Club Expedition to Alaska “Day 8” 23rd August (Thursday) – Meares Glacier to Olsen Cove We had a long paddle ahead of us, so when I heard Keith 1 telling Keith 2 (through my slumber at 6.30am) “get the tent down, it’s going to rain soon”, I was up and out like a shot. It was exactly what we all didn’t want to hear after the sunny reprieve of the previous day, but we knew it was coming and the last thing we wanted was to miss the honour of packing away dry tents for the first time that week. Pulling on my totally dry paddling gear was a joy and the tent was down double quick. We all got busy packing the boats and having breakfast in a massive effort to be on the water before the rain started! Keith 1 was first on the water (not unusual) and disappeared around the corner in the direction of Meares Glacier and we were  not far behind him, all wanting to grab a few more photos and say goodbye to that awesome spectacle. I found it mesmerising and could have stayed there for ages, but of course the rain had started, and people wanted to start paddling because they were getting cold. It was my day to lead so I started getting everyone together to tell them what they already knew – “we’re going THAT way”! Shamefully, I didn’t have a map as I wasn’t aware we’d each have to lead one day, so I borrowed one from a friend and tried to get my head around the whole  navigation idea that I had previously been ignoring, knowing I was in very capable hands. Thankfully we were just following the coast of Unakwik Inlet to Olsen Cove, where we hoped to find […]

Today JJ’s llangollen,  4 club members just out having fun on moving water. Neil Jones, Aaron Jackson, Craig Ford, Alexander Ford  

Photo of the Month Please send any photos to website@liverpoolcanoeclub.co.uk November 2018 Click here to see the photos and to vote for your favourite.  

Club Expedition to Alaska “Day 7” 22nd August (Wednesday) – Island Halfway up Unakwik Inlet to Meares Glacier Waking up in a wet tent after a night if more heavy rain and waves that came close to our camp spots it was relief to realise it had actually stopped raining. The plan was to be on the water by 9 as usual. The thought of a brighter day and sunshine later made packing away wet gear slightly more bearable. Being leader for the day was made easier by the fact that we were repeating the previous days paddle from unnamed island partway up Unakwik Inlet to an unnamed spot for elevenses before heading onto Meares Glacier. Setting off with less cloud meant that this time views of glaciers on mountain tops appeared briefly between the clouds. Views of mountain tops were rare indeed on this trip. As we paddled towards elevenses beach Chris commented it’s like Coniston on steroids, as the water was glassy and still and lake like in appearance for a while. After an elevenses stop that was noticeably warmer than the previous day; though the change in air temperature was still noticeable we set off ‘around the corner’ to Meares Glacier. Some Glacier Facts (source https://alaska.guide/Glacier/Meares-Glacier) Location: 61 ° 14′ 23″ N, 147 ° 25′ 3″ W Region: Valdez-Cordova (CA) Nearest City: Valdez Length: 15 mi (24.14 km) Elevation: 4528 ft (1380.13 m) Tributary to: Unakwik Inlet Meares Glacier is the only advancing glacier in Prince William Sound. Located in the Chugach Mountains between Aspero Peak and Mount Michelson. It was named in 1909 by U.S Grant and D.F Higgins, US Geological survey for Captain John Meares 1756 -1809, British Naval officer, explorer and trader. As we paddled around the corner, the amount of ice in the water increased, ‘icebergs’ but not really. […]

Club Expedition to Alaska “Day 2” 17th August (Friday) – Decision Point to Perry Island We awoke early after our first night’s camp in Prince William Sound. From the campsite at decision point we could see three ways along three fjords hence the name. We were on the water about 50 minutes early all eager to start paddling. We headed south across to Surprise cove for elevenses. Surprise Cove is maintained campsite, very picturesque with good facilities and very sheltered. From here we crossed Cochrane Bay to Culross Island . We had lunch on a small pebbly beach in the rain but managed to find shelter under a small cave with an overhanging rock. From here we had great views north all the way up Port Wells Passage to the massive glaciers at its head (Harvard and Yale to the right and Barry’s and Cox glaciers to the left). We paddled across the entrance to Culross Passage and around the northern tip of Culross Island where we spotted a couple of fishing boats putting out their circular nets to scoop up the migrating salmon. We headed off across the sound towards Perry Island where the map indicated that a good beach could be found for camping. When we got there we could only find a very small area above the expected hightide mark. We cooked up a very late afternoon tea and although it had been a very long day thought we had enough day left to make it around the tip of Perry Island to a circular cove and idyllic campsite with plenty of space. The rock slabs on the NE corner of Perry Island had 100s of Stella Sealions basking in the afternoon sun during our last trip but we were a little disappointed to find that the […]

Club weekends and major events for the Club 2018 to 2019 – 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) 28th October 2018 Halloween Paddle in the docks – Click for more and to book a place…. 3rd – 4th November 2018 Overnight Bivvi (Camp) on Peel Island (Made famous by the book Swallows and Amazons) – Coordinator Keith Steer – Places are limited – Please reserve a place here…….. More information about the requirements of the trip………… 11th November 2018 River Trip for Improvers (Grade 2-3) – Coordinator John Allerton and Keith Steer – Click for more and to book a place…. 21st November 2018 Real Paddling Film Festival (World Tour of films) More information and purchase a ticket…….. 23rd – 25th November 2018 River Tees Weekend – Coordinator John Cooke More information and reserve a place …….. 6th – 19th April 2019 Nepal Sun Khosi River Trip (Kayaking and Rafting) – coordinator Keith Steer 18th April to 22nd April 2019 Easter Bank Holiday Scotland Trip based at Blackwater Hostel – Click for more and to book a place…. 28th April 2019 Club Open Day at the Compound at the Docks. Try different disciplines, junior session, come and try it session for non-members, Sunday tour of the docks. Bring and buy sale for any canoe or kayaking gear. 17th – 19th May 2019 Anglesey Weekend #1 Click for more and to book a place – based at Tyn Rhos Trearddur Bay  – coordinator Peter Massey. 24 – 27th May 2019 Pembroke Bank Holiday Weekend Click for more and to book a place – based at Whitesands Camping – coordinator Jenny Brown. 14 – 16th June 2019 Anglesey Junior Club […]

Here is the French Alps Video from the AGM. https://vimeo.com/296733369 There are a few older videos here as well https://vimeo.com/manage/albums/5382697

River Severn trip 21st October by Carl Leungs Great trip and great company.  

An early start saw 12 club members arrive at River Active in Llangollen. We split into 3 groups. The open boaters went poling upstream and skills. Another group went to Horseshoe Falls to run the river.  Steve Alcock , Steven Rose, Harvey Harwood and myself set up on the bottom wave by the centre.  3 hours and 4000 rolls later we were knackered and ready for home. We never saw the horseshoe lot.  So hopefully they are off the water by now.  

A well-attended AGM at Liverpool Marina last night heard some excellent news from the marina management about improving relations with LCC. The club also celebrated the occasion of its 10th successful year by sharing a 10th anniversary cake with everyone in the room. Plans were also made for many more club trips and expeditions that will mean 2019 will be yet another active and successful year in the club’s history.  

After the AGM on Wednesday Liverpool Marina would like to offer members a shower and food / drinks discount card. Annual cost is £10 – buy your bespoke swipe card from the Craig at the front office. Use the showers and changing rooms when you like. Show the card at the bar when ordering food or drinks for discount (25% during the week/10% at weekend) 3 hours free parking when entering your car reg on the screen at the bar. We feel this is well worth the money so drop by and get yours now if you feel it will be of use. Liverpool Canoe Club Chloe has sent over the following proposal: – Gain access to the shower/changing facilities once again. We will ask for a nominal contribution to the cleaning costs of £10 per year which will give you a bespoke LCC Yacht Club access card. This card will grant you access to the changing facilities when required. If your members could visit Craig in the office Monday – Friday 9am-5pm or 9am-1pm Sat Sunday to pay and receive a card that would be great. – The same card will also be used at the bar, which when showed to the staff, will prompt them to create an ‘account’ for each member. The staff will ask for their name and an automatic discount of 25% will be applied to food and drink Monday – Friday and 10% Saturday – Sunday. It is important that  they show this card whenever they go to the bar for confirmation of the discount group you belong to as we have a few (berth holders, LYC etc) Re the parking, we offer three hours free parking if you are using our facilities. You simply need to input your reg details at the bar […]

Club meeting 17th October 2018 from 7:30pm including talks / DVD of the club 3 major trips this year (Alps, Nepal and Alaska) and paddler of the year Lots of short film clips, information about the club and 3 great talks. Please try to come a ling and support your club. This will be the best information evening about your club and well worth it. See you all there from 7:30pm At Liverpool Marina L3 4EB – Free parking – just enter your car registration number in the iPad at the bar. Agenda AGM 17th October 2018 including talks / DVD of the club 3 major trips this year (Alps, Nepal and Alaska) and paddler of the year Hi all, Congratulations to this years winners of the paddlers of the Year Awards (see below). More details will be given when the Awards are presented tomorrow (Wednesday) at the Marina. We also have talks and DVDs from this year’s major trips abroad. Nepal, French Alps and Alaska. Don’t miss this event, it is a great evening and a good way to meet others in the club. Please indicate if coming so we can put out enough seats by clicking here…….. 2018 Paddler of the Year 2018 Junior of the Year 2018 Volunteer of the Year 2018 Swimmer of the Year Aaron Jackson Harvey Harwood Colin Muse Graham Devaney Aaron as helped lead the U18 polo team to great success this year and is always willing to help, often putting others before himself. He is developing his coaching and helps run dock sessions. Nothing is ever too much trouble. Stanley Embankment has become a firm favourite of his and his paddling confidence has come on leaps and bounds over the season. He is an inspiration to all.   Harvey has had a […]

Agenda – Club meeting and Celebration 17th October 2018 including talks / DVD of the club 3 major trips this year (Alps, Nepal and Alaska) and paddler of the year Hi all, Congratulations to this years winners of the paddlers of the Year Awards (see below). More details will be given when the Awards are presented next Wednesday at the Marina. We also have talks and DVDs from this years major trips abroad. Nepal, French Alps and Alaska. Don’t miss this event, it is a great evening and a good way to meet others in the club. Please indicate if coming so we can put out enough seats by clicking here…….. We have filled all but one position on the Stewardship Group so the admin part will be very, very swift. However, if anyone would like to give a little something back to the club and help out we are still looking for someone to take over from Karl Tattum as Lead Safeguarding Officer. This is an important role. If you are able to help or would like to discuss the role please contact: 2018 Paddler of the Year 2018 Junior of the Year 2018 Volunteer of the Year 2018 Swimmer of the Year Aaron Jackson Harvey Harwood Colin Muse Graham Devaney Aaron as helped lead the U18 polo team to great success this year and is always willing to help, often putting others before himself. He is developing his coaching and helps run dock sessions. Nothing is ever too much trouble. Stanley Embankment has become a firm favourite of his and his paddling confidence has come on leaps and bounds over the season. He is an inspiration to all.   Harvey has had a tough time this year. He was unable to paddle until June but has made the […]

Club Expedition to Alaska “Day 5” 20th August (Monday) – Olsen Island to Island Halfway up Unakwik Inlet After a very wet day of not doing much (well for those who opted out of the excursion), everybody was camp crazy, so we decided to move on. The day started really as it meant to go on – grey, overcast and wet. The tents were wet, the kit was wet, it was wet – many of us considering what we’ll be changing for the next trip. Nevertheless, we were on the water for the now routine time of 9am. So, all afloat, we made for our one and only crossing for the day. Getting to the end of island took significantly less time than the excursion the day before – just saying. There was thick fog and visibility was low, so compass bearing decided, we grouped up in a fat diamond and started the crossing, keeping an eye out for any boats taking a route avoiding the main conditions. Land came into view, and all was good. As we continued up the shoreline, the landscape always takes on a spooky theme with such conditions, with low lying cloud, fog and the mountains being dark silhouettes that take on a sinister hue. Weaving around some islands and small inlets, the map clearly indicated that there was a way to pass through, so off we headed between the islands towards our passage way. Low and behold, the map lied (well, maybe a white lie), and we were presented with some shallows. Now to a Sea Kayaker, this was an epic problem. The decision to get out of one’s boat for a “portage” is just not something one should consider, fortunately to those canoeists in the group, this wasn’t so much a portage as […]

Club Expedition to Alaska “Day 6” 21st August (Tuesday) – Island Halfway up Unakwik Inlet to Meares Bay and return “Return to Misery Cove” We woke up to find it was still raining. We took down our tents and loaded up our kayaks in the rain and then set off for Mears Glacier. It was a cold and wet paddle with plenty of waterfalls to be seen, including one particularly big one which a few people wanted to play in. Personally, I was so cold and wet, I was sure that any swim would be certain death! We were not disappointed by the sea otters, who were still floating around all over the place, despite the rain and the cold. As we got closer to the glacier, grey seals were also becoming more common (at least they have blubber to deal with the cold!). We also encountered our first icebergs… or were they bergy bits? When we stopped for elevenses, we were all cold, wet through and, to be honest, miserable. Keith recommended that it may not be a good idea for us to continue to the glacier today because it was only going to get colder as we got closer to the glacier. We all agreed to turn back and return to our previous night’s camp. As we came around the island back to our beach, we were greeted by a deer on the beach. As we reinforced our man-made camp platforms against the anticipated higher tide and re-pitched our wet tents in the rain, we decided to name this cove ‘Misery Cove’. Finally, around 4pm that afternoon, and after 50 hours of non-stop rain, the rain stopped, and the clouds cleared just enough for us to glimpse the surrounding snow-capped mountain tops. We went to bed that night hoping […]