A 6.30am wake up when your not working is not the best but when you are kayaking for the whole day it is just like Christmas morning. After a quality continental breakfast we made our way to the start of the navigable Thames at 8 am.
To say navigable is a bit of an overstatement. Although there was a bit of a current we faced severe tree obstacles for the first several miles. A normal pro kayaker would have been quaking in their boots at this point but not us. We got scratched, poked in the head by brambles and our kayaks took a bit of a battering, getting stuck on logs and rocks and puncturing on 3 occasions in the first 2 hours.
However we were in good spirits with Thom teaching us lyrics to famous pop songs, our boombox at full volume and many a swan sitting on a nest to make sure we didn't aggravate.
The morning was going swell until Rhys and Couch got stuck on a log. Everyone managed to get over it but then we hear a cry from their boat and a rush to shore. At first we thought they were crying wolf (like olly used to do when he needed a brake when cycling) however it turned out they had a massive rip between the side and the bottom of their kayak which looked unrepairable.
We tried gluing, stitching and patching but to no avail and in the end we emptied out their boat and stuck an inflatable seat under the hole to help but water still leaked in. We were in the middle of nowhere so we had to keep paddling so rob (voted kayaker of the day) took one for the team and got wet kayaking to lechlade.
We arrived in Lechlade a little later than expected and bought the entire stock of a D.I.Y. store to try and repair the boats. Although we made progress in repairing the damage, the boat was beyond repair so we ended up getting a taxi the last few miles to avoid getting trench foot. Big shout out to Clive Hooper who has just delivered us another inflatable kayak so that we can get back on track tomorrow.
However we were in good spirits with Thom teaching us lyrics to famous pop songs, our boombox at full volume and many a swan sitting on a nest to make sure we didn't aggravate.
The morning was going swell until Rhys and Couch got stuck on a log. Everyone managed to get over it but then we hear a cry from their boat and a rush to shore. At first we thought they were crying wolf (like olly used to do when he needed a brake when cycling) however it turned out they had a massive rip between the side and the bottom of their kayak which looked unrepairable.
Day one sounds like an adventure. Glad you're all making friends with swans. Well done Rob for saving the day x
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