Paddler sends powerful message along coast

A 16,000-KILOMETRE journey named ‘The Paddle of Aus’ around the coastline of the Australian mainland passed through the Surf Coast at the weekend.

Athlete Bonnie Hancock started her Sunday stretch from Point Lonsdale at 9.30am with a community paddle with about 15 people joining her on the Torquay leg of the paddle.

Hancock left her home of Mermaid Beach on the Gold Coast at the end of last year to embark on what is expected to be a six-month ski paddle around the coastline of Australia with her committed team close behind.

After passing Torquay, she continued onwards and finished the day about seven kilometres west of Apollo Bay.

The Surf Coast has had a profound impact on Hancock in the past as the athlete competed there growing up.

“Some of the highlights from the day were passing Torquay and Jan Juc, two places which I have previously competed as a nipper and in the Nutri-Grain series,” she said.

“In addition to this, I was extremely grateful for all the support from the local paddling community.”

In true Torquay SLSC fashion, the club’s athletes were keen to get involved.

Led by ski coach Tim Altman, a team of Torquay skiers motivated Hancock along to Torquay where the group then took photos before parting ways in front of the clubhouse.

“I was extremely grateful for the support of the Torquay SLSC paddlers and was inspired by their willingness to come out and paddle with me,” Hancock said.

“It’s a really beautiful feeling to have the lifesaving community behind me as I pursue this goal!”

Torquay SLSC praised Hancock for what she was trying to achieve and were honoured to paddle next to her.

“What Bonnie has set out to achieve in ‘The Paddle of Aus’ and the fundraising partner she has selected shows drive and commitment as well as compassion that few of us could dream of achieving,” Torquay SLSC club captain Julian Sweeney said.

“Tim [Altman] has an established relationship and shared passion with Bonnie and her husband Matt, so he was honoured to be able to paddle out from the club to show his support.”

The next challenge for Hancock will be navigating the Great Australian Bight along the southern side of the country, a stretch expected to offer some of the roughest conditions of her trip.

In addition to Hancock’s efforts, the paddler has also established a fundraising link to raise awareness for mental health charity Gotcha4Life, who work to help people improve their mental fitness as they focus on the creation of meaningful connections within communities.

“One of their main focuses is preventing people from getting to crisis point as often once this point is reached there can be no going back,” Hancock said.

“This is a message that I strongly believe in, and I feel that a person is only as strong as their support network, Gotcha4Life works to help facilitate these connections and social interactions which is part of what makes their cause so important.”

To make a donation, head to gotcha4life-fundraising.raisely.com/bonniehancock.