River festivals are always fun and last week’s 2011 Noguera Palleresa River festival was no exception.
Well I am very pleased to report that on returning to Sort In the Cataluna Pyrenees for the first time in 10 years since 2001 when the world freestyle championships were there, and they decided to provide in gratis alcohol and food to a bunch of “ enthusiastic” kayakers, the place still has every bit of magic beauty and craziness that it did all those years ago. The man, the myth the legend Lluis Rabaneda and his team at RocRoi.com put together another amazing event in the form of the “ Noguera Pallaresa River Festival” 2011.
With Lluis behind the magic, a van loaded with the brand new Dagger Mamba test boats, throw in some sunshine, great water levels guaranteed by the dam, new friends and old, a big party, amazing locals, both paddlers and civilians, we have a winning combination. It was the perfect end to the summer paddling season.
The NPRF 2011 attracted kayakers from The UK, Ireland, Finland, Argentina, Norway, France, Canada, America, Spain, Germany, just to name a few! The festival was very inclusive for all abilities and ages and set on the Palleresa River that has really nice class 2/3 rapids over different sections with some of the most stunning scenery that I have seen in a kayak.
Over the course of the festval there was a bunch of clinics organised for folks to go on and the river is a great coaching venue. I was involved with the Safety and Rescue clinic and had a blast with the mixed crew we had on the session. There were loads of other clinics run. Eric “EJ” Jackson was doing the freestyle clinics with the kids and adults. Raphael Thiebaut the photo master was doing a photo Clinic for kayak photographers. Next year the lads should do a party clinic on the back of their performance on the dance floor during the Saturday night festivities. A memory that will stay with me for a while is EJ saying to the Mayor of Sort whilst dragging him unwillingly to the dance floor, “ have you ever tried slam dancing??!” Ej also received a special award for the 10 year anniversary since he won the worlds in Sort.
There was a “ Le Mans” style mass race down the class2/3 section from Llavorsi to Rialp, just upstream of Sort. The race was great fun with some charging hard at the front and others just taking their time and enjoying the ride down to the finish line about 8 km away.
As I was there with the toy chest filled with a bunch of the all new Dagger Mambas along with other models I was pleased to hear such positive feedback about the boats from the test pilots. People were really fired up on how dynamic the new boats were. It’s always good to see smiling faces.
It was great to see such a range of people and abilities at an event like this. It appeared as though everybody was catered for. I will definitely be gunning to hit the fesival next year. Well done again to Lluis and his very capable and friendly team @rocroi.com Cheers for the good times. That’s what kayaking is all about, can’t wait to see what’s in store for next time. Thanks to the Palm/Dagger guys for supporting such a nice event.
We have just completed our final day of training before the competition starts. We spent the day running the main gorge section of the Pacuare that the endurance will be held on, perfecting our lines and trying alternatives. Around 30 teams from all over the world were on the river, and the atmosphere was fantastic. We also discovered that spending some time speaking to the safety kayakers )a team of at least 20 strong, positioned at key points along the gorge) was most definately worth it to find out which teams were taking the fastest lines, where the most flips and swims were happening, and getting some local knowledge of how the lines would change with different water levels. I think we spent around 7 hours on the river today!
Tomorrow is the opening cermony for the competition and a rest day. The afternoon will be spent with our fantastic osteopath who arrived on site today and has scheduled in a couple of hours of treament or us all just in time to balance us all our before the competition starts.
Shaking off sleep from Saturday’s ever-successful South West canoe show, the team were on site early on Sunday to set up the Exe Big paddle.
It didn’t take long for the Piazza to take on the appearance of a festival site, with tents, bunting and boats all creating a mass of colour ready for paddlers to arrive….. Which they did, right on the dot at 9am.
First up were the tours, fully booked out months in advance, the groups were keen to get out and learn about the nature and history of the Exe and adjacent shipping canal. We were fantastically lucky to have staff from the RSPB, Devon Wildlife Trust and an ex head of the Archaeology society as our guides so those lucky enough to secure a place came back a few hours later full of enthusiasm for what they’d learnt and seen on the five mile loop.
Meanwhile on the Piazza, the sunshine brought a great mix of participants, including passers-by keen to have a go at kayaking and canoeing for the first time. Our seasoned team from Bristol based canoe lifesaving club, Globe 360, were constantly busy and had to add boats to the pool of demos available as more and more people got out on the water.
Helping entice folk into giving it a go were the popular Canoe England ergo machines. Racing over a 100m sprint, young and old gave it their all through the day trying to better a time set by development racer Michael Sims and to get a top ranking on the Top Gear style leader board. Predictably no-one beat Michael’s time, but that’s what you’d hope with a national level athlete and it didn’t stop lucky winners getting their prizes!
The CKUK Magazine Throwbag Challenge also drew a crowd each time someone stepped up to throw the rope bag into a boat, gradually getting further away each time they threw. The winners managed an impressive 20-metre throw with pinpoint accuracy to win a year’s magazine subscription, although technique advice from the sidelines seemed as abundant as those trying!
As the afternoon came around so did preparations for the finale of the day: The cardboard canoe race. Starting quietly with boat building by Palm and AS Watersports’ staff, the ‘workshop’ area soon became a teaming mass of people cutting, folding and taping card into weird a wacky shapes.
As building finished, a parade of boats (if you can call some of them that) let head judge Ben Hedden from Haven Banks Activity centre scrutinize designs, before giving the entrants the go ahead to proceed. By now the banks were lined with spectators and, amidst the expected carnage, boats set off to try and get around a marker buoy.
Success was not widespread with some who’d put creativity in front of water tightness literally falling at the first splash. However the crowd began to roar as the first ‘floaters’ made it around the buoy and back on the home straight. At best many made one lap, including an ingenious catamaran design from the local deaf school, but as cheers continued a junior and senior race winner soon became obvious, as they were the only ones still afloat. Congratulations to Sea Hare and Back-to-Front, winners of the first ever Exe Cardboard Canoe Race!
Tea and medals swiftly followed and the tiring task of packing it all away began.
It was a great event, fulfilling the aims of the Big Paddle by showcasing the sport to new participants and widening the scope for those who already take part, all in aid of charitable causes, which for the Exe event were Devon Hospice care and the Canoe Foundation.
Events such as this are only possible with the dedication and help from volunteers. So to AS Watersports, Canoe England, Haven Banks, Exeter Canoe Club, Globe 360, CKUK the Palm team, and all of you who attended – a Big Paddle thanks.
Look out for the full report in the December issue of Canoe Kayak UK Magazine. Until then, we hope you enjoy these shots. Massive thanks to Daniel Bewsey for capturing the event for us. For the whole gallery see Dan’s Big Paddle Flickr Album.
We’ve got 7 new exciting additions to the Palm fold this autumn in the form of the Senior Women’s GB Rafting Team and they’ve just arrived in Costa Rica for the World Rafting Championships. With nearly 80 years experience between them they’re strong contenders for the gold medal. Stay tuned here for updates during the competition.
For now though, here’s long time Palm paddler Rosie Cripps with a run down of the team and the competition.
We have arrived in Costa Rica – Pura Vida!
As a team of 7 from Wales, England and Scotland together we make up the GB ladies whitewater rafting team. Having been rafting or kayaking for most of our lives we are passionate about rivers and paddlesports, and have travelled to Costa Rica to compete in the World Rafting Championships. We’re proud to be sponsored by Palm, who have been incredible in kitting us out at short notice in matching kit just before we flew out – most importantly a set of super comfortable Helix PFDs, grippy neoprene Cartwheel Pants (don’t want to slip out of the raft!) and throwlines which are most definitely a must on the Pacuare river where the competition will be held.
We’ve already been here a week and have spent 5 days on the river, training and acclimatising to the intense heat and humidity before the competition begins. Over 30 countries will compete over three days and 3 disciplines for the title of World Champions.
Getting to the river is an endurance test in itself – and very exciting! Every day we leave camp around 7.30am for the first stage; a half hour bus ride through where we are deposited high above the Pacuare, just about able to glimpse its glistening brown form snaking though the dense jungle clad gorge below. An hour’s trek down to the river follows with discarded spider skins and bright green and red poison frogs underfoot. Yesterday there was an enormous tarantula on the track; it must have been special as even the local Tico’s stopped to look at this one.
Once at the river we’re surrounded by an intricate system of cables, pulleys and zip lines that criss-cross the river to transport the rafts upstream to the top of the sprint and slalom course. The rafts are loaded up onto the zip lines and fly across the river. We then clip it onto a series of other cables and hoist it a further around a km upriver through the jungle to the top of the sprint and slalom course. I think the first day it took us around 3.5 hours to get from the camp to on the water.
Once on the water the river is awesome! Huge boulder gardens in a tropical jungle set the scene with lanky vines and spider webs hanging overhead. Tight lines and numerous horizon lines maintain a super focussed and powerful boat. Never thought we would get so much boofing practise in a 16 foot raft. Ah well, Pura Vida as they say! The gorge section is big 4+ water, which will easily become class 5 with a bit more rain. And in Costa Rica it appears to rain like few other places on earth!
Return to the bull ring/camp where we’re staying after a full day on the river takes around 40minutes. Most of the teams taking part in the competition are staying at the camp, the Tico’s are super friendly and amazing hosts. Last night we were all treated to a bull riding show/rodeo. The skill and bravery of the cowboys, whilst riding incredibly well muscled bulls with enormous horns, along with their horsemanship was incredible to watch. Mike the owner of the bull ring was able to, without fail, lasso a full sized bull right around the horns whilst galloping at top speed past it on his Appoloosa stallion. Impressive indeed!
Finishing a day usually ends with a wildlife show starring the cleaner of the ladies loos at the camp – the top three items extracted from the toilets so far have been:
1. Enormous puffed up toad/frog as big as two fists that spits a milky substance into your eyes which may blind you
2. Huge beetle that looked very like a stag beetle but was around the size of a can of baked beans
3. Giant grasshopper/stick insect, masquerading very well as a leaf.
We’ll be posting more updates from training and the competition as much as we can, although rather like getting to the river, getting to the internet is more complicated than it first appears!
Two days to go until the Big Paddle event in Exeter on Sunday! The weather’s looking amazing, the river tours are filling up and we’re loading the van with cardboard for the cardboard canoe race!
So if you’re around in the South West of the UK this weekend and fancy a paddle, why not come along and join us on Sunday? Here are some images from last year’s Big Paddle at Symonds Yat to tempt you.
Guided Tours. Not sure of the route but don’t want to resort to the map? Then why not join one of our free guided tours.
An experienced guide will lead you round the Big Five paddle, making sure you don’t get lost along the way!
10.00am Nature Tour
10.15am History Tour
10.30am Guided Tour
10.45am Nature Tour
11.00am History Tour
11.15am Guided Tour
Nature Tours
Although just outside the city, the Exe Big Paddle route offers some wonderful opportunities for sightings, including Otters, kingfishers a wide variety of ducks, wading birds, dippers, wagtails and more! Accompanied by a local expert groups of ten will head out to see what can be found.
Guided nature tours will run in two sessions. The first starts at 10.00am and the second at 10.45am. Places will be on a first come first served basis. Please register online. Booking will also be available on the day if spaces are still available. Participants will need to provide their own equipment.
Local History Tours
Like the natural habitat, the Big Paddle Route is historic and local experts will be on hand to guide groups of up to ten along the route highlighting points of interest and the stories and facts that go with them.
Guided history tours will run in two sessions. 10.15am and 11.00am. Places will be on a first come first served basis. Please register online. Booking will also be available on the day if spaces are still available. Participants will need to provide their own equipment.
Booking onto tours
Please indicate if you’d like to join one of our guided tours when you buy your tickets.
Cardboard Canoe Race
The grand finale of the Exe Big Paddle will be the Cardboard canoe race. The race will take place in the Quay outside the Piazza at 3:30 pm, but all participants must arrive for registration and craft inspection at 3:00 pm. Entrants into the race should be 16 or over, and helmets and PFDs must be worn. Staff will be on hand with materials should you wish to ‘build’ on the day. There are prizes for best boat design, best-dressed boat (including paddlers), and of course race winners! The Cardboard Canoe Race will be governed by a ‘gentleman’s agreement’.
Come and try it
Whether its for the first time, or just to do something a little
easier, we are hosting ever popular ‘Come and try it’ sessions
throughout the day.
Our team of instructors from Globe 360 are experts at getting you on
and off the water in a fun, safe and relaxed environment. Over the
years they have been responsible for thousands of paddlers first ‘have-
a-go’ experience and can proudly boast that many have become hooked
afterwards.
Sessions will be hosted on the canal side and will run from 9.30am to
3pm on a rolling basis, with water time between 10 and 20 minutes.
It’s not limited to one session either.
You don’t need to bring anything, apart from a smile; although there
is a possibility you could get a little damp, so a change of clothes
may be worthwhile. Non-swimmers are fine.
You will need to fill out a registration form and under 18′s will need
a parent or guardian present to sign for them. Minimum age is 5.
So what are you waiting for – get on and have a go!
For years Scottish paddlers dreamed of a summer paddling festival in Scotland. Perhaps centred on the dam-release hubs of the Rivers Garry and Moriston. The SCA Access Committee discussed it but little progress was made. In early 2005, as a fitting memorial to Andy Jackson the SCA Access officer, plans for a paddling extravaganza were hatched.
Since then, the event has grown to attract over 300 paddlers from all over the UK (and there were even two groups from Germany there this weekend!). Shuttle vehicles are put on, a party is organised and weekend access is negotiated for two classic dam released sections of scottish whitewater; the Moriston – 4(5), and the Garry – 3+. With loads of rain forcast it was clear that it wouldn’t just be dam releases on offer either, and paddlers found time to squeeze in classics such as the Falloch, Orchy, Coe, Spean and Etive as well.
We made the long drive north to let paddlers have a go in the new 2012 Dagger Mamba and preview a few of our 2012 Palm offerings. It was great to see the paddlers on the water as excited about the new gear as we are – and we even managed a cheaky sunset run on the Coe in perfect levels!
Thanks to everyone involved for a fantastic weekend, we’ll definitely be back!
If you live in the UK but haven’t boated in Scotland yet you’re missing out. The scenery is stunning, the whitewater is world-class and the Clacaig Inn serves a rather tasty haggis. If you’re looking to get a few days away paddling before Christmas and you’re not sure where to go, a little trip north of the border is thoroughly recommended.
The Big Paddle is back and it’s set to be even more fun than the last time!
For those of you who missed the 201o event at Symonds Yat, Big Paddle events are about getting on the water and having fun. Whether for the first time or as a seasoned paddler there is something for all.
The Big Five Tour is the focal point of the event, taking in a unique five-mile loop of river and canal starting and finishing at Exeter Quay. A series of guided trips and masterclasses will be available to accompany the tour and the event culminates in some exciting contests including the Cardboard Canoe Race.
Off the water the event village at the Piazza hosts displays and activities dedicated to all things paddling and is a great place to meet and learn about the sport.
