Canoeing from Devises to Teddington

Before

On August 8th 2009 a team of 8 will set off from Devises in Wiltshire in five two man canoes and attempt over 3 days the famous Devises to Teddington challenge.  The stretch of river is 107 miles long and has 77 locks which will need to be navigated around.  None of the team would boast to have ever been on a canoe for any length of time but all the team will be attempting this foolish trip in aid of the Julian Baring Scholarship.  The team is made up of the following pairs: Justin Baring & Graham Birch, Charlie Davies-Gilbert & Marcus Hanbury, Jamie Strauss & Tom Clarke, George Irvine & Rupert Hodson.  If you would like to sponsor an individual, team or the group please go to the donations page on the website or click onto the CAF website below and search under The Julian Baring Scholarship.

<a href=”http://www.CAFonline.org/charityprofile/thejulianbaringscholarhip”>Donate Now</a>

After

At 9pm last Sunday night (August 9th 2009), 8 exhausted ‘paddlers’ arrived at Teddington lock nearly dead from exhaustion but elated that they had completed the 40 hour marathon over three days, which they foolishly thought might take ‘only’ 33 hours.  Basically ‘It was like doing three marathon’s on the trot with your arms!’

Devizes was 107 miles away, but as we zig zagged most of the way we probably travelled much further…..had someone told us how difficult it is to lift four 100kg canoes over 77 locks we might have chosen a lock free river!

As George Irvine put it: ‘The trip was like a kind of visual poem. A double edged journey of beauty and pain. Even a metaphor for life- no pain no gain….? We saw it all…. the backward barges of Devises, the seemingly timeless landscape around the white horse, the filthy waterways of Newbury, the urban/ consumerist nightmare of Reading central to the bow tied boatman of Shiplake.  We saw every English type of personality, as we peered into their lives along the river banks.’

The support team of Harriet Baring,  Margaret Birch  and Alice Clarke kept us in good supply of Lukozade and energy bars and made sure that we always had enough water and food and most importantly our overnight bags for the evening.

It was a massive struggle but our team work and the knowledge that The Julian Baring Scholarship will be making a big difference to the lives of some very deserving individuals kept us going.  Most importantly your kind sponsorship kept us focused on the river ahead rather than in the numerous pubs we passed on the way!

A really BIG thank you to all of you that have donated / sponsored us…..If you have sponsored us on the condition that we completed the task, check out the stats…you go painfully slowly when you have to negotiate locks. (it was tricky to get an action shot with all of us in but at least check out our T-Shirts).

Take a look at this short video clip of our trip…It’s worth remembering that we did not get the camera out when we had to ‘dig deep’!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9FjyvLinH8

Here are a few stats for you:

Day One: Devizes to Newbury. Time: 14 hours 30 mins

Distance covered: 35 miles  Locks: 35

Average speed over whole day 2.34 mph

Day Two: Newbury to Bisham Abbey

Time 12 hours 30 mins

Distance covered 34 miles or so

Locks 28

Average speed over whole day 2.72 mph

Day Three: Bisham to Teddington Time 12 hours 30 mins

Distance covered 38 miles or so.

Locks 13  Average speed over whole day 3.04 mph

We got some excellent publicity in the weekend FT:

Hearts of gold

By Emiliya Mychasuk

Published: August 8 2009 03:00

Mining experts seen paddling their canoes from Devizes to Teddington at the end of the week were not looking for gold.

On sabbatical from BlackRock for six months, gold fund manager Graham Birchwas the rudder while the son of his late colleague, start-up gold fund managerJustin Baring, was the engine in their canoe. Junior mining industry denizenJamie Strauss partnered Tom Clarke , a South African equity salesman at broker BJM. Also paddling away was George Irvine , an art teacher at Stowe School, with wing man Rupert Hodson , who has his own internet-based business for fund managers wanting web marketing, Completing the team was headhunter Marcus Hanbury paired with Beachy Head farmer Charlie Davies-Gilbert .

None had been in a canoe before, but they were paddling the 107m for the Julian Baring Scholarship, named after the late “gold guru”, which puts disadvantaged young Africans through Rhodes University as geologists, and has funded 17 places in eight years.

people@ft.com