A week before the four-day Easter weekend the weather reports were looking promising for a good weekend of boating. However, as the week progressed it turned out that the weather forecasters were just teasing us poor paddlers. By Maundy Thursday it was apparent there was not enough water anywhere to make a trip worth our while so it was decided to spend the weekend playboating on the Thames. The small amount of rain which did fall in the preceding days did raise the level of the Thames slightly – up to one gate with all side radials open at Hurley – but not enough for the elusive two-gates required to warrent a trip to Hurley. We paid constant attention to the levels over the weekend hoping that it would go up that little bit more required for two gates, but to no avail. Instead we made do with Hambledon. On Friday and Saturday the ramps weren’t configured to make the most of the wave which meant very short rides, if you managed to catch it at all. On Sunday morning CPCC adjusted the ramps which made longer rides possible.
On Friday Tim, Martyn and I popped down for an afternoon session where the longest ride managed was only a couple of seconds long.
A (very) brief surf from Friday afternoon
Me getting a bounce…
…and what happens when the landing goes wrong!
After many, many attempts to surf the wave, I took a break to take some play with my camera and take some non-paddling photos.
Looking downstream from the wave
How I keep my camera dry – an advertising shot
On Saturday I returned with Martyn for a morning session, but not before Martyn had managed to lock his keys inside his flat! The wave was the same as the day before, in that it was almost impossible to catch a surf. It didn’t stop us trying though!
Martyn getting swamped
Martyn almost catching the wave
On Sunday afternoon I paid another visit to Hambledon with Tim. By the time we made it down the ramps had been adjusted which made the wave work much better than it had for the previous two days. In addition to the better wave, the weather had improved and it was warm enough to bring my shorty cag back out. Long rides were now possible and I did my best to entertain the crowds constantly walking across the footpath over the weir.
Trying out the shutter speed settings on my camera
Playing with long exposure settings
Tim and I returned to Hambledon again on Monday morning, where the sun was yet again shining. I managed to suss out how to consistently catch the wave which made the session much more fun than the previous three had been, with less time spent paddling up the eddy only to miss the wave immediately and shoot back off down the wave train.
The lock-keepers house
Wisp-ey water
My photos from the weekend can be found at http://photos.andywicks.com/easter2009