CSCC Reports 2011: Devon Whitewater - January 2011

In January, Martin, Fi and Mark went down to Devon to take advantage of the rain.

On Saturday we paddled the Walkham. This time we found the Forestry Commission car park just below Denham Bridge, so didn't have to get changed while being drenched by cars going through puddles. Garmin has a very interesting route to get there. We spotted the slot rapid in the usual way - a pile of others' boats on the side. Mark kindly videoed my line, including my first roll attempt in a drysuit, closely followed by my first successful roll attempt in a drysuit. The last weir on the Tavy proved no idle playspot. Mark chose a particularly challenging place to play, on an innocuous-looking 5-inch wave. Fi and I followed, going in like lemmings to help. An intriguing situation was averted when Mark decided to stand up and pull us out. At the very end I learned a useful lesson. When testing your new drysuit, make sure both zips are done up all the way.

On Sunday levels were lower, so we went for the Dart Loop. Unfortunately so did everyone else, with queues for play waves and even some rapids. We found places to play where we could, but overall this was quite a fast run, after which we headed home.

Hopefully Mark has some photos somewhere, as otherwise I need to find a rhyme for "Walkham".