Despite the sun and surprising warmth for a January day, down in the gorge it was freezing – literally!

Matt, Robert and me ran Randolph’s Leap, which turned out to be a wee bit pushier than expected, while Jo and Caz joined us just below. The river was a good level today, with all features running and not too many rocks on show. Some good waves too for fun and frolicks on the way down!

Highlight of the day had to be the ‘prawn crackers’, otherwise known as bizzare frozen circles of foam in an eddy just below the get-in. Not quite sure how they were formed, but they made excellent frisbies! Thanks to Matt for the photos…

While the lower section looked a good level at Randolph’s Leap, it also looked utterly baltic, so we decided to give the middle a spin; more open, so possibly a wee bit warmer?!

It was a pretty low level and a bit scrapy, but always nice to get out nonetheless. Couple of nice wee wave spots too; particularly in the gorge just after Dragon’s Tooth. Hoping to get out to the West Coast soon to do the Gruinard, Cuilleig etc., or perhaps Lochaber to get another run down the Roy or even the Gloy; just need some water and warmer air!

Two thumbs up for Martin and Brigitte who paddled extremely well for their first time on the river; no swims and only one brief dip under the water. I think they even got the best line on the first gorge section rapid!

Second day of paddling in a row – saaweeeeet!

Matt, myself, Lucas and Paul headed over to the Findhorn with our fleet of Nomads, the plan to run the Upper and Middle sections in a one’r. Dulsie was pumping andRandolph’s was all-but washed out…good times!

TheUpper Findhorncan be a bit of a slog at times, but not today. Big wave trains (and large stoppers to catch those asleep at the wheel) made the journey fast and we’d reached Ardclach before we knew it.

Well, almost, we had a wee hairy experience with Paul capsizing at U-Bend, rolling up on the third attempt in the massive diagonals, only to capsize and roll up again just next to the Siphon. It definitely pays to know a river and know when not to pull your deck and swim!

The Middle Findhorn was fast, with most of the features washed out and some meaty stoppers, but it was a good laugh…and to make someone’s Christmas, we even found one of the lost boats listed on UKRGB, so we’ll get that back to the owner as quick as we can.

Hoping to get some paddling in over the holidays given the warm(ish) weather and snow melt – but first, I have to demolish some more Christmas pud!!

It might not as polished as the pro-filmed HD videos being churned out of the USA by the likes of Bombflow or Rider of the Year, the weather might not be quite so warm and sunny, the sun tans may be few and far between and the accents may not sound quite so exotic (or rediculous, depending on which way you look at it), but it’s gritty, high-adrenaline, warts-and-all, top-drawer Scottish paddling at its best!

Staring the epic Dave Biggin (Falls of Clyde fame), along with Thom Brown, Ed Smith (the dude from Canoe & Kayak Magazine), Callum Anderson, Rich Waterworth, Neil Robinson and friends, the film constitutes a non-stop 30min tour of some of the best white water that Scotland has to offer; including the rivers Etive, Orchy, Nevis, Falloch and many more…even the WigWam Burn (or Allt Uachdar Thìre to give it its proper Gaelic name) near Crianlarich!

There are some great drops, fantastic lines and one or two classic beat-downs. Any Scottish boater who watches the film is bound to find themselves glued to the screen, shouting: been there, done that, lost my t-shirt there, swum that, not done that, NEVER doing that…and probably a few other unrepeatables!

It may be filmed close to home, where peaty water rules the roost and the sparkling blue waters of the Alps and continental America are but a day dream, but that doesn’t hold it back for one moment; indeed it makes it ever more special. The film is full of wee gems, contains some outstanding footage, some (until now) best-kept secrets and a few epic drops on less-paddled sections of water to whet (or indeed ‘wet’) your whistle.

While it’d be nice to see the lads get some money behind them, along with a good film crew, and create a masterpiece of white water cinematography which sells Scottish paddling to the world (hint, hint Dagger, Visit Scotland etc.), this is an excellent piece of work and, without a doubt, will be inspirational to many…now you’ve watched it, get out there and do it!

Get yourself a copy of Sneaky Freaky Creeky here: http://www.wheresthewater.com/sneaky-freaky-creeky-film

High Sierra Safety (a full length film) from 7 Finger media on Vimeo.

Where’s the Water shows all the main rivers in Scotland to be running, many pumping…once I’ve got my neck seal gaffer taped, I’m hoping for a weekend of excellent paddling!

I didn’t know quite what to expect from the event, but it was well worth braving the snow for and I was pleasantly surprised! There was a good mix of river, sea and open boat coaches present and some really encouraging discussion for improving coaching within the club and reaching out to the membership.

The day was split up into sessions/workshops, with a number of coaches taking a lead on a variety of topics, including my good self who ran a session on the new(ish) UKCC Level 1 and Level 2 coaching awards.

Matt, Margaret and Ron also covered Level 3, remits/terms of reference and club governance respectively; while in the afternoon we escape the cold sports hall venue and headed to the pool to focus on methods for teaching rolling, support strokes and moving sideways.

I, for one, learnt a great deal from the development day and I am really looking forward to this becoming an established annual event. Above all else, it provided an excellent opportunity for coaches from across all of the disciplines within the club to meet, share thoughts, knowledge and experience and to get to know each other better.

As part of my session, I prepared a written introduction to the Level 1 and 2 courses for folk to take away, read and share. It’s aimed as a guide to UKCC coaching scheme from the perspective of a recent graduate, and while it’s only a compilation of my personal opinions/observations, you can download a copy by clicking here.

You should, however, always refer to the official course documents for comprehensive, up-to-date and undisputable guidance…

The SCA, like many organisations, has now adopted a bilingual logo in order to reflect the increasing use and visibility of Gaelic in Scotland and the fact that the language is intrinsically linked to the paddling world – you only have to look at the names of so many places, lochs, rivers and falls that we paddle in, under, past, over and around!

For someone like me, who’s a Gaelic learner, this is a very welcome and positive move; as they say in Gaelic, tha e math dhà-rìribh!


> An comharra ùr aig an Comann Curach na h-Alba.