Trent K2

There was a fair entry for Trent K2 last weekend. Unusually there were more in the C Race (Div 9 or more total ranking) than there were in the B Race (5-8 total ranking). This may have been due to the unusually low river conditions. The weather was a bit odd too. It started fairly bright at the start at Castle Donington, but by the time we were reaching Sawley, the wind was whipping up quite a chop and the sky was so black it seemed as though dusk was approaching. By the time we reached the club, the sky was blue and the sun was shining.

I don't know how other people's races went, but ours was as mixed as the weather. We got a reasonable start and Beth set a good pace, steering past the shingle banks, the groups of rock and the "clag ups" until a random rock leapt out and got us after about a mile. The rudder got bent and although we had a spare stowed in the boat, I was reluctant to stop before the first portage, so we lurched from side to side of the river on the most "technical" bit of the course. However, Beth did a good job and although we dropped gradually back until we were down to about 13th or 14th place, we didn't lose sight of the group ahead. A quick straighten and a good run at Sawley brought us back up to the second group. Once Beth discovered that the rudder was once more functional, she burned my arms off until we reached the group and not satisfied with that wanted to take the work up straight away.
After that, things went well again with some good runs and a bit of local knowledge on the portages and yet again an attempt to kill me off by Beth, we improved our position considerably.
It was a bit of a drag from Beeston to the finish, and not an impressive time compared to other years, but an enjoyable paddle.
I hope everyone else enjoyed the race too. Full results http://uk.geocities.com/nottinghamkayakclub/resultstore/trentk207.htm