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125 Mile Devinzes to Westminster SUP Paddle Race: Day 4 |
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By: John Hibbard
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Friday, 17 April 2009 |
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John Hibbard and Anthony Cooper took on the 125 mile Devinzes to Westminster Paddle Race on stand up boards. Here's the report on Day 4, the Final Day.
Day 4 - Finish Line
4.30am is not my favourite time of day to get out of bed, but we were scheduled for a 6am start so up we got!
We were on the water at first light and still people were trying to write us off saying we wouldn’t make it! I mean, dudes, do we look like we don’t know what we are doing??? We started at 6.05am and made exceptionally good time with a strong outgoing tide pushing us to the finish. I was up to about 8mph at times and the excitement was building as we made our way to Westminster. Each Bridge was lined with spectators cheering us on. I passed a few single kayakers who were literally on their last ounce of energy, struggling to stay upright they were literally just drifting with the tide. I saw a junior double crew capsize about 1 mile from the finish, which must have been gutting for them. I hope they managed to get going again and cross the line.
The first sign of the finish line was the towering London Eye Ferris wheel and a turn or so later Westminster Bridge and the houses of Parliament came into few. Westminster Bridge was packed with spectators and they roared as I crossed the line, as they did for Coops who followed me in about 10 mins later.
We’d done it, silenced all doubters and paddled standing up all the way from Devizes to Westminster in London. 125 miles from start to finish.
I’d completed the course in 26 hours and 6 minutes and Coops did it in 27 Hrs 32 minutes.
A huge thanks to the organisers and their event team for allowing us to enter and for making it a great weekend. Thanks to the hundreds of spectators along the route who cheered us on and congratulated us at the end of each day. Thanks to the people that sent emails, text messages and Twitters to wish us luck. A big thank you to Gill our support who never failed to meet us at the planned stops and put up with my stress when wanting her to fill my camelback faster!
It feels so good to have finished the race and to be the first Stand Up Paddlers to complete the DW. Hopefully our times are a respectable target for anyone following in our footsteps. The organisers were wary of letting us enter originally, but hopefully we have shown that SUP is a safe and fun way to do the DW. We were no trouble to them at all. We finished quicker than they could have imagined and were quick and hassle free at portages. It’s my hope that we can make a case for a larger SUP entry next year. Don’t hold your breath, but I hope that more SUP paddlers can be allowed in next year.
Although I encountered some hard times during the race it was generally a great experience and one that will stay with me for a long time. Paddling a 4 mile race won’t feel the same again! John Hibbard - Britain's Most Extreme Champion Sponsored by Tushingham Sails, Starboard, Fat Face, ActionVan, Go Fast Sports www.k007.co.uk Click here for Day One. Stand Up Paddle Surfing Magazine congratulates John Hibbard and Anthony Cooper. Awesome.
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