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Avon Descent
2014 - Day 1
The competitors and support
teams who stayed the night at Northam took in the carnival
atmosphere but for me I was happy being at home and having
a good nights sleep. It was my 24th Avon Descent and I'm pretty
boring and not a party animal so I didn't need to experience
the great atmosphere as you do as a first timer.
Party time on Friday
night. Photo JC
The weather was amazing
for paddlers and support teams as we arrived at Northam. Hot
air balloons were again welcoming us to the town and even
the mist was absent this year so there would be no delays.
With the water level higher than the last two years it felt
as if it was going to be a great weekend. It was just the
hard paddling that might be the problem.
A balloon hovers close
to the Northam weir and railway bridge. Photo JC
I was off in grid 7 with other WW kayaks
and several plastics. Ascot kayak club member volunteers were
ushering us to the line and trying to make sure everyone left
on time and on the right grid. I noticed a fast WW paddler
Phil Edwards, who had entered was missing. Phil definitely
would have been the fastest paddler in our group so without
him that opened up the race.
Sue Quick my main competitor
in the WW class having our last chat before the big race.
The pressure was on me to perform well.
When our grid took off I wasn't the
fastest to reach the weir, young Kieran Simpson and several
long plastics were there first, but Kieran who was just in
front of me suddenly stopped and that gave me the chance I
needed to grab a space on the weir with no one in front and
unlike last year when I spun out, this year I went down the
slippery slide perfectly.
Thankfully there was enough water to
scrape through the small rapids under the railway bridge and
dodge around a few boats which were spun out or stuck. I soon
started passing slower boats and it wasn't just one or two,
I passed dozens fairly quickly so it meant that I was looking
ahead for a way around them every time I came to a slower
paddler. It was great to pass so many paddlers especially
the ones I knew or were in the Saturday morning group.
John Carrol, number 637
is out of his boat, Danny Moreton on the white ski and Ron
McKenzie on the red ski on the left corner stuck in the shallows,
Ray Campbell on the right red ski is going backwards and a
paddler on an Afinnity number 380 Chris McCole paddling perfectly.
Photo JC
Chris Watson and Danny
Moreton tangle up. Their excuses for not beating me on Day
Two were that Chris holed his boat and Danny steering cable
broke! Photo JC
Everything comes to a
halt if someone capsizes and blocks the route so it's always
an advantage to have an early grid. Two of these paddlers
didn't finish. Photo JC
David Martin (572) Dallas
Rodgers (614) and Alex Campbell trying to keep ahead of the
ladies, Jenny, Natasha and Samantha, who are paddling under
the bridge. The ladies soon passed them. Photo JC
Ann Smithson in her Avenger
WW kayak about to be overtaken by Chris Clarke yellow PRS,
Roland Bodt orange Molakai. I saw Chris and Roland several
times on day 1 and day 2. Photo JC
The stream of paddlers
leave Northam. Photo JC
Most of the single
boats were ahead except for 3 more grids and the short plastic
class so I had plenty of paddlers to pass. Things were going
quite well considering the mass of paddlers but a few kilometres
downstream I noticed several paddlers capsized blocking the
route. Paddlers were struggling to get around the blockage
and some were falling off before they got there. It was a
simple part of the river but some of the novices still had
difficulties but without losing too much time I was able to
get through and at the same time pass Wayne Manners who had
bought a PRS from me only 3 weeks earlier.
As the single craft leave
Northam the plastic doubles follow. The shallow water doesn't
help the heavier boats.
Photo John O'Sullivan
As we hit the wider river
young Kieran suddenly came from nowhere and passed me. He
had a few ducks glued to his rear deck but I think he lost
a couple along the way. To see him pass put the pressure on
me to lift my game as young Kieran is a good slalom paddler
so he would not only have the speed he would also good skills,
but did he have the stamina to paddle for hours? As luck should
have it I managed to pass Kieran and I didn't see him again.
Young slalom paddler
Kieran Simpson in a WW kayak experiences the joys and pains
of his first Avon Descent.
Photo JC
I continued passing other paddlers but
then I had my first paddler pass me. I was pretty pleased
that I had paddled several kilometres and I wasn't too far
from Katrine Bridge before that happened. Sometime later Derek
Amy passed me paddling like a rocket behind a double ski.
His mate Paul was even faster than him, which seeing Derek's
speed was hard to believe. Paul and Derek were part of our
Saturday morning group about 3 years ago and since then they
have both really taken their paddling to the next level. They
finished off coming 13th and 14th in the long plastics which
was really good as they are not young and the competition
was fierce.
Another long ski passed, I gave chase
hoping to get some lift but it didn't leave much wash. Then
I saw Bonnie McDougal. She had started 2 minutes ahead so
I was pretty pleased to have caught up as she is a strong
paddler. I kept well over to her right in this wide shallow
section so I could sneak passed her. She was talking to a
paddler in a Wavehopper beside her and when she suddenly saw
me, she shouted 'Terry'. Her face lit up like a thousand candles,
she had a smile from ear to ear and immediately she went hell
for leather to cut across my bow and keep in front. It was
like she had her second wind, the life had come back to her,
she was rejuvenated and determined to keep in front of me.
For a short time I managed to keep on
her wash but she then started to paddle like a wild animal
chasing down a feed, so she left me behind. I couldn't believe
where she found the strength from but when I saw her catch
up with a white PRS I realised that she had seen her partner
Craig who had started before her. Suddenly this wild tiger
turned into a gazelle and slowed down a little. I eventually
caught then both and when I started passing I put on my own
burst of speed to get away from them. After 100 metres I looked
back and saw that I had lost them. I was happy.
The triple of Simon Roll, Rob Roll,
and Mark Hardie rolled on by flying like a torpedo, and several
minutes later, to my surprise because they were so far back,
came the triple of Matt Coutts, Cameron Slater and Ben Dallin.
Soon after I saw them stopped beside the bank, I thought one
was having a pee, which seemed strange so early into the race
but apparently Cameron had food poisoning and he was chucking
up so he decided not to go on letting Matt and Ben carry on
without him.
Matt Coutts, Cameron
Slater and Ben Dallin fly by. Photo JC
The top doubles passed, I reached Katrine
Bridge with cheers from the bridge and from paddlers at the
teams changeover. It was all flat deep water to the Glen Avon
rapid which I appreciated. I hit the lip of Glen Avon, got
stuck momentarily on a bunch of rocks and braced as I slipped
down the main rapid carefully avoiding capsized paddlers in
the eddy at the bottom. It was a relief to have survived the
only real rapid on day one without any boat damage.
The river now flowed faster and wound
around a multiple of islands that created small fun rapids
although the eddies and swirls did make steering a little
difficult and more so when I tired, and I was getting tired.
The long pool before Extracts Weir felt long and at the end
of it I clambered out of the kayak up the bank and trotted
along the portage track. Alaine was at the end ready to hand
me a couple of chews and an energy bar. I quickly jumped back
in thanked Alaine like I usually do and took off.
On the bend after leaving the weir I
looked behind to see Steve Cashion catching me up. I must
have caught him up and passed him at the weir. Bugger, he
was back so I paddled on as fast as I could occasionally eating
an energy bar that I was carrying on my spraydeck. Last year
Steve paddled a team of two and on the last 2 kms of day 2
he passed me like I was standing still. I know he has been
training hard this year so he was going to be a tough competitor
to beat. He eventually passed.
Steve Cashion and I were
leap frogging on day 1 and day 2. Photo JC
The river started to speed up as the
water curled and carved around bunches of small islands. There
were now choices of channels which meant there were faster
and slower routes and plenty of swirls and eddies to strain
my arm muscles. It's at times like these I wish I had a rudder.
This was a terrific training area for novices as it was fun,
quite testing but without the danger.
It was great to see the footbridge at
Toodyay, it meant that there was less than two hours left
and as I approached Toodyay Park and teams changeover a little
further downstream I got cheers from the crowd. Lawrence Greed
was entertaining the public over the loud speaker and informing
them of the competitors taking part. I heard my name mentioned
when I paddled under the bridge.
Before Toodyay rapids which were quite
shallow but easy, more groups of people were picnicking, partying
and cheering paddlers on.
Alaine was waiting at West Toodyay Bridge
but like always I didn't need to stop so I paddled downstream
towards Wetherals Reserve and the teams changeover. There
was still a line of paddlers in front of me and being only
a few kilometres to the start of the T trees I could imagine
the congestion coming up. I could see Steve Cashion well ahead
and a few other paddlers that had been leap frogging me all
day. John Vanmannan, who was in a team of four, raced by happy
as Larry to have passed me. He was fresh and I was tiring
so I let him go.
I soon entered the T trees and within
300 metres I had passed 3 paddlers who took a longer route.
It was a good start but there were still several paddlers
winding themselves through the trees in front of me who may
cause a problem. I passed more paddlers when I had an opportunity
to go a different way. They seemed to be following each other.
I was pretty pleased that they were thinning out in front.
A fallen tree that had only more recently
come down was suddenly in front of me. Justin Davis a K1 paddler
had capsized trying to get through the gap so all movement
stopped. Two girls on a double Fury tried to get over a section
of tree which was partly above the water level but they got
stuck. I waited and eventually Justin swam out of the way
and I was able to get under the tree on the right.
I soon passed Lovers Lane and Jimperding
Brook with Steve Cashion just in front of me. We reached the
worst and most tricky and dangerous section of the t trees
which if not done correctly could cause me to capsize and
ruin my chances of doing well. Steve decided to portage but
I decided to risk the 'Devil's Den' hoping that I wouldn't
have a problem with the channel full of twists and turns and
a current that tries to push you into the trees and capsize
you. Luckily I didn't have problems as there was no one was
blocking my way. Once out of the trees I looked back and saw
Steve still portaging and he still had a way to go. I chuckled
and paddled off. Staying in the boat is always quicker but
it is certainly more dangerous especially if other boats are
blocking the way or have capsized.
The next section of t trees started
with a small rapid. When I approached it, it looked bigger
than it usual is and as I paddled down it I hit something
hard and when I looked back I noticed a K1 was wrapped around
a rock which had created the bigger rapid. A paddler was walking
in the trees, I think his race would be over.
The trees got easier and it was great
to get to the long pool about 2 kms before the end. Paddlers
who should have known better took the wrong channel at the
end of it and got in a tangle. I didn't mind I passed a couple
of them and caught up with the others. One of the paddlers
who was pretty quick on the flat seemed to stop at every corner
to check his route before going through the trees, which was
quite annoying.
Coming out of the last section t trees
I at last had my chance to pass when the two paddlers ahead
went one way and I went the other way with a boat following
me. We beat them through, which was great as it meant we had
a good run to and down Leatherhead Rapids. No paddlers, no
problem. After a sprint home to the finish line my day of
paddling was over.
The pit was busy with paddlers coming
in, some paddlers were doing repairs, others just wanting
to get their gear off and rest.
We dropped the kayak in the long line
of boats, checked it over for damage, turned it upside down
and left it. Before changing I walked across the river downstream
of the finish line to check out my route for the following
morning. There was a log in the first part of the trees that
could be a hazard so I needed to make sure I could get over
it. It was just possible and when happy I had checked enough
I waded back across the shallows to the parking area to change
and have some sandwiches that Alaine had made.
Ann Smithson happy to
finish day 1. Photo Peter Bayer
The sun was still shining, it had been
a beautiful day and every paddler seemed excited to have finished.
Josh Kippin was leading with the South African Lance Kime
second and Mathew Dean third.
Jenny Bateman was leading the ladies with Natasha Leaversuch
second and Samantha Pilton third. Michael Baker was the first
plastic and Sue Quick was 40 seconds faster than me in the
wild water kayak. Bugger, I will have to pull my finger out
tomorrow.
Stay tuned, Day 2 action next week.
Thanks to JC and John O'Sullivan for
providing many of the photos.
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