White Water Work-Up Weekend

Over the three-day-week period of 26th-28th March, the majority of the team, from home bases spread throughout the UK, and also from as far as Germany and South Africa, gathered at Bala in North Wales for work-up and training on the white waters of the river Tryweryn, based on the Canolfan Centre. These waters are considered to be more severe in terms of conditions than what we expect on the Rio Grande, so the "in at the rougher end" should serve well.

The objectives for the week-end were fourfold: first, to provide the craft helmsmen, each with varying degrees of experience, with white water raft handling and navigation skills training. We also wanted the entire team to obtain white water experience, and practice the essential teamwork and drills for water operations, man overboard, team rescue, flipped craft recovery, and other emergency situations; secondly, to test out for the first time the four inflatable specially designed craft and the one pilot canoe, all made by Eurocraft of Leyland; thirdly to provide one evening for the important expedition briefings and discussions on kit and equipment; and fourthly, to get to know one another, as we were a group of about 20 people drawn together by a common interest, bringing an impressive range of individual professional skills and disciplines. It generated a great sense of team spirit and an opportunity to exchange email addresses for liaison chat via the internet.

Chris Burrows of Eurocraft visited and shared his impressive knowledge and experience with the team about rafts in general and our special craft in particular. His son Kit, a canoe expert provided Malcolm Cavan with some fine coaching in confidence building in the inflatable canoe work and survival techniques. We had the three best, most experienced experts of Canolfan "Rescue 3" organisation as our trainers for the period.

We were all accommodated at the Goat Inn, an exceptionally fine base for the team: good food, warmth, inexhaustible hot water, comfortable bunks, and a Bar that never closed until the last retired to bed.

Yolima Cipaguata [SES Director, Latin America] came over from Colombia for this period and an extended working visit at the Expedition Base in Motcombe. "La Yoli" plays a very important part in all the SES Latin American expeditions, and works very hard for us all.

We will next meet in the second week of May when the team deploys to
Bolivia: John Blashford Snell is off first, then a few days later Simon Hampal with the River Support Group [RSG], and finally Malcolm Cavan with the main body of the water team.