2014 - Part 3

Back in February, I was invited to attend Gene17Kayaking's "Next Generation" week at the end of March. The week is designed to give a flavour of what it takes to work in the white water kayak industry at the top level and very much goes behind the scenes of a usual Gene17 course.

The week was spent paddling on various sections of the River Soca under the superb guidance of Gene17 coaches Chris and Jake. This was definitely not a normal Gene17 "course"! The emphasis for the week was to make it my own - decide on my goals and my aims for the week and then take advantage of Chris' and Jake's knowledge and experience to help make them happen.

It also happened to be my birthday on the Friday and last paddling day of the week. A late morning run of Srpenica 2 (Classic) and the Trnovo 1 (Slalom) sections, followed by an evening of pizza and ice cream in a lovely restaurant just over the border in Italy. What a great way to turn 24!

No sooner was I back in the UK, the Devizes to Westminster Canoe Race came by and this meant 5 days off work. So for me that was various mountain biking sessions along the Kennet and Avon Canal!

The last weekend of April was a BCU 3 Star Touring Kayak Assessment weekend down in the Chichester area. On the Saturday we launched onto the sea at Itchenor and paddled towards Chichester Marina, paddling around the little inlets created by the tide. The candidates were really put through their paces, navigating their sea kayaks through somewhat challenging narrow gaps. Just before lunch we were met with a small tide race to make it across to our lunch spot! With the tide going out during our time on the water, the candidates demonstrated some excellent group awareness and extremely quick deep water rescues.














The plan for Sunday was to paddle the tidal River Adur in Shoreham. However predicted Gale Force winds for the area meant we ended up on Chichester Canal. Usually flat and sheltered from the wind, even this calm location was very windy but fell nicely in the remit for the award. The candidates paddled Wavesport Ethos', white water and touring cross-over kayaks. After some challenges and subsequent rescues, it was time for coffee, cake and individual debriefs. Well done to all 3 candidates on passing the award and good luck to them in their future paddling and for some, coaching!

That just about sums up 2014 so far. Next up for me? Some time by the sea..

Dave

2014 - Part 2

After a busy January, February seemed to be long and slow. Not to worry though! Towards the end of the month I spent a day in South Wales observing an aspirant 3 Star White Water Kayak provider in action. A brilliant day on the River Usk and a chance to really test out my Palm Stikine drysuit after swimming various rapids for the candidates to showcase their rescue skills. All three paddlers passed the award, including long term student Alex! 

From this point on things started to get busy. After finishing debriefs in Crickhowell at 5pm, I drove cross country and arrived at Plas-y-Brenin to begin the Level 3 Core Training on the Monday. At some point I will go into more detail as the week deserves it's own blog post. Thanks to Tatiana Cappucci for the photos.

The course ended on Friday afternoon with practical fitness for paddlesports module. Next up - a drive through the night to Scotland! The plan for the week was to complete the Great Glen Paddle over 4 days, taking in the famous Loch Ness. I arrived at Fort William around 11am after sleeping in the car at Callander. After some coffee and cake in the mill at Spean Bridge, I met with the other paddlers and got some rest. What a fantastic trip with some amazing views. This week again deserves it's own post.

Once back from Scotland, the following weekend found me delivering at the BCU Southern Region Coach Update. I ran morning and afternoon workshops designed to update the coaches on some of the new, fun ways of rescuing paddlers that they work with. The "canoe scoop" went down well for getting paddlers out of the water and an out of the box solution for rescuing from a playboat impressed! Thanks to Dinton Activity Centre for providing the boats, copious amount of coffee and the photo below.

 

2014 - Part 1

2014 kicked off with a quick blast on my new Giant XTC 2.5 mountain bike, built for me by a bike expert friend of one of my clients! Despite breaking chain links and various punctures, this bike has been exceptional and have put in some serious miles since January.

Shortly after new year I spent a couple of weekends in South Wales including a day on the Usk with Charlie and his son Henry. I'd previously mentored Charlie through his development towards his BCU (UKCC) Level 2 coach assessment and now he wanted a white water experience for his son and himself. A great day on the Usk (summed up by the photo below) reminded me of why I love white water kayaking so much.



Following on from weekends in South Wales, I was off to Dartmoor for a weekend of 4 Star Provider Training. Day 1 was spent in the classroom at Exeter Canoe Club. Led by Lee Pooley, we discussed the whys and hows of assessing the 4 Star award. What could have been a boring day in the classroom most certainly wasn't - thanks Lee!

The Dart was our destination for Day 2 and a chance to delve deeper into the specifics of the 4 Star White Water Kayak award. Discussions included signals, leadership styles, positioning and white water safety and rescue. After coffee and cake at the Country Park it was time for action plans and long drives home.



That's all for now. Stay tuned for Part 2!

Dave