Alps Alternative Week 1 Pembroke. Day 02a Cardiff WW Course 8 Cumecs Most headed off for the WW course again, still pumping 8 Cumecs it was at a good level. Most of the newcomers were soon up to speed and flying around the course with ease. It really was a blast. Although relatively shallow in places most of the features had plenty of water at this level and the holes while friendly were still powerful and deserved respect. The only things to watch out for are the blue plastic rocks as they can be a pain if you bang an elbow or other part of the body if you get the breakout wrong. There seemed to be plenty of space and only a few of the 50 public places were taken. There were rafts and inflatables on the course with centre staff, but these only numbered 3 at the most. You really do get a lot of paddling in when paddling on an artificial course with an escalator. This was really turning out to the be Alternative Alpine Rivers trip we had all hoped for. Click for more photographs……. Day 02b Abereiddy Beach to Porthgain (Sloop Inn) and return A few Alpine paddlers had broken with the tradition of paddling the boats they were going to take the Alps and had also brought long pointed boats with hatches on. This alternative group paddled along the rocky coasts and headlands to Porthgain, stopped for a while for lunch and then paddled back again. Apparently, the Sloop Inn was the highlight of the trip – It must have been fantastic as the coastline here is truly beautiful. Porthgain HistoryThe village of Porthgain has a wealth of historical relics from its time as a prosperous industrial harbour in the early 1900s. At one time, […]

LCC Alpine Holiday with Staycation alternative for 2021 This year we were all set to go to France again. All the planning had been done, restrictions checked and most of us fully jabbed. With the third wave and a month to go we started to look for an insurance option, just in case. We provisionally booked campsites in St David’s, Pembrokeshire, and the Scottish Canoe Association Campsite on the River Tay at Grandtully. With two weeks to go and the UK Government decided to add France to the Amber plus list meaning compulsory isolation for all on return. Fortunately, we had our insurance option, Plan B as travel to France was now unrealistic. Alps Alternative Week 1 Pembroke. Day 01 Cardiff WW Course 8 Cumecs Some of us left early and took a slight detour to visit Cardiff International White-Water Course. This was to be our river option for this week with 4 days where the course was offering “Park and Play” sessions for paddlers. 6 of us met at the course for the afternoon session. It was pumping 8 Cumecs (cubic metres a second) and true to form the course filled up and we had a great time doing laps. On getting our wrist bands we put our boats on in the bottom pool and took the escalator to the top and set off on the course. Some of the drops and eddies were exciting and the boiling water gave a few problems for some. We had all watched the safety video beforehand and there were two people from the centre on the middle island with throw ropes to rescue any unfortunate swimmers. At this level several of the other playboaters were performing 360-degree forward loops. As our confidence grew, we started to play a little more in each […]

Congratulations to both LCC teams who did a sterling job representing the club at the National championship. Both teams fought hard in the open league against division 1 sides with LCC Brunswick winning 1 and losing 2 in their group stage. LCC Dukes lost all 3 group games but did score in everyone. Due to the way the National Championships is run LCC Dukes came 4th in their group and was entered into the shield competition on the Sunday after winning their knockout game 6-0 they unfortunately lost their semifinal but did win their remaining game to come third in the shield competition. LCC Brunswick were entered into the the Bowl competition after a really hard fought knockout game Brunswick were unable to secure the victory but continued to put in a fantastic effort against some hard opposition to come 6th overall in their group. In the open league both teams improved their overall seeding (out of 36) seeing LCC Brunswick move up from 28th to 24th and LCC Dukes move from 32nd to 30th place. Good effort from both teams did the club and themselves proud.

The 7th and 8th August witnessed the largest triathlon in the world return to London for its 22nd year and Swim Safety provided the water safety crew of over fifty who supervised the swimming event at the iconic Royal Victoria Dock. Four members of Liverpool Canoe Club were part of the water safety team.The weather was challenging with persistent rain on the Saturday, a suspension of the swim course due to a lightening threat and strong winds. The rain and strong winds continued in the Sunday. The London Triathlon hosted 10,200 triathletes who swam, ran and cycled to raise money for charity, with some of the city’s most iconic landmarks serving as their backdrop. Estimates suggest that some 30,000 spectators provided support and encouragement for the determined athletes.This year, the money raised will be donated to Great Ormond Street Hospital and Macmillan Cancer Support.All competitors swam in the Royal Victoria Dock and ran around the London Docklands. The bike route varied depending on the day and distance chosen.The races all started at the ExCeL Centre, Royal Victoria Dock and each will follow a slightly varied route across central London.The length of the triathlon route depended on which event the athletes took part in: • Olympic – Saturday & Sunday: Swim 1500km, Bike 40km, Run 10km • Olympic Plus – Sunday: Swim 1500km, Bike 80km, Run 10km• Olympic Team Relay – Saturday: Swim 1500km, Bike 40km, Run 10km • Sprint – Saturday & Sunday: Swim 750km, Bike 20km, Run 5km • Sprint Team Relay – Saturday: Swim 750m, Bike 20km, Run 5km • Super Sprint – Saturday: Swim 400km, Bike 10km, Run 2.5km https://www.facebook.com/thelondontri/videos/887555015191932

Scotland Sea Kayak Trip – June 2021 Day 6 and 7 (Catriona Hare) Day 6 Camas na Croise to the island that shall not be named (about 22km) We set off about 9:30, after breakfast which came with one of our few midge experiences of the trip, although still far less than I could ever have dreamed of. Andy was developing a new habit of being on the water before the rest of us and looking disapprovingly at tardiness. He needs to practice his disapproving look for it to be effective. Like the rest of the week, we set off in glorious sunshine and flat calm conditions, I am still not convinced we were in Scotland. The day before we had decided not to cross over to Mull due to fog in the shipping lane, looking back towards Mull this morning it looked like it was foggy again and the risk averse decision for a change of plan the day before seemed more justified than ever. We headed up the western shore of Loch Linnhe which gave us some very different scenery to the rest of the trip, with the larger mountains of the mainland running into the loch. Before long it was time to stop for food and a philosophical debate on the timing and meaning of the words breakfast and lunch. Elevenses, brunch and possibly “linner” were considered superfluous. Anyway, it was our first relaxing meal stop in the sun of the day. We carried on up the coast getting some really good views of a golden and a white-tailed eagle and lots of wild goats. Roger was excellent a spotting wildlife. We stopped at Port a Ghearrain, our most northern point on Loch Linnhe, for our meal of choice and more relaxing in the sun. Although it […]

Scotland Sea Kayak Trip – June 2021 Day 5 Thursday 01/07/2021 by Ian Bell Lismore east coast and crossing to Camas na Croise (About 24Km) by Ian Bell Having spent the night at the south end of Lismore, we had plans and aspirations of crossing over to Mull for a night before starting to wind our way back to Oban. However the fog had rolled in and following some debate as to how long we could delay departure and still take advantages of slack water to cross passed Lady’s Rock we decided on a cut off time or we would revert to plan B,C,D,E whatever. As the time approached, we saw the fog lift only to descend again. There was some doubt in group as to the whether we should chance it and play Russian roulette with the Cal Mac ferries so we decided we would leave Mull for another time and paddle up the east side of Lismore and spend the rest of the trip exploring up into Loch Linnhe. Of course, as we set off, the fog lifted again and soon we were commenting on the heat of the morning sun. However, we were now committed to paddling north. As we paddled, we commented that this part of island was less inhabited than we expected and identified several other possible camp sites. It was also noted that at some point some of the group would need to find and top up water supplies. This noted I suggested as the ground was dry, we would be best calling in at the ferry terminal as it was the most likely option for a tap. On the way Andy suggested exploring Eilean nan Gamhna and its siter Eilean na Cloiche, so we headed out to them for elevenses or lunch. We […]

Scotland Sea Kayak Trip – June 2021 Day 4 – Eilan nan Caorach (Poo Island) to SW Lismore – Andy Garland We departed our island campsite around 9:30am and left our feathered friends (and appreciable amounts of avian poo) behind. The sea was calm, it was warm, and the scenery was fantastic. What more could you possibly want (apart from Second Breakfast)? We glided across the water to the island of Lismore and followed its west coast southward. Our course took us around the tiny islands off the shore of Port Ramsay, and we took care not to disturb the attendant seals with young pups. The coast continued to pass us by on our left-hand side…all was mellow, all was calm, we were at one with the world, but I needed Second Breakfast! Just before my stomach started digesting my head a superb breakfast-eating bay came into sight, next to the ruins of Castle Coeffin. We relaxed in the sun and took in the serenity of it all. It was wonderfully peaceful. The only sounds that could be heard were me munching a tin of sardines, crisps, a mars bar and one of those cereal bars that are marketed to people who are too lazy to cook a proper breakfast. It would have been a wonderful spot to camp, but a notice from the landowners made it quite clear (in a very polite way) that they would much prefer people to camp on common land further to the north. We continued our trip south until it was time for First Lunch. This was taken at the site of a disused limestone quarry in the bay at An Sailean. We explored the abandoned lime kilns and quarry buildings and imagined what it must have been like working here while it was […]

Day 3 Kerrara to Eilan nan Caorach ( about 31Km) Sheena Davies On Tuesday the 29th of June we left our beautiful campsite on the west coast of Kerrera at 9.30am. Our first stop was ‘Little Ganavan’ , a sandy beach just north of Oban where I immediately struggled out of my dry suit as it was so hot! It really was as hot as it looks in the photo. I was also relieved that we had successfully negotiated the shipping channel between the north of Kerrera and the mainland. We had our second breakfast here, or was it first lunch? Our next stop was Dunstaffnage Marina where we filled all available containers with water from a tap on the pontoon. Unfortunately, a lady (trailing a little dog called Peanut), upset me by informing me that that water was contaminated. Roger sensibly pointed out that it would be more unhygienic to source it from the toilet cisterns as she had suggested! The marina staff, however, were lovely and more than happy for us to use their facilities. We had a ‘lumpy’ but wonderful kayak from Dunstaffnage to the jutting out piece of land beyond Tralee bay then paddled all the way up the Lynn of Lorne to Eilean Nan Caorach where we settled for the evening and overnight. Catriona answering her phone in the channel, Ian was getting closer. We must have had a second lunch stop en route but I was too tired to remember it! Ian Bell kayaked from Port Appin this evening to join us and we had a lovely time amidst masses of squabbling seabirds and goose poop!!

Scotland Sea Kayak Trip June 2021 First day (The extra-long alternative) by Ali Watt Sheena and I had decided to travel down from Skye early on the morning of the first day of the trip.  Like all early morning starts, they sound ok in the planning, but much harder when the time comes and you have to leave your bed at 4am.  On the road for 5am and a clear road south got us to our departure point at Dunstaffnage Marina, outside Oban, just before 9am. After just short of an hour’s packing, we had managed to cram in the kitchen sink and everything else required for a week’s self-supported paddling, and we were out of the gates and off.  Heading south Catriona thoughtfully contacted us by text to let us know that herself, Andy and Roger where on the water about the same time as us, paddling in the same direction as us, but a good 12km ahead. We had a great paddle past Oban bay, where we managed to avoid the fishing boats and Calmac ferries by sticking to the Kerrera shore.  Once into quieter waters we crossed to the mainland to stop for a second breakfast at Kerrera Slip. Managing to curb the desire to eat like a whale and consume more than we’d packed for the day, we continued our journey south, trying to avoid seal pups and angry oyster catchers as we went.  The weather was good, just a slight head wind which I was very glad of as it slowed my companion’s pace to one I could enjoy. The Island of Seil came into view, and we knew that we weren’t too far from the rest of the team, in fact we could almost smell them!  Onwards we went, into the deep south, rounding […]

LCC Canoe Polo Tournament – 17 July 2021 We had three teams playing in this friendly tournament which included 3 people who had never played canoe polo before. The sun was shining, and the crowds were out cheering the teams on. I guess people had nothing to follow as we were between the Euros and the Olympics. Congratulation’s to LCC A who just managed to beat LCC C in the “golden goal” extra time. All the games were amazingly close. Why not come down and give canoe polo a go – all equipment is available from the compound. We play as a mixture of teenagers and older, novice to very experienced. Click to see more Photos…….