Coach Level III Assessment on the River Spey

While, it was not the only reason I came, this assessment was an intricate part of my trip to Scotland.  As the weekend approached, the tasks mounted.  In anticipation of the long drive, and for the simple fact that it needed done, Steve sent Biscuit and I on a mission.  The Green Van needed a set of new tires.  I really had to streamline my lecture, and there was lots of gear to sort out.  At some point Biscuit and I also decided that we would squeeze in some paddling while we were at it...(As if you didn't see that coming).

First things first...

To the city we went for some new tires.  Perth is the nearest town of any size.  We made the 40 minute drive, pulled into the standard 'big box' tire shop and asked for there best deal on some mid-range tires.  Aside from the price being more than we anticipated, there was another, more pressing issue.  They didn't have the tires in stock.  The guy at the shop implied that there was a cheaper place, and told us that we could try to look around, but he could have the tires by 3 or 4 o'clock.  The real problem with that was that we would miss out on our chance to go boating if we didn't find another option...and fast!                

Biscuit's boat need some love, and we knew the boys and the local kayak shop could recommend a good tire dealer, so we drove down the road to Brookbank Canoe and Kayak.

Sorting out who to call for tires was no problem.  Biscuit's boat on the other hand...

Well, it wasn't easy, but the boys at Brookbank are the real deal.  Cam was able to fabricate some seat hardware and had the boat 'ship shape' in no time.   He didn't even charge Biscuit for his time.  All the more reason to pick up some new goods.  Biscuit ended up with a sweet new bunny suit.  After some tea and a quick call to the other tire shop, we decided that we should go boating THEN finish our hunt for some new rubber.  

       

Our best option would be the Tay at Stanley.  It the closest run to Perth, and always has something to keep you entertained.  We would be able to get a quick session in, go drop off the van for the tires and still be home in time for me to pack my gear and drive the two hours up to my assessment.  This plan was enough to inspire a happy dance from Biscuit.  

  Just one of many nice waves at Stanley

Enjoying a snack while we wait for the van

Making friends where ever i go.

The next morning I was planning to meet Tom at the Spey.  I had never paddled the river, so I wanted to get down to where the assessment was to take place .  It was fairly late by the time

I found a tucked away spot to park for the night.  I would hold up in the van until morning, then

 go paddling with 

Tom early so he could make

 it back for a Slalom Race down in England.  Once parked for the night, I sat back and enjoyed a brew 

before falling asleep.  

 

I did my best to sleep through the incessant noise of rain pelting the roof of the van all night.  The rain continued on into the morning until we rounded the first bend in the river.  The sky opened up, and  Tom and I had pleasant weather for our trip the rest of the way.  We kept it brief and I made sure to make mental note of all the best spots to coach various skills.  

Once we were off the river, Tom and I parted ways and I went on a little sight seeing tour of the area.  There was all the classic Scotland scenes laid out before me.  I visited a Distillery, bought some postcards, saw a castle and took a pleasant drive through the countryside.  

One of many local Distilleries near Dufftown

Hay there

A bridge over the River Spey

The entrance to the garden at the castle

Castle Ballindolloch

It looks as though it's straight out of a fairy tale

Eventually I made my way over to the Drummuir.  It's a small village with a row of old stone houses along one side of the road and an open pasture on the other.  There I found the bunkhouse we would be based in during the assessment.  I was a bit early and the first to arrive.  Other candidates trickled in within an hour, and it became clear that I was in the right spot.     

Drummuir

We got right down to business Friday night.  Jim Gibson and Steve were quite the duo.  They had obviously worked together many times before.  They even looked the same!  We did introductions, went over the plan for the weekend and a few folks jumped right in with there mandatory 10 minute lectures.    

   Steve is the one with his hands on his hips.  Jim is on the left...I told you they looked the same.

There were eleven candidates total.  

On Saturday, we covered personal paddling skills in small rapids, flat water strokes, peer coaching sessions, and rescues.  It was nice to be able to bounce different ideas off each other and ease into things before we got real live students to deal with on Sunday.  After a nice hot meal of chili and lots of unnecessary planning and agonising over how to structure the next days sessions, we all turned in.  

Peer coaching

Sunday went fairly well.  10 guinea pigs showed up for the blustery day.  Poor folks were coached to within an inch of there lives.  With so many candidates, we split into two groups of 5 or 6 coaches and 5 students.  Each of us candidates took turns coaching the students.  We paddled 3 miles and it took us 4.5 hours!  In the end, much was learned by all.  I passed at "...way above the standard." 

Watching the other group 

 After the de-brief I high tailed it out of there to get back to Aberfeldy at a reasonable time.  Tomorrow I drive to Wales.

      

Fall Colors on the Lyon River

Soon after a late breakfast, I popped on down to Dave's house.  There wasn't much water to be had within striking distance, so we ventured out to the Glen Lyon, the longest "glen" (valley) in Scotland.  We took the boats, just in case there was enough water to scrape down the Lyon River. If not, we would just take a walk and shoot some scenic photos along the way.  

As we wound our way up the narrow road through the glen we caught glimpses of what looked like water!  The autumn colors were out in force and the air had a crisp cool feel on my face as I peered out the car window looking for a clearing in the trees enough to see the river.  

Seeing the autumnal views here makes me miss the trees back home in the Ozarks.  We don't get the color change like this in Oregon.  We arrived at the usual put-in for the gorge and it was confirmed...We would go kayaking today.  But first, we paddled across the river to an old "Roman" style bridge over a tributary to the Lyon to take a few shots.       

Fall is here in Scotland

These were two GORGEOUS trees that were right at the put-in

The old "Roman" bridge across from the put-in 

Trees over the river with kayaks in the foreground 

Leaf in a small pool of clear water 

Water under the bridge

The river drifts alongside the road, but retains it's secluded feel, especially as it is funnelled into small gorges with sheer walls on both sides.  There is the occasional fishing shanty or platform, but today we had the river to ourselves.  With the low water level, the rapids were "cute" and of little consequence.  

We mostly just listened to the sounds of the river, and took in the view.  We are most fortunate, us boaters.  We get to gaze upon things and places that almost no one else EVER gets to experience. There is just no other way to get there.  Something's special about that, and It never ceases to bring a smile to my face as I glide along in my little boat.  

There was one easy portage around a tight spot in one of the gorges.  The water is forced under either wall around a large rock that had fallen into the river ions ago.  With more water it gets run, but today we enjoyed the walk around it, and seal launched back into the gorge just downstream.  It's a pity too, because there were some really fun looking rapids just above this point in the river, but if tempted, you find yourself with no exit point once committed to the narrow gorge.  I was glad to be with Dave on this one, so he could show me where to get out.  It's always good to have friends that KNOW the river they are paddling.  It makes things much less stressful.  

Dave drops back in with style with a 15ft seal launch into the pool below

It was another fine day here in Scotland.  I just hope it rains more.  Only another week of river paddling is ahead of me, as I look forward to my coaching assessment next weekend.  After that, I'm headed to the sea!    

Late Night...Early Slalom

The Late Night

The Tully Bar was hoppin' when Dan and I showed up Friday night.  We took the bus down to Grandtully to help send a couple friends off in style.  Emma and Kat are both heading out of town soon, so...a party we must have.  The place was a fine mix of young twenty something raft guides, rowdy Scotsmen, and glue-on facial hair.  Throw in some home-made chili, Jello shots, and some musical instruments and you have the fixings for some late night fun.        

Dan and I make our way to the bar via bus

When we arrived, the party was well underway... 

...And the facial hair was in full effect.  

There was no shortage of stiff drinks or loud singing 

Emma dishing it out.  mmmmm...chili.  Dan gives his enthusiastic approval 

 

Emma makes a toast!

Eventually, the party did wind down...or perhaps I should say wined out.  A bunch of us found our way over to Davey Jones' house where we helped prepare elderberries for some home made wine!  There is something therapeutic about plucking elderberries and drinking elder flower wine.  The berries feel really good on your hands, but you do turn purple almost instantly.  

  

Dan, Dave, and Kat are getting after it and loving every minute of it!

Squishy goodness 

At some point in the wee hours of the morning, I staggered home to the Macdonald house for some much needed sleep.  While the night was a success, and much fun was had, I knew my performance was not going to be all it could have been for the Scottish Champs Slalom Race the next day.  It wasn't going to be easy getting up in time to help set up the course either. 

 

The Slalom

Oh well, the decision was made...Enjoying the company of friends takes precedence over slalom for me.  I had no chance of seriously competing anyway.  I haven't been in a slalom boat in over a year, and there were several of the best racers in Britain there.  All I could hope for was to have some fun, and not embarrass myself...and that's just what I did!

         Kevin, the course designer, explains the course while Steve and his two sons Struan and Ben look on.  

Once the course is decided, and explained to the rest of us, EVERYONE pitches in to get it set up.  A lot needs to happen before the race.  Fresh green and red poles are strung and pulled into place.  The communication system is set up.  The judges are selected and briefed.  Every detail must be in place before the first racer ever gets on the course.  

Campbell Walsh (current European Champion) and Fiona Pennie (Britain's best female K-1) string a gate

Steve's junior slalom team got a bit of inspiration prior to the start of the race.  Campbell was nice enough to give a little talk about what it takes to compete at the highest level of the sport, and what the path is like to get there.  

Many of the Scottish Canoe Association Juniors and Campbell Walsh chatting it up.  

I wanted to help the cause as much as possible, so I volunteered to be a gate judge.  I spent the morning at gates 10, 11, 12, and 13, the hardest sequence of the course.  I paid close attention, as this was the most active judging station.  If someone was going to have trouble...it was going to be here.  

 

Me, looking VERY official.

After the morning runs were over, I got to take a crack at it.  It felt good to be in a slalom boat again.  I really dig the new 3.5 meter boats.  Back when I raced more often, all the boats were 4 meters.  

   One of my runs...coming out of gate 7

Looking for the next gate... on my second run

My favorite part of the race was the team competition.  The Macdonald brothers and I, all got to race together on the course at the same time.  The rules are simple...Start at the same time and end at about the same time.  All three members of your team need to negotiate the course and finish within 15 seconds of each other.  

 

Keeping it tight is the key to the team competition.  

The Macdonald boys and me.  

Ben, me, Struan

The slalom was a success.  I managed to hold it together and avoid embarrassment despite the late night.  I was glad I didn't let my teammates down.  It makes me wish there was a slalom run in MY backyard when I was there age.   It's nice to see that the sport is still going strong.  There is great hope for the future of slalom with kids like these getting after it!   

The Tilt

Yesterday, the rivers were low.  The rivers here are totally rain dependant.  It drizzled most of the day, but nothing was up yet.  No big deal...we had work to do anyway.   

Aberfeldy's Royal Bank of Scotland

The house...and Beyond Adventure

I needed to exchange some money and there was some things around Beyond Adventure that needed doing.  Dan, a "beyond" employee, and I were supposed to put some seats in the bus, and start painting a canoe trailer.

The Beyond Adventure Bus

Dan and I worked on both all day.  We ran into numerous complications with the bus seats including breaking not one, but TWO socket wrenches in the process, which required us to make a special trip to the local mechanic shop to borrow a REAL wrench.  We scrubbed and scrapped the trailer bare in preparation for painting it today.  We knew that if we wanted to get on the river the next day (today), we would need to get within striking distance of having the trailer completed.  

The next day...

The view from my window at Steve's

I awoke to a beautiful sight.  The rain had stopped, the sky was a brilliant blue, and the sun was shinning bright.  Dan was already hard at work on the trailer.  I had slept in because the U.S. presidential debate didn't start until 2 am here.

  

       Makin er' shine again

With the first coat on, we rushed off to meet some local boaters at "Splash,"  one of the rafting businesses in town.  

Splash 

When Dan and I arrived we found Brett and Nell waiting for us.  We all piled into the VW Euro Van or "Transporter" as they are called here, and made our way back to the house to pick up Dan's car.  We needed the extra room because all but the front seats have been taken out of the VW.  A quick look at the local water levels on where's the water,  the Internet source on flow data, gave us some ideas on where to go.  It was decided to go for the Tilt River, one of Nell's favorite runs.  

In no time, we were hiking up the river to the put in.  Your not allowed to park vehicles at the put-in because the land is part of a huge estate complete with a castle.  We didn't catch a view of the castle, but there were lots of sheep!

     

(From left to right) Sheep, Brett, Nell, Dan

Dan, getting warmed up...with intent 

Arched bridge at the put-in for the Tilt

Our fearless leader Nell.  "A walking UK Guide to Rivers book" 

The Tilt is a narrow, gorged in class III-IV run with lush trees and vegetation lining the banks.  There is some good play spots, and only a couple rapids of consequence.  The first one is chocked full of boulders and is best run at this level around the left side.  (the easier line).  

It has an easy portage on the left that Dan opted for.  The rest of us slid in and battled through the narrow channel left of the meat.  

  A messy rapid at this level with a clear channel around the left back to the center

Once out of your boat...it's almost easiest to just walk a few feet to the bottom

Brett Drops into the left channel

Brett made it by the crux but was flipped in the diagonal hole at the bottom.  Once clear, it was my turn to have a go at it.  

Here goes nothin

Slipping past the crux

Bracing through the bottom hole

The other difficult rapid of the run awaited us at the end.  It's a fast, flushy shoot of water that rumbles over a top ledge and is forced into a tight squeeze against a rock on the bottom left.  We all ran it with varying degrees of success.  

Dan pulling through the top 

He nailed the rock, but recovered quickly below

After watching Dan's line, Nell opts for a different approach.  He made the rapid look like a walk in the park.  

Nell heads to the right to avoid the squeeze rock

Nell finishes it off

All in all it was a good run.  I could have gone for more boating and less painting, but that's just how life goes sometimes.  In the end it looks like I've made a few more friends here in Scotland.  Life is good.