Tryweryn 27 March 2011
On March 27th a group of 8 SVCC paddlers lead by Paul
Smith ventured to north Wales for a great days paddling at Tryweryn
White Water Centre near Bala Lake. It was a long day starting
with a meet at 6:30am at Junction 13 of the M5.
We got on the water at the top of the section and started
straight away to play on some of the waves at the put in.
Paddling on downstream a bit we came to the weir which most people
tackled fine. Mike had other ideas though and showed us all
just how sticky even a small weir stopper can be! After several
minutes side surfing and fighting to get out of the stopper Paul
waded in to grab the tail of his boat and pull him free. By
this time Mike was very tired and capsized in the following rapids,
providing us with the first swim of the day.
A little further down we came to a nice set of rapids just above
the "chipper" where we spent some time practicing in the waves and
eddy hopping. Paul provided excellent teaching and coaching
to those paddlers who wanted it. Several swims were had here
and unfortunately Angela managed to get a cut on her forehead which
brought an end to her days paddling.
Moving on down river there were many other great opportunities
to play and learn with Paul's lesson of the day being "lateral
movement on the water". Some great grade 3 to 4 features in
this river including The Graveyard, The Ski Jump and Chapel
Falls. All fun and great opportunities to practice your
skills (including swimming), with paddler friendly paths on the
banks allowing you to run the same section as many times as you
like.
Thanks to Paul for organising this great trip and providing the
coaching and leadership.