David Fairweather

View from Sgurr a’ Bhuic

It’s been a busy, and varied, couple of weeks, ranging from epic levels in the Devonian rivers through to empty and frozen riverbeds in Scotland and various fun, games, and adventures in between.

The Gene 17 Adventure Paddler weekend in Dartmoor was as entertaining as ever, with some inspiring talks from around the world and the kind of water levels that we get once a season if we’re lucky. I headed down with the Pyranha van and so was in the enviable position of essentially having a van full of boats to choose from for the weekend. For the Saturday I was in an Everest for big water runs down the East and West Dart and a creek boat play run down the loop. I was loving the injection of speed and wave wheels on the Dart Loop felt huge! On the Sunday levels dropped a bit and I pulled an Ammo out of the van for a bit more river play. It was great to catch up with so many people over the weekend and swap stories of death defying exploits and dering do from around the world. Cheers to all who presented on the Saturday evening, and to Simon and team for another great weekend.

All Revved up on the Dee (Photo: Joanne Mackin)

The boat on the Pyranha stand that was generating lots of interest over the Gene 17 weekend was the new Rev, with lots of folk taking the boat out for a play and coming back with big grins and lots of nice things to say about it. I didn’t get a chance to have a play in one over the weekend, so I nabbed a demo one to take it away and have a play for a while. I’m probably a little large for the medium, but I’m having a lot of fun in it all the same, so I’m keeping hold of it for as long as I can (I’ll get it back to you soon guys, honest). I’m still learning what the Rev is capable of, but for now; it is, fast, loose, balanced and FUN.

A Frozen Spean Gorge

Finding myself with a week to spare before Christmas, I headed up to Scotland with a few Manchester folk in search of some quality time on Scottish creeks. What we found was a succession of empty or frozen rivers and clear blues skies, with even the usual low water runs being empty. Still, we got a run down a low, but beautiful Spean Gorge (icicles everywhere) and a play at the tail race in Inverlochy. The rest of the week was spent making the most of the unseasonably clear skies and walking in the hills and glens and taking in some of the stunning scenery on show in the Scottish Highlands.

On the way to the summit of Ben Nevis

So, there’s a new year about to start and a big band of rain forcast to hit the UK any time soon. There are a bunch of exciting events coming up over the next few months, add to that a few weekends coaching and trips here and there, all making for a busy season, culminating in a Moroccan paddling trip in April. Lots of adventures to be had….