Loch Awesome 75km SUP Challenge

By: Patrick Cruywagen

Photos:
Patrick Cruywagen,
Landy Expedition &
SUPjunkie

Loch Awesome 75km SUP Challenge

Patrick Cruywagen and his team iRrocker/Musto take on Scotland’s newest SUP event, the Loch Awesome 75km challenge. Last year I did the Trent 100 SUP event, a two-day 100km downstream paddle on the River Trent and wrote about the experience on these pages. Now I am about to do a pilot event by the same event organisers, a circumnavigation of Scotland’s Loch Awesome.

You are not alone as it is known as Loch Awe; the organisers just thought they would add the word some to the end of that. So where is this fantastic bit of trout-filled water?

To get there, I flew into Glasgow, where my teammates, who had driven up from just north of London, picked me up. From here, it takes us another two hours until we eventually reach the event village of Dalavich, on the northern bank of Loch Awe. While there might only be about 50 people in this village, they welcome the paddlers, hangers-on, organisers and friends with open arms. We are like long-lost family to them. Nothing is too much of a bother; if only the whole world could be a little more like the people of Dalavich. Just a word of warning about this idyllic place, it is remote, and while there is a village pub and small shop, you need to bring everything else you might need, which is what my team and I did.

The team

Team iRrocker/Musto consists of myself, Harry Shipton, Chloe Strudwick and Phil Harmer. This was Phil’s second-ever go on a SUP, but he has biceps as big as mine and a smile as wide as our Good Lord’s mercy, so I think he will be fine. Harry, Chloe and I have done many adventures together in our Land Rovers all around the UK. While Chloe might look like a supermodel who hangs out in fancy London cocktail bars, she is the team’s Captain Courageous and makes sure we boys behave ourselves and get enough decent food. We are all in bed before 23;00 but not before getting all of our gear and food ready for tomorrow’s 48km stage. As I head off to la-la land, I cannot help but think about what the Scottish weather gods have in store for us. The event organisers sounded pretty upbeat at the welcome briefing.

Of course, it is cloudy when we wake up; people don’t come to Scotland for the sunshine. I fill my belly with oats, bananas, honey and blueberries while Harry checks the pressures of our Blackfin Model V boards. We are all running at about 19psi. As we head to the Red Bull start banner, the wind has picked up a little. Most of the field is on narrower or harder boards than us.

We have age on our side. The route is pretty simple; we will do the east side of the loch today. Paddle till you reach Kilchurn Castle at the north-eastern end , and then paddle back to base camp. Don’t forget to stop at checkpoint one on the southern shore of the castle. Our team wants to finish, so we hang back and let the racing snakes head off. They remind me a little of a well-drilled platoon of soldiers.

Teams form a line and paddle in each other’s wake, with the strongest members taking turns to lead. I join another team for a brief stint to see if it works, and it does; the ones at the back have to stay in the wake of the board in front of them, just like they do in the cycling, of course. I head off and join my teammates. It does not take me long to realise they are stronger, and some are 20 years younger than me. I hang on for dear life but soon, they open up a gap of about 50 metres on me. I decided to paddle along at my own pace. The wind seems to be getting stronger and stronger, which is great for now, but what about when we turn around at the castle?
After about two hours, my teammates slowed down, and I catch up with them just as we reach the first checkpoint. After clocking in with the marshalls, I decide to push on as my teammates would catch me again. Although this is a team event, I love being on my own and going at a comfortable pace as the wind picks up and the waves get bigger.

Challenging conditions

At Ardanaiseig, the River Awe flows into the loch. It is a very exposed and open stretch of water and probably the most challenging conditions I have ever paddled. I grit my teeth and try to get to calmer water, and after about 30 minutes, I do. It would be fair to say that I was out of my comfort zone. After nearly four hours of paddling, I eventually reach the picturesque castle. My teammates are about ten minutes behind me. We take on some food and fuel because now the fun and games are about to begin.

As we start the 24km paddle back, I immediately realise that this is not going to be very pleasant, Harry calls a halt, and we decide on a team strategy. When we come to the exposed crossing, we plan on keeping left and hiding behind the islands. The wind gets stronger and stronger; at times, I have to get down onto my knees and paddle; we are slowly go nowhere. I am so far out of my comfort zone that I begin to laugh; humour is good during times of adversity.

Shelter

The wind keeps pushing my board left; I use every muscle in my arms and legs to get the board straight again. Sometimes I succeed, and other times not. Harry has to go and help Chloe at one stage and attaches her board to his. We all fight on. Eventually, we reach the first island and shelter behind it, away from the craziness. I eat a whole bag of jelly babies. We repeat the process twice, hiding behind other islands. At one stage, we only do a single kilometre in an hour.

Anyone watching our live tracker will think we have drunk too much Scottish single malt. We are all over the place. My teammates again pull away from me, but the next checkpoint is not too far away. I plough on. As I round the final outcrop of land before the checkpoint, I go too far left, and my fin catches on a rock, and I catapult into the water. A lone paddler behind me is the only witness. She no longer has any teammates left; they have all bailed. Nearly 20 paddlers bailed this challenging day.

Back with my team, who are enjoying some warm tea, we discuss our options. Do we bail and take the boat back? To me, that is not an option. If we carry on at the same speed we have been doing the last four hours of hell; then we will miss the cut-off. We still push on.

After about 30 minutes, the wind calms down a little; it has totally calmed down after an hour. Game on. By now, my body is shouting at me. WTF are you putting me through, and why? Eventually, I run out of gas with only about 4kms to go. I take on some salt tablets and chocolate; I am good to go again. My team urge me on and pull me along. Harry has been a Trojan today and given his all for us.

After over 12 hours of paddling, we glide into Dalavich, just like the Scottish Navy Seals. I later heard that the top paddlers took just over nine hours to do the same distance. There are still two more paddlers out there. Bless them. That night I am too sore to shower after an hour in the hot tub and fall into bed.

Day two

Day two couldn’t be any more different from day one. For starters, we are only doing half the distance. This time we have the wind against us from the start. Fortunately, it is nowhere near as strong as yesterday, but it will still be handy on the way back. This time we head southwest for 15km. We use the first hour or so to warm up, then just like the other teams, we form and train and slipstream each other. It works a treat and takes us just under three hours to reach the turnaround point. Loch Awesome has one more sting in the tail for us.

Just as we set off for the final leg, the wind dies. Paddlers all around us stop as if they are waiting for it to pick up again. It does not. Harry and I are paying dearly for our efforts yesterday. At one stage, I just lie on my board and fall asleep while waiting for the others to catch up. I wake with a jump when Phil crashes into me. We are all on auto-pilot now and just want to finish. We cross the line in under six hours. We have completed the first-ever Loch Awesome SUP challenge. That night after thanking all the villagers for their support, the obligatory after-party kicks off with a local DJ on the decks. This is why we paddle. So we can dance.

It has been one of the most unreal paddleboarding experiences of my life. For two reasons: the crazy afternoon conditions on day one and then the incredibly beautiful area we were privileged to paddle through. This might have been a pilot event, but I genuinely believe that once word gets out about this tough paddle, the paddlers will come flocking to do it from all over the UK and hopefully the world. I know the people from Dalavich will be waiting with open arms. Maybe see you there?

Event details

To find out more about the event, see lochawesome.com. Each team member paid £195 to enter, and this included three breakfasts and two dinners plus a race T-shirt. Participants could either camp or stay in a camper van for the three nights of the event as part of their entry fee. There are camping pods for those looking for something a little more comfortable. We hired a three-bedroom house on Airbnb for about £550 as the original weather forecast was not very good. Plus, it had a hot tub – a great way to relax aching muscles after a 12-hour paddle. So lots of accommodation options are available. It also included a great after-party and two top days of challenging paddling.