Glaslyn 28th January

[Tim]

Friends, I have a dream, and that dream is that one day a large group from our club will run the Glaslyn gorge from top to bottom. Today was a big step in that direction……….
Tim, Mark, Ricki and cameraman Barry head to North Wales in Tim’s Mystery Machine. We arrive at the Glaslyn and the levels are perfect with rocks covered, the tick in the green and about 0.9 on the gauge. We enjoy a couple of successful runs of the section below the breaker with Ricki enjoying a brief moment of side surfing in a stopper. Show Off!

Our first run down the upper section is eventful to say the least. We kind of inspect it from the road on the way up, but once on the water we somehow manage to paddle past the final inspection eddy river left and Ricki finds himself in at the deep end! The first drop is one of the trickiest, and to add to it an over excited boy is towering above us on a rock, arms in the air screaming “yeah!” He is treated to a couple of pirouettes and a Ricki roll. I blast through like a rocket, run the breaker successfully and wait for the lads. Ricki takes an interesting line on the breaker, gets sucked back into the stopper and bails. Ricki’s boat had badly split at the front and had become a victim of the infamous rapid which has claimed many boats over the years. Ricki later describes a sinking feeling whilst he attempted to roll!

And now the moment you’ve all been waiting for……………

If your bored reading this just click upon the video link at the top of this page. Its all there!

Myself and Mark decide upon having another run down from the top. We are still trying to work out the best approach to the first drop and so Mark test drives river left and I test drive river right. I love the next section, leaning forward into the drops plenty of bow rudders………….and then. I don’t want to talk about it. Watch the video link above. Its a rare sight. Its about as rare as Ricki buying a round a the pub!

We had a great day!

• This topic was modified 10 years, 10 months ago by Tim.
• This topic was modified 10 years, 10 months ago by Tim.

[Ricki]

I agree with all but the very last clause in the very last sentance! 😉 I do buy rounds! Rolling on the top section is a terrifying but most enjoyably rewarding experience. You feel an excitement of screaming “yes” and putting your hands in the air, but no chance of that!

I heard a loud crunch at the top of the rapid. It is a strange feeling knowing that you are in a massive stopper and you are trying to roll knowing that, for some reason, your boat is full of water. The impending doom of the whole rapid following the stopper also looms in your head. Great feeling, but similar to the one the Titanic passengers felt as they too abandoned ship!

Great river run……shame about the durability of the boat. Fluid have an 80% of the boats value policy under two years, so I should be fine. I’ll probably end up getting a shell, which I hope the plastic is significantly better.

I guess the second run incident should never be spoken about again! 😉

[Tim]

Please speak about it and focus on my determination and battling spirit when in trouble. It has served me well. But please put the chimp back into its box. A great phrase from my latest bedtime reading by Dr Steve Peters and psychologist to many sports stars including canoeists. I would recommend this book to everyone in the club. Training your mind is as important as improving your paddling skills.

[admin]

I too Dream of running the Glasyln
Training the mind – check – I have a mind, just needs to be trained to get out of the way.
Having the right buddies to paddle with – check – U guys are awesome.
The correct equipment 😉 Need one of these

🙂 edit last few seconds of the first video, other wise a perfect report.

[Author]

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