Windermere Solstice Paddle

Paddlers for Life had a great day participating in the Windermere Solstice Paddle.

A crew from the Three River Serpents helped us get the boats ready and on the water. Our finesse as a well oiled machine was complemented by their 'brute' strength and the boats were soon ready for the off.

A mixed team of Paddlers for Life paddlers and friends from the NHS soon settled into a steady rhythm of paddling with the help of Barbara on the drum and Tony on the helm. We had a gentle warm up as we paddled to the start at Waterhead. An optimistic and positive attitude pervaded the boat. 

 We were soon ready at Waterhead for a 'dotting of the eye' ceremony. With a song from  some of the paddlers and a warm and affectionate speech from Keni about Paddlers for Life and it's many achievements the spirit of the dragon was awoken to protect us on our journey with a deft splash of paint from Keni.

A quick return to the boats to start the race and we were off. In the starting melee and jockeying for position an unfortunate canoe outrigger sought to escape another outrigger and received a dunking courtesy of a nod from our dragon's head. Sorry! 

The first mile or so saw us gradually settle into our timing and technique as a new mixture of people learned to work together. Barbara lured us into shape with her drumming and stroke pair set a steady pace. Tony on the helm steered a canny course and encouraged us and rested us on our way. Three River Serpents, who had borrowed one of our boats, soon disappeared into the distance. Keni, in her outrigger canoe, lead us for a few miles as we  tussled to get our timing. Then with resolve and an upping of pace we passed Keni and settled into our task. Riding a few waves from time to time and occasionally battling with the wake of a support boat we ticked off the miles wriggling to relieve our numb 'derrieres'. Then before we knew it we were past the halfway mark. More steady paddling ate up the miles and then the surprise announcement from our support boat that we were merely a mile from our goal. Excitement muddled our rhythm for a moment but soon we were steadily powering towards Fell Foot finishing in a spurt of powered paddling lured by the thought of bacon butties.

Sunny conditions and a cooling, following breeze allowed Paddlers for Life to beat last year's best time by 12 minutes finishing in a time of 1 hour 44 minutes. 

Three River Serpents dragon boat team from Durham finished in 1 hour 27 minutes!

Keni, solo paddling in her outrigger canoe, finished soon after Paddlers for Life.

Thanks to everyone who pitched in, especially Barbara who dressed the heads and tied lovely bunches of carnations. As always many members quickly adopted a variety of roles and took on jobs to make yet another event so successful. Another great day paddling.