PADDLER 37
oto : Del
TEES BARRAGE
We drove up to Tees Barrage early on Sunday morning , ready to set up banners and get on the water for 10.30 . Quite a few of the team hadn ’ t paddled at the Barrage before and so were intrigued by the layout of the course – it is an interesting one for sure ! I once saw a seal there many years ago ( it ’ s tidal ), and when I told Charlotte about it , she was very excited that she might see one too ! Spoiler – neither of us saw a seal that day , but Tom did , and we were very jealous !
As I was helping to set up , a man approached me to say hello and to say that his son Patrick was here for the Park Jam . Patrick is a keen young paddler who attended the GB freestyle academy camp over the Summer , which I helped to run . It was great to see him again and how enthusiastic he was for the day ahead ! It was still quite chilly when we got on , and Patrick went for a warm-up swim before getting in his boat ! I did not join him in the water but instead stayed snug in my kayak !
As soon as we paddled down , Patrick was off ! It ’ s only been a few months since I saw him in a kayak , but wow , had he improved ! Patrick ’ s dad informed me that he had a real kayaking bug at the moment and just wanted to get out on the water as much as possible . His hard work really showed , and it was great to see how much progress he had made since we last saw each other . Many of the team commented throughout the day about his great attitude and determination . Huw beat us to it when it came to nominating people for the spot prizes later on , but I know many of us would have put his name forward otherwise . Well done , Patrick !
I paddled down my first lap to remind myself of the course – I haven ’ t paddled much at Tees Barrage and couldn ’ t quite remember the features . Depending on the tides , I had vague memories of the bottom hole being quite changeable . Sometimes , there is nothing there , and other times , the hole is quite sticky . As I dropped down and immediately got back looped in my Ozone , I decided it was quite sticky today ! A couple of rolls in the holes later , I caught my tail , and it spat me out . I rolled up to see 2 of the locals smiling at me – I ’ m sure they see quite a few beat downs in that feature ! It delighted me when I heard that quite a few of the team had had a similar experience on at least one of their laps . I love a bit of carnage-based fun !
I spent more time at the top of the course on my next laps and had so many lovely chats with people . A cool dad and son duo called Dan and James were enjoying their paddle . It was nice to bump into another father and son , Scott and George , who are Midlands locals . George was smashing his paddle , and Palm Grom ’ s paddler , Charlotte , was having a great time on the water paddling with him . Shout out to Durham University , who were there rocking some really cool playboats and having a great time . Also , it was great to see Connor Proud , a local legend , showing us his best moves , as usual . We see Connor a lot at HPP , where he comes to train regularly in freestyle , but it ’ s lovely to see him on his home run !
Patrick trying out the new Pyranha Helectron ! Photo : Del
If you know you know ! Photo : Jack Ledwith
As the session went on , the carnage ramped up ! The younger of the team paddlers started to get creative with their fun . Little Dan brought out his inflatable Orca , and for the first time in my life , I called out to a paddler on the wave , ‘ Watch out for the incoming Orca !’. Ewan Murray and Oli Cooper started a group of paddlers launching themselves off the concrete wall in various forms . What was really impressive is both Ewan and Oli had a spectacular faceplant off that wall ( which I imagine hurt quite a lot ) but went straight back up to go for it again ! Some might say that shows real strength and determination . Others might say a high level of stupidity . I ’ m not sure what the final answer is , but all I can say is that it was very impressive !
When the paddle had come to an end , everyone changed and headed over for the talks . Ewan and Dan started us off by talking about their Summer paddling trip to Norway . Huw and Chips shared their expedition paddle in Kyrgyzstan , which sounded like quite an adventure ! The final talk was , of course , from Adrian , who spoke about his adventures . While I have seen Adrian talk at every Park Jam event , it is always an incredible experience . He is a great public speaker and has so many brilliant adventures to share .
Once the talks and spot prizes were over , there was the opportunity for poster signing and photos . Northampton Active gets everyone who attends the Park Jam to sign a poster for them each year to put on the wall . I thought this was a great idea , and so did the same ! It ’ s a nice memento to pop up on the wall at home . We had our last group meal together , and Tom and I left for home . There are three more days of Park Jam – one up in Scotland and two in Ireland , but this was the last date we could attend , so it was time to say goodbye .
Thanks for having us , Tees Barrage !
PADDLER 37
TEES BARRAGE