Words:
Darren Clarkson

Photos:
Ian Jones &
Darren Baker
(www.darrenbaker
photography.com)

Darren’s bio
Darren is an adventurer whose personal philosophy asks what we can learn when we put ourselves in a place of adventure. Over the last 20+ years Darren has explored some of the worlds most challenging rivers. He specialises in running trips across the Himalaya in Nepal, India, Bhutan, Pakistan and Tibet. To join him for expeditions visit www.purelandexpeditions.com

A love letter for the cult

I’m unsure if any other boat holds the same cult status as the Eskimo Topolino. This short, rotund edgeless piece of joy. A revolutionary boat born over 40 years ago, it still brings a smile to my face. It still brings joy to the faces of those who paddled these wee beasts; some remember back to nostalgia while others slip into the boat again and rejoin the cult.

The Topolino had been around for over a decade, unchanged and unchallenged, before I got my first one as a teenager. It had already gained notoriety as a steep river virtuoso with the likes of Baker, Nesbitt, Hardy, Jackson and Thomas at the helm. The elite of the infamous Alpine Kayak Club (AKC) forged first descents – running seemingly impossible cataracts across Europe in this boat.

Designer Holger Machatscheck’s dream machine became more than a piece of plastic, and as the AKC turns 50, we can look back to the importance of the design that allowed development in the sport. Its round nose and full plate footrest are pivotal to the evolution of modern boats. As I slipped out wet from a day in my Topo, I again messaged some friends – those who challenged the conceptions of what could be done in a boat. Each reply thrilled me.

As an Expat Welshman and expedition paddler par excellence, Tom Hughes was the first to reply. “It wasn’t just a kayak… it was a tribe…it still is…no kayak, not one, had or has the camaraderie of being a Topo paddler… it wasn’t the best boat in all circumstances… it was THE best boat in every circumstance.”

one boat for everyone

Coming in at just over two metres, considerably shorter than every other boat on the market when it first arrived on the scene, this boat came in one size, with no fancy seat or thigh hook adjustment, no ratchets. It was one boat for everyone. Big or small. Choices of colours were limited at best, with no multi-colour fade, no custom colours. If you wanted to make your boat stand out from the crowd, it was time to graffiti the deck with spray paint and marker pens.

As cartwheel and stern moves became popular, the trusty Topo could be modified with a blow torch and squashed! The bolts that held the end grabs on would puncture the airbags. The cockpit rim would leak. The back band would come loose. Even with these faults, it was still the most popular ‘rodeo boat’ in the 90s, with over 50% of boats in event finals the Topo.

Shaun Baker

It was truly a boat that crossed disciplines. None blurring these disciples more than Shaun Baker, who courted the media, ticked off first descents with the ease of taking sweets from a baby and would then place on the podium in every rodeo. The definition of the freeride, with more than seven Guinness world records and over 20 first descents, nine-time National Rodeo champion. The Independent and Daily Mail newspapers brought his exploits to the general population.

I had pictures on my wall of Baker and other paddlers surfing waves and chucking paddles high. I had VHS films of waterfall descents, and I still do. All these were Topo fans. “I wouldn’t have achieved even a fraction of what I was able to without his Eskimo Spud-Topo-Topolino.” Recounts Shaun Baker, “This boat, considered ridiculously tiny back then, has brought lifetimes of enjoyment to countless kayakers around the world – myself included.”

Independent: “Before Shaun Baker hauled his boat to the top of the world’s most intimidating waterfalls, extreme kayaking was just… well kayaking.”

Daily Mail: “Shaun is the David Beckham of the kayaking world. A boating legend… revered by his peers.”

hooked on white water

The low-volume streams of Yorkshire saw my building skills in my purple Topo. Wales and Scotland also beckoned the steep, not deep. I know this boat got me hooked on white water, and I know it is responsible for my white water addiction and my career choice to date.

The boat fitted inside the car with my gear tucked away. Once I passed my driving test and managed to talk my mum into lending me her car each weekend, I would make the long drive to the silver streams falling from the mountain sides. The Topo was stored easily under my bed in the university halls, and it was the first personal item in my room when I moved in.

From waterfalls and class five creeks to rodeo, the drifting float into peril as you missed timed the keystrokes. It’s the first boat I did a cartwheel in and the first and only boat I won a rodeo in. The way it bounced in a hole or spinning on the sidelines of the smooth green tongue – the pop it got for a pirouette… that’s a feeling I still yearn for.

Boats have come and gone over my last 30+ years of kayaking, but nothing, absolutely nothing, puts a smile on my face like the Topo does. I have another one now, bought cheaper second-hand than the cost of a spraydeck. A piece of paddling history that underpins my history in the sport.

With each stroke, I am 15 again. I am lost in a world of infinite possibilities with endless summers playing on waves and catching the eye of passing walkers as I tumble and turn in that broken-down industrial weir. An ageless joy. The river still delights as it did back then. When innocence was strong, and naivety made each surf a piece of paradise.

Bridget Thomas

I am not alone in my love for the Topo – ex rodeo world champion and extreme whitewater paddler Bridget Thomas writes, “It took me from a slalom paddler to a white water boater. It opened doors to friendships, to rodeos, and to travelling with a kayak. It’s tied up with meeting Andy (Jackson) and our blossoming relationship. One small boat, so many memories.”

Perhaps the Topo is a boat of its time, but that time was a key point in our sport, and we should all be thankful for the advances. Although some will scoff at the audacity – I am ok with that because love is often blind, and cult leaders are charismatic.