Aug 24 2010
AD 2010
“Its the lowest river levels in 37years” the man on the radio said – it is not the kind of news you want to hear as you drive to the register your kayak the day before the race. For weeks we had all been watching and discussing the long term weather forecasts, praying for the high pressure systems to float away and for a big strong cold front to sweep across the wheat belt. As the race weekend drew closer more and more people pulled the pin. Many having endured the conditions of 2006 (River Level 0.3m) decided they couldn’t put themselves through the pain and suffering and likely possibility of being pulled out due to missing the cut off times. It seemed it was all down to grid starting times and pacing your race to ensure the cut off at the ti trees (4pm) was achieved
To push up the nerves and anxiety the Short Plastics (ie slowest boats in shallow water) were for some bizarre reason allocated the last 5 Grids of the Start…it was panning out to be a cluster of adversity sent to deter us stoic short plastic paddlers….”bring it on” some where saying in an attempt energize their spirits and bodies too.
I spent the afternoon checking out the portage routes and taking some pictures of what was surely a historical low for the Avon Descent. I had lunch in Northam and got stung $8.50 for a bowl of chips. It was sad to see the river so low and I could only imagine the chaos that would be the start of Day 1.
Day 1 – I woke up full of enthusiasm and was pretty relaxed about it all …at the end all I could do was give it my best shot, have a laugh along the way (if possible) and just keep focusing on getting through to the ti tree’s by 4pm. I had my planned times written onto the distance stickers so I could judge if I was in with a chance or not. My plan was
Gird 68 – Start at 8:50am, Katrine Bridge 17km from Start by 11am, 11km further to Extracts Weir by 12pm, 5km further to Toodyay by 1pm, 6km to West Toodyay by 2pm, Ti Tree’s by 3pm, Finish by 4:30pm – giving a total of about 7h:30m for the 52km Day 1 run at a average speed of 7km/hr. My assumptions were based on the Northam Toodyay Race which I had actually won for my class (32km in 3hrs 37m) plus some added time for low water (I mean no water) and stoppages for congestions etc…plus I would be going slower to make sure I lasted the distance.
At the start I was pretty relaxed, I had decided to portage the Northam Weir, so my skirt was not on and I paddled at pretty relaxed pace, all the while knowing that tension and nerves can drain your energy very quickly. So as I ran aground I hoped out the boat grabbed the short leash I had tied onto my front handhold and took off down the slippery chute, jumping and trying to avoid rocks, boats, people and generally make it to the first channel…it is pretty funny to see my start to a paddle race….
Anyway eventually I got in the hopper and started to weave my way through the very tight and shallow channels with all the other short plastics. It was often impossible to get a paddle in the water with boats on either side of you and everyone just pushing and pulling each other through the channels and sandbanks blocking the river.
The Short Plastics were soon right on the backs of the plastic doubles (515’s) who due to their extra weight ran aground more often, they did create some good waves which sometime we could use to ride over the shallows on. It was chaos, having to get out the boat every 10min, drag it for 5-20m metres, hop back in, struggle to get going again, and then sometimes within 20m get out again…patience was wearing thin and soon lots of laughing was replaced with curses, smiles were replaced with grimaces. Bleeding legs, sprains and everyone falling around like drunks – it would have been a comedy if it wasn’t so sad.
Most of us have put in hours and hours of paddle training to be sure we could paddle for 8hours straight, not many would have trained for getting in and out the boat 30times, falling over at least 10 times, 50 sit ups, and 20 squat lifts with a 30kg boat full of water and getting wacked on the head and legs by the struggling masses trying like hell to just get going.
Finally after about an hour, the field started to spread out, but at each sandbank or rock bar the field would bunch up again as we all tried to manoeuvre our way through the shallows, some preferred to paddle like crazy people, splashing the water and spearing those who decided to walk in the legs.
As soon as the water started to deepen (really only about ½ to 1m deep) in some long pools, I started to feel more comfortable and I was really stocked to see Katerine Bridge and passed through the bridge after 2hrs 44min (already 44min behind my planned time). I gave the paddle a twirl above my head and was stoked to see Mel, the boys and Jess with big smiles. They told me I was going really well and only about 4-5hoppers had gone through. Jess filled up the hydration pack with a new 2l cold Gatorade mix…Unfortunately I bent over to quickly to try empty my boat and gave myself a icy yellow shower of Gatorade (ha ha)..with a mouth full of banana and wave I was off.
I jumped on the back of another 2 red hoppers, and another red hopper jumped on my wash, the 2 guys at the front gave me a bit of a scowl…funny how some people hate it when others wash ride on their wake. I can understand if it’s a flat water marathon and they are 1st and 2nd positions, but really guys…we were in position 200’sh and about 15th in our class – so whats the harm. Anyway it was a good run to Glen Avon rapid, normally the great little drop, this year it was a messy portage and I lost contact with the 2 wash suppliers, as I took off without them and they didn’t catch up till Extracts. The long pool leading to Extracts my back and shoulders started to cramp up – it was very sore. At one stage in a lovely deep water, my stomach muscle cramped up so much it took my breath away, my right forearm cramped and as I tried to stretch it, my blade caught and plop (in I went)…bugger…I managed to jump in using a old tree stump (thank god it was there, as this was the deepest part of the river with steep banks). The cold swim must have done me some good – I slowed my pace and just cruised to Extracts.
The portage at Extracts was a good advert for plastic kayaks and the abuse they can handle. I dragged my hopper like a stubborn goat, over the rocky bank and down to see Mel, the boys and Jess – all the muttered was “Man I’m tired”. Mel was happy with my pace and told me I had made up 20min…I wolfed down 3 little peanut butter and syrup sandwhiches, half a banana, 4 power lollies and a Power Shot. Another 2 litres of plain cold water and I was off with a smile and wave…hooray for support crews. I was feeling good – I could make this!
The pictures don’t make me look like I was having fun…I was… but I was hurting too.
Only about 3km to Toodyay – with some good little channels which were all able to be paddled without portage. The Toodyay Checkpoint came up and the crowds gave a good cheer and made me feel pretty good. My time to Toodyay was 4hr:45min (2hrs from Katerine) – Was pretty much still on track, but would that 1st stretch of 17km be my (and others) downfall. The 4pm cut off was looming.
The section from Toodyay to West Toodyay (about 6km) was generally pretty good going. Toodyay rapid was a bit of a struggle and we had difficult portage. Not long after that (about 1 hr) I paddled into West Toodyay to see the black & white jester hats bobbing along the bank. I was still feeling pretty good – breathing was relaxed but the arms and stomach had started to cramp up again. More food, powershots and a re-fill of the hydration. A big smile and a good luck and I was off on the last leg…make the 4pm cut off and cruise to the finish.
About 15min of steady paddling, and again my arm cramped, and in I went – my brace completely failed probably due to fatigue and general tiredness. I emptied the boat as best I could and hopped back in the hopper. Another Short Plastic pasted me and said “geez it’s the silly mistakes that kill hey !!”. Soon the river widened and the river started running through the sand as opposed to over it. I was a case of weaving from left to right and back to try and find as much water under the boat as possible. Lots and lots and lots of side strokes were needed because the water was not deep enough to cover the blade in the vertical…lots of getting out and sloshing through the ankle deep water…it was exhausting but also mentally very tiring.
After about an 1hr (3:30pm ish) I was dragging the hopper (AGAIN) with 2 guys in a 515. I casually said “well atleast we pasted the TiTree Cut Off!!” – they replied “not yet mate – we still got 30min but we haven’t go there yet”. I had started to slow paddling and walking – I wanted to conserve energy for the tree’s as I knew I didn’t want to be to knacked to not be able to steer in those trees and I knew some channels would be completely blocked by logs (and probably boats/ski’s etc)
At 3:57pm I walked through the Ti Tree Check point and entered the last bit of Day 1 (3min to spare….crazy)
The trees went fairly well and it was nice to have some flow under the boat and being able to make distance with less effort than those hellish shallow pools we had just ooched through. The only problem was paddlers started to bunch up again and it wasn’t long before, I was getting bumped, knocked and finally bundled into the trees, roots and rocks. I don’t really blame anyone as everyone was so tired boat control was not high on the priority and survival and finishing was the most important thing. I got completely nailed by my long companions for the day (the red 515) and pushed under a nice big fallen tree, capsized and stuck in the tree’s. By now it was getting cold, the sun was shining directly into my eyes, couldn’t see a thing and the cramps where now completely all over my body, stomach, back, shoulders, forearms (and probably brain too)
I bumped down Leatherhead rapid and with 50m to go, put in 1 valiant sprint to the finish..pretty much dead on 5pm….8hrs 21min after starting.
Day 2 – the full saga in next edition of AD 2010
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