Crossing the Little Minch – by Tim Haines Setting off from West Kirby after work on Friday, I arrived at Camas Mor (About 5km north of Uig, Skye) at around 0300 on Saturday morning. After a few hours sleep I set out for Fladaigh Chuain. The crossing is about 10km, and takes you past some amazing nesting seabirds on the cliffs of the islands of Sgeir nan Ruideag – a little foretaste of the amazing birdlife yet to come. The rock architecture of ‘lord Macdonald’s Table’ is truly impressive, and a sea eagle passing overhead added to the overall effect of wilderness and grandeur. The landing on Fladaigh Chuain was straight forward, and there is plenty of flat ground of a tent. The low-lying land on the island is thick with plastic detritus which has been blown ashore, but on the plus side, there is also plenty of driftwood. A large number of black rabbits live on the island, along with a fair number of seals and assorted birdlife. I had a leisurely start to the morning, as the NE flowing tide commenced at around 1030, and I hoped to reach the Shiants at slack water, if possible. The weather was perfect – not a breath of wind – and the crossing (approx. 20km) was over all too quickly. After unloading the boat and having a bite to eat, I set off to paddle through the Rock Arch at Toll a’ Roimh, and then around the island of Eilean Mhuire. There is a seal colony in a sheltered cove on the sheltered western side of the island, and I was able to get ashore and climb up to a position where I could observe the seals from above, without disturbing them. Continuing up to the top of the island, it’s […]

Hi All, We have made a few minor tweaks to our paddling, following the easing of guidance today. Details can be found on the link on our website https://liverpoolcanoeclub.co.uk/admin/Covid19.php or outlined below: Key Points: Everyone still needs to pre-book the paddle to control numbers. Face coverings around the car park and compound are now optional. Social distancing should be observed by all.   2m (one paddle length) is a long way!!!! and if you approach closer you should mitigate against the risks. We will continue with the named on the water leader for each and every group concept, as this is believed to have greatly developed paddling within the club over the past 12 months. Rule of six goes to be replaced by normal British Canoeing group sizes and ratios.  These are absolute maximums and if conditions / paddlers and leaders experience demand, groups sizes could and should be smaller than this. Maximum for the docks (Sheltered water) is 1:8 (1:12 for tandem / crewed boats).  Maximum for moderate water is 1:6 Maximum for advanced water is 1:4 Two groups can paddle near or next to one another on the water but social distancing should still be observed by all. Every paddler needs to be pre-booked with the coordinator or through our Bookwhen.com booking site. Paddles are notified through the club`s Google Group and also placed on the clubs calendar. All paddling takes place in separate, small groups with a nominated leader. We follow all National and Local guidance and adhere to the British Canoeing guidelines for paddlesports. Latest Guidance: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/local-covid-alert-levels-what-you-need-to-know Please stay away if you have any symptoms or are self-isolating. Maintain social distancing at all times (2m or a paddle length). Please leave the site asap after the paddle to reduce congestion. Please use hand sanitiser before and after paddling. If more than one group is at the compound please quickly […]

The weather has, unfortunately, played a bigger part in the clubs ability to get as many Sea Transition Paddles arranged as we would have liked. That said we have had three groups out with two more groups, involving 5 Leaders/Volunteers and 10 transition paddlers, arranged for this weekend. Additionally, this also gave the Leaders/Volunteers a chance to paddle together in some lumpy water. A group of nine Leaders/Volunteers had a paddle around the Great Orme on Sunday 2nd May, in some moderate conditions, where we had an opportunity to practise some deep water rescues and do some towing. We had two groups out at Dove Point, Leasowe, and a small group out on Sunday (9th) in some windy conditions upon Lyn Padarn, Llanberis. There they had the chance of paddling into, across and down, some big wind waves for short periods of time and all the while enjoying the wonderful scenery this location has on offer. Interestingly on this trip not only did we introduce some paddlers to bigger waves we had the opportunity to introduce a newly designed kayak to bigger waves too! I am very pleased to say both the paddlers, ‘Joey & Liz’, and the Kayak, ‘Ocean Glide’, behaved well and performed brilliantly. Club member Dave Brown, owner of DBXcellence, who normally make hand crafted polo and surf kayaks, brought along his new Sea Kayak ‘Ocean Glide’. And boy, does she. His newly designed kayak, with a planning V hull fully customised in Carbon and Carbon Kevlar, will be made locally in Chester. This 16’ kayak is light, manoeuvrable and glides beautifully giving a fast, dry ride. At lunch David Allanson and I had a quick try. David found her easy to roll and performed a graceful side sculling balance brace with ease. I found her quick […]

Mersey Estuary Paddle 1st May 2021 – by Keith Steer The weather looked ace, light winds and blue sky so I suggested a paddle – probably the Mersey. People had been telling me of an easy get on at the Rest Rooms Pub / Tranmere Sailing Club ramp on the Wirral. From here we could take the flood tide up towards Eastham and the Marshes beyond. The slipway gives good access and avoids all the nasty pontoons and terminals to the north. While the flood tide is very strong, it does whisk you along and we were soon paddling past several wharfs and commercial slipways towards Eastham park. Here the Deep-water shipping channel gets very close to the shore and you need to keep a good eye out for any of the small tankers and craft heading for either the Shell oil terminal or Ship Canal locks. We spied a couple of mid-tide stopping points but carried on past the Ship canal towards Mount Manisty (a mound of spoil from where they dug out the ship canal 100yrs ago). The tide was still rising, and we found a small drain under the ship canal that provided a sheltered channel for a snack. Before long, the tide rose enough to enable a safe and mud-free exit. The sandy beach proved ideal for a lunch break while we waited for the tide to turn. There was even an old tent and stove discarded on the beach and ideas developed for a local camp from sea kayaks in the future. We took the ebbing tide and wove our way around two large vessels waiting at the lock entrance. We even found a tunnel under one of the little used wharfs which was exciting. A stiff headwind had developed, and we even found a […]

River Leven Paddle 25th April 2021 – by Craig Ford The first opportunity for many, many months for paddlers to get out to the Lake District saw an organised group of 24 paddlers arriving early Sunday morning at the River Leven get in. Like turning up to the beach when the tide is out there was talk of “Where has the water gone?” This was going to be a first for everybody paddling this stretch of the Leven at such a low level. No need for the usual queue to get on to the water and everybody waded out ankle deep into the river to get in their boats. A gentle float down to the first feature where normally we would stay away from the weir, which today had no water running over it.  With the insight that the remainder of the river would be very scrapey we were encouraged to use the play wave here to have fun in, along with ferry gliding across for those keen to practise. Then it was time to paddle downstream which now gave new features with proper drops and the ability to scramble back upriver and have a couple more practices. Everyone safely over the drop and it was time to navigate down river around the rocks and the newly named “Gravel Yard”. Even with the low levels the get out had the usual “socially distanced” conversations about the enjoyment of the day’s paddle. Thanks to everyone for making this a great day out and especially the leaders and assistants for volunteering to run this trip. Happy paddling Craig More Photos……….

Improvers trip on the River Dee (Ponsonby to Ty Mawr) – by John Cooke Today saw the first club paddle since the easing of lockdown, 30 paddlers met at the Ponsonby Arms to run the section down to Ty Mawr, the river was low but for some this was their first time on moving water and for others it was a nervous return. After a flawless shuttle considering the numbers, we were soon ready to get on the river. We split into groups of six and the first group were soon off downstream. A few people were caught out early on and received wet ears! After a while we stopped for lunch and a leg stretch but were soon back on the water. We soon reached Trevor rocks and a few small play waves were still running, well done to everyone who had a go. Off again and we soon passed under the always impressive aqueduct and made our way down to the get out at the country park. The weather was good, the atmosphere relaxed and all in all a good day, always nice to see a Heron on the water. Thanks to everyone for coming, hope it gave you a taste of white water and hope to see you on the river soon. Thanks to the leaders and assistants for helping out as without them these trips could not run. John More Photos……….

Hilbre Island from Dee Sailing Club – Sunday 11th April 2021 – by Clare Brown The paddling plans were sent out on Saturday evening by Keith detailing the schedule for Sunday 11th April.  A change of plan to the original paddle details were made due to the ever-changing weather, wind and sea state. Hilbre Island For LCC Members who are not familiar with the Dee Estuary and have yet to experience this lovely part of the Northwest coastline.  Hilbre Island lies at the mouth of the Dee Estuary, close to West Kirby about 1 mile from Red Rocks Nature Reserve in Hoylake, this is the nearest part of the mainland to the island. Hilbre Island is an unbridged tidal island and along with Middle Eye and Little Eye form a line of islets that run parallel to the Hoylake coastline.  All three islands are formed of red bunter sandstone. The main island and Middle Eye are less than a hundred yards apart. Little Eye and Middle Eye are both unpopulated, but Hilbre Island has a few houses, some of which are privately owned, however there are no longer any residents on the island. Below half tide it is possible to get to Hilbre on foot. To get there by kayak you must allow 2 hours either side of high water, and even then, you need a spring tide of 8.5m for extra depth over the many sandbanks. The plan was to arrive at Dee Sailing Club at 9.30am for a 10am start on the water.  2 paddling groups had been formed by enthusiastic members ‘raring’ to get back out on the water following the recent lock-down.  Ian Bell leading one group and Keith Steer leading the 2nd.  Both groups were on time and organised, ready and excited to return to the freedom of the sea once again and to have […]

Dee Estuary to Flint by Julian Trigg Back on the sea, cold and sunny, with LCC It was good to get back on the sea – and good to meet up with LCC members I hadn’t met before (or for some time). I’ve mapped our track on several maps and it’s interesting to compare especially the satellite imagery of the sandbanks. Obviously, they change over time and the different platforms show subtle differences. Map with GPS track (click on icons) The general-purpose Navionics Chart Viewer is here: https://webapp.navionics.com Toggle between Navionics and Sonar map views (bottom left hand corner icon) Measure distances with the calliper icon in the bottom right-hand corner Other features I haven’t tried on the Menu Setting off from the Dee Sailing club and heading upstream to the far shore towards the TSS Duke of Lancashire. Approaching the inlet at Flint Time for a break Heading around the corner to see the castle remains It was a hard paddle back against the wind, not gaining much help from the outgoing tide and then we ran aground on a sandbank. It was a long way back but after a few hundred metres we were back in the water Finishing on the slipway More Photos……

River Lune 0.54m great level for intermediate paddlers Low gill viaduct to road bridge on B6256 – Grade 2-3 Strid okay at this level Gorge not too bad, no obvious hazards.

Surfing at Lewsowe Bay Monday 5th April, 4pm. Surf the incoming tide at Leasowe Bay. It gets busy here with the local Dippers. Parking can be an issue. Vehicle needs to be under 2m to get through the barrier. Cracking surf beach. Surf with the boarders! Wind will be around 22mph. Onshore wind with nice waves. Much nicer surf than Crosby. An alternative, if parking is impossible, is Perch Rock, New Brighton. Surfing is a naturally social distanced sport. If you fall out of your boat, keep hold of everything and walk back to the shore. It’s not an official club trip, but Karl and I will be there and want to let you know.