Corsica and the Ice Cream Lady

In early April I found myself en route to Corsica with a crack team of Irish mercenaries and one technical writer. We went in search of the mystical ice cream hidden deep within the Corsican heartland. We had also heard there was amazing whitewater so we brought our kayaks along for the ride. If we failed to find the ice cream surely we would find a river or two to justify the horrendous carbon footprint we would leave in our wake. Kayak Session had even planned a week of festivities but more on that later.

Corsica is an Island.

As you approach on the ferry Corsica looms on the horizon, rising skyward from golden beaches to white capped peaks. The French call it The Island of Beauty. It is really very pretty. It's rivers are steep and committing but we were also met with some of the most incredibly scenic and unique valleys in Europe, if not the world. The winding mountain roads teeter above the abyss and the rivers peek out momentarily from the forests far, far below. Wild goats and pigs are common sights and we saw several large birds of prey soaring high above the cliffs. Time seems to stand still in the Corsican mountain villages where the friendly locals still make a living in much the same way as their great grandparents did. Olive and fruit trees are scattered across the hillsides and they take great pride in their local specialties. Their chestnut beer quickly became our aprés paddle drink of choice. That and wine in a box.

The Fium Orbo valley

We decided to go kayaking for the first week as it was still a bit too chilly for ice cream. It was a good alternative. The rivers were at sane levels and I was happy that most of the siphons were still visible. The first river we jumped on was the Lower Golo, complete with some friendly Germans who turned our river signals upside down. It is a lovely grade III run with more volume than your typical Corsican creek and a great warm up after the initial traveling tiredness. 

Day two and it was back to the Golo, this time the Upper. It's a long way from the Lower. It was also more like what we expected from Corsica. Steep grade IV with plenty of boulders in a forested valley. A bit low on the day but a super run all the same with some cool moves and plenty of boofing practice which would come in handy later on. A good river for getting in the groove and most of the rapids could be scouted from the boat. Although that was mainly due to our crazy Austrian probes! 

Drivers don't navigate. They drive.

Someone found the 80's German river guide that night and decided on the Middle Vecchio for no. 3. The guide gave it grade VII. Hmmm. (Note ~ If your thinking of writing a guidebook please don't make up your own grading system.) It was actually grade IV-V choked with boulders, siphons and under cuts to keep you on your toes. A fantastic run though it's quite committing and you certainly earn your lunch in there. The local boys don't stop to look at much. We stopped more often. Usually to look at rapids like the one below. We even got to use a hand signal for siphons. Unfortunately we lost a camera at the end but a splendid Corsican dinner in Corte soon had everything right.

Typical rapid on the Middle Vecchio.

The Travo was up next. You don't have a choice when to do the Travo, Monday is Travo day. It's just the way it is. This is another classic run with the picturesque amphitheater drops and one or two chunkier rapids. There is some fun portaging too at the skull and crossbones rapid. The rivers just kept coming and next up was the Middle Fium Orbo. This was just outrageous fun with lots of friendly drops and slides in glorious sunshine. The rocks are sharp though and they chewed up my hands for breakfast. My lasting memory from the run was meeting a solo German boater who was on his honeymoon. His new bride was patiently waiting with a rope at the most difficult rapid. Now that's my kind of lady!

 Good vibes in Ernella.

I have to mention the celebration of Corsican rivers and traditions organised by the Kayak Session boys Phillipe, Raphael et al. This 5 day gathering at the beautiful Camping Ernella site was a memorable occasion for us and a great source of information for those visiting for the first time. Some fantastic old films were played in the evenings on a big screen and there was even an evening of traditional Corsican food and music. 

Dam construction site in the Rizzanese valley.

The gathering was also organised to highlight the plight of the Rizzanese river system which is soon going to be lost to another hydro scheme. We were lucky enough to paddle both it and the other river which will be effected, the Codi. These are two of the most incredible rivers I have run. It is a real tragedy that both are being hit by this project. The dam site is a giant pock mark on the Rizzanese valley and the lake which will be created will change forever the lives of people living in the remote villages like Zoza. Show your support for the protests against this project by visiting SaveTheRizzanese. It is so sad to think we will never be able to experience these magical rivers again.

Jim mid flight on the Rizzanese.

Mickey styling a Rizzanese drop.

Wilmo takes off on the Rizzanese.

Snow is Gone - Winter of 2010

Well that's another winter over and I won't be forgetting it for a while. We don't normally get to talk about snow here in Ireland but this winter was the coldest in 50 years. It's all relevant of course but we were regularly breaking ice off our gear and the drive to the river was an extreme sport in itself. The boating has been feast or famine for the past few months. Monstrous floods hit in November which devastated many of the towns in the west and south of Ireland. My home town of Ballinasloe was swallowed by the River Suck for the first time in 120 years. This was followed by a month of temperatures regularly falling below -10C and snow falling in places that had not seen snow in decades. We are so inept at dealing with snow that the country came to a halt for a week, schools and businesses closed, and the minister for transport went on holidays!

The River Suck in Flood, Nov 09. EH Photo.

It wasn't until I got back to help out my neighbours with the sandbags that the scale of the damage hit me. I felt very guilty going paddling the next day while my friends desperately pumped water out their front door. Karma struck though and I took my first swim ever on my home run, the Boluisce River. I decided to attempt the left line on the main falls but landed on my side and ended up in the "Throne Room". Ooopssy daisies! It took half an hour before the boils spat my bruised boat out. While going over the drop I noticed camera flashes going off in front of me. I later discovered they were flashes of lightning!

 Top Drop on the Boluisce. Seanie Byrne Photo.

After Christmas I'd planned to go to Kerry for the new year celebrations if there was any rain. The water arrived in the form of heavy snow showers and the rivers were up briefly for a few days of meltwater paddling. This was the coldest weather I had experienced paddling in Ireland and definitely warranted buying a set of pogies. We managed to run both the Clydagh and the Roughty twice and had a look at the Slaheny but it wasn't up. It's certainly one for next time with some enticing drops cut down through the bedrock. Some snow boating in the sun, speeding down the hills near Kilgarvan, rounded off another great trip to the south west.

The new year brought with it more cold, foreboding, dark weeks at work but bright crisp weekends where I was free to explore. I spent most of these in the Wicklow hills, finding my way to the more remote rivers like the Source of the Liffey, not that there was any water to paddle it. The rains did finally arrive one Friday afternoon and we were on our way at sunrise, eating porridge in the car, lest time be wasted with breakfast! There were a few nice runs on the Annamoe in glorious winter sunshine as the snow melted slowly from the hilltops. What I enjoyed most about those weekends were the smiles and woops from the new guys in the club, stoked on nailing their first runs down Jackson's.

 Sunday morning mass. Eamonn Riggs Photo.

February was so dry the grass turned brown and the crops withered to dust. There was little whitewater to be had. A fun morning run on the Boluisce during the inter-varsities was it. There was still plenty of grade II paddling and instructing to be done, whether it was in the luxury of the swimming pool or on the gentle waters of the Boyne, it was enough to keep me sane. After a bit of tree clearing on the Boyne the Wall Hole was re-opened for business again and is building a solid client base. Fingers and toes crossed that we get some rain soon! In the meantime I think I'll have a look through the Ryanair website again...

 The Wall Hole on the Boyne. John Bewley Photo.

Getting lucky

I've been pretty lucky this past month. So lucky that I even started thinking about luck and what people believe it is. I was always, and still am, a believer in making your own. Someone once said that "luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity". 

I hit a good run of luck in mid October. In the space of two weekends I got the chance to paddle six different rivers in Ireland and Scotland, all at great levels. I had been planning a trip to Kerry, in the south west corner of Ireland, for a few weeks but was doubtful of the rain arriving. It really needs to be raining hard to go kayaking in Kerry as most of the rivers are spate runs. The week beforehand the forecast started to look good and we decided to chance it. Checking the rainfall radar on Friday night I saw a big blob of yellow and pink moving in my direction. That night the sound of the rain bouncing off the roof kept us awake into the small hours.

We paddled two great rivers the following day at perfect levels. The Clydagh is a well known tree lined run with a big slide thrown in the middle. It is also the warm up section for the Flesk, one of the best IV+ runs in the country. The crew I was with had never been paddling in Kerry before so we wanted to make the most of the rain and get in at least two rivers. After running the gates to the Flesk we called it quits, jumped in the car and in less than twenty minutes were at the put in for river number two, the Roughty.

Eamonn on the Clydagh. Photo by Muireann Lynch.

The Roughty is a well known classic run, mostly pool drop in nature. It gets quite tight in places with a few slots and also one or two bigger drops. The level was ideal with plenty of water but not too pushy. We decided to leave the messy drop above the get in for another time. Cathal took a few shots from the first bridge as we paddled the rapid beneath. This was a really fun run with some great moves especially through the slots and the two bigger drops at the end, before the get out bridge appears. We got off just as the sun was setting only to find we had left the cars at the next bridge downstream. Ooops!

Barry on the Middle Roughty. Photo by Cathal Kelly.

A scenic drive on Sunday morning winding over the Gap of Dunloe led us into the Black Valley and to the put in for river number three, the Gearhameen. I had never paddled this before and was looking forward to the buzz of a new river. Unfortunately the level had dropped a lot overnight and it was quite low with lots of very rocky rapids. I will certainly be back here though as in high water this is supposed to be a blast. It's probably one of the most scenic rivers in Ireland, nestled deep in the hills of the MacGillycuddy's Reeks, the only other person we met was an elderly farmer who had come to see who was making all the "noise".

Following a busy week in work I was lucky enough to be able to get away to Scotland on a level 5 skills training weekend with the ICU. The ferry for this was literally booked the night before as again the forecast was a bit hard to guage. Nothing to worry about though as it ended up pouring down all weekend! While over there we ran the Roy Gorge (no. 4) on the first day as a warm up. The level was a touch low but a really super river with a deep gorge section which would be interesting in high water. Beware of the hike up the hill at the get out, its thirsty work!

As part of the course we were lucky enough to get in the Etive (no. 5) in high water, a Scottish classic, although it has also been described as a "ditch"! There was lots of boofing practice and looking at different approaches to running drops. The main drop, Right Angle Falls (20 ft), looked a bit too meaty to run at this level with a huge boily mess at the base.

Having a long look at Right Angle Falls. Photo by Simon Hall.

On the final day of training we paddled the Orchy River (thats the six), a big volume (and in big water!) river with long rapids broken up by flat stretches. There were some big and bouncy wave trains and one rapid I did not run, Easan Dubha, though Benny and Peter cruised down making it look easy. We even got to play with pinned boats and the odd unexpected scenario kept us on our toes. I think the scariest thing though was the coffee fueled night time drive back to catch the last ferry home. Let's just say there are a lot more deer wandering the roads than we expected. I actually was looking forward to work on Monday morning, if just for the chance to have a wee break!

Wet West Paddlefest 09

The Wet West Paddle Fest is the biggest annual whitewater kayaking event in Scotland. It's a celebration of whitewater with organised releases on the Rivers Garry, Moriston and Awe, not to mention an evening of ceilidh dancing and kayak films in Fort William. The festival came about as a memorial to the legendary Scottish paddler, Andy Jackson, who died in 2004. 

I had heard a few of the stories from 2008's WWPF and so made sure that I was there for this years festival. It's been an unusually dry September in Ireland and with no whitewater on the cards the lure of the Scottish highlands could not be turned down. After the short hop over to Stranraer we took a detour for a few hours to stretch our legs on the mountain bike trails of Kirroughtree Forest. The fast technical trails through the deserted forest were never ending and we stayed out late into the evening, stopping at one point to watch a golden eagle soar overhead. Magic! Plenty of coffee and cake (served by a hairy old woman) and 4 hours later we were in Fort William.

The river Garry is one of Scotland's best play runs and was the Saturday release. There are several nice play spots on a relatively (I ran it in 7 mins) short stretch and it was great fun paddling this several times with the help of the free shuttle bus. There is one nice move at the very start of the river, a seal launch at the inlet pipe into the full flow and over a short double drop. Unfortunately we had only brought creek boats and this river was meant for play, however there was still plenty to keep those in big boats entertained, as any of the rafters who clobbered a kayaker in the bottom hole will testify. Ouch!

The evenings festivities in The BA Club were nice and chilled out with a great video from the Kayak USSR Team followed by a super buffet and then plenty of good tunes and catching up into the wee hours. There was also the odd mention of the river we would be on in the morning...
(P.S. ~ For the record you can fit 6 adults in the front cab of a Hiace!)

It was an early start again on Sunday morning as we headed up past Loch Ness to the small village of Invermoriston. A quick stop at the bridge for a recce of the Lower Moriston and we were suitably impressed/nervous. The river drops dramatically as it flows under the bridge with lines left and right and it's easy to see why this is reputed to be one of the biggest rapids in the UK. The put on for the Upper Moriston at the dam was very crowded and it was a case of joining the queue to run the first big drop. This was a lovely 3m drop worth running a few times and a great spot to set up the camera.

The rest of the rapids on the Upper Moriston were short and sweet with one or two more small drops into bouldery grade IV. Unfortunately we had a ferry to catch and did not have time to get in the Lower so I'll have to come back for that and to get a taste of some more Scottish creeks again soon! A big thanks to Shane for all the driving and to the SCA and local volunteers who put on an amazing weekend.
(Photos to come soon!)

A portion of the funds raised during the weekend will go to the Andy Jackson fund for access who promote and protect access to waterways in Scotland for the sport of canoeing. More details can be found on their website here.

My last six months

I've been quite busy lately but seeing as we are about to move into another season I thought it would be a good time to give this excuse for a blog a shot in the arm and hopefully create something interesting for people to read.

 

Mickey Barry on the Upper Sesia, Val Sesia, Italy. 

I've spent the past six months working hard during the week so I can afford to boat hard come the weekend. There are many of you out there doing the same thing no doubt. I'm constantly trying to tweak my schedule so that I can get more time on the water which is not always easy. I've come to really appreciate every minute on the river and that two great days paddling beats one average day and one nothing day recovering from the night before!

 

A big day on the Clare Glens, too big for me, 1.1m. 

Moving from the west coast to the east of Ireland has been a big change and although there is not as much water about I find the guys over here are very determined to make the most of every opportunity. I was not very familiar with the rivers here but after a few weekends spent getting lost in the Wicklow hills I think the runs here are on a par with (and maybe better!) than in Connemara. We even had a week of unexpected snow melt paddling in glorious sunshine ala the Alps in June. Some of the benefits of global warming maybe?


Landwasser waterfall, Val Sesia, Italy

I planned at the start of the year to try a few different kayaking disciplines, mainly to help with instructing but also just out of curiosity. I'm now hooked on slalom paddling and have a dream to paddle round Ireland by sea kayak some day! Having spent most of my time in plastic creek and freestlye boats it was a real eye opener to get to run some gates with top Irish slalom boater Eamon Rheinisch and the following weekend to be exploring caves in a big swell off Achill Island with Ali Donald of Saoirse na Mara. There really are endless adventures to be had kayaking in Ireland, no matter what the weather is doing, just get out there.

Sea kayaking with the seals off the Mayo coast.

The Colligan Gorge Games 2008

The first ever boater x event in the South East of Ireland took place last weekend in Co. Waterford, on the River Colligan. This river was not widely known outside Waterford but I think that is due to change now. With no rain forecast for the weekend and no pevious knowledge of the river, I was really not sure what to expect.

The final drop in the gorge.

Carrying my boat into the event village through the early morning mist I just knew that the day was going to be well worth the long drive. Scouting the course it looked tight and technical, but the last two drops were still at a good level. "Not much room for overtaking!", I heard someone shout. There was only one way to find out.


Upper section of the gorge.

The walk up to the start was fun in itself with a super little 'suspension' bridge to cross on the way plus a zip line for boats, the Waterford guys really know how to run a great show.

The first heats to go off were Men's experts, and there was plenty of 'overtaking' going on. There were a lot of experts and I won't bore you with all the results just yet. There were a few Dagger 'Green Machines' brought over by the English lads and even on this narrow river they were cruising ahead in the heats.

The mens sport, womens expert and juniors heats were all run off before lunch, no mean feat considering the large numbers that turned up. There were a few swims but nothing major and the rescue was there when needed (as was the ambulance...).

After a quick break for lunch (and coffee!) the team event got underway. There were a few tricky tasks to do on the flat out run down including catching the last micro eddy before the final drop, and a few paddlers had difficulty ringing the cow bell at the end too! There were mens, womens, juniors and mixed teams (from clubs and uni's) with the dominant sex governing the category you were entered in. Some great prizes were on offer for the team event with two shiny new boats up for grabs. This time trial proved even more competitive than the individual heats with the winners only taking it by a few seconds. The fastest team overall was Brian Keogh, Kipper McGuire, and Jenny Kilbride in 2.22 mins. They won the mens class, with the womens won by Bosco Shaw, Joy Gillen and Muireann Lynch in 3.36. A boy in the girls team and a girl in the boys team...it all got very confusing!

Following that madness came the individual finals. People were starting to get a bit tired at this stage with some paddlers having clocked up a dozen runs at this stage. Fatigue certainly played a part in some of the final sprints. The juniors raced off first with Aisling Geoff and Tom O'Donoghue taking their wins in style. Next was the sport final (which I failed to make this time grrr!) which was very closely fought out but the first to ring the bell were Ger Keane and Susan Doyle, in the mens and womens respectively. Finally the experts let rip and there were some sparks flying as they teared down the course.

The womens race was won convincingly in the end by Rosie Cripps in her big green boat, however Paul Robertson (also in the long boat) was not so fortunate in the mens final. This was a real battle with team like tactics coming into play. The three Irish lads conspired against the Englishman in the faster boat (fairly it has to be said!) and it was obvious leading into the last drop that Brian Keogh was not going catch Colin Wong who had been on great form all day.

A super days paddling and there was even a 'little' party over in Waterford for afters. Thanks to WITKC, 180 Kayak Club and all the other organisers and sponsors. See you there next year!

For more photos and all the results from the weekend try the links below.

www.irishfreestyle.com/node/3922

www.witkc.com/colligan.html

www.colligan.cianclarke.com/

Interview with Shane Flaherty

This is an interview I did for the local paper with Shane Flaherty, about this time last year (2007), just before he headed off to the Freestyle World Championships in Canada as a member of the Irish team.

Shane is a kayaker from Galway who has been on the Irish and international freestyle kayaking circuit for a few years now. When he's not playing with computers in college he's busy guiding rafts down the Ottawa River in Canada.

So tell us Shane, what is freestyle kayaking all about?
Freestyle kayaking is one of the most dynamic forms of kayaking. It involves using your body and boat together to perform tricks, much like many other sports these days. Tricks are then scored on difficulty and you have two forty five second runs to perform as many tricks as possible.


How did you first get into in the sport? Rumour has it you used to be a rower?
I was first introduced to the sport of kayaking through the corrib canoe courses that are run through the college during the summer months. Many years later I joined the GMIT Kayak Club and things have just gone on from there. It is true that I have spent some time in rowing boats, both at junior level and at senior level with “The Bish” and NUIG Rowing Club. Best of luck with this years regatta season lads!

How popular is freestyle kayaking in Ireland at the minute?
Freestyle kayaking is a growing sport in Ireland at the moment. Though it is not a new sport most people that are interested won't be able to experience this form of paddling until they reach college. This is where Galway excels, with a great variety of local play spots and a host of previous national paddlers and even the odd Irish champion knocking around to paddle with, after going out once you'll have caught the bug.

How have you found competing and traveling while doing a degree?
Competing while in college has been pretty good, all of the lecturers up in the college have been really good, but sometimes the deadlines come a little too close to call.


What sort of training are you doing for a competition like the World Championships?
Most of the training at the moment is to prepare for the sheer size of the wave in Canada. It is called the Greyhound Buseater and is one of the biggest surfable waves in the world. Surfing the wave alone puts a lot of strain on your body so keeping fit is important. Visualisation plays a very important role as well. You really need to be able to see yourself doing a move and what exactly you are doing to execute that move.


You competed in the US & Canada last year what was that like?
Last year saw the very first World Cup of Freestyle Kayaking and it was held in Canada and America. The event kicked off on the Garberator wave on the Ottawa River, then moved to upstate New York to a feature called Hole Brothers and then down to Rock Island, Tenessee. This was an amazing experience. I got to travel and compete with some of the worlds best paddlers. This turned out to be a really tough competition but there were some amazing performances.

How does a freestyle competition work? How are you judged?
Freestyle competitions are based on a heat system where you have two forty five second runs to perform as many moves as possible. Moves are scored on difficulty and bonuses are added for combining moves together, air(how much your boat leaves the water) and cleans (performing a move without using a paddles stroke). From there the top paddlers get to progress to a semi-final and then onto finals.


What are the Irish team’s chances of winning medals in May?
The team is very strong this year and some of them have invested a lot of time in both training and travelling to get big water experience, going to places like Zambia and Uganda. So i think we have a good shot for at least one medal.


What do you think is the best and worst aspect of the sport?
The worst aspect of the sport has got to be arriving at a competition and being fully prepared. You get out on the water and have your runs planned out the best you can and when you get on the feature you flush off.


What’s the most embarrassing thing that’s happened to you while kayaking?!
I'd like to think nothing, but I'm sure that you'll be able to find something out!

Thanks Shane.