Well, what can I say; the inaugural Moriston River Race (2012) was was an epic event; great day out and fun for all the family!

Glorious sunny weather saw 50 competitors and loads of onlookers take to the River Moriston on Sunday 6th May for the UK’s most hardcore white water paddling event.

This year I decided not to compete - basically I had no chance against some of the best boaters in the country – however I did volunteer to do safety. So, the weekend started for me and the squad of 12 rescuers on the River Spean on Saturday for some white water safety training with Dave Rossetter of www.stirlingcanoes.co.uk.

Little water meant a day stuck swiming up and down Fairy Steps, but despite my fears, the sun did make it into the gorge, so spirits remained high as we ran through a variety of rescue scenarios and tried a few different mechnical advantage set-ups; thankfully none were required on the day, however!

After an unsociable early rise on the Sunday, we arrived in Glen Moriston just as the dam began to release. This had been one of Jim Flemming’s stresses; no water, no race! After the Falkrik stragglers arrive and our team briefing was over, my team bush-whacked along the southern bank to set-up safety beside ‘stick hole’, the boof ledge midway down that has a habit of catching out the unwary paddler…few escape a wrong line on this one!

Before the race kicked-off at 11am, a few folk decided to take their boats for a test run. Sadly, this resulted in the first incident of the day; a dislocated shoulder. But, thankfully, most folk escaped unscathed, ready for the first run.

The race ran really pretty smoothly and their was some great boating action to keep us onlookers entertained for the next few hours. A couple of swims on the top section, but all-in-all, success was on the water in bucket loads.

Inverness Canoe Club was represented by Matt Speke and Torq Fraser. Both had a good first run, while Torq took a wee swim at the top drop on his second run down. Still, they both achived very respectible times, with Matt narrowly missing the cut for the final session.

By the time the top twenty were announced and they’d hit the river, it was clear that fatigue was setting in for some. Aching arms were evident and lines were becoming less precise in some cases. This led to the only real action of the day for me, with one guy plumeting right into the guts of sticky hole, getting an unavoidable working and then catching my line as he swung into the bank. His boat then ran pinball on its own, getting stuck in a number of holes on the way down and getting a dunt in the bow for the effort.

Anyhow, not all runs ended this way, and some of the UK’s top slalom paddlers used their training to maintain their pace and ran in some pretty top-drawer times. In the end, Pete Scutt won the race with a very respectable 3:17:54, second came Matty Nicholas with 3:17:76, and third was Ed Smith (of Canoe and Kayak Magazine fame) with 3:18:48. The top girl was Sandra Hyslop with 3:25:39 and a big thumbs up to Thomas Findlay, fastest of the two Under 16 entrants, with 3:39:29.

A full list of result can be found on the MRR website: www.planetpaddler.com/MRR.html. Or you can check out the Facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/169242013135914

Like most who attended the 2012 event, I can’t wait until next year. The Etive River Race, which this one repleaces, was a great event over the past few years, but in my humble opinion, the new venue has been a great move. A compact, testing and, this year at least, midge-free course; great for onlookers and guranteed levels. What more could you ask for?!

A couple of other bloggers have covered the race. You can check them out via the following links:

• Palm Equipment Team: http://www.palmequipmenteurope.com/blogs/ww/moriston-river-race
• Team Pyranha: http://www.teampyranha.com/?p=12636

Given the lack of rescuing work required, I managed to snap a few pics of the boats as they passed. Enjoy…

12►

Ok, so this post is about mountain biking, not kayaking, but I’ve still not found a map of a decent trail route route Culloden Forest, Inverness. So, after doing a wee reccy this weekend, I thought I’d put one together and share it with folks…

Now, this is not a guide to a hardcore mountain bike trail, however it’s a sound 20km ride with some off-road forestry tracks, some bushwhacking (if you want), some quiet public roads, some nice single track and some jumps, bridges and switch-backs.

The single track is good craic and suitable for most, while the jumps and switch-backs can be pretty technical and tough; particularly in the wet as there are roots galore and a few deep, water-filled ruts to send you over your handlebars. The bushwhacking section (blue line on the map) is basically 1km of boggy forest and the supposed ‘path’ and ‘track’ shown on the OS is nowhere to be seen…beware!

Oh, and those eagle-eyed bikers out there may well spot other informal biking trails while following this route, for example, there’s a faily hardcore downhill route 1 or 2 km past the sawmill. There are some hidden gems, but they’re not formal and some have been there for some time (i.e. rot), so take care; follow this route at your own risk!

Ok, so today we had a blast down the Easter Ross Carron. It’s a great section of river, but just a wee bit far from Inverness for those of us used to having things like the Findhorn on our doorstep, so we don’t get up there all that often. On, and for the first time in literally years, 15 Inverness Canoe Club paddlers hit the river; normally we’re pushing hard just to get a quorum these days.

Levels were good; not too scrapy, but not to pushy. A whole lot better than our last visit there in 2011 when the river rose by a few feet within half an hour! And it was sunny to boot with no wind, which is very rare for the Carron when it’s a half decent level for paddling…

Anyhow, only a couple of swims in the first gorge, then after a bit of a slog, we reached Granny’s Hole. Most of us ran the river right route after the bridge, while the others provided safety. Just as well it was well protected, as there were quite a few swimmers and, after doing most of the rapid on its own, a holed Fluid Solo belonging to Foo…cracked from the bow to the cockpit…ouch!!

After the flotsam and jetsam was collected, we pushed on down to the Horseshoe Rapid (not sure if it has a proper name or not). Now, save in high water, this is never the nicest of rapids, but today it was horrible. Not a nice line in sight, but plenty for options for a stiff beating. So, most of us decided to scrape down the river right route; including Matt ‘Super’ Speke, who’s never one to skip a feature unless there’s no option!

Then, after some more flat stuff and minor waves, we reached the gorge at the get-out by the footbridge. Matt, Robert and Me went down the first section to show the rest of the group the lines, and then provided cover. No major incidents at first, then two, sorry, three swims in quick succession; these things are sent to try us!

Anyhow, with all boats emptied and folk ready for the final leg, we pushed down to the last section in the gorge; two stoppers, one narrow and grabby with an overhang and the second steeper with a big tow-back in the right (wrong?!) levels. We spent time checking out the lines and discussing options and scenarios with the group, then cracked on.

Matt, as ever, made it look easy. Robert over-cooked it and forced a roll. I paddled it quite well – even though I say so myself! In fact, everyone gave it a good shot, and we only one swim, which, to be fair, almost resulted in a sideways pin (nasty in that hole), but thankfully all worked out at the 11th hour and Martin manage to wash straight through into the waiting arms of a Palm throwbag.

So, and grand day on the river and great to see so many paddlers out and about, enjoying the fine paddling conditions; roll on the summer!