Progression to Open Canoe – River Ribble by Mike Alter
The 2025 open boat progression is going really well. Numerous paddlers have moved from nothing to paddling the docks and now onto various rivers. Friends have also moved from paddling tandem to solo on moving water as their skills have progressed.
Looking for a different river so as to expand horizons, my thoughts turned to the Ribble. This is a g1-2 river that I haven’t paddled in about 15 years, with my last memory being battling headwinds and that we had to leave an open boat behind due to a big pin.
Oh well, it was big that day, so it will be fine in this weather. Then the storm, Claudia, came in, and the river started rising, with big floods in other parts of the country, but my gut and level predictors were suggesting a return to a good level. I had been informed that anything above .4 at New Jumbles rock was OK we were looking at 0.75m.
Come Sunday, the clouds cleared, the sun shone, and we all met at Clitheroe for the paddle to Ribchester. Despite someone complaining that the launch was not out of the car park, we carried to the get-in and after a very quick safety talk (Don’t go over the nasty weir, you will know you are getting close to the weir when you go under a bridge that is not a bridge), got onto the water.
Water levels were great, and the group styled the rapids with ease, John enjoying his new boat. We spied the weir and portage very effectively, before paddling on in the glorious countryside.
Fisher folk were nice, and I heard squeals of “Weeeeee!” as we went through the lumpy stuff. Everyone was paddling great.
A stop for lunch, more lumpy fun stuff, and we were soon at the get-out in Ribchester. Shuttle done, we headed for post paddle refreshments
A very nice paddle at a great water level.
Sign up for the next trip that’s already on the calendar. Don’t know the location yet, but so far we have done Mersey, Dee from Carrog, Dee from Llangollen, Dee from Ty Mawr, Dee from Farndon and Ribble as part of these 2025 trailer trips. Likely somewhere new next time
Canoeists, half the paddle, twice the paddlers!
Mike, Ian, Keith, Terry, Marcus, Dom & Jacki