Above: Sgt Matt Erkens only looks ahead, stratigically placing himself in the race.

Day One: 57km
JUST before 8am, power craft revved into action breaking the early August morning tranquility. Taking off at 30 second intervals and 30 minutes ahead of the paddlers, the powerboats launched themselves into this year’s 30th Northam Avon Descent.

Although it appeared chaotic, organisers had this event tightly controlled. This year saw a record number of entrants with 720 competitors, 578 starting and of these 40 per cent were first-timers.

The first obstacle was the infamous Northam Weir transpiring 500m from the start, forcing participants to carry or portage their craft. With the lowest water level in 20 years, extra strain was placed on competitors who faced 134km of endurance paddling with the added challenge of lifting and carrying their boats over exposed rocky outcrops and other water hazards.

Competitors tackled long flat stretches of open water interspersed with the occasional small rapid, bridges, Extracts Weir and then a few kilometres of infuriating and often disheartening ti-tree thickets.

A few hours later and 57km downstream from Northam, paddlers began to arrive at the Boral finish line.

Day Two: 77km
At 6.30am on a cold and wet Sunday morning, paddlers started ahead of the power boats allowing them time to get through the ti-tree channels and narrow river elements.

A little further downstream the event opened up into the heart of the Avon Valley, here 43km of grade yeo and three rapids including Super Chute, Emu Falls, Championships, Syds and the last great crowd pleaser Bells, drew hundreds of eager spectators.

After negotiating Bells, the paddlers were confronted by a few kilometres of ti-trees before the river finally opened into the tidal waters of the Swan River.

With 30km left the competitors drew on all their energy reserves. What remained was sheer endurance and hard slog, frequently impeded by strong headwinds and driving rain.

Of the 578 competitors who started the race, 383 finished with the winners of the paddling section clocking up a time of 10h:32m:22s – the slowest times since 1979 and all due to the low water levels. Of the 16-strong ADF team, all made it to the end, which was a testament to the success of the three-month training program and the commitment of Defence personnel.

• By Cpl Tracy Tillman

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