I was working with a young slalom paddler the other day and I mentioned the name Bill Endicott. “Bill who?” he replied. I was momentarily shocked, but then it dawned on me that there must be a whole generation of paddlers who aren’t familiar with Bill’s massive contribution to the sport. Just as Isaac Newton [...]
Final preparations
I’m now in my final few days of training to complete my preparations for the slalom at the World Masters Games. The WMG takes place in Ivrea on 7 August, and it’s been the focus of my training for the last 15 months. When I first wrote about the WMG back in December, I said [...]
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Wet weekend in Dartmoor and the art of decisions
My paddling highlight so far for 2013 has been a wet and cold January weekend in Dartmoor. Paddling with a good crew, we managed three excellent rivers with good water levels. First up was the Upper Plym, a beautiful steep Grade 4 / 5 run that the guidebook calls the ‘jewel in the crown’ of [...]
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The force of habit
The weather in Britain has been cold and wet for a couple of weeks, and the only people not grumbling are paddlers who have appreciated the first Thames weir season for some 15 months. I’ve managed three sessions at Hurley and one at Marsh weir. Last Sunday I was paddling and talking with Tim Ward, [...]
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Wilderness Journeys
Now that I live in the UK, one of the things I miss about Tasmania is the easy opportunity for a multi-day trip down a remote river. Although parts of Scotland and Wales are pretty remote, there’s not the same sense of wilderness. I think back to the three years between 1977 and 1979 when [...]
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Beginner’s mind
After kayaking for more than 35 years I don’t know whether to feel embarrassed or pleased that I’m still learning about paddling. Zen Buddhism has the principle of ‘beginner’s mind’; which emphasises the importance of staying open to new experience and not letting arrogance or preconceptions get in the way. So I guess on balance [...]
I thought I was immortal.
If you’ve not already read it, I strongly recommend reading this posting by Pat Keller on the Tribe Rider Facebook page. It’s a great reminder of the need to grow your paddling abilities in line with experience, and not rush into bigger situations than you can handle. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=350583031637867&set=a.242093089153529.73955.242090492487122&type=1) It reminded me of a phase in [...]
Categorized in Uncategorized, Whitewater
Feel the fear and do it anyway?
I’m just back from three days boating in Devon. It was a great trip with the usual suspects, and unusually there was enough water to provide entertainment on the Upper Dart, Erme, Tavy and East Lyn rivers. After a summer of slalom and regular paddling at Lea Valley I felt strong on the whitewater, which [...]
My slalom season in review
I’ve just completed my first full slalom racing season since leaving Tasmania in 1992. I set myself the target of competing in at least five Division 1 events, and if I count one ‘judges race’ at Bala I managed this. I was hoping to go to another three races, but work and family commitments ended [...]
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Inspirational paddling films – Dudh Kosi
I recently picked up the DVD of the 1976 British Kayak expedition to Everest that was led my the late Mike Jones. http://www.davemanby.com/DudhKosi.aspx It was one of a couple of films that was hugely inspirational to me as a kayaking obsessed teenager in Tasmania (the other was ‘Fast and Clean’, a documentary about US paddlers [...]
Categorized in kayaking, Whitewater
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