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

Swimmer’s life saved by quick thinking brothers Matthew and Connor O’Donnell, both members of Liverpool Canoe Club. On Thursday, August 2, a man in his 50’s was enjoying an open water swim at Pennington Flash when he became unresponsive in the water but 17-year-old Matthew and 18-year-old Conner, who work for water safety control at Leigh and Lowton Sailing Club, sprang into action. Matthew pulled the man onto his boat and took him back to dry land where the pair began to deliver CPR and mouth-to-mouth. Another swimmer went to the entrance to retrieve the defibrillator. A total of three shocks were delivered to revive the man and an ambulance was called. He was taken to Manchester Royal for further treatment and is in a stable condition. Matthew said: “I noticed that he was unresponsive in the water, so I took him back to land at full power on my boat. I started CPR and mouth to mouth while drying him off then my brother Conner put the defib pads on him and shocked him. The outcome would have been very different if we didn’t have the defibrillator.” The gentleman remains in Manchester Royal and is in a stable condition. Since sharing their story, Matthew and Conner have been awarded with a Defibshop Lifesaver Award to recognise their bravery and actions when saving the man’s life. Defibshop have also donated a new set of electrode pads to ensure the life-saving device continues to be in a ready-for-use condition. A spokesman for Defibshop added: “We were thrilled to hear that another life had been saved by a defibrillator. “It’s stories like this that remind us why we do what we do. Quite simply, we save lives.”  

Photo of the Month Please send any photos to website@liverpoolcanoeclub.co.uk August 2018 Click here to see the photos and to vote for your favourite. Harvey Harwood at Tees Barrage – Fiona Barry What`s your thoughts !!! – Steve Bond Zac paddling at Pembroke Weekend – Steve Alcock Tees Barrage – Sarah Gille getting it back to front – Fiona Barry Bolton Iron Man – James Duffy Stand Up Paddling done Upside Down by- Jayne Rigby July 2018 # 1 Ella at a junior session in Liverpool by Steve Alcock 12 votes (32%) # 2 4 Mile Bridge by Elle Jackson 10 votes (27%) # 3 Toasting Marshmallows at Junior Club weekend by Elle Jackson 5 votes (14%) # 4 The end of another Perfect day by Mark Pawley 4 votes (11%) # 5 Maddie greets the return of her mistress by Mark Pawley 3 votes (8%) # 6 Alex Peacock floundering by Steve Alcock 3 votes (8%)

AJ Bell London Triathlon and Kayak Safety by James Duffy It was an awesome but exhausting weekend in London for four intrepid members of Liverpool Canoe Club at the AJ Bell London Triathlon. Dave R, John W, Pete McC and Jim D were part of the safety team. Some 9,400 competitors took to the London Docklands to swim, bike and run the iconic route in temperatures of 30 Celsius with a water temperature of 24.2. Men’s Results: 1st. Simon Lessing 1.48:17 2nd. Richard Allen 1.50:42 3rd. Richard Jones 1.50:54 4th. Stuart Hayes 1.51:09 5th. Craig Ball 1.51:25 Women’s Results: 1st. Loretta Sellars 2.06:30 2nd. Jess Harrison 2.08:49 3rd. Metaja Simic 2.10:15 4th. Ceris Gilfillan 2.10:45 5th. Heather Williams 2.12:04 There were four different distances available from Super-Sprint, Sprint, Olympic and Olympic Plus, as well as the variety of wave types from team-relay, age-group, youth, mixed, male and female only waves. Attracting first timers, seasoned amateur triathletes, charity fundraisers, celebrities and elites, London Triathlon still draws huge interest from athletes and spectators alike. Competition for places at the event was high as ever, particularly following the relocation of the ITU World Triathlon from London to Leeds, making the London Triathlon the capital’s only major triathlon in 2018. The four members of Liverpool Canoe Club formed part of the safety kayak team of forty kayakers and the full safety team of lifeguards, rib crew and kayakers came to over 65.  

2018 – Bardsey Island (slides) The day before the trip, there was a lot of sea mist. It was to be an early start, and in the morning the mist was dense with visibility of about 100 metres. Top of Form GPS track on: Bing Maps Google Maps Bottom of Form   By 8:15 at the beach we were in sunshine. But as we reached Pen y Cil, Bardsey came into view shrouded in mist. As we started the crossing the conditions were benign and we soon made it to Bardsey. Rounding the Northern end of the island the mist had cleared and we were heading south towards the lighthouse. After rounding the southern tip, the buildings invisible from the mainland, became clear. Arriving at the Cafn Enlli slipway. At the cafe we were joined by some locals. We climbed the path up Mynydd Enlli with views over the farmland. At the summit the views were superb. We watched the flood tide racing beneath the cliff. Then headed back down the ridge. The day trippers boat came and went frequently and was hauled out of the water by a modified dump truck. The local seals have a basking area and were on song. Returning to the mainland. Completing the trip at Aberdaron.  

I’m not really one for posting on forums so I thought I’d save my first post for something special. I joined the club back at the end of May when we moved back to Liverpool.  I’d bought a 14ft Perception Expression a couple of years ago when we lived by the Basingstoke canal in Hampshire but as we were moving to a flat with nowhere to store it, I contacted the club asking if I could store it at the compound.  I also wanted to join the club to improve my kayaking skills.  I found out just this weekend that my brother and I started kayaking roughly at ages 8 and 10 respectively but aside from a little canal paddling  in the last few years, I’ve not really paddled much in the last 33 years or so. When I was younger, I always wanted to learn to roll, but I never got taught.  I was a skinny little runt back then so could probably not come close to gripping the inside of a kayak, plus they were horrible fibreglass things and I hated itchy knees. I’ve been to the docks a few times in the last few months, but have regularly attended the pool sessions to refresh my memory of the basics and build my confidence.  As I’ve always been one to try and run before I can walk, over the last few weeks I’ve been trying quite unsuccessfully to roll.  With some help last thursday, I managed to get upright in my Kayak down at the docks, just once mind but I put it down to the help more than anything I did myself. Tonight however, roughly 35 years after I started kayaking, I’m celebrating my first, second and third rolls, completely unaided.  My technique started off poor but […]