LCC playboat session coached by Lowri Davies – by John Cooke Sunday 4th saw another of the playboat sessions coached by Lowri Davies, six paddlers met at the Dee for a day of fun in small boats. After a quick check over of boats to make sure we were outfitted we were soon on the water. Surfing, flat spins, taillies, pop outs, some ear dips and a great time were enjoyed by all. It is fair to say everyone had a great time and enjoyed themselves. If anyone would like to try one of these sessions let me know and we can get something arranged, cost is £40 pp for a full day’s coaching, BARGAIN. The sessions are open to everyone including juniors (parent must be in attendance) and all equipment is available to hire out from the club. A roll is helpful but not compulsory. Check out the videos on LCC Facebook page. John Cooke. Below is Jenna getting the pop out nailed! Check out Neil’s video on the LCC Facebook page.

Ponsonby Arms to Ty Mawr Country Park by John Fay A big thanks to John Cooke for organising this coached whitewater trip. Martha Kelly, Mike Bailey, Pippa Leddra, Shane Jones and myself arrived at the Ponsonby Arms at 9.30am and after coffee the proceedings started. It was a great day with loads of time to practice breaking in and out and ferry gliding etc with some T-rescues practice and a few rolls at the end. If you get the chance I would highly recommend booking onto one of these sessions. They will certainly boost your confidence on the water whatever discipline you’re into. Shane Jones, Jamie was really good and got me using my edges a lot more and was happy to answer any questions we were asking him and let us practice our T rescues and rolling at the end. Mike Bailey, It was a proper introduction and exposed me to enough of the risks and thrills of this type of kayaking. There was enough about techniques like eddying and ferrying to give me an idea without overwhelming me with information. I felt really comfortable with Jamie. He is obviously very experienced and his coaching technique worked well for me.

We were caught on camera at Camping Les Ecrins last year! Click to view video

Thanks to Sue Bradley, Mas Mohammadifar, John Vogler and Tony Robinson for providing kayak support for the Ian Percival 26th Anniversary Swim organised by Liverpool Open Water Swimming Club on Saturday 26th June. Several charities will benefit from this event including the Teenage Cancer Trust and a young triathlete who has recently suffered life-changing injuries. There were 91 swimmers who took part in this iconic swim through the Salthouse, Dukes and Kings Docks on distances varying from one to four miles. Water temperature was 19.4C and air temperature ranged from 16-21C with perfect conditions and a great atmosphere amongst the swimmers, supporters and officials. A special thanks to Sue who stepped up to provide kayak safety support for the first time and led the two miles swim with such panache. Also to The Friends of Allonby Canoe Club who provided four kayakers and to the free-lance kayakers, stand-up paddle-boarder and jet-ski! Thanks also to the Canals and Rivers Trust who supported this event. Once again thanks for your support. Jim 

Last weekend saw the first white water camping trip of the year, we stayed at the Tyn Cornell site which gives direct access to the lower section of the River Tryweryn. Meeting up on Friday evening was a chance for new members to meet others and for friends to reunite. Saturday morning saw everyone on the lower section, 4 groups doing their own shuttles and getting on as individual groups. Back to the campsite for a lunch break and then some went off onto the upper section while another run of the lower was completed by others. Back at camp, showered and fed the fire pit was lit and a night of socializing ensued. Sunday saw much of the same, upper and lower runs. More people joined us for the day. There were a few spills and plenty of wet ears over the weekend but in general it’s fair to say it was a great weekend, we need another one ! Cheers everyone.

Last weekend also hosted another of the coached river sessions, these are going great and people that have attended have left positive feedback, It was a great day and I remembered more than I thought I knew thank you for organising, I had a fantastic day and very proud of myself for running Bala mill falls. What a fantastic time I had. Dave was as fab as you promised and I learnt loads. Can’t wait to get out on some more white water soon. Just back from the course, what a fantastic day! Thank you so much for organising this, it was a brilliant introduction to moving water and Dave was a great coach. I have forwarded the comments on as I know coaches appreciate good feedback. There will be more trips available so look out for the emails if your interested in attending one. If anyone wants some specific coached training then let me know and we can maybe arrange something. Cheers John Cooke

Conwy Estuary 12th of June This trip was a transition sea paddle down the Conwy Estuary to introduce some of us to the tides, currents, winds and waves that come with sea kayaking. It was my first time on such a trip and the more experienced paddlers that took us were just wonderful. Roger met Beccy and I at the compound to grab boats and then we drove down to the Conwy marina. We started on the beach and the weather was warm but a little cloudy. We headed up the estuary inland towards the castle and there were a few tricky currents to navigate. I honestly thought I would end up upside down at various points, but all was well, and I was just being a wimp. We paddled under the castle, which was a magnificent view in the sunshine. In the woods just past the castle there were so many Heron and Egrets in the trees above us. We continued inland where the views were spectacular. I practiced my edging at varying rates of success and with the patient help of Ian, and just about the time I thought my arms might fall off we stopped for lunch. We pulled up on the bank of the river and where we could see the mountains ahead of us and ate lunch in she cloudy sunshine. We watched the water and got back in at about 2:10pm as the tide turned, which was coordinated by Roger who had done the same trip the day before and had made note of the time – the whole way there I thought the time of 2:10 was so wonderfully specific there must be a very clever way of working it out, so this seemed like cheating when I found out he had been […]

We had a wonderful day at Llyn Padarn, under the gaze of Mount Snowdon with mild weather, a light breeze and a few clouds overhead. 11 of us were on the water in our sea kayaks at 10.45am (someone forgot to book their kayak (me), same someone couldn’t find the carpark – thankfully Vic, Dave and Clare saved the day finding parking spaces for everyone). We took a paddle the length of the lake and back before heading upriver where Roger spotted some wild yellow irises and we enjoyed the peacefulness of the surroundings. The smooth water gave a clear view of the brown and pale stones on the river bed whilst birds flew overhead and a small weir provided a gentle introduction to moving water for a few of us. We then paddled under a narrow, low bridge to our picnic spot. There was some confusion as to how to get a paddle through the narrow gap and more than one person had a close shave/prang. Lunch was much needed at this point and we found a spot on shore to enjoy Vic’s flapjack provision. Fed and watered we made our way back to open water where Phil led some skills exercises focusing on wind direction, how this impacts the movement of the kayak and how to correct for this. The highlight, however, was a magnificent game of catch showcasing Marty’s paddle interceptions, Vic’s chants to intimidate the opposition, Cath and Clare’s on target and ambitious throws and my facial expressions on almost capsizing in the excitement. I think Roger’s Renegades just about won. Alison and Ian were an oasis of calm, imparting advice and sharing stories of Alaska to inspire us to improve our fitness and skills. The clouds came down over the surrounding hills as we made […]

Circumnavigation of the Llyn Peninsula by Catriona Hare Circumnavigation of the Llyn Peninsula, with a bonus trip to Bardsey Island, an awful lot of really bad puns, and our own talking guidebook. There were five young folk from LCC Who went to the Llyn for the sea Kayaking was fun Despite the odd pun And tough, wrong route out to Bardsey I doubt that the Limerick will get a of approval. 😉 Saturday 29th May 2021 Trefor to Porth Oer We all arrived at Trefor on the north coast of the Llyn by 9:30, organised our kit and while four of us sorted out the complicated car shuttles (which Keith had designed) Keith drank coffee and relaxed with the boats. After lunch, car shuttles are hard work, we set off. We now had the nearly spring tide with us for the next six hours. This made for a relatively easy paddle, with sightings of seals and guillemots (or razor bills maybe) to reach Porth Oer 30km away. Not far from Trefor, Jimi played chicken with a blow hole….. I think the blow hole may have won, but it was a hot day, and he soon dried off. Near to Trefor, distinctive volcanoes are visible, and further west many of the cliffs are formed from boulder clay, and there were quite a few landslips. Something to think about for campsite selection. We landed on the north side of Porth Oer, the last campsite before Bardsey sound and found a lovely little sheltered campsite just off the beach (our talking book was proving useful). It was low tide at this point, which meant a long carry up the beach. We managed this safely with 4 people carrying each boat. Although a bit busy early evening, the beach soon quietened down, and we had […]

Dove Point Weekend. Over Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th of May two groups paddled out from Dove Point to Leasowe on Sea Transition paddles. SAT 29th – By Roger Colman Dave and I paddled with, Cornelia; Mike; Jim; John and Sharon. It was the first sea paddle for three of the group and we all arrived at Dove Point in good time, which was fortunate. The place was a hive of activity as it was the Hoylake Regatta and the specialised ‘Hoylake Opera’ boats were being launched. The ‘Hoylake Opera’ is a gaff rigged 16 foot clinker boat, designed by Captain Winchester, built by Alex Latta, well over 100 years ago, as the river and channel were silting and it became necessary to design a flat bottomed boat. Approximately 26 were built (all named after characters in operas and musical comedies) and the first ‘Opera’ Class Race commenced in 1902. 14 boats of the ‘Opera’ class remain today in Hoylake with another, ‘La Poupee’, on display in the Merseyside Maritime Museum. So, having managed to squeeze, one by one, between the wall and an ‘Opera’ being launched, we were away. The sea was nice and calm and although warm the sky was a little foggy/hazy producing a wonderful light upon which many of us commented. Waiting for the sea. And they’re Off. Pic’s John Groom. En route to Leasowe, against a small tidal push, we stopped to play around a couple of masts under the watchful eye of Dave. Just getting the feel of the sea. Then onto Leasowe with plenty of edging practice and cheerful banter. There was no real swell of any description to take us to the beach which was a little unfortunate as it would have been a good experience for the newer members of the […]