Hi,

just to dispell the myth that Gary Mawer was beaten by an extrordinary mystery K1 paddler who was seen paddling down the river ahead of even the K2's. A great friend of Irish canoeing, 'French' Paul from Richmond C.C. was left without the WW boat he planned to race at the car-park. But a spare K1 was found and a mad panic ensued to find a K1 spraydeck. When one was found it was too late for Paul to make the start so rather than miss the fun of the Liffey he decided to pop down the river ahead of the racers. The lure of the Liffey was too great for him to miss and so the mystery ensued. Paul had only one dip on the way down and wud have done quite respectfully had he made the official start.

Happi padln,

T

PS:  I also wish to express my thanks to the  rescue at Straffan for doing a super job! They were organised like a Ferrari team pit crew and it took about the same time as changing Shueys tyres.