I was aching after a great late summer evening paddle at the Lea Valley Whitewater centre on Thursday night. It was a real mates session, with me and Wendy the only kayaks on the Olympic course, and Mark Coleman on duty steering the only commercial raft. Made for a nice relaxed atmosphere, with warm water and even a scenic sunset!
The course has a couple of good surfing waves on it, perhaps the best being just below Jaws, the first major drop. It’s fast but not too steep, easy to catch with good re-circulating eddies below it on both sides so you rarely get flushed far downstream if you come off the back or roll. Although the young guns can pull blunts and donkey flips, I was happy to just to surf and try 360 spins. I struggle with throwing my edges hard enough for the aerial moves, and find it harder on a wave like this that hasn’t got a big shoulder. Something to work on.
I started to think about how fantastic it was to go straight from a day at work (in my case, having to wear a suit and tie for a meeting in the City of London), to having a blast on great white-water with good friends. Like many people with job and family commitments, time is precious and my days of living a full-time paddling life are well in the past. So what are the other classic ‘after-work’ paddling spots around the world? Where is it possible to go from work to white-water in half an hour or so? How about we build up a top ten list? No surprises that I think Lea Valley should be on this list!
Comments please…..
The other bonus last night was getting some neat and very flattering photos, courtesy of Dave from Rapid Focus Photography. www.rapid-focus.co.uk
Better than work!
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Kaituna River, definitely one of the top 10 after work paddle destinations. Although being in New Zealand it’s a little bit off the beaten track for most. 20 minutes drive from the town of Rotorua the 2km long section offers grade 3 – 4+ whitewater, playspots, and waterfalls, and a place to sit down and have a beer right opposite the put-in. What more do you need?
Hey, I’m glad the kaituna has been named. I was there in 1992 when I was coaching the Australian slalom team, there was a world cup race in NZ that year. Great venue!
When I lived in Menai Bridge, there was a playhole that formed on certain tides below the bridge. It was a bit sharp and jaggedy, but only three minutes from the house. Or – if it was raining – you were 15 mins from the Ogwen.
In Chester, though, it’s a bit more restrictive: flat water in the squirt boat!
I have to submit the Ocoee River’s 96 Olympic course for all the Chattanooga, Tennessee paddlers…even thou it may be slightly more than a 30 min.trip. I had the good fortune to paddle it last weekend with a friend,Scott Strausbaugh, who (w/ his other side) won a C-2 Gold medal for the US in ’92. This Ocoee course is a hoot!
Barnett Williams
HPP Nottingham works for me! There are great creeks a short distance from Portland, Seatle and DC has the great falls of the Potomac. Montreal has a pretty good spot all summer!
Phil
Of course, heading back to your roots in Tassie, the NWB, North West Bay River, occasional flood run 20 minutes south of Hobart, continuous gr3-4 depending on level, lots of fun waves and a few not so fun and more ‘challenging’. Been known to spank people at higher flows, always intimidating when the sound of the rocks rolling down the riverbed rumble up through the bottom of your boat!