Tuesday 29 March 2011

How many locks? 44, that's 11 a day..


So we want to go down the non-tidal part of the Thames, starting at Cricklade, all the way down to Teddington Lock. As such not a big challenge, just hard graft. A quick look at a map of the locks reveals, that the challenge of this trip won't just be the distance, but also the 44 locks, we will have to negotiate. If we do it in 4 days, that would mean about 11 a day, of course depending on the distances we manage each day.
Either by lifting the canoe out of the water and walking around it, which means physical effort, or going through them the conventional way, which means loss of time (and the need for a lock-key).


ready to take it out - but the weather has other plans


It is the middle of December, 2010.
I managed to get the Canoe safely all the way back from Basingstoke to home, and borrowed a paddle.
So I am ready to take it out for its first test to see if it floats, and I don't fall in the water.
The local Grand Union canal is only a few miles away, and it is as good as any water to test it out.

The forecast for the weekend is sunny, so that is good, but...the temperature is dropping fast. So fast as a matter of fact that it is going below freezing point, which means that the canals are freezing over.

I venture out to the local canal for an inspection, only to find it covered with a few cm of ice. So I have to put my launch plans on ice (...) for a while!

We went back for a nice walk after Christmas. By now the ice was so thick that horses were walking on it. We'll have to wait for a while to try it out.

Monday 28 March 2011

eBay to the rescue!


It is now December 2010, an on-line search reveals that there are plenty of kayaks and canoes for sale. A look at a web-shop at some brand-new ones, reveals that they are slightly out of my budget. so let's see if eBay can come to the rescue.

After consulting with my mate, we agreed that it would be a good idea to find a twin-canoe, rather than 2 single canoes. In this way, we 1. should not loose each other, but more importantly 2. go faster for less effort, which on such a long trek, where endurance will be key, is going to be of importance, especially if we don't get a lot of opportunity to practise.

A search on eBay reveals that the British Army is disposing, through an Army dump shop of 20 twin canoes, for the "buy-it-now" price of £100. This is a bargain. Especially because individual ones seem to go for at least £300. The make is Ace Explorer 515, a solid plastic canoe. 5.5m long, and 28kg heavy. Apart from the normal wear and tear, they look in good nick.

A purchase is made, all I have to do now is drive down to Basingstoke to pick it up.

Roof-bars, and 2 straps I have. So all I have to do is buy some foam pipe-lagging from the local DIY shop to act as a cushion. 4m for £4.50.

Total cost to date: £100+£4.50 = £104.50

This is the official marketing blurb:

The Ace 515 is an excellent double for general touring, estuaries, gentle sea kayaking, and perfect for the Avon Descent. The 515 is really the only plastic double kayak that is suited for the Avon Descent. Great choice if you want to have fun paddling with a partner. The 515 is stable yet relatively fast. With two enclosed cockpits the Explorer 515 can take spraydecks and handle the rougher water conditions that the open cockpit double kayaks can not.

The 515 can be purchased with or without a rudder. Ample storage space to carry gear for weekend camping trips. Fitted with backstraps, toggles for carrying and rescuing and fixed foam buoyancy blocks.

Length:

515cm

Beam:

64cm

Weight:

28kg




New Challenge - canoeing the non-tidal part of the Thames


After a successful 3 peaks walk, during which we raised lots of money for the Nagajuna Trust, it was time to decide on a new challenge. It is late 2010 and a suggestion is made: "Wouldn't it be good to do a new challenge, with a difference. How about we Canoe down the non-tidal part of the Thames? From Cricklade Bridge to Teddington lock. It is only 200km, and we could probably do that in 4 days"

....so decision is made....that's the easy part over.

but...we haven't canoe'd in years, haven't trained, haven't got a canoe....

So the next step: Buy a canoe!