Words: David Partridge
Photos:
Paul Saunders Photography
Long-distance SUP events
Details of the Great Glen can be found at https://sailingfast.co.uk/ paddlefast/the-great-glen-challenge. The provisional dates for 2024 are 20-21st September.
The Norfolk Broads Ultra is planned for 5-7th July.
The 11 Cities www.sup11citytour.com dates non-stop from 7-8th September and five days 11-15th September.
For a challenge (and a great party), also look at www.trent100.com 18-21st July.
The mindfulness of the long-distance paddler
The sunlight formed a spotlight on the loch as the sun, caught between two mountains, shone a beam, picking out my board’s fluorescent orange nose cone. I was concentrating on moving back a little; the waves had increased slightly, and the nose was cutting into the black waters of Loch Ness. I was alone in the middle of Loch Ness in my pool of light. 100% of my concentration centred literally on a 26-inch wide, 14-foot long board halfway along 40km of near open water.
The day had started in company, close company, on a crowded start line at Fort Augustus. The water there had been mirror flat, reflecting the mountains and clouds. As the start gun fired, this became a churned-up mess of wave and wake, paddles and eddies. Now, all the competitors were scattered across the loch, picking individual battles with themselves. Each stroke counts for the total of 22,000 or so for the distance.
I glanced at my watch: two hours in, drink a little water, flex my heels, stretch my neck and look around at the incredible scenery. Already, the leaders were stretching out. As the waves gently increased, they started to use the bumps; I noted their cadence: up a bit, accelerating into the wave, then slowing and lengthening down the front. Just beautiful. People at one with the wind, the waves and their boards.
Nearly three hours later, I’m still plugging away; the end of the loch is just ahead. The waves are bigger; you need to concentrate on each one as a board caught cross wave will soon tip you in. Coming in from my left, someone having to arrive at an angle is struggling in the cross-chop. Being able to head dead down the waves made my passage easier. Boat traffic compounds and enforces the concentration; ironically, the biggest wakes are from the RNLI out on their Saturday practices.
Other pleasure craft and commercial vessels create their wave signatures and spoil the perfect pattern of nature. Long-distance paddling is about a steady pace. At 7km/hr, I know the bow will create a small splash; I recognise the shape of the bow wave. Checking landmarks against my watch, as expected, ahead or behind, each village, castle or lock gate signifies a speed up and get on with it or well-done message. In my head, there is some sort of game plan.
In focus
There is total concentration and immersion in the rhythmic movement of the board to prevent immersion in the cold Loch waters. The time has flown; I’ve not drunk enough, and the first checkpoint is still a couple of kilometres along the canal. Pause, drink, drink in the scenery, the pine forests, lodges and boathouses, the white, shingly beach, and the dark, calm waters around the corner as the canal eases you out from the loch. There is a weir ahead, some flow on the canal, and little wind, left or right?
I try to assess the speed of the boards ahead, who is faster, and where the conditions are best. For the last five hours, I’ve not thought about anything other than the rhythm of the paddle strokes and the wind patterns. The portage is ahead, left across to the quayside. Huge cheers, smiling faces, and offers of food and drink, but no help. Each competitor must be independent, lifting their board, stepping onto dry land, swaying, and a little unused to stability underfoot.
I lift the delicate carbon fibre composite board out of the water, with its safety bag with dry clothes and phone battery (you carry a space blanket, tracker and phone with you tucked into your PFD). The board out of the water feels heavy, legs a bit unsteady, fluid, a banana, a quick walk, carefully threading the board down the gangways, a big splash as you drop the board in below the lock and just another 8 or 9 km now to the finish: flat water, no wind, best line trying to keep the board straight.
The final part of the second day is on a canal, and you are suddenly transported back into daily life, cars, rowing clubs, joggers and cyclists along the towpath. A little punch drunk now you allow your mind to reminisce:
Just yesterday, we had started at dawn in Fort William. This start was another melee of accelerating boards as we tracked along the canal heading inland from Neptune’s steps at Banavie. There are more portages on this day, the first a long one, maybe 700m at Gairlochy just before Loch Lochy, then out into the first loch with fantastic views across to the foot of Ben Nevis (the top shrouded in cloud).
I recall paddling side by side with Diane from the Netherlands. A chat, a sense of shared purpose, a moment to savour. Then, Laggan Locks, another portage and entry into a beautiful tree-lined section of the Caledonian Canal, known as the Roads, the trees just starting to show autumnal tints. Loch Oich, sheltered in a deep valley, is calmer and darker. Then, the arrival at Fort Augustus with glimpses of seductive-looking rapids on the river. The one-day event crew had portaged here and continued. I was, however, nearing the end of my second day on the water.
Back rudely to the task at hand. A bridge, a duck but not low enough, I suddenly am shot off the board backwards. The board pings back toward me as the leash works, but now I need to swim through under the bridge, pushing my board. My lonely vigil is broken, a board behind (where did that come from?). “Hi, are you OK?” The cold water and the dizziness confirmed all the safety advice provided by the organisers, and I am glad of my PFD. I clamber aboard and shake my head to try and dispel the stars. Tom Gale provides the spirit of SUP, “I’ll paddle with you to the end.” he refuses to pass me in the final km, and we reach the finish to the sound of bells and applause. Tom is awarded at the Hog Roast and results ceremony for his sportsmanship.
More about the event:
The Great Glen Challenge is one of the UK’s leading long-distance (92km) paddle challenges. I had competed in 2022 on an inflatable SUP. The conditions had been tough with big waves to contend with, but I had loved every minute, every 900 of them, even those spent clinging to the board in the waves, trying to get back on! For 2023, I pledged to try a hardboard and got a second-hand wood carbon Starboard Allstar to learn on.
The board is forgiving; so-called secondary stability kicks in as the board tips, and the volume in the rails and sides acts as additional buoyancy to right the board. The structure means that power from the paddle is delivered entirely to the board, not dispersed in flex and movement (as you find on an Inflatable SUP), so the board is faster, and the thinner nose allows you to cut through chop. I should expect (and indeed realised) a faster time.
I had a lot of practice the previous week in the Netherlands (I also competed there in the 11 Cities), so I was starting to feel ’at one’ with the board. Not in the league of some of the other competitors, however!
A large contingent from the Netherlands had come over to challenge in the two-day SUP. Reinder Ijmker had recently won the non-stop 220km competition at the 11 cities. He and the others train twice weekly, revelling in the windy conditions and practising ‘downwinding’ on the Dutch coast. Reinder smashed the two-day event in a combined 10hrs 34mins with colleague Marnix Van der Boom just a few minutes behind. Dave Ewer (UK) took third place in 10hr 56mins. Diane Koorstra took first lady with 12hrs 11mins and Angela Kerr (Scotland) second in 13hrs 43mins.
In the one-day event, the first two places at the finish went to surf skis: Michael Lambert 8hrs 21mins with Tim Pendle losing out on the sprint finish by two seconds! Thomas Dawson, kayak, was third on the line with Paul Simmons, the first SUP in at 11hrs 36mins. The first woman was Flea White OC1 at 11hrs 56mins and Ben Sykes second SUP at 12hrs 06mins. The SUP one-day competitors included Christoph Weber, a Canadian veteran of several Yukon River Quests, both canoe and SUP, who had also just been at the 11 Cities. Yukon1000 paddler Martin Rendle also posted a great time.
An Interview with Emma Hepplewhite
I wanted to learn more about the Challenge and its’ history, so I spoke with Emma Hepplewhite. She had taken on the event started by the renowned paddler and record-breaker Joanne Hamilton-Vale. Joanne was back this year competing along with several friends, all now based in Australia. She was forced to swap from a non-stop to the two-day event where she won the category in an OC2 canoe with a total time of 10hrs 46mins (despite a slow first day and hasty repair after it shipped water). Emma quotes Joanne as one of her heroes, and indeed, it was Joanne who lured Emma into competing first at the Norfolk Broads Ultra and then the Great Glen.
“I loved the camaraderie between the paddlers, the encouragement from the volunteers as you arrived at a checkpoint and the satisfaction of completing the race in one piece! We had to keep the event going after Joanne left for Australia, so in 2021, Duncan (her husband) and I took it on.
“This year (2023), competitors came from eight countries, including Australia, USA, Netherlands and France, and we had a wide range of paddle craft, SUP, canoe, surf ski and OC1 and OC2’s. Last year, we had a prone paddler as well.”
I asked Emma about the challenges of running the event, “Speed has been one of the challenges this year; in the non-stop competition, we had a surf ski cross the finish line after 92km in the mid-afternoon, the slowest in the non-stop was some five hours behind just creeping in before the curfew of 20.30 hours, we had to gauge where everyone was to ensure the checkpoints were managed.”
Safety is key, and Emma, as Race Director, is happy to have Duncan’s Safety Officer, “He watched the trackers like a hawk; when Ian McCarthy appeared to be stopped at a checkpoint, we checked he hadn’t been locked in the loo. He was delighted to have 12 messages on his phone from us and to receive a new tracker at the next checkpoint!” The organisers have a safety rib on Loch Ness, paddler tallies at all the checkpoints and check safety equipment and clothing. The Race briefings also detail weather conditions and hazards. As Emma says, “You never know what mood Nessie is going to be in.” A ritual dram for Nessie at the race start may help, but in 2022, some competitors became hypothermic after strong downwind conditions led to repeated dunkings.
I asked Emma about her wishes for the future, “Maybe 120 competitors; I would love to see more female participants in the non-stop classes. We had two 15-year-olds this year, Instructors from SUP Hub (Northern Ireland) Rory and Ruan, and we had to discuss this with our insurers (the event sponsors Noble Marine), but these young paddlers and others like them are the future of paddling.
“We also discussed the wider entries, noting how other water sports adopt SUP (often for training). This year, Peter Barton (a world champion sailor) brought a team from the Lymington sailing club. This included father, Paul Bartlett, surf ski 11hrs 04mins and son, Greg SUP, 14hrs 25mins.
“Duncan Hepplewhite is also a leading sailing coach. My background is also sailing; our club, Chelmarsh, has diversified with a strong SUP contingent – people who love and try to understand water quickly transition between the sports.”
But Why?
So, what is it that motivates people to paddle long distances? It is the mindfulness, the detachment and the concentration. Training is essential but not key, as the battles are more mental than physical. Most average paddlers are more than competent to start long-distance events; indeed, Chelmarsh club entered five teams for the Trent 100km event in 2022 (a challenge, not a race) all completed it. Once you have completed one long event, you either give up and say never again or look for the next!
Get In
In the UK, the Norfolk Broads Ultra and Great Glen offer non-stop or two-day events. The Trent 100 offers a challenge. Overseas, the ultimate long-distance is probably the 11 Cities event in the Netherlands, but there are also epic paddles (on my to-do list) down the Dordogne and some legendary events such as the Yukon 1000 (yes, 1,000 miles!).
Joanne Hamilton Vale explains, “The idea behind the Great Glen was to bring paddlers together, giving them a structure to push their limits and see what they could achieve.” Emma adds: “These events give people something to aspire to. It shows people that there is a progression within the sport (if they want it, it’s not compulsory!).”
For my part, as an older, less experienced and not particularly fit paddler, all I can say is “Just do it.” In SUPtember 2023, I have notched up 11 cities and Great Glen and am already signing up again for 2024.
