Hi everyone – can I thank the club for organising the VHF radio course a few weeks back, we spent a very enjoyable Sunday learning together. Paul and Scott from Sea Voice were great teachers, and…. we all passed! I am now thinking about a VHF radio and have a few questions please. The course providers recommend the iCom models and I know some of my colleagues own these. Do you have recommendations for other makes or models? The Cobra ones seem to be the best value. And – if you were buying from new would you spend the extra for DSC? Thanks everyone, and look forward to seeing you up in Scotland over Easter. My own choice would be the icom M71, waterproof, very durable, easy to operate and the battery lasts for ages.  If you buy from icom direct they can price match and will programme channel 0 open for rx only, meaning you can listen to the rescue services but not transmit on that channel.  Often quite entertaining when on a long paddle.   DSC generally shortens battery life considerably as it continuously does all sorts of other stuff in the background too, most of which isn’t really necessary. I’d rather have a radio that I know will still have power when I need it even on a multiday trip and have a totally independent means of signalling help should I REALLY need it..  My understanding of DSC (although someone may correct me) is that as it’s a VHF signal it still requires line of sight and for the signal being strong enough to be picked up.  If you think about the places we paddle, close to high cliffs, narrow bays etc. you can see that line of site can often be a problem. If things really hit the fan I […]

Liverpool CC Under 18s are NWC Div 3 Canoe Polo League Champions.  Congratulations to the team.  Why not come a long and give canoe polo a go on Tuesdays – see calendar for venue details. All the equipment is provided – all welcome.

Congratulations to: Stuart Conway Sarah Horton Alan Peachment Paul Goetzee Trevor Strain If you encountered an emergency at sea would you know how to call for help? The Marine VHF Radio is an important piece of safety equipment onboard, understanding the correct procedures when operating the VHF Radio is vital and could save you or your crews’ lives. ” Prepare for the worst and hope for the best” Learn all the Marine VHF Radio procedures and practice using the inbuilt digital selective calling marine radio simulator.  These courses are run in conjunction with seavoice training. https://www.seavoice-training.co.uk/ The discount to any LCC member is £15 off the normal course price of £90     Here is the voucher code LCC15 that members can use if they book directly on to a classroom-based VHF Radio course.   The Exam fee is always £60 which is paid directly to the RYA and not us. Fundamentally this course is designed for all paddlers irrespective of craft. The objective is to teach simple and safe skills that can be applied appropriately.

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# 1  Congratulations to Kris D Aout for his photo “Bonfire paddle – River of Light on the Mersey” #2  Steve Stanford “Craig surfing at Burrs Weir” #3 Kathy Morton “Pete discovers he is a zen master somewhere near Glenuig” See the other places on our Photo of the Month Page……….  

Nice to meet new people Mark Arron Neil thanks Stu Ian Ian for the support. Well done on the trip Aaron and Neil – excellent – I know it was very fast and big and bouncy you did great.  I know it was a significant step up. 0.86m at Marple Bridge Thanks all John A

Just some pics from two weeks ago with Becka on a trip to Spain (by train) for lessons at https://www.surfskicenter.com/tarifa It’s a totally different paddling technique, which makes it interesting. We don’t have room, money or capacity to buy these surfskis on top of everything else, but if anyone can let us out to play for a day on theirs on a session we could pass on everything that we learnt (which was included in 2hrs of classroom lessons a day in Tarifa).

20 + paddlers made the trip today including Gareth’s Improvers group.   A good turn out after the poor weather recently luckily the weather was better than most of us expected today. Light to moderate breeze, dry ,sunny intervals.  All coped well. No Tide race or overfalls to play in this time and only one seal bothered to greet us on the end of Hilbre Island. Unfortunately, due to an injury Mark Pawley had to sit out the paddle.   Fortunately for the rest of us, Mark kindly made Lots of tea and coffee in his paddle bus for anyone who wanted it on our return. Thanks Mark and all for a good paddle.

Just the 3 of us on the Severn today. a well deserve brew.  Meeting at the Montford bridge cafe Opposite Wingfield Arms, On the A5, Montford Bridge, Shrewsbury SY4 1EB between 0900hrs – 0930 hrs.   Shuttle cars to Frankwell car park where we will get off and hopefully be on the water by 1030hrs The weather forecast will be cloudy, (I have ordered some sunshine).  Yyou need appropriate items of clothing  Hot, cold drink and snack        

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