
  • We are waiting on a sunny day to launch our SOT Kayak tours and are actively seeking models for the photo shoot…if you think you’ve got what’s needed or know someone who fits the bill get in touch!
  • PARTY TIMES!! November 2nd at Mission Bay. Follow the link, like and share with friends and family…..And pray to “Tangaroa” for kind weather and calm seas

Welcome to Summer!

 

New Office setup @Mission Bay! Now none of those pesky tourists will be able to bother us at work…

Did you know?

  • You can walk from the Pacific Ocean to the Tasman Sea in four hours?
  • There are 9 sheep per person in New Zealand, making it the highest ratio in the world.
  • Of all the population in the country, only 5% is human. The rest are animals, making it the highest animal to humans ratio in the world
  • No matter where you are in New Zealand, you’ll never be more than 128 km from the seaside.
  • If Ireland beats New Zealand on Saturday don’t expect to see me at work next week!

Useful Links

Sea Kayaking 

 

Kayaking Techniques

https://www.kayakpaddling.net

Really good website which shows the breakdown of each stroke in pictures and words

 

Sea Kayaking Encyclopedia 

https://www.kayarchy.co.uk/index.htm

Awesome website with an abundance of information about anything from paddling strokes to the  history and how to make your own kayak

 

Kiwi Association of Sea Kayakers

www.kask.co.nz

Our local and nationwide organization of recreational paddlers. Great resources for local information.

 

Local paddling clubs

Adventure Paddlers

https://www.facebook.com/groups/314858885606439/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/780626002105061/

Rolling classes

https://www.facebook.com/events/314413925867873/ 

Interpretation

Hikoi: The Land March. 

https://www.tvnz.co.nz/shows/hikoi-the-land-march

Really interesting story about how Maori people began to reclaim lands taken illegally by the government. There is a good piece about the peaceful occupation of Bastion Point / Michael Joseph Savage Park.

 

Auckland Sea Kayaks Trip Karakia 

 

Karakia for pre trip departure

  

Whakamana te maunga 

Whakamana te wai 

He mauri o ngā tangata 

Ngā mea katoa he pai 

If we look after the water from the mountains 

to the sea, 

it will look after us. 

It is our life force. 

End with either Haumi e Hui e Taiki e !! (all in agreeance) or Amine (more formal). 

 

Karakia for kai:    

E te Atua 

Whakapaingia enei kai 

He oranga mo matou tinana, 

Amine 

 

If you have any ideas and suggestions for the next editions let me know via email.

Thanks for reading

Daniel