Being of sound mind..... or something like that, I booked on the open canoe beginners course on the white water weekend.

After the compulsory purchase of a thermal rash vest and the borrowing of a decent kag from Steph (thanks!), I was as ready as I was ever going to be.  With Nigel leading, Richard, Brian and I got in from a muddy (did I mention it had rained a lot?) Sennybridge field.

The second drop was straightforward, unless you took the shoot on the far bank - Richard had a short swim here (see photo)!  The third drop was fun.  We inspected it while another group were riding it.  One of their kayakers got his boat stuck in a hole, which took ages to free, and he himself was thrown about a bit - I distinctly remember seeing nothing but his lower legs sticking up vertically out of the white water!  Of course, Nigel then got us talking about what we'd seen people doing wrong and right.  So, I decided I was focusing on a good line and forward momentum.... "line.... line.... line.... ok, I'm here, what now?  Oh, I'm meant to be balancing and....." I was in!  (See photo.)  Thanks to some handy bag work from Richard and boat recovery from Brian, all that was lost was one knee pad.

On the remaining stretch, we played a game to see who could ride the most waves while taking on the least water, which Nigel promptly lost!  Although I think he'd claim something about his boat .

I had a great day and staying in the bunkhouse, meeting lots of people, was great!

Canadian is definitely the way to roll..... see you on the water!

Rachael

Check out all photos by clicking here.