With a break from school, I managed to get up to Nottingham for a few days kayaking, and we were also joined by Dennis who offered some really useful coaching opportunities.
When we arrived, we noticed that inlet had been steepened meaning it was more sticky - this was great, but did take a lot of getting used to and definitely felt strange on my first ride. In inlet, I focused on both the set up and recovery of McNastys - trying to initiate from side surf and also trying a few loop to McNastys. This was coupled with working on small loops which could simulate the recovery phase of a McNasty and Phonics Monkey.
After lunch, we also did some work on the small wave above troll hole. Although it is small it was good to practice and reinforce these moves. Having learnt most waves moves on big, fast waves in Uganda, it still feels a little disorientating and strange throwing on a small, flat feature, but it will definitely be useful in pushing adaption. Towards the end of the session, I started to get more used to it and began to throw blunts and back blunts. Every time I dropped into the hole, I also tried a McNasty - with varying success!
On Tuesday morning, the course was a lot quieter and so we spent most the morning in inlet. I continued working on McNastys and also tried some Phonics Monkeys and Lunar Orbits. It was really exciting to try new moves, especially ones that are more difficult as it continues to push my paddling forward, and reinforces sections of other moves. I also begun trying to link again so more, throwing Space Godzillas into cartwheels and splitwheels with more ends.
Just as we were getting off for lunch, the course offered to put it up to high flow as it would turn Muncher into more of a wave on the shoulder and also still keep troll hole and the wave. So we got back on and delayed lunch!
So we ended up getting to paddle troll hole, the wave, another small wave that formed and also Muncher, which had more of a wave shoulder. This was really great fun to paddle a feature I don't normally paddle - but making the eddy was quite difficult so involved lots of flushing.
In the evening, we then decided to go wake boarding as none of us had done it before. It was so much fun, and awesome to try something new! On my first go I managed to get the knee board straight away, but fell off on the final corner on several occasions, before making it all the way around. However, we definitely ached a little bit more the following day.
Due to having to be back late afternoon, we only had Wednesday morning to paddle - but we still made the most of it! With inlet still flooded out, we started down at troll hole and the small wave. Virtually as soon as we arrived, the course was inundated with slalom paddlers, meaning navigating around poles and dodging other paddlers, adding a whole new dimension to kayaking. It was great to see everybody on the water for Go Canoeing week though.
Overall, I had a fantastic time and feel like I have progressed a lot! I aim to continue pushing my hole boating forward ready for British Championships and 2016 GB Selections, as well as getting on a wave as much as possible before heading out to the years Championships.
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