Rudder trouble

Hoping to stay dry we leapt into the boat and headed off, straight into the opposite bank! We limped to the next possible stopping area which looked like the swans were using it as a convenience. The rudder was pointing in the opposite direction to the steering pole. We were at the point of carrying the boat home when we tried holding the steering paddle straight and forcing the rudder round. It seemed to work and off we went for 1:48 covering 11.05 km

Lechlade with new boat, paddles and a rudder

We hit the water with great excitement and that was just because our new boat is so much lighter than our last, it was not so much of an expedition just getting to the river. We had been told that the boat was very stable so jumped in and found out that we did not share the definition of stability. We got about 30 yards and felt the rudder was not very straight, Will turned round to check it and we both fell in, swam to the side and looked forward to the remaining 1:59 of our training session. Although we were a little bit cold and damp we had a good session, 1:50 10.84km including swimming!

A new steed

We won! well that is what we were told by ebay. we have just picked up our new boat, and the exciting news is it has a rudder, we will have to see how much difficulty this adds to the process of paddling.

Out of the dark into the light and then into the deep

Our first serious training session, on the water by 06:30, thankfully the rain had cleared and been replaced by a light wind.We had two hours to use on the water so we went down to the one hour point at roughly the same speed as last time and turned at Kelmscott. On turning round we suddenly noticed the wind! It was much harder work up stream but the boat seemed to stay truer and we got some great periods of paddling in unison going before the inevitable breaking from the back to steer. As we came to the last lock on the way home we nudged the bank with the bow and the camera, complete with new waterproof housing and suction tripod fell in to the water and sank. We should probably have tied it on or at least attached a cork to it, another valuable lesson learnt.
We started to get a feel for locks under a bit of effort and cold, we were walking like dinosaurs when we got out of the boat, not dissimilar to the triathlon t2 from bike to run!

Darkness and Locks, a first time for many things

Lots of first being notched up a the moment, we need to cherish the excitement whilst it lasts. We dropped into the Thames at a similar spot a bit further down to avoid some fisherman and then headed off for an hour and a half. The first obstacle was crossed with very little grace. It was fine getting out of the lock and running over to the other side, it was only when we put the boat back in that we realised that the 6ft drop might prove a little tricky on the way back. It was a gorgeous evening and as the sun went down we pushed on down the Thames. With head torches firmly stuck to our heads we started to navigate back and soon realised how easy it is to get lost in the dark on a narrow lake! We managed to pick out the lock arrows and not crash into the bank. Although we only managed to travel 10km in 90 minutes we did 4 portages (2 out and 2 back) and finished the session dry and with a good sense of achievement. (Ok so it was 9.76km and 95mins 12.3 seconds, thanks Garmin)

The Thames

A quick dip in the daylight was required to test the river before we tried it at night. There was a feeling of trepidation about hitting,what we felt was , the open water having only tried the beast on the lake. We went to Lechlade and carried (dragged) the boat to a quiet launching spot. We both managed to get in without capsizing and after a few minutes got into s good rhythm, the only slight problem being steering which was magnified on a narrow, winding river. We got down to the first lock and feeling that we had achieved our goal, turned round and set off back to our launching spot.

She Floats!

Our first trip onto the water was a success, we did not sink and we did not capsize. That is not to say that we stayed dry, far from it. We launched the beast at a lake in the Cotswold water park on a sunny but fairly windy day. Having borrowed a couple of paddles we launched with great confidence into the clear, and quickly very deep, water. After a few minutes we established that she had passed test one, she was water tight, no gushing of water from hidden holes. Test two was also passed with flying colours, he is very stable well we managed to stay in the boat anyway. Test three however was a little more challenging, would we be willing to take her 125 miles and carry her 77 times without collapsing? Probably not! Without a rudder we were reduced to some braking steering which was not good for morale. After about 45 minutes we had to head back to shore to empty out the water which was now up to about half way in the boat, the large expanse of lake and a high wind had managed to fill us up nicely. The second half was a little better and gave us the confidence for the next phase, find a river!

The Tao of Tug

The first thing we learnt when diving into the world of DW and kayaking in general is that everybody is extremely friendly and willing to share as much knowledge as possible. I was given Tug's number as somebody who would be happy to help my search for knowledge. We agreed to meet when his hangover had worn off, this is the type of athlete I can relate to! Tug filled me with useful information and fear, what have we let ourselves in for? He has entered the race many times and finished it quite a few as well, more than can be said for the stars of many tales he told me of extremely fit men crumbling by the wayside, "it's a marathon not a sprint" is still ringing in my ears.

The big lift

40kg and 5m long is certainly a two man lift onto the top of my landrover, however once lodged in place it sat there firmly . I can't wait to find out how watertight it is.

A Craft to call our own

At long last we have a craft to call our own, after some extraordinarily competitive bidding going right down to the wire we "Won" in ebay's strange lexicon a K2 kayak in sunset red and yellow.

It is an extraordinarily stable beast with no rudder and weighing in at over 40kg, somewhat of an oil tanker in comparison to the whippet like racing K2s.

One toe in the water

It has taken us a while to take our first steps towards the water but with triathlon training coming to an end, it is time to start the long build up to the DW international canoe marathon. This will be our first attempt, Easter 2012, and we have decided to go for the non-stop senior doubles. I say attempt as there are always a large amount of people who do not make it to the start line let alone the end of 125miles kayaking with 77 "portages" or picking up your kayak and running with it, along the way. It is going to be a long cold winter!

Is there another way?

There is probably a better way to travel from Devizes to Westminster than travelling 52 miles along the Kennet and Avon Canal, then 55 miles on the River Thames completing the 125 mile journey on the tidal portion of the Thames having carried your kayak 77 times.

View Larger Map