DW 2012

[kvin]

Devizes end of the K & A was frozen in parts when we paddled yesterday and I was out and walk/running from All Cannings due to the ice. It's only going to get worse in the next few days.... we wondered about the section below Newbury being better where there is flow but you'll still get ice in the lock cuts - some of which, such as Aldermaston, are a long run! We're planning on either going up and down the Avon to train or maybe doing Dreadnought reach down to Marsh and back (which could make us unpopular with our Club paddlers....)

[barmy]

Thanks for that mike. I would be really interested to know who else is going for the afternoon tide. And with the tide so early you shouldn't finish in the dark

[Eliza Dolittle]

Thanks for the info kvin,
We decided to drive to Aldermaston today with the option of going to Pangbourne for the Thames if Aldermaston was icy. The pound outside the tea rooms at Aldermaston was clear of ice and the cut up to Woolhampton also looked clear as far as the eye could see. We decided to go for it, it didn't take long to find ice on the Adlermaston cut, just past "as far as the eye can see" from the lock. We got out and portaged, there were ice patches across the full width of the canal and we portaged most of the way up to the end of the cut. The river section up to Woolhampton was ice free but the pounds above had long stretches of ice. We went up as far as the bridge and lock at Midgham before turning and coming back. I think we portaged more than we paddled.
There was ice on the boat despite the sunshine.
We are mentally preparing for a 13.5 mile portage on 12th Feb.
Liz

[BTK66]

Thames Maps and Portage Addresses
Here's a link to my best efforts at consolidating GPS and Post Code information for all the portages http://bit.ly/xi3k7V
And here's a document I created of the main Thames portages with aerial maps to guide support crews. http://bit.ly/xi3k7V
There's also a number of other documents on my blog http://www.keepcalmandpaddleon.blogspot.com. (Posted in Support Documentation and/or Useful Links).
Hope they help. Please let me know if there are any errors.

[barmy]

Can't remember where I got to when I posted them last year, but they now have long/ lat and also a postcode which is close. I would check your sat nav thinks the postcode is similar to google maps http://www.sendspace.com/file/szrwcu. No DW for me this year with tennis elbow and more white water, hope you all enjoy it.

I have tried to download the maps but it keeps saying it needs to make changes to my computer? has anyone managed to download them that can send them to me?

[JasonA]

7 downloads so far so it might be your computer or firewall. I have uploaded it to Microsoft live as well now https://skydrive.live.com/redir.aspx?cid=c9e427e04eef0d75&resid=C9E427E04EEF0D75!120&parid=C9E427E04EEF0D75!110. See if that works.

[barmy]

yep that worked, thanks Jason.

[Hackworth]

I for one can't run 13.5 miles.

Pray for warm rain next week...

[Eliza Dolittle]

I for one can't run 13.5 miles.

Neither can I!
I am however pig stubborn and know that I can walk 13.5 miles :)
We are not doing the DW, just the Waterside series, so our motivation for taking part in WS A is different than for a crew who want to do the DW and whose training may be better served by a long paddle on the river. I don't think the ice will last until Easter.

[Wheezy]

I for one can't run 13.5 miles.

Neither can I!
I am however pig stubborn and know that I can walk 13.5 miles :)
We are not doing the DW, just the Waterside series, so our motivation for taking part in WS A is different than for a crew who want to do the DW and whose training may be better served by a long paddle on the river. I don't think the ice will last until Easter.

Famous last words! ;-)

[Hackworth]

I just remember the 2010 C race...

We're hopefully doing both WS and DW this year, so I really really hope that ice goes away. -10.5C here this morning.

[Hackworth]

But, on mature reflection - at least we can still shop for gear!!

My trusty £12 football boots, veterans of the past 5 years racing and training, have come apart. Time for a new pair, so I will brave the places that you get them from (I'm not really into football at all) and see what can be found that is grippy, garish and cheap.

And there's always gloves to buy, because the search for the perfect canoe glove is a journey without end.

[Hackworth]

Not looking good for A...

Drove over the bridge at Pewsey last night - canal pretty well covered with ice and snow. More cold weather this week.

Of course, in a Canadian there is room for a couple of bikes and a trolley... Hey - a new record beckons!

[Hackworth]

So I went to Pewsey wharf to see how thick the ice is.

First I poked it with a stick. No effect

Then I got a log splitting axe and pounded on it. The ice is about 2 1/4 inches thick at the edges. A thaw is under way, but that's a lot of ice. I met a K2 crew, boat on car, who told me it was the same at Bedwyn.

So with a few cold nights between now and A, it's warm rain we need to pray for...

[Eliza Dolittle]

on mature reflection - at least we can still shop for gear!!

I have found just the gear you need http://www.amazon.co.uk/Perfect-Solutions-Traction-Slip-Ons-Large/dp/B002ULFQ8I/ref=pd_sim_sg_2
Yesterday's paper included a picture of a guy skating on the canal in Amsterdam. If the ice is thick enough it would certainly be a quick method of getting along the frozen sections but I imagine the skates would be awkward on the portage round the locks and impossible in a boat for the final paddle across the finish line....

The Waterside organisers are meeting tonight to decide whether or not to run the race on Sunday. Watch this space for details http://www.watersideseries.org.uk/

[Hackworth]

Stopped off at Hungerford tonight. Half inch ice completely covered. Forecast very cold. To be honest I can't see it happening...

[Hackworth]

A is cancelled...

[Urchin]

So am I missing something here, Just looked at the rules for the Watersides and there is nothing about being in the boat when crossing the finish line, or for that matter carrying a bike and trolly in or on any boat.
So are there other rules that are not written down, that you just have to know? Or are they relying on normal people racing not silly pedants. :)

[Hackworth]

Were you in 2010 C race? That was quite a bit of carrying. I guess the difference here is that the whole race would be on foot. Plus the friday before 2010 C the canal was clear. A few days ago the ice was 2 1/2 inches thick at Pewsey so it could be dangerous. And honestly why bother carrying all the way?

[Eliza Dolittle]

I suspect the letter from the Chairman of the Marathon Race Committee which was sent to all Clubs probably had an influence on the decision to cancel Waterside A. Copy here http://www.b3c.org.uk/flatwaterracing/Letter%20from%20the%20MRC%20Chairman%202011.pdf Risk assessments are part of race planning now. The chance of slips, trips and falls on ice and compacted snow are quite high when portaging that distance. Note at some venues you have to walk portages already! The risk of hypothermia also high if you took a dip in the canal whilst paddling, or more likely trying to get out when you came to some ice.

I can understand why the organisers have cancelled the race, but there is a little part of me that is disappointed and would have liked to have given it a go.

[Hackworth]

Only a little bit of disappointment? I'm a bit more than that!!! This will be the first Waterside we've not completed in 4 years...

BUT - I'm not sure it would have been giving it a go - more like on foot all the way. I had a look at Pewsey, Kintbury and round Avington, and you could not have even got a boat wet at any of those places. Complete ice coverage, and thick enough that it would be unbreakable with a canoe.

So it was the right decision, just the wrong weather...

Fingers crossed for B

[barmy]

Can anyone recomend any gloves. We are doing Marlow to chertsey on Sunday and I want to stop my hands freezing. Pogies work fine untill my hands get wet portaging then they never warm up again. Eventually I stop when my fingers feel like they are being hammered.

[Eliza Dolittle]

Barmy,
See thread on inland forum about gloves
http://www.ukriversguidebook.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=87439
I am a fan of Marsport box pogies for marathon paddling in temps below freezing. I have some fleecy lined Palm pogies for whitewater paddling which is generally more stop/start. Make sure that the wrists on your cag aren't too tight and remember technique, relaxing the fingers on the top hand on each stroke helps keep fingers warm. Also take off any rings if you wear them, gold and silver are a good conductors of heat away from your fingers. I have found that after years of paddling the circulation has improved to my hands and now they get too hot for kneading pastry or making sugar paste flowers!

[Hackworth]

Anyone out today?

I'm going to take the C1 to Pangbourne. Bored of ice...

[Eliza Dolittle]

I paddled at Pangbourne on Thursday. We saw tufted ducks, (a winter visitor) and shags as well as the usual birds. Normally only paddle there in the summer so it made a pleasant change to see it in winter.
I thought of you out on the water in the sunshine as I sat on a hard chair at the Southern and South Eastern Region Club Forum.
Liz

[barmy]

Just done Marlowe to penton. Good paddle except for the thick ice in the cut at cookham. We didn't even see it. We crashed into it and slowly rode up over it. It wasn't funny but thankfully we managed to push ourselves backwards back.into the water and then paddled the weir instead.

[Hackworth]

I was at Pangbourne today.

Met a couple of disgruntled K2'ers also loooking to paddle somewhere instead of the non-A race. Was very nice though - river a bit frozen at the edges, loose ice in the river, so as I was on my own I didn't go flat out and that made it nicer. It's been a while since I paddled anywhere at an easy pace.

[BTK66]

There were 4 K2s and a K1 for a 12 mile time trial on the Hamble at 8am yesterday. We had a more leisurely 15 miler mid morning and a couple of other Southampton crews braved the trek for Dreadnought to Marlow. In spite of the arctic weather we've managed lots of water time. Just hoping that all this training comes in useful. Last thing we need now is 2011's heat and a stagnant Thames.

Hoping that all OK for Thameside 1 this sunday. It's been a while since we've seen a liquid canal.

[Vulch]

Has anyone paddled the Thameside 1 course this week? There are more flowing sections so it is unlikely to be as frozen as Race A, especially given the recent increase in temperature...

Any ideas?

[BTK66]

Dan Seaford posted this yesterday "There are couple of patches of ice near the start, that could still be there come race day. But shouldn't cause a problem, possible extra bit of running.". It's been over 10 degrees the last couple of days so I'd be very surprised if there was any ice left by Sunday.