A good week always starts with a day off work. The schools had a “in service” day so my daughter was at home so I had a day off work. That certainly kept me busy as the weather was terrible and I had to amuse the kids indoors. But as every kayaker knows bad weather normally involves rain and that is a good thing so here’s to getting out later in the week. Rough plans were made for a trip out on Wednesday morning with a couple of paddling buddies. Then a spanner nearly arrived in the works. The surveyor for the double glazing company wanted to come to measure up our sun lounge to fit our planned french doors on Wednesday. I managed to organise this for 9am so all was not lost the surveyor reckoned on 1 hour and he would be away. So phone calls went out to arrange a 10 am set off for a paddle. The proposed location was the river Dyke a trib of the Halladale. Gulp that’s grade 4 and steep I thought and I have never seen it before double gulp. Wednesday morning arrived and I was crappin it having not slept very well. Excitement about new adventures all ways keeps me awake.  First things first get the double glazing surveyor out of the way. Bollocks the plans have been drawn wrong and the building warrant is possibly wrong due to some sort of communication breakdown between the salesman my wife me and the surveyor. I am not brave enough to blame the wife so it must of been the salesman   All this extra hassle meant 10 am went past and still no completion of the window plans. However a phone call arrived to let me know that a change of plan was in order the river Dyke was empty! Where had all the rain gone???

Dunbeath was the new location. Now on a fateful day last October I had a major out of boat experience that saw me swim through some rapids and lose my boat. I have done it once since but it was rocky and a scrape. I was hoping to put my demons to rest on this river and have a good paddle at a better level. I set off for dunbeath and arrived first as the others had to divert from the journey to the Dyke and make a new direction. I arrived at the get out to see the river on the lower end of the runnable scale 0.1 on the gauge. Last year when I lost my boat it was over a meter higher that current levels so I felt quite relaxed at the prospect of the trip. We had a work with the Keeper on the estate who is a right friendly chap. We always let him know what we are planning to do and everyone is happy. This time we were planning the upper and the lower sections. The upper section consist of several man made weirs and small grade 2 rapids. Nothing of any consequence at current levels but in high water it apparently takes on a whole new nature and some of the weirs can be nasty and worth watching. The lower gorge section consist of loads of grade 2 and 3 rapids at this level. This river is fairly continuous and and you are lucky to see 50 yards without some sort rapid or drop. In high water river wide stoppers form and very few eddies are to be found upping the grade to 4 in places.

The video above shows the upper section. The batteries ran out before I got to the lower gorge so that is an excuse to go back again on another slightly higher water day to complete the filming   

Now last time I paddled here it was low and very rocky and there was one grade 4 rapid that required a narrow line to be taken. This time the big rock that had the pinning risk was gone and the river was back following its old route. Last years flood diverted the river for a section and washed away a bridge. This year the river is back where it was before and the bridge has been replaced. The estate must keep good care of this river.

 I had a good run down with no slip ups and even managed to keep my head dry the whole way down. I passed through the gorge without incident which was the bit that worried me after my previous bad run at it. Last year I capsized on the entrance to the gorge only roll up against the gorge wall and fell back over again the speed and the ferocity was something I had not expected and I tried for roll after after roll before I finally bailed.  6 failed rolls and about 100 metres of river traveled mostly upside down I pulled the ejector loop and swam. tightly gripping my paddle and no idea where I was I good only hear Colin shouting SWIM HARD!! SWIM LEFT!! I AM RIGHT BEHIND YOU!!, CATCH THE EDDY NOW!! These are the commands I heard as I surfaced between wave trains that sent me to lung bursting depths. I was never so glad to pull myself up a river bank when I got into the side. I gave myself quite a fright and a bruise on my leg that lasted months afterwards. Once on the Bank Colin checked I was ok and apologised for not chasing my boat but the the river was high and He thought it was more important that I was on the bank and ok than chasing an empty boat. Once I caught my breath I went down the river bank to see if I could find my boat but I think at the time I expected that it was out to see and I would never see it again.  As luck would have it the river dropped by about 5 foot overnight and Colin found my boat wedged in the fork of a overhanging tree branch. I am glad I wasn’t still in it as I don’t think I would been able to hold my breath that long!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. That trip put my faith in my roll down to zero and my paddling skills were gone I was nervous and timid on the easyest rivers afterwards and even now I am not quite back to where I was last year. I am getting there slowly and hope that it is all behind me now.

Back to the present and I was delighted had a nice fun run of the Dunbeath and I felt my confidence was coming back. I still need to be a bit more agressive attacking rapids harder rather than letting the river push me around and I need to get the weight forward more on drops. Coming to the end of the week I had a good pool session on friday where I worked on my roll and made some big improvements and even managed a few on my bad side. Or as the optopmistic folk would say my not quite so good side. And to top it all of on Saturday a night out on the drink witha slap up meal with a great bunch of folk and no hangover on sunday! What more can you ask for.