Exe & Barle whitewater trip 2009

Half a dozen pupils took advantage of the high water levels and completed a run down part of the river Exe in Devon. This went so well that everyone jumped into the minibus and drove to the river Barle and paddled that as well.

Some photos.

Windsor divisional marathon 2009

Nine pupils competed in the Windsor divisional kayak marathon on Sunday week 6 of the Autumn term, a four mile race on the Thames.
Ellie Grugeon represented the Bryanston girls entry whilst Oscar Ward, James Horton, Ryan Coles, Lee Turnell-Ritson and Giles Doherty all competed well on a tricky course for their first fixture. Tom Harris and Harry Armitage came first in their k2 division and Christo O'Rorke came fourth in his, which was enough to see him promoted to division 7 in K1.

Waterside B 2009

Waterside A and Thameside 1 2009

Stour descent 2008

Six pupils and two staff took part in the Stour descent on a cold Decembers day.

See some photos.

Whitewater trips 2008

On two succesive weekends in November a group from the 'C' yeargroup and then a group of A-level paddlers experienced some whitewater paddling in Devon.

The Cs played on the big water of the Exe before trying rock dodging on the river Barle.

The following weekend the 'A' group zapped down the Exe and the Barle in one day to leave the Sunday free for a long run down the river Dart.

Images

Windsor divisional.

Joe Weld and SHJ were placed third in Division 7 and Charlie Markus was placed third in Division 8, earning a promotion to Division 7.
In their first marathon race, Charlie Hughes and Harry Aitcheson produced an outstanding performance, winning Division 9 by over a minute.  This is the best performance from any C crew at Bryanston  in over ten years. The future is bright!

Photos

Poole harbour canoe & sailing clubs joint camping expedition.

A good weekend was had by all. See the photos.

Exe circuit

Three paddlers from Bryanston entered the Exe circuit divisional race, our last race of the term.  James Lancaster won the class he entered and gave the two ‘C’ boys something to aspire to. Photos.

Bristol canoe marathon.

Six paddlers from the 'C' yeargroup, all of whom started paddling this term, entered the Bristol divisional marathon race.  Ciaran O'Toole finished in 2nd place K1 and Jack Grainger-Adams in a K2 with James Duncan also finished in 2nd place, both in division 9. A few photos here.

Devizes to Westminster 2008

Four Bryanston crews competed at DW 2008 this Easter.

Conditions were very challenging. High winds, heavy rain, snow, sleet and hail battered the competitors relentlessly throughout the race. At night, temperatures dropped to minus 10.
On the Henley Straight the headwind was so strong, and the waves so large, that crews were forced to leave the river and run up the towpath for 2½ miles.
In the senior overnight event, more that half of the crews retired – mostly through hypothermia.

In the senior 4 day event 40 crews started, but only 27 finished. Mr Colcott and Mr Hill were placed 4th.

Of the 84 junior crews that started, 73 finished.
Baz Street and Brad Jarvis were placed 40th
Jay Yates and Iain Fleet were placed 26th
and Max Milward and Charlie Markus were placed 22nd
Max and Charlie are also awarded the Shield for the Fastest Bryanston Crew.

See some photos here.

Waterside D

Six paddlers from Bryanston competed in Waterside D, the last and, at 34 miles, the longest of the pre-DW races.
All of our paddlers performed well with Max & Charlie taking home a trophy for 2nd place in the series overall.
Some photos here.

Thameside 2 & Waterside C

During half term the DW squad competed at two events.

At Thameside 2 (19 miles) the crews of Iain Fleet and Charlie Markus, and Ellie Grugeon and Georgie Martin were both placed 3rd in their respective classes.
Messrs Perkins and Collcott were placed 6th in their class.

At Waterside C (23 miles) Max Milward and Charlie Markus were placed 7th/35 in the Junior K2 class. Messrs Hill and Collcott were placed 10th/43 in the highly competitive Senior K2 class.

Waterside B

Four kayaks completed the 18 mile "Waterside B" race on the Kennet & Avon canal from Newbury to Aldermaston and back again.
Max Millward and Charlie Markus paddled brilliantly, outpacing Jay Yates and Iain Fleet who narrowly finished in front of Baz Street and Scott Eggelhoeffer.. Mr Collcott just about managed to hang onto his head-start on this hot and difficult course, alongside a few hundred other competitors.

8th out of 37 junior K2s Charlie Markus & Max Milward   02:55:17
17th Iain Fleet & Jay Yates   03:10:10
20th Scott Eggelhoefer & Baz Street   03:13:37
14th Richard Collcott   03:00:18

Thameside 1

Some photos
Five paddlers from Bryanston started this years Thameside 1 race organised by Reading canoe club. The course started at Aldermaston and headed down the Kennet & Avon canal to Reading where competitors had to paddle to the finish against the flow of the Thames.
All had a good race apart from Iain Fleet who misjudged a low bridge...

Max Millward & Charlie Markus finished 5th Boys K2 in a time of 01:54:07
Mr Collcott finished in 6th place Veteran K1 in a time of 01:58:05
Iain Fleet & Jay Yates retired...

Waterside A 2008

Some photos here.
Six crews from Bryanston attended Waterside A, the first and shortest race in this four race series.
Over 300 seperate kayaks and canoes were raced from Great Bedwin to Newbury, a total of around 13 miles.
Weather conditions were near-perfect and all of our crews performed extremely well.

Jay Yates & Rory Trow placed 12th with a time of 2h17m10s
Iain Fleet & Max Millward placed 16th with a time of 2h24m44s
Baz Street & Scott Eggelhoeffer placed 17th with a time of 2h26m30s
Ellie Grugeon & Georgie Martin placed 18th in the K2 ladies category with a time of 2h42m55s
Mr. Jones & Mr. Collcott placed 9th Senior K2 in 2h06m43s
Mr.Hill & Mr.Day in their first race experience placed 50th with a time of 2h52m38s

Stour Descent

On Saturday evening the River Stour was on the verge of flooding, with a nine inch gap under one of the bridges. However, against all odds, the river level dropped by 2 ½ feet overnight, allowing the race to go ahead, albeit in very fast and challenging conditions. Gale force winds, torrential rain and falling trees were but some of the hazards braved by the three pupils and two staff that eventually started the 14 mile race from Sturminster Newton to the Boathouse at Bryanston. At one point Baz Street was swept under a fallen tree and consequently capsized, losing valuable minutes as he struggled to rescue his boat from the swirling water.

The results were as follows:

Open touring K2

1st place: Jay Yates and Mr RJ Collcott

2nd place: Iain Fleet and Mr RJ Perkins

Junior Wild Water Racer

1st place: Baz Street

Elmbridge divisional marathon

Six pupils and Mr Collcott raced in the Elmbridge Canoe Club divisional marathon.
All Bryanston competitors paddled well, even if one of our boats missed their start (Charlie & Max). A good bit of racing experience was gained by all.
Pictures here.

Poole Harbour Canoe Race

Five Bryanston pupils competed at the Poole Harbour Canoe Race on Sunday.

Conditions were windy, with a decent swell at times.
The organisers claimed that more competitors had to be rescued this year than ever before.

Tom Frew and Iain Fleet retired after their third capsize; Ellie Grugeon paddled extremely well in difficult conditions to finish well up the field; Jay Yates was placed second in Division 9 and Rory Trow was placed first in Division 7.

A good start to the racing season.

SHJ

A commercial company has some photos for sale from this event.

Devizes to Westminster 2007

Photographs

Over Easter weekend, four Bryanston crews competed in the 4 day, 125 mile Devizes to Westminster Canoe Race. Conditions were challenging – warm, sunny weather meant that competitors had to think carefully about food and fluid intake during the event.
The participants braved blisters (and blisters on blisters!), cramp due to salt imbalance, and freezing overnight conditions to complete the event – described by many as the canoeist’s Everest.

After more than seventeen hours of racing, the Bryanston individual crew placings, from a field of 65 crews, were as follows:

Tom Kelley and James Silcock         5th
Ed Brimfield and Ben Hosford         6th
James Lancaster and Rory Brokenshire Trow  9th
Charlie Byron and Ollie Boyle  20th

The team was placed 2nd overall, beating 13 teams from other schools, including: Kelly College, Royal Hospital School, Marlborough College, Dauntsey’s School and Cranleigh College

An outstanding achievement by all involved.

Waterside C 2007

On Sunday four Bryanston crews competed in this 23 mile race on the Kennet and Avon Canal.

Ed Brimfield and Ben Hosford were placed 4th, Tom Kelley and James Silcock were placed 6th, and Scott Eggelhoefer and Rory Trow, and Charlie Byron and Ollie Boyle were placed 22nd and 24th respectively.

An excellent performance against strong opposition.

Thameside 2

Thameside 2 was postponed on Sunday due to high water levels on the Thames.
It has been rescheduled to April 1st.

Waterside B 2007

Three Bryanston Crews competed at Waterside B. High water levels meant that competitors had to run several upstream sections of the course.
Ed Brimfield and Ben Hosford were placed 5th, and Tom Kelley and James Silcock were placed 6th.

Waterside A 2007

Five Bryanston crews completed Waterside A on Sunday. Tom Kelley and James Silcock were placed 5th, Scott Eggelhoefer and Ollie Boyle came 13th and James Lancaster and Rory Trow were placed 15th.

Charlie Byron and Jay Yates paddled with Mr Adie and Mr Perkins respectively and performed very well against strong senior crews.

A promising start to the new season.

Exe Descent 2006

The Exe descent is an exciting annual race where various classes of canoe and kayak compete down the river Exe navigating hazards including rapids and man-made weirs.
Our two junior racing K2s finished in first and second place despite one boat needing major repairs utilising a large amount of duck tape and a clipboard. Many boats competing didn’t make it as far as the finish line....

See the full results and the official write-up here.

Photos here.

Poole Harbour circuit race 2006

In a hard race, characterised by changeable weather and sea conditions, Bryanston paddlers performed extremely well.

Ed Brimfield, James Silcock and Scott Eggelhoefer were placed first in their respective classes; Luke Ellingworth was placed second, as was Max Milward - closely followed by Charlie Markus in third place.

Exe Estuary Race

See the photos.

Seven Bryanston crews performed extremely well in sweltering conditions.

Luke Ellingworth and Ben Hosford were placed first in their respective events. Ed Brimfield, James Silcock and Nick Fisher Dodd were placed second; and Max Milward was placed third.

Excellent results all round!

Devizes to Westminster 2006

DW Photos   Waterside D photos

Benjy Barkes and Will Spratt did extremely well at the DW qualification race - Waterside D – being placed 15th out of 22 in a time of 7 hours and 5 minutes. To perform at this level on the strength of only 4 weeks of training is an incredible achievement.  However, subsequently illness meant that this crew were unable to compete at DW itself.

At 4.45am on Good Friday, James Silcock, Nick Fisher Dodd, Tom Kelley and Ed Brimfield were roused from their beds to travel to the start of the Devizes to Westminster International Canoe Race. This race, covering 125 miles in 4 days, is reputed to be the toughest kayak marathon in the world. A total of 45 junior crews entered from several schools including Kelly College, Dauntseys School, Cranleigh School, Churchers College, Lord Wandsworth College, Cokethorpe School, Trent College, Blundells and Marlborough.

The crews endured psychotic swans, a 500 yard tunnel, three long portages totalling some 5 miles, and severe blisters due to paddling at high intensity for up to six hours each day.

On Easter Monday morning both crews paddled together under Westminster Bridge at the stroke of eight o’clock.

James and Nick were placed 7th (19 hours and 33 minutes) and Tom and Ed were placed 4th (18 hours and 43 minutes), only a few minutes behind the boat in 3rd place. This is an astonishing achievement bearing in mind that two of the crews in the top three were coached by the GB Junior Marathon Racing Coach.

James, Nick, Ed and Tom should be extremely proud of themselves and should be congratulated.

OB entries:

Mike Piggott: placed 9th/27 in the Senior Single event (4 stages – 20 hours and 18 minutes)

Henry Dodson (with George Heaton-Redshaw): placed 23rd/ 116 in the Senior Doubles event (overnight – 22 hours and 48 minutes)

John Catto (OB and Artists Rifles): On target for a very respectable time in the senior doubles overnight event (5.47 through Newbury and off the canal within 9 hours), Captain Catto exhausted and hospitalised his doubles partner at the 85 mile mark (no mean feat, Hutch is a extremely hard man). Undeterred, he press-ganged one of his supporters into service for the remaining 40 miles, finishing in an unofficial but very respectable time of 21 hours and 44 minutes.

Waterside C - Sunday 19th March 2006

I took a few photos.

Thameside 2 - Sunday 12th March 2006

Our 2 boats were very evenly matched on the Thames, with finishing times 1 minute apart.

Tom Kelley paddling with Ed Brimfield had a time of 2h31 in 4th place,
James Silcock and Nick Fisher-Dodd had a time of 2h32 in 5th.

A photo from the start.

Waterside 'B'- Sunday 5th March 2006

Two Bryanston crews braved freezing conditions to compete in this 18 mile race on the Kennet and Avon Canal.

Unfortunately three miles of the course were covered with thick, impenetrable ice. Undeterred, Tom Kelley and Ed Brimfield, and James Silcock and Mr Perkins ran these sections carrying their boats.

Tom and Ed were placed 3rd in the Junior Class and James and Mr Perkins were placed 10th in the Senior Class.

Thameside 1 - Sunday 26th February 2006

Tom Kelley and Ed Brimfield were placed third in this 12 mile event on the Kennet and Avon Canal. Two other Bryanston crews also competed, producing respectable performances in their respective classes.

Waterside 'A' - Sunday 19th February 2006

See the pictures

In the first of six races building up to the Devizes to Westminster Canoe Race, two Bryanston crews raced over a distance of 13 miles to finish in 5th and 7th positions, behind some impressive crews from the Thames Valley, and ahead of crews from Marlborough, Bedford, Kelly College and Kimbolton.