White Water Kayak Trip River Dart November 2021
A total of 17 paddlers attended the club white water trip to the river Dart to enjoy the thrills and
excitement of white water, with most kayaking and one in an open canoe. I was the only newbie in
the group so it was a baptism of fire but I learnt a lot of new skills such as how to cross the river, the
importance of edging the boat when entering fast sections of water and the importance of support
strokes.
The most popular section of the river is called the Dart Loop and the rapids have wonderful names
such as washing machine, triple drop, lovers leap and spin dryer. Before we went down a rapid we
were given advice on what was the best route to take, which I did not entirely follow on a number
occasions, so I adopted the philosophy of paddle hard, hope for the best and remember the support
strokes, which did work on a number of occasions. The trip was really enjoyable and I would
definitely want to do it again and hopefully with a bit more experience I will improve my skills and
feel in control.
Any trip such as this does require a lot of organization so I would like to thank Ben Dine for
organizing the trip, Tim Midwinter and Adrian Slim for leading on the water and David Mitchell and
Laura Parker for some excellent meals.
Scott Harris
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