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, […]

Three go around Anglesey on neap tides by Catriona Hare We all set off at about 4:00 in the morning to get to Gallows point in time to leave at 6:30 and catch the tide down the Menai Straits. Well nearly, one of us was a wee bit tardy and we finally set off at 6:50. I suspect there may have been some contingency planning in the start time. The straits looked magical in the early morning sun and the near absence of any other boat traffic gave a rare calmness for the start of the paddle. It made me realise the straits should not just be a bad weather option. We made good time towards Abermenai point where the tranquillity was disturbed not for the last time by speed boats. Here we picked up the flood tide, before heading to the beach south east of the light house on Llanddwyn Island, for a well-deserved second breakfast; or one of Keith’s many elevenses stops which I have learnt means eat a proper meal, because it might actually be our only stop for hours. There were a lot of small dead fish on the high tide line, and we spent some time speculating about the cause, much more productive than actually knowing the reason for the phenomenon, well…. After this we crossed Matreath and Aberffraw bays to reach the church on the rocks, a day too early for the 3rd and last service of the year. Here we had another elevenses and applied more suntan lotion. It was hot, even Ian was paddling in a T-shirt. To make the most of the flood tide we paddled across to Roscolyn Head. Along this stretch we were harassed by Smokers, numerous jet skis and speed boats creating the feeling of post apocalypse Waterworld. […]

Lofoten Islands Expedition 2019 “The Famous Five visit Lofoten” by Enid Blyton Day 04 – Island at North end of Raftsundet to Trollfiorden (12th August) by George “The Famous Five forget they are on holiday and get up very early” Anne, who is very organised, had brought lots of useful information with her to Lofoten. With the help of Timmy, she planned today’s paddle to minimise the threat of the Raftstundet narrows. This meant being on the water by six. Dick was very concerned about breakfast, early morning porridge being an integral part of his daily routine. George still had too many irregular shaped food items at this time meaning her boat packing could be a bit slow. Maybe, there needs to be an EU Directive demanding that all vegetable shapes can tessellate. Anyway, this meant most of the group got up between 4:00 and 4:30 am. The exception of course being Timmy who can get ready jolly quickly. However, George is convinced that Timmy sleeps in his paddling clothes and having glimpsed the thread-bareness of the floor of Timmy’s kennel, this is probably also necessary if he is going to stay dry. We set off down Raftstundet, where we all failed to resist the urge to take multiple photos of the stunning scenery. Julian was often at the rear of the group camera in hand. Anne was getting increasingly concerned that we might not get through the narrows before the tide turned. George took the lead and paddled past the marker buoy at the start of the narrows, setting a responsible example. The rest of the group, including Anne stopped at the buoy and played in the flow around the buoy. Luckily, we made the end of the narrows before the tide turned, and George really wished she had also […]

Lofoten Islands Expedition 2019“The Famous Five visit Lofoten” by Enid Blyton Day 03 – Krakoya Island to Island at North end of Raftsundet (11th August) by Dick “The Famous Five and the mystery of the large boulder” After a gruelling day 2 on the water the famous five enjoyed a leisurely morning catching up on sleep and cups of tea, Julian fancied something stronger, but Dick said it was a little too early for ginger beer! Anne had promised the gang a day off, however the forecast dictated otherwise, and a decision was made to press on continuing along the north coast of the island. Dick complained about his sore shoulders having not paddled for some time and being hungry, though the latter was not unusual! Leaving the pretty little island of Krakoya the gang set off heading east along the rather relatively flattish coastline, first to Fiskebøl fergekai where they had to negotiate the ferry crossing, Timmy insisted the gang maintain current speed and heading stating that “the ferry will jolly well have go around us!” It was a grey day but that didn’t dampen the mood of the gang as they paddled along, Dick periodically needing to stop to bail his cockpit out, at times it seemed like he was paddling a bathtub! As they paddled along, they spotted an unusual object on the small island of Myrlandsoya, it was rather large man-made looking cuboid with what appeared to be a patch of red on the top of it. The five speculated about what it could be, with suggestions of boat shed, sheep shelter or secret military aircraft hangar. Imaginations were running wild. Dick was just hoping it was a KFC. The five decided to take a late lunch, or 3s’s on the island and investigate further. Dick […]

Lofoten Islands Expedition 2019 “The Famous Five visit Lofoten” by Enid Blyton Day 02 – Lyngvaeret Island to Festvainset Ruberthelmen (elevenses) to Felvika beach (lunch) to Krakoya Island (10th August) by Timmy “Five discover the Arctic Ocean” Anne was feeling so much better this morning having been reunited with her belongings. She now had two pairs of undies and her own Macintosh to wear should the weather turn dastardly and more than enough food to last for the whole holiday. The group had also solved the other big issue uncovered the previous evening. Anne had asked Uncle Jann for “Magic fuel” for the stoves. Please Uncle Jann, they run on “mystical white gas” or even “Arctic Coleman fuel”. Well it turned out that Coleman fuel in Norwegian means Kerosene (Paraffin). “Blimey” said Julian, “this mystical white gas will not light, how are we going to cook” “I’m hungry” said Dick. “I am used to three full meals a day after all those iron men” Julian eventually found the secret of lighting the mystical white gas. We first make a bonfire around the stove with paper and sticks and then set it all on fire. When the flames eventually die down enough to approach, the mystical white gas fires up into action. However, Anne’s and Dick’s stoves did not like the bonfire approach, and we were to use them as extra ballast in the bottom of the kayaks for the rest of the trip. “Woof” said Timmy. The Famous Five set off extraordinarily early from Lyngvaeret Island just as the sun was rising. Anne had read that the Northerly flow would speed us under the road bridge and out into the Arctic ocean. It was a fantastic red sunrise, but George’s eyes were still closed and would not open for at […]

Hi All, Just a little reminder about etiquette when paddling with the club at the docks. 1/ All paddling must be on the calendar. Experienced paddlers must be in charge and are responsible for the session. Our licence relies on good relations with other water users. 2/ Always keep well away from moored boats (at least one kayak length) and other docks traffic. 3/ Never get out on the Marina or HMS Eaglet (Navy) pontoons or any pontoon that is not public. 4/ Keep to the right when passing other users – especially at the bridges. 5/ Please ensure the locking bolt is properly slotted into the gate when locking up. Around our compound please take away all rubbish that you find, return boats to the correct rack, empty of any water. Sea kayaks go in threes with one reversed. Please report all faulty equipment to equipment@liverpoolcanoeclub.co.uk

Lofoten Islands Expedition 2019 “The Famous Five visit Lofoten” by Enid Blyton Day 01 – Orsvagen campsite to Henningsvaer (shop) to Lyngvaeret Island (9th August) by Anne “The Famous Five and The Riddle of the Missing Bag” Anne was feeling most perturbed. Those beastly people at the airline had failed to put her bag on the right aeroplane to Lofoten, and that meant that she had no clothes or camping equipment or food for the holiday. She was so looking forward to lashings of ginger beer and bags of tomatoes around the campfire with her chums, but now it seemed that she would have to spend all her pocket money to buy more food. She would also have to rent camping gear from Uncle Jann (the kayak-hire man), although Timmy had offered to share his kennel with her so that she didn’t have to rent a tent. This was very kind, but Timmy was going a bit mangy (he had already lost the fur from his head) and Anne thought that she might prefer her own little tent. How Anne wished that her bag of things had made it to Lofoten. Just then, Uncle Jann turned up and said “Anne, I have just been speaking to the airline. Your bag will be on the 7:00pm flight from Oslo. You must camp near the village of Lyngvaraet tonight. Your bag will be delivered to you at Lyngvaraet by courier at 7:45pm.” And with that he was gone. Anne was sure that this was a clue, but what did it mean? Could the Famous Five possibly solve the riddle and find Anne’s missing bag? Anne continued to ponder the riddle as she packed her boat, which contained nothing much at all. She then paddled with the rest of the group along the […]