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DW Again

Fiona Paterson/Team SleepMonsters / 16.04.2004

It got us! The swan that is. Well, it let us pass ... and then gave chase. Howard’s paddle ended up on the other side of the river and we went swimming. And the swan kept attacking and attacking and attacking. A friendly narrow boat came to our rescue and blocked the river so we could climb back in the boat and paddle away.

That was our start. 10 minutes into the race a reality check and it didn’t really improve hugely from that point on. It was a hard slog down the Avon and Kennet Canal. Portages went fine and our support crew fed and watered us beautifully. Going through Reading was a surreal experience. It was 10pm everyone was out clubbing, music was pounding, lights flashing, and there we were floating through the middle of it. We drew a few comments.

We made it to Dreadnought Reach, (mile 54). We decided to change clothes for the first time, as it was getting a little cool, and had some warm pasta and hot chocolate. At this point support crew A clocked off and the night shift moved in - support crew C. Support crew B were doing the full course.

Off we set, it was a beautiful night. No wind, flat water, slight cloud. Between 2am and 4am we were paddling through a light river mist as the hot river water met the cooler night air. We ran aground once, and had to do a couple of three point turns (woman drivers!). It was a like the M1, fast crews slipping past in the outside lane – most of them seemed to be Richmond Canoe Club boats – we had 15 K2 entries! Dawn came early with rosy fingers, it was a beautiful and welcome sight. We passed the time of day with Pete James and Jules.

The stretch from Teddington to Richmond is long. (Only 17 miles!). Poor Howard was ‘treated’ to a history, flora and fauna lesson as we paddled up my home stretch of river. He can now recite all the bridges, who built them and when, state of paint work (generally poor), and my pet names of every heron and moorhen on the river. (I’ve named them after fellow paddlers at Richmond Canoe Club.)

We realised early on we had set too tight a schedule and it was just a case of how much after the tide we would arrive. As it happened, we missed the tide by several hours, but still had a good paddle from Teddington with many sightings of our support crew.

So my second DW complete. I learnt some good lessons in the first (it’s a tough course with a headwind) and some more in the second (it’s a tough course.) Will I do it again? Maybe a K1 over 4 days? Surely it has to be easier!?

It took us 24 hours and 48 minutes we were the 4th mixed pair. Richmond Canoe Club cleaned up by winning the: Male K2, Female K2, Veteran K2, Mixed K2, and 1st in the team event.

You can see more pictures on the SleepMonsters team site here.

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