Devizes to Westminster Canoe Race 2016 Distance travelled: Locks navigated: Time taken:

125 miles 77 30hrs 2mins

Our 'race' started at 2pm on Easter Saturday. As complete novices we were not in this to compete for a place, we just wanted to make it to the end in one piece and not be part of the 25% that quit. From the start the elements were against us, the weather had been pretty horrible all day - constant wind and rain and the forecast only looked worse. We didn't over-think it; we went through the support plan with our support crew one last time, said our goodbyes and set off on the 125 miles to Westminster. We quickly settled into a comfortable rhythm taking each section as it came and before we knew it the first 90 minutes had passed and we arrived at our first agreed meeting point with the support crew. Neither of us felt the need for anything to eat or drink and where keen to push on. However we accepted the offer of a cup of tea, as we both reached for the cups we lost balance and had our first 'swim' of the event (and by no means the last). Sense of humour slightly faltered, but we drained the boat, jumped back in and started paddling again to warm up. The next few hours passed in pretty much the same manner, meeting up with the crew every 90 mins or so, getting a quick bite to eat or a change of clothes and at some point we would lose our balance and fall in. Usually after we had put on a new dry piece of clothing! We managed to keep warm by not hanging around too long and just kept paddling. One part of the course that I was not looking forward to was 'The Tunnel'. All we knew about it was that it is about 3/4 of a mile long and that we did not want to fall in the water mid-tunnel as there was nowhere to easily get back into the boat. As we arrived at the tunnel I could just make out the light at the other end, and thought this isn't so bad and some of the tension loosened up. However as we progressed into the depths of the tunnel we couldn’t see a thing and the light at the end suddenly seemed a long way away. The tension returned! I couldn’t judge the width of the tunnel and bumped into one side which almost knocked us in. Graham couldn’t keep in time with my stroke

as he couldn't see my paddles, which also threatened to put us in the water. We took it slowly, I pointed the boat at the centre of the light and called out each stroke so Graham could keep time. In this way we moved to the end of the tunnel and out the other side, feeling relieved and very proud of ourselves for making it through in one piece. At this point the wind picked up considerably and branches started to rain down around us as they were blown out of the trees. It was a little disconcerting to say the least, but we managed to avoid injury. As night fell we were still going strong, although going slower than expected. We had planned to meet the support crew before darkness took over. However we were behind schedule due to the number of times we had fallen in the canal. The muddy ground at each lock also made it slow going, with us slipping and sliding all over the place when we had to take the boat out one side and carry it around the lock to the other side. So, we didn’t have our torches and were pretty much flying blind, unable to see the locks until we were upon them, we rammed a few as we didn’t see them in time. Thankfully no damage was done to the boats or us – the locks were fine! The night section passed pretty much as the previous sections, a couple more ‘dips’ in the canal, a lot of muddy banks and a few rapids to navigate but this all added to the excitement of the event. The variety (and the cold water) kept us wide awake. At one point we took a wrong turn at a portage and ended up carrying the boat down an unknown path finally getting back into the canal, but not sure if we were still going in the right direction. Thankfully after a mile or so we spotted a support crew for another team who confirmed we were still on the right track. We passed onto the Thames and cruised to the halfway point at Henley as dawn was breaking on the horizon. The weather forecast was expected to be stormy all day on Easter Sunday, however as the sun came up the clouds parted and the strong winds we were promised did not appear, much to our joy. Strangely as the sun came fully up I started to feel really tired, more so than the night section. Thankfully we fell in the river after not too long, so that woke me up nicely!

We continued on moving closer to central London, passing through the beautiful towns of Marlow, Bray, Maidenhead and Windsor, knocking the miles off one lock at a time. The weather started to turn as expected; the wind picked up bringing the rain, with thunderstorms and forked lightening

cracking, disconcertingly, overhead. But before we knew it we had just 2 more locks and 10 miles to go until the start of the Tideway at Teddington. Before leaving for this section we put on some dry clothes and had a good feed. As we got in the boat at the side of the lock, we fell in. Both now very unhappy about this, but all we could do is get back in the boat and get paddling to warm up. As we set off the rain came down in solid sheets, it was ridiculous, but made us laugh about falling in as we couldn’t get any wetter. The last two locks seemed to take an age, but the sun came out again which helped. As we passed over the penultimate lock before Teddington the wind and river traffic picked up. The river was really choppy and we struggled to stay upright falling in 3 or 4 times. Tired, cold and lacking in energy, every time we fell in just made it harder and made us more unstable. At one point we got out on the river bank and ran the boat a couple of hundred yards to drain the water out and to try and warm up. Back on the water we took it slowly and hugged the bank to avoid as much of the waves from the boat traffic and wind as possible. Finally our stop, before the final stretch came into sight. We pulled in, cold but happy to have arrived with just the Tideway and 17 miles left to go. We had just over 2 hours before we were allowed on the Tideway and the turning of the tide. We took the time to warm up, get changed and get some food inside us and get ourselves energised for the last section. Lucky we did because this next section proved to be a real test of our mental fortitude.

When it was time to go we were feeling pretty happy, warm, energy levels slightly restored and positive we were going to make it. As we said goodbye to the support team for the last time and headed to Teddington lock, a boat passed by and the wake knocked us into the water, not a good start! Back in the boat we paddled onto the Tideway, with the sun out we were able to warm up. We were both a little twitchy because we really didn't want to fall in again, especially in the middle of the Thames. We managed to find our rhythm, loosen up and started to progress more confidently. We actually got to a point where we were too hot! But it didn’t last… As we closed in on Fulham, the weather started to turn yet again. Impending big black rain clouds rolled in, the wind picked up and the river got a lot more challenging for our little boat. Before we knew it we had been tipped into the Thames. We had been paddling mid-stream, to make the most of the flow of the river. We had to get over to the river bank to be able to get back into the boat; however we couldn't swim the now half submerged boat out of the strong current. We tried pushing and pulling but weren't making any ground and we were still flying towards central London and any river traffic coming our way. Fortunately some competitors in bigger boats were behind us

and as they caught up they offered to tow us to the side, which was an unbelievably kind gesture bearing in mind they had been on the go for 28+hours. I held onto their boat with one hand and our boat with the other and they pulled us out of the flow and over to the bank, whilst Graham got a tow to the river bank from another boat. We were now very cold again and the rain had started to hammer it down and our confidence was shot. Being nervy in a twitchy boat on a fast flowing river is not a good combination, so we decided we would hug the bank of the river as much as possible. It meant we would increase our distance quite a lot and would not be able to make the most of the strong flow of the river. But we decided it was better to get to the finish line slowly, inside the boat rather than fall in again mid-stream. With about 7 miles left to go we started to make good steady progress, until we hit a pier, literally. In the interest of staying as close to the bank as possible we tried to wiggle through a pier only to find it too low to get under and the flow was far too strong to go against or change direction. So we hit the pier and fell out of the boat, but managed to keep hold of the boat and get ourselves and the boat onto a jetty. With a lot of effort we managed to pull the boat onto the high jetty and drain the water out. We now had to find a way to get safely back into the river, which wasn't going to happen from our current position. At this point, about 5 miles from the end, cold and wet with the rain pouring down and no clear idea of how to get going again I felt further from the finish line than at any other point during the race. Graham went off to see if he could find a better option for getting us and the boat going again. The decision was to carry the boat along the pier to the muddy beach that was appearing close to the bank. With a lot of careful climbing over things and manoeuvring of the boat we got her to the edge of the water, I jumped into waste high water and a sludge under foot that I have no desire to ponder on too much. With a lot of squelching and balancing we got back into the boat and we're off again. This time we kept a close eye out for piers and went outside of them. Two miles from the end, just to add to the fun, the heavens opened and a hailstorm hammered down around us. We felt like we were seriously being tested! The only weather we had managed to avoid on this trip was a snowstorm. Finally, the London Eye and the finish came into sight. Navigating the last stretch was challenging especially as night had now fallen and making out shapes wasn’t easy. We were not sure how to pass the moored boats - inside or outside. Weary of our previous pier entanglement I opted to go outside of them, which meant a frantic paddle not to smash into the boats as we passed under Lambeth bridge, we narrowly avoided another capsize. We managed to stay upright and make our way to the waiting marshals on the steps at County Hall. It had been a serious challenge in many ways, with lots of ups and downs, but we had done it!