Paddlers' Stories |
Benjamin Buckle - Senior Doubles C2 2008
|
|
| Here goes - whilst I can't still feel my fingertips I thought I'd pen a blog trying to capture our highs and lows of this years successful DW 2008 entry. |
| |
| Wenonah's 18' Jensen came recommended and within budget as the only boat realistically offering a chance of a sub-24h race to a newbie canoeist (newbie no more!). I chose the Kevlar UL layup for the weight (or lack of it!) and was not to be disappointed. That was back in August 2007. |
| |
| After some press-ganging I cajoled a friend into learning to canoe too (I'd canoed the Wye about 20 years earlier, him part of the Zambezi - he only remembered what to do about deep water and hippo's which we weren't expecting to be of too much value on the K&A; canal, and the only thing I recall about the Wye trip was the Bunch of Carrots pub being famous because of Ranulph Fiennes and the Feathermen!) |
| |
| I had to wait until September before getting the boat into Bristol dock since my canoeing partner Paul was running the Marathon of Britain (Paul's ultramarathon endurance history (MdS and MOB) and the fact he is an A&E; doctor was to prove invaluable in the race preparation and on the event itself - although I was the one who didn't grab 40 winks at Dreadnought Reach - perhaps that's his secret!) |
| |
| Training was when we could grab it really - Ideally we'd have liked 3 sessions regularly/week, in reality it fluctuated between 1 and 2. Typically we'd grab 1h 30 mins each time. We'd try fartlek/interval training with some success, but in the early stages it became readily apparent we'd need external intervention to sort out paddle technique and learn sit and switch properly. We soon tired of the canoe moving left and right and not forwards. |
| |
| After a successful day spent on the Wye at Monmouth with Paul Marshall of Inspire Coaching Ltd. receiving some first rate one-to-one coaching we had some good basic skills to start refining and building on over the coming months. We found we could keep the boat in a straight line at low speed, but then when we picked up the cadence, the zig-zagging came back. Total re-think and some discussions with Inspire again and we opted for all directional control coming from the bow and judicious use of sit and switch ( with the cadence we needed for the race, there simply wasn't time for J-strokes). We we're swapping sides probably every 12 strokes and with careful slight alterations in paddle angle, we found that the bow (me) would give us the directional control we needed. We were also using bent-shaft paddles which gave us more efficient forward movement in the water too. |
| |
| We made every effort to go out in all weather conditions - not just the sunny autumnal mornings etc.. invariably there would be a headwind on the harbour on our return leg - we hated it and cursed everytime, but boy did it set us up well for the DW! |
| |
| Autumn moved through Winter - we both had second kids arrive over that period, and our training took second place because of that of course, but we still managed to keep our paddles wet once a week. |
| |
| Over this period, a friend expressed an interest in putting in a boat into the DW too and asked if we could share support crews - I had two supprt teams lined up already and we agreed that we'd figure out a way for three support teams to support two boats on the race. |
| |
| Apart from time on the water - a critical part of our planning and preparation was a spreadsheet given to us by a couple of Bristol accountants through a friend of a friend, that had canoed the DW in a K2 some years earlier - some tweaks for our needs and this enabled us to factor in projected times on canal, additional flow on Thames and tidal Thames, times for portages etc, which ended up giving us a robust projection for arrival times at each portage point. This was critical in coordinating 3 support crews to service the needs of 2 boats on the race. Without this level of detail and planning I think we would have failed. |
| |
| I really struggled to get a realistic estimate of the flow rate on the Thames and tidal-Thames just before race day (to allow us to refine projected timings etc) - in the end I guessed. (reasonable guesses of additional flow of 1.5 mph on Thames, and 5 on tidal Thames given the amount of water the Heavens had released earlier that week - but it turned out we were way off - flow was sluggish I felt on both sections) |
| |
| I spent the week before the race in the US on business - got back the day before the race - Wives and friends were franctically cooking homemade soups and kitting out three support cars with extra this and that in the interim - Outdoor Active was kind enough to loan me two spare carbon-fibre paddles just in case! - one telecon for all 10 people (who'd not met before race day) on the Wed before the gig to explain our patented Tri-Frog support Crew plan and we were ready! Not the best way to start out perhaps. |
| |
| All weather predictions about the race itself held true. The race start time was switched from morning start times to evening ones, to ensure that the Thames was not paddled during nighttime hours; the conditions were expected to be tough - rain, wind, snow - Mother Earth delivered all three, with sub-zero temperatures and thunder and lightening whilst passing through London. |
| |
| We realised very early on that with additional emergency kit on board, and extra fluids for the 14 mile "Pound" to Wooton Rivers, that there was no way we'd be doing much running on the portages for the race - we must have added 25% more boat mass than we'd been training for in terms of boat weight (big mistake). We then realised that we didn't have enough forearm strength to physically paddle and then carry the boat by hand, at that weight, so after the first 4-5 portages, we shouldered the boat for all remaining portages - much easier! |
| |
| The Crofton flight had been tasted at speed on the Waterside C, (when the boat was much lighter) I was a little apprehensive with this new added weight, but Paul agreed to my request of no heroics - nice and steady pace and get through it. |
| |
| In a C2 we didn't appreciate what all the fuss is about on the Tunnel - like on the "C" it felt like we were paddling uphill with water flowing towards us, but soon we were through it and unfortunately back into the wind and cold again. |
| |
| In what felt like no time at all we were at Aldermaston - we had some hot food here - we'd caught the support team by surprise a little and they were still heating our food as we came in - it was bitterly cold at 4 am and the moment we stopped we started gibbering - the wife's homemade chicken and veg soup on board, with yet more electrolytes and jellybabies and we were off again. By 5:30 or so it started getting light, but every stroke felt like lead - we were itching to get into anything resembling flowing water. |
| |
| Soon we were at Reading, with some glimmer of sunshine - I recall feeling more sheltered from the wind, which buoyed our spirits somewhat - then suddenly, we were at Dreadnought Reach! We'd gotten ahead of our other team - the Heavies by almost an hour at this stage - our support crews were threatening failure of the Tri-Frog system if we didn't take 5 to allow them to catch up. Paul decided 40 winks was the order of the day, so after some porridge on the trangia's he got his head down - I was just buzzing from the thrill of paddling through the night and eager anticipation of all this extra flow we could expect on the Thames - I couldn't do anything apart from pace about and keep warm. |
| |
| The Heavies came in - and then we were off. What a let down! there was NO noticable flow on the Thames by the time we got going - and whatever did existed, was negated by the incessant wind, that seemed to come from all directions, no matter which way the Thames turned. We'd heard the day before that those on the Endeavour race (4 day event) had encountered whitehorses on the water at Henley with talk of 18 inch waves - thankfully we didn't see that, but the wind still made the going rather grim. The sun stayed out for much of the rest of the day on the Thames - but the wind took away most of the enjoyment. |
| |
| The poor weather kept most pleasure boats off the Thames it would seem but it didn't stop some rather selfish boat owners simply motoring against the flow at a rate of knots, creating wash that caused mayhem for the tippy K2's amongst us. We saw a handful of crews in the water, which were bitterly cold as a result. The Thames appeared broad and frankly boring. The water would stretch away ahead of you, in a very unremarkable manner - simply time to dig in and grind out the miles, always into the headwind. Our "Heavies" team bowed out (though with heads held high) at Marlow - old wrist injuries succombing to the wind. I'm assured they'll be back next year! |
| |
| Hitting the tide at Teddington became the sole purpose for our existence in life. After struggling so far against the wind and cold and rain, failure at this stage simply was not an option. Our support teams were expecting us to back out, but if anything, our resolve simply got stronger and stronger - we got into Teddington on our knees. We took 5 mins and some more winegums and within 10 minutes we were back out there. We knew as soon as we arrived at Teddington that we would finish - we were elated. |
| |
| Little did we know that we wouldn't feel huge amounts of additional tidal flow (it must have been there, but it didn't feel like the "foot on the gas" our beleagured brains had been anticipating!) and little did we know that the weather was saving the best for last - the Londres son et lumiere show - wind, snow, hail, rain, thunder and lightening all within 17 miles! |
| |
| We'd heard others on the water counting off bridges "15 left to Westminster" so we started doing the same - hopeless! does that include railway bridges? (I still don't know!) - the Houses of Parliament seemed to take an age to arrive - but in reality it was just less than 3 hours (yes, there really was that little flow!) |
| |
| And then comparatively speaking we were at Westminster Bridge - we half tried a sprint 50m finish and then we were at the bottom of the steps whooping with joy! - we were determined to carry the boat up the steep steps (easy for me as bowman!) and then it was time for tea and medals. |
| |
| I thoroughly enjoyed my first ever endurance event - it's a remarkable challenge - it's just you against the elements - you don't see too much of the other participants since we're all starting at different times relative to High Tide at Teddington. I learnt alot about canoeing, but also myself. Nothing is impossible, with a little training, some good coaching, a healthy smattering of positive outlook you can take on the world. I'm still grinning from ear to ear - the DW 2008 will always be one of the those invisible medals I carry around my neck and wear with pride. |
| |
| We were 5th of 14 boats in C2 class, and 42nd of just 60 finishers in the Senior class with a time of 26h 44 mins. |
| |
| My thanks to the DW organisers, our commiserations to those forced to retire. My thanks to all our support crews, but especially to my wife, son and daughter whose tearful smiles of relief at the top of Westminster steps made it all worthwhile! |
| |
| I supported the Candlelighters charity for this race, since they supported me when I needed their help most, back in 1979. |
| |
| |
| [PADDLERS' STORIES] |
[TOP OF PAGE] |
