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The Canoeists Everest

11th March 2008

Devizes to Westminster “The Canoeists’ Everest” celebrates its 60th anniversary and raises £200,000 for charity

The Devizes to Westminster International Canoe Marathon (DW) involves starting the 125 mile race on Saturday in the quiet market town of Devizes in Wiltshire and continuing straight through the night without stopping, finishing on Easter Sunday at Westminster Bridge, directly opposite the Houses of Parliament in the heart of London.

canoeists in london

Canoeists in London

Coping with deep fatigue in the hours of darkness is just one of the challenges facing DW paddlers in the straight-through race. DW is more than just a canoe race, it forces competitors to dig deep into their reserves of physical and mental stamina which is why the race is often called “the canoeists’ Everest”. It is an awesome challenge and the most important quality needed to complete DW is raw determination.

The race has been a firm sporting fixture for 60 years and previous participants have included;

Paddy Ashdown former leader of the Liberal Democrats, actor Ralph Fiennes and Olympic Silver rowing medallist Guin Batten.

People who are canoeing this year include;

- The youngest and the oldest duo, 15 years old Richard Lipscombe and his paddling partner David Howies who is 62 years old.

- General Major Bill Moore and Judith Eastwood who have so far raised an awesome £119,000 for charity, with pledges totalling £160,000!

- Peter Wheeler who is also paddling for charity, following the death of his son Tom who died of liver cancer. He has raised £2,500 but hopes to raise £6,000.

- Brian Greenham the current K2 (kayak double) record holder although not racing this year, he is the 4 day stage Race Umpire. He describes his long involvement with the race -

“There is something really special about the DW, which still inspires people to go and challenge themselves for personal endeavour or for charity ..or to even try and break my record!”.

women canoeing

The race record has stood since 1979 at an incredible 15 hours and 34 minutes. Participants paddle in pairs (two men kayaks or canoes) and for elite crews, the non-stop journey may take 17 or 18 hours. It is considered a real achievement to break 20 hours and the bulk of paddlers take over 24 hours.

Did you know?

Some canoeists have had to train for DW by paddling back and forth on a tiny, 1 mile stretch of river, because access to rivers in England and Wales is restricted. (Only 2% of rivers are available to paddle). The Rivers Access Campaign is campaigning for new legislation to clarify access to inland waters and the campaign Manager will be at the end of DW to help raise the profile of the campaign. John Grogan MP for Selby, a supporter of the campaign is launching an EDM (Early Day Motion) in Parliament and will also be available at the end of the race for interviews.

Media photo and opportunities

What: Photograph and / or interview with canoeists finishing the race

Interview John Grogan MP for Selby re the Rivers Access Campaign

When: Sunday 23rd March, 6.30am – 8am

Where: Interviews at St Thomas Garden, London

For information about the photo / interview opportunities call Chloe Nelson-Lawrie up until 19.03.08 on 0845 370 9511 / 07812523409 or call Tamsin Phipps on 07701001714 from 20.03.08 onwards.

For more information about the race and course visit www.dwrace.org.uk

For more information about the Rivers Access Campaign visit www.riversaccss.org

ENDS

The Background of DW:

The Course

The course itself falls naturally into 3 sections. The first 54 miles runs along the Kennet and Avon Canal and is punctuated irregularly by over 50 locks. Within the canal section, a significant psychological landmark is reached after 34 miles at Newbury, before the canal continues for a further 20 miles.

The second part of the course is the 53 miles along the River Thames from Reading to Teddington. The main challenge on the Thames – apart from keeping going for all – for the 4 day competitors during the day is to watch out for other boats on the river and their wash which can be tricky when tired. For the overnight crew it is to get over the lows with the lowest points of the race being from 10pm until dawn when the warmth of daylight (and easier navigation) seems a long time away.

The final section of the race is the 17 miles from Teddington to Westminster Bridge on the tidal section of the Thames - the Tideway. It is imperative to arrive at the Tideway when the tide is flowing out because it is not feasible to paddle against an incoming tide. Each crew must calculate how long it expects to take to get from Devizes to Teddington and select its start time from Devizes accordingly. A crew which miscalculates how long it will take to reach the tidal section will find that the tide is coming in and they have to wait hours for it to turn again. This, of course, has a disastrous impact on their overall race time. So careful training and planning are an essential element of any successful Devizes Westminster attempt.

Origins

The idea of the Devizes to Westminster Canoe Race originated at the Greyhound Public House at Pewsey. Owing to a threatened rail, and bus strike in 1920, alternative means of transport were the subject of conversation at the bar. A group of friends bet that they could travel by the River Avon from Pewsey to the sea at Mudeford, near Christchurch, in less than three days. Using a 26ft double sculling skiff and overcoming all sorts of hazards, the intrepid boatmen won their bet with twelve hours to spare. Although very well publicised in the local Press at the time, so far as is known, the journey was not attempted again for 27 years.

A 1947 crew composed of three RAF men and a local farmer was inspired to repeat the exploit by a conversation with a member of the original crew in the same Greyhound Public House. They won their £5 by reaching Christchurch in 51 hours. The journey has been completed several times since, with the record time currently standing at around 20 hours.

Notes to the editors:

Devizes Westminster is a voluntary, not for profit organisation run by its members to organise and run the annual event.

Images courtesy of www.paddlepics.com

Set up in 1936 to send a team to the Berlin Olympics, the British Canoe Union (BCU) is the lead body for canoeing and kayaking in the UK. In 2000 the BCU federalised to become the umbrella organisation for the Home Nation Associations in Scotland (SCA), Wales (WCA) and Northern Ireland (CANI). In England, Canoe England was set up, on a par with the other National Associations, as a division of the BCU, to support the development of canoeing in England.

The BCU is responsible for leading and setting the overall framework for the National Associations; including representing canoeing interests through coaching, competition and campaigning for increased access to Britain’s waterways for paddlers. In the Athens Olympics, Canoeing was one of Team GB’s most successful sports with medals for Ian Wynne (Bronze), Helen Reeves (Bronze) and Campbell Walsh (Silver).

Today the BCU has a membership of over 60,000, including over 500 affiliated clubs and 145 approved centres. There are an estimated 1.5 million people who take to the water in a canoe each year (according to the most recent RYA survey). The vast majority do so under a watchful eye of one of the 11,000 BCU Qualified coaches or as part of an affiliated organisation.

For more information visit: www.bcu.org.uk.

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