Club weekends and major events for the Club 2019 to 2020 – for more detail check the online Club Calendar……. You need to be a current member of the club to paddle with us (Insurance and emergency contact details etc) 30th November 2019 Sea Trip – Sheltered Water or Easy Moderate water trip – grade A Coordinator Ian Bell 1st December 2019 WW trip Grade 2-3 Coordinator John Cooke Click for more and to reserve a place. 15th Deceember 2019 Festive Paddle (Conway Estuary) – Suitable for all canoes, SUPs, and kayaks Coordinator Kirk Williams & Brian Green Click for more and to reserve a place. 15th Deceember 2019 Festive Christmas Meal (open to all) – Coordinator Kirk Williams & Brian Green Click for more and to book a place. 22nd Deceember 2019 Xmas Paddle at the Docks Coordinator Julie Brookes, Roger Colman, David Allanson, Martin Sinnott and Nadia Ford meeting at the Marina for 10 am on the water. Santa hats are the order of the day and appropriately ‘dressed’kayaks/canoes would be a bonus. Members using Club equipment come early to give yourselves plenty of time to add festive decorations to your chosen craft. Mince pies/Xmas cake etc will be available and a hot drink at the slipway on our return.” 9th to 13th April 2020 Scottish Easter Paddling Holiday based at Kinlochleven Coordinator John Cooke Click for more and to book a place. First come first served 14th to 17th ? April 2020 Great Glen (Caledonian Canal) Trip Coordinator Dominic Fahey 26th April 2020 Club Open Day Come and try it sessions / Go Kayaking Demo Fleet / rolling competition 1st to 3rd May 2020 Anglesey Weekend #1 Click for more information and to reserve a discounted place based at Tyn Rhos Trearddur Bay – coordinator Peter Massey. 22nd […]

Previous year’s winners….. Photo of the Month Please send any photos to website@liverpoolcanoeclub.co.uk November 2019 Click here to see the photos and to vote for your favourite. October 2019 Top of Form # 1 Sarah Gille in the Alps by Martin Aldridge 25 votes (25%) # 2 Olivia chose to go paddling for her 5th birthday and has since joined in a paddle with the kids club at the docks by Martin Eley 23 votes (23%) # 3 Julie Brookes dry rolling by John Fay 22 votes (22%) # 4 Poppy at the start of the West Kirby Race by Pete Thomas 12 votes (12%) # 5 Blow Hole by Dave Gentle 10 votes (10%) # 6 Rolling at the docks by Chris Fay 7 votes (7%)

It was a lovely autumn morning when four canoeists descended on the sleepy Cumbrian village called Lazonby. We met in the car park just upstream from the old red sandstone road bridge. We unloaded canoes and when Mike was asked if he needed a hand. He replied, “it is ok I have a Ruth”. Ruth came in very handy again as Mike’s car and trailer needed reversing out of the car park. Once safely out of the carpark Mike jumped in the driver’s seat and both him and Keith ran the shuttle. Once on the water the river we noticed it was a couple of foot higher than usual and was flowing swiftly. There was a lot of the bouncy stuff and a couple of rocks in view. I think at times both mine and Keith’s canoes had sprung a leak, but it was just that we were bouncing through the waves and not picking many dry lines. With what seamed no time at all, mainly due to the company and the quick flow, we arrived at the red sandstone cliff where there were faces carved into the rock. We took a late lunch here and even got out one of the open boaters’ staples – the Kelly Kettle. We were all soon enjoying warms cups of coffee and soup. Luncheon over and the canoes where back on the river. We were soon up to the weir. After close examination Ruth and Mike opted to get out and portage down the very rocky middle. The daredevil Keith decided not to bother with the portage and followed a line down a rocky tongue on river left. It was then my turn, the impressionable idiot. I took a line which dropped off the tongue at the bottom into slightly deeper water which was quiet […]

Tees Barrage – Brens Park Jam – by Paul Harwood Last Weekend, Chris, Reece, Steve, Harvey and I went to Tees Barrage on a frosty Saturday morning. The sun was shining and made a good day great.   It was so busy. So many people had turned up to see Bren Orton and his Park Jam Tour. The main course was switched off for an hour, and every bit of water they had was pumped through the short course. It was carnage. Swimmers and boats were everywhere swirling in different directions in the bottom pool. The Beercooler Canoe even went down the short course. There’s loads more photos on Facebook More Photos……… Report by Paul Harwood

Llangollen Aqueduct & Tunnels – by John Fay Over thirty LCC members gathered at the Pavilion Car park in Llangollen to unload boats and equipment before shuttling cars to the Poachers Pocket Pub in Chirk. On the drivers return all paddlers launch under the canal bridge and headed off towards the Trevor and the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct. Stan van-den-berg was in his brand new Rockpool kayak and there were concerns about it getting marked on the canal way. Was this the rights decision to bring his new pride and joy? Amanda had chosen the liquid Logic Remix as her preferred mode of transport which definitely proved not to be the right decision as she struggled in the little river kayak. Early on a swap was made leaving Amanda much happier in a Easky 13 kayak and making much greater progress towards the aqueduct. The group enjoyed the beautiful scenery as they were gently assisted by the slight flow of the canal which was fed from the River Dee back at the Horseshoe Falls. As the back markers turned into the Trevor basin an array of colored kayaks came into view. The large group had waited for everyone to gather before heading over the Aqueduct but first we had to give way to a canal boat coming the other way. There is only room for one boat, and they are much bigger and heavier than our plastic boats. Dorin called the boat a “turtle” as it very slowly made its way across the water course which carried it some 126 feet above the River below. Eventually we were off. People walking were taking photographs of the group which spanned from one end of the aqueduct to the other. One couple remarked to Liz that in all the years of walking this canal […]

River Tees Trip Day Two – Barnard Castle to Winston Bridge After a group meal out in the local pub on Saturday night, we had a leisurely start on Sunday. Everyone busied about eating breakfast, packing up their things and making sure the hostel was tidy before we met for a briefing with Stuart outside. The rain Gods had been again and low force was too big for all of us to run, so we set off to run a section of the Tees between Barnard Castle and Winston Bridge (made famous when Ray Hanna flew a spitfire underneath it at 250mph for a TV programme – woah!). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xf3UtmHLKUU The water was quite fast flowing, wide and bouncy with lots of features – again quite like the sunshine run in the Alps! The autumnal colours of the trees were lovely as we paddled down in groups of five, chatting away. The first feature was a weir, which everybody sailed over, and next came Abbey Rapids. As our group was first, we got out to have a recce. Fiona and I decided to portage, joining at the bottom to be ready to catch anybody if needed! John came down first, followed by Stuart and Sarah and then everyone else one by one, all picking quite different but equally successful lines down the two drops. The first swimmer of the day was John, when he slipped off a rock whilst pointing out the line – Sarah was quick to the rescue with her paddle shaft! When everyone was through the feature safely, we carried on in our groups until we reached another weir type feature with a larger drop. We went over one by one, the trick is to keep straight, at right angles with the edge of the weir and to […]

Festive Paddle (Conway Estuary) – Coordinator Kirk Williams & Brian Green Click here for more information and to book…. Sunday, 15 December ’19   10am – 3pm  Beacons Car Park LL32 8GN Festive Paddle (Conway Estuary) – Coordinator Kirk Williams & Brian Green The plan is to take the tide up the Conway Estuary from Beacons Car Park LL32 8GN – Meet at 10:00am. The Conway Estuary paddle is suitable for all types of craft (Sea Kayaks, Open Boats, SUPs, General Purpose Kayaks) so no excuses for not joining us. Questions to  Kirk Williams….. Expect 4 hours on the water with 8-10km with the tide pushing us both ways. Please ensure that you have adequate clothing to protect from the conditions. Previous photos and information The Club compound will be open at 8:00am and an hour after the finish of the meal to collect and return any borrowed boats. Please reserve them using the booking form on the website….. LOCATION Beacons Car Park LL32 8GN

Festive Christmas Meal – Coordinator Kirk Williams & Brian Green Click here for more information and to book…. Sunday, 15 December ’19   4pm – 7pm St Georges Hotel, St George’s Pl, The Promenade, Llandudno, LL30 2LG, Phone: 01492 877544 Hi folks it’s THAT TIME of year again and the 11th Annual Liverpool Canoe Club Christmas Meal is taking place on Sunday 15th December 2019. We seem to get more and more people each year, with nearly 50 of us sitting down last year. The price for the superb three course festive lunch is just £22.00 Following on from the very positive feedback received following all the previous post paddle Christmas Meal at St Georges Hotel in Llandudno I have made a booking for Sunday 15th December for 4.00pm in our own private function room, which will be the Menai Suite again. The food, the venue and the service are always really good with everyone thoroughly enjoying the day. In order to work up a good appetite the plan is to take the tide up the Conway Estuary from Beacons Car Park LL32 8GN – 10:00am. Please book onto this using the separate bookwhen form so that we have an exact register for attendance on the paddle and can send you any last minute information. The Estuary paddle is suitable for all types of craft, so no excuses for not joining us. Maybe even some ‘hardcore’ SUP folks may join us? (4 hours on the water expect 8-10km) We are booked in for 4.00pm which will give us plenty of time to sort out boats, kit and cars. For the three-course festive lunch the price this year is just £22.00 Booking and payment to be made via the club website booking page. The tides on this day are very favourable with local HW at […]

How not to break out of an eddy – by Craig Ford The theory of breaking out of an eddy is relatively easy to remember … When exiting the eddy, paddle upstream with good hard strokes and as the bow of the kayak begins to cross the eddy line, begin to shift your weight and lift your upstream knee, thereby tilting the upstream edge of the boat up.  Continue to paddle forward until you have passed over the eddy line allowing the water to turn the bow of the boat downstream. Don’t do what I did and paddle at 90 degrees to the eddy line, with no edging at all to, or even worse shift your weight onto your upstream knee, thereby dipping the upstream edge in to the river. Here’s a short video showing what happens when you get it wrong. https://youtu.be/0YoI0P71Tso Craig Ford

LIFT & CARRY A CANOE (PICS & VIDS) Carrying / Lifting a canoe As we all know, open canoes can be quite heavy. Therefore, it is important to lift and carry them correctly. Low level carry 2 person An easy carry over shortish distances is for 2 people to go to either end, bend legs, and then following an agreed command to lift with a straight back. To ease the load on your wrist, you can support the weight by utilising a sling over your shoulder. 3 or 4 or more person To ease the load on two people, if there are more of you then simply ask more people to help carry. Again, communication is key to lifting the boat cleanly. This eases the load on the people carrying, but it is slow and carrying through confined spaces or uneven ground can be difficult. High level carry For carrying solo, or on longer distances, it is often easier to carry a canoe up high. HOWEVER, it is very important that we lift the boats properly (otherwise your back will go twang and you wont be paddling that day!). Below are a selection of videos that show how to lift a boat for a high level carry. My favourite, whether carrying solo or double, is to lift / lower with two people 2 person lift & carry – my favourite, whether carrying as a pair or using the centre yoke. These two vids show 2 person lift and a 1 or 2 person carry.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJ2j9oeoY2c&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR2_MEM6HtYs7vuqDo-1pt_oAI9-tlc1DUCTxU1HSFVX15jLTVCPfCa7sWI  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTHGZ9j46_Q 1 person curl and carry – VERY IMPORTANT TO BE SMOOTH!!! NB, note how you can reduce the weight by resting one end on the floor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZq-nh6kdTM 1 person lift and carry – a great way to lift that puts less risk to your body. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfTrmLTU7Ek (Thanks to Ray Goodwin for […]