First paddle on the thames

Well well.. it's only been 6 days and I went for my first paddle yesterday.

I emailed OCUK who Romy trains with, and asked them if I could come to their Saturday morning session. They said they were doing time trials and if I'd like to have a go, I thought, what the hell, ok!

PD's trial at Narrabeen, 4km. This was 3km on the Thames - should be a breeze! Well well.. I ended pulling a time slower than my normal trial on Narrabeen Lake.. turns out the course is around 3.8km, I suspect the oc1's weigh more than my surfski, and I squeaked all the way along the 3.8km on the foam seat which wasn't attached to the canoe at all. I also wish I had a GPS to record the zigzag of extra distance I paddled due to not being able to get the rudder straight. However! Despite the challenging craft, I had a fantastic time.. managed to do some sightseeing along the course too. It felt just like a PD trial when everyone was cheering you on at the finish. Met some great people and it was great to see Romy again. She hasn't changed much except her accent has gone British!