On my way back from Somerset, I stopped of at Hurley to further test out my new kit. All the recent rain had brought the level of the Thames right up and Hurley was on a very high 4 gates, although not in the stanchions. All of the side radials were open, and Bucks weir was on 4 as well.
Martyn arrived and we decided to get on and see what she was like. Martyn wussed out from dropping straight into the fourth gate. I dropped straight in and even managed to stick the landing. I managed to surf across to gate 2 before surfing off the back of the wave. This was to be my easiest ride of the day.
Hurley on a high 4 gates, with Martyn trying to paddle up
To get back onto the wave, you had to paddle hard against the flow since the radial at the top of the eddy was open. Then, once you got onto the wave you couldn’t relax either, since the water was much faster than normal and you had to concentrate hard to stay upright! It was a great session though, and I am glad we decided to get on.
I really enjoyed my new boat today. I think that the extra length and rocker in the tail over my old SuperStar made it more controllable in the wave, and I found that it handled predictably in the very swirly water after the wave – I did not have the issues with the sneaky little whirlpool things that I usually do in the SuperStar.
Me showing off my new kit