Kayaking History

This page has resources that KASK members have researched, research from other sources and URLs directing readers to sites with historic information.

King Island Kayak

In 1997 KASK members, with the help of museum staff, measured, photographed and documented the King Island kayak held in the Canterbury Museum, Christchurch, New Zealand.

See KING ISLAND KAYAK SURVEY.pdf 385 KB.

The Ammassalimiut Kayak

From the Museum National D'Histoire Naturelle, The Ammassalimiut Kayak Technical Evolution. Authors: R.Gessain and P.E. Victor a description of the Ammassalimiut Kayak. This has been translated into English by Kevin Smith.

See The Ammassalimiut Kayak.pdf 430 KB.

The Long Journey Home for a Greenland Kayak

Paul Caffyn's account of his trip to West Greenland and the "return" of the modern Nordkapp sea kayak to its origins.

See - West Greenland 1999.pdf (42 KB)

Queenscliffe Maritime Museum Pushes Ahead With Dedicated Sea Kayaking Exhibition Space

Club members David Golightly and Phillip Woodhouse visited the QMM last Friday and witnessed progress in the creation of a special exhibition featuring displays of Paul Caffyn's 1982 Dreamtime Voyage expedition & Freya Hoffmeister's 2009 Race Around Australia journey. Both paddlers succeeded in circumnavigating the entire mainland continent of Australia, each of these voyages started and finished in Queenscliff at the entrance to Port Phillip.

To enable visitor viewing of continuous 'looping' of photographs from both expeditions, the John Holland Construction Group have kindly donated two complete sets of computer systems to the museum, for dedicated use in the Sea Kayaking Exhibition space.

In other news featuring these two world renowned paddlers it is strongly rumoured that Paul Caffyn is nearing completion of a Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Edition of his popular work The Dreamtime Voyage, which tells the story of his voyage around Australia's coastline. We have also heard unconfirmed news that Freya Hoffmeister and her publications team are well underway with a book dedicated to telling the story of the first woman to circumnavigate Australia.

The museum management has advised that they are on-track to complete the permanent exhibition space to programme. The VSKC are also well advanced in discussions with the club's founding president, Earl de Blonville, regarding reaching agreement for the permanent display at the QMM of the kayak and other memorabilia from his 1977 voyage, which achieved the first successful circumnavigation of Tasmania by sea kayak, a very significant step in the development of sea kayaking at the time. Since those early days of the Victorian Sea Kayak Club, Earl de Blonville has gone on the record many other significant achievements. Now described as an Artic Explorer as well as a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, Earl's 2009 book Seventh Journey is described as an inspiringly candid insight into what it takes to create, launch and lead a highly complex and outrageously ambitious expedition to East Greenland. Earl's book is available through publisher - Bear Clan.

To visit the plaque site in Queenscliff, it can be located on Shortlands Bluff (Melways Map 50 ref K1) or enquire at the museum.

As has been separately reported, Philip Woodhouse recently became the first VSKC paddler to 'contour' each of the twenty-two maritime capes featured on the Victorian coastline. Philip has just self-published his first work Notes on Sea Kayaking, subtitled A Companion for Sea Canoeists.

David Golightly