There will be no pool sessions on the 19th and 26th of February. We may have a trip on the River Dee on the 26th.
Will post details of any river shenanigans on the 26th of February at a later date.
Category Archives: Trips
Lea Valley 18-05-14
A group of paddlers went down on Sunday morning, some to take their Legacy assessment. The assessments have now been split for the courses so both take an hour with Legacy required to progress onto the Olympic course.
All the paddlers passed having displayed their swimming/rolling prowess on the lake and then onto the Legacy course for some moving water.
Frank and Mark then booked onto the Olympic assessment for the afternoon which they passed also.
I think for those who had not paddled an artificial river the eddies and focussed power of the water provided some new experiences, both courses offer some pushy water. Those lessons of power into the current lest you be turned on eddy line came into use.
Well done to all those who travelled down and I think a good time was had by all.
Will put up pics as I receive them over the next few days, so email any pics to the club email and will select some to put on blog.
Paddlers: Jack, Nigel, Phil, Ben, Paul, Frank and Mark.
Oh and before you ask Mark did not swim as in his words “No swimming strokes were undertaken therefore its not classed as a swim”
RIver Access Wales
Last few hours (12 hours+ at the posting of this blog entry) to put your details to the petition in relation to Canolfan Tryweryn fees. This is not just about that site/river but also as regards the access policies of governing bodies and what their focus should be.
If you paddle in Wales then this should be of interest.
Last entry and petition details here: http://wp.me/pFrMd-ex
Canolfan Tryweryn Petition
Following on from the post regarding changes in charges at Canolfan Tryweryn http://wp.me/pFrMd-e3
For some more background have a look at this post and the various links it contains http://www.ukriversguidebook.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=109850
The petition link below seems a sensible solution to the issue of fees and suchlike.
Don’t miss the get out!
Following on from the last post I had this film on my browser to watch, its a nice film showing the work of the Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Team and how a brief lapse of concentration on the river can lead to, well I will let you watch.
Volunteers such as these and the Lifeboat Association do valuable work and I hope I never need their services.
Links:
TV: Endeavour – Everest
As the first part of a three part series (all filmed by Leo Dickinson I think) the documentary following the descent of the Dudh Kosi in kayaks. Enjoy.
“In 1976 a British expedition made mountaineering history, becoming the first kayakers to descend the Dudh Kosi river that runs off Mount Everest. High in the Himalayas, and at incredible speed, six Olympic-class canoeists battled with white water over rocks, waterfalls and treacherous whirlpools. As they struggled to negotiate a 30-pound canoe over a river with 30mph waterfalls, the threat of capsizing was ever present. Winner of over 25 international awards, this is a story of teamwork, bravery and individual brilliance”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03nh3mz
Also DVD available to purchase here: http://www.adventurearchive.com/data/books_videos/order.asp (The DVD has bonus material if memory serves me correct)
Lea Valley Olympic Site
This saturday just gone a trio of members visited lea valley site for a paddle.
To paddle and be able to book future sessions you need to undertake an assessment.
The assessment takes about 1hr (cost £10), I think they are only at weekends.
The site consists of two courses which feed into a lake, both courses have a conveyor belt to the top.
The Legacy is the least difficult of the two, and after the briefing this is where you start out. In the assessment group you convene at the top and navigate the rapids demonstrating break ins and break outs and also a roll or a swim.
Upon completing the legacy a couple of times you will be told if you have satisfied the assessor. You have the option (if successful) of being cleared just to use the Legacy course (although you would be limited to this course at future visits) or you can choose to try the Olympic course.
The same attributes were assessed (minus the roll or swim) break ins and break outs in particular above the two main drops and also crossing the river using features.
The legacy part took about 35 minutes and the Olympic took us to the end of the hour, this consisted of two runs of each course.
After this we had a break, handed bibs back in and when the assessor had completed the paperwork and were issued with cards we booked for a slot an hour later (start on the hour).
When booking your paddling slots once assessed you choose either the Legacy or Olympic, you can’t switch.
That said the site is well laid out, and the assessment was well run.
There are two cafes on site one at the top of the Olympic conveyor and one at the end of the olympic course.
The site is compact. Water is clean. Can be congested with lots of rafts (only one session, at 3pm I think for one hour without rafts which seems a bit of a poor showing really)
But anyways a couple of one hours slots with a break are more than enough and we had an enjoyable time.
Nigel won with the number of rolls being in double figures and Adrian had the most stylish roll of the day.
Until the next time……..
Happy Christmas
To one and all.
Just a reminder:
Meet: Dale End Park
Time: 10:30 for 11ish start [well maybe 11:30 start, but extra time to shuttle cars to jackfield]
Afters to the public hostelry.
That is all.
CJL
Boxing Day River Race
Meet: Dale End Park
Time: 10:30 for 11ish start [well maybe 11:30 start, but extra time to shuttle cars to jackfield]
Afters to the public hostelry.
That is all.
CJL
Boxing Day River Race
Twas a chilly day, it was minus something degrees centigrade.
Six souls entered the water and paddled down to the Ironbridge from Dale end park, alas the ice was too thick to pass and a hasty upstream retreat was made back to cars. In the the style of Brian Hanrahan [22 March 1949 – 20 December 2010] all the canoeists and kayakers were counted out and then counted back in again.
River Severn at Ironbridge Shropshire
To the Black Swan it was for chip sandwiches!
See you back at the pool in January [the second weekend i think]
