Stuart Reeve posted on November 16, 2009 10:19
With the deluge of rain we had the previous night, everything was off the scale for our playboats so we decided to head off to the River Usk. On arrival at the get out in Crickhowell, we found the river was in full spate, with very little room to fit under the bridge and surrounding field and car parks were totally flooded and just merged into one big River. Fences were completely covered by the rampaging current and a horsebox stood in what was now the River with just the top of it’s roof sticking out.
We drove along the course of the River to the get in checking other bridges en route. The river was fast following but no rapids from what we saw, so we thought we would do it anyway. We paddled about 2 miles before anything really happened, but then it hit us with a bang... The waves were all around, many of them up to seven feet high, popping up in every direction, some near on river wide, many with big stoppers.
We were in our element, the current carrying us along as if we were roaring down a motorway, big surf waves all over. Gary was getting huge air, Stu was spinning galore, and everyone got their own share of a beating, and good surf time on the waves. Because Chas had been driving all weekend, and must have been shattered, he decided to make a move home after the first run, whilst the rest of us had a another go.
The levels were dropping fast, which meant the waves were smaller, but we still had a very good run with lots of playing. We had somehow lost Mike, paddling so fast we actually passed the bridge he was supposed to meet us at before he reached it by car and we then waited further downstream for some 45 minutes before he appeared.
Needless to say we made the most of the time by surfing the wave under the bridge. Not bad though as we managed to paddle the section of the Usk from Talybont down to Crickhowell twice in two and a half hours and that included running the shuttle! A total of 22 miles of paddling which had included playing, surviving and a shuttle.
After a painless drive home and a quick bite to eat at one of favourite Wiltshire Pubs we were back where we had started. Curled up tight, in our warm, fluffy duvets, bodies all relaxed, dreaming of the adventures we had just had.