Wet, wet, wet at the London Crossing 2018

Don't be fooled by the couple of sunny shots in this gallery! That was at the end of the day when the classic British weather turned tables and the sun shone for a few lone paddlers. This was the first time this race had been held and we were delighted to have been asked to cover it. Paddlers raced from Putney Embankment down under 15 or so bridges passing such sights as the London Eye, Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, St. Paul's Cathedral and finally under Tower Bridge. After that it's a sprint to the finish line at Shadwell. 15.5 km dodging barges, warships and today, plenty of rain.

There was a limited field of 30 paddlers in what is hoped will be a growing event to rival the Paris Crossing over the coming years. The fastest pair across the line on their tandem board were Sebastien Le Meaux and Apehau Tching Piou, Marie Buchanan and Ben Pye took the 14' class and Shara Du and Peter Weidert won the 12'6" class.

Tideway London, who put on the event, are building a super sewer which will eventually stop raw sewage flowing into the beautiful River Thames and take it back to being super clean. The trophies and medals presented were made from the clay which has been taken out of the bore holes of the new sewer.

There are times when you wish you were snuggled up watching the TV with a cuppa but seriously we would not have missed this great event which was put on by Tideway London and Active 360. This is definitely one of those races you need to look out for in 2019!

Photo Credits: Geoff Mather and SUPM