Carog to Eisteddfod, Llangollen in Opens by Sue L
Mike A kindly offered to transport the canoes so we all met at the compound to help load the canoes on his canoe trailer. I say ‘help’; I’m not sure what help I was but I’m good at collecting paddles. After some rearrangements of kit, we set off in 2 cars to the get-out at Eisteddfod in Llangollen where we met McMike (is that an acceptable new nickname Mike?) and loaded his boat onto the trailer.
We took the opportunity to get fully kitted up and I looked around for my buoyancy aid. Um… ‘Colin, where is my buoyancy aid?’ First boo-boo of the day! You can’t go on the river without a BA so there I was ready to walk into cafes and around Llangollen in my bright orange cag. A quick point out that we were driving past TNR and low and behold only £5 later I’m kitted and ready to go! Gotta love the folks at TNR!
Boats all unloaded (erm… thanks Mike A, Mike Mc, Ian and Keith!) and we’re off. Water levels were lower and slower than my last experience paddling from Carog. What could go wrong? Taking the bow with Colin at stern we swiftly negotiated our first rapid and straight into a branch! Boo-boo number 2. We need to improve our communication skills! (We’ve only been practising for 20-plus years!).
Fingers were cold and gusts were up, with temperatures feeling like 1 degrees Terry was super glad he had the opportunity to buy a new thermal top at GoKayaking. Marcus took the bow on their canoe and brilliantly helped to power them along and negotiate the rocks, some of which we only seemed to notice at the last second, or in some cases just prior to impact or grounding. The lower waters meant some of us found ourselves beached a couple of times but quick thinking and shuffling on the canoe enabled quick escapes and dry feet. Some interesting moments when McMike took the opportunity to play behind a big rock and then found that we were approaching at speed! I think we missed him but my lefts and rights were tested again when Terry and Marcus beached. ‘Go to their left’ came the cry from the back of my canoe… ‘Which is left?’ came the answer in my head! Missed them again and successfully paddled through the cascades of revealed rocks.
