Paddling with Legends at the Pyranha Fest...

[Tim S]

Been a while since I posted on this here forum ( but don't worry I still keep an eye on you! ). Anyway, I pootled over to the good old Tryweryn ( it's free now you know ) yesterday to catch up with the Pyranha crew and peeps I haven't seen for too long.

Managed a nice run down the river in new Inazone replacement ( I'll leave someone else to do a critique ) paddling with Ben White, Jamie Burbeck, Pete Catterall, Graham Mackereth, Peter Mackereth, Bob Campbell and Ally Campbell.

Mikey Abbott and old Philipo where around as well and I am sure I saw Bob Merchant and Deb Cook as well as Matt Tidy and of course Tom Parker running his empire.

All on a Sunday afternoon in the bala sunshine!

Anyway it was a top day and the crew at Pyranha ( Sammy, Tim, Liz et al ) should be proud of what they put on.

In these days of crunching of credit and less and less companies being involved in Whitewater kayaking it is good to see some good old fun and games on the river still going on :-) ( and two new kayak designs! )

Tim S

p.s. Though I may not have any World Championship medals and I haven't paddled for 18 months I still look better than Ben White on the water.... :-)

p.p.s. still haven't met Tom Laws!

[DanH]

Yeah, cracking event guys! I had a great time all weekend! Paddled lots, chatted lots, met lots of people, partied lots and drank lots of tea!

Big thank you to the Pyranha crew for putting in all the effort and organising such a great event, your efforts are certainly appreciated here!

Is this going to be an annual event?

[Tim S]

Hey Dan, didn't see you around yesterday? Where you too busy kayaking in the sun to catch up? :-)

Tim S

[BenW]

Thanks Pyranha people! Awesome weekend.

Great people, great boating, great party - what else can you ask for!

For those of you who didnt make it, put it in the diary for next year...

Ben

As for Mr Sadler, its amazing that in 18 months you forget how to put a spray deck on properly! and then float off down stream with your paddles still on the bank...

[Lowri Davies]

Though I was only there for part of the daytime events - it was great to see so many people of all abilities out on the water having fun together.

The party ended pretty silly too which is always good!

p.p.s. still haven't met Tom Laws!

Sorry - we were coaching on another Welsh ditch in the sunshine on Sunday.

I hope you embarrassed Ben sufficiently - I went gently on him Saturday with the promise that you'd be around the following day to remove all dignity. :-)

[simplemedlyn]

Cheers guys for a top weekend, Had a great time over the weekend was greast to paddle with new people. The night was a sweet event with great videos and a talk from the worriers, the party was a sweet way to finish saturday night on even tho I felt like crap on sunday. cheers guys for the event. so same time next year then.

[Tim S]

Sorry - we were coaching on another Welsh ditch in the sunshine on Sunday.

Yep you drove past me on the road out of Bala in your lovely van :-)

Tim S

[adski]

Excellent weekend, we did the safety session with Dave Rossiter on saturday, he explained all aspects of river safety as well as practical ropework in realistic situations - learnt loads, Cheers Dave! (& Tom Parker)

There was so many highly trained and skillful kayakers/coaches there, you couldn't walk 5 yards without tripping over one, as a member of the Whitewater Worrier Crap Paddling team, this was very helpful. We made it several times down the graveyard and even managed to stay in our boats this time, except the Stig, who now has a third buttock made up of an arsesome bruise!

Pyranha did a brilliant job, excellent training, cheap food, good entertainment plus a great night! Also met some real whitwater warriors as well as the mental fatcats (I hope they were all wearing clean underwear when they filmed that DVD!)

Final thanks to John Turner, Magz and Glynn for getting us down the mighty Tryweryn, the right way up!
The whitewater Worriers of 'Crap Paddler Canoe Club'

[DanH]

Hey Dan, didn't see you around yesterday? Where you too busy kayaking in the sun to catch up? :-)

Tim S

Hey Tim, there were lots of people there that I didn't manage to catch up with... I think you seem to end up in a little cell with the people you are paddling with at Tryweryn as everybody tends to floats down the river at the same speed. Either that or I was too busy sunning myself and drinking tea at the cafe ;-)

Are you going to be in a kayak again soon or have I more chance of catching up with you biking at Llandegla?

[h2ocoaching.co.uk]

Glad to see so many people having a great time at the weekend.
Big thanks to everyone involved in the event.

See you all again next year!

[rob.b.666]

Have to echo everyone's comments on here.

Special thanks to Chris (h2o coaching) for excellent coaching, patience and great advice !!!!

[Tedpiper]

Hey Dan, didn't see you around yesterday? Where you too busy kayaking in the sun to catch up? :-)

Tim S

More like chasing the ladies (one in particular) you mean... :-)