PADDLER 67
Below : Laura Wynne coaching her group ! Photo : Tom Clare
Below : Tamsyn McConchie coaching her group on the lower Graveyard Photo : Tom Clare
One much-needed shower later , I was back in the River Legacy marquee enjoying a refreshing lemonade ! River Legacy is a paddling charity that supports events and raises money to help get people out on the rivers . So my lemonade tasted extra yummy , knowing it was for a good cause !
The fabulous team provided dinner over at the cafe , and by 19:00 , everyone was fed and happy . They were back over in the marquee for the evening talk . Lowri Davies , a UK kayaking legend and also one of the coaches for the weekend , was providing the talk on her adventures to the Zambezi . Whilst paddling the Zambezi might not be on everyone ’ s list of life goals , I think everyone could appreciate hearing about her extraordinary adventures . It was a great talk , with the highlight being watching a video of Lowri floating down quite a chunky Zambezi rapid on her inflatable unicorn ! What a woman ! A lovely , chilled evening of chatting and laughter in the marquee followed .
SUNDAY
Sunday morning came with a breeze , which was very welcome given how many midges seem to be residing at the Tryweryn this Summer ! Meeting for a staff catch-up , I was presented with the exciting opportunity to coach for the day alongside the wonderful Cara McNamara . After a group photo and handing out many angry fish sponges ( thanks , Pyranha !), our little group of four headed to the top of the Upper section .
We got on and ended up splitting into two groups . I took my two paddlers to the little wave below the bridge by the rafting get-on . Both of my paddlers happened to be called Dani and were awesome ! We had a great session working on using river features to move around the river and using the waves , holes , and eddy lines to help us break in and out of the flow and ferry glide . We ended up moving above the chipper as there were some great practice spots .
I enjoy coaching but don ’ t get to do it as often as I would like , so having the opportunity to do a whole day of coaching was nice ! Both Dani ’ s had a great attitude and committed to giving everything a go and reflecting on their paddling as we went along . They did well , made lots of progress , and ( I hope ) had as good a day on the water as I did !
PADDLER 67