Paddle Report

Australian Wild Water Champs 2003

My work had built up on Friday afternoon so I headed down to Bridgetown for the Australian Wild Water Championships a little late. I booked into the Bridgetown Lodge (travellers/backpackers hostel). It was very clean, cheap, friendly and with all conveniences and cooking facilities.

John Igloi, his family and several of the Eastern States competitors were also staying there. John and I arranged to do a practise paddle the next morning hoping to be back at the start line for the champs by 10.00am.

The night was cold, frost was layered on our cars when we rose in the morning. Fog was heavy in the Blackwood Valley and the cold was intense when we entered the water at 8.00am. Our hands virtually froze to our paddles for the first 20 minutes and our eye lashes and eye brows were virtually white with frost. The splash from the waves showered and seeped into our cags like melting icicles. If only the sun would come out.

I wasn’t leading a group, so I took new routes and experimented with different lines. It felt good to be able to go, not to look back for others and be in control of my own destiny. The run went like a dream.

By the time we arrived back at the bridge other paddlers were gathering. The crowd turned out smaller than the crowd at the state championships. With the City to Surf fun run, the Dockers and Eagles match and the fact that some paddlers had used up all their brownie points after going to the State Championships, I’m sure that contributed to the smaller field in the plastic division.

Paul and Neil gave the briefing and the new bibs were given out to the paddlers. These bibs were sponsored by Sea to Summit and Canoeing Down Under and fitted beautifully. Soon after, we were on the water. The Australian Championships for wild water boats would start further down the river at Photographers Rapid, but the plastic invitation race would be longer and start at the town bridge.

At the start line paddlers waited to take their turn with the fastest going first, at one minute intervals. As I was number 22 I had a long wait. It was an important race for the paddlers going for world selection, one wrong move, a second lost and it could be all over for them and a wasted journey from the east.

At the finish line the results were put up within minutes of us leaving the water. I can’t believe that I had my result before I had even stopped breathing heavily. A credit to the organisers.

Dan Hall and Carol Hurst from Tasmania won the male and female events with Ben Mercer and Naomi Edmunds being WA’s best male and female paddlers. The junior event was won by rising AKC star Chris Davis.

I was happy with my run down the course, no major slip ups, it all seemed to go to plan, but I just didn’t have the fitness to be really competitive, coming 3rd in the over 45s and 19th overall. In the team event the Tasmanian team beat the WA team by half a second, just incredible.

A local tour operator, Tall Timber Tours kindly transferred paddlers and boats back to Bridgetown. This saved paddlers from doing car shuffles and prevented congestion at the finish line.

The weather was still in our favour as the day’s results and prizes were given out under the town bridge. Many local business, Canoeing Down Under and Finn Kayaks donated prizes to make the event that much more special. Medal presentations however, were given out at the Champs presentation dinner later that night which attracted a large crowd.

Sunday morning I arrived at the Rapid Sprint site about 20kms out of Bridgetown early. The day was perfect. On the way in, high on the hills the sun was shining brightly and the scenery of the Blackwood Valley was picture postcard. I was last here at the site 3 years earlier when I paddled the Blackwood from Boyup Brook to beyond Bridgetown on a three day recreational paddle. But as I was alone I had to portage this rapid. It was then that I realised that it was one of the biggest and most difficult rapids in the state, a hidden treasure. When the wild water committee wanted a venue around Bridgetown for the rapid sprints it was a natural choice.

Other paddlers started to arrive as I followed a faint track to the rapid. The rapid was pumping violently, even better than I remember three years earlier, in fact it was a frightening sight. Apparently some of the competitors had practised on it a few days earlier and on that occasion it was higher, smoother and a little easier to paddle. A drop in water level now had the best paddlers wondering which way to run it.

As more paddlers arrived every one looked on, all waiting for someone to make the first move and paddle it. You could feel the tension in the air, nerves were stretched, as paddlers watched on at the awesome sight. The big drop, the slide was unrelenting and churning with super fast water, waves and stoppers. No one could deny it, this championship was not going to be a walk in the park. The Tasmanian’s reckoned it was one of the best rapid sprint venues that they had ever paddled. The intimidating rapid discouraged many of the local paddlers from taking part in the race.

At last, WA’s Ben Mercer paddled the main drop, making it look relatively easy. Soon after, two eastern state paddlers took it on. So I watched three paddlers conquer the rapid, but they all took different routes on entry. So as it seemed there was no standard route to take on entry, I had to make my own decision. It was finally time for me to kit up and take the plunge.

The walk towards the start followed the hillside and captured the beauty of the area and the upper section of the course. Granite rocks, grass trees, budding branches and bubbling white water stretched before me. It looked so isolated and wilderness like, yet cattle in the nearby field stumbled away as I walked the slope near the fence line.

I started my practise run and entered the first rapid which was shielded from view, slightly too far to the left to hit it clean, however it made little difference to my passage, apart from being a little bumpier and slower. Within 100 metres I was halted by one of the rescue team. A boat had wrapped around a rock at the bottom of the main drop. It was Naomi’s, she had apparently followed Robyn down the drop too closely and had clipped her boat and spun out. The result was disastrous, her boat was now mangled around a rock and her race was over. Fortunately Naomi wasn’t hurt.

The wait was long as the rescue crew had difficulty in getting the boat off. Several good paddlers had now gathered around me, so when the coast was clear I let them go first, I didn’t want to slow them down.

As I approached the big drop it just didn’t look like it had from the bank. Everything was clear before, but not now. I took the line I wanted and within seconds I was dropping down the slide at an enormous pace. There was no time to procrastinate, I had to make split second decisions. As I slid over the drop and punched through the waves and stoppers I could hear cheers from the bank. All I could think about was keeping my boat upright and straight. I managed that and survived, although I remember executing the odd brace stroke on the way down. It didn’t matter though I had conquered it. I felt elated, but I knew that it was just the beginning, I still had my two competition runs to go.

The course was then closed to allow a power boat race to go through. Paddlers changed, and waited for them to arrive. They were late and the weather was getting colder making the wait uncomfortable at such a crucial time in the race.

At last the first two boats scooted down the drop with few problems but most of the others weren’t so lucky. Boats were hitting boulders, overturning, becoming broadside to rocks and going backwards. Their drivers got thumped as many slid down the rapid hitting rocks on the way. One guy had his hand run over by another boat speeding past him, others were driving into rocks catapulting the occupants over their bows. Talk about carnage, talk about dangerous activities, these guys were mad. If someone didn’t break a bone or two I would be most surprised. It was a spectacular and mad display of excitement.

When the fun was over it was time for the race. The cold had intensified so I donned two thermals and a cag. I wanted to be warm waiting for my turn. As paddlers walked to the start they watched on from the hillside as their competitor’s raced below. I was impressed and amazed with the top paddlers from the East, powering down the rapids not missing a beat and displaying an incredible fluid action that was more suited to flat water racing. If only I could duplicate their performance.

At the start line the sun was back to full strength and I was overheating in all my clothes. As the starter held onto my stern, I heard over the radio that his son, Steve, had capsized on the drop. Unfortunately for Steve it meant his race was over, however it didn’t stop him completing his second run.

On my run I nailed the top section and was extremely pleased, but on the approach to the big drop, I took it too fast losing the perfect line. This resulted in my descent down the slide being a little messier and more challenging than I had hoped. However I survived and had paddled better than some of the superior paddlers. A few of them had eddied out and one had even capsized.

With two successful runs under my belt I now felt pretty confident, but my sole aim on my final run was to avoid eddying out and to keep my boat on a direct line. I had spent little time paddling rapids in my downriver boat recently, but with every rapid run my confidence grew and my balance improved. To get a result though, I had to complete two timed runs.

I walked back to the main drop and watched other paddlers tackle it. Darryl, who wasn’t timed on his first run, was given another run. As he slid down the top section of the drop his boat struck a rock which stopped him dead. He lost balance for one moment but regained his composure and continued his descent in the buckled boat. You could see the disappointment on his face, as he waited next to the timing tent knowing that his time was slower than he wanted, but true to Darryl’s spirit and commitment he put this disappointment behind him and returned for his second run.

By now the sun was back out and once again the day was warm and the walk back along the ridge was inspiring and beautiful. I talked to Grant just before my run and he surprised me when he said he felt nervous. He also said I was only 6 seconds behind him. This was hard to believe, but it gave me a sense of pride, as he was much fitter then me, (in fact I was actually 14 seconds behind him).

On my second run I couldn’t have done the top section any better and on the approach to the big drop I eased and found the right line down the churning slide of white water. The water was incredibly fast as it channelled between huge boulders. The continual spray from the big waves blurred my vision as I attacked this daunting rapid. There was no room for error. Once through the last big stopper, I was so elated with my successful run that I momentarily forgot which side of the trees the finish line was located. It was extremely exhilarating crossing the line. Yes, yes, yes I could drive home feeling satisfied with my performance.

I had beaten at least 3 good paddlers that I shouldn’t have and the race had bolstered my confidence. At 52 I was the oldest on the course, and it was just the right tonic to convince me that I still had the necessary skills to keep going for at least another ten years!

The most impressive performances though, were from Robyn Harris, Barbara Fitzgerald, junior Chris Davis and the C2 team of Snowball and Muir. They were quite new to the sport and hadn‘t been intimidated by the water.

At the presentation back at the Bridgetown Pottery tea rooms I was surprised to receive a 3rd place in the over 35 year olds. This meant I was on the same podium as Darryl Long, whom I had taught to paddle some 25 years earlier. It was a great moment and it brought back distance memories of when, for a short time, I used to beat him.

Ben Maynard won the open mens and local girl, Robyn Harris was the best lady, with Chris Davis the first junior.

I left Bridgetown contented and happy with two Australian Championship bronze medals, one for the Rapid Sprints and other for the Aussie Titles.

Paul Burke and his team - Denise Burke, Neil Long, Ian Quinn, Dave Myers, Penny Bates, Dr John Nash, Donna, the Avon Support Rescue Unit and others not only did a fantastic job of organising the national championships but had also worked tirelessly at the State Championships and all the other wild water races run throughout the year. Sincere thanks to these people.

Check out some great photographs of the Rapid Sprint Championships on www.aussiesinaction.com.au and go to page 12 and 26.

Full results of the Australian Championship on the Astralian Canoeing, Canoeing WA or www.wildwaterwa.vze.com websites.

Terry Bolland