The flavour of the day was set when I unfortunately felt I had to tell Emlyn and Carys - all kitted out and ready to go at the petrol station on the A470 at 9.54 - that I thought the water level was too high for them to come with us. (This was on the basis that it was tipping down and that a phone call from a couple on the bridge at Tal-y-bont, our intended destination, had told us that it was over the banks and massive). This was a GOOD decision.
We - myself, John C., Matt and Steve W., proceeded to Brecon, for plan B: paddle the Tarell. We met up with one of Matt's friends (Piers?) there, and the couple who I'd spoken to, Jay and Jo, two friends of Steve M. We then went to view the falls on the Tarell, and John C. was still wanted to do it was voted down. This was a GOOD decision. We decided instead to do the section from Sennybridge all the way down to Brecon, reckoning on big, bouncy water.
I made a bit of a hash leading at the first fall, failing to make a ferry and therefore leading down not a perfect route. Still, all made it down. (The falls were washed out and were just a fair sized rapid. Shortly afterwards, Steve took a swim. He caught a throwline from Matt (I think) (and somehow John C. lost his). The boat was broached on a bush a body's length from the bank Wired up as live bait to John, and John roped to Jay, I dived across and clipped a rope to the boat. The boat obliged in being pulled free.
A bit more paddling and Steve took another swim. This one was a bit more worrying. Matt and I were close to him and shouted to him to swim to river right when a stopper and mid-stream bushes (entrapment hazards is their Latin name) came into sight. Steve put in an Olympic class swim, and was guided in by Matt. Matt then did a chase boating demo. for us all marvel at, but Steve's paddle was lost. Steve, of necessity, decided (again a GOOD decision) to walk back to his car.
The rest of us went cautiously and eddied out once on river left, me thinking that was just above the falls. It wasn't so we started off again. The noise of big water had us stop river right a bit further down. John was last down and scouted the left bank, and confirmed this was the 3rd fall. It didn't look at all as I remembered it. There was no cliff on the left hand. Jay reckoned it was OK just right of centre and we all bravely followed him down through a massive wave. After that my memory of the trip has already faded - but there were a lot of large wave trains.
It all ended happily in the Inn. 4 GOOD decisions: not bad.
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