My Paddling Year

My Paddling Year – 2024 Paul Sampson

2024 started with Mike and I training for the DW in the upcoming easter. This came about with Mike approaching me on a sunny day in the previous July when training and the race seemed a long way off and a good idea!

Training for the 2024 DW started in earnest at the end of September 2023, so if you are planning for 2025 hopefully you have started or at least getting going (Easter 1 month later in 2025.

We started with approximately 8 – 10-mile paddles on a Saturday and or a Sunday gradually building up the miles. We also did the Division 5 race at Banbury as it was an option for us to be accepted with the DW entry criteria.

Christmas 2023 came and went – we were then staring down the barrel of training ramp up to the March 30^th and Race Day.

Training consisted mainly using the Grand union Canal from Harefield usually going North, although one training rune took us to Brentford – Lots of rubbish in the canal down that end! We also used the Jubilee River to paddle for extended times of 3 - 4 hours so we could get used to being in the boat non-stop to take into account the Pound on the Canal and the Tideway on the Thames. Our longest training paddle was 40 miles on the Grand Union Canal – 8 hours, 40 miles and 80 portages. This really stood us in good stead for the race as that is only 77 portages!

Anyone doing the race must consider their kit, their nutrition and who their support crew will be. These are critical to get right for a successful race. Our crew consisted of Charlotte, Dan, Mikes Daughter Becca and her boyfriend Tom. You have no idea how important these people are to you until you are in the midst of the race and seeing them is a real lift each time.

Wednesday before the race a huge storm hit England with lots of rain and wind. The canal was full to the brim, rivers were swollen and running fast, we were unsure if the race would go ahead. Little did we know what was waiting for us on Saturday and Sunday!

Race day – 30 March 2024 – At Devizes and the atmosphere is electric, lots of pent-up nervous energy waiting to go.

At 10-25am we are off and running, fair weather with a slight headwind. We made it to Wooten Rivers – the first portage without stopping as per the plan.

Huge thanks to our club members who came out to cheer us on during the day

The rest of the canal was OK but very high flow rates where the River Kennet comes in and out of the canal. The get in at Newbury was under water and the flow was crazy but this was a sign of much worse to come.

The river was on red boards and 90% of the portages were under water which made for some tricky situations and meant we were soaked through for the entire non-tidal Thames. Lots of events took place during that night of paddling; Kit change at Henley was very cold – Thanks to Kevin and Kate who helped Charlotte get me ready for the rest of the nights paddling (even if we were only dry until Hambledon! A very nice surprise was seeing Karenza and Miriam at Old Windsor. We were spun 180 degrees at Penton Hook in a whirlpool and a fall in at Chertsey where the quick thinking of the marshals and another crew’s support team saved us from disaster.

The race finished short – no tideway, this had been closed by the Port of London Authority. So, our finish was to be at Teddington lock, not the full distance – 108 miles covered and a finishers medal, we know it was not the full course, but Mike and I are very proud to have completed the race in extremely hazardous and trying conditions. Thanks go to Mike, our support crew and the countless number of the club that came out to cheer us on.

After this I took quite a few weeks off from paddling – It was a nice break, but the itch was there to do some easy paddling to get myself “back in the boat”.

Dan and I started paddling twice a week from our old Longridge home at the end of May, we covered quite a bit of distance doing 10 – 15 km per session, I found that I was enjoying my paddling again in the warmer weather after a tough winter of training.

In July the club moved home and Bisham Paddlesport club was born, what a fantastic place we now have to paddle – Cheers to everyone who made this possible, but a special shout out to Tony for getting us moved from what was a toxic atmosphere at Longridge.

Summer paddling and into Autumn was really enjoyable from our new home, a nice new 5k course to test ourselves on and the option to paddle the quiet stretch from Temple to Hurley weir became a firm favorite of mine.

Once Autumn arrived, I was on my way to New Zealand to stay with our friends John and Tracey Mellieu, and of course some paddling was mandatory. I paddled a 6-person Waka with Johns new club on the sea in Pilot Bay, and John and I took out his 2-man Waka on the river estuary and then out on the sea on a second occasion, just like old times from when we paddled C2 together for so long. I finished my paddling in New Zealand in a 9-man white water raft, we paddled the Kaituna Cascades which has the tallest commercially rafted water fall in the world a 7 meters, what an amazing experience!

So, 2024 finished with a bit more paddling from Bisham Abbey, then the river decided to misbehave, and I have not been out as much as I would have liked through a mixture of injury and illness.

I’m looking forward to 2025 and paddling at “The Best Little Club on the Thames” with all my paddling mates. Dan and I are eying an attempt at the 2025 Thames Ultra 200 on August Bank Holiday. It will be a change training in the Spring and Summer, but I’m looking forward to the new challenge, a very different one from the DW.

Happy New Year to everyone at Bisham Paddlesport club, I look forwards to seeing you all on the water.

Paul