A warm breeze stirred the morning air, causing a faint rustle in the leaves, the heat haze shimmered over the crystal water as it cascaded down the rocks - ahhh, this was canoeing… and then the alarm went off! I could hear the cold wind roaring up the valley, blasting icy rain against the windows - this was November and 5* training.

I fumbled for the alarm, hoping that Kevin also had the sound of a suit of armour being dropped down a lift shaft in his head and the taste of odour-eater in his mouth… -- The previous night: "Yeah" Kev says, "let's have a quick half on the way to the B&B!" We make last orders, slam down four pints and 20 minutes later dash off into the night to arrive just before curfew. -- As usual, I felt as rough as ten bears for a 9 a.m. start on a training weekend in North Wales. Surely, this was a bad dream… and then I am awakened by an eerie voice trailing in the gloom: "…make the tea…"… Morning Sid.

As lean, mean paddling machines, Sid and I had a light breakfast. Kevin had his usual morning kick-start of full English breakfast, followed by a full English breakfast with a side plate of leftovers from our full English breakfast. Feeling suitably reinforced, we rolled ourselves down the road to meet the Leahy Clan. Colin and Mo, the ever-present bank support, were far too chirpy for that time of day…

Completely out of character, the training course started at 9 a.m. sharp. Completely in character, the ACC crew popped in at 9.30…

Despite a weather forecast which prompted several local villagers to commence building an Ark, we were told water levels were low and the course would take place on the Conwy (cue the voice of Jezz: "you know that river, the extra paddling experience will be good for you, ya big wuss…")

This news did not bode well. For several weeks I had argued against inclusion on the course as I just did not feel ready. The change of venue to an unfamiliar river seemed the Kiss of Death. I would back out now, I looked the Senior Instructor in the eye, stood up, meaningfully pushing my chair back … and meekly boarded the minibus. The interior of the bus seemed stifling and claustrophobic, four miles down the road I decided to start breathing again. Carl did his best to take my mind off the impending ordeal: "Oh look, snow-capped mountains, we'll be paddling freezing melt-water." … great, can I go home now?

The ACC crew were in fine form and looking forward to two days on grade IV to V rivers. Sid, as usual, was so laid back he was horizontal. Neil was scaring the pants off some poor bloke by describing the horrors we would probably face, Carl surveyed the landscape and cheerfully chatted about his geography exams, and Kev sat there smiling like Psycho Derek in a machete factory. I just stared at the back of the head of the guy in front of me and wondered what he had done to offend his barber?

As a "Wuss", I am happy to explain my trepidation: The 5* training is the entry to the top level of performance, involving leadership in difficult situations and high personal skills - we are talking Advanced River Running. The prerequisites quote whitewater paddling experience of three years as a minimum. I wondered whether my 18 months since first getting into a kayak and cooking burgers at Whitewater The Canoe Centre's Open Day would suffice…???

The chosen section of the Conwy ran from just outside Pentrefoelas down to Fairy Glen (a misnomer if ever there was one). The first four miles or so were deemed too easy, so we moved straight on to the grade II to IV bit, which ends in a "you really do not want to miss the get-out point" - Conwy Falls, grade VI… oh good!

The scenery was superb and the ACC crew gave a good account of themselves by playing in everything from the knee deep cow dung at the access point to the gnarly IV+ drops, whilst learning advanced river leadership techniques… all save one, me! I was so over-awed by the whole occasion that even simple manoeuvres left me spinning uncontrollably downstream. At several points, I seriously considered a long walkout, but the ACC crew stuck by me with tremendous encouragement and no little patience.

Unfortunately, a personal Paddling Disaster Day ended in a serious down side (and I mean DOWN). You guessed it… after a naughty little pinning incident, I parted company with my RPM and watched as it disappeared over the "you do not want to go over that drop" drop. For all we know, the boat was either trashed or is on its way to Ireland, as it was never seen again. On a positive note, I was rescued by fellow ACC members (cheers Neil and Carl) and walked away with "only" bleeding hands, bruised legs and battered pride.

On day 2, I deliberated over getting back on the water or undergoing dental torture at the hands of Oliver Laurence armed with a blunt Black&Decker drill and a cheese grater. The latter option seemed preferable! But once again the ACC spirit charged to the rescue and I bowed to popular consensus that "mate, you can do this, you just think you can't" (cheers Sid).

So, using a borrowed Gradient, with a positive mindset and a little anger at the previous day's performance, I set off with the others. And wow, what a day! I couldn't do a thing wrong - even if I tried. It was embarrassing! The Gradient was far more forgiving and I cut back and forth across the river with impunity (may the River God forgive me) without catching edges which is commonplace with the RPM. The previous day was forgotten and my confidence quickly grew to the extent that the S.I. and I portaged back up the river to re-run a particularly technical stretch - what a buzz!

So lessons learnt: Seriously consider personal goals. Do not try to advance too far, too fast for the sake of a piece of paper - YOU are more important. Set targets which can be achieved in accordance with your particular ability at the material time. Think about your craft (see Canoe Feature in January Newsletter) or speak to the staff of Whitewater The Canoe Centre for help and guidance. Choose a boat that suits you (with hindsight the RPM was too much to handle, but no, I blindly insisted upon it).

Finally, have confidence in your paddle-mates - lesson reaffirmed on this trip! Without the ACC crew, I would have walked away forever… Sorry Guys and Girls, your are stuck with me now - does anyone fancy a pint, Carl's buying!

by Graham White, December 1998