The paddler (s) would need to be on the water for 3.5 – 5 hours and provide hourly feeding, navigation guidance and carry some required kit if things go wrong. Both events are organised by the British Long Distance Swimming Association.

These are large bodies of water so paddlers would need a reasonable amount of experience as well as some first aid knowledge.

Details of the events are on

http://www.entrycentral.com/index.php?raceID=100167

http://www.entrycentral.com/index.php?raceID=100339

If you are interested then please contact us through the web site

The journey was enlivened by Adam demanding to know what I would do if various unlikely emergencies arose, such as the car in front exploding or a pylon falling on the road. Luckily none of these things happened, and the only incident of real interest was a sighting of Nuneaton’s magnificent Mount Jud, which Aaron later spotted again during the race (I was too focussed on my paddling to admire the scenery, naturally).

And then there was the race…

In Div 9, David started to sink due to a hole in his boat and had to empty it, and barely made it afloat to the finish, where he arrived in 8th place, earning 16 points.

In Div 8, Aaron put in a strong performance after a slightly fraught start (the wash was worse than at Gailey!). He was keeping pace with a group of 3 or 4 other paddlers, while I trailed miserably behind. He has obviously learned from his slow turn at Gailey, because this time he gained rather than lost a couple of places. I’m sure that the fact that one of the other paddlers was swimming to the bank and getting in the way of everyone by the time I arrived was simply an unfortunate coincidence and completely unrelated to one of the other paddlers later calling him a “tactical git” (I think we may have found his club nickname!). Aaron came 4th (our best result of the day), earning 18 points for the club, and missing out on promotion to Div 7 by only 13 seconds.

As for me, I didn’t even get into a comfortable paddling rhythm until the return leg of the race, by which time it was too late to make up much distance – but I did spot an opportunity when I noticed that the paddler some way in front of me was nattering away to the crew in a C2, oblivious to the closing gap. I sneaked past on the opposite side of the C2 with perhaps 100 metres to go to the finish. At this point the C2 crew alerted her to my presence (spoilsports!) and she sprinted off in hot pursuit. Sadly, what would  have been a magnificent place-gain for me was spoiled somewhat when I clipped a narrow boat with my paddle (or perhaps she hit me, or both) and fell in 50 metres or so from the finish. I got back in to complete the race in last-but-one place. Still earned 15 points for the club though!

We watched Nigel (Div 5) and Adam (Div 6) start their races, and then returned to get out of the rain. As we walked back, the strains of the Oompa Loompa song played on cow bells could be heard emanating from some distant field. Nuneaton is a strange place.

In his first Div 6 race, Adam had to paddle 8 miles and do an entirely pretend portage, during which he managed to invert his boat! He came in 8th, earning 13 points.

In Div 5, Nigel came in 6th, earning 15 points.

The full results are now available online.

Leamington canoe club run the ‘doggy paddle’ each year. This year the date is Sunday 13th May. Very pleasant trip down the avon from leamington to stratford. It’s the only time you can paddle through the grounds of warwick castle.

More details and a few pics here.

Happy paddling Andy

Their race number is 309, and you can follow their progress online.

Update: They set off from Devizes at 10:44:39

Final Update (Sunday morning): Sadly, Mike and Laurence had to retire from the race at Boulter’s lock, Maidenhead. A wrist injury incurred by Mike (and later, also by Laurence) meant that they were losing too much time over their schedule to make it to the tidal section of the river in time to catch the tide. It was a valiant effort, and they pressed on as far as they could despite their obvious discomfort.

Six of us (I think!) will be chasing them down the river in three cars, feeding and watering them.

They have decided (at the last minute!) to race for charity, in support of the Royal National Institute of Blind People. You can, if you wish, sponsor them by visiting this page.

Mike and Laurence in synchronised harmony

Naturally, I made sure all my excuses were deployed early: I don’t race, I’m not competitive, I haven’t done any training, and I’m still recovering from the lurgy. Still, we need the points apparently. And points mean prizes. Or something. (Actually, points mostly seem to mean the chance to compete in still more races, but then I never really got the hang of this stuff).

As an odd numbered Div 9′er, I started my race alongside Aaron. For someone who used to complain about being bored well before bridge 2 on the Coventry Canal, his progress is remarkable. He caught up with me and moved into third place, and soon caught up and passed the girl in second place. I caught up with her too, but as I was attempting to pass, I had an unfortunate encounter with a paddler on the return leg and had to slow and veer away to try to avoid a collision (we got away with a glancing blow). That cost me some time.

Unfortunately, Aaron lost his position in the turn (more competitive turning practice needed?), and was unable to regain it. I caught up with him shortly before the end, and we were neck and neck, with Aaron just beating me to the finishing line to claim third place, a medal and a cream egg. Both our times were fast enough to earn promotion to Div 8. Dave came in 5th.

Adam failed to pace himself properly and won his Div 8 race far too convincingly, earning promotion to Div 6! Now he has to do 8 mile races!

Nigel W came 2nd in Div 5, and Laurence came 4th in Div 4.

The full race results are on Gailey Canoe Club’s website.