Terri Kayaking
Created by Brian 7 years agoTerri liked the water: she
could swim underwater for the length of a pool and enjoyed boating and
kayaking. For years she had a 17’ speedboat called Carpathia* that she bought
with Lyn. She would often kayak from the Fort with friends, sometimes to
Cawsand for the coffee morning at the Institute.
Terri and I joined St. Germans Sailing Club with a view to keeping Carpathia there, but the St Germans/ Lynher and Tiddy rivers had become so silted that they were by now virtually unusable so we couldn’t go far up either river either in Carpathia or the Avon, certainly not a far as Notter Bridge where Terri wanted to go as she had boated there when she and Lyn lived there in a caravan.
Terri and I bought a double inflatable kayak for use on the rivers so we were able to base ourselves in our caravan at Newton Ferrers from where we paddled together to the sandbar and to the derelict railway bridge up the Yealm near Brixton, where we had a picnic.
On day we launched the double kayak at St Germans Sailing Club, paddling to the junction of the Lynher and Tiddy rivers, as far from shore as it is possible to be, when we were caught in a heavy rain shower. We sheltered under Terri’s parasol. As the rain abated, we realised that the wind was catching the parasol so as to blow us upriver towards Boating World and the railway viaduct. Coming the other way was a group of serious kayakers with wetsuits and all the paraphernalia including a large, fast safety RHIB: they took look at us in shorts and t-shirts with me in a straw hat and Terri with her sunshade being blown along by our girlie parasol and gave us a cheer! I warned Terri that the turning tide and opposing wind would hamper our return but she repeatedly refused to turn back. When we did turn around at Boating World we got as far as the viaduct but could make no headway. By now Terri had a sore back so we made for the shore where Terri asked me to give her a shove out of the kayak, which I did a bit too hard as she fell face first in the mud! We decided to continue on the salt-mudflats but were continually falling down holes up to our thighs – we were lucky not to break our legs. When we came to a stream I was holding the bow of the kayak and Terri the stern when, not thinking, I jumped the stream - pulling Terri into it up to her waist: She was not amused! It was a struggle to make our way along the mudbanks until we were opposite the sailing club where we re-launched to cross the Tiddy. We were utterly exhausted when we got home – but had a good laugh about it for years.
* Carpathia is the name of the the Titanic’s sister ship that saved many of the Titanic passengers including the ancestors of our boat’s previous owners – they asked Terri and Lyn not to change the name. It was funny when Terri announced Carpathia’s arrival at Sutton marina by radio: they were looking for a huge liner!
Terri and I joined St. Germans Sailing Club with a view to keeping Carpathia there, but the St Germans/ Lynher and Tiddy rivers had become so silted that they were by now virtually unusable so we couldn’t go far up either river either in Carpathia or the Avon, certainly not a far as Notter Bridge where Terri wanted to go as she had boated there when she and Lyn lived there in a caravan.
Terri and I bought a double inflatable kayak for use on the rivers so we were able to base ourselves in our caravan at Newton Ferrers from where we paddled together to the sandbar and to the derelict railway bridge up the Yealm near Brixton, where we had a picnic.
On day we launched the double kayak at St Germans Sailing Club, paddling to the junction of the Lynher and Tiddy rivers, as far from shore as it is possible to be, when we were caught in a heavy rain shower. We sheltered under Terri’s parasol. As the rain abated, we realised that the wind was catching the parasol so as to blow us upriver towards Boating World and the railway viaduct. Coming the other way was a group of serious kayakers with wetsuits and all the paraphernalia including a large, fast safety RHIB: they took look at us in shorts and t-shirts with me in a straw hat and Terri with her sunshade being blown along by our girlie parasol and gave us a cheer! I warned Terri that the turning tide and opposing wind would hamper our return but she repeatedly refused to turn back. When we did turn around at Boating World we got as far as the viaduct but could make no headway. By now Terri had a sore back so we made for the shore where Terri asked me to give her a shove out of the kayak, which I did a bit too hard as she fell face first in the mud! We decided to continue on the salt-mudflats but were continually falling down holes up to our thighs – we were lucky not to break our legs. When we came to a stream I was holding the bow of the kayak and Terri the stern when, not thinking, I jumped the stream - pulling Terri into it up to her waist: She was not amused! It was a struggle to make our way along the mudbanks until we were opposite the sailing club where we re-launched to cross the Tiddy. We were utterly exhausted when we got home – but had a good laugh about it for years.
* Carpathia is the name of the the Titanic’s sister ship that saved many of the Titanic passengers including the ancestors of our boat’s previous owners – they asked Terri and Lyn not to change the name. It was funny when Terri announced Carpathia’s arrival at Sutton marina by radio: they were looking for a huge liner!
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