Event organiser Shannon O’Brien, of Sydney Harbour Kayaks, received notification from NSW Maritime on Friday last week to say due to current river levels, the Murray is closed to all events.
“Over the past few months, the Murray River region has seen massive amounts of rain, with the major dams all around 99 per cent full,” Mr O’Brien said.
“The forecast predicts above-average rainfall; on top of this, we will have all the snow melt going into the river system.
“Safety is our primary concern and with the river, at these levels, if we held the race in November, there would be sections of the riverbank that would be unable to be reached in case of an emergency.
“The danger was way too high to try and run the race.”
After speaking to all the parties involved, including local councils and authorities, Mr O’Brien said the new date for the 415km paddle from Yarrawonga to Koondrook would be February 27 to March 3, 2023.
“Because everyone loves our race, the councils and authorities will pick up the phone to work through any problems we have,” Mr O’Brien said.
“This will see two Massive Murray Paddles in 2023, with the traditional timeslot of November 20 to 24, 2023, also planning to go ahead.
“So far, all the paddlers have transferred to the February event and some to the November 2023 event.
“I have been able to speak to the majority of the teams over the past couple of days and the support has been amazing.
“Hopefully, all of our paddlers and crews will have no issues with changing accommodation and bookings.”
The Massive Murray Paddle has been running since 1969, making the February race the 53rd event after a lower than expected turnout in 2021 and the event cancelled due to COVID-19 in 2020.
Sydney Harbour Kayaks has used the delay and downtime to make a few tweaks to the course, with day three of the paddle ending at the beautiful Moama beach, before leaving Moama beach on day four to paddle the 63km to Torrumbarry.
“COVID has given us more time to plan the event, which means we are now able to paddle through the Gunbower Forest after leaving Moama,” Mr O’Brien said.
“The great thing about postponing the event is that more people can register.
“You don’t need to be a professional paddler to take part. Paddlers with less experience can join a team or create a relay team of their own.”
For more information on the event or to register a team, go to www.mmp415.racing
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