WE'VE DONE IT!

All the training finally paid off as we set off down the Caledonian Canal on Sunday August 2nd from Fort William. The weather was kind to us with the wind on our backs and we arrived in Inverness on Wednesday 5th August, knackered but pleased with ourselves. We have some great memories - these are just a small selection of photo's from our trip, more to follow. Thanks to everyone who sponsored us (and those that are still giving money). We are hopefully planing a get together to raise a bit more cash in the form of either a 'Squeal like a Pig' race night or a 'Squeal like a Hog' roast night - more details to follow....regards Gareth, Shaun, Jim, Jason, Andrew and Simon.

More publicity

The York Press runs a story on our Challenge.

The 'official' t-shirts.

Our last training session

The river Ouse through York was a perfect way to spend our last training session. Sometimes the best views are from a boat on the river, this one is the Archbishops of York's residence.

We wanted to experience river traffic but didn't expect to come across a couple of dozen junior members of a York canoe club sharing the river with us.

Oberleunant Jim and Captain Baron von Hudson in 'U-Boat 72'

Jason and Simon in Gratton pose mode again.

Shaun lands his first (and last) fish from the canoe.

Our first 'canoe camp' practice

If it didn't say 'river' on the map, I'd swear this was a drainage ditch...

No it's not a refugee camp...Thanks to our friends at The Ferryboat Inn in Thorganby for their kind hospitality and excellent selection of real ales!

Getting nowhere fast

Andrew and Jim practice rough water training courtesy of Elvington wier

Certified mad

We are mad and now have the certificates to prove it, well it's actually the British Canoe Union Level 1 certificate to be precise, so now we're qualified to canoe (or are we qualified to drown? - who know's). Quite an emotional moment, well for some anyway...

Now we're proper canoeists (well almost)

Andrew thought it would be a good idea if we went on a course. All those scary stories about big fishing boats creating big waves that could throw you into the water as they passed had made us slightly nervous. So one sunny Sunday morning we all lined up in front of our new instructor Leigh to begin a one day course in basic canoeing. We knew at some point this would involve leaving a perfectly 'upright' canoe and taking a 'swim' in the murky waters of Allerthorpe lake...
Leigh put us through our paces with words of wisdom and a thoroughly enjoyable day was had by all. More photos and videos at the bottom of this blog.

Ames demonstrates the technique for trying to paddle with one foot whilst Smith tries to free his paddle from sinking mud.

Bristowe demonstrates how to use a full size canadian canoe as a sail.

What the instructor affectionately referred to as the 'all in'. We wouldn't have thought it possible to recover from a situation like this however Leigh's confidence in us and his expert tuition worked as we managed to right all the boats and paddle them back to shore. Thanks Leigh!

On the river

Our first time on the river. Firstly I would like to say two big thank you's, the first to Elvington Scouts for the loan of some Canadian canoes and secondly to Andrew who stepped in at the last minute to replace Jason who couldn't make it this time.
This was the first time we had experienced a current, starting with an upriver canoe from Elvington before turning back to go downriver from near Low Catton, a total of 12 miles (we think) in about four hours including breaks. Our paddling technique seemed to work fine with no mishaps. Though we did find landing on a mudbank wasn't the easiest of things and we all braced ourselves for some sore muscles in the morning...

The fourth training session...

Simon refining his Grattan catalogue pose.
Our training session on the lake wasn't good - it was flippin marvelous! We lapped the lake in perfect convoy - ok the water was as flat as a pancake and the sun was making an unusual appearance but we were pleased with ourselves none the less. So much so we decided to go back to the Grey Horse for a wee celebration...

We make the Sun newspaper!

The article under the heading 'The dosh's flooding in' says 'And Shaun Bristowe, 47, of Elvington, York, is leading five pals on a 62-mile canoe voyage from Fort William to Loch Ness, Scotland.'

Shaun was overjoyed with the article saying they've actually got his age wrong by 5 years, he's actually 52. Andrew was heard to say 'it's interesting they say Shaun is leading us as he couldn't lead his way out of a paper bag...' Well done Shaun.

The Battle of Midway

That's 'midway' across the lake. Our third training session consisted of circumnavigating (going round and round) Allerthorpe Lake whilst being attacked by marauding children in various shaped boats. Getting to grips with steering in a straight line seemed to be our biggest problem, the damned canoe just won't go in a straight line...

Thanks!

Many thanks to all the patrons of The Grey Horse Inn, Elvington who kick started our challenge with sponorship totalling £175 (so far). Special thanks as well to Dave and Jason who run the Grey Horse Inn for their continued support (and not just with their fine selection of beers).

For more info on The Grey Horse Inn go to www.pub.elvington.net/

It was an iceberg honest...

Our second day training and Andrew and Simon learn how easy it is to capsize a Canadian canoe. You could tell the water was cold by the lumps in their throats...Our top ten concerns for our trip along the Caledonian canal are:
1. Not finishing
2. Capsizing and sinking
3. Being hit by another (really big) boat
4. The midges
5. The wind
6. Really big waves
7. The rain (it is Scotland)
8. Lack of sleep caused by loud snoring
9. Cramp
10. Nessie

Anybody would think these boats are heavy...

See more of our videos below

Meet the team

Jim, Gareth, Andrew, Jason, Simon and Shaun

Would you like ice with that?

Our second attempt at getting on a lake was thwarted yet again by the weather. This time it was the cold - the whole lake was one big sheet of ice! None of fancied canoeing with a pick axe, so instead of honing our limited canoeing skills we challenged the kids to a snowball fight and then once again retreated to the warmth of the pub. Pub training: 2, Canoe training: 1.

Our first time in a canoe

With the help of our friends at Allerthorpe lake we secured the use of some boats one cold Saturday afternoon in January. This would be a little taster to canoeing, but as it turned out the conditions proved to be more demanding (and probably more realistic) than we hoped. The first two boats set off into the lake - Andy and Jim then Simon and Jason. Feeling a little bit cramped up front both Jim and Simon hadn't realised the boats were back to front and therefore their seats were the wrong way round - oops.
With conditions quite choppy we decided to retreat to the santuary of the pub and celebrate our first wetting...

How it all started

If anyone's to blame it's Simon... We were enjoying our usual Thursday night pub quiz last year when Simon mentioned he'd always wanted to canoe the Caledonian Canal (an unusual ambition as we later found out he'd never actually set foot in a canoe before). As the evening wore on the rest of us, me, Shaun, Andy, Jason and Eddy gradually warmed to the idea (unfortunately the beer was now starting to effect our judgement). Simon explained where the Caledonian Canal was - a 60 mile passage of water that connects the west coast of Scotland with the east coast, from Fort William to Inverness. Canoe across Scotland - wow that sounded impressive. Heck, we could even raise some money for charity. The only downside? None of us had any experience of long distance canoeing...

For several weeks we discussed the trip, usually ending with references to 'Deliverance' and 'Squeal like a pig'. But with Christmas fast approaching and the thought that if we didn't start organising something soon we'd miss the boat (pardon the pun) we got our act together. After discovering that we'd have to allow a week to do the trip, we decided our support crew (families) would have to come with us. Breaking this news to them wasn't easy and I'm sure it will cost us dearly at some point. It was decided that our companions would set up a base halfway along the route and a location was duly found and booked. This turned out to be the beginning of August 2009. Unfortunately this clashed with Eddy's holiday and reluctantly (although probably a relief to Alison) he had to pull out. Fortunately Andy's son Jim stepped in to take his place. Research showed that the best way to travel was with two-man Canadian canoes, where we could stow our gear in the boat. The intention being to canoe a distance and then camp at night. With the 'where' and 'why' sorted, it was time to get down to the 'how'.