Lofoten Islands Expedition 2019 “The Famous Five visit Lofoten” by Enid Blyton Day 10 – Last day in Kabelvag (18th August) by Julian “The Famous Five take a day off” How snug and warm we had all been in proper beds in our cabin and although a little sad our Lofoten kayaking adventure really was over, it was another day and the chance for another adventure. But wait, it appears George, always the tomboy, had not slept in a bed at all. She had spent the night sleeping on the floor in the lounge. She really is as tough as old boots! It was decided we should hike out of Base Camp and find some proper entertainment in the nearby town of Kabelvag. Ann had been there once before and warned us there was little excitement to be found and explained, politely, as always, that she would stay in base camp to meet up later with the friends we had met at the start of our journey, “Jo the gypsy girl” and young “Tinker Hayling”. Once Dick had quickly demolished some cold pizza found at the back of the fridge, he, Timmy, Julian and George set of at a blistering pace eager to see the delights of Kabelvag. On the way Dick borrowed a little green scooter and ‘scooted’ up and down the road before returning it and running to catch us up. As for Kabelvag, for once it seems that Ann, who can be known to exaggerate, had not done so on this occasion. There was little excitement to be had and being a Sunday most of what little there was appeared shut. Undeterred however our intrepid quartet did find a pub on stilts, which clearly showed we were deep within the Article Circle (N68” 13’ S14” 30’) and a […]

Rolling Session 1 at Coburg Dock Over 30 people rolled up (no pun intended) for the first of our Saturday rolling sessions. There were varying levels of skills from experience paddlers wanting to get back or improve their roll to absolute beginners. After the introductions help in a very heavy downpour of rain the group was split into three smaller groups with a team of coaches for each group. Team 1 looked after the paddlers who could roll but needed some tips on how it could be improved. Team 2 took those that understood the concept of rolling but weren’t quite getting it right. Team 3 had the beginners. It wasn’t long before everyone was in the water under the watchful eyes of the coaches. We all know how exhausting learning to roll can be and how cold you can get. So, at any point our paddlers and helpers could avail themselves of hot drinks, cake and biscuits of all varieties. Chris Fay and Irene Jackson managed the constant flow of customers to the compound shed for refreshments. As on the previous rolling sessions this one went well over the allotted two hours. Thank you to all our helpers and to everyone that turned up to make it a fun and enjoyable session. John Fay Round 2 is on Saturday at the compound in Coburg Dock 10:30 – 12:30. Why not come down and join in or spectate. More Photos……..

Lofoten Islands Expedition 2019 “The Famous Five visit Lofoten” by Enid Blyton Day 09 – Eldhusodden to Orsvagen campsite (17th August) by George “The Famous Five experience challenging conditions on their last day” Following the early night to avoid the heavy rain and wind, the Famous Five were up early, to see a bright sunny day, with little wind. We had a relaxed morning, drying our kit on the sun-drenched rocks, enjoying an extended breakfast and drinking tea; after all this was our last day, and we had gas and petrol to use up. More importantly we were waiting for the wind to die down before we headed round the airport headland, Timmy thought this was a really good idea. George heard words like swell, rolling seas, clapotis, and the need to stay out at sea, so she had some more food and travel sickness pills. Dick kept his 10L water supply in case we found time to stop for lunch or afternoon tea. We headed due south towards the airport headland in choppy but easily manageable seas. As we approached the airport the swell started to increase, and when we rounded the headland, we had huge swell (George is only small) confused by clapotis. Timmy had to nip Dick’s heals viciously to get him to stay far enough offshore; George held on to her paddle very tightly; Julian relaxed at the back taking photos. The sea state improved as we passed the headland, and we experienced a slightly more regular following sea. We were now whizzing along. Suddenly, Anne indicated she was in difficulty and asked George and Julian to raft up and come to her rescue. We rafted up to find that Anne’s paddle was nearly in two pieces, and for some time she had been paddling with […]

Lofoten Islands Expedition 2019 “The Famous Five visit Lofoten” by Enid Blyton Day 08 – waterfall campsite at back of Austpollen to Eldhusodden (16th August) by D“The Famous Five and the model boat” It was a bright, clear and crisp morning as the famous five began to stair in the camp, the sun was hiding behind the jagged mountain ridge which had itself been hidden in the low mist when they arrived the previous day. Now, however, it could be seen in its magnificent glory with cascading waterfalls and ancient tree cover on its lower slopes. Not in any particular hurry, the gang had breakfast and packed away tents in the chill air, just then a shaft of sunlight streamed down from behind the ridge as the sun rose higher quickly warming up the gang. “Crickey!” exclaimed Dick, “Who’s put the heating on?”, “I came to Lofoten expecting Ice Bergs, not expecting to need Ice cream!” he said as began to boil in his dry suit. “Do you ever stop thinking of food?” asked George. It seemed a shame to disturb the stillness of the water in the fjord as the gang pressed on with their adventure, the image of the mountains and reflections on the water would not have been be out of place on a chocolate box or postcard! They hadn’t gone far however before Anne and Dick, who are both showing signs of their age, needed an urgent comfort break! At the head of Laupstadosen fjord the gang came across a tiny model of a Norwegian fishing trawler which was moored in the bay, with its yellow and white detailing Anne was quite taken with it and wanted to take it home with him. But the others explained that it probably belonged to another little boy or […]

Lofoten Islands Expedition 2019 “The Famous Five visit Lofoten” by Enid Blyton Day 07 – Sandvika beach to waterfall campsite at back of Austpollen (15th August) by Timmy “The Famous Five and the tepee” The night had been awfully wet and windy but the five had been snug in their tents on the sheltered beach. The group had improvised a jolly good shelter using Timmys Tarp, a paddle and a few carefully placed boulders. Dick was eating porrige as the others emerged. George was very happy as we could have a more leisurely start today. They decided to have an early elevenses and then decide on where to go for the day. Although Timmy was a little worried at the prospect of venturing so near to Anne`s suggested “short portage across the island”, the five decided to explore Austpollen Fjord. There was even the prospect of possible camping in a bay near the top. The group successfully navigated past Følstad klubben and the sound of running water had Anne querying the amount of water we all had left. We decided to top up anyway as it may be difficult to find in “waterfall cove”! Just then Timmy noticed that Anne`s rear hatch had not be secured properly and barked “woof, woof” “Thank you very much Timmy” said Anne, that could have been really serious. Timmy then retrieved the missing hatch cover and replaced it securely on Anne’s boat. The five continued paddling north along the steep sided Fjord. Last night’s heavy rain left the mountain tops shrouded in a vail of thick cloud. “How very atmospheric” said Julian. Every valley or cirque now had a major stream pouring down the hillside. The group investigated several old landing stages and headlands looking for that idyllic campsite. Upon rounding the corner, we […]

The Three Amigos go Open Boating at Llangollen There have been lots of club sea and river trips. With the recent intro to opens course being such a success, we felt it was time to get more club open boat trips. That was the plan, so Mike issued the call to all open paddlers and Ian Bell duly responded (there were others who wanted to come but were kept away by prior commitments). The weather was mixed, but that didn’t stop us. We arrived at Llangollen, sorted out kit and decided that we were going to have a good skills day. On the water, a quick warm up and then we headed up stream. In kayaks that normally means carrying the boat up the field. But in canoes we started with a quick wade up the first rapid. We then poled up the next rapid (Top tip – helmets and shin pads are good idea!) At the next rapid, we used the painters to track boats up the drop. Most used painters, however Mike had removed his painter, forgotten to bring a sling, and so had to use his 15m swim line. It worked, but he then had to faff and re pack it. Did we wait for him? Err………………..no!   Up at the railway bridge rapid, the sun shone and we had a great time surfing and crossing. It looks really smooth in an open boat – half the paddle, twice the paddlers!     Ready for lunch, we turned and headed back to the centre – it took us rather less time and effort to get back. Fuelled and raring to go, we ran tombstones. After that we thought about playing in the middle stopper – however it didn’t look nice, so we just had a chat with […]

Photo of the Month Please send any photos to website@liverpoolcanoeclub.co.uk September 2019 # 1 Take Off at Serpents Tail – Dave Gentle 33 votes (30%) # 2 Start Hilbre Island Race 2019 – Pete Thomas 19 votes (17%) # 3 Aaron Jackson on a reverse slide – Martin Aldridge 17 votes (16%) # 4 Neil Jones surfing on the Durance – Sarah Gille 16 votes (15%) # 5 OC1 Hilbre Island Race 2019 – Nikki Aldridge 12 votes (11%) # 6 Overfalls Hilbre Island Race 2019 – John Ennis 12 votes (11%)

Lofoten Islands Expedition 2019 “The Famous Five visit Lofoten” by Enid Blyton Day 06 – Finoya Island (smiley face island) to Brettesnes Vagen harbour (lunch) to Sandvika beach (14th August) Anne “The Famous Five go to Mystery Island” The Famous Five awoke far too early and emerged from their tents one by one, bleary eyed. “What a lovely day for breakfast” said Dick, hungrily. “Err” said Julian. “It’s not a lovely day, look!” The children looked around. During the night a thick sea mist had crept over Smiley Island and enveloped it in a cloak of impenetrable grey. “Where’s the land gone?” said George “Which way do we even paddle to get to the land?” said Anne “We’re marooned!” said Julien “Oh cripes!” said Dick “Lummy” said George “Crikey” said everyone. Just then the children noticed that Timmy was already in his boat, and he was pawing the water excitedly with his paddle. “Woof” said Timmy, and then “woof woof” he said again. “Do you think…” said Anne “That Timmy is trying to…” Said George “Tell us something?” said Julian. “Yes” said Dick “I think he’s saying that if we paddle on a course of 250 degrees magnetic, we’ll reach the large island of Storemolla in around 1 hour and 28 minutes, arriving at a point just north of the Gulvika inlet” “And will a heading of 250 degrees offset the possible slight northerly tidal flow between the islands of Storemolla and Arsteinen?” queried Anne. “I don’t know” said Dick “there’s only so much information that Timmy can tell us by going ‘Woof’ three times”. He children followed Timmy’s plan. The passage across the water was eerie, with only the occasional skerry looming from the murk to provide some relief from the shrouding blanket of grey. Anne was at the […]

Liverpool Canoe Club Gazebo It made its first appearance during the Alps 2019 trip as discovered by Chris Murphy (and snapped on his FB page) when he popped by to say “Hello” to a campsite devoid of LCC paddlers. We were all out either paddling or sightseeing.  Now back in the UK it has had it’s 4 walls attached, 1 being a roll up door and 2 for windows.  Donated by a member the gazebo is for LCC club members to use in workshops or any other events at the Marina, club trips (Anglesey would be great, but it won’t fit in a sea kayak), polo tournaments and anything else we do.  It’s professional grade weighing a whopping 38kgs and can be free standing (comes with water filled weights) or on grass surfaces it can be tent pegged down. Contact Craig Ford if you want to use it for future events. treasurer@liverpoolcanoeclub.co.uk

Lofoten Islands Expedition 2019 “The Famous Five visit Lofoten” by Enid Blyton Day 05 – Trollfiorden to Finoya Island (smiley face face island) (13th August) by Julian “The Famous Five go to Smiley Face Island” After having had a good night’s sleep, and more importantly as far as Dick was concerned, a hearty breakfast, we were ready to continue our wonderful adventure. Anne made sure we were all aware of the need to leave the campsite in shipshape condition. (Julian thought – take only memories, leave only footprints – Yes, thank you Anne, we know, but he was old enough and wise enough not to say anything!) The next part of our journey involved some rather tricky tidal planning. This was jolly exciting as it was really important to get to the Valvagen Canal while there was enough water to ensure we could all paddle through. If we failed to break camp and be on the water at the appointed time, or we had a mishap on route, or Timmy and Anne got the timing wrong we could be stuck for some time at the entrance of the canal. If this happened there was little doubt that while we waited Anne would want to make a new camp and Dick would start eating his lunch. Fortunately, we were on the water at the right time. (George had eaten some of her irregular shaped food items and consequently packed a little quicker.) We had no mishaps as we paddled passed the islands of Ulvoya (yesterday’s second breakfast stop) and Brakoya on glorious, balmy seas in splendid weather. Timmy and Anne were spot on with the tidal planning. (Julian had confidently expected them to be but would not admit that to them.) The canal is only short but made out of enormous, […]