David Manby is a canoeist or

kayaker ] A kayak is a small, narrow human-powered watercraft typically propelled by means of a long, double-bladed paddle. The word ''kayak'' originates from the Inuktitut word ''qajaq'' (). In British English, the kayak is also considered to be a ...

from the UK and was a national champion in

slalom canoeing Canoe slalom (previously known as whitewater slalom) is a competitive sport with the aim to navigate a decked canoe or kayak through a course of hanging downstream or upstream gates on Whitewater, river rapids in the fastest time possible. It ...

C-1. He is considered a pioneer in the sport of canoeing and was involved in the British expedition of the first descent of the

Dudh Kosi Dudh Koshi (दुधकोशी नदी, ''Milk-Koshi River'') is a river in eastern Nepal. It is the highest river in terms of elevation. Dudh Koshi originates from the glacier lakes at the height of 5,100 meters above sea level and meets Sapt ...

river.

Early life

Dave was born to Michael and Eve (née Levick) Manby in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

where his father was the headmaster of the junior school at St John's College. When he was 8 he moved with his family to

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is sited on the River Severn, northwest of Wolverhampton, west of Telford, southeast of Wrexham and north of Hereford. At the 2021 United ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, where his father became the headmaster of Prestfelde School which he attended. Later he attended

Ellesmere College Ellesmere College is a co-educational boarding and day school in the English public school tradition located in Shropshire, near the market town of Ellesmere. Belonging to the Woodard Corporation, it was founded in 1884 by Canon Nathaniel ...

and it was here that he first learnt to canoe. He also attended the

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. Nottingham's main campus (University Park Campus, Nottingh ...

Dudh Kosi

In 1976, at the age of 21, Dave was asked to join five other kayakers in a team of ten on the famous first descent of the

, the river running off

Mount Everest Mount Everest (), known locally as Sagarmatha in Nepal and Qomolangma in Tibet, is Earth's highest mountain above sea level. It lies in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas and marks part of the China–Nepal border at it ...

the trip leader was Mike Jones. The team left in July and began the 7,500 mile drive in a

Transit Transit may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Transit'' (1980 film), a 1980 Israeli film * ''Transit'' (1986 film), a Canadian short film * ''Transit'' (2005 film), a film produced by MTV and Staying-Alive about four people in countrie ...

mini-bus to

Kathmandu Kathmandu () is the capital and largest city of Nepal, situated in the central part of the country within the Kathmandu Valley. As per the 2021 Nepal census, it has a population of 845,767 residing in 105,649 households, with approximately 4 mi ...

. Once there a further 180 mile hike, with all the equipment including 10 kayaks, had to be undertaken to reach

Everest Base Camp There are two Base camp#Shelter, base camps on Mount Everest, on opposite sides of the mountains: #South Base Camp in Nepal, South Base Camp is in Nepal at an altitude of (), while #North Base Camp in Tibet, North Base Camp is in Tibet at (). ...

. This was the starting point of the pioneering paddle which involved some of the hardest white water canoed to date. Dave himself had one close call when his boat capsized and in the freezing water was unable to

Eskimo roll A kayak roll is the act of righting a capsized kayak by use of body motion and/or a paddle. Typically this is done by lifting the torso towards the surface, rotating the hips to turn the kayak upwards and applying a small force by means of the p ...

. The team got him out of the river safe. The whole expedition was filmed by Leo Dickinson and was shown on British prime time television in

Boxing Day Boxing Day, also called as Offering Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide (26 December). Boxing Day was once a day to donate gifts to those in need, but it has evolved to become a part ...

1976. The film itself won over 50 international awards, and has recently been remastered in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and made into a

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

. It was shown again in the UK on BBC 4 on 8 January 2014.

The river is extreme white water. Normally it can't be used for water sports. The first kayak trip was made 1976 by a British expedition under the leadership of Mike Jones.

After Everest

Dave was involved in more first descent expeditions including the attempted 1978 K2 trip on the

Braldu River The Braldu River (; ) flows in the Shigar District of Gilgit Baltistan in Pakistan. The Braldu River joins the Basha Basna River; together, they form the Shigar River, which is a tributary of the Indus River. Geography The Braldu River is a ...

(

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

) in which Mike Jones died while trying to save a companion. Other expeditions include early descent of the Coruh River in Eastern Turkey and the Sezar, Dez and Bakhtiaria Rivers in the Zagros Mountains in Iran. He has also written a book "Many Rivers to Run"

External links

Dave's home page
* Dudh Kosi film ()
Dudh Kosi film recap
* Many Rivers to Run ()
Canoe & Kayak Magazine

Dudh Kosi Expedition DVD
{{DEFAULTSORT:Manby, Dave 1954 births Living people Kayakers British male canoeists Sportspeople from Johannesburg Sportspeople from Shrewsbury Alumni of the University of Nottingham South African emigrants to the United Kingdom