10 Day Countdown Begins!

Coming soon: far from the Cam

Time is creeping by so that in just 10 days time we will be on the waters of the Danube River in Belgrade, Serbia, at the beginning of our journey!

From there, we're planning to stand up paddle board 300 km, mostly within the borderlands of eastern Serbia and eventually into west Romania as far as Severin. Of course, what we plan and what actually happens could be quite different things; the Serbian Met Office website suggests the river flow rate is reasonably strong this year, so we might get lucky and travel further than Severin, but equally we have lots to learn in the first few days and new river traffic to navigate (fewer punts, more shipping containers).

We've planned to try and ensure the first scenario happens, but some things are beyond our own control, so we'll just have to go with the flow (sorry, not so punny). Medical skills have been brushed up thanks to a session with Dr Chris Press at Wilderness Medical Services; WMS will also be providing medical and emergency support throughout the trip. Test runs using our Origin Paddleboards have helped build our confidence, endurance and technical SUPing skills, both on the River Lea under the instruction of Spike Reid, the mastermind behind the Paddleboard River Project, and during exam term on the River Cam.

And now in our last few days before leaving, amongst other university, work and travel commitments, we'll be doing final preps on kit and trying to get out for some more test runs on the boards. Oh, and eating and sleeping lots (Cambridge exam terms & May Week & Graduation have left us still feeling poooped), making the most of our beds and clean running water.

Rosie and Alex

Gear Sponsors and Testing on the Cam

We're delighted to announce that the Cambridge University Danube Expedition will be supported by two fantastic gear sponsors, Origin and Aquapac.

Origin Paddleboards are some of the best in the business; durable, inflatable and efficient in the water, they are perfect for international long-distance touring such as our planned trip. Origin have kindly provided two 12'6 Tour model boards for our expedition.

Aquapac are the proud makers of top notch waterproof bags in all shapes and sizes. Keeping camping, first aid and personal kit clean and dry will make our trip safe and much more comfortable than otherwise. We will be using a range of their bags, including phone cases, TrailProof dry bags and the 28L Tocca Daysack.

Now that exams are finally over, we have managed to put this new kit to the test on the River Cam in Cambridge. Navigating between the punts of tourists added to the prep of gear testing and SUP technique. But both the boards and dry bags performed fantastically - the latter being really put to the test by a couple of man overboard incidents...

Our phones remained dry and (bonus!) usable through the protective casing of Aquapac's phone bags - a phonecall after a wrong turn proved their usability without any issues of sound quality. The SUPs were light enough to transport them easily to our start point, but once inflated also sturdy enough to withstands a few collisions with punts. Having tried a range of paddle board brands on the River Lea training trip at Easter, we are sure the Origin touring board (12' 6) is the best around.

Our actual journey will be under different conditions but we now feel confident that we have the right tools to tackle those; both the SUPs and dry bags will be invaluable to the success of our exped. Many thanks to Origin and Aquapac.

Further gear reviews and updates coming soon...

Rosie and Alex

The beginning

The date was set for our first taste of this mysterious new sport called Stand Up Paddle-boarding. Rosie had heard about the sport from one of her close friends, Spike, and put together a training trip down the Lee Valley River in London.

We set of early in the morning from central London, each of us carrying all the necessary gear on the crowded London train network.

We used Origin inflatable touring paddle boards which packed down small, kindly lent to us from Spike. This was a massive help and meant we didn't have to carry 12'6 boards through central London!

After a hasty debrief on how not to fall in from Spike, the rest of the team took their first tentative steps onto the SUP's finding them surprisingly stable. 

The team quickly got used to the rhythm of paddling through gentle scenic canals with the occasional portage over locks.  Whilst on this journey, we were struck by how many people were curious about our transport; few people knew what SUPs were and even fewer believed we would be using them for long distance travel (and without falling in!)

We arrived at our camping spot three hours after the sun had set, tired and pleased to pitch up our tents on dry land. After a good nights sleep and some SUPer porridge, we set of for ten more hours of SUPing to finally arrive at the confluence of the Lee Valley River and the Thames.