Competitors racing down the Colligan Gorge
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…. a small group of rebels organised a kayak race in County Waterford.
It seems a long way to go, but in fact, it’s only an hour and a half from Limerick (if you travel with the speed of light), and the gorge is beautiful and a mellow class III. On arrival, competing Jedi’s were funnelled into a registration tent where T-shirts and wrist bands and even bib numbers were given out: it was clear there had been some slick organiser at work.
Unfortunately Han ‘Ross Redmond’ Solo had driven his fastest bucket of bolts in the galaxy a bit too fast and I was feeling a bit queasy, so decided to watch from a safe distance. I had time to discover even more organisational features like the test boats at the adventure centre pool, two portaloos and even a bit of shopping! Palm, Munster Dive, Total Experience and of course Princess Jenny from Outdoor Evolution featured the grounds with a display of down jackets, hats, thermals and other warm items. Down by the river signs and marking tape guided you safely to the start line. I was most impressed by the wobbly hanging bridge and the team of college Ewoks that took care of crossing your boat for you, along a zip line.
The hanging bridge: a one day special
The race kicked off with the individual boatercross, where competitors battled 5 by 5 to get down the river and ring the bell in the bottom eddy first. Men, women, even padawans came flying down through the narrow slots and slides. The use of light sabres was allowed and some fierce battling was witnessed in the ladies sport class. Some poor unfortunate competitors managed to forget about the ringing of the bell and missed out on their chance to go through to the next round. It was clear that the Dagger Green had quite a speed advantage on the other boats, but… was it enough?
Cheez and the Green Machine
The team race focused on tasks like paddling around a buoy, rolling and catching a very small eddy, and I think I wasn’t the only one that was waiting curiously if the Green would be able to make the turn. A very slick performance of team green showed it is possible to turn the Green just about anywhere, but that it is hard to all three of them the same eddy at the bottom, and Outdoor Experience took the trophy!
Rosie 'you could only see the smoke' Cripps
After a prize giving with lots of happy people, nice prizes (for full results click here) and an all-over feeling of contentment, the focus was on the Ireland-All Blacks game, and afterwards the big party. The weekend was a great success and we established there is a lot of talent, especially in the female University class (of who some well may call themselves masters at this stage), and of course the younger girls! The Tullamore Sisters and Waterford Home Girl were shining in the boatercross, and the Lacken Padawans took the team event. Well done!
On one last note: Jenny, Keoghser and Kipper decided to give the boat (by I-Canoe) that they won in the team race away to the raffle in aid of Childline. On the 6th of December there will be a big fundraiser night with lots of interesting guest speakers, raffles and other craic at the Outdoor Evolution shop in Blessington. DON’T MISS IT! Click here for more information!
Photos in this article by Germy and Co
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