Paul had to drop out at the last minute so it was Mark, Mary Ann, Sue and yours truly that met for breakfast at Newby Bridge before sorting the shuttle for a run down our old favorite, the Leven. The girls wandered off for a mooch, aiming to meet us at Backbarrow where we would no doubt impress with our macho bravery, throwing ourselves into the maelstrom below the bridge (well, that, or we would wait long enough for them to turn up and take the photos that I would later post on this site in order to stoke mine and Mark's egos...)
Pity that Paul missed the trip (due to somebody driving 8 miles southbound on the northbound M6 before killing himself in a head-on in the fast lane...) as the level was sweet - a good medium that gave me confidence to nail a double boofing line on river left under the bridge. Mark ran a good agressive slot down the main tongue, weight forward and paddling hard; both through, upright and smiling. I took on a new line involving paddling hard at the rock guarding the left of the drop, and, using it as a lauching ramp, catching enough air to carry me over the boat-eating hole under the bridge. I'm still waiting to see the video evidence that this actually line worked - despite the fact I'm still breathing, I had my eyes tightly shut throughout and quite possibly screamed a bit as well...(No way would I recommend this at higher levels - any excursion into that hole would likely be one-way).
Variations on a theme - assorted lines under Backbarrow Bridge
The rest of the river was just plain old fashioned fun - lots of playing on standing waves, the graveyard section at its best technical level and spotted a pair of Great Crested Grebes for the first time on this stretch.
Great Crested Grebe (image from Google)
We met a group of sea paddlers at the bottom of the river; they had paddled up on a huge spring tide, held up by strong westerlies - quite surreal coming across 6 metre sea kayake on one of the Lakes best whitewater rivers! Still, good on them for using their imagination... bet they missed some great surf in the Arnside estuary though!
After collecting cars and stowing kit, Sue and I wandered of up the hill above Backbarrow which turned out to be a great view point for the estuary. Maybe next time I'll take my camera!
On the down side though - still collecting water in my boat and no longer convinced that my deck could be so porous to let as much water in. After drying her out and grubbing about with a Maglite, I discovered a 3" long stress crack in the hull below the left side thigh brace. Hardly surprising since my i4 spends a fair proportion of her time in the air rather than in the water! An hours butchery with a gas lamp and pieces cut from the cockpit rim and I hope the DIY welded repair holds out until I can buy a replacement i4. Why did Pyranha stop making the best boat I ever paddled?
