River Wye Trip – Saturday by Aleksander Ford Day one (Rhayader to Builth Wells) Today we paddled the River Wye.  As we rearranged boats ready for shuttling it was a nice sunny day and we were all excited for the journey ahead.  It was going to be a 24 km paddle, which we found took us a surprisingly short time to paddle, due to the fast-flowing river, which had been fed by a week’s worth of rain. When we started it was very gentle with a few wave trains and further down, the river was a very bouncy part which was under a tall bridge.  Carrying on, we passed large amounts of sheep and cattle which stared at us. Eventually we came to a grade 4 minus feature (Builth Rocks) which was a drop followed by lots of boiling and bubbling water.  After that there were a few places to practise surfing. Overall the river was very gentle with a few places to have fun.  It’s a great river, longer than normal paddles, for beginners and improvers alike. Aleksander Ford More Photos……..

Wye? Because it’s there…… by Chris Murphy Wye? Because it’s there…… Day two the Upper Wye (Llangurig to Rhayader) After Hannah and Craig left us on Sunday morning 15 paddlers got on the water at Llangurig to begin our second trip on the River Wye. This time we would be finishing our paddle at the point where we started yesterday’s paddle in the middle of Rhayader below the grade four feature. (more of that later). We split into three groups of five with the “canary” group of Mark, Stuart T, Leanne, Sarah and Stuart C setting off first. Next was our group with Kirk, Chris M, Ollie, Craig F and Alexsander. Bringing up the rear was the third group of Keith, John, Chris T, Jenny and Sean. The River Wye on this section was 18k of read and run grade 2/3 however the recent persistent rainfall had resulted in the levels being higher than normal. This meant that the first part of the day was largely spent picking our way through the overhanging trees. The lengthy flat sections were interrupted every now again by the grade three drops which were pretty friendly for the most part but a couple of them did provide a few problems. The first of these involved a fallen tree that was blocking the exit to a left-hand feature. We decided safety first was the best policy and portaged. After a scramble across the bank we got back in our boats and paddled back up the tree to take a closer look. The obstruction had also collected a section of fencing complete with barbed wire which we couldn’t see from the bank. The portage was a good call after all. The other troublesome feature had a sharp drop with a hole on river right and a […]

October Introductory Course by John Fay Sunday morning alongside the General docks paddle ran this month’s Introductory Course for new members. Sadly, Elizabeth and Karen were unable to attend leaving five in the hands of Alex, Aaron, Martin and John. A good thing really because Annmarie and Gill were quite nervous. Ian, Paul and Ellen made up the rest of the group and it wasn’t long before everyone was on the water. Two hours later they had all learnt some basic paddle strokes and had tried a variety of boats including open canoes and an inflatable double kayak belonging to Ian and Gill. At the end of the session everyone had smiles on their faces and Ellen stated that the session had been very helpful. Ian and Paul both completed the capsize drill although Ian has now become quite an expert at this after attending both Rescues Session. Well done to everyone. See you again on the water soon. More Photos…….. Report by John Fay

River Dee Ponsonby to Ty Mawr by John Allerton River Dee Ponsonby to Ty Mawr Country Park Great paddle yesterday thanks all who attended River was super-fast level 1.2m at Manley gauge weather held out – good to have some canoeists with us too. More Photos…….. Report by John Allerton

Rescues Session 2 by John Fay Our second Rescues session started and ended in beautiful sunshine. Once again members new and old gathered together to learn or practice various rescue skills. Alex Peacock took charge of the several young members who attended, and it wasn’t long before screams of laughter could be heard across the water as Alex engaged them in several fun kayaking games. Others split into small groups and worked together on their skills and we could see our new members grow in confidence as each skill they attempted was successful. It was also great to see people who had never met before forging new friendships as they warmed themselves up with hot drinks and other goodies provided by our catering team of Irene Jackson and Chris Fay. Once again, the planned “two-hour session” concluded after some three and a half hours and a tired group reluctantly headed home. A massive thank you to everyone (too many to name) who turned up today and we look forward to seeing you on more dock’s sessions and paddles in the near future. More Photos…….. Report by John Fay

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Breaking News – World Premieres of two new paddling films for Thursday evenings show at the Marina French Alps 2019 – A 15 minute pre-release from Gille studios showing all the antics of the LCC Lilo race on the International Slalom Course at L’Argentière-la-Bessée together with all the best rivers over the two weeks. We also have presentations from the Lofoten Islands – Arctic Norway epic trip. At the last minute Never Again productions Ltd have just finalised the preview copy of “River of Gold” Sun Khosi expedition. This may be your only opportunity to see these once in a lifetime films and talks from our own club members. Make sure you get there early to ensure you get a seat. Thursday 10th October Arrive 7:30pm for an 8:00pm start.   We are in the Spinnaker suite of Liverpool Yacht Club / Marina L3 4BP – go past the bar and through the double doors.  Free parking but remember to put your car registration into the iPad on the wall that end of the bar.

The Rescues Session at the Docks by John Fay Over 30 members attended todays Rescues Session at the docks. Today’s session was run by Ian Bell who grabbed everyone’s attention with his focused introduction and his on the water rescue demonstrations With the foundation blocks laid everyone including brand new member Ian and little 9-year-old Lil were rescuing and being rescued. 9-year-old Lil showed that technique was the key as she confidently emptied and assisted John, an adult member, back into his sea kayak. After experiencing numerous immersions, the group kept the catering team (Irene & Chris) very busy as hot drinks and other goodies were served to warm up the chilly group. Thanks to everyone who attended to make it another successful session. Report by John Fay

Photo of the Month Please send any photos to website@liverpoolcanoeclub.co.uk October 2019 Click here to see the photos and to vote for your favourite. # 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%)

The fourth rolling session at the Docks by John Fay The fourth rolling session started with a bang. Literally. Marty Sinnott arrived at the docks to find that the main compound barrier had been smashed open and the locking latch broken clean off. Worried that we wouldn’t be able to secure the compound on leaving we informed Keith of the situation and then proceeded to await the arrival of our group. At 10:30am a large group gathered for a brief introduction followed by an excellent discussion by Roger Colman about the purpose of the roll, the technique and the need to be able to fall back on an efficient rescue if/when the roll fails. The group welcomed comments by the senior club coaches Ian Bell and Dave Reynolds. Richie Burgess shared his observations on the “hand of God” rescue technique used by the coaches to right a paddler when their attempt at a roll failed and then everyone got on the water. There was almost a coach for each student this week and this resulted in some real progress. As well as members actually rolling paddlers were much more confident resulting in more time being spent under the water. The only downside to this was the number of very dizzy people staggering up the beach to the refreshment team for a warm drink and cake etc. As the session continued Keith arrived to inspect the broken barrier and after going off to purchase some long bolts a repair was carried out and the compound could once again be secured. Each session was due to last two hours but each week it had been around four hours later when people finally left. This last session was no exception. So, whilst most of us made the short distances home thoughts went out […]

White Water Skills Transfer session on The Dee at Llangollen by Dave Gentle LCC members Karen and Nic performing very well today on the White-Water Skills Transfer session on The Dee at Llangollen, followed by a sunny trip down from Serpent’s Tail into the River Active Park & Play site. A big thank you to Chris Marsden for assisting with the session today. Chris is always a joy to have on a session or trip. He has solid skills and loads of enthusiasm.

 Lofoten Islands Expedition 2019 “The Famous Five visit Lofoten” by Enid Blyton      LCC Home    Site Map   News items or reports on club activities should be sent to website@liverpoolcanoeclub.co.uk Archived Newsletters  Major Trip Reports.… Each year the club runs several major trips abroad. This year we paddled in the Lofoten Islands in Arctic Norway. The area has beautiful scenery, excellent wild campsites and iconic mountains and ridges. This year’s full account can be found in the trip reports section of the clubs website…..

Liverpool Canoe Club Supports Windermere One Way Swim. Report by Jim Duffy Liverpool Canoe Club Supports Windermere One Way Swim The Windermere One Way Swim took place on Sunday 2nd September at the beautiful and sheltered Fell Foot Park at the southern end of Windermere and some 202 swimmers took part. Swimmers were accompanied by a personal kayaker including eight from Liverpool Canoe Club. Many of the swimmers and kayakers had already completed the delayed Coniston ‘Chill’ the previous day! The epic 11.2 mile swim, the length of Windermere, ended near Ambleside at the iconic Brathay Hall. Every Windermere One Way swimmer also had a timing chip to accurately record their time. Wetsuits were widespread but a significant number of experienced swimmers completed the challenge without a wetsuit. The water temperature was 16.2 C. Significant crowds cheered the swimmers at the major viewing points and at the feed station just north of the Ferry House on the west side. They then swam to the west of Belle Island before heading north-west towards the finish. Windermere One Way was organised by T2 Events and Swim Safety directed and coordinated all aspects of water safety. The weather was occasionally wet and blustery for the first 9 miles before becoming bright as swimmers reacher the stunning Low Wood Bay. After that the weather improved significantly as swimmers completed the last stretch. Thomas Mills completed the swim in a wetsuit in 4:12:34. Steph Mcnally, from Bristol North Swimming Club, was the first wetsuit lady in a time of 5:13:27. Bristol North Swimming Club did particularly well with seven entries. The first ‘skins’ swimmers was Philip Duma of Blackwell Swimming Club, who completed the marathon course in 4:55:18. Nerys Pearce from Team True Spirit finished 2nd in a time of 5:38:31. One of the most […]

The initial open boat training in the docks had been done. Now the plan was to go on a river trip! For some, this was simply another river in another type of craft. But for others this was their first paddling adventure away from the docks – AWESOME! Canoes collected, spirits high, we headed to Farndon to paddle the river Dee. The chatter in the car was excited and loud, well it had to be to overcome the sudden cloudburst that we were driving through, but that didn’t dampen spirits. Everyone helped to unload the kit, subconsciously picking up tips about how to secure boats, and got ready. Food was packed into dry bags, dry kit left in appropriate vehicles and the plan was sorted: This is the river. We are paddling 10 miles that way to Eccleston ferry (no time restriction on car parking as there is at Sandy Lane). We are stopping for lunch, make sure you have food with you. Speak up if not feeling well / cold. Stay out of the trees. Watch out for the river wide tree that we have heard about but we can get through. If you get side onto an object, lean onto it. Have fun! After those rousing Churchillian words, the team lowered the boats to the river (using excellent manual handling techniques) and headed off on the adventure. It started well. It didn’t last! Keith decided that he would be chief child on the trip, so with a big grin he proceeded to pull the full length of my fluorescent pink swimline out. No reason why, just because he could. Thanks! Not perturbed, we carried on. The teams practicing their tandem team work as they glided down the river, using great communication to ensure they moved the boats where […]