Avonmore River gauge (adjustment ?)

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tiernan
Posts:139
Joined:Tue Jul 03, 2007 6:37 pm
Re: Avonmore River gauge (adjustment ?)

Post by tiernan » Fri Sep 12, 2008 10:19 am

the annamoe is grade 3. and the easier end of grade 3 at that, and i agree with it reflecting the river grade!

Quiggers
Posts:2
Joined:Fri Sep 12, 2008 4:13 pm

Re: Avonmore River gauge (adjustment ?)

Post by Quiggers » Fri Sep 12, 2008 4:25 pm

tiernan wrote:the annamoe is grade 3. and the easier end of grade 3 at that, and i agree with it reflecting the river grade!
I'd dispute how easy a grade 3 it is. Either way, many paddlers that paddle that stretch regularly would start at Trooperstown once the gauge is below about 65cm and I think the low line definitely creep up towards that a bit. 50cm is really getting too low.

I don't really know what constitutes high on this river though as it's been low so much over the past few years. :?

Adrians
Posts:212
Joined:Sat Nov 03, 2007 1:22 pm

Re: Avonmore River gauge (adjustment ?)

Post by Adrians » Fri Sep 12, 2008 6:30 pm

tiernan wrote:the annamoe is grade 3. and the easier end of grade 3 at that, and i agree with it reflecting the river grade!

Tiernan, with all due respect in my opnion you are wrong on this point. Reason being the section we are talking about includes Jackson falls & run in. it is widly accepted that the river is graded to the most difficult section on the run, following this rule of thumb. This section is graded as a grade 4! This is a point that can't be disbuted.

White Water Safety and Rescue By Franco Ferrero wrote: Image


I'm not trying to teach you to suck eggs here, but with any amount of ok water, Jacksons and the run in falls into grade 4. Only last week a couple of us ran the section of river where the run in and jacksons and run out was a true grade 5 e.

This is my point as to the re adjustment of the gauge, people are paddling the river when the gauge is on the red line ( or high according to the gauge) thinking that wow this grade 4 river is a pile of piss and fly on down. In reality I've spoken to a good few heads about this including those who are far better & and more experienced thay you or I. The common concess it that, what the gauge says is high is in fact only truly only getting towards medium. Its all about perceptions.

In recent years the river has being paddled so often in crazy low condtions that peoples views have become skewed as to what it true nature is. :!:

People(my self included) will always have there own views and opnions right or wrong as they may be, this is why we should go allong with what is considered "best practice"?


Adrian
Last edited by Adrians on Sat Sep 13, 2008 1:04 am, edited 1 time in total.

tiernan
Posts:139
Joined:Tue Jul 03, 2007 6:37 pm

Re: Avonmore River gauge (adjustment ?)

Post by tiernan » Fri Sep 12, 2008 8:47 pm

Your reasoning is flawed in so many ways, you're applying criteria for high volume, high altitude descending rivers to a low volume wicklow mountain run.

but even if we were to do that, jacksons doesnt match any standard of what you just referenced. The first condition is that the route is not always recognizable. It is (and actually gets more obscure the lower the water). There are no heavy or continuous rapids (the run into jacksons is possibly heavy at very high water but continuous wouldnt be a word i'd use to describe it, i'm fairly sure Ferrerro is referring to something "over 1km long" rapids seen in places like the alps), no whirlpools (that i've ever seen) and generally speaking pressure areas (which im gonna assume are boil's, correct me if i'm wrong) generally develop on deep and/or wide rivers but in fairness do exist in the immediate vicinity after running the fall. by "boulders obstructing flow", well there are rocks, i wouldn't go so far as to say boulders. and none of the rocks have big undertoe.

the irish white water guide book (a book that is used by every kayaker in ireland and taken to be the definitive book on the subject, if only until another is published) says the river is grade 3 with a grade 4 drop and until someone publishes another book with a grading that is against this, why am i wrong to call it a grade 3 river??

i've gone off debating the line thing all i was saying is that it was a futile practice but if whoever controls the magic line wants to move it go ahead!

Steve Fahy
Posts:13
Joined:Sun May 04, 2008 5:07 pm

Re: Avonmore River gauge (adjustment ?)

Post by Steve Fahy » Sat Sep 13, 2008 5:02 pm

:D What started as a casual remark has developed into a debate, this is the way forums work.

Any way my two cents worth;

I have lived by the avonmore for 25 years and paddled it for the last 10ish.
Every ones view on a level or grade of water is DIFFERENT.

And in the end there is only grade YES and grade NO.

As far as moving the line the high red line does not denote "medium" by any stretch of the imagination.
Yes it could do with being at maybe 110 or 120 for high, BUT WHO REALLY CARES.

The people who will paddle it at this level or above will be experienced enough (i hope) to know what the river will be like from the rain fallen and by the gauge red line or not.

The gauges are a great facility and the boys at IWW have done good.
Lets get some more.

Steve

Quiggers
Posts:2
Joined:Fri Sep 12, 2008 4:13 pm

Re: Avonmore River gauge (adjustment ?)

Post by Quiggers » Mon Sep 15, 2008 11:27 am

Steve Fahy wrote: The gauges are a great facility and the boys at IWW have done good.
Lets get some more.
I hope we can, at least, all agree on that. :)

I suppose the important thing to remember is that the lines on the graph aren't really for people who paddle the river regularly - they are more for people who need some clues whether the river is tanking or whether they need to fit wheels to their boat. On that basis alone I would like to see the 'low' line at 60cm and maybe push the 'high' up to 120cm. Or maybe we should just get a webcam trained on the pipe at Annamoe ;)
Steve Fahy wrote:BUT WHO REALLY CARES.
Quite. :D

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