Aira Beck

After settling into uni life at Penrith, I have finally sat down, got off the river, off the mountain, out of the bar and started to get some work done. I got bored of that so I thought I would update the blog with some paddling exploits.



A week ago or so me and some uni mates paddled Aira Beck. This is a short run (about 3km) of pure boulder bash with some class drops. The get on is a little village called Dockway, and the get out is on Ullswater. The get on started with a river which is about 10ft wide, and about 2ft deep in the deepest places. On the way down you come to some small rapids and drops which you basically grind down on the rock.

You then come to the first drop, a great little drop going into a slide, this drop is brilliant, you can get out and go and do it many times!

Just after this little drop was a continuous slide of about 50ft which was almost flat, it was very wierd, but very cool, especially when you do it backwards like I did. After this there were some more drops, until we came to a 30ft drop which looked sweet, the only problem was that it slammed into a wall, had a step which would over rotate you half way down and funneled into something the size of a tea cup! We walked this, further down there was also another rapid which was unrunnable, it was a very deep gorge which looked very cool from above, but the run in was also again about a grade 7!



We then came to Aira Force. We did not run this, for anyone who does know what Aira Force is, google it, it is very famous and def unrunnable! However we did run the drops just below Aira Force. The first was a drop double which was too narrow to boof, so you had to pencil, however this led you to being pinned by a rock in the middle of the plunge pool, when the water pushed down on the stern of the boat it popped you out of the pin and could run the second drop, again too narrow to boof so you penciled again.

The drop just below that was a slide into a drop, no matter how you landed you got sucked back, d****d a little and then spat out.



The rest of the paddle was a gentle grade 2 onto Ullswater where we paddled along to find where we parked the car, easier said than done as we couldn't remember where we parked the car. We ended up finshing in the dark, still had a great day though.

Bliss-Stick Mystic Creeker for sale

Pics of boat as per UK Rivers web site

Who Needs Rain

OK so it is summertime and we have been lucky again this year with the raining falling into late May / June so plenty of kayaking but it has all now all but stopped and the good weirs have dried up leaving only a handful of choices for a UK kayaker based just south of the midlands:-

• Boulters – however the Thames is still a little high
• Nene – some would say costly for a small man made course
• HPP - a drive, but one of the better options
• Tryweryn – the better UK option but 6 hours in a car in total – but it is now free
• Europe – this simple won’t happen with a little one on the way
• Surfing – all ready in the diary
• Another sport perhaps?

Wakeboarding ???????????????

Ok its not quiet kayaking but the kit is same for summer months so no extra cost there plus it keeps the upper body working.

Taking tips from a good friend Mr Richard Fearn who is into his wakeboarding and plus the fact that a whole group of us where off to Corfu of Jamie’s and Jaynes ( now Mr and Mrs Fearn ) wedding in July we thought we would all get some Wakeboarding lesions in prior to Corfu to give us something to do during the day other than drinking, sunbathing, eating and sleeping.

We headed off to Boxend Park near Bedford to get lesions off the back of a boat rather than a cable tow, this was a wise move by Richard now referred to as Scout Leader.

Off the boat you first use a beam, then a short line beam off beam then the long line – I have to say the chaps at Boxend are extremely good and within 15 mins most of us where off the long line.

After a couple more lesions it was off to Corfu to pose on the beach and look cool – well an attempt at it anyway.

We added to the cool look by hiring some buggies and quad bikes for a few days – Scout Leader went for the Brokeback Mountain look.

A big thanks to Level Six for suppling the boardshorts, t-shirts, hats and rash vets to all the wakeboarders plus some summer kayaking kit to me - check out

http://www.levelsixinc.com

Next step convince Box End to tow me in my kayak

Check out

http://www.boxendpark.com

Hurley Weir - 3 gates

After the rain dances have been successful, Hurley Weir was back upto a 3 gater. It wasnt the classic 3 gater, the water level was quite high. This meant that the wave wasnt as high and there was no shoulder on the left - but we had fun anyway.

After a few phone calls to Jack and Ben, we all jumped into Bens van at the Nene Whitewater Centre at 9am. Once getting into Hurley Villiage, we had the visions of zillions of paddlers in the car park all getting changed. After going around the corner into the car park, it was about 3/4 empty!! Do people know something we dont?

We got on, had loads of fun for a few hours, and made our exit. When getting back to the car park - it was bursting with paddlers, caterers and people in nice clothes, there was a wedding happening in one of the big expensive houses. Paddlers and people in white dresses and big hats do not mix!

Here is a little video of the fun we had that day. Take a look and leave a comment on what you think.

The raging rapid that is the Nene

Last Tuesday saw myself and Paul assend once again on the class 5 whitewater of the Nene Whitewater Centre. However, this time saw the arrival of a good friend of mine, James Webber, a semi-pro photographer looking to branch out.

Here are some of the pictures he has taken.

Back surfing the wave between Pool B and Pool C.

Pool A split wheels.

Pool A phoenix monkeys.

Both of us had a real good session. James got some good pictures, need to be tweaked a bit so more will follow.

Melvin

Pink is Punk?

http://www.immersionresearch.com/2008/05/02/pink-is-punk/

Melvin

Old Dogs New Tricks

April 13^th – some time in the afternoon….location Hurley Weir on a lovely 3.

Sometimes no matter how good or bad you think you are it is worth while getting a professional opinion or so my therapist tells me.

I do not confess to be a top freestyle paddler or even a fairly good freestyle paddler, simply someone who likes to get in a boat at least once a week and living in the middle of UK in Buckinghamshire quiet often means a morning paddle on the Thames – especially if I am out of credits with the wife for weekends breaks to go river paddling.

However I am always looking for the next thrill or pushing myself that little further. My aim this winter was to nail the Blunt. However this so far has resulted in limited success.

After getting some tips from various people the chance came up to get some hints and tips on how best to stick a freestyle move that has been bugging me all winter. This came in format of a Kayakojacko Old Dogs New Tricks session with coaches Tim Ward, Tom and Jacko.

The days was as expected an excellent group, good coaches, different approaches, good fun, anger at my paddling but by the end of the day most defiantly rewarding as the move was beginning to finally come together, more importantly since the session I have been back and it is getting better – so far so good J

As an additional bonus and considering the new summer session for my local club is starting up it gave me the opportunity to catch up the current coaching techniques and coaching styles.

Officially Summer Time

It was April 2008 and the clocks had already gone forward, it was meant to be officially summer time however the snow gods thought otherwise.

Despite there being snow on the ground, the roads where clear this meant one thing to time for my regular Sunday AM paddle ( I mean AM as it is 7am when I leave not 11.59am J )

No pics of us actually paddling, but trust me it did happen and despite the snow it was very warm and more importantly quiet out which meant a quick journey and even more time to paddle.

Happy days……………..

MK Paddler Makes GB Team 08 & Hurley 07

Paul King a member of Milton Keynes Canoe Club finished off an outstanding 2007 by making the GB Team for 2008 in two disciplines OC1 (Open Canoe) and C1 (Kayak), this was on top of him becoming British OC1 Champion early on in the year. Paul will now be packing his bags and heading off to the European Championships in Spain later this year, if you fancy helping Paul fulfil his dream of becoming European and World Champion please get in touch with Milton Keynes Canoe Club (http://www.mkcc.co.uk ) regarding sponsor to aid his development.

Paul’s selection tops off a very successful year for Milton Keynes Canoe club outside of Paul’s achievements Kim Aldred won the Your Freestlyle Series for Ladies under 12’s, Ben Aldred came 3^rd overall in the Men’s under 18’s. Ben also won the Junior Mens Hurley Rodeo event which is one of the mostly highly contested and longest running European freestyle events attracting Kayakers from all over Europe, Graham OC also finished 5th in the master events at the Rodeo.

We wish Paul all the best for 2008 and all the other MK Kaykers, keep an eye on www.mkfreestyle.co.uk for the latest info. Paul, Ben, Graham and Kim would like to thank MK Sports Council, Jackson Kayaks, LevelSix, SQ Esquif, MK Canoe Club, mkfreestyle.co.uk and the Milton Keynes Citizen for their continued support.

If you fancy coming along and trying Kayaking or Canoeing why not pop along and bring the whole family to one of the clubs free open days, the first of which is in May 08 –keep an eye on www.mkcc.co.uk for more info - we cater for all aspects of the sports including lake, sea, river, surf and of course freestlye.

Chilly Weekend on the Tees

I along with other MK paddler, Pete King have just returned from the land of Teeside.

As you may have heard on the news that it was going to be chilly 'up north' over the weekend with the chance of snow, well ...

To say it was a bit chilly would be an under-statement.

Once meeting up with Ben, Paul and Kim in a car park, Brian and Gary pulled up. As Ben drove down to the village to pick up supplies, me, Pete and Paul Tully followed Brian and Gary upto the Hostel, we were 20/25ft away and could not see the break lights (white-out, oops)

So we are sitting in the youth hostel for about an hour, TV doesnt work, DVD player doesnt work, hmm what to do ...

At that point Chris, Laura, Gemma and Paul Mills came in with 'whos going paddling on their lips'. You got the usually 'f**k off' and 'are you nuts?' but d**k head hear said 'OK'.

Right, got changed at the hostel, still snowing, blowing a gale and freezing. It was me, Chris Chapman, Ben Stone and Paul Chapman brave (or stupid) enough to brave it.

The section was going to be the Upper Tees. Got out in the car park, Laura and Gemma came down to give support (while laughing) and to see us off.

Got on the river, luckily the wind was behind us so we wernt paddling blind. First rapids fine, cold but fine. The dog leg was good, middle force good. Then came low force, its a sloping drop so boofs can sometimes be tricky. Chris went - boof, great, Paul went - boof, great, I went - boof, great, Ben went - melt down, went back into falls, got d**ked a little, washing machined then came out, the look on his face explained everything -COLD!

After a good giggle, we noticed the drop just round the corner of low force, it looked run-able so we did. All good on that except I went a bit too far left and hit my tail on a rock half-way down - oops!

Paddled down the next few rapids as fast as we could to warm up. Got to the get-out, still snowing and windy. On the hike out, we couldnt help ourselves doing a bit of sledging on the hills.

That night a few (many) beers were had, and a good time all round while we waited for the rest to turn up.

Next day, the boys in big blue inflatables (rafts) were coming out to play. They were rafting the middel section and we were paddling the upper and middle section. This turned out to be a VERY long day.

Sunday, fun day, the rafts were rafting the upper. I thought to myself we were gonna have some fun with this!!

Us paddlers set off first, running the dog leg, missing middle force and running low force. Saturday night it had been raining causing most of the snow to melt and the river to rise by about 2ft. The dog leg had completely changed and was a chunky fun grade 4/5. Middle force was a b***h of a closed stopper, so walked round that. Low force was nearly one big drop now, really nice, really soft landing - but had to boof!

After walking back up to the dog leg to wait for the rafts, myself, Chris, Paul and Jamie (Burbeck who had joined us for the day) kept running the rapids taking different lines. Me and Chris took about 4 in the end. Jamie only took 1 due to him getting a side surf in a VERY big hole and not enjoying it much.

Then the rafts came, after lots of saferty preperation and atleat 10 throw lines, not 1 person swam! Pretty good lines were had by all, some not so good by some. After a few hours of tarting around we paddled down. They, like us, walked middle force and were going to run low force.

We had already run it in the kayaks atleast 6 times now. Then it was the raft's turn. After watch Ben Stone and Paul Mills run it well (Ben just fell out but they got him on the end of a line) I wanted a go. The next raft went, perfect line, no one swam, great. I was on the last raft down with Gemma. I was told to brace myself going over the fall and hold onto the rope.

Just going over the lip, we both did this, but, we landed a bit wonky. I was flung out of the raft up into the air a few feet and so did Gemma. Gemma was caught on a line pretty quick as she got flung forward. I was flung back into the falls. Lots of down time was then had. I could feel myself running along the bottom, thinking in the back of my mind - s**t this is deep and I shouldn't be here! I pushed off the bottom and swam for as hard and long as I could. Finanlly I surfaced, about 20ft away from where I should have come up. I was down for 10/11 seconds, and starting to think to myself - panic! A throw line was thrown to me but it was only a 10 metre so did not reach me! I was stuck on the line between 2 rather large boils and could not move anywhere.

Then I saw my knight in shining armour - Paul Chapman. He was paddling as hard as he could to come and get me - and I was swimming as hard as I could to get him.

He finally reached me, got to the side and people flooded around me 'are you alright?' ' that was some downtime!' The pressure of the depth water had given me a b***h of a head ache and had popped my ears, apart from that I was fine.

After getting back on the horse (so to speak) we were paddling down the rest of the river we quite ease. The get out was the same as the first day, so it wasnt a long paddle.

Over all I had a really good weekend, and would like to take this opportunity to thank Brian and Gary for organising the trip and accomodation etc.