Paddling The Teifi Without A Boat
On Friday 9th February the Wokingham Canoe club went off to Camarthanshire for a trip on the river Teifi. We stayed at a bunkhouse a few miles away, paddled about 10 miles on the Saturday, paddled around about ½ a mile on the Sunday and came home.
That is what happened over the weekend if you are looking for the bare facts, but perhaps a little more detail could be added.
The weather You may remember that contrary to all reports of global warming we had snow this year, the same weekend as the Teifi trip and if the Thames Valley can manage snow then Carmarthanshire can do it better. Friday night saw various cars slithering down an exciting hill and stopping with greater or lesser elegance outside the bunkhouse. On Saturday morning a new version of kit faff was invented which involved cars, spades, grit and a lot of shouting. With time and a certain amount of panic all the cars plus a well loaded trailer set off down the hill, crawled up the other side (just) and arrived at a car park just near Llandysul Paddlers.
Kayak paddles We all know that carrying a split paddle is a good idea, and we also know that it is never used, so what is the point of taking it? Well, the point is that when someone falls in and thumps their paddle hard enough trying to get out of ice cold water they have their own split but without a joining bit. A trot up and down the road to the support vehicle filled in time while Paul got his genuine split paddle out……off everyone goes again.
Rapids and falls The whole point of a trip in winter is to try out or learn white water skills so Marion and Steve designed a route of some white water and quite a lot of flat water until the last ½ mile. Then all the flat water vanished. Half the trip decided to portage and enjoy the view (the slow but steady route). The other half went for the quick way down. With Steve and a throw line at the top and Marion with a throw line at the bottom the intrepid paddlers set off. The drop was apparently made for kayaks as they all safely navigated through but it wasn’t made for open canoes. David and Brian both made it down the first drop before scuttling their boats and swimming for the eddy. The rest of the afternoon was spent happily rescuing a boat from where it had jammed itself on a rock.
Map reading Organising the shuttle is always interesting. Should the cars all go to the end before starting the paddle, should just one go or should perhaps a representative few stay at each end? And then there is the issue of making sure that the car keys are at appropriate points and not going to fall into the bottom of a fast running river at an inconvenient moment. All these issues were discussed or coped with, and the decision taken to take just 2 cars to the end as the parking space was distinctly limited and the locals need to be given at least some consideration. But…what do you do at the end if after an hour one of the cars hasn’t managed a 15 minute journey? The answer is that you pile an impressive number of boats on the top of a small car and ram an equally impressive and probably illegal number of people in the back of the small car.
The thaw A blessing to the drivers as we made it back to the bunkhouse with no snow or ice to contend with and the journey on Sunday up the hill was a positive pleasure! But, when snow melts it turns into water and that tends to run into rivers and so the rivers get higher…and so the plans to do some teaching on the original stretch at Llandysul suddenly take on a different complexion. On Saturday we had seen a series of rocks with a nice set of eddies just waiting for a bit of coaching practice. On Sunday we saw a fast running river with virtually no rocks. So boats get ready, cameras are set ready, instructions given as to what to do in the event of mishap and off the first boat goes. All went fine till boat number 2 turned over about 3 minutes later, but that was fine, the sun was out and the view pretty good for the next 20 minutes while the boat and paddler were recovered and both walked back up stream for ¼ mile. Boats number 3 and 4 made it down the first 15m safely then boat 5 went for an unscheduled swim. An hour later the riverbank was denuded of suitable ducks and drakes stones and the missing boat and paddler came back. Happily that was the end of swimming and time for a slightly more successful bit of moving water practice till lunch-time.
The bunkhouse The most amazing place ever used. A large barn like structure, rooms for all tastes, a wood fired stove, plenty of space to dry kit with no rules of what could go where (but it is slightly surreal to see dry suit legs hanging over the stair drop) and a kitchen big enough for everyone. A truly wonderful place to stay.
And why is the title of the report ‘paddling the Teifi without a boat’? Surely we all know that sensible car drivers and their 13 year-old sons prefer warm flat water for their paddling. Toby and I had a very civilised weekend admiring views, visiting ancient castles, exploring gift shops and taking photos. We didn’t get wet or cold once.
Lynn Palfrey
Mid Wales 10/11 Feb 2007
