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Lakes January 2008

From ICCC

Gunfight at Tim's house
By Mark previousnext
 

People

Events

Friday Night

The weekend started with the traditional ICCC approach: FAFF. With no stores keys in South Kensington arriving people had nothing to do but lounge about in the cold, contemplating buying food and beer from the bar.

Fortunately Rachel arrived before the drivers bought themselves beer (wrongly assuming that there would be spare drivers) and both buses were loaded at an exemplary speed - allowing for a simultaneous takeoff from South Kensington, norf, towards Tim's place.

With both buses being speed limited to exactly the same speed an obvious race broke out, and one which was always going to be fought down to the wire. Dubious tactics were used from the start, with Mark sending Rory texts trying to send the blue bus (piloted by Alistair and Oli) via the M5, rather than the shorter M6 route, and Rory fighting back by stealing the white bus keys (piloted by Mark and Rachel) from Mark (after a lightening turnaround by the white bus at the services). Eventually both buses arrived within three minutes of each other (after 6 hours on the road) with team Rory and the blue bus losing - ha, losers.

Saturday

With an early morning and intermediate morning mission planned no one got to bed before 3am (with the latest getting to bed well after that), meaning that it was a bleary eyed bunch of paddles who got up the next morning at 7am.

EMM

The early morning mission rapidly made its way (in the white bus) to a very high Leven. After the briefest of inspections at Backbarrow bridge ("it's flushing"), and practically no faff they all put on to find the levels much higher than expected.

The run down was an absolute cracker, with some people hiding at the back of the group, afraid of the monster stopper which may be waiting behind the next horizon line. Eventually Pikey noticed Alice skulking away and sent her to the front, leading everyone down towards Backbarrow bridge. Backbarrow was run with a variety of successes and lines, with Alice (who had eddied out, and didn't lead) taking a swim. Jim joined us at Backbarrow, after an early start from his house in Darlington, before walking around the next weir (normally portaged).

A line was available at the weir, with Pikey, Tim, Adam and Mark attempting to run it. Only Mark failed, after managing to side-surf the CFS in a reasonably sized hole (which fed into some meat) half way down the weir. After diving out of his boat (and away from the meat) he managed to put on, and paddle straight into a bush, giving him a second swim (in six months) after just eight meters.

The rest of the Leven passed uneventfully with everyone running the last, tree cluttered, gorge without event.

IMM

The IMM lost three of its members before they even started. Only Rob, Rik, Oli and Ally wanted to go in the end. The journey up the Crake (in the blue bus) went smoothly within speed limits, with suitable ignoring of road closed signs working wonders. Had a nice little blast down, only one swim from Rik a little way before the rapids in Spark Bridge.

Arrived at the hall to find most still asleep and not much breakfast, were then very efficient by sending off Oli and Rob to get the bus back and persuade people to get up and cook breakfast. Then sat back and waited for the EMM to arrive.

Lune

With EMM returning after the IMM (the EMM had further to go, even though their drivers were substantially better) it was 11am before everyone saddled up and went over to the Lune.

Parking up well away from the put-in to avoid annoying the locals (although a very friendly farmer did come and check that we would be gone before his delivery, which wouldn't fit with us there, arrived. We assured him we would be, and he left a happy chap. What an enlightened fellow!) we made rapid-changing progress, and piled onto the water.

A few swims were had (with more than average at the cataract on the second half), with everyone deciding to carry on to the bottom of the river, ignoring the doubtful pleasure of the blue minibus at the mid-way point (what sensible people!).

Eventually everyone made it to the end of the river (although Jeremony and Luca arrived walking, after having swam just above the takeout) and decided to perform a rigorous investigation into Darwinism by changing in the middle of the road.

Later

The main event of the weekend was always going to be Tim's hero themed house party (come dressed as a hero or suffer at the hands of Rik's HOT HOT HOT chilli and lime vodka.

With everyone except Mark and Derek wearing a costume (with Mark's protests that "I'm a f***ing hero, so don't need to wear a costume" falling on deaf ears) the compulsory shot was forgotten. Rather the vodka was liberally consumed, with some rather amusing results.

amusing results - Ralph Evins

For those not in the know that's Jim "married" Pullen, with his hands on Zoe "not married to anyone" Huntley's arse. While we realise that this is his last fling before he has kids we still don't expect to him to be allowed out kayaking again this year. Shame it's January...

Mark and Rachel left the party early (the top quality driving they had been doing behind the wheel of the winning white bus had worn them out) while Oli and Tamsin followed shortly afterwards. Amusingly, Oli and Tamsin were stopped by the police, who asked them:

"Have you been to a Party tonight?"
"Yes"
"Did they have fireworks"
"Yes"
"Thanks. We've had a report from the next village of a gun battle, and were investigating. Guess it's not important".

Sunday

Crake

A mass paddle on the Crake had been organised for the Sunday, in memory of John Clive Robinson, a paddler (not connected with the club) who had tragically died on the Crake earlier in January.

This required an early start.

Many people had been drinking heavily the night before.

Fortunately(?) Mark got up early to cook everyone breakfast - although he did the contraversial thing of boiling the eggs, leaving a hungover Jim to comment on the impossibility of getting into his breakfast.

Happily most of the club were able to make it to the Crake, and managed a sneaky run with only two swims - arriving back in Spark Bridge before lunchtime.

Kent

Apathy then crept into the club, with people getting off the river and abandoning their kit before wandering into the hut for a cup of tea. Unfortunately, rather than waiting, Mark decided to combat this faff by loading up the white bus and driving off, leaving the slow people behind. With Ralph navigating the bus soon found itself at the wrong put in, waiting for the slow "loser" bus (which had no switched on mobile phones) to make its way there.

Happily the bus found its way to the wrong place, and after a swift turnaround everyone was soon getting changed and piling onto the Kent at the normal spot.

The usual suspects found the need to check the water temperature at some of the larger drops - although there was some cracking rolling action both from Tamsin and Joe. Some great lines were also taken at Force Falls, with everyone loving the drop - and avoiding the salmon ladder on river right.

Joe on Force Falls - Ralph Evins

Later

After some swift loading action the group was split between the buses, with the both buses leaving, again, at exactly the same time. After a brief stop in Kendal (with the blue bus controversially stopping for a Chinese) both buses headed back to London, arriving pretty late after a completely, totally and utterly, trouble free trip south.

Losers.

Media

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