Looking for water...

As the title of the post suggests today was a day where no real plans were made in the hope that with a bit of flexibility we'd get on a river that was in condition. Well with all this rain you would actually expect something to be at a good level, but that wasn't the case for the group I was with today. I'll start at the beginning now.

I got picked up just after eight-forty-five and we headed north to the M6, stopping once to meet another two paddlers on some road off Junction 33. It was agreed here that we would head up to Burneside to take a look at some of the upper reaches of the Kent, seen as none of us had done any other stretches of the Kent apart from the classic and rather popular lower section (posts here and here about paddling that particular section). When we got to Burneside we were undecided about whether it would actually go, so seen as we were so close to the get-out for the Sprint we headed over there to have a look. Again, we were undecided that it would go so we walked up to the measuring gauge, and still we were undecided. We hedged our bets and set ourselves up to paddle the Sprint. This meant boats and kit was shuffled around once we were changed and then, once piled into one car, we headed up the valley to check the river out higher up. When we pulled up at one of the rapids, it didn't look good - it was too low. It was back to collect the car we had left at the get-out and then off to set up for a trip down a section of the Upper Kent. Once a car had been left at the take out we set off up the Kent valley in the hope of getting on the river, but once again when we pulled up to look at the level it wasn't good. It was too low. It was back to collect the car we had left at the get-out and then off to set up for a trip down the classic, and rather popular lower section of the Kent.

Getting on at the public slipway in Kendal.

On one of the flat sections of the Kent.

After running the entry rapid to the first gorge.

A person from another group running the main rapid on the river.

On the most notable rapid of the river one of our group took a swim near the top. There was a good bit of chase boating involved from the other three members of the group, me included. However, the rescue panned out rather well with the swimmer getting themselves to the side, but I did get surfed for a while in one hole whilst another chase boater nearly landed on top of me. I eventually managed to fight my way out of the hole and then get out on the bank to help in the recovery of the boat, which was in mid flow tied off with a rope.

Looking downstream after the rescue.

Me coming up from a roll as my stern disappears in a boil.

On one of the last rapids of the river I had a bit of a shocker. For some reason I messed up a line I have hit on four previous occasions and found myself upside down with the water swirling around my face. I rolled back up instantly, but still I wasn't best pleased.

I ran the next drop without problem and then carried on down to the finale of the river, Force Falls. Luckily I hit my line here as it can sometimes deal out the odd spanking to the unwary, but still I was a bit nervous especially after I missed a line further upstream on a rapid that is not anywhere as daunting as Force Falls.

I'm in there somewhere - at the bottom of Force Falls.

We had another swim on this fall. It was quite spectacular really. The paddler came over the drop on line, but then the bow flew up into the air and over they went. There was an attempt made at rolling, but it didn't just come off. They popped their deck and in no time at all we had them back in their boat ready to head off downstream to the get-out which was just around the corner.

Rescuing the swimmer.

Once off the river cars were packed and conversation was had before we headed off south for home. It wasn't a great day on the water for most of the group and I think it was all set up with the abysmal lack of water in the Sprint and Upper Kent, even though the section we did eventually paddle was a good high/medium level.

More pictures can be found here.

Good lines, stay safe and see you on the wet stuff...
Iain

Response from my MP regarding the Brighton Report

You may remember that a couple of weeks ago I posted up a template of a letter which could be sent to your Member of Parliament in response to the Brighton Report well today I got my reply from David Borrow MP for South Ribble. His actual reply was quite short, but it did say that he had raised my concerns with Margaret Beckett and with his letter was a copy of a letter he had received from a junior minister at DEFRA, Margaret Beckett's department, in reply to the concerns I had raised. It said:

"... I am a firm believer in the benefits of outdoor recreation whether on land or water. People make over a billion visits to the countryside each year, enjoying a wide range of recreational activities. Visitors are good for the local economy and people who exercise regularly are healthier than those who do not. So I am keen both to promote recreational activities, including canoeing, as widely as I can and to ensure the provision of increased opportunity to participate in such activities.

Our view is that increased access to water, for activities such as canoeing, can most effectively be achieved via the voluntary approach. This conclusion is based on the findings of two pieces of research. First, a Countryside Agency feasibility study on developing best practice for access agreements for canoeists on key stretches of water in England. Secondly, on research into the opportunities and demand for water-based sport and recreation, which we published in December 2001. The report, 'Water-Based Sport and Recreation: the facts', concludes that there is some unmet demands for white water and long distance routes for canoeists, but that for most canoeists, as for most other water users, overall supply is roughly in balance with demand.

As a result of this research we commissioned the Environment Agency to complete agreements in four pilot areas (the Teme, Waveney, Wear and Mersey) which were the subject of the feasibility study mentioned above. I recently announced that these agreements have been successfully concluded, and have delivered over 70km of new access. However these agreements were not just about increasing access on the rivers in question. The aim was to provide a template agreement which could be used in a variety of circumstances on different waterways, together with an access negotiation 'toolkit' based on experience gained in developing the agreements. This covers all aspects of the negotiation process including model forms for licenses, contractual agreements, and codes of conduct. Further details are available on the Environment Agency website.

The Mersey project also demonstrated the process by which landowners may dedicate land for access (including land covered by water) under section 16 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act. The effect of dedication is to preserve a public right of access in perpetuity. A number of landowners have agreed to dedicate access to the river and in one case the legal formalities are complete.

If we are to make real progress in opening up new opportunities for recreational access to inland water we also need to adopt a strategic approach to identify what access is needed, and where. DEFRA is supported by the Environment Agency in its proposals to work with other stakeholders in developing regional strategies. Plans for the first two regions will be in place in 2007.

By adopting the voluntary approach and developing regional plans I believe we will be able to deliver increased access where it is needed. I am convinced that this is the right approach."

Now I've just got to draft some sort of reply and send it off to Mr Borrow to see what response I can evoke. If anyone has got any ideas what should be included in the reply put a comment on this post. I'm off paddling tomorrow so check back sometime tomorrow evening to see what I got upto.

Good lines, stay safe and see you on the wet stuff...
Iain

Buy Me!!!

Good lines, stay safe and see you on the wet stuff...
Iain

Take a look-see

I was checking my emails today when this dropped into my Inbox. It is a video of me running "a strong hole" on the Clough on Sunday. Why "a strong hole"? That is how Stuart Miller in his excellent guidebook White Water Lake District describes it.

I was impressed with how I ran this particular drop as when I got out of my boat to scout it I could see two possible lines. One was on the right and would be a bit tight, maybe even requiring me to get the hull of the boat to scrape down the rocks on the lip of the drop and the other was on the left. This required me to get the boat on top of a boil and paddle away. As can be seen in the video this is the line I went for and after watching the video again and again for the last five minutes I can see that I near enough hit the line spot on, which is what impressed me the most. I looked at a feature, assessed the lines available, evaluated the possibilities and then implemented the line I decided was the best for my skills.

Good lines, stay safe and see you on the wet stuff...
Iain