When the Trent floods....

Last weekend, thanks to all the rain, the Trent came up to 2.something and the wonderful Newark weir was running. This wave is super fun and fast but only about 3 inches deep. Despite this you can still happily go for blunts and backstabs. If you dare, you can get other waves moves such as the helix, if you don't mind risking losing your head. Me and the lovely Tom Laws headed over from Loughborough for an afternoon session, here's some photos taken by Tom:

Rob Edgar

Pete Cornes

Me

Saturday at Shepperton

An early morning drop off at Heathrow airport the other Saturday left me within spitting distance of the legendary Shepperton weir. As it had been running for the past couple weeks and hadn’t done so in too many years to remember, I thought it would be rude not to pay a visit to this awesome wave. This was my first time paddling here and I could not believe the quality of the feature. Having spent the summer boating on the waves of eastern Canada, I was so surprised to find that the UK has something just as good (if not better?). Here’s some pictures of the day:

(I don't think Jon was enjoying surfing with me...)

For more photos go to http://www.xpaddlers.com/gallery/index.php?cat=13

Hurley Classic 2006

Spring for the past two years has been and gone with no Hurley Rodeo due a lack of water. The 2006 event was rescheduled for 2nd-3rd December. In the weeks leading up to the event, the UK saw more rain than anyone had dared dream of and, ironically, the competition was under threat from cancellation because of too much water. With all gates open in the days before the weekend, the event went ahead on a high four gates. Unfortunately, for many it meant a tough battle just to get into the feature. An unusually low number of entrants resulted in the ‘jam style’ heats being upped from 20 to 30 minutes, in which the paddlers took it turn taking up to 30 seconds runs. It was a variety only scoring system, with the boater’s four highest scoring moves counting, more point were rewarded for combination moves. Many people enjoyed this casual style of competition, however the scoring system didn’t show it’s full potential due to the difficult levels. I managed to get in some practice in before my heat and so thankfully got the hang of the level. I was pleased to come joint 3rd in the women’s event, in the Saturday results.

As the event was rather impromptu, there was no official party but that didn’t stop us. Most people headed out in the mighty Marlow, for dinner at the George And Dragon followed by drinks at the Ship and Hogshead and dancing at Checkers.

A slow start to Sunday was spurred on by the lock keeper dropping the weir to three gates. It wasn’t the best three gater but it did provide the opportunity to get your wave moves and was a lot easier for all to make the feature.

Check out www.xpaddlers.net for photos

British Universities Kayaking Expedition Selection Weekend

Check out www.uniyakers.co.uk to find out about how BUKE came about. Although I didn’t get selected for next year’s team, I was stoked to make the short list and had an awesome weekend away river running in Wales. We paddled the Aber Glaslyn Gorge and the Llugwy on the Friday, the amazing Upper Mawddach on Saturday, and then trekked up Snowdon to slide back down on the Cwm Llan. As well as getting in some new rivers, I also got to experience the mighty nightlife of Bangor. (Many thanks to Tom for not inviting us to sleep on your floor, it was comfy…) I look forward to seeing what the selected team get up, as for us rejects, we’re planning a trip of our own. Below are some pics from the weekend

Cwm Llan

Sean on the Cwn Llan

Mawddach

Me on the Aber Glaslyn gorge