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Les paddles his own canoe to the hall of fame

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Serena KirbyDenmark Bulletin

Sea kayaker Les Allen is one of the latest inductees into Paddle WA’s Hall of Fame.

Denmark resident Les is a past president of the association and a founding member of the Sea Kayak Club of WA.

He was acknowledged as a ‘towering figure in the WA sea kayaking community for more than 25 years and joins recent inductees who include Olympians and elite coaches.

Les is also one of the longest-serving senior instructors and assessors in Australia and has been a guest speaker at numerous symposiums on the east coast.

Les took up sea kayaking 30 years ago after recovering from a broken ankle as a result of a rock-climbing fall.

“My climbing buddy said we were getting too old for rock climbing and that he was going to take up sea kayaking and I said, ‘what’s a sea kayak?’

“It all started from there and we set our fi rst goal to paddle the coast from Coral Bay to Exmouth.”

Since then Les has paddled most of the WA coast as well as countless expeditions along the east coast and Tasmania.

But Les said that some of the best sea kayaking in Australia was along the South Coast.

“Bettys Beach to Waychinicup, West Cape Howe and even Madfish Bay can be pretty damned exciting when you’re trying to get in and out in a swell,” he said.

Les said he had battled huge seas and strong winds just trying to stay alive while getting to the next safe landing.

Life on the ocean had led to seeing things differently.

“People in their day to day lives don’t care much about the phase of the moon or the ebb of the tide,” he said.

“But when you’re on a sea kayak expedition, the ebb and flow of the tide, the constant march of highs and lows across the face of the earth, is everything and your values change.”

Sea kayaking has two parts: the expedition side and the people side.

Les has met lots of wonderful people through the sport.

Though river paddling and sea kayaking were based on the same concept, the two differed as much as drag and Formula One racing.

Les said his induction into the Hall of Fame might have elevated him to a ‘legend’ but that he was ‘still the world’s biggest wuss’ when it came to paddling in crocodile country.

He did some work with wildlife documentary filmmaker and one-time crocodile hunter, the late Malcolm Douglas, to overcome his fear.

“Having seen what crocodiles are capable of I came away even more scared,” Les said.

“If we get into crocodile territory I’m going home.”  

Denmark Bulletin 9 January 2025

This article appeared in the  Denmark Bulletin, 9 January 2025.


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