Learning to Shoot and Drive

The past 2 weeks has been a week of firsts; for the first time I went tripping down a river, I saw my life flash before my eyes as  I shot  down a weir, I learnt how to drive, I survived a mild case of Dusi Guts and I completed my first qualifying race for Dusi.

I have learnt much since I started paddling. Some fun facts are as follows:

• Canoes can be described according their make and to the number of people it holds-K1 is a 1 man canoe, K2 is a 2 man canoe and a K3 is a 3 man canoe. 
• There’s a right and wrong side to a paddle. 
• The actual paddling motion is very technical – if you use the correct technique you will feel it in your back if you use an incorrect/inefficient technique you will feel it in your forearms. Canoes have rudders.  
• Rudders steer boats. The person responsible for steering the boat will say that he/she is “driving”

Out of all the things I have learnt to date the fact that the rudder steers the boat has been the most intriguing one. Prior to this I was under the impression that you steer a boat by paddling, or summoning the forest fairies. Since I started paddling I have found myself on the back of a K2. Being a novice paddler I would plonk myself in the boat and spend all my energy trying to synchronise my stroke with the person driving the K2. Little did I know that with each stroke the driver’s feet were pushing away at little foot pedals that controlled the rudder and the direction of the boat. A week ago I had my first lesson in a K1 where Craig taught me how to drive a canoe. The paddle session with Chandelle on the following morning didn’t go according to plan. Instead of driving with confidence, composure in a relatively straight direction we looked like drunken damsels as we zigzagged down the drift. For the safety of fellow canoeists and that of the river reed creatures I took the back seat and allowed Chandelle drive for the remainder of the session.  On the same day I learnt to drive I went for my first swim in the Dusi and experienced a mild version of Dusi Guts.

Many areas along the Dusi River are extremely polluted. The debris found in the Dusi comes in all shapes and sizes; you can find anything from your average floating bottle and plastic packet to dead sheep and freezers (so I have been told). The pollution gives room for all sorts of bugs to flourish, this means that the river water is not the safest for swimming, standing in or drinking.  Canoeists come into contact with river water by falling out of their boats, swimming in it or drinking the water (intentionally or unintentionally). Dusi Guts is the nickname given to the bug that paddlers catch while paddling in the Dusi. Victims generally experience 24 hours of hell characterised by vomiting, nausea, diarrhoea and fatigue; they may find that they feel “flat” for a few days thereafter.  In the space of 3 weeks Chandelle, 2 of my colleagues and I have become victims of Dusi Guts.  

Last week I found myself in a K2 “tripping” 7km down the Dusi from the Drift to low level bridge with Anton Venter (“tripping” is going for an easy paddle down a river). Anton is a well-seasoned paddler who has completed 27 Dusi Canoe Marathons and 10 Canvas Dusi Races. The Canvas Race consists of a small group of men who do the Dusi Canoe Marathon route over a period of 4 days using old school canoes made from timber and canvas as opposed to the modern day fibreglass canoe. From the front Anton gave me a lesson on how to read the current, what to do in a rapid and how to shoot a weir. A weir is a man-made structure found in rivers that alters the flow of water; when you paddle down a weir you say you are “shooting the weir”. The prospect of shooting a weir has sent my stomach in knots since the day I watched paddlers shoot Earnie Pierce weir at the start of the Dusi Canoe Marathon. Though my eyes were as big as saucers as we approached the weir and the rapids en route our 7km trip I managed to remain calm and enjoy the ride. The tripping experience in the hands of the Bear Grylls of the Dusi (my nick name for Anton) was good preparation for Ozzie Gladwin.

Picture of Earnie Pierce Weir. Photo taken from Martin Dreyer Academy

In order to enter and participate in the Dusi Canoe Marathon paddlers have to be registered with a club and they have to complete a number of seeding races. During last week Chandelle and I joined the Natal Canoe Club (NCC), invested in some paddle gear and teamed up with 2 colleagues as we prepared to accomplish our first feat, Ozzie Gladwin. Ozzie Gladwin is a 26km race-4km is completed on flat water at Albert Falls followed by a 1km portage and 21km of canoeing on the Upper Umgeni River. The prospect of completing this race was rather daunting as the furthest either of us had paddled was 12km on flat water, but thanks to our partners we were seeded in B batch and had peace of mind as Mandy Rawlins and Nicky Irvine are proficient canoeists. Going into the race we knew we’d be doing it for exposure and enjoyment as opposed to time. I had psychologically prepared myself to have stiff arms and back but felt confident that fitness gained through road running would be to my advantage when portaging. During the race I came to find that I had grossly underestimated the effect that carrying a K2 would have on my running ability. When I run I usually feel like Usain Bolt (yes, I know next to him I run at the speed of darkness in reverse but running feels good and natural) but running with a canoe on my shoulder made me go from hero to zero. I felt like an overweight sloth with a metal lung…slow, heavy and short of breath. Needless to say running with a boat on my back is going to form part of my training programme. We managed to complete the race in just less than 3 hours without swimming or wrapping our boat. We finished Ozzie with a bit of sun burn, a little more exposure and much anticipation for the upcoming races.

The Fantastic 4 at the start of Ozzie Gladwin

Mandy and I before we shot the weir...I'm not sure if that's a happy smile or a nervous smile

20 something kilometers later