First ever blind race run at the Teva Lea Race Tasmania

October 26, 2007

By Jez

Another last minute decision saw me take a plane down to Tasmania for a few days of paddling which incorporated the Teva Lea race. This race has been going for many years now, where paddlers from all over Australia converge on the gorge to race down spectacular grade 4+ waterfalls and rapids in an attempt to win the ‘Bull’ Trophy. A mounted bull skull for a trophy, yea, the folk in Tasmania do things a little different. I arrived the day before and had never seen this river before yet alone paddled it so I decided I would do something that was not completely allowed and race the Lea River blind. Officially I was not allowed to paddle it blind so Adrian, my boating partner and I shunned the official timers and timed ourselves getting a reputable sub 13 mins which would have made us around 8th. Not too bad for the first ever blind race run. I have to say, racing a river blind really makes for an adrenaline filled run and made a great river run SPECTACULAR!! Racers really got into the spirit of things by putting a great deal of effort into their race outfits. Apparently this makes you go faster. There was nothing funnier than to see the guys dressed up in superman outfits hand paddling the first drop and tucking into the classic hands out in front, superman flying position. Nice one guys. Other boaters dressed up in white safety suits, dust masks and gloves trying to avoid the Equine Influenza that is rife in Oz. That night we rocked out to a sweet band and paddlers danced the night away. The bass player from the band forgot his bass so he was forced to party hard with us. Such is life.

The next day saw most boaters wake up a little dusty. The river had risen a bunch and the top 8 kayakers competed in a shoot out. This was followed closely by the classic ball race which has to be seen to be believed, where you and your boating partner try to push a very large Swedish, plastic fitness ball down the river. This created it’s fair share of carnage, thrills and spills as James from Sydney got stuck in a hole for no less than two and a half minutes, he then swam winning the carnage award. He paid his dues by taking a well deserved drink from a slightly abused kayak bootie.

A great deal of the Australian paddling community turn up for these events, good times indeed. Congratulations to the winners. A sensational weekend of Tassie boating. Stay tuned for the next update on the Leven Canyon. Footage of the Lea Race will be added to the Skippy Films video.

jez
Jackson Kayak Coordinator of Karma