Training Begins

New kayak ready for our first session

On a delightful April Sunday morning after having collected the kayak the day before we arrived at Niffany Bridge near Skipton for our first paddling session. Unsure of how Andrew would find his first sit in a kayak for many years I let him get in first (no point in both of getting wet if he capsized!)

The good news, he didn't take an early bath so we both climbed aboard and set off heading toward Gargrave with the hope of covering the 5 miles there and back.

The bad news, we encountered half a dozen swans after about a mile and decided that it might be prudent to turn and run without attracting their attention (I had annoyed swan during my inflatable canoe solo paddle and discovered a kami kaze swan that flew into my back at full speed).

More bad news, the boat lets in a bit of water and we need to watch this if we are not to become the first submarine to complete the journey.

The worst news is that steering the kayak in a straight line is close to impossible and it is evident that our 160 mile journey is likely to be nearer bloody 200 unless we can put and end to veering from one side the canal to the other - passersby must have wondered whether there was some reason for us being next to the towpath one minute then careering over to the non-towpath side next minute.

Andrew W in the kayak just before we discovered we can't steer it

The Challenge in the Press

Outside the Holiday Inn Express, Burnley

Our first appearance in the press via the Lancashire Evening Telegraph at the following link:

http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/15225733.Hotel_staff_to_help_duo_on_Leeds_and_Liverpool_Canal_marathon_mission/

Please follow the link to get the article into the top 10 of the online paper stats.

More to follow through the Burnley Express, we wait with baited breath for fame and fortune.

The support crew

David Waterhouse - the Support Crew

Two men, one boat has a new land-based crew member, David has agreed to provide support and back up doing the 7 days of kayaking. Three men, one boat sounds a tad too similar to a rather well-known tome so we will stick with our original challenge title.

David has himself has a recent scare with cancer but early investigatory surgery has resulted in him being given the all-clear. This has strengthened his desire to get involved and to help the team to help the charity to help its clients.

In his day-job David runs the Ilkley based property rental company, Angus Roberts but, for a week in July, he will be running the company whilst on the move meeting us at various places en route whilst providing food, drink and moral support. He will also be carrying baggage for us to save weight being carried in the kayak.

Whilst the challenge might be possible without David's help it would undoubtedly be very much more difficult and we are very grateful to have him on board and look forward to having the knowledge that he is just around the corner.

Welcome aboard David, great to have you with us.

A New month

Event Promotion

Us with (from L-R) Linda Entwistle, hotel administrator, Sam Jackson, hotel team member, Kerian Barnes, Operations Director, GM Steve Walmsley, revenue manager Darren Schembri and compliance manager Tim O’Brien.

April has arrived and we are now less than 3 months away from setting off from Liverpool on 9th July. A lot has happened in March; we have planned the route, although the actual route itself is pretty much set in stone, (well, more like set in water with it following the canal!).

We have been really pleased to get great support from hotels and B&Bs along the way, especially the Holiday Inn Express hotels in Burnley and Leeds. They have got right behind our venture, bringing on board (no pun intended) Nicolette from Flex Media, the group's PR company. We met with Nicolette and Kerian, the Operations Director for Starboard Hotels, who run the two hotels, and we are excited at the prospects of having such enthusiastic people to help.

Also in March we met with Caroline Lewis, the dynamo fundraiser from Cancer Support Yorkshire who never sees problems, only opportunities. Caroline is our link to the charity and she is talking with Andy Goodall from the Woolly Sheep Inn in Skipton about putting on a charity fundraiser on the evening of 12th July when we will be saying there. More of that as things develop.

March also saw a new member of the team - we now have the services of a support vehicle which will be our back-up rather than having to strap everything to the kayak and to help with towpath fundraising. More about this in a separate post.

March did not see the start of training in earnest, that can only start when we have the kayak from Leeds Canoe Club which hopefully we will have in a week or two. In the meantime Andrew continues with his gym workouts and I, being a tight Yorkshire lad and not wanting to join the gym, now have a plan B for transport. The sharp-eyed amongst you will have noticed that the canoe that wouldn't fit in or on my available transport in my earlier post is actually an inflatable so April will see the first of my ventures out on the canal. More of this also in a separate post.

Finally, thanks to Silsden Boats who have agreed to allow us to park the car at their boatyard while we canoe off toward Skipton as part of our imminent and rigorous training regime - I have suggested that we canoe as far as the Bay Horse at Skipton, then return to Silsden, a 10-mile trip out and back.