I went for a little bit of a play at Hurley today. A couple of hours over lunch followed by a rather pleasant meal at the Red Lion afterwards.

It’s become painfully apparent that I’m out of practice. My efforts on the weir were somewhat sub-par despite the almost perfect three gate level and sunny weather. To add insult to injury Joe, one of the Pathfinders, came along for his first ever outing to Hurley and showed both Dave S and myself up. Well done Joe.

To further compound the wound Neil, who hasn’t been to Hurley in five years and has been off the water most of this year due to a shoulder injury, turned up and started performing cartwheels straight away.

I’m going back tomorrow morning to practice, hopefully the level will hold.

A few pictures can be found HERE.

Mere weeks since I was last north of the border I once again found myself up in Scotland. This time for the annual KCC excursion to Roy Bridge.

Seeing as Andy (pictured left) did such a good job of providing an online narration for the week I won’t bother with the usual long winded write-up. But you can find my photos by clicking HERE.

Andy’s posts are linked here:

• - Scotland here we come
• - Day 1 - The Blackwater
• - Day 2 - Spean Gorge and Arkaig
• - Day 3 - Middle Orchy and Arkaig
• - Day 4 - Lower Tummel
• - Day 5 - Lower Findhorn
• - Day 6 - Middle Etive & Allt Mheuran
• - Scotland photos

We’re heading to Scotland tomorrow and I’m getting all excited about it.

Notes from last years trip here and pictures here.

Looks like we’re going to get more water this year and a lot colder:

http://www.metcheck.com/V40/UK/FREE/7days.asp?zipcode=fort%20william

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It’s been a busy couple of weeks, work has had me all over the place but I’ve managed to sneak in a couple of sessions down at Abingdon weir which I haven’t done in a while. I wouldn’t exactly say it like visiting an old friend but its good to see it still being used.

In between trips to London and NY Vicky and I managed to catch up with some friends and get a pleasant Sundays paddling down in Dartmoor. In spate. In fact it was so big we passed on the Upper and opted to do the West Dart and the Loop instead.

Great fun was had despite a little bit of grief from Landowners and Park Wardens, see here http://www.ukriversguidebook.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=40633&start=60 for more details on that little bit of fun.

Mark took some picture that can be found here: http://www.ukriversguidebook.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=42032

The day after this I got around to replacing my camera that went swimming at the WWPF with a new Nixon D90, which the above photo was taken at the only chance I’ve had to use it so far.

Next week Scotland.

Who said video killed the radio star? we all know some people look their best on the radio…

Radio Interview

UPDATE - managed to salvage the second memory card. Pics on the same link.

Vicky, Dave H and myself made the 8 hour drive up to Fort William on Friday for the 2008 Wet West Paddlefest. Leaving Oxford early we made it the Etive with plenty of time to get a run in.

Hmmm, in retrospect maybe not such a good idea. Various excuses were trundled out but the long and the short of it is that both Dave and I swam at right angle falls. To be fair it seemed to be claiming quite a few victims, still embarrassing though.

To add insult to injury I then proceeded to get my camera in contact with the river. Scratch one SLR.

Friday night at the Ice Factor was good fun. By this time we’d met up with various other people and a few beers were consumed. I managed to sleep though who ever it was outside our cabin that thought it was a good idea to jump on tents at 3 am and his subsequent arrest.

Saturday. Shunning the Garry we headed back to the Etive for another bash. Things seemed to be going so much better, I was feeling a lot better than the day before. Then I managed to repeat my performance from the previous day at right angle. Sulking I decided not to walk up to do the Allt a’ Chaorainn With the others and instead get eaten alive by midges instead. 

Saturday night and the party was fun. I especially enjoyed Dave’s face when we walked in to the crowded hall and he realised no one inside was wearing fancy dress yet, he was slightly conspicuous in his ‘Thunderbirds’ costume! Luckily more costumes appeared as the night went on, although I’m a little worried that people didn’t seem to realise that my ‘gay cowboy look’ was actually fancy dress.

Somewhat shockingly we managed to get up promptly and get to the Morriston in good time only to find that there had been a delay in getting the dam to release so by the time we got on the water we had only enough time to do the upper section. Still a magnificent time was had and I managed the top drop without going through the slot for the first time ever. This made me happy.

Eight and a half hours later we made it back to Oxford. By this time having got over my annoyance at myself for swimming I’d decided that it wasn’t a bad weekends paddling after all.

If you get the chance to go to next years WWPF then I’d defiantly recommend it, great fun.

What pictures I managed to salvage from my camera can be found here: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/simon.knox/WetWestPaddlefest2008

It’s been a while since I was last on the water. The summer months seem to get quite  busy with family and friends thinking that the weathers best suited to social engagements.

Anyway as I said I haven’t been on the water since the beginning of July when I  fell out of my boat in the eddy at Hurley, its a long story and quite humiliating so I won’t go into it here.

This week it rained quite a lot, enough in fact to bring Hurley up to three on Wednesday. So what did I do? went to Abingdon of course. Seeing as I’ve been out of practice I thought I’d go down to help out with a Kingfisher Canoe Club night. The big A was quite high but at least I got some exercise. Picture including the invasion of the club by swans can be seen here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/simon.knox/Abingdon13thAugust2008

Today I finally got myself down to Hurley which had now dropped to two gates. Its may of been a while but all went fine.

It also gave me the opportunity to test out my new camera lens which happily seems to work rather well. the fruits of my labour can be seen here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/simon.knox/Hurley18thAugust2008

After Wednesdays encounter with the wildlife it seemed quite amusing to find the ducks at Hurley seemed to want to join in with the fun us kayakers were having.

We actually he didn’t have much choice as he got chucked over the top of the weir by his mate who he was having a fight with!

At the start of the run in to ‘Surprise Surprise’ the thought flashed through my mind that that this might not be such a good idea after all.

I couldn’t recall ever paddling the Dart this high before and it had all ready bested two of our group. I hadn’t capsized all day but surely it was just a matter of time? Then again I’d seen Andy disappear down without any problems and there were two boats to catch in front so down I went…

Twenty four hours earlier I was siting in front of my computer making the final arrangements for Sundays expedition. The gauge on www.dartcom.co.uk showed sixty odd millimetres of train had fallen on Saturday which added to the twenty something on Friday meant that despite the fact it was July then the rivers or Dartmoor had to be running.

The 0530 start was tolerable, at least I’d arrange to meet Andy at by the M4 less than half an hour from my house so I wouldn’t have to drive all the way. Collecting Louise and Vicky on the way we were soon on our way to Devon for some summer boating.

Checking the Internet on the way it appeared another twenty millimetres had fallen over Devon since midnight and a flood warning had been issued by the EA. Reports on www.ukriversguidebook.co.uk suggested the Upper Dart might be around the third or fourth step (for those who don’t know, that’s quite high). This convinced us to drive straight on past the Dart to check out the Erme.

We didn’t need the chap from Kayaks & Paddles we bumped into in Ivybridge to convince us it was too high to put on, that much was obvious, however his suggestion of the Middle Tavy seemed like a good idea. After consulting one copy of English Whitewater, one AA road atlas and Google Maps we managed to find the way to Hill Bridge.

None of had paddled the Tavy before and despite a few butterflies we all decided we liked the look of it. The weir below Hill Bridge was being rebuilt so we got on beneath this and found a rather pleasant paddle. Rather like and easier version of the Erme in fact.

The butterflies obviously got to Vicky as she went over and got pushed against a wall resulting in an undeserved swim. The rest of the river passed without incident and we only had to get out to inspect once.

Five kilometres of river later we decided that boating in the summer means more tree dodging! Then we discovered the flaw in my summer boating plan, one car means no shuttle opportunity. As we’d used Andy’s car he got to walk back from Harford Bridge to Hill Bridge fetch it (he managed to hitch a lift for the last mile).

Consulting the map again we realised there was a short cut across the moor to Dartmeet so we headed off to check out the Upper Dart. On arrival we met some other boaters who told us the levels had dropped to a more manageable ‘on the ledge’ level so we arranged to blag a shuttle off them and put on the river.

The first few hundred metres brought huge grins to our faces despite the weather that had taken a turn for the worse. Rain and gray skies weren’t going to stop us enjoying this.

Soon I realised that the river was bigger than I thought and probably bigger than any of us had paddled before. Still it wasn’t that much bigger and everyone was enjoying it didn’t seem like a problem.

As we started round the island at ‘Lucky Tor’ we soon realised that it was a different beast to the normal low-medium levels we normally run the Dart at. Later on we decided that it wasn’t huge, but at the tipping point where the river changes character. Holes had formed that we weren’t expecting to be there and it took a little more concentration and effort than normal to avoid them.

Vicky unfortunately managed to get caught by one of these holes, only to be knocked out of it by Louise. Whilst she was attempting to roll Louise was surfing the hole attempting to extricate herself to no avail.

With the help of the gentlemen we met at the get in we quickly recovered both their boats and took a quick breather. Despite the swims everyone wanted to carry on so we headed off.

Things went much better between here and ‘Euthanasia Falls’ everyone was on top form. Boofs worked, rolls worked and apart from my brief surfing experience at the bottom of one of the ledges we had no problems.

Deciding to take the hard left line down ‘Euthanasia’ we went down one by one. As the last of the group to run it I managed to reach the bottom upright to be greeted with sight of Louise rolling (successfully) and Andy making sure Vicky was safely on the bank.

Vicky was the unfortunate victim of a snapped set of paddles. Despite a valient attempt to roll with only one blade she ended up with a bruised finger and out of her boat.

When we sure she was safe Andy, Myself and Louise started to chase Vicky’s boat. Unfortunately (and I didn’t see what happened) Louise took another swim. Making sure that she was okay Andy and I resumed the chase. This time after two boats…

And that’s how I found myself watching Andy disappear over the horizon line  towards ‘Surprise Surprise’.

Following him down I took the left line and , to my surprise, came through unscathed. Floating in the pool before me was Vicky’s boat which I quickly tied to a branch on the bank to stop it floating off. Heading off downstream again I soon came across Louise’s boat pinned on a rock above the next rapid. With no sight of Andy I realised we would never be able to reach the boat where it was so I rammed it off the rock and followed it down the river.

At the pool following the rapid I was rather glad to find Andy and have the opportunity to secure the runaway boat. Taking a moment to catch our breath I realised what both Andy and I had both done; essentially soloed a significant portion of a river that had already handed out a beating to two of our party and found it exhilarating! I wouldn’t recommend it as a regular activity but I can see why Knees seems to enjoy boat chases so much.

Shortly Vicky and Louise appeared on the opposite bank and indicated that they were both going out walk out, Louise’s shoulder hurt and they’d both had enough. With the meat of the river over Andy and I decided to carry on so I secured Louise boat well way from the river for later retrieval and we headed off.

Reaching Newbridge Andy collected the car and I walked back up the river to collect Louise’s boat. A walk that was further than I expected. By the time I returned Vicky and Louise had returned safely. Unfortunately Louise had taken a bit of a beating; her face was bruised and her shoulder was painful enough to require a sling. Despite this she decided that she would rather head home then visit the local hospital.

The journey home was was only interrupted for a brief stop at Andy’s parents to eat what felt like the most deserved fish and chips ever. Eventually we arrived home around midnight, nineteen hours later.

Louise visited A&E the following morning and unfortunately it appears she’s partially dislocated her clavicle. Hopefully she’ll recover quickly.

Despite the end of the story being a downer I think everyone enjoyed their summer boating, after all its not often you get to paddle the Upper Dart in July.

Photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/simon.knox/Dartmoor672008

Andy’s write-up: http://andywicks.wordpress.com/2008/07/08/high-water-on-dartmoor/

Finally a great big thank you to the guys who helped us with boat recovery and the shuttle.

Been a slow and dry weekend so I’ve posted a copy of the Trasher article I wrote about our trip to India.

This originally appeared in the March/April edition.

http://thedrownedfish.co.uk/paddling-reports/club-class-to-india/

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Despite being delayed for a few weeks due to the fact that the Thames had too much water the KCC Blastathon went ahead yesterday.

Despite the inclement weather a good sized crowd turned up with sixteen competitors* and more that that speculating from the weir.

For those that don’t know the format here is a brief recap;

• Each competitor gets two runs of sixty seconds each in the weir (Abingdon).
• Points are scored for each move you make from the list of official moves that contains tricks ranging from front surfing, the ‘Blast’, to old school paddle twirls.
• A rubber dog bone is suspended above the weir and points are awarded for hitting it with your paddle, hand, boat etc..
• Each move only scores the first time it is performed in each run**.
• If performed with no paddles then the move scores double and counts as a separate trick for the previous rule.
• Bonus points are awarded at the judges discretion and this year as it was mid-summers night extra points were given for quoting Shakespeare in weir.
• No prize (except the kingfisher statue) cost more than 99p.

The rubber dog bone part may have given away the fact that no one takes it to seriously.

Anyway with Chris not competing, Marcus unable to attend and Andy Mc out of practice this year the score board was bound to get shaken up a little.

And it was, despite turning up late Richard managed to sweep the board taking first place in the men’s forcing Mike in to second place and Matt into third. Louise took the ladies award and Joe and Harry scored the same number of points in the under 18’s category.

Despite the slightly unpleasant level, and an unfortunate choice of gates to use there were minimum swimmers.

Prizes were awarded back at the hut whilst we all barbequed and debated wether Canada Goose would taste nice or not.

Thanks to Dave S for doing all the organising and Dave H, Chris and Helen for doing the judging.

And that’s it till next year…

My photos are here: http://picasaweb.google.com/simon.knox/Blastathon2008

And Matt Attree has some here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=44971&l=b4cf0&id=528436321
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=44972&l=9c20b&id=528436321

* Not the highest number of competitors we’ve ever had but enough to make it fun.

** This rule was instigated a few years back after a certain Mr Wheeler turned up and performed 37 flat spins in a row with no paddles.