After months of waiting the 21st July finally arrived, and I was off to paddle at Lee Valley. I’ve got to admit I was pretty nervous, but was intent on paddling the Olympic course. After a little detour around Epping Forrest (my manly pride wouldn’t allow me to turn the sat nav on) we finally arrived at the venue and quickly got kitted up and registered for the assessment.
The venue is pretty impressive even though it is undergoing a £6million pound overhaul after the Olympics. The facilities are good, ample parking, changing facilities and cafe/bar overlooking the start of the Olympic course. Anyway, we got on the lake and the assessment started.
First off we had to do a flat water roll, before we paddled across to the Legacy course. At the bottom of the travelator we were told to go paddle the course, do a roll in moving water and hit as many eddies as possible before meeting the assessor back at the bottom. So off we went, sadly at this point I was more excited about riding the travelator than paddling the course! Once at the top of the travelator the fun began. It’s difficult to explain the Legacy course, personally I don’t think the stoppers are as big as one or two of the ones at Holme Pierrepont but it has more continuous features and also has much better water quality (it’s basically chlorinated swimming pool water). It’s definite bigger than the Nene and not as forgiving for the beginners. After a couple of circuits the assessment ended and we were all told we had passed the assessment for the legacy course. Time to tackle the Olympic one!
John Spooner and myself were the only ones from our group who had a go at the Olympic course. After a few shenanigans with the pumps being turned off it was time to give it a bash. With more nerves than excitement I got on the travelator to the top of the course. I was first to give it a go and decided to try and eddy out. That was a mistake, not even 5 meters into the course and I was already under the water with my head bouncing off some form of submerged object. After a couple of attempted rolls I was running out of air so I pulled my deck and swam. The course has safety cover and so within seconds I was on the end of a throw line and other paddlers were rescuing my boat for me. By the time I was back in my boat John (on his second lap) passed me making it look easy! I carried on paddling down the course and lurched from one stopper to the next in the near continuous Grade 4 rapids. It was absolutely fantastic and all was going well until I lined up in the centre of a big drop. I went down the drop and up the centre of the roaster tail; unfortunately I dropped an edge and was back underneath the water again –oops. This time when I swam I kept hold of the boat and drifted round to the get off point where I drained the boat, re-grouped and had a chat with the assessor. To my amazement he was willing to let me have another bash. Within minutes I was back at the top looking down the Grade 4 rapids wondering why I was doing it again. I started paddling and passed the point where I swam on the first run but couldn’t enjoy the moment as there were still loads of stoppers between me and safety. I pressed on giving every stopper everything I had until I had no more and inevitably I went for another swim. I tried to set up for a roll but the flow of water was too powerful and ripped the paddle from my grip. I was up the proverbial creek without a paddle so I pulled the deck again. This time the boat had made it to the end before me and when I got there John was empting it for me.
I was knackered and surprised to find I hadn’t actually passed the assessment! I had a great day paddling Lee Valley and intend to go back there again with the play boat. I know people say it’s a long way to go and pay for paddling. However the way I see it, it’s closer to me than the Tryweryn (98 miles verses 130), the Olympics course is a bigger challenge (and safer swim) than the Tryweryn and unlike Holme Pierrepont you don’t run the risk of getting dysentery from paddling there. It’s only £5 per hour to paddle the legacy and after 2 hours you will probably be knackered anyway. As I said before I intend to make more use of the facility, you’re all welcome to join me. I will post on facebook when I’m going.
Dan Bishop