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, […]

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 […]