Travelling Wilbury: The Olympic White Water course

photo by Paula Sibley

My hands were cold, very very cold. My lightweight gloves offering little protection against the biting cold wind and rain. It is after all, February in the UK..

There was some momentum gathering amongst members of the Martlet Kayak Club. Quite a few folks had already booked a slot and the date being talked about was free on my family calender, so when I clicked on the mouse in the comfort of my home some weeks ago, a surge of excitement had gone through me and with the anticipation of running the legacy course at the Lee Valley White Water Centre, a firm smile had appeared on my face. Lee Valley was the venue for the 2012 Olympic white water kayaking events. This was going to be a fun day out with friends and a huge test of my rusty kayaking skills. In the excitement I had not considered how cold it might be on the date we had chosen!

Before being let loose on the course you have to complete a one hour practical assessment. This visit for me would entail completing the assessment and assuming a successful pass, another hour on the course. Out of ten plus members of our club that travelled to Lee Valley, there was three of us booked on the noon assessment with the others having already passed. Gathered nervously in the cold, our little group listened to the instructor and without much hesitation or delay we were soon on the water. The way my hands were feeling was convincing me to do everything in my power to avoid a swim in this frigid water.

There is a travellater that takes paddlers, while still sat in their boat from the small lake at the bottom, to the top of the rapid. As soon as my bow left the travellater, I was off, no time to consider options,. there was only one option available. I had committed to my first descent of the rapid at the beginning of the moving ramp and no one had told me. Straight away a continuous series of drops and fast flowing water had me on edge but I was mostly enjoying it. The art of kayaking on moving water is not to just shoot the rapid but to break out of the flow and to re enter, enjoying the features, drops and eddies. It is generally this messing about that causes the trouble and for me, with my lack of recent practise things went pear shaped reasonably quickly.

In most sports there is a point where you cross a skill threshold that takes you to the next level. With water sports and kayaking in particular, it is the self recovery from a capsize, that once mastered enables the paddler to take on more difficult challenges. There are two ways to recover from a capsize. Option one, complete an Eskimo roll, this requires the upturned paddler to relax for a second or two while he or she is submerged in what seems like a demented washing machine, that is stuck on a high speed, ice wash cycle, gather your thoughts, reposition your paddle and make a simple sweep, that combined with a flick of the hips should regain an upright position and once again allow normal breathing. Option two, is to try the above but realise quickly that fresh air is required urgently, the human brain then prioritises breathing above having another go at the roll and you end up swimming the rest of the rapid. Annoyed to miss the roll but thrilled to be able to breath again you manage to forget how cold it is for a minute or two but soon it does catch up to you and the misery is complete.

I thoroughly enjoyed my day out at Lee Valley, running the legacy course in my small green boat. I take off my hat to the 'legacy program' and am pleased that we have the opportunity to swim down the course dragging my kayak. One day I hope that I gain enough skill to paddle or swim down the actual Olympic course.