The Disciplines for the Raid Caneo Nature are Walking / running and orientation, sailing (dinghies), horse riding (ride and run), mountain biking, rollerblading, rope techniques (abseiling), canyoning, sea kayaking, canoeing. Sometimes these will vary between the launch of the race and the actual start, but registred teams will be kept informed. sharp eyed people may have notices that the January Raid Caneo Newsletter talked about having at least one member of your team who knows how to read a potholing map, so there is some caving involved in the
race
The Skill levels and certification for the Raid Caneo Nature will be advised in April. Some certificates will be required issued by national sporting bodies.
You can get a good idea of the standards required from past races organised by Gerard Fusil, such as The Elf Authentique Adventure, The Reunion D'Adventure and to a lesser extent the Oman Adventure.
Below are my thoughts for the Raid Caneo Nature
Sailing was included in two of Gerard Fusil's races and took place in local boats. The Raid Caneo Nature talks about dinghies so perhaps it will be something the size of a 420 or a Vaurien or a little bigger. At least you will steer with a tiller and rudder rather than a oar. One member of the
team must be able to know how to rig a boat, tack and gybe, reef, recover from a capsize and know the rules of the road. It is helpful if the whole team can understand the basics.
Horse Riding two members of the team need to be able to ride and control a horse, walking, trotting and cantering. You may also be required to know how to saddle and bridal the horse, but I imagine this will be done by the stables. Tactically your slowest runners should be riders, so this could vary depending on which stage(s) of the race ride and run takes place , as the rider might be able to get some rest.
Rollerblading, French roads are certainly better than those in the Philippines where the stage was over 100K and I would not expect anything near this length but be prepared for uphill and downhill gradients. I know in Reunion some teams used skates rather than blades but you will need to check the rules.
Abseiling- Canyoning. Abseiling is a usual skill and Gerard Fusil used to prefer the Petz Stop so you will need to check the gear list. Canyoning levels could be anything from small jumps swims and bouldering to perhaps abseiling down a waterfall(s) have to wait until April to find out.
Sea Kayaking/Canoeing The Talk of turbulent waterways in the January Newsletters make me believe that the start in Paris will be in Sea Kayaks and perhaps the finish of the Raid Caneo Nature into Marseilles will be via the water, however both are quite busy with commercial traffic so we will have to wait a see. Normal Kayak skills including capsize and recovery and rules of the
road.
David Ogden
International Adventurers
