Paddle Report

On Saturday morning, the Bridgetown River was blanketed with mist adding to the beauty of the valley. When the mist cleared, the rapid that I could hear below our chalet appeared. Cattle grazed on high hill tops and the sun brightened the sky as it climbed above the forest opposite.

All in all it seemed as if it was going to be a perfect day. How much better could it get being able to paddle some great whitewater on a beautiful sunny day with a bunch of fantastic people.

At 9.30am 14 CDU paddlers gathered at the Bridgetown Bridge for the first practise run of the day. The Bridgetown course was one of the most accessible stretches of white water in WA. The rapid section was 6kms long with five good grade two rapids and a few smaller ones. At the end of the rapids the river came within metres of the road which made it an ideal spot to get out. The car shuffle that is synonymous with doing rapids on this occasion, was only a short one.

The water was quite high, higher than last year so the rapids were exciting and explosive. It was virtually impossible to hit a rock.
Some members who hadn't paddled for a while started a little nervous, but after conquering the big haystack on the first rapid they started to calm. Every new rapid seemed to increase in difficulty, but the team was on fire and full of confidence after the 4th big one. Only the odd paddler took on a swim test.

Once we passed the chalets where we were staying, the rapids started to get easier, however paddlers were still kept on their toes as eddies threaten to spin paddlers out and trees and logs remained hazards. By the end of the run the group was in high spirits and longing to get back on the water for the team event starting one and half hours later.

The Team Event consisted of three people, one of those three had to be a woman, one of the boats had to be a plastic and you had to cross the line no longer than 15 seconds apart. The skills of the paddlers varied greatly within each of those teams, as did the speed of the various types of craft, so it became extremely important and challenging to work as a team. The better paddlers had to slow down and be patient and the slower paddlers had to increase their performance, although that didn’t always happen.

There was a great team (called the Tryers) with Alaine Davin, Tony Chounding and myself, whom I'm sure were regarded by all the other teams, as the team to beat. Fortunately for them, one of our team members (who shall remain nameless), went pruning a large overhanging tree and in the process lost a considerable amount of time. She was said to be looking for Jamie Drury (from Backyard Blitz).

The team event was fun as always, 50 odd (some very odd) paddlers braved the course. Each team had their problems. They also had thoughts that they were the only ones with a problem. However, it was important not to give up but to keep competitive, and pray along the way that the other team has had more problems than your team!

After a short rest back at the chalets it was time to take on the evening meal at the pottery tea house. The $20.00 all you could eat meal, with 70 other people interested in paddling capped off a great day.

By morning I was still bloated from all the food I had eaten the night before but I still forced some weet-bix down to ensure I had enough energy to compete in the individual championships.

Fifty three paddlers gathered around the town bridge waiting for the countdown. The juniors took off first at one minute intervals, with the best paddlers being at the back. Not having the fitness to push my boat at a rapid pace, I was happy that only one paddler, Darryl Long passed me, although Grant Pepper was breathing down my neck at the finish. Mind you I had passed 3 other paddlers to make up for it. I was very happy with my run, but my time reflected the amount of real training I had done. I did however win gold in the over 45’s.

The event was won by Ben Mercer at his first State Titles. Ben is an awesome paddler and he has only recently taken up down river racing, although he had paddled the Avon Descent a few times. It's good to see new blood coming into the sport, however it also needs the old hands like Darryl to keep them on their toes who was only a few seconds behind.
(Results are on the Wild Water web site www.wildwaterwa.vze.com or Canoeing WA site).

An hour or so after the finish the crowd of paddlers and families 100 thick gathered back at the tea rooms for the presentation. First the trophies were given out, then the 25 prizes donated by Canoeing Down Under.

Once again it was one of the best kayaking weekends of the year. It brought together old and new paddlers, good and not so good, social and competitive. It’s an event that everyone should do at least once.

Terry Bolland