Calder Marathon

While 9 members of Duddon’s racing team were competing on Windermere, 11 members of the  racing team went to the river Calder in Yorkshire to compete in Pennine canoe clubs Hasler marathon race to get some practice in before the next race in the North West region to be held at Macclesfield.

This was the first time Harvey Petcher raced over the 8 mile distance which also involved portaging it was also his older sister Jasmines first race &the first time Victoria Longstaff raced the 4 mile distance without her K2 partner. There was a small but competitive field in divisions 5,6,7 & 9, conditions on the day were good and all the races started without any mishaps.

Lee Bentley & Petcher were going well in the pack up to the first portage where the paddlers have to get out of their boat and run with it a set distance then get back in and continue with the race, the first get out point was over a metre above the water so it presented a few problems for the pair however they managed to negotiate the obstacle and continue with the race finishing 4th & 5th.

Victoria didn’t fare so well in her boat and finished well down the field a new experience for her but I’m sure she will train hard and bounce back in her next race , Andy Longstaff completed the Div 7 race in 2nd place beating his previous best by 20 seconds.

Duddon had 4 paddlers in Division 9, It was Jasmine Petchers first ever marathon race and Emily Longstaffs first race after her GCSE’s, John Sherwen did the race in a Canoe. All raced well with Longstaff finishing in 3rd with Ruth McKenny only 12 seconds behind her.

After the adults races it was time for the junior lightning’s and sadly there were only 2 entries in the under 10’s so the Bentley boys raced each other for bragging rights in the car home.

Results:

Div 6 – 3rd Lee Bentley, 4th Harvey Petcher

Div 7 – 2nd Andy Longstaff, 5th Victoria Longstaff

Div 9 – 3rd Emily Longstaff, 4th Ruth McKenny, 7th Jasmine Petcher, 8th John Sherwen

U 10 Lightnings – 1st Connor Bentley, 2nd Ryan Bentley

Summer Solstice Race 10.5 mile (Saturday)

The solstice weekend was a busy one for Duddon canoe club, it saw the racing team split in two and attend 3 races over the weekend. The first race on Saturday was the summer solstice race, ran by Windermere canoe and kayak centre and it is billed as the longest lake on the longest day and see’s all types of paddle sport craft  race the full length of Windermere from Waterhead to Fellfoot. Duddon entered an adult K4 into this race and the quartet of Kat McDowell, Alistair Hornsby, Scott Wilson & Alex D’Amico take on the challenge. Last year’s winners were past multiple world champions Ian & Alan Tordoff in a record time of 1:14:00 narrowly beating the GB Dragon boat team by 15 seconds. There was a large entry this year and the weather forecast was good with overcast but calm conditions expected with a slight breeze from the south west for the second half of the race so the Duddon team felt confident for the challenge ahead. When the race started it saw two K2’s take a slight lead off the line and the wake of the boats sent the Duddon team go off course and there was a clash of boats allowing the two K2 boats a lead that they just extended throughout the race. The Duddon team got into their rhythm and two K1’s slotted into their wash behind them and this is how the race stayed until just past the car ferry the Duddon team chose a route down the East side of the lake and the two K1’s chose a more central route down the middle of the lake. The K1’s took a slight lead at this time over the Duddon team however because of increased lake traffic with lots of wash meant that the boats could not apply full power and the Duddon boat re-took 3rd place and from then on they just kept pulling away from the boats in 4th and 5th place and finished in a time of 1:22:50, 4 minutes behind the eventual winners the Tordoff brothers who won the race for a 2nd year running with a time of 1:18:33.

Summer Solstice Race 5.5 mile (Sunday)

The short race on the Sunday saw Duddon enter 2 x K4 teams an adult team of Kat McDowell, Alistair Hornsby, Alan Ashby & Alex D’Amico and a junior team of Brandon and Owen Wilson, Rhiann Taylor & Nadine Merrick the course was a circular course starting and finishing at Fellfoot. The weather had forecast changed for the Sunday race, the wind had picked up and conditions were more testing for the paddlers. All the paddlers lined up at the start with the 2 Duddon boats lining up at the far side of the start line with 3 K1 boats slotting in between them. The race started and it saw the Duddon boast and the 3 K1’s neck and neck for the first 50m then a sudden strong gust of wind saw the junior boat and the 3 K1’s crash into each other, this allowed the adult K4 boat to take a lead. Conditions on the out circuit with the wind behind the paddlers meant fast speeds, lake condition at the turn buoy were getting worse and this meant rough condition on the way back. Waves were crashing over the adult K4 and they were at risk of swamping the boat, this allowed a K1 to catch them up and stay on their wash for the return part of the lap. This is how they stayed until the final 100m when the K1 pulled alongside the K4 and took half a boat length lead over the finish line to take victory with a time of 35:49:00, 3 seconds ahead of the Duddon adult boat taking 2nd. The 3rd & 4th place boat was a sea kayak & a surf ski 3 & 4 minutes respectively behind the winners then it was the turn of the 2nd Duddon K4 powered by the juniors in a time of 42:23:00. A fantastic time was had by all involved and a great big thanks goes out to Windermere canoe and Kayak for running a fantastic event.

Summer Solstice Race



Sunday - Short Course

Distance: 5.5 miles (circular route)
From: Fell Foot
To: Fell Foot


   


Saturday - Long Course 11am start                 

Distance: 10.5 miles
From: Waterhead
To: Fell Foot

Ticket includes: Shuttle and food

1 The LONG COURSE is only suitable for experienced / ‘current' paddlers. The long course is the full length of Windermere (Waterhead to Fell Foot). At over TEN MILES long, Windermere is the longest lake in England.

Do not consider entering this category unless you class yourself as being self sufficient in terms of safety and also experienced in paddling good distances. Less able intermediate paddlers are advised to travel in mutually supportive groups. This way in the event of a capsize there should be someone on hand sufficiently experienced to effect a rescue.

The Long Course route will follow the western shoreline until south of Belle Isle. Long Course competitors can then choose their route until finishing at Fell Foot at the south eastern end of Windermere.

A shuttle will be available to transport participants to the top of the lake from Fell Foot

2 The SHORT COURSE is for novice up to intermediate paddlers ready to push themselves. We expect most participants with reasonable experience to enter this event.

The Short Course will be a circular route from Fell Foot at approximately 5 miles long. Paddlers are advised to travel in mutually supportive groups. This way in the event of a capsize there should be someone on hand sufficiently experienced to effect a rescue.

To reaffirm: paddlers using closed cockpit kayaks or open canoes should be familiar with what to do in the event of a capsize (self or peer rescue) or remain close to somebody who does for the entire route/competition (must be an agreement with this person).

Parking is available at Fell Foot, this is Pay and Display unless you are a National trust member.

Shuttles A shuttle will be available to pick participants up at Fell Foot (the southern end of the lake) and drop them off at Waterhead for the start of the Long Course.
Participants will be responsible for dropping their boats at Waterhead before parking their vehicles at Fell Foot.
The shuttle will depart from Fell Foot at 10am to drop all participants at Waterhead ready for a race start at 11am.
Please note, Windermere Canoe Kayak is not responsible for taking any boats to the race start.
This shuttle allows participants to park their cars within the National Trust carpark allowing cheaper parking fares, using this option will allow participants to relax after the event, enjoy the food, look at suppliers products/displays/demos and most importantly be present for the prize giving!!! all without having to leave site  ;-)

Demos We will have a huge demo weekend happening down to Fell Foot. This year we have had wonderful support form many of our suppliers who will be making the journey to the Lakes to show off an array of boats, paddles and kit, all of which will be free to demo out on the water.

Camping Camping is available at Fell Foot also for those that wish to make a weekend of it. Camping is all on site so you won't be too far away from all the action! £5 per person will get you access to a nice patch of grass to pitch your tent on. Cash will be taken on the day, Just drop us an email with everybody's names, a contact phone number and how many tents you will be bringing and we will add you to the list.