Newferry - Portglenone

Yesterday the weather was horrendous: cold, wet and windy. There were power cuts and trees blown down all over the province. Today the weather forecast said it was to be better, but not much.

We decided to begin at Newferry and paddle upstream into Lough Beg, knowing that it'd be choppy with the wind. When it got

too difficult we could turn at any time and paddle downstream towards Portglenone. The journey along the river would

be the main part of the morning, but if we got to explore Lough Beg it'd be a bonus.

Evan picked me up just after 9am and we went back to his to load the canoe onto his roof rack. From there we drove

to Newferry and got dressed. Waterproof trousers, wellie boots, raincoat, buoyancy aid, and a floppy hat were the uniform of the day.

We carried the boat to the slipway instead of launching from the canoe step. There were some points of interest along the waterline of that slipway. We successfully identified a dead dog and floating fish, besides the usual green slime and discarded takeaway boxes.

Once in the water we paddled upstream onto the lough. Me providing the power at the front, Evan steering from behind. It's a while since I had a decent trip in an open canoe, but I quickly settled into my rhythm as we headed across to the far bank and made our way towards the

lough. I must have been pulling well enough, because my strokes were driving us towards the bank, and Evan had to ask me to stop a few times so he could straighten up.

When the shelter provided by the long grass and high bank subsided, the full force of the wind built up and up. We could see whitecaps across the lough, and the waves were getting pretty lively as we paddled towards the island at mullaghardry. I was sure we were still making good headway though, until I looked at the bank beside me and realised we hadn't moved at all for a full minute! Time to push a bit harder. Evan told me 'Short, powerful Strokes' and I know that's the right thing to do, but after a couple of minutes of constantly planting the paddle and hauling the boat towards it I have to admit I got slower and slower. and slower.

We did eventually make it into the lee of the island, had a quick look around and opted to take the simple decision, turned round and headed downriver.

It's a lot easier paddling

with the wind behind you, let me tell you. I wasn't steering though and I think Evan would have preferred it if I'd stopped pretending to be a sail and seeing if I could tack and jibe!

Back on the more sheltered river we had a fun, but generally uneventful journey down to Portglenone. We stopped a few times to free fishing tackle and old ropes from the trees, watched the herons and kingfishers and meandered down the river, taking turns to steer so we could practice our 'J', Indian and Canadian strokes in the stern, and sweep strokes and bow rudders at the front.

When we hauled up at the slipway there were workmen refurbishing it all. It was a building site with cranes and diggers, concrete blocks and cables lying everywhere. We were just contemplating carrying the canoe out to the road when Pearl's Renault came bumping over the debris, swerving to avoid heavy machinery. As nervous builders dived for cover she skidded to a halt beside us. Evan leaped into the passenger seat and they roared off to retrieve his car with the roof bars leaving me to wait with the boat and the shell shocked builders.