09
Feb

Sunday on the Middle Tawe

Chris C. (Swansea Canoes), Rich and myself headed to the Neath/Swansea Valley to seek out something interesting with a descent amount of water. All 3 of us have recently done our 5 *Training and we were looking for some rapids on which we could practice what Westgarth had taught us. We were skunked on the Mellte…we hiked up but it was too low to run. Instead we opted for a scrape down the Middle Tawe. For non-native speakers, Tawe is pronounced T….owww (like you hurt yourself)…eeee. Such a beautiful run.
Rich giving it the thumbs up. Whoop.

Rich giving it the thumbs up. Whoop.

The slides were super if a little low. After the slides was a lush drop that that we ran several times trying to put into practice what Simon said we should do. Although it was a small drop, we spent time discussing the line and where to put in the key strokes. We all went slightly left to right with a right boof, trying to see the “window”.

Chris going for the right boof

Chris going for the right boof

Going for the follow through stroke.

Going for the follow through stroke.

Me reaching for a boof

Me reaching for a boofI missed my follow through stroke the first time.

I missed my follow through stroke the first time.

I missed my follow through stroke the first time.

Missing that follow through stroke meant that I landed on the wrong edge. I thought it was all sorted, but I guess I’m still learning…that’s the one of the things I love about kayaking…the constant challenge to improve. The skills are there its  just getting that  mental side down then the muscle memory then the timing.

Rich and Chris had some really nice drops. Lovely.

 

Rich on the lip

Rich on the lip

 

Rich...boofedy boof boof

Rich...boofedy boof boof

08
Feb

Afon Afan- A Classic Weir Tour

Last weekend a group of  UHCC paddlers spent some time splashing about in Welsh rivers. I was visiting the folks in Cardiff so I hopped up to Pontrydyfen with the guys for a paddle to the beach in Aberavon. It was a super-sunny day and about 10 degrees C.

Dan hiking back up to a rapid

Dan hiking back up to a rapid

Pontrydyfen is a small, picturesque village  nestled in the Afan valley and happens to be the birth place of Richard Burton and Rebecca Evans among other stars. This run started with a several weirs followed by a significant number of weirs and ended with a multitude of weirs. I think about 30 in all.

Will boofin' the second weir

Will boofin' the second weir

Tom mentioned that we probably encountered every kind of weir on the run: broken weirs, sloping weirs, ledge drop weirs, giant pipe weirs. wooden weirs with spikey bits, concrete weirs, stone weirs, horseshoe weirs and so on. It was a fun run an we had plenty of boof practice with low consequence. I’d take people who are learning to boof on this river for sure. But I think with more water it could be really quite spicy as a lot of the weirs are river wide.
Will on a rapid at the start of the run

Will on a rapid at the start of the run

One weir reminded me of the top hole at HPP. Too bad I don’t know whats at the bottom or it’d be a great play spot.
Dave about to go down a nice weir

Dave about to go down a nice weir

 As with every urban run in the UK, the river decorations were plentiful. Final counts were in at: 7 shopping trolleys, 3 push-chairs, two bikes, one football and a zimmer frame (minus a granny). Levels were a bit low towards to take out as the tide was out, but it made a welcome leg-stretch- at least thats what I kept telling myself as we waded through Port Talbots finest mud flats. The surf was nice at Aberavon and the guys got some great waves at the end of the trip. I will do this run again with more water, but maybe take out at Tescos in Port T.
Who let tide out...who..who...who..who..who

Who let tide out...who..who...who..who..who

02
Feb

REC course with getafix.com

Last weekend myself and 11 members of the UHCC completed a Rescue Emergency Care (REC) course with Leo Hoare from getafix.com. I chose to do this course because as a kayaker I spend time in remote areas and the chances of getting hurt are maybe a bit elevated over my fellow urban dwellers. I have been helped out by REC trained friends on the river when I have hurt myself and the least I can do is be REC trained to reciprocate the favour, should it ever be needed.

Would you trust this man?

Would you trust this man?

For my North American blog readers this course is similar to a wilderness first aid course. We started off with group discussions of accident scenarios in remote locations and talking about how we’d deal with them. Then it was onto  lessons about monitoring vital signs and checking the airway, breathing, pulse etc followed by full body checks then resus with the lovely Ms Annie.

Dealing with bleeding and shock were the order of the afternoon interspersed with emergency scenarios outside on the cold ground (it was close to 0 degrees outside…brr). We practiced bandaging bleeds and discussed the most appropriate bandages to carry in our first aid kit. We followed this up with a post match analysis over dinner at the pub.

Kevan and Elaine practice pillow bandaging

Kevan and Elaine practice pillow bandaging

Sunday we discussed how to best deal with resuscitation after drowning, fits and convulsions. We learned how to help prevent and deal with diabetic attacks, hypothermia and anaphylaxis. A significant amount of time was dedicated to learning how to deal with fractures and dislocations, sling tieing, pillow bandage making etc. We covered spinal injuries and how to evacuate in an emergency scenario.

Evacuating Kevan who has a spinal injury

Evacuating Kevan who has a spinal injury

For a good chunk of the afternoon we were outdoors in the forest in role play situation dealing with all manner of illnesses, including an axe to the leg, diabetic coma, dislocated knee–cap, scratched eyeball, sucking chest wounds among others…Leo likened the scene to one from Shaun of the Dead; and that’s definitely a fair comparison.

 

A still fromthe film the comedy classic 'Shaun of the Dead'

A still fromthe film the comedy classic 'Shaun of the Dead'

After completion of this course I feel that I have been armed with the knowledge to deal with accidents confidently, rapidly and efficiently.  I highly advice anyone to do this course with the supercool coach, Mr Leo Hoare .

Pete checks me over and puts me in the recovery position

Pete checks me over and puts me in the recovery position

31
Jan

5 * Training with Gene17

Although I started paddling nearly 20 years ago, I’ve never really been one for pursuing paddling qualifications. Apart from safety courses, I am more of a ‘learn from friends; let the river/ocean teach you lessons’ kinda girl. So when I bumped into Simon one evening at River Dart Country Park (RDCP) and he asked me if I wanted to do 5 * training with Gene17, I thought about it really hard. Would it be worth the investment? The overriding answer was a resounding yes. 

home09_on

I had two main issues that really needed to be addressed and the 5*T proved to be the perfect forum for ironing out those concerns. Firstly, I have been finding myself up front, leading peers down class IV rapids, rather than being a passenger. I had no idea how to judge whether I was doing a good job of leading or not. Secondly I’d reached a plateau in teaching myself key strokes and was stuck with a sketchy boof.

The first day of 5*T saw myself and two fellow 5*trainees with Dennis on the Upper Dart at a friendly level (lapping the slab). The morning was dedicated to covering advanced key strokes, including efficient eddy turns, boofs, attainment and cross grain moves. We also covered secondary strokes such as the stern squeeze (I never even knew this stroke existed; now I’m in love with it). We learned concepts for reading rivers, such as setting markers on the river and visualizing how to get to them; awareness of our immediate environment while looking ahead and planning for the next rapid or eddy.

During the afternoon we spent time talking about and practicing group management, group safety, spotting lines, presenting lines to a group of mixed ability and general “soft skills”. This gave me direction on how to successfully lead on harder water whilst being sensitive to each individuals needs within the group. We also covered techniques to keep the group moving quickly, safely and effectively downriver. Then it was off back to RDCP for some soup and debrief; closely followed by beer (3 pints of).

Sunday was dedicated to personal development and core skills with Simon; and what better place to practice those skills than on the East Lyn? We started with the good ol’ boof. Simon filmed and offered advice as we ran a little ledge over and over. With the instant video analysis combined with Simons critical eye and explanations, our boofs improved infinitely after just 4 re-runs of the rapid. A new concept for me was learning that key strokes should just be an extension of a regular paddling stroke; not forced.

The author finding a nice posing spot

The author finding a nice posing spot

We encompassed more river reading and boofing clinics all the way down the gorge and we put into practice line of sight and river/ bank communication skills. Simon’s teaching style included demonstrations, instant video analysis and succinct, yet effectual advice. Simon took each of our river running issues and fixed one thing at a time until it all just flowed. A great day of learning and personal skill development was followed by a lengthy debrief in the pub. During the1 to1 feedback we were given clear goals and targets to reach before going for assessment.

 The 5 *T with Gene17 taught me in 1 weekend what I’ve tried to teach myself in 2 years. I finally know what is expected of me leading class IV rivers and I finally have a boof that works. Yay! That’s a pretty good return on the investment, I’d say. 

28
Dec

The Magical Mellte Tour

I’m back home for Christmas in wee welsh Wales. My original plan was to head up to Scotland for a little boating bootie this week, but the -16 C weather and my injured boating buddy conspired against traveling north. Chris C. (Swansea Canoes) and I decided to beat the post tryptophan blues and hit one of the welsh classics. The Mellte is a IV+ river in South Wales’  beautiful Neath Valley. We knew before we left that river levels were low, and admittedly it was a bit of a scrape down, but with the sun shining and icy bankage, this run was simply magical.

Chris at the put in

Chris at the put in

So the 50 fter was a no brainer. We did not want to run that. We talked about running the 15 fter, immediately below but a rock overhang at the top of the drop looked like it may be a bit of a head banger, so that got portaged too. We did not run the 25 fter further down the river due to lack of water, but we ran everything else. I am looking forward to returning when the mellte has more water to run some of these drops. A fantabulous day on the water.

Narrow portages

Narrow portages

15
Dec

More Upper Dart Fun

Levels were about level with the slab when we got on at Dartmeet dropping to about 1 inch below by the time we got off at Newbridge. It was a good level for practicing some technical moves, working the rapids.

Chris plopping off a drop

Chris plopping off a drop

We re-ran several rapids, practicing more technical lines and there were some excellent boof practice spots all the way down the run.  And euthanasia was at an awesome level.

Me on Euthanasia

Me on Euthanasia

Tom with a powerful low-brace. Its not playboating ya know!

Tom with a powerful low-brace. Its not playboating ya know!

Surprise, surprise was a bony level. I could feel my boat de-valuing with every boulder I scraped over. Ah the sweet sound of lost plastic. Its like weight watchers for your boat; run suprise suprise and see the pounds fall off…

Chris on SS

Chris on SS

I guess you have to look on the bright-side, at least our boats are a bit lighter to carry now; the Erme hike in will be so much easier with those few lost ounces.

Me taking my fav line next to the big boulder.

Me taking my fav line next to the big boulder.

Oh dear, looks Like in the photo I’m practicing that fine art of Lily dipping- ie not really paddling down the river, rather dipping lilys in the pond with my paddle. Where’s that aggressive forward body position with a vertical paddle Kate? Maybe those 2 beers on Friday night were a bad thing…

13
Dec

SUPs in Florida

It is doubtless in my mind that SUPs is cementing itself as an emerging and growing paddlesport. On a trip to florida last weekend I was entertained by (if slightly jelous of) the SUPers. I wonder how well skills from whitewater kayaking transfer, if at all, to this cool watersport. And what better place to determine that than in the 80 degree water/air temps, but no time on that trip, so i’ll just have to return…what a shame!

A stand-up paddle boarder off for a surf

A stand-up paddle boarder off for a surf

06
Dec

The East Lyn

One of the rivers on my list of “to run” for a long while now has been the east Lyn. Its a 3 km stretch of very interesting whitewater. It is possible to start further upstream and turn it into a 7 km run, but access is not allowed to this part of the river. Dave, Tim, Chris and I put on at watersmeet at a good level.
Watersmeet put in. Nice cream tea apparently

Watersmeet put in. Nice cream tea apparently

There are a couple of nice boof drops and one boudlery rapid before the gorge. We inspected the whole gorge before making a decision on what -if any- section to run. Chris, Tim and I put on at the start of  ” Crux 2″. It was a great confidence boost section. In fact I thought the gorge looked much more manageable at river level than it did from inspection up high. I am told though that most people think the opposite- guess I’m not most people- my mum always told me I was special. :-)

We met Dave after the gorge section. I was so content after this run for many reasons, but one prominant motivation stuck out immensely- paddling a river right into the sea. It was a surreal experience for me. One minute I was paddling class 4/5 and the next surfing in the sea.
One very happy Kate

One very happy Kate

I’ve put together a video from our run, most of which was filmed courtesy of Mr Power.

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THE VIDEO VAULTS

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