Devises to Westminster Canoe Marathon
Slowly Down The River
Jonathan Mayne and Fiona Paterson. / 23.04.2003
The Greyhound pub in Pewsey in 1920 to be more specific; where conversation turned to how to beat a transport strike - no changes there then! The original bet was to go from Pewsey to the sea at Christchurch in less than three days. The bet was won with 12 hours to spare. The current record for this journey is 20 hours.
The Devizes to Westminster Canoe Race was first completed at Easter in 1948. The first two crews from the Devizes Rover Scouts, paddling heavy home-built double canoes, completed the course. The rules were simple: \"A boat to be taken from Devizes to Westminster in under 100 hours. All food and camping kit to be carried in the boats\".
At Whitsun, 1948, two crews of the Chippenham Sea Cadet Unit covered the same course in just under 77 hours. Further attempts by other crews in the summer were foiled by the thick growth of reeds in the canal. So it was, that a race was established and Easter was selected as the best time of year for the race. The rules may have changed and the times have got shorter, but the founding principle remains the same, to paddle a boat the distance of 125 miles from Devizes to Westminster.
Good Friday 2003 - The Easterly!
The day before the race there was a quiet hush in the town of Devizes as competitors and race organisers spent time making last minute preparations for what lay ahead. In the pubs and shops surrounding the square the lowered voices of the locals murmered \'shame about the Easterly!’ For the ignorant and uninitiated, (that was certainly us), we found out that the Easterly was in fine form when we set off on Saturday morning! The Easterly is a bitter wind that tries to keep you in Devizes! There were times when it would have been quicker to get out and walk!
The start
After six months of preparation, a handful of build up races, long, detailed chats with the support crew, coaching, support and enthusiasm from the Richmond Canoe Club, Fiona Paterson and I found ourselves at the start of the DW race on a blustery Easter Saturday. Many questions reverberated around our heads - The fear of the unknown, how we’d be feeling at the end, would we enjoy it, what about tendonitis, do we have enough food, were we starting the race to early or too late (you need to hit the tide at the right time in Teddington), will we/the support crew fall asleep, what about the dodgy back, would we humiliate ourselves etc – all the paranoia that go through one’s mind before a race!
The DW race organisation is second to none. There is no fanfare or pretentiousness associated with the DW, no queues, no stress – just lots of exceptionally helpful and calm marshals who guided us through the registration and kit check process. A total of 98 crews had taken on the challenge of this years race, this number severely depleted by the fact that next to no military crews had entered due to the war in Iraq.
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