Tay Descent 2010

David and Kathryn went to paddle the Tay

In a beautiful hip-red boat,

They took some chattels, and plenty of victuals

Wrapped up in dry-bags to float

Blessedly, I can’t go on. Let’s start again.

Perthshire in Autumn: a long haul, but a lovely destination. The trees are dazzling, the wide straths are still green, the skies are big, and the rivers...well, you notice them. Wide, fast-flowing, dark as ink, except where it was lively, and skipping white: under bridges, over weirs, gradient-changing rapids, and rivers meet. 

The wet camp on Friday evening eventually gave way to a mild and misty morning.

On hearing that officials had just tested the short course of 5 miles in 12 minutes, we didn’t feel the need to hurry onto the water. We were doing a leisurely tour, afterall. Paddling double, our course was 23 miles from Dunkeld to Perth and the flow was obviously shifting right from the start: it was get in and go, no chance of a gentle meander to warm up.

Despite the good turn-out for this event (400 participants), it never felt crowded. More often than not we had clear and uninterrupted views of our course ahead. The weather stayed sunny and fair, and when not worrying about wobbly water and boisterous waves, we enjoyed serene views of gorgeous treescapes, well-heeled properties, and fishing huts of all types. There was enough rescue activity and ‘swimmers’ to remind us to keep alert, and although we did stop a couple of times to bail-out excess water, it was a wonderfully varied river trip with some long calm stretches, too.

We finished just after three o’clock, so it took us under 3.5 hours, taking various breaks into account. The captain said that was quite respectable. I was just relieved we didn’t overturn - not once.

I thought it a fabulous event (even skipping the boat show or ceilidh), and feel very lucky to have taken part. Thanks a million to David who suggested it, and looked after me as a relatively novice paddler. I highly recommended to others in the club, and I am already looking forward to doing it again next year. There was a magical dusting of snow on the high hills around Loch Tay the next day. Brilliant trip. Sorry you couldn’t make it, Rob.

Videos:

http://www.canoescotland.org/events/TayDescent.aspx

If you watch the ‘motley crew’ one hard enough you’ll spot the pair of us on the bank.

Images:

http://www.canoescotland.org/events/TayDescent/RiverTayImages/tabid/710/currentstrip/1/Default.aspx