Complete reversal on last years record low water levels,

this year the water levels are at least a metre higher, not seen since 2008

The race is over 2 days
Day 1 is from Northam to Cobblers Pool, downstream from Toodyay.
Day 2 is from Cobblers Pool to Riverside Gardens, Bayswater. This day has all the good rapids and viewing spots.

I'll be watching a good friend throughout the weekend-

His Info
Name: Peter Johnson
Boat Number: 888
Class: Long Plastic
Boat: Spirit PRS (Plastic surf ski)
Colour: Yoshi Green.
Paddle Blade Colour: Kevlar (yellow).

for a bit of a laugh this year, we are trialing some dodgy GPS tracking, so temporarilly setup a tracking page under http://www.perth-wrx.com/johnson.html

This website will pinpoint him on Google Maps only when he has the app running and has reception.

The timing on the right hand side is currently for last year, It should update this year and estimate the time of arrival at each checkpoint.
his summary/predictions for the weekend-

Day 1 Info (Saturday 6 August 2011)
Powerboats start at 8am in Northam. Watching them go over the weir is pretty cool, they will push it pretty hard this year because there is plenty of water. The start can be delayed if there is fog downstream, the powerboats don’t like to hoon through the fog. They start 2 at a time on 27 different grids, 30seconds apart.

I start from Northam at 30seconds past 8:43am on Grid 55, assuming no delays. This is the second last Long Plastic grid (my class). The first paddle grid is grid 28 at 8:30am, the first Long Plastic grid is grid 34 at 8:33am. We have around 8 boats per grid, every 30seconds. This makes for some congestion at the weir and everything that comes with it (thrills, spills, aggro and my superman stunt last year).

If you can sneak into Glen Avon rapid (there is officially no spectator access although there is always people there) you might see some crashes and people swimming.

Extracts Weir is a popular viewing place, I am aiming to paddle down the weir this year. Last year I walked down. Year before, I had to portage it because I was a rookie and it’s apparently very dangerous.

Toodyay town centre is also popular, there is a rapid not far upstream although it is small in the grand scheme of things.

Cobblers Pool is the finish and it is always nice to have a chat to people there. There is a rapid called Leatherhead maybe 750m upstream that people spectate at. I sneak through on the opposite bank so you won’t see me there. I hope to finish in around 4 hours. It will be hard work passing the slower paddlers in front of me. Lovers Lane off Toodyay Road is the access road to Cobblers.

Day 2 Info (Sunday 7 August 2011)
Powerboats start at midday and will reach Bells Rapids in about an hour.
Paddlers will start at 7am , the grids will be dependent on the Day 1 net finishing time. I am likely to start around 7:20am. It will be very cold.

Super Chute:
3km downstream, after the ti trees, is a tricky little 2 bend in the river called Super Chute. This rapid will cause problems for many many paddlers, usually because someone else gets crossed up in front and causes the next person to take evasive action and it spirals downward from there. It can be very amusing to watch.

Emu Falls:
This is a very dangerous and tricky rapid system culminating in what’s known as “The Washing Machine” This is about 9km from the start, I should arrive here by 8:20am, depending on any incidents in the ti trees further upstream. I believe you need to park at the airstrip and catch a bus down, or walk.

Syds Rapid:
Another dangerous rapid. In the high water of 2009 spectators reported seeing kayak after kayak come down without any paddler. Fortunately this year won’t quite be so dangerous. Park at the base of the Walyunga access road and catch a bus up, then walk around 1.5km. upstream. I hope to be here within 3 hours of my start time.

Bells Rapids:
Very popular, a Perth icon. Park at the State Equestrian Centre, pay 10$ for it then catch a bus in. The bridge is good viewing and you can laugh and cheer at people who stack it. Getting onto some of the rocks just below the main drop is good for photos etc. I’ll stop here just below the first few drops for some food and a water bladder change. Seeing the powerboats here would be good. I should be here within 4 hours of my start time, maybe 3.5, so around 11am.

The flat bits:
Check where I am on the website GPS tracking if you want to see me anywhere along here. Middle Swan bridge is a teams changeover point so there will be lots of activity. I expect to be passed by the powerboats around 10km from the finish. I hope to finish by 2pm.

Links:
www.avondescent.com.au Race and spectator information
Estimated Walyunga Pool Water Level Water levels. Anything above 0.7m at Walyunga is good. 1m+ is great. Last year was 0.26m…
The Avon Descent A local webpage with some race information
http://www.perth-wrx.com/johnson.html My tracking website.
Race tools: Speed vs Distance chart to help your support crew out | Rather Be Paddling A speed vs time excel spreadsheet which can come in handy for helping to predict arrival times.

so, is anyone else participating the weekend? supporting a crew? who do we need to cheer on?

or if you have any photos, post them up!

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Long live the WRC

TL;DR

Pretty sure its a cool story though 'still not as cool as Mitch's though!'

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[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

1m up on last year isnt what I would class as massive water...

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I am only an asshole on the internet :)

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My boss is competing! Craig Beech. I'm not sure what number he is this year.
He loves this event and fired off an email earlier today with a few pics of him and ended the email saying "hope to see you all on Monday".
Last year he was literally getting out of his kayak and running over rocks rather than paddling! And not for short bursts either.
I'll post up any pics he sends me. he's sure to get me into his office on Monday and blab on for a 1/2 hour about it. then he'll go do the same to the rest of the staff haha. Dude works very hard though; deserves a chance to talk about what he loves.

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[COLOR="Blue"]"Your car positioning and awareness is f*ing bang on. And like, every single time.
In terms of getting that close to the bollards, Ive only been with one other person that can drive like that" –Franz[/COLOR]
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considering there are boats stuck in the trees already, i wouldnt classify this as the 'average' event.

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Long live the WRC

Yeah I was talking about it from a water geek view

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I am only an asshole on the internet :)

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Had a run with a mate in a powerboat this year. Got the late call up on Monday. Managed tp pull a few strings and get a late entry in. Was a hoot. Sadly had a mechanical glitch (carburation and fouled plug on day 1) that hurt our time, but got to the finish and had a mental run down the valley. Wasn't massive water but was a fun level. Got some epic go pro headcam footage of day 1 I wil try to get on youtube. The cam failed on day 2

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Rotor of Fail
Ducati 998s
Ducati Streetfighter S
496 CI Injected Big Block. Carbon positive???

Heres some of the headcam footage as promised.

Gives you some feel for the event from the deck of a powerboat. Was definately a fun ride.

‪Avon Descent 2011 Power Boat 007 Tom Hodgkinson and Blaise Paris‬‏ - YouTube

__________________
Rotor of Fail
Ducati 998s
Ducati Streetfighter S
496 CI Injected Big Block. Carbon positive???

That thing hammers along!

(Until it flips )

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[COLOR="Gray"]550Nm off a 2L... Just wish it was in the dak dak...[/COLOR]

^^^ Yeah, its a bit "on edge" at max speed. Hits approx 62-64kmh on flat tidal water (GPS) so with the flow of the avon we would be ticking along at about 70kmh......

Had to include the fail. We started from deal last on day one as we didnt complete the time trial and were a late entry, so had boat speed on the tail end of the field. Is pretty hairy passing their wakes, but did make for a fun time.

__________________
Rotor of Fail
Ducati 998s
Ducati Streetfighter S
496 CI Injected Big Block. Carbon positive???