2004 Report by Stanford Rickets Sept 2004

vent Report by Stanford Ricketts - September 2004

Highland weather did not deter competitors at the inaugural Liquid Life Boater X event on the weekend as the usual assortment of kayakers and groupies drifted in for registration at the Red Bull tent on the Friday evening. BBQ smoke wafted through the air as Fraggle tanked up for his personal show, which was a beauty, that I am sure some will never forget!

Saturday morning saw competitors warming up with free tea and coffee at the Scottish Canoe Association tent, whilst the first 16 boats were shuttled up to the start for the 8 o’clock whistle. Scottish and Southern generously turned on the taps up to 384cfs as four kayakers per heat cranked their way down the course at five-minute intervals.

Where some people thought positions could be made up on the flats, it was actually in the rapids where shortcuts were found, and shortcomings exposed. The technical course definitely showed who had the skills. Competitors were slowly weaned out through rounds 1&2 with a break before continuing with the quarter and semi finals.

Some fine boating (and swimming) skills were displayed and had the crowd hooting at the finish line as competitors raced over the double tier waterfall. Meanwhile, the safety crew at Zig and Zag had their hands full whilst the camera crew were smiling.

There was an awesome feeling of comradeship amongst the competitors as they cheered and congratulated each other throughout the event. I’m sure the constant supply of Red Bull at the finish line helped with the energy.

Bridget Thomas powering to first.Sunshine and rainbows saw Bridget Thomas sweep up the first prize in the women’s, with Claire Scott who got pinned in Zig and Zag awarded second due to the fact that Jennifer Berry and Sara Howard decided to cross the finish line out of their kayaks.

First men’s went to Cammy Allan, who dominated with local knowledge, followed extremely closely by Spud (a.k.a. Iain Carey), bringing third and fourth place to Stan Ricketts and Matt Simpson respectively.

As free beer flowed courtesy of E-P-Designs at the prize giving, more than forty prizes were handed out, ranging from world class river trips with Water by Nature and Kayak the Zambezi, gift vouchers by Tiso and useful equipment from Teva, PeakUK, Lomo Watersport, Carlisle Canoes, Kayak Session and Palm Equipment.

The after party saw the Castle Menzies rocking till the wee hours as everyone got into the spirit of Scottish dancing and the music of the Jimi McRae Band.

Next year should see more people, more activities and hopefully more water, so lets see everyone there for another good weekend of Scottish kayak banter at the Liquid Life Festival.