Kayaker tribute in Cairns

Sadness in Cairns yesterday on the Barron river as a group of kayakers paddled together to commemorate the life of Dale Peake
 

Moving tribute to kayaker Dale Peake

Laura Packham

Saturday, December 18, 2010

© The Cairns Post

 

IT could not have been a more fitting farewell: "He always had a smile on the river, no matter how tired we all were or hard the conditions were getting".

A circle of kayaks in tribute to a thrill seeker who challenged the fury of the river he called his second home.

Cairns-based kayaker Dale Peake disappeared on Wednesday afternoon after he plunged down a waterfall downstream of the Barron Falls and failed to resurface.

Distraught friends yesterday described Mr Peake as a soft-spoken man whose heart was in the outdoors.

Tears were wiped away as wreaths were laid into the water, with the group of kayakers paddling single file from the Barron River hydroelectric power station downstream to Lake Placid.

"He loved the river, it was his second home," Cairns Canoe and Kayak Club president and friend Josh Bond said.

"We’re all sad and depressed – it was very
unexpected.

"He always had a smile on the river no matter how tired we all were, or how hard the conditions were getting, he’d always be smiling, bringing everyone’s mood back up."

Mr Peake had been on a paddling excursion and was with two other Cairns men, aged 24 and 32, en route to Barron Gorge hydro-electric power station, when the accident happened.

Mr Bond said the other kayakers were still traumatised by the incident.

"They’re getting by," he said.

"Losing a mate in the river ... and feeling helpless is never a good thing." Mr Peake’s body was found Thursday morning less than 200m from where he was last seen.

Police investigations are continuing into the circumstances surrounding his death.

Mr Bond said there were many dangers on the river but said it was an educated risk with stringent safety measures.

"There are many dangers but we’re not cowboys," he said. "Like all of us, Dale loved being on the river, it was his home and we’re going to miss him."

 

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Mourned: Kayaker Dale Peake, pictured in a photograph supplied by his family, has been farewelled in a moving tribute on the Barron River.

 

Tribute: A group of kayakers hold a vigil for their friend Dale Peake, who drowned on the Barron River earlier this week.