The build up to
Sunday’s paddle began on Tuesday of that week. Excitement was
plentiful with forecasts of rain and rivers rising across the country, there
was talk of the Dart, Tawe, Wnion, Tees, etc. As the week progressed
the rain came…… and went! And with heavy heart we watched the rivers fall one
by one.
Inevitably Sunday
came and we looked hopefully at what was left, there was only one within
striking distance! Echoing Churchill’s rousing “We will fight them on the
beaches…” speech we loaded up our troop carriers and headed for D-Day!
We were a mixed group,
blessed with faces old (Steve D) and new (Gina). After some crossed
wires at the get-in, some of our number decided to play mock students for
another club, allowing them to make new acquaintances and paddle with some
fresh direction that left 7 in our intrepid group. A tentative start
from Sam on her comeback from an unfortunate Tryweryn related incident soon
turned out to be an outstanding performance, laying some demons to rest and
providing a much needed boost in confidence.
Highlights of the day
include Sam’s 2 (YES 2) flawless runs through Serpents Tail – by far the
biggest Grade She has run to date, Gina demonstrating that she is a bit of
paddling demon and a very welcome new face to the club, an excellent example of
rescue skills in practice – thank you Jamie for being a willing volunteer ;-)
The other big lesson
from the paddle is that the river from Llangollen to Trevor rapids is a very
picturesque, peaceful, relaxing run, perfect for a sunny afternoon summer
paddle with a nice beer and BBQ to look forward to. Unfortunately on
a Foggy November afternoon, after the fun of paddling the usual Dee section it
is a VERY long, uninspiring, tiring, slog! Thankfully livened up by Colin's
decision to 'Donkey paddle' a large chunk, a feat which many of us joined in,
then Sam and Colin decided to challenge each other to turning round, then over
without falling over...... They both failed! (Surely that counts as a swim!!)
The day was rounded
off in the best possible way with Beer and nibbles at the Gaskell Arms (Much
Wenlock) which has become our regular stopping off point from days out in North
Wales. Even better – the ‘swear box’ wasn’t on the bar, so we didn’t
get stung for fines!!
Thanks for another
great day on the water. Paddlers: - Zaf, Steve, Dave
Y, Laurence, Gina, Sam, Chucky, Colin, Jamie, Ryan and yours truly.
See you next time - Keith