North West and Central Canoe Polo Division 2   Saturday 22nd  was the first tournament of North West and Central Division 2 for LCC Brunswick (youth team) having won Division 3 last season and joining fellow LCC team Coburg (old people). With both teams beating Manchester Wildcats B and Red Rose A and both losing against FOA D and Viking Y during the day , before lining up against each other in their final game, with the old people winning a tight game 3-2. A big well done to both teams for a great day. PS see you  on 23 February  in Cheadle  at 19;10 for the rematch ! Norman Cook Coburg team coach (after Richie was sent off for dissent).  

Club Expedition to Alaska “Getting there and Day 1” (Whittier to Perry Island, Meares Glacier and Unakwik Inlet and return via Esther Island) “A Temperate Rainforest?” This clubs` expedition to Prince William Sound is now well established with trips in 2008, 2010, 2013, 2016 and again in 2018. This time we headed out to Perry Island in search of whales and then to Unakwik Inlet to find Meares Glacier. This involved some fairly-long, open crossings; including several in the thick fog. We were stormbound for several days with strong gusty winds and heavy rain. Every day we encountered something interesting including; humpback whales, black bears, Orca, Steller Sea lions and common harbour seals, deer, sea otters, bald headed eagles and many other sea birds; they seemed to be everywhere. We also paddled up to enormous tide-water glaciers. Our friend Levi Hogan (below) shuttled us to and from Whittier along with supplying his fleet of high quality UK Sea kayaks. Keith Peek. Mark Pawley Ruth Edwards Ian Bell Mike Alter Andy Garland, Martin Aldridge Roger Morgan, Chris Preston Frankie Annan, Nikki Aldridge The flight out and getting to Whittier Levi Hogan from Turnagain Kayaks This year, not only did we find a new outfitter, Levi Hogan and Turnagain kayaks but we also found cheaper and more direct flights via Iceland. Consequently, we had a much larger group than normal with 13 of us making the journey out to Anchorage. The flights cost around £800 with short stop over (2hrs) in the new North Atlantic hub of Reykjavik. On the way-out we were all kicking ourselves as we should have booked a couple of days in Iceland instead of flying straight through. We had to endure numerous advertising videos and TV programmes teasing us with the best that Iceland had to offer. […]

Short video of Leven. (just trying new go- pro really )

Great day yesterday on the River Rothay I will do it again for sure. Level was 0.7m this was a bit low perhaps 1.0 would of been better the trip was suited for a small number as there were many low hanging trees. Some amazing scenery. The rivers winds narrowly through grasmere then through grasmere like on to Rothay again then across Rydal water. Then on to Windermere, one river however wasn’t enough we did a quick run of Leven perhaps not best idea as it was late and we were tired. Neil came a cropper on the racecourse section and incurred a paddle snap. Bit of a downer but a great day in total Thanks all John https://youtu.be/RoEKt6jTze4

Lovely little article about Paul and his C1 conversion kits. Well done Paul. http://www.unsponsored.co.uk/press/c1-kayak-conversions/

Coniston open water swim by James Duffy Over 600 hundred swimmers took to Coniston Water on Saturday 1st September to take part in the gruelling Chillswim Coniston open water swim supervised by 40 kayakers including a team from Liverpool Canoe Club. After a somewhat tropical summer, the water temperature in the lakes was back in the normal temperature range of 16.8 degrees for the early morning swim. The event was a 5.25 mile linear swim of Coniston, and full support was provided for the swimmers by the kayakers. However, each swimmer also had a mandatory float in tow which made the task of the safety kayakers much easier. The Chillswim Coniston is open to both wetsuit and non-wetsuit swimmers, and approximately 120 of the swimmers chose to swim without a wetsuit. The fastest swimmer of the day was 21-year-old Sean Wylie from Hexham, who blasted the course in 1 hour 45 minutes and 53 seconds; the fastest time in the event’s history. Wylie was followed by Tom Robinson of Ulverston, in 1:51:04, who turns 18 next week. The fastest woman was 17-year-old Abbie Holyoake of Yorkshire Pentathlon, who finished in 1 hour 59 minutes. In the non-wetsuit category, first man was 46-year-old Phillip Hewitt of Hartlepool in 2:07:36 and first woman was 27-year-old Rachel Wilkinson from Yorkshire in 2:16:54. Swimmers range from first time long distance open water swimmers to Channel swimmers and everything in between. John McGivern from Merseyside participated with his three children as his 70th birthday present to himself. “Having swum this event with Chillswim before I knew it was special, and I wanted to have a great family memory for my 70th birthday. What better way than bringing my kids to swim 5 miles with me?” Top of Form    

The Windermere One Way Swim by James Duffy 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 167 swimmers took part. Swimmers were each accompanied by a personal kayaker including eight from Liverpool Canoe Club. The epic 11.2 mile swim the length of Windermere ended near Ambleside at Brathay Hall. Every Windermere One Way swimmer also had a timing chip to accurately record their time. Wetsuits were recommended but a significant number of experienced swimmers competed the challenge without a wetsuit. Significant crowds cheered the swimmers at the major viewing points and at the feed station just north of the ferry landing on the west side. Congratulations to all the swimmers.  

Canoe Polo Success at the British Open On Friday  31st we travelled  to Nottingham for the British Open canoe polo tournament , staying just  2 miles down the road at Holme Pierrepont Country Park campsite . We had  entered Division 3 with 9 other teams , ten-minute halves and a shot clock {which was a first for several of our  players} . On the Saturday  The Division was split into two mini leagues with our team winning 3 out of the 4. The only loss being against St Albans youth  to finish ranked 2nd in the group. On the Sunday we went into the knockout stages winning the first game on a golden goal against Kayak Northumbria in the 2nd period of extra time. Next up was Southampton University in  the semi-finals  which was won 3-2 with  probably our best all round game of the weekend. We were able to comfortably pass the ball around well to run down the clock. Then it was into the final against St Albans youth who beat us for the second time of the weekend,   4-0  with some good skills  for such a  young team. A big well done to the Sam , Aaron , Callum , John and Luke. Eventual runners up Division 3 . Norman Cook (Team Coach).  

The Paddler issue 43 Late Summer 2018 edition The International magazine for recreational paddlers The Paddler can be read in three ways: but the best is: http://paddlerezine.comFree tablet and smart phone optimised edition: http://paddlerezine.com Free Joomag desktop page-flip digital issue: https://joom.ag/BTEY Perfect-bound 132-page printed: https://thepaddlermag.com/subs-print-paddler Best wishes Peter Tranter (editor)

Great Day Running the Lower Tryweryn. Thanks to John Allerton and the Lads for organising. Vids a bit on the long side but to much fun to cut out, looking forward to the next outing 😊 👍 https://youtu.be/f1fX7UwSVn8

We Prince William Sound Expedition – Alaska

Twelve paddlers from the club have landed in Anchorage after flights to Iceland.  We just had to go to Gwennie’s old Alaskan Restaurant just over the road from the motel.

Chester Weir or “a day at the Weird” The Junior club paddle to Sandy Lane was arranged for Sunday 12th August. We met at the compound and loaded up the kayaks and gear and headed through the tunnel towards Chester. Once at the Sandy Lane car park we met a few others and got changed and onto the water. We paddled down past some large houses with their own boat house and moorings. Chester Canoe Club was on the right while Deva Canoe Cub was on the left. We spotted a Heron on the river bank. Ella kept asking how far it was to the “weird” Once at the town centre we went over to the edge of the weir. It was about 150m wide with a small amount of water going over it. There were a series of steps on the left (Fish ladder). We slide over one at a time and headed down to the bottom where we practised some ferry gliding and breaking in. We carried back up the middle of the weir and shot it 4 times. Then the tide came in and gave us a lift back up each step and eventually swept us back to Sandy Lane. More Photos……..  

An Alps trip video from the olden days…can you recognise any rapids? Descente en canoë de la Clarée, la Durance et l’Ubaye dans les Alpes françaises en 1962 Canoeing in the bankffipt, durance and ubaye in the French Alps in 1962