The Great Yat Pike strikes again ….

Many thanks to Nettie for (again) organizing a wonderful trip to run the river Wye near Ross.

Accidents & road works slowed the trip down but we arrived at Biblins without incident and Nettie offered us (Diana, James & Mike) hot tea on arrival … magic. We set up our tents mid afternoon on Friday 3^rd September, fired up the primus stove and heated our traditional first meal of the camp, 2 tins of stewing steak, 1 tin chopped tomatoes, 1 tin new potatoes (this run not tinned but freshly dug and pre-boiled) … heat to boiling and consume … Yum.

More folks arrived as the day progressed, the kids had the usual fun with Nerf guns & water pistols … a superb camp fire was running … the night put on a real Biblins star-fest and a demented owl called for a friend throughout the night.

Saturday morning, up relatively early, burnt the bacon on the primus (the one heat setting seems to be “incinerate” … still it boils water in seconds) … changed to a Sunngas stove and had a nice fried breakfast. Transport to launch site organized, made packed lunches and off. Grant joined Diana, James & myself in the C5 and we went up the hill out of Biblins to the top gate where James held the gate shut to prevent anyone going down giving Nettie a clear run to the top with the trailer. We tagged on at the end of the procession after James had locked up and went up river to our launch site.

It took a while but we launched and paddled steadily down river, avoiding going too close to the angler’s lines or professional river users.

We stopped for lunch after about 5 miles and Holly joined Diana & I in our Canadian and proceeded to power our craft along with a small canoe paddle begged off Jeanette, one of our larger canoe paddles or my kayak paddle … which ever she felt like using at the time.

And then again for more boat changes …

And off again …

And stop again … this time by a pub … to discuss who was running the Yat and in what boats. Tigger and the kids discovered a mud slide, soaked it in water & repeatedly went down it … to shouts screams & wails of laughter … it was our first sighting of the mud monsters,  they reappeared later at our camp Sunday morning having found another potential mud slide.

Holly talked Chris into letting her run the Yat in a small Dagger with Chris following behind. Diana decided she’d like to run the Yat having got there. So we set up to run down the centre and paddle like mad as it’s worked for me before. We started the run and Diana shouted out “large rock ahead” , I looked past her and tried to steer away from it but something pushed us onto the rock and we were over and in. Diana swears that she has a vivid mental image of her own feet pushing away from the inverted Canadian and behind it the metallic patterning of the scales of a huge fish. Diana was floating on her back going downstream when a lovely gent on the point threw a perfectly judged line. I grabbed the line and Diana and we were both swung to shore by the current. With Diana safely on shore and looked after Ant kindly towed me across the river to where Rob had rescued our canoe and I paddled it back over to the beach below the Yat. Diana profusely thanked the wonderful man and girl with the throw rope, they’d come down for a paddle and spent most of the day rescuing victims of the pike. Diana was asked why/how she was still holding on to her paddle … it must be a horse riding thing … never let go of the reins. Rob’s friends carefully sat Diana in the bottom of their Canadian and gently brought her down to the beach … brill.

James followed us down the Yat and chased down most of the flotsam from our wreckage.

We paddled down the short distance to Biblins to disembark and get all the tackle back to our pitch at the Camp site. Ann did a wonderful job of chasing Diana off in the direction of a much needed hot shower. I had one a little later and discovered that although I had shoes, towel and my bag of clothes in my tent … all my dry trousers were in my car at the drop off site … Ann insisted on a pic … taken with my camera.

Then we discovered that the car recovery squad had left without me, I pinched a pair of James’s trousers and Chris kindly ran me up to reclaim my car (and trousers). Diana had been fully battered by the pike (or rocks) at Symonds Yat to the extent that her trousers were painful to wear so she borrowed a pair of my joggers. So now I had James’s trousers … Diana had mine … and we wondered what James was wearing?

We are all really glad that Holly didn’t run the Yat in our boat.

So is there really a pike? Karen implied so, Diana thinks she saw it but the most compelling evidence comes from its bite impressions, this one to Diana’s hip … >6” wide, symmetrical, but curiously without the expected teeth marks - more of a very vicious suck.

This points to the possibility of a very large, old and canny predator; lacking in dentition and forced to seek alternate prey as a result … Nettie’s tentatively named it the “Gummy Pike” … kayakers & canoeists beware. (Tuesday update … Diana now reports that this particular bruise (one of many) is now black & bigger … so we may have to up-rate the potential size of this Yat aquatic monster)

Suggested Awards.

Membership to the Symonds Yat Pike Victims Association

• Karen (founder member, previous trip)
• Diana (bravery award, having survived a particularly vicious attack)
• Mike
• Grant
• Bodge
• Alex

Swimming Awards

• Sam – Attacked by a tree monster pre-Yat

Hon. Membership to the Symonds Yat Pike Victims Support Association (Rescuers)

• Gent & girl with throw rope
• Rob
• Mick & Daniel – For gently persuading Diana to brave a canoe again and for safely bringing her down to the beach below the Yat
• Ant
• Ann
• Sam
• James
• Everyone else on our camp too

The “Yat Rat” Award

• Holly - for sensibly abandoning ship prior to our disaster

I really think we need badges.

Mike.

Note: Photographs of Junior Trip Participants included by the kind permission of their parents.