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Strait Back

Rob / 28.09.2003

The nearby mountains of Snowdonia may have been covered in glowering cloud, but the sun was shinning for the start of the 2003 BARC Final at Caernarfon. With the luxury of a 09.00 start and only 5 teams it was relaxed group of teams who gathered beside the river, directly beneath the 30m high southern castle wall. (Which was used to good effect by most of the male racers who knew they had a 2 to 3 hour paddle ahead of them …) Most looked relaxed but James Thurlow of ‘No Worries’ was still looking decidedly worried!

Though the first stage was the 33km paddle through the Menai Strait the start was on foot, but it was just a 2 minute run for the cameras, across the swing bridge and then into the bright yellow kayaks. Two of team Thorlos were thinking ahead and wearing spd’s for the bike transition at the end of the stage and it was a slightly strange looking start with the ‘runners’ kitted out for paddling. ‘Skirts’ were flapping as they set off across the bridge, which fortunately remained closed. It would have delayed the start had a yacht come in!

The tide was flowing strongly with the teams into the Strait and once they followed the safety boat out into the current they quickly picked up speed and were carried down the channel. It wasn’t high tide yet and large sandbanks were glimmering in the sun as they moved steadily down towards the two bridges over the Strait. One of the kayaks from North Downs Mountain Rescue was well behind the other, and at the back of the group, who were staying fairly close together in the fast moving water.

Once under the modern Britannia Bridge they were into the turbulent waters of ‘The Swellies’, a narrow channel which has a huge tidal rise and fall. It was full of eddies and small whirlpools, but there was virtually no wind and in the calm weather the sea state was calm, so it was almost perfect conditions. None of the teams had any great difficulty, and North Downs Mountain Rescue regrouped after they’d passed under the second bridge, Telford’s original Menai Bridge. The tide was fastest here as they were swept under the huge span between the stone peers supporting the bridge. Paddling made little difference here – the tide was too fast to keep up with.

Exiting the Strait it wasn’t so easy though. The tide sweeps right around the island and came back in against them before they made PC1 and the leaders, Saab Salomon and Thorlos One, both ran aground on the Lavan Sands. Tom Gibbs was muttering unhappily about this when he arrived back on shore, particularly as it allowed Sealskinz High 5 to catch up. The leaders arrived at 11.30, separated only by a couple of minutes, and Saab Salomon were out on their bikes by 11.36. Had they all been as quick getting changed as Helen Jackson it would have been 11.32. She was prowling around on her bike shouting, “Come on – let’s get going!�

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