Thames Valley Circuit Hasler

Despite the recent spate of general apathy towards any boat like object that's powered by paddles, I did manage recently to get fired up with a slight case of enthusiasm for the racing scene.  Having recently completed a four week Racing Technique course run by the club I felt duty bound to have to put the theory gleaned from the coach into practice and actually enter a race. Young Ellie and her dad were already on their third Hasler race and seeming to be becoming 'old hands' at it, and more to the point, enjoying it, so it really was time to put up or shut up about it.

The next available event was the Thames Valley Circuit Hasler organised by the Wokingham club on the Thames near Reading. Being a first timer I had to enter in the slowest group, group 9, until my performance was known and slotted into the appropriate slot. The reality is that looking at the sort of times being realised by other paddlers known to me, it's very unlikely that I'd move anywhere up the grouping 'tree' any time soon.

The day of the event dawned bright and clear with a fresh westerly wind which was forecasted to get a little fresher, up to 20mph, during the time the race was on. I'd also checked the Thames conditions and despite some heavy rain during the proceeding week there was nothing out of the ordinary by way of warning boards on the course. I duly set off for Reading and arrived at the venue adjacent to Marsport's store at the water park.

The course for the groups 7, 8, & 9 is between Caversham and Sonning locks with the start and finish about half way along the distance at the water park, making a course of approximately four miles. Looking at it about an hour before the start the wind was now getting up and pretty much blowing down the course at an oblique angle to the river's flow. Being a wide stretch of water and with gusts well in excess of the forecasted 20mph these were not conditions I would normally have voluntarily ventured out in and was coming close to calling the whole thing off.  There did however look to be a minimal amount of shelter afforded by the trees and foliage all along the far bank so after a certain amount of soul searching I finally decided to give it a go.

Around a hundred boats launched all at the same time and milled around to get into the various category starts between the three groups and k1, k2, Canadians and kids classes. I was in the penultimate group away with only the kids Lightning class after us. Somehow the kids contrived to get mixed up with all the other classes mainly due to their inability to back paddle and hold station against the prevailing wind and flow, nearly unseating several of the older competitors in the jostle. However, the Go! command eventually came for group 9, K1, which included myself and we were off with me tailing behind about a score of faster starters.

On the first leg with the flow and the tailwind the going was relatively easy and the pace quite fast until we reached the first turn buoy just before Sonning lock where we completed a 180 degree turn crosswind, which unseated one or two unsuspecting paddlers. Coming round to head into the wind and against the flow proved, er, challenging.  I gradually lost contact with the couple of other boats in my vicinity and after getting about a quarter of the way back along the return leg a motor cruiser decided to take the same route. All the way back this bloody thing kept shifting in front of me, keeping just ahead and taking the same line. I didn't have the speed to overtake but for a short while I was able to wash hang just behind and to the left. Eventually it peeled off out of the way to allow me to continue my battle with the elements unhindered.

At two points I passed paddlers that were trying to get back into their boats from a very overgrown bank and were half buried in the overhanging undergrowth. Luckily they didn't seem to need any help and both subsequently overtook me again. The second of these two was approaching close behind and became obvious as we went into the last turn for the home straight. Try as I might, even with wind and tide with me, I just couldn't keep him behind me. He was just ahead as we entered the finish area and as I looked for the line he peeled off left across my bow. I took this to mean that we had crossed the line as I couldn't see it, and followed him around to the get-out, glad that it was all over... Except that it wasn't.

In fact the first inkling that something was wrong was when Mrs D asked why I hadn't crossed the finish line?  'Yes of course I did' said I. 'Oh no you hadn't' quoth she, and she had the photo to prove it. It appears that as I followed matey around I had inadvertently turned off too early and about ten meters before the finish. Accordingly the results show a dns, which I interpreted as a 'did not start'. Next time I'll have to make sure I know just where the finish is. Just to rub salt into the wound the guy that I think was the paddler that 'threw' me, and it seemed to me who didn't pass the line either, got credited with a finish and his time published. Ah well...