As NATO descended on Cardiff, so did many kayakers, flow riders and white water enthusiasts for CIWW's annual White Water Fest.
The day typically consists of several trade stalls setting up camp with demos and merchandise available to try and buy. This is mixed with general paddling on both the flat and white water course as well as some interesting competitions in the evening.
When I arrived, everything was ready and set up with the water running at 6 cumecs, I had a catch up with two of my leaders from my Czech trip and friends who live and paddle at Cardiff's course. It was also great to meet up with the guys at Surfplugs and watch them take impressions for their fantastic ear plugs.
Then I just wanted to paddle.
So, although the water was at the lower level of the day, I decided to demo a Pyranha Burn to run the course and also borrowed my friend's medium Jed (but this was a bit big) and the small Jed.
Soon the water was on 8 cumecs.
I first took my Jackson Rockstar on the course to paddle some of the features at this deeper level. Cardiff is a typical man made course, with swirly eddies and shallow water, but it also has some pretty good play spots, including Vicarious and Camera Hole, as well as two small waves. It was fun to be back in my boat just a week after Europeans and to just be able to paddle for the fun of it, rekindling the excitement.
A bit later, we then borrowed Upton Warren Canoe Club's Duo to blast down the course a few times, but didn't stop to play as we hadn't practiced a roll. I then went back to freestyle for a bit longer, just looping, cartwheeling and attempting to throw a few Phonics Monkeys and McNasty's.
But soon we were back in a duo.
This time we practiced a roll on the flat, and after one straight run decided that it was time to play. We blasted the top section of the course before breaking out at Vicarious, where we were going to have a play. We filled the eddy with just our boat, and were then longer than the feature in a side surf! As we paddled down the rest of the course, we boofed and made a few eddies before camera wave.
Here we span, side surfed and even attempted a pop out, which ended up more as a mouthful of water for me as I was in the front. We spent a good 5 minutes just playing in this wave and even stayed upright.
However, that didn't last long.
As we surfed the next feature, we crashed into a wall/raft paddle and flipped over... but rolled straight back up to the cheer of the safety guys. Then it just got worse. Now backwards we headed down the course, only to get pinned with omniflox boxes between me and Ed. The boat was slowly sinking as our decks were slightly to big, and faces were soon underwater as we attempted to right the boat. But we were upside down - again!
As planned, I rolled, and although very heavy, managed to get upright again. I turned around to see Ed, but he wasn't there...
Instead an empty cockpit, and Ed floating downstream laughing! He had pulled his deck as we capsized, leaving me to roll a duo on my own, and Ed swimming. I then navigated the Titanic like boat down the last few drops to the bottom of the course, where we collected paddles and Ed.
It was then the time for the competitions. This year, there was no freestyle or boater cross, just a Hot Dog derby, which I was not involved in. Even so, it was hilarious! Plenty of swimmers, complete carnage and lots of laughter. I then witnessed my first Flow Rider competition, and was surprised at the variety and difficulty of the tricks being pulled off.
Overall, it was a great day that I really enjoyed for the pure fact of just paddling. Although chaotic at times, it was fantastic to see so many people on the water, learning new skills, refining moves and enjoying the sun. There are still a few smaller competitions left this season for me, but the main two are over, so I can just paddle for the fun of it!
Thanks to Bob Lewis and Paddle Sport Photography for the photos.
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