Saturday 05th Aprils paddle “Upper Treweryn”

[Nigel]

What a day ! The group was split into two, The Insomniac’s lead by Mr Chairman  (Timbo), Dave Y, Ricardo, Paul and Laurence, these sleepless river hungry boys met at Dobbies, for 08-00AM and headed straight for the Ski slope section on the upper “T”.

The second group Rich D, John, Rob,Gary, Elliot, Geoff, Kee, Andy G, Shane, Scott( Nick ) and myself met at Dobbies for 09-00AM and headed for the upper “T’ above the chipper.

INSOMNIAC’S

Tim worked with the Insomniac’s guiding them and giving coaching instructions through several sections of the Upper “T” then taking them from the top just below the chipper straight through to Chapel Falls, speaking with the Guy’s later in the day they had an absolutely fabulous time and over came some fears and achieved some fantastic personal goals. Some of these Guy’s had never been on the upper “T” prior to Saturday and I witnessed some of them pushing there boundaries and must say was very impressed, Paul Williams in particular achieved so much in one day well done. I believe a Big thank you to Tim for the great coaching, confidence building and support shown and given throughout the day goes without saying.

The second group jumped on the water above the chipper warmed up then had a couple of runs of this super little section taking some good instruction and coaching  from Rich D, I made some eddies I have sped past before with confidence and ease, thanks Rich.

We then decided to use the seal launch slope and head off down towards the Graveyard section, here we spent a short time eddy hopping and honing some skills before taking on the Graveyard itself, this challenge was a first for some of this group so a big well done to them as this piece of water is no mean feat to take on. Rich D, John, Gary, Andy G, Kee, Scott all had nice clear runs and continued down Ski slope and the other features along towards the Cafe wave etc, brilliant footage on Youtube and fantastic stills courtesy of Geoff as usual, I unfortunately had my day cut short after taking a interesting swim down the Graveyard, I was gutted as felt up for attempting the whole upper section after a good mornings paddling prior.

We had a few swims amongst the groups which as usual were all handled safely within the group and it gave us some real life safety rescue experience, Rich D gave a brave demonstration of how to deal with swimming into obstacles like the chipper and using your legs as shock absorbers etc, he threw himself in the river did the demo then even threw himself back in and swam back across the flow rather than use the bridge, nice one Rich.

All in all a most fabulous day for all who paddled. The level was supposedly on a release of 9 cumecs, however the level dropped within the first couple of hours quite significantly so questionable, weather was mild with a few light showers but water temperature is warming up so that’s good news.

Well done to all and big thanks to Tim and Rich for the coaching and support. I reckon we are not just one of the most active and adventurous clubs around but probably have the highest average age !!!!! lol no 18 / 20 year old Hot shots,but like good wine and cheese we have good bodies( larger in my case) and plenty of maturity ! On that note 😉
IF I HAVE MISSED ANYONE OUT OR ANYTHING YOU WOULD LIKE ADDING PLEASE LET ME KNOW.

• This topic was modified 10 years, 7 months ago by Nigel.
• This topic was modified 10 years, 7 months ago by Nigel.
• This topic was modified 10 years, 7 months ago by Nigel.

[Richard D]

Excellent report Nigel after a fantastic day’s paddling. Went out for a drink with the wife later in the evening, £7.60 for a glass of wine and a pint of Guiness, makes £7 for the Tryweryn seem cheap !!

[admin]

Nice 1 Mr L.really good day think everyone enjoyed themseleves

[Gary]

Great day guys Would you ever get tired of this river I don’t think so you are
Right Rich at £7 pounds its seems like a bargin great video Geoff

[admin]

Great report Nigel, thanks for recording a excellent description of the trip undertaken by 45% of paid membership who all benefited from the experienced paddlers advice to improve their skills, well done.

[Tim]

Nice report nige. I thought you may have written us a poem this week. Ok, maybe next time! I had a chat with rich d today and we are both really impressed with the enthusiasm of the paddlers and the direction the club is going at the moment.
On a personal level I really enjoyed standing on the bank chatting about features , lines, paddle strokes etc. I hope it made sense guys. I must stress that this is only my opinion on how to do stuff. Ive never been coached on whitewater apart from my first half dozen paddles.

Ricki impressed me with his desire to get into different eddies and challenge himself. Dave impressed me with his improving body position and increasing stroke rate. Paul impressed me with his increased understanding of river markers and key strokes and body position. Loz impressed me with his whitewater rolls.

The guys started being critical of themselves and new when they had done something wrong or right. That means the coach is no longer needed, and thats the aim.

Keep challenging yourselves.

[Paul W]

Another great write up Nige and again thanks to everybody, particularly Geoff for the photos & footage. Some of the pictures are absolutely stunning, a constant reminder of a cracking day.

[Ricki]

Great day guys.

Thanks to Tim for coaching the Insomniacs. I would certainly highly recommend a skills workshop…critical analysis is so useful and the results will most likely be vital improvments we need in those pushy rivers!

[Author]

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