Devizes to
Westminster Canoe Challenge - 2005
Part 1.
Devizes to
Westminster Canoe Race.
What makes one decide to do a
canoe race like the Devizes to Westminster. The race is on Easter weekend every year and
the weather in England is not really ideal for an ultra distance canoe race. The days
could be nice but below freezing point evenings are guaranteed. The race has been
contested where there was snow from start to end.
Well, we know the challenge was
born in an English pub. Like many challenges the DW started with a bet. Two guys in a pub
took a bet with other intoxicated lads that they would paddle the 125 miles (201km)
non-stop from Devizes to Westminster Bridge in London in less than 100 hours. They
accomplished it the next Easter and ….. The DW Canoe Race was born in 1948.
In the early days the
participants had to carry all their food and overnight equipment with them in the boat and
were not allowed any assistance. This meant that boats were not too light and the trip was
more of an expedition than anything else. In later years support crews were allowed and
the military teams with full support had a great advantage over civilian teams.
The race is unique in the sense
that it is all done for charity and that there is no prize money.
Part 2.
Devizes to
Westminster Race - Preparation
Conning a partner into it,
convincing my wife, getting a canoe in England, getting seconds in England and trying to
train for such a long event were but a few of the obstacles
faced tackling the challenge. Convincing my wife was probably the most
challenging of all.
I attempted the race in 2003
with Gordon Woodhead whom was then already living in England. Gordon unfortunately
developed severe tendonitis at the 60km mark and we had to surrender the battle and pull
out at +/- 80 km. This indicated that this was a different type of race as we have
finished two non-stop Duzi’s as a pair the previous two years within ten and a half
hours without any problems. Gordon in the meantime picked up another paddling injury and
agreed to second Rob Bolton and myself this time.
On returning from a lovely ski
holiday in Europe with the family we started training seriously on 16 January 2005. We did
not want to do Duzi or any other race that might get us injured. Two weeks into training
the Racing Snake, my conned partner, quietly informed me that I was a bull-shitter. He was
sure that I mentioned 160 km non-stop when we shook hands on the challenge. Changing the
subject to my endurance abilities on long distance races and connected to the fact that I
was now going to a special gym (Sandton Biokinetic Centre) to improve my strength, he
calmed to a panic. At this stage I did not mention to him that there were also 77 locks
that we had to portage.
Plus minus three and a half
weeks before the race I was stranded on dry ground by Bilharzia and could not train for a
week and a bit. The doctor diagnosed “a new virus in the air” instead of the
little ugly animal in my urine. The wrong diagnosis cost me a week and a half of training.
A light (15 kg) canoe was ordered through Compass Sport from Kayak Racing. The day we
received the canoe and tried it, we did not like the feel at all and panic lights came on.
With three and a half weeks to go before the race this was a disaster. We could not afford
not to train in the canoe that was going to be our companion for 201 kilometres. Back to
the factory and two Fridays before the event we received the canoe back and did a mind
bending training session of six hours paddling around Emmarentia Dam. Starting at six in
the evening we paddled until midnight. Round and round like a record baby, round. Needless
to say, everybody that knew about this training session was willing to pay for our
treatment or knew somebody that would assist with reduced fees for a good psychologist
they knew or had in the family.
They say that bad luck comes in
three’s. We started hoping that it was just another nonsense story told by old people
with nothing else to say. Well, well, well.
The boat was delivered as per
the forwarding company instructions, only to be informed the day before we fly that the
boat did not leave.(Second thing that went wrong). Needles to say, I lost my sense of
humour and threatened the company with bombs, etc and we left for England not knowing if
the canoe was going to arrive in time. It arrived a day late and two days before the race.
Close, close, close.
But first we have to warn
anybody that ever wants to do a race overseas and order a car with roof carriers. (Third
thing that went wrong) Arriving at Heathrow Airport the car rental company advised that
there were no cars with roof carriers. We showed them our booking and request for roof
carriers. The answer we received was something like this: “the website offer roof
carriers but it does not mean we have any” After a visit to a local hardware store
and £75.00 (+/-R1000.00) later we were prepared to collect the canoe. We hoped that this
was the last thing that would go wrong.
When doing a race like this
also make sure you know somebody you can live with in the host country. To buy them dinner
at a fancy restaurant and helping with the dishes is much cheaper than staying in a hotel
where you get oily breakfasts. We were fortunate to stay with friends of Rob. Giles and Lauren Callenbourne were the perfect
family to stay with as they are keen sportspeople and understood exactly our needs and
requirements. Luckily Lauren is a small eater so instead of only able to afford two we
could go for three dinners and a lunch or two on the South African Rand budget.
Part 3.
Devizes
to Westminster – The Race
When somebody asks you, why you
did it, the best answer is still…. Cause it’s there to do. In this case you say,
because I am stupid!!!.... There is no other explanation for why any sane being would want
to enter the Devizes to Westminster (DW) canoe challenge. At least, that’s my point
of view. I don’t think there is a word to describe the person that does two or three
of these races out of free will.
The race is unique in the sense
that you choose when you want to start the race on the basis of how long it would take you
to get to Teddington Lock. Teddington is +/- 170 km into the race and this is where the
River Thames tide is blocked. You have to reach Teddington at high tide to get the full
benefit of the outgoing tide which flows at +/- 12km per hour. You have after this a mere
30 km to go but imagine getting the tide coming in while you want to get out. For safety
reasons the organisers do not allow you to get onto the last stretch if the tide is coming
in. You can thus get yourself stranded for up to 8 hours before you may proceed.
In any case, we decided that
our time will be between 19 and 21 hours based on our training times. High tide at
Teddington was at 05H20 the Saturday morning and we thus decided to start at 11H30 on the
Friday. We allowed an hour for eventualities.
At the start Rob decided that
we should leave 10 minutes earlier with another crew. The race starts in the town of
Devizes on the Avon canal. The canal winds through the countryside and through small
villages and small towns until in links with the Kennet Canal and connects into the River
Thames at Reading. From the start you paddle
on the canal for 29 kilometres before you get the first lock to portage. The first few
locks to portage are really nice as you get a chance to stretch your legs. Believe me, by
the tenth one you start hating them too. If the locks are not enough you get to duck so
low to get underneath some swing bridges you are lucky not to get stuck. You could get out
and portage them but as said you get sick of that too.
It is at theses portages that
your seconding crew becomes very important. Our crew consisted of Gordon Woodhead, Mike
English and by self appointment, Lauren Callenbourne (with Rhys her son). Needless to say,
without Lauren we would have died with dysentery or at least would have suffered from
malnutrition. Gordon and Mike are lovely lads but when it comes to preparing a sandwich,
nou ja, say no more. Having done a few adventure races before we knew that eating and
drinking during the race was very important. We did however confuse the support crew by
asking to fill our drinking systems with lukewarm water during the night. Very few people
realise that the ice cold fluid taken consumes a lot of energy from your body in heating
it up.
We lost about two hours from
our estimated time on the canal. Before the start one of the marshals told us that we were
a bit heavy for the canal section. Since there was not much rain in England the canal was
quite low and all of you could imagine what it is like paddling for 80 km in shallow
water.
Our pace and mood however
picked up on the River Thames section. With the river being much wider than the 3 to 5
meter wide canal the chance to get lost in the dark was so much better. Imagine paddling
in pitch darkness on a 200m wide river and not knowing if it turns left or right. As river
navigation by normal boats is not allowed at night this also mean that signs and direction
arrows are not illuminated. The locks with a lockmaster house normally had lights but then
you had to know which side of the lock the house was and which side of the lock you were
allowed to portage. This confusion with stopping on the left and having to get out on the
right made us loose another hour of our scheduled time. With also loosing a bit of time on
slow paddling we were now cutting it fine to get to Teddington lock before the cut-off.
Rob developed severe tendonitis and I could see myself returning to South Africa with
another failed race. How was I going to face the abuse from the normally very polite and
kind Dabs club mates? Fortunately we borrowed a wrist brace from Derek Hompas and it
helped Rob to cope. I think Rob realised that I was going to kill him and paddle to the
end with his body before I was going to pull out again. Interesting to know is that the
“feather” (angle of difference in blade pitch) on my paddle was set at between
45 and 50 degrees and Rob’s was about 70 degrees. Maybe
this was the difference in not getting tendonitis as we obviously did nearly exactly the
same training and our styles were nearly the same. At least at the start of the race our
styles looked in synchronisation. I heard at least once where Gordon shouted that he was
watching our styles.
We were running late for the
cut-off at Teddington and we tried to pick up the pace. We were paddling at about 8
kilometres per hour when we were nearing Teddington Lock but already about 3 hours behind
schedule. At this stage we did not know if we were going to be allowed to proceed to the
finish or not. Trying to push the pace after 160 odd kilometres of non stop paddling
through the night was not the easiest. Add to this that overnight the weather changed and
brought clouds and a cold breeze. This did not lift our spirits. We steamed into the lock
area like a steam train with no steam left. The officials told us that we made the cut-off
by only about 20 minutes and that we had to get our asses on the water before the tide
turned. We ate a bit and got back to the job.
The last 28 kilometres felt
like it would never end. Without saying much we slogged down the tide which was still
slightly going out but really hardly noticeable. Our seconds found it difficult to meet us
to replenish food and juice so we only saw them once. I am sure that I once heard Rob
apologising to his tapeworm for not feeding him regularly.
Towards the finish we really
suffered but it was a moment of triumph when we passed Westminster Bridge in London. 23rd
overall and in 23 hours and 2 minutes.
When somebody ask me now what
the race was like I am quite clear in my explanation. Our local club lake, Emmarentia, has
a marked 1 kilometre lap. Imagine you start paddling on your own and do 29 laps to start
with. No, I am not finished. As from lap 29 you take out your canoe and portage (carry
your canoe) around the clubhouse. This is about 100 meters. You then put the canoe in and
paddle 5 laps and repeat the portage. You carry on like this until you have completed 201
laps. Say no more, it is mind numbing to do a race like this. Will I do it again……….
How much will you pay me?
Thanks to Rob for helping me
achieve this goal of finishing the Devizes. My family for trying to understand why I want
to do these things at 40 and to our support crew as mentioned earlier.
Ps. we won a trophy for the
first International Crew.