November 2006
Avon Descent & Exe Descent Race Reports Written By Karl Donaghey AVON DESCENT: Racing canoe class Lammy Tennant & Anton McGrath WON - Hooray average speed 6.34 mph Karl Donaghey & James Wingham Lost - Boooo! Average speed 6.15 mph Entries: 2 Finishers: 2 Starters: 1... explanation below: The Lam and the Ant started well...well, better than the Don and the Wingmeister anyway! The Wingmeister had a momentary lapse of concentration and moved one of his monster legs outwards....his one leg alone weighs approx 20% of his overall body weight and with the craft only weighing 22lbs it made a significant impact on their start. Within the first minute they had 100metres to make up. This distance was never recovered. During an interview with the pair later, they said “it was important to allow the Lam to win against the Don on this occasion as it is the fillip he needs before retiring to family life”. The winners were reported to have stated in an interview that the losers were “just not quick enough”. Touring canoe class Likko and Stuart Malcomson Won - Hooray Entries: lots Finishers: lots Likko and Stuart won by 3 minutes... see them for race details... they don’t know too much as they were so far ahead of the competition... Well done to all the winners... EXE DESCENT: Karl Donaghey & Dave Crooks Won - 2hrs 37mins - Hooray!! Average of 7.49mph Anton McGrath & The Lam didn’t win - 2hrs 43 mins - Aaahhhh!! Average of 7.21mph After much eye wiping the previous week from his defeat on the Avon Descent, Karl took a lift to the Exe Descent on the Sunday morning with the firm favourites for the race... Lam and Anton. They left Leicester at 5am to make the 10am booking and temperatures and water levels were both up from the previous years. By the time they reached Tiverton (the start point), the Don had bleeding ears from the abuse he received from Lam and Anton. Despite his injuries, he soldiered on to the start of the race with his Worcester based paddling partner Dave Crooks. They made an excellent decision to shoot the first weir away from the rest of the 40 or so crews, got the line right and powered through to 1st position which they held for the rest of the race! The winners were reported to have stated in an interview “the 3rd place crew were just not quick enough”.
Posted in Racing, Trip Reports, White water - Canoe & Kayak on Nov 09, 2006
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