There were some great results for the three BSCC paddlers - Kat Burbeck (Wilson), Joe Fitzpatrick and Rich Winstanley - taking part in the annual Devizes to Westminster race this Easter.
Heavy rain had caused the organisers to repeat last year's precaution of terminating many of the classes at Teddington, but it was hoped that the Senior Doubles would be able to go all the way through to Westminster, completing the full 125 miles. However, by Saturday the tidal part of the river was Red Flagged so the race ended for everyone at Teddington Lock - "only" 108 miles, with 77 portages.
 | Perhaps because of the uncertainty around how long the race would be, or even whether it would be able to run at all, the number of entries (270) were fewer than usual. Those who did participate had a very strong flow and flooded banks to contend with. Kat was paddling with Catherine Drummond of Reading CC in Senior Doubles - the straight-through race. They set off early on Saturday afternoon and reached Teddington at dawn on Sunday. Their time of 16h 54m 27s made them 8th overall out of the 72 Senior Doubles crews, and the first all-female crew. |
| Joe and Rich were competing in Singles, which takes place in stages with overnight stops. This is normally a four-day event, but this year only three. Joe and Rich set off from Devizes on Friday morning and experienced some heavy downpours of rain into the already swollen canal. The first stage ended at Newbury, with Rich and Joe occupying 2nd and 3rd place, with only a few seconds between their elapsed times. The conditions were not only difficult for paddlers but also the support crews following them by land, to provide food, drinks, changes of clothes and spare kit. In some places the tow-paths were completely submerged under water. |  |
On Saturday the route took them onto the Thames at Reading and down to Marlow. Many of the competitors found the strong currents challenging, but the Stortford pair took it in their stride. Joe was slightly faster on this second section and ended Saturday in second place, and Rich third. On Sunday it was Rich who was the faster of the two, reaching Teddington with a total elapsed time of 14h 41m 18s, making him second overall and the first Veteran (35+). Joe was 4th overall with a time of 15h 17m 12s.
While Joe does not seem to have enjoyed the experience (the monotony broken only by some swan issues), Rich was disappointed not to be able to do the full 125 miles. He had wanted to undertake this famous race ever since he started paddling as a child. For Rich, the DW was a short training run for his next challenge - the Yukon 1000 in July. This unsupported race goes along the Yukon river though the Canadian wilderness to a point 1000 miles downriver in Alaska.
See the full results of DW 2024
