UKC

Anyone kayak surfed a 4 or 5 star Severn Bore? There are a couple of 5 star bores predicted for February and March this year. Any advice on the best place to put in and what height of wave to expect?

In reply to teflonpete:

how dare you disrupt my attempted juxto?!

In reply to ripper:

What, Bear Gryll's (sp?) trousers and crop circles? Crap juxto if it was. ;0P

In reply to teflonpete:

I have surfed it on 3* and that was quite hairy. If you fall off the back of the wave, there is an amazing amount of chop behind it, which I wasn't prepared for.

We put in at Newnham and surfed it for a bit there - it's nice and wide there and good for the novice. Getting out was tricky, due to the chop, but there are a couple of storm drains that make a nice, sheltered eddy on the Western bank. The Eastern bank is grassy and a mud flat at low tide, but you're a bit stranded if you get out that side.

Got out and legged it up to the Severn Bore Inn, but were too late to catch it there. Roadside parking will be busy, both with surfers and sight-seers. Rocky put-in, wouldn't like to have to get out there in a hurry.

After the Bore pub, the river gets pretty narrow and there are rocks and trees at the edges, which makes it quite dangerous.

Further attempt to catch it under the A40 bridge, I think - sat there waiting in the water, but it had died out by then. There's a carpark on the Western side. The put-in under the bridge is very muddy and slippery - fortunately, someone else had tied a throwline as a handrail, or getting out would have been a nightmare.

In reply to teflonpete:

Watching a few videos on Youtube, there seem to be quite a few using old windsurf boards, these presumably work quite well?

In reply to woolsack:

Nice, stable, big-volume board that isn't going to care about being stuffed into a rock

Could be a bit of a sod to get going, though.

In reply to LastBoyScout:


Cheers for all the info, most appreciated.

Think I'll just go for a sightsee on the 5* and try it on another day on a 3*.

In reply to teflonpete:

Definitely worth a recce trip - that's what we did first time and then went back to do it.

Stayed in the Victoria hotel in Newnham, I think - the owner was great about letting us have a really early breakfast and check-out to catch the bore. Looks a bit closed and boarded up on streetview now, though.

The White Hart pub further downstream does (did?) really good food and has (had?) live bands - we had a belting night out there before surfing.

In reply to teflonpete:

I surfed the Arnside bore with a sea kayak. The best place to be was just behind the wave, as unlike on the sea, the whole wall of water was moving forward. It was much smaller but we still got a ride of a couple of miles.

Have surfskied 5star a few times.
If you get in at newnham it is almost certain to be 2 to 4 foot face height and not gnarly at all- go fo it- its fine. If you fall off the back and paddle really hard you can get back on it!

Upstream where the river narrows, it is bigger, faster and with more debris and crowding, so just watch for your first time here.

Crowding could be the most significant problem/risk.

In reply to teflonpete:

Given this, I'd expect pretty serious conditions on a 5* right now:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-25590069

In reply to teflonpete:

Yes surfed it 3 times in a day, when the river is wide isn't anything serious. When the river narrows it is well overhead and there is a lot of turbulence, you need to be careful of trees and also careful of hitting the big weir up the top. I'm a surf kayak instructor and surfed it with a former world champion surf kayaker so didn't find it too sketchy, by I imagine if you're not confident in a kayak then be careful, people can get hurt.

In reply to LastBoyScout:



3* today. Fortunately the 4 and 5* bores aren't predicted until Feb and March. My partner's brother is moored up on the canal at Frampton, hoping that it isn't flooded round there.

In reply to LastBoyScout:

you'll not get big ones today as there's too much water coming down the river - best conditions are low river with big tide coming up

In reply to teflonpete:

Never surfed it but it is on my list of things to do

The video at the bottom of this link makes it look like good fun. Looking at what people are using there's everything from kayaks to body boards, to surf boards to windsurfing boards etc.

http://www.gloucestercitizen.co.uk/River-Severn-Bore-Gloucestershire-2014-B...

In reply to Alan M:
Not to mention the RIBs and other "support" boats, jet skis and anything else that floats...

Helmet definitely recommended, regardless of what you're on/in. Even on a surf board, a buoyancy aid wouldn't be a daft idea, if only for padding.

In reply to LastBoyScout:

I agree, I will certainly be using a helmet and buoyancy aid when I eventually get around to doing it (kayak).

Surprised in the video that I only spotted a few helmets and buoyancy aids. surprising considering 1) the water doesn't appear to be that deep 2) all those boards and bodies moving at speed so close together. To emphasise how easy a collision is at one point a kayak ends up piggy backing on the board with him, also early on he nearly falls on top of the neighbouring rider.

Still looks like good fun though