Devizes to Westminster 2008...in a raft!?!

Moments before the start, only 31 hours 53 minutes and 10 seconds to go!

During the Easter of 2008, the men's team took part in one of the worlds toughest canoe races, they however took part in a raft, fools!

The British Raft Team thought it would be a good idea to spend the Easter Weekend cruising towards London in the sunshine. The end product was anything but ! This was the Devizes to Westminster, at 125 miles it is the worlds longest non-stop canoe race, the coldest Easter for forty years and we had a time limit to stick to!

After the organisers accepted our entry and after we had gathered all our available friends for the weekend to help support us we were ready for the off. We did have a motive to complete the race, as we were raising money for the Sport Relief charity.

The early stages were flat and hard work, but with stunning scenery

One of our lovely snow storms on day one, this was mixed with sunny spells and hail!

We were able to set off before the official start time as the raft is not designed to go at any speeds considered fast! We cruised the first 30 miles or so having the odd hail storm and swan attack which left Pas screeching and the rest of the boat in hysterics. Newbury, 34.5 miles was our first big food stop. Our support crew greeted us with bowls of pasta and warm drinks as the evening drew in. After a lengthy stop of around 9 minutes we were off and heading towards Reading where we would hit the Thames and hopefully some flow.Luckily the winds died down overnight meaning we had good reception for our radio which helped keep the spirits high as the temperatures plummeted. We plodded on to reach Reading at 4:30am.

The start after our hold at Reading, it was 5:30am and the boat was covered in ice, what better way to start a day. One hour later it dropped to 4 below!

After the weeks rain the Thames had some flow which was aiding our paddling speed, we were now nearing 4mph as we headed down to the big Thames weirs and morning light. The winds stayed away but as we pulled into to Hurley, 66.5 miles, we were in the middle of a snow storm. By now we had been paddling for over 20 hours and were all feeling very good, apart from a few minor aches, we were just bored! Knowing we had to carry on for maybe another 15 hours! Our spirits were raised as we past under the M25 and reached the 100 mile mark, knowing we were insight (somehow) of the finish. Teddington, 107.5 miles, was going to be our final food stop before we paddled on the tide towards Westminster Bridge. Here we had an extended rest of just over 11 minutes before the food and drinks were snatched out of our hands and we were thrown back in the boat by our support crew.

As the evening drew in for a second time the heavens opened up as we passed through a thunder storm and torrential rain. The final few bridges seemed to be getting further apart as we approached the end, finally finishing at 8:20pm, completing the 125 mile epic in a time of 31 hours 53 minutes and 10 seconds. Half of the field had to abandon in one of the hardest DW events since the beginning 60 years ago.

The team would thank to thank all of our support team members. Ruth, Alli, Kat, Dunny, Kiwi Matt, Nezza, Besty and all of family Cox for their hard work leading up to the event. Our sponsors who helped us during the event Budget Car Rentals, Peak UK and Run and Jump Clothing.

The team and support crew, thanks to everyone who helped to make this adventure an achievement.

This mission did have a purpose, we were raising money for Sport Relief, we have so far managed to raise over £1000 and are still collecting. See the donation page at www.mysportrelief.com/britishraftteam